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hargrove-mayfields · 8 months

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Steve traveled a few hours for this.

Robin and Dustin came with him, taking turns driving since neither of them really liked to, but there wasn’t much choice. They would’ve brought the boys’ mom, but going a few states away isn’t something Claudia can do with her job if she still wants to retire in a month.

She’d entrusted Steve and Dustin with her car and settled for car-pooling with Joyce to work until the boys and Robin got back.

He really appreciated that. This trip is a very big deal to him; a visit to literally the only place left in the country he can visit his decades long hyperfixation. The Rock-Afire Explosion, in all its horribly tacky 1980s glory. Settled today at an independent arcade restaurant.

There’s one closer to home, but it isn’t the right group. Some corporate sellout place that uses digital screens and shit. Another is closed off to the public unless he was going to pay way too much money to see his favorite characters barely functioning. So to West by god Virginia it is.

They made it, and have spent probably two hours straight at this literal wonderland. Robin and Dustin are mostly hanging out in the arcade portion, dishing out little golden tokens into skee-ball games and spinning wheels for tickets. Actual print tickets. Just when he thought this place couldn’t get better.

Steve though, he’s mostly been parked in front of the stage the entire time. A basket of chicken tenders later, even though the place is known for pizza- which Steve in his post ileostomy world can’t eat- he’s still not going anywhere.

Each and every time the show selector board lights up again, he’s wheeling his way over and choosing one from the draw. So far, he’s seen probably half of the whole show tape, happy stimming his way through each song and skit that he’d wanted so desperately to see in person ever since the last Showbiz Pizza closed in Indiana during his early childhood.

This time, when it comes back on to signal the cooldown is over, he’s beat to the draw.

A small boy of about 10 or 11 years old comes darting past in little light up sneakers, on tip-toes to reach where the buttons are mounted up on the wall. He’s got a mop of blonde curly hair on his head, where it’s longer in the back pulled into a tiny ponytail, with the band of some strap-on glasses tucked underneath.

Steve looks over his shoulder to see where the little guy came from, and sees a man who looks almost identical. But not just any. The one approaching him is someone he used to know, an old crush that got away.

Billy Hargrove in the flesh.

It’s been over thirty years. These days, Billy is inked from shoulder to wrist, even more tattoos peeking out from just under the v-neck t-shirt he’s wearing. His hair has lightened, probably from the California sun that darkened his freckles and added more to any uncovered spot of skin. Those pale, almost peachy colored curls don’t do much to hide the dark graying streaks.

Steve is the same way, a whole patch of greyish-brown blooming at the front of his hair, and crows feet by his undercast eyes. Aging hasn’t done him particularly well, not the way it has Billy. That is what he thinks at least, still never quite breaking out of his self-critical shell. His mom says he’s still charming at least.

Being love-sick all these years hasn’t helped though. He wonders what Billy will think of him now.

Billy who, with an absolutely adorable laugh, calls after his boy, “Mackenzie! You gotta wait your turn little dude!”

Steve rushes to insist, “Oh, no, he’s alright!” After all, he’s the grown ass man getting his entertainment from a group of cutesy animal robots.

If that little boy in his cute sneakers wants to have fun too, he’s not gonna be some gatekeeping elitist about it. Not when he sees the wristband on his little wrist that proudly declares his extra 21st chromosome. He recognizes the rainbow infinity on the beaded bracelet beneath that one too.

Steve gets it. Hyperfixations and special interests are pretty huge for him too. Mackenzie being so excited about the band he’s loved for so long is not something Steve would ever dream of squashing out.

Not even when the young boy takes to climbing up the side of Steve’s wheelchair.

Billy intervenes and picks him up right away though, “Hey, hey. We don’t touch that, Kenz. That’s his legs.”

Mackenzie’s slanted eyes get big, his little head whipping towards Steve to apologize, “Sowwy!”

But the little guy was so genuine and curious, there’s no way Steve could be mad about that, “It’s alright! Here, do you wanna push a button?”

Billy looks relieved that Steve didn’t start freaking out on his kid, motioning with a little nod of his head that it’s okay for Steve to take Mackenzie’s little hand and guide it towards one of the buttons.

Together, they choose a blue one. Steve’s already watched this specific show, but it’s one of his favorites since it involves all eight characters. For some reason, he hopes the kiddo really likes it too.

Nothing happens at first- the animatronics have to get air pressure back in them before they can start -so Steve takes the few seconds of delay to roll back to his table. It doesn’t really surprise him when the two friends he’s made join him. Father and son in swivelly red chairs at the table Steve parked beside.

When the lights come up on stage, Steve finds he doesn’t want to look right at the show and stare the way he usually does. Instead, he watches the wonder in Mackenzie’s deep and emotional eyes.

Kids like him don’t do much to hide their emotions, which is honestly a huge inspiration to Steve, who grew up masking and hiding his disability. Pretending isn’t fun, and even though he just met this little dude, watching him just be himself makes Steve happy too.

They’re both letting their hands flutter about by the time the first set is finished, the hiss of air signaling the animatronics are done until the next time.

Mackenzie whips around in his seat and all but shouts at his dad, “Baba, t’ey sang to me!!”

“I heard, buddy! Wasn’t that cool?” Billy enthuses back.

Little Mackenzie nods his head over and over, giggles replacing his words.

Surprisingly, to Steve at least, he then looks to Steve for his opinion too. There is so much trust and adoration in that look. He hasn’t seen that since Dustin was a kid way back when Steve had first been adopted.

Steve gives a thumbs up for some reason, “Yeah, it was awesome!”

He reassures the little boy, but Billy is looking more skeptical. Not judgemental or anything, just aware of the surprised tone in Steve’s voice.

Non-confrontationally, he informs Steve, “Just a heads up.. I might’ve told Kenzie we were friends. I saw you and I panicked.”

Yep. That explains it. The sheepish looks from Billy combined with the excitement from his son.

Steve is actually really flattered that someone he used to think was so cool would want to be his friend.

“Highschool bullshit aside, I always kinda wondered what it would be like being close with the Billy Hargrove.”

“Well I still have the same taste in music.” Billy announces, after a moment to think on important fun facts about himself.

It makes Steve chuckle softly, “This tacky pop is probably painful for you then.”

Billy shrugs it off, “Hey, I heard some Springsteen in there. And the Beatles always get a pass. I can get by on this.”

Suddenly Mackenzie gets impatient with them having their own little conversation, and tries to get Steve’s attention. He taps him gently first, then starts waving and curling his hands into shapes.

Steve recognizes the gestures Mackenzie is making as sign language, but he doesn’t understand a word of it. It’s one of those things he always wanted to learn, and wished he knew, but never sat down and dedicated to. His communication board was way easier for non verbal days.

His confusion must be clear, because before he can even say anything, Billy starts acting as translator, “He wants to know your favorite member of the band.”

“Oh that’s easy! I love Beach Bear. His surfer theme and his curly blonde hair are so cool!” The answer is easy for Steve. He doesn’t mention the part where the character has always reminded him of someone his heart long yearned for.

Mackenzie seems to explode with happiness anyways, butterfly hands going faster than Steve can even finish his sentence. He guesses that’s his favorite too.

The excitement takes over totally, just then Makenzie taking off running unexpectedly.

Billy is up out of his seat so quick, jogging past his little one and intercepting him before he can complete his mission. It’s obvious Mackenzie had wanted to jump onto the stage, instead having to crash into his fathers open arms.

Before the little guy can get upset, Billy turns it into a hug. He’s so gentle, his hold on his boy loose, not crushing like the prone restraints Steve grew up with.

This is teaching through love, not fear. Steve may have just learned something about love himself if the way his heart skips a beat is any indication. He tries not to tear up.

Billy cups his hand real soft on the back of Mackenzie’s curly head, advising him, “Please don’t run off like that, baby. You could get hurt.”

“Sowwy.” Mackenzie apologizes, almost automatically.

Once again, Billy takes action to make sure his son isn’t feeling confronted or yelled at, “It’s okay, bud. You’re doing a really good job today, buddy. Daddy’s proud.”

With that, he carries him back over to the show selector to press one of the buttons that has now since lit up again, choosing a show with help from Steve through a series of pointing and lighthearted laughter from the trio.

They end up picking yet another one that Steve already heard, but Mackenzie clearly hadn’t, so Steve feels okay leaning aside with Billy and chatting while the boy dances and enjoys the show in close range.

“You’re really good with him.” He compliments softly, not just impressed but super enthralled

Instantly Billy’s face lights up with a smile, “Thanks, Steve. It’s just been me and him, I’m trying to fix a lot of shit his mom put into his head.”

Steve is going to say something, but Billy gets bashful, and interrupts it, “Sorry. Trauma dump.”

“No, it’s fine. I definitely get it. My uh.. my mom was the same way, you know.” Steve admits, to make Billy feel less embarrassed about it.

“Here, here.” Billy bumps their shoulders together, a weirdly intimate interaction, one that most people would be too afraid to do lest they break poor paralyzed Steve (not going to happen).

“It’s hard. I love my kid. More than the fucking world. I flew hours to this place just to let him be happy. But goddamn it’s not easy to unravel the shit that was done to me. To him too.”

“Listen, that happy, sweet little boy that ran over to me isn’t afraid. He’s not hurt, or scared, or hiding from anything. You’re doing great.” Steve compliments, all genuine.

His dream of six little nuggets of his own might not be something he’s going to have these days, but he admires Billy for his family. Not just because of his crush either. There’s always been a side to Billy that was so emotional and tender, and he’s amazed at how easily Billy can use that for good.

A lot has changed, but not really. Steve just wonders what Billy thinks of the fact Steve hasn’t made strides in growing a family or becoming some successful mogul.

Apparently he isn’t appalled, because he’s blushing as pink as Steve has probably been all day, as he says, “Thanks, Steve.. I needed that.”

And then there’s nothing left to say. Steve opens his mouth once, then closes it again, too overwhelmed to think of anything. All he wants to do is blab about how he’s been in love with his old rival the whole time.

The pause in conversation isn’t silent, between Mitzi Mozzarella singing her little mechanical heart out, kids laughing about something fun or crying about not getting the prize they wanted, and various machines begging to be played. But it feels intimate anyways.

A moment for just Billy and Steve, in all their nearing middle-aged glory.

It’s Billy who starts things back up, after checking that Mackenzie is getting enough to drink for all the moving he’s doing, “So. D’you really think blonde surfer guys are cool?”

“Maybe.” Steve goes along with it, seeing the opportunity to flirt in the way Billy held onto that one small moment, and tugging hard on that red string of fate, “They definitely get bonus points for having cool tattoos and being good parents, I’d say.”

Billy’s face looks absolutely frazzled, eyes big and smile all crooked and wobbly. And then he laughs, a loud, hearty laugh that has butterflies going through Steve’s whole chest, “Looks like you finally beat me at my own game, H.”

So they have been flirting.

In celebration of not reading the situation wrong, Steve turns it up ten more, leaving a locationally relevant move for Billy on purpose, “Do I get a prize?”

Of course the prize isn’t a stuffed toy or a handful of bubblegum, but rather, a kiss. A sweet, shy kind of kiss that has them bumping their noses together by accident. It’s all they can really get away with, considering where they are, but it’s enough. A thousand words in one chaste press of their lips together. It’s how Steve knows right away this was meant to be all along.

For what could have been several more hours they sat and talked, just the two of them in their little corner of the restaurant, occasionally taking breaks to go play a game, or take Mackenzie to the bathroom. In that time, they go from practically strangers, to having agreed to live together.

See, Billy and MacKenzie actually bought one way tickets. The California cost of living was way too much for single dad finances, and they had plans to settle in a rental trailer park, after a tour of a few states around the area, doing cheap stuff to make it seem fun. Like they weren’t searching for a place to live.

No way was Steve going to let Billy and his disabled kid be homeless in their rental car. Absolutely not.

He sent Claudia a text, and she said instantly she’d be getting Dustin's old room in order to house Mackenzie, and Steve could share his room with Billy. The situation is one plenty of people have already criticized, saying Steve at forty something is too old to be living with his adoptive mother. Adding a alternative queer man and his kid with down’s syndrome to the mix was destined to be the talk of the town, just as it was when Dustin moved out into an apartment with Lucas and Erica.

The fact is, he doesn’t care.

Steve hasn’t done babysitting since he was paralyzed in his twenties, but he’s more than happy to watch Mackenzie while Billy works. As soon as he saw him he felt like family, and Billy agrees Steve and he are soulmates. To him, this is just completing part of him that anguished and mourned and longed for so long.

The three of them together with Steve’s mom and caregiver, sounds like a dream to him.

“Who wants funnel cake!?” Robin appears out of nowhere, two greasy paper baskets in hand. But she freezes, “Wait a second- Hargrove?”

Okay, so there is a lot to catch her up on. Steve is more than happy to tell the story of rediscovering Billy, his beautiful son, and their long-lost love for each other.

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#harringrove #billy x steve #billy hargrove #older Harringrove #disabled steve harrington #dad billy hargrove #steves hyperfixations are my hyperfixations #brothers steve and dustin #platonic soulmates Robin and Steve #that carpet photo is my photo of the actual place I write about here #had to be super edited though because it’s very old and not bright or neon anymore

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weatherman667 · 11 months

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RWBY Shipping

Double Rainbow: Jaune Arc x Ilia Amitola

Comes from my Firen Lhain story (Harem / No Harem)

Putting Ilia in charge of the White Fang was insanely idiotic. She had no grasp of morality, and no leadership skills. But, she’s a really interesting character. So, I decided to keep her. Blake purposefully kept her distance to not lead her on.

This left Jaune to be the one to teach, guide, and look out for her. And it just became so magical. So magical that I rewrote the whole story to break up the Pollinated Knight (JxRWBY) relationship.

Arkos: Jaune Arc x Pyrrha Nikos

As one commentator pointed out, everyone loves Arkos, because everyone wants Pyrrha to be happy. Of the canon romances, this is the only good one. And truthfully, one of the only canon ones from the current generation. There’s Arkos, and there’s Bumblebee, and Bumblebee is horrendously abusive. There is Saphron and Terra, and while their relationship is good, they provide nothing to the story at all. Their addition to the story could have been replaced by a hotel.

As for the previous generation? Weiss’ parents are a great example of how not to parent. Ruby and Yang had one mother who abandoned them, and another that went missing on a save-the-world mission. Tai basically did everything he could to hold them together, and Qrow was a great cool uncle, which means he’s missing most of the time. Ghira and Kali are excellent. Who else has a parent? Seriously?

Pollinated Knight: Jaune x Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang

With one caveat, I like all of the involved pairings.

Lancaster: Jaune Arc x Ruby Rose: They are either incredible romantic or platonic partners. They can simply say “Nope” to cheer each other up.

White Knight: Jaune Arc x Weiss Schnee: One of the only relationship is the series, even if it’s one-sided. They also did a fantastic job of showing growth for both of the characters, so when they meet again in Haven they are very different people.

Knightshade: Jaune Arc x Blake Belladonna: The more I see of Blake, the more I hate her, but this is largely because she had a lot of character growth she would have to make, and never did that. Which is where Jaune falls in, as he does go through tremendous growth, and provides moral grounding for the story.

Dragonslayer: Jaune Arc x Yang Xiao Long: Yang is the first person to support Jaune, and the only one to do so throughout the entire story. But she’s also a lot more vulnerable than she lets on. She needs someone to be strong when she’s weak, and someone to step aside when she’s strong, (and pick up the pieces).

White Rose: Ruby Rose x Weiss Schnee: The most adorable pairing in RWBY. Just remember, Weiss nags because she cares.

Ladybug: Ruby Rose x Blake Belladonna: Diabetes, in romance form.

Checkmate: One of the first pieces of character development in RWBY, (the team, not the story). Often called the Checkmate Arc. Unfortunately, that’s the extent the pairing went. But, during this arc, the interplay is fantastic.

Freezerburn: A song of fire and ice. Too bad for Grr Martin, it’s too poetic to not use. The interplay of hot and cold, light and darkness, is one of the most potent feelings for Humans.

Bumblebee: Blake Belladonna x Yang Xiao Long: The one caveat. v1-5 Bumblebee good. B6+ Bumblebee abusive. All they had to do was talk. But, I’ll focus on the good parts. Mystery, and motion, and fire and shadow.

Green Lantern’s Knight: Jaune Arc x Jessica Cruz

There are two things in RWBY post Haven I actually like, Weiss being thirsty for the Rusted Knight, and the fans pairing Jaune Arc with Jessica Cruz.

Black Sun: Sun Wukong x Blake Belladonna

When this first happened in V4-5, I enjoyed it. When it was sunk after Haven, I realized the part I liked most about it was Kali.

Anyone with Cinder

Cinder is a villain. She’s not a woobie, she’s not sympathetic. She might be being manipulated, but she is doing everything she can to burn the world down. She needs to be punished, she needs to be humbled, humiliated. She needs to repent. If you don’t, you are supporting an unmitigated psychopath because she’s pretty. My favourite one to do this is Jaune.

Sweet Dreams: Cinder Fall x Emerald Sustrai

While Cinder is an unmitigated psychopath, and Emerald is her simp, this is the only good thing from any of the main villains.

Any of the other villains:

Salem: She can be put in a good relationship with Oz if they reconcile. And, quite frankly, this is likely the only thing that can actually stop her. Alternatively, if you are feeling perverted, you could have Jaune use his sword to teach her the value of life and death.

Adam: Of all of the unmitigated villains, he is the worst of the bunch. He has zero redeemable, charitable, and sympathetic qualities. They tried and failed to give him any. Maybe the should have tried to give him sympathetic qualities before turning him into nothing more than an abusive ex and then killing him. Just saying.

Hazel: They tried and failed to give him a woobie backstory. While he’s not as villainous as the rest, he is still willing to destroy the world because his sister died as a Huntress.

Tyrian Callows: The most psychotic of the lot.

Arthur Watts: Of the main villains, he’s the only one to have any real good qualities other than Cinder. Intelligence and charisma. Still pretty fucked up.

Mercury Black: Personally, I find him a pretty boring character, but, of the main villains, he has the least investment, and could most easily leave and redeem himself. The only reason he stayed is because Cinder was slightly nice to him, (at least compared to his father).

Emerald Sustrai: She loves Cinder, and is pretty, therefore she doesn’t need to redeem herself. She just needs to be momentarily sad for all to be forgiven. They could have given her an arc where she realizes that Cinder won’t care for her and she needs to find her own path, but they did not.

Silent Knight: Jaune Arc x Neopolitan

Don’t consider her to be one of the main villains, because she’s not. She’s Roman Torchwick’s sidekick. Roman Torchwick is a low-level criminal who made it big. He wasn’t in it for the evil, he was in it to become a big man. It wasn’t until he succeeded that he realized who trapped he was, and died.

This leaves Neopolitan with zero motivation to stay with the villains. She does because plot. She is genuinely hurt, she did help to cause Beacon, but she was not trying to. She was just trying to do well by her man. This makes her very easy to repent and work to be a better woman. Who better to help her than Jaune. She’s also a perverted bastard, so perfect for adding some spice to a fic.

Robotic Knight: Jaune Arc x PENNY Polendina

I don’t like anything about PENNY’s resurrection and second death. But there is a missing P from JNpR’s lineup, and she would be a perfect fit. They are both so socially awkward that they can make an amazing couple.

Nuts and Dolts: Ruby Rose x PENNY Polendia

I am relatively neutral about this. Again, I hate what they did V6+ with PENNY, but it could have been handled a different way, and it would make a nice pairing. They are lovely together, though none of the early interaction seemed especially romantic. But there is more than enough for shippers to build off of.

#rwby

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theold-ultraviolence · 2 years

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HC'S: Origin's of Eddie's music taste part I

This is something that I've thought about CONSTANTLY since Eddie's introduction! part of the reasons why I fell so hard for him is because it's taken me back to my classic rock/80's metal phase from when I was a pre-teen/sad & lonely teen, and this is why I relate to him so much. I'm always referencing songs in my fics but now I really wanted to break down his own music taste and how he came to it! 🤘 Acording to tumblr my hc's were too long so I'll post these in two separate parts.

Influenced by his uncle definitely!!

His parents listened to whatever was on the radio and it wasn’t a healthy environment overall, so Eddie didn’t have any exposure or interest in creative outlets or art in general

Moving with Wayne restarted his life in the most positive way; I headcanon Wayne took him in around 8 or 9 years old.

On his first days living with Wayne he was glued to his uncle by the hip, always nearby.

If Wayne was doing some work or just chores on the trailer, Eddie would trail close behind him like a little puppy.

One time Wayne was fixing some pipes in the kitchen and he wanted to distract Eddie with something so he wouldn’t get bored just waiting around for him, so he asked Eddie to choose a record to play while he worked.

Eddie was immediately curious about all the colors and the textures of his uncle's vinyl collection.

But one record that caught his eye because of the design was Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) by Pink Floyd: a black background with a prism on the center with its refracted rainbow colors on the right side.

Gingerly he placed the vinyl on the turntable and was completely hypnotized by the sounds that engulfed the trailer as soon as the needle grazed the record: a ticking clock, droplets of water, the sound of a cash register, a muffled voice speaking and laughing and a singer violently screeching and howling.

Where was the music??? Eddie was super confused.

But then the sounds merged seamlessly into the easy guitar and soothing percussion of the song that came next, titled ‘Breathe’.

Eddie was compelled to just sit on the living room carpet in a trance, getting lost in the album artwork while listening to the absolute musical journey that that record was.

He literally felt like he had been taken into a trip around the galaxy; each song took him on its own little journey, as its own cinematic experience happening inside his head.

His favorite songs from that album are Time because of all the clock sound effects and the eerie percussion at the intro; The Great Gig In The Sky because of the absolute power of the vocalist; Money because of the deep bass riff that drives the song (as well as all the sound effects) and Eclipse because it’s short but it’s heavier and ends on a very epic note.

He was also super perplexed but curious about the lyrics of that one; at the time he didn't understand but they somehow spoke to him deeply:

And all that is now // And all that is gone // And all that's to come // And everything under the sun is in tune // But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

Wayne laughed when he went to check up on him, seeing him all wide eyed with his curls sprawled on the rug, looking up at the ceiling with a dopey grin on his face.

“You liked that?” Eddie could only nod and replied, “what was that?”

Wayne proceeded to explain a bit about Pink Floyd and how they were this new movement in music they were calling ‘prog-rock’ which was more experimental than bands he's played around the trailer before, like The Rolling Stones.

After that Eddie’s newfound love for music bloomed and he began his own journey into figuring out what he liked.

Of course The Wall (1979) is another one of Eddie’s favorites from Pink Floyd; it speaks to him more as he grows older because the concept is the ultimate anti-establishment album. Another Brick In The Wall PT. 2 would definitely be his favorite song from that one:

“We don't need no education / We don't need no thought control / No dark sarcasm in the classroom / Teacher, leave them kids alone”

Other bands that he picked up from Wayne: Blue Öyster Cult, Fleetwood Mac, The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, Cream and Deep Purple.

But a band that he discovered by himself around that time, which introduced him to heavier music, was Led Zeppelin.

Eddie began hanging around at the record store all the time, always browsing the rows and rows of albums in his own little daze in a sea of graphic illustrations and photographs and colors, imagining the different universes that each record held within. Would they be as magical as that first experience that Pink Floyd brought him?

And such a place could be overwhelming, like, where do you even start? There are so many choices.

Until one day, after he had saved up his allowances, he headed straight to the record store, ready to buy his first album on his own.

🤘🤘🤘 to be continued... 🤘🤘🤘

#eddie munson #wayne munson #headcanons #stranger things #fanfiction #my writing #eddie munson headcanons #joseph quinn

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noctilionoidea · 2 years

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Monster High Gen 3 movie review

I YOHOHOED IT. FOUND THE LINK but I’m not gonna link it here unless asked. I don’t support the director but I did want to watch it since there’s a lot of hate, which makes me want to give it a chance at the least for the actors. This is just my personal opinion, as an og fan since the age of 5 when I found Draculaura at target. This series is part of what inspired me as a goth. But since this is for the children of today, I want to view it with neither a positive of negative bias. Anyways, I’m just a kid with opinions that you can disagree with.

no matter the quality, it is a reboot. When I was little I saw my little pony turn the femme fashionista Rainbow Dash I knew into the jock we know today. I was only pissy for a week because I didn’t find them to even slightly the same character. I still don’t, even after I became a fan and eventually grew out of it (not that I think I’m too old, I’m just not a huge mlp fan anymore). Reboots often turn characters unrecognizable for better or worse. It’s a normal result. If your pissed about that beyond “we were asking for a gen 1 revival and don’t trust Mattel saw a corporation” I suggest you go mountain hiking or something. Anything to get your mind off it because you are clearly in need of it.

main takeaway; I don’t hate it.

it reminds me of the boy who cried werewolf, another Nickelodeon Halloween movie that, like the og monster high, i grew up on. The musical numbers are okay. They’re pop songs which aren’t my taste, but they aren’t horrific and “out of the dark” or whatever its called, is pretty good. The background music is reminiscent of old 90s Halloween movies.

THE COSTUMING ISNT AS SHIT AS EVERYONE SAYS IT IS. Seriously, if you see a highschooler you know they dress like shit. Heck, I am that highschooler half the time. Even in full goth attire I’m limited, I’m seventeen and not allowed to wear fishnets. fishnets! They don’t look horrid, just slightly cheap.

here’s some things I dislike

clawdeen and Deuce have a half assed romance. We all knew this, but like, they don’t even commit to it anyways, and cleo (who he broke up with pre movie) still has better chemistry with both of them. I feel people make too big a deal of lesbian clawdeen (she’s had male love interests, it’s simply a headcanon beloved by the creator as well. That being said she does have in g1 tons of lesbian coding so it’s still a slap in the face).

it opens with clawdeen in a skate park, but has absolutely no reason to be like that. Was it to make her relatable? By pulling “sick skateboard moves dawg” or something? It’s not a new character trait either, never comes up again. She could’ve been going for a walk or run and it would’ve hit the same notes.

Clawdeen has no personality. It’s been stripped of her to make her relatable and failed miserably. I can’t name an interest or anything.

draculaura has a personality, but with making her pure goth (a decision I actually love as she was originally a Victorian goth) they’ve taken away her bubbliness. She’s not horrid, but it’s sad, because it was an opportunity to have a bubbly goth vampire witch.

Komos is named for a Greek Satyr but is meant to be a Minotaur “Hyde monster” hybrid?? As someone familiar with Komos, boy satyr in the retinue of his father the god Dionysos, there were… so many better possibilities.

Hyde is not an active part of the movie, but he’s got a huge influence. Hyde is intended to be a monster, with Jekyll as his human half. As a fan of the strange case of doctor Jekyll and mister Hyde, it’s not the worst representation of the character, as they seem to be one and not another boring split personality, but! Hyde is clearly meant to be perceived mainly as a monster, but in the novella he’s mainly a chemical induced transformation that results in Jekyll being… a horrid dumbass. Hyde is also depicted as muscular despite his real description being of a young and hairy scrawny short man. As a Jekyll/Hyde kinnie (jk) I do not like how my trash goblin doctor gets portrayed and am taking it out on this.

ghoulia speaks English. I’m ready to punt whoever did that. Like she’s kinda charming but just… it was always important that she seems to be foreign language or nonverbal, you know?

monsters that were marketed as more prevailing were just there or background characters. It’s just really clickbait-y.

that being said

I liked witch Draculaura. She’s cute in a different way than Draculaura. Dracula puts pressure on her to be the best vampire ever (though never spoken), and hates human magic, which is witchcraft. And yeah, that makes sense as witchcraft is historically a thing of humans in close relation to the supernatural and or divine. Vampires and witches canoncially have an ongoing war between them, it’s a miracle he allows her to practice in the end. She’s socially isolated and cold in part because not only does she fail to live up to her father’s expectations academically, but also indulges in activities he hates. And her other outfits look significantly better than than the promotional image thank god.

Clawdeen has a very sweet relationship with her father, which keeps her from turning into a full monster when given the chance, because he’s important to her and she doesn’t want to erase his side of her. He’s scared for her but allows her to go to monster high because it’s what she needs. They have such a good relationship and it’s nice to see.

Cleo simply seemed to go through the old “mean girl to friend” in the same way she did originally. She’s done pretty well in general. She trained under the magic god Heka while alive, and she does her best to help in the climax, getting over her biases.

Lagoona is Cleo’s bestie here, but she’s not done wrong whatsoever. She’s there to defend Cleo when she thinks that deuce has left her emotionally hurt and shows worry and compassion in her few scenes, in which she is never the focus… that’s not great but. She also has an accent still, just not Australian. So she doesn’t get to have that moment where she says-

Frankie is literally. The greatest. They’re the absolute highlight in my opinion. I feel they still embody the Frankie from the other versions, but with new aspects. They’re made of famous people in both mind and body (freida Kahlo’s hands, Shakespeare’s liver, the heart of some farmer, etc.) they have a bunch of knowledge but are socially unaware of how to interact. They’re autism coded!! It makes me happy! I too, am autistic!!! They also have the best jokes and it’s totally worth pirating to watch, just for them💖. You just know that if Og Frankie met them, she’d immediately get along with them.

Abby and holt play football with a foot in one scene. And then talk about eating it. There’s a lot of cannibalism jokes, but the football one was funny (Frankie again, is a huge reason why).

It’s not great. It’s very flawed. One might say it’s bad. But whatever kid who watches this, is probably able to enjoy it. I did, in spite of it being so unrecognizable from the series of my childhood. I hope the show will be better though. (I also hope holt’s adopted there)

I don’t think it’s worth ALL the hate it gets. It’s not brilliant, but if you’re not supporting the dickwad director I think it’s worth killing time for.

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survey--s · 8 months

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611.

What does your town’s name begin with? An M.

What number house do you live at? Yeah, I'm not putting my house number on here, lol.

Are you a seafood fan? It depends what time - I love clams, prawns, crab and lobster but I'm not a huge fan of mussels or oysters.

Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? Milk chocolate is my favourite closely followed by dark.

Give me a random word in another language. Tell me what it means. Schokolade means chocolate in German.

Can you cook Thai food? Not without a recipe.

Do you get easter eggs at easter? I normally buy myself one, yeah, but I don't really get given Easter eggs anymore as an adult.

How long does it roughly take you to do the weekly or bi weekly shopping? I get an online shop once a week and it takes me about 15-20 minutes to put it all together and order it.

Who taught you the most valuable lesson in life and what was that lesson? I honestly don't know. I can't think of one particular lesson that stands out to me more than any other.

Which city would you like to visit- Rome, Tunis, London, Madrid or Paris? Madrid or Tunis as I've already visited the others several times over.

Would you rather visit Australia, Germany, Croatia or Jamaica? Croatia. I have no real interest in visiting Jamaica and I've been to the others already.

Have you got perfect vision? No, my eyesight is about -9 in both eyes -_-

What colour bedspread or blanket is on your bed now? I just changed the sheets this morning actually - currently they're white sheets with pink & purple butterflies on them.

What colour is the door to your house? Silver metal with privacy glass.

Would you prefer a pet rat, mouse, snake, lizard or spider? A lizard or a snake maybe. Though I looked after some lizards recently and they ate live insects which freaked me out slightly, hahah. They were pretty cool animals though.

What song(s) do you put on repeat often? At the moment it's Cinderella Snapped by Jax or Savage Daughter by Ekaterina someone or other. I can't spell her surname and I'm not even going to try lol. I believe she's Ukranian.

How many letters long is your last name? Six. <–Same! <--- me too!

Can you play the violin? If not, would you like to? No and no, not really, but I remember being jealous of my friends who took violin lessons when I was younger lol.

Can you keep a pokerface and not show your emotions easily? No - my emotions are written ALL over my face.

Are you a good liar (tell the truth this time)? Sometimes. It depends on the situation.

Are you wearing shoes, just socks or nothing on your feet? I have bare feet at the moment.

What word or phrase is disgusting in your opinion and you hate hearing it? I can't stand the worst moist.

Do you like the smell of a barbecue or bonfire? Ooh, I absolutely love it. It reminds me of summer.

Do you prefer to write etc, ecetera or something else? etc.

Do you think rainbows are pretty or overrated? I love a rainbow.

Are your lips chapped? Nope.

Have you ever fallen into a hole or crevice whilst hiking? Not a major one, no.

Ever been quad biking? Was it any good? No, I've never been. I would if I was given the opportunity though.

What is different about you than others you hang out with? I'm autistic.

Are you more skeptical or gullible? Skeptical.

How often do you drink sodas or fizzy drinks? Everyday.

How many cups of tea or coffee do you have a day? Normally two cups of coffee and occasionally an iced coffee too.

Has anyone ever called you apathetic or unemotional? Yes, and I certainly can be in some situations.

Favourite crisp/chip flavour? Salt and vinegar, cheese, paprika.

Do you put salt and vinegar on your fries? Yes, always. Especially if they're proper "chippy chips".

What accent is the sexiest? Irish, Scottish, Australian.

Do you currently live in the same country you were born in? Yes.

What’s your current mood? Relaxed. Also surprised at how quickly my time off is going lol.

Do you struggle to articulate your thoughts and feelings? Not on here, no, but I do struggle with it in real life sometimes.

A romantic meal, a trip to a theme park or go to a concert? Theme park.

Prefer being in control in a team environment, helping out or taking orders? I would just rather not be in a team environment lol.

Do you like carrot cake? Yep, it's one of my favourites lol.

Don’t you hate it when people say ‘I don’t mean to be rude but…’? Especially considering 98% of the time they ARE trying to be rude? No, because I say it all the time lol. I just think people are away too easy to take offence these days. I know that's an unpopular opinion though.

Would you say yes to a drink from a friend of a friend? Yeah, if my friend was also there.

How good is your memory? Annoyingly good. I wish I found it easier to forget thing sometimes.

On a scale of 1-10 how was this survey? Did you enjoy it? It was actually pretty good as there were a few decent and original questions - I'd say a seven.

#survey #surveys

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mywifeleftme · 6 months

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198: "Various Artists" // Box

Box Boots / C.C. / Snake & Remus 2006, HP Cycle

For more than 25 years the gloomy weirdo unknown folk artist who created Box has released his music from behind a veil of secrecy, changing his alias and “record label” with each recording. In 2002, Rojvi (credited to Terry) and Music Performed by the High Mass (credited to Jim Collins) trickled out into the market, distributed without fanfare on the mail order lists of record collectors Paul Major (of Endless Boogie) and Stan Denski; in 2017, a dozen lathe-cut 7” and 12” records appeared in a thrift store, all credited to different artists, each possibly the only one of its kind in existence. His music has tended to be unearthed rather than released, with the exception of 2006’s Box, which collects three LPs originally discovered separately in 2004: Boots (Boots), No Tape Outside (Snake & Remus), and Live at the Rainbows End (C.C.). Box was distributed in an edition of a few hundred by HP Cycle, a Canadian label that, while miniscule, has endured longer than the cicada’s flight enjoyed by each of the artist’s own enterprises. In this sense, it is the closest thing the artist has provided to an intentional entry point to his work—the black peak marking a dark berg beneath the waves.

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Mysteries naturally draw adventurers, and I’m indebted to the Discogs user known as envious for the information above, which I’ve drawn from his blog Rabbit Run Down the Hole of a Skull (which also hosts a near-complete digital archive of the artist’s known music). I think it’s helpful to parrot his research here not only because the story is in itself interesting, but because when I post this it will create another node for other seekers to access the next layer beneath the surface. According to envious, the first of the artist’s known pseudonyms Robyn Nice, and this name has become the catchall his small following uses to refer to him. (envious also occasionally refers to Nice as the Crystal Spider, which yes, instantly made me cum.) It’s thought that in his youth Nice spent time living on an acid-drenched Louisiana artist’s community called the Compound. The Compound was led by Damien Youth, himself a somewhat enigmatic folk musician, until harassment from suspicious local police forced its dissolution. Much of Nice’s work seems to call back to the image of an idyllic community, though its frequently bitter, despairing tone suggests the posture of an Adam mourning in exile—or a Manson in the making. envious’s blog digs much more deeply into the Nice mythos than I can here—one of my dream projects after I finish this year of record reviewing is to listen through Nice’s 15-hour catalogue in its entirety.

Moving on to Box itself, we find three 12” records in plain white sleeves, each hand stamped with a title and alias. All three records have a similar structure: free form, acoustic outsider folk songs on the A sides, lengthy jams or field recordings on the flip.

The individual records are packaged in plain sleeves with labels in blue print, like the original 2004 releases.

On the self-titled Boots record, Nice’s voice hits somewhere between early Peter Gabriel and Dylan, but the lyrics are wacked out ravings. On one track he snarls about “shitcaked corpses” and raped children before proclaiming “I’m a farm” and imitating a braying donkey. On another he bellows at what sounds like the top of his lungs about “compromised smells.” His deft progressive folk-inclined guitar playing tends to follow the emotional arc of his vocals, reserved at the outset, ragged and battered by the end. The B-side (“New Earth”) is roughly five minutes of faux-tribal New Age followed by 13 of minimal synth.

On No Tape Outside by Snake & Remus, the artist sounds somewhat older, which may indicate the albums collected in Box don’t all come from the same period. At any rate, Nice is in a more pensive mood, the trancelike songs expansive and beautifully played on guitar with various minimal piano/synth/percussion accompaniments (suggesting Snake & Remus could be a duo project). In place of Boots’s misanthropic rage, No Tape Outside is shrouded in despair at failing relationships, a fallen world. The B-side is fully instrumental, sharing the autumnal feeling of the vocal tracks but skewing more psychedelic, building through passages of rippling echo to a climax like a dozen clocks having a quiet disagreement over the exact time. Unlike the other records in the set, this record has no track names stamped on the disc’s label, leaving you with few moorings. I recall certain passages of inspired playing, snatches of strange poetry (“voice from across the sea / drips red into me / says my mother was wine”), a general sensation by record’s end of doomed peace.

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The outlier here is C.C’s Live at the Rainbows End, which clearly features a different (considerably more technically proficient) vocalist. Good news, it’s also weird, though it sounds less like it was recorded by the guy on the cover of Aqualung than the others. envious speculates C.C. may be another Compound personality who used the alias Chris Cologne and recorded a CD called Horn for Blackberry, Nice’s early stab at a conventional indie label. C.C. is either a Brit or affecting an accent (I think the latter), and has a gentle, sighing way with his phrasing that suits these hushed ballads in a Nick Drake-ish mode. There is some downright gorgeous fingerstyle acoustic playing on this one and more conventional musical structures, even a few refrains (though no choruses). The guitar could plausibly be played by Nice, though the technique is cleaner and less shamanic than what we hear elsewhere on Box, but even if it isn’t Live at the Rainbows End shares a certain paranoid energy that somehow marks it as a product of the same artistic camp. The B-side offers one more short romantic tune followed by “Paul’s Jennifer is Dead,” a fifteen-minute field recording of a bonfire and distant, indistinct conversation. envious once again offers an astute guess here, suggesting this may reference the nighttime bonfires where members of Youth’s Compound once communed at the end of each day.

Overall, your mileage with Box will vary depending on your yen for the wilfully obscure. My interest in a savage, disoriented record like Boots is ultimately curious (maybe even prurient), in the same way I like to collect strange postings on street poles around my city. No Tape Outside on the other hand is a genuinely entrancing avant-folk record, while Live at the Rainbows End houses a delicate collection of misty-eyed tunes forked by morbid suspicion and trembling yearning. I think both are superb in their own ways. I am haunted by my questions about Box’s provenance, but also by its contents—both of which make for a strong endorsement to new listeners attuned to similar currents in the musical underworld.

198/365

#halloweek #robyn nice #snake & remus #c.c.#boots #avant folk #freak folk #damien youth #the crystal spider #anonymous artist #'00s music #private press #hp cycle #music review #vinyl record

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abominationvault · 7 months

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Session 14: Sat 14 Oct 2023

Skabb is technically a snow goblin, it turns out. She was held captive by a nasty witch though, so maybe that’s why she’s green instead of blue. Perhaps the witch dyed her.

She gets something called Goblin Song, which she can use to distract foes while her sneaky friends are doing the thing, so that’s definitely going to be helpful. Also she can maybe get a battle-pig at some point…

Last week, we were knackered by some dioramas, found a spider-monster, were forced to give it gifts, offended it, and it set spiders on us. Luna was a badass and killed everything, and the rest of us were damage-sponges. Skabb got all the gifts back from the spider-monster. Sprocket gets a Hero Point for the recap.

We’re at the traditional point at the start of a session where we’re either untouched or hanging out our asses, so we do some healing before we move on. Nadia busts out the Healing Kit for Skabb, Sprocket and Hartvig, and Joto slaps some plasters on himself.

(Skabb is wearing Joto’s cape. It’s too long and she’s dragging it along the ground as she parades up and down singing songs about being the Queen of the Goblins. She may be down nine hit points, but the fact that Joto can see her doing it has pepped her right up.)

Joto and Sprocket work together to open one of the doors, as we exit the diorama hall. They need to make an athletics check. “I’m Wounded One!” Sprocket cries, as Joto mashes him into the handle.

Joto sneaks into the corridor beyond it. Do we all want to be sneaky, the DM asks us. Chorus of ‘yes please!’ Well… we all think we’re sneaking. Gooooood. Greeeeeat. (Sprocket is trying to learn to whistle. Hartvig: “… You don’t have any lips!”)

Joto wants to listen at the next door he finds. He hears nothing. “That means there’s nothing in there, right?"

They see broken torches (I think) and a pillory, whips and chains. Joto shouts to Skabb that he’s found something she might be interested in. She can’t hear him over the sound of her swishy new cape. He looks for treasure, and finds a secret door!

Upon hearing 'secret door' Skabb rushes in to open it; Joto stands on her cape as she runs by and trips her. She picks herself up and opens the door as the rest of us traipse in behind her; she sees another secret door beyond that. She checks for traps but can’t see any. “Wheeee!” she cries as she opens the door.

The small circular room is empty but for a moss-draped skull. Joto, gleefully: “In you pop!”

Skabb casts Detect Magic. The room is emitting faint magic, but no active magical effects. Joto thinks the skull might be the symbol of Nimboloth, who was worshipped in the willow the wisp shrine up above.

Skabb notices residual magic, and it’s concentrated around the skull. Joto: “Touch it.”

Instead, he touches it himself - and it starts to glow. The door to the room shimmers, and the skull stops glowing. Joto: “Ooooh, door puzzles!”

Did the rest of us see the door shimmer from back here? Yes, we did. Skabb, knowing what she does about Occultism, thinks she should shut the door and touch the skull again. The rest of us hear grinding stone; Joto and Skabb are in an elevator and are going deep underground.

The elevator goes to a treasure room full of plus two weapons and clouds and rainbows, right?

Nope.

There are two doors down here, and it’s very dark. They hear an onimous (sic) chanting…

They come back up. We hear the grinding of stone and Joto and Skabb appear again. “We found a fun ride!” “… And some cultists, I think.”

We will explore this floor first, we decide, upon being told that as a general rule of thumb the further down we go the harder shit is going to get.

Joto opens the next door, goes, “Oh God,” and we get a description which I miss most of because I’m writing this. It looks like the stone is infected? There is a huge, dead worm… (Wyrm?) Joto shouts for Skabb.

We want to send Luna in first as she’s best at sneaking. She imagines this must be the cellar beneath Gauntlight. She thinks that the magic in here might be recharging the lighthouse...

We found the batteries to the ghost cannon!

We push Sprocket to the front to do an Arcana check. 23 - Nice. (He’s at least five days old now, so that explains the vast wells of knowledge.) This is negative energy and will heal undead. If a living creature were to step in the centre of the room something awful might happen but he thinks the rest of the room might be safe.

We need a ghostbuster trap.

We’re going to have to go down to sort the cultists out, aren’t we? We suspect they might be the ones behind this.

Luna has a listen at one of the doors in the room. She hears nothing, so she has a peep through. She is trained in Athletics (Sprocket: “There’s your circus background.” Luna immediately: “Fuck off.”) so she opens the door but can’t see anything because it’s dark.

She finds another corridor with lots more doors. Signs of undead I think? Luna pushes all the others back out of the room.

Skabb decides to have a bite of the dead worm - it’s delicious in an acrid, powdery way, so she grabs another handful. The skin falls away and reveals its stomach - inside she sees something shiny. It’s a duergar skeleton, and it’s clutching a +1 war hammer!

Is she strong enough to pick it up? … Just. She picks it up really slowly and strides around the place, back and forth past Joto. “Me got shiny hammer!” She quickly gets bored and lets him have it, and goes back to eating the dead worm. She gets no sustenance from it, but she does get joy.

The warhammer can have the rune pried out of it. Nadia has tools so she does that, and hangs on to the rune until Joto and Skabb finish fighting over it. Skabb wins the fight; Nadia hands her the rune.

There are sarcophagi in the next room; Hartvig wants to know if we can investigate it. Joto will go and have a look with him.

Hartvig, sadly, was the only one who rolled poorly on his secret stealth check, so at the sound of his heavy footsteps out of the second sarcophagoo comes this charming young lady:

(If Joto is in any way cockblocking Hartvig right now he will leave; Hartvig thinks she might be out of his league.)

Initiative! (Skabb’s mouth is full of desiccated worm. Does she have to join in? Not if she doesn’t want to. She sighs, takes a really big bite of worm, and comes over to join the fight.)

Luna is first. She wants to do an Electric Arc - it goes over Joto and Hartvig’s heads and hits the lady “right in the chops. Oh… maybe?” Majordomo makes the save and then some - 32 on a DC16 save. Luna: “… Can you do that again but a bit more fair?”

Positive damage would be useful here. “I have a sunny disposition,” says Sprocket helpfully.

Luna takes aim with her bow. “21! That’s gotta hit!” It does, squarely. Is her bow magical? No. It will take none of that damage.

Luna: “… What.” She steps aside and hides - wait, Electric Arc is two actions. “Bitches. I’ll stay here.”

Hartvig does a two-actioner, right at her. DC18 Fortitude save - 16! We all cheer. (The DM does have lower numbers!) She takes all 13 of his damage, and with his other action, he will hide for a bit.

Sprocket toddles over for a look. “A smoke-based creature, you say.” Spout! DC18 Reflex save, she’s good at these, we are told. 18, tie goes to the runner so she takes half damage.

And it’s her turn… She wafts over to stare Joto in the eyes. (Skabb tells him off for stealing Hartvig’s lady.) Majordomo slaps Joto with her shadowy hand - he takes 9 negative damage. Her hand passes through him and snatches his shadow!

Skabb and Grabby Cat run up to Disrupt Undead - DC14 save and she rolls a ten! She takes all 8 of Skabb’s damage.

Joto will tumble behind to help the rest of the team by flat-footing her. She gets a Reflex save, and rolls a 30. Whatever Joto can impose, DC-wise, probably won’t be that. He rolls Acrobatics and gets a 7. He has a think. How big is she? Medium, he is told. He wants to do an Intimidation check. “Fuck off and leave my shadow alone!” He gets big-tail and arches his back. (Luna looks on approvingly.) 21 Intimidation check - another 30 save. She ain’t scared o’ him!

Nadia shoots (Bluebird is magical thanks to a +1 rune) but misses; she recalls knowledge about “stuff like this”. She knows that it’s undead, that it can hide in other people’s shadows, and that magical light will harm it, so she shouts all that out to the others.

Luna does her Electric Arc again, but the bitch keeps saving. She steps aside.

Hartvig reexamines his spell list and casts Light on Luna. “You can shoot past me, right?”

“Yeah. Or through, whatever.”

Sprocket toddles through Hartvig’s space, and has Augustus bop the Majordomo with his Thunder Fists. 23 hits, doing thunder damage - but she’s resistant, so she only takes five of his 9. (She would only have taken 1 from just fists, so that’s better.) He hits her again! She takes 6 more. Augustus lets out a weird, creaky, barrelly roar. It’s weird for everyone.

Majordomo wants more hp from the negative magical energy in the room behind us. She can’t get past us, as we’re all in a line along the corridor (Hartvig thinks she’s going for a hug as she moves toward him and is very awkward when it becomes clear that’s not what she’s doing.) She can only move 30 feet and she can’t end her turn in one of us so she can’t get to it! We cheer. This is going well.

She has another tug on Joto’s shadow - and a third, putting him to Enfeebled 3 and tearing away his shadow. (He is sad.) It becomes a Shadow Spawn…

She uses her last action to slap Augustus, who takes 10 Negative damage. Sprocket says “Ouch” for him.

Skabb and Grabby Cat were going to do a thing but are worried now that it won’t work. Skabb does some calculations and decides her best chance is Disrupt Undead. It saves, unfortunately, with a 17. It still takes half damage - 5. It's looking a bit faded…

Joto can now finally, after years of trying, grapple his own shadow - so he tries, but it’s incorporeal. The DM allows him an Acrobatics check but he’s Enfeebled 3 and rolls a 7. “This is the saddest day ever.” He does another Recall Knowledge in case he knows something Nadia doesn’t.

He does know that they’re resistant to most damage types and double resistant to non-magical damage. Cool.

Nadia does a big jump and shoots over her friends’ heads - and gets the howdy-doodis! It explodes in a cloud of evil purple smoke. (Hartvig gives a big shaky sigh. Maybe one day.)

There’s still Joto’s evil shadow twin to deal with; Luna moves to get a clear shot and takes aim with one of her new Light arrows. 13 - is a miss. (Groans all around.) She tries again - 8. (This is all Joto’s fault, the DM tells us. If he’d kept his slutty shadow’s legs shut none of this would have happened.)

Hartvig used all his spell slots last game. It’s just going to have to be fire. “Produce Flame!” he cries. (The spell misses, and the shadow would have reduced his two damage anyway he is told.) For his last action, he will just get out of the way.

Sprocket casts Boost Eidolon, giving Augustus bonuses to his damage, and Augustus will Fist Slam the shadow. He misses and goes again, but misses the second time as well.

Skabb wants to use her gem bonus - she can add two to a roll, and it lasts for a month. Is it only good for one roll? Could she add it to a damage roll? Yes, she is told. Good to know. She decides there’s nothing much she can do, so she goes right up to it and looks it in its gormy little eyes, and casts Disrupt Undead. It makes the save, but takes half damage. “Pish. Okay.” It takes 5 of her 9 damage.

The shadow spawn does a bitch slap at her - 25 hits, but only does 6 negative damage. Then it goes for Augustus - 24 hits, and he evaporates. It does its third attack at Skabb. “It better not do 9 damage - oh no…”

Skabb goes down, and with her our best way of dealing damage to Joto’s rogue, slutty shadow.

Joto takes the torch from his belt and lights it, and waves it at the shadow with his (now) feeble little arms. Does it damage it or scare it? Or disappear it? No, because he only rolled a 13 to attack. He has another go and misses, and curls into a little ball.

Nadia steps over her fallen friends and shoots the shadow in the face. “Dodge this,” she says, and misses. She will stand in front of Joto, who can now add two to his AC.

Hartvig, it turns out, has a healing potion - he takes it out and administers it to the fallen goblin. “Aw, thanks!” she says as she wakes. She’s wounded 1. (“Thanks for that, Joto.” “Well… At least you’re not Enfeebled Three.”) Hartvig casts Guidance on Nadia, and that’s his turn.

Sprocket rolls a death save - 19! Yay! He is stable.

Skabb is wearing her healing potion - can she use that with one action? Yes she can. She rolls max healing! Between the potions she’s up to 15 hp now, and uses her last action to cast Disrupt Undead. Her DC is 14 and it rolls a 15 - wait, can she use her gem powers to add two to her DC? She can! The shadow is starting to look frayed around the edges.

Hartvig, aside: “Odd that Joto’s always dying, but his shadow’s surprisingly robust.”

The shadow swipes at Nadia doing 11 damage, and then tries to swipe past her at Joto - 18 hits, even with the two added to his AC. For its last action, the shadow will head toward the healing negative light…

Joto goes after it, gets stuck in a door, and has a go at intimidating it. He slashes with his rapier - 16 hits. “Cut it out!” 11 intimidation. “Is it scared?” It rolls a 30 save. It is not scared.

“Joto - no, Luna,” the DM directs.

Joto, smugly: “Ah, a less impressive cat.”

Skabb: “said no-one ever.”

Luna shoots but misses twice. “Shit-beans. Sorry. I am a less impressive cat.”

Hartvig has a cone spell, and the shadow is up against a wall. He thinks he can do it without hitting his friends, but worries that it might be immune. “Fuck it,” he decides, and does Cry of Destruction. It fails its save! He rolls 2d8, rolling two ones, and the DM takes pity and lets him use a Hero Point to reroll his damage. Ten sonic damage, and it takes 6. Not bad. He is now up to Minor Curse. He casts Guidance on Nadia again, who apologises for forgetting she had it last turn and asks him to remind her that she has it.

Is Sprocket Wounded? Yes, but he’s stable. Not conscious, though, so he skips his go.

Skabber is up, so she tries another Disrupt Undead. Tie goes to the runner so it takes half damage. For her last go, she takes the torch out of her bag.

The DM, thoughtfully: “Now, does it want to heal itself, or does it want to kill Joto and become a real boy?” It decides to attack Joto.

“Uhh. I am - I am not alive,” Joto says.

This means that the shadow can now make its own shadows…

It has a go at Hartvig. “I veto it.” Skabb: “Seconded.” 11 misses!

Joto makes a death save - 6…

Nadia moves between the shadow and the pool of negative magic and shoots - 18 (with Guidance!) shouldn’t hit really, but the DM allows it as he’s feeling sorry for us.

Skabb and Nadia both encourage Luna. “You’re gonna hit this time, we can feel it!”

Luna crits, for 31 damage total and obliterates the shadow. Cheers all around!

Skabb casts Stabilise on Sprocket, and then gets out her healing mud. There’s a lot of healing, but Joto is still unconscious at the end of it thanks to some poor rolls.

Luna spotted another secret door as soon as Hartvig cast Light on her earlier; she opens it to find a kitchen that has been rearranged to make a shrine. There is a feminine-looking bone statue looming over a human corpse. The walls are daubed with blood in the same shape as the statue. Luna can tell that the body is that of a thief. He has strewn around him a bloodstone (10gp) a potency rune and a fear gem (I think?). The dead thief has a bird tattoo on his shoulder - he is a member of the Thieves' Guild, a gang of whom came out here by boat and leaving Greggs bags everywhere.

Skabb thinks that the blood on the wall and the bone statue look like the image of Velcro that we saw made of blood a few sessions back. She loses interest and goes to show Joto her new cape again, bouncing all over his unconscious body.

We are advised to go back to town for supplies, so we do that. We skip a week next week because it’s Skabb’s birthday, yay!

Notes for next week: Joto has a slippy-armour rune he wants fitted. Nadia will do this when we get back to town, as she gets bonuses for using a blacksmith forge. Luna has a +1 Proficiency rune she wants to add to her bow. Nadia wants to make some bombs...

#dnd #pathfinder #abomination vaults #abomination vaults spoilers

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eclipsedpascal · 3 years

Text

You Deserve This

Andy Dolan x Female Reader

GIF by @kissxmedeadly !!

“The reader asking Andy about his kiddo (let's pretend is a lil boy 🤣) and him being very emotional about it and the reader who truly loves him conforts him 😭❤️” - anon

Please read the warnings!!

Warnings: use of drugs (weed), smut, oral (female receiving), slight public sex, slight angst, mentions of rehab, mentions of suicidal thoughts, a lil bit of crying and VERY slight Eden spoilers, but thats only if you don't want to know anything AT ALL, so basically none? idk lmao:)

Notes: hi! So this is my first Andy fic, I wrote it very quickly last night after a sudden burst of inspiration and it doesn't make too much sense, also it’s kinda cheesy? I don't think I've ever written anything this angsty or soft before, but i’m trying to be more in touch w my emotions nd this is my way of doing that, so hopefully i'll do more things like this soon:) also if you’re interested, the title is one of my favourite songs by Men I Trust that I just thought fit Andy well.

Word count: 1.8k

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The warm, dancing breeze washed over your skin, plucking up your many goosebumps and blowing the rainbow coloured sea of petals that decorated the large garden from left to right. The bittersweet mix of their fragrances and Andy’s blunt rushed to you and filled your scrunched up, wrinkled nose as you let out a loud laugh. The vibrant expanse of fluffy grass felt close to a mattress underneath you, cradling your form whilst you laid amongst the greenery and watched Andy ghost a deep inhale of the blunt he had balanced precariously between two fingers. He flopped his arm across the gap between you and offered you another toke, the dopey smile spread over his features making you laugh even more.

“What’s so funny? Hmm?” He questioned you jokingly, rolling onto his forearms and bringing his face to hover just above yours as you brought the blunt to your lips. You couldn't hold in your laughter, your drug hazed state and the breeze that pushed his brown curls to tickle your blushing skin only exaggerating your amusement further as you choked out clouds of smoke.

“What??” He joined in laughing, finding humour in his own confusion and finding your laugh infectious. His lips found your own in a sudden yet gentle kiss which you gladly embraced, still not managing to fully compose yourself as you giggled into his open mouth.

You did your best to pull back from the kiss, but were reminded you didn't really have anywhere to go when you felt a blade of grass flutter against your ear. “It’s just.. your smile.” You rested your blunt carrying hand on his cheek as you spoke, feeling your heart swell when he pulled an overdramatic expression of insult at your reply.

“What’s so wrong with my smile?!” He half faked offence, not understanding what you could possibly find so amusing about it as you giggled more and more. “What’s wrong with it?- is it my lips? ‘They not good enough for you baby?” His thick accent aided his voice, making him sound even more attractive than he already was as he joked with you.

“Noo! it definitely wasn’t your lips, cause I love those.” You gripped his locks a little firmer, biting your lip as his stare changed from one of curiosity to one of want.

“Oh yeah?” He leaned back down and kissed you again, but this time rougher, the weed made you feel as if his lips were slowly melting into your own as it sent strong signals of lust through your body. He put all his weight on one arm, lifting the other and groping your waist with it whilst simultaneously moving to trail wet kisses down your neck.

His touches were deep, yet executed so delicately it convinced you if he was any rougher, you might just break. He opened the buttons of the flowing shirt you wore; one you had stolen out of his wardrobe that morning. He moved his head further down your chest to your stomach, mouth racing in slow motion to reach you were he wanted to most.

Forgetting to explain why you found his smile so funny in the first place, your high carried your thoughts closer towards how incredible his mouth felt on your skin, making you lean into his touch and let out a few small mewls.

As he reached your panty line, he tapped your hip, signalling for you to lift them so he could take your shorts off. He slid them off your legs in a quick, smooth motion that had them landing on a nearby lavender bush. The garden had quite a large variety of blossoming shrubbery and many clusters of beautiful flowers, it was probably down to the bi-weekly gardeners Andy had hired. You had known they were expensive and after spending so much time like this, lazing around, surrounded by the expensive home’s nature, you were beginning to understand why he had hired them.

You returned your gaze from the dangling shorts, back to the man nestled between your bare thighs. His beard was scratching at your skin in the best way possible as he laid small kisses over the thin fabric that covered your cunt. His hot breathe felt like fire as you wriggled and squirmed below him, just wanting some kind of contact from him.

He used two fingers to peel your panties to the side, groaning at the site of your glistening folds before kissing your clit gently. His tongue started swiping across your cunt slowly, taking all the time in the world to make you feel as good as he knew he could. You moaned loudly, grabbing at his hair once more as he sucked on you deeply.

“Mr Dolan?” You were interrupted by a throat clearing before hearing a man speak; one of Andy’s many servants you guessed. They had never seemed to leave the two of you alone whilst you had been staying there. No matter how big his home was, you always seemed to find another at every corner.

Andy looked up to the man with question and annoyance, raising an eyebrow at him as he wished for him to just hurry up and leave so the two of you could continue with your escapades. “It’s the phone for you Mr Dolan. Your son.”

Andy quickly rose from his place below you, his mind abandoning all thought of the act he was just partaking in as he jogged past the glass doors of his home, wanting only to speak to the young boy.

You sat up slightly, doing up a few buttons of your shirt and laying your crossed legs to the side of you as you held yourself up with your arm. You watched him as he scrambled into the house after his servant, little red marks from where he had been lying in the grass next to you were noticeably imprinted on the skin of his left arm, the one he had been leaning on, and his open shirt was flowing behind him with the speed he was moving.

You looked down to the flowers on front of you, picking a single daisy that bore tinted, pink tips on the end of each slim, white petal, twirling the stem around between two of your fingers as you listened to the breeze pick up. You could feel the mood of the air change as he left, the wind feeling more cold an irritating than once before as you pondered the call Andy was having.

You knew how desperate he had been to speak to his son again. It had been months since he had spoken to him without his ex-wife being the messenger. He missed him more than he knew to describe.

His recent divorce had been what had fuelled him to return home to Eden; hoping to find solace in the paradise he knew so well after feeling as if he had lost himself entirely. Spending too many years constantly playing other people had taken more of a toll on him than he had realised, that was until he was sent to rehab. After getting out, he felt as if staying in Eden was the only way for him to climb out of the dark hole he had managed to find himself in. Unfortunately, this journey of finding himself had meant making the decision to leave his son behind in Los Angles. Something he didn't like to speak on much.

When you had first met him in rehab however, he had been extremely open about his life, telling you how anger was the only emotion he could really feel anymore. Explaining that if he wasn’t at least the slightest amount intoxicated, he didn't think he couldn't go on with living; especially after the recent downfall of his career being showcased for the entire world to see. It was dark stuff, but you understood each other. That’s a big part of what made you grow so close.

You picked off petal after petal from the daisy, watching its beauty fade with each pluck and letting each one slowly blow into the breeze, creating a tragic stream as they blew away from you and down to the not so far off shoreline. As you plucked the last petal, you admired the daisy, still glowing with pollen and beaming in the sunlight despite have lost so many important parts of it. You stuck it into your shirt pocket and fell back down to lay on the grass as you waited for Andy to finish his call.

It had been maybe ten minutes you were lying with your eyes closed, enjoying the heat that beamed down from the clear, Australian sky when you finally heard the slow footsteps that you knew to be Andy’s, pattering along the grass. You shot up from where you lay to see the dopey-smiled man who had left you in the garden just fifteen minutes before, only to be faced with a red-eyed, teary one.

“Andy what happened? Are you okay?” He fell down onto the grass besides you, staring at you but completely wordless. You felt as if you could see into his soul. He was feeling so many emotions he hadn’t even been able to grasp at in so long. It was overwhelming him and you knew it. You reached out to stroke is cheek, concern running through you for the man that you had grown to love so dearly over the past few months.

He looked up “She’s gonna let me see him. T-They’re coming over next month.” A tear fell from his face as he smiled harder than you had ever seen him smile before. He was finally going to see his son after all these long months and you couldn’t have been any happier for him.

“Really?! That’s amazing, oh my god!” You moved forwards, wrapping your arms over his large shoulders and squeezing him in a hug so full of love it was palpable. “You really got to speak to him this time?” You questioned him once more before pulling away from his grasp, thinking back to the many times his ex-wife had promised he could speak with the boy but decided at the last minute he wouldn’t get to.

“Yeah!.. he uhh,” He took in a shaky breath, chuckling with joy as he recalled hearing the young boy’s voice so filled with excitement and energy over the phone. “He said he couldn't wait to meet you! You know, when I told him about you.” He stumbled over his words, running a hand through his hair as he shook with nerves, doing his best to calm himself.

In that moment, you felt your love for him soar higher than it ever had before. You were so proud of the progress he had made, and you knew his son would be too. “And I cant wait to meet him either.” You rested your forehead against his, the two of you enjoying a stand still and bathing in the happiness you both felt in the beautiful moment. The sound of the ever present breeze occupied your ears as the laughter emitting from two of you joined it, echoing a song throughout the garden that wouldn’t be forgotten any time soon.

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Thank you sm for reading!!🥺💗

Tags: @celestialrequiem @ntxoza @dark-mei-rose @sojournmichael @blakescoven @ritualmichael @ghostangels @fernfiction @ferndolan @brattylovee @7-wonders @angelicmichael @melodylangdon @brooklinn13 @kitty4860 @lavenderahs @michaellangdonstanaccount @9layerdevilfoodcake @chicaluna2410 @plymptxn-reborn I've just tagged anyone who I thought might be interested as per usual, but if you would to be removed feel free to let me know!! you can also lemme know if you would like to be added to the tag list too:)

#Andy Dolan #Andy Dolan x female reader #Andy Dolan x reader #dad!Andy Dolan #dad!Andy Dolan x female reader #dad!Andy Dolan x reader #Andy Dolan fic #Andy Dolan smut #Andy Dolan imagine #cody fern #Cody Fern fic #eden fic #my writing

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fific7 · 3 years

Text

Ticket to Ride - Part 6

Billy Russo x Reader

A/N: Inspired by The Beatles song of the same name. This takes place in my S1 Punisher AU with Arrogant!Billy in attendance, in which he gets a taste of his own medicine. Here we are at the final part!

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral and unprotected, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My photo edit and my photos of Murano & Burano)

𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖

{…𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕖?}

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy awoke early the next morning, reaching over to his phone on the bedside table and tapping the screen to see what time it was. Seven. Plenty of time to have a shower and make his way down to the breakfast room.

Standing under the stream of hot water, he couldn’t help feeling apprehensive. What if she had done another runner? He wouldn’t be able to cope with that. He didn’t think she would have, but…. he just wasn’t 100% sure what she was thinking or feeling right now.

After his full disclosure of what he’d got up to with Madani followed swiftly by his confession of love last night, he felt more optimistic but he could tell she was still conflicted.

He’d just have to do whatever he could today to persuade her to give him another chance.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Making your way into the light and airy breakfast room at just after eight, you couldn’t deny you were pleased to see Billy, sitting up super straight like a well-behaved schoolboy, already at a table.

His face broke into a huge smile when he spotted you, and you could see a large measure of relief wrapped up in it. You knew he would’ve been wondering if you had run out on him again. But no, you’d decided overnight to at least see how things went today on your trip to the Lagoon Islands.

He’d thrown you a curveball by telling you he loved you last night, and while you were relieved to hear that he hadn’t slept with that woman (his anger when you’d pushed him on it had finally convinced you that he hadn’t), you still weren’t exactly happy with what he had admitted to doing. It was still cheating in your book.

Could you ever really trust him again?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy fussed over her like a mother hen when she sat down across from him at the table, jumping up and rushing over to the buffet table, picking out a selection of toast, focaccia, butter, jams and Nutella for her along with a couple of mini pain au chocolat croissants. They were her favourites so he felt quite proud of himself as he laid the plate before her like the spoils of war, before making his way to the coffee machine and creating a cappuccino for her.

“Thank you, Billy - you’re spoiling me,” she said with a small grin. “Your every wish is my command, Princess,” he smiled back, hand covering hers and stroking gently. Now she started properly laughing at him, and he huffed, slightly offended. Once she’d calmed down a bit she said, “Honestly Billy, you don’t have to wait on me hand and foot. All I need from you is complete honesty.” Billy tried to look as convincing as he possibly could, “I will be, sweetheart, I promise.”

She took a sip of her cappuccino, and fixed him with an intense stare. “Bearing that in mind, Billy, just what exactly was going through your mind when you were making out with Madani?”

Billy blew out a big breath; he hadn’t seen that coming. “Well… uhh… nothin’ really. I was just doing somethin’ I had to do, and needed to get it over with as quick as possible.” Another sip of coffee, another intense look from her. “Uh-huh. So you didn’t enjoy it then? Is that what you’re saying?”

Billy suddenly felt like he was back on very thin ice. He could feel himself squirming in his seat, and fought to keep still. Madani was, in all truth, a pretty woman.

Fuck.

What should he say in reply to that?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Your eyes were drilling into Billy’s, and he looked about as comfortable as someone who’d just found out he’d got a scorpion down his trousers.

His face flushed pink, so you could guess what that meant. He cleared his throat, and then said in a low voice, “Look, she’s not bad lookin’ so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could’ve been.”

You smirked, not ready to let him off the hook yet, “So you were attracted to her, then. Not sure I’m happy to hear that, Billy.”

“NO! No, I wasn’t. Well.. like I said, she’s not unattractive but I’m not interested in her.”

You picked up your knife and aggressively sliced right through one of croissants. The look on Billy’s face was priceless. No doubt he’d guessed that the croissant was a surrogate for a certain part of his anatomy.

“Sweetheart, they weren’t long or involved kisses… not real ones, not like between you an’ me,” he said in a worried tone, very unlike his usual assertive manner. “Sweetheart, you’re the one I’m in love with. The only one I want to be with.” He was gazing earnestly at you, hand covering yours.

You cut off another piece of croissant and popped it into your mouth.

Billy would have to work a hell of a lot harder than that today if he was going to get you back, you thought.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Once the vaporetto had moored alongside the jetty you walked on board the boat up the ramp in front of Billy, while the disembarking passengers walked down the other side of it as it swayed from side to side, the boat moving in its own wake. The crew member who’d expertly tied up the boat a few moments ago was still calling out “Palanca, Palanca” as you headed through the covered section to the open area right at the back, sitting down on the bench seat in the stern and turning your face up to the sun.

Billy sat next to you, scooting as close to you as he could, suddenly lunging in for a hungry kiss. Two mothers with children in tow emerged through the doors leading from the salon, and you pushed him away while hastily smiling at the newcomers, saying, “Giorno” to them. Both of them smiled at you, returning your greeting, but then their eyes slid over to Billy and you saw both sets widening as they looked him over. You sighed. Having a hot boyfriend sucked sometimes. And Billy was looking particularly hot today in leather jacket, white t-shirt, black jeans and combat boots.

However, you noticed that Billy’s eyes were glued to you, still gazing at you ever since you’d fended him off. You didn’t think he’d even glanced at the other two women.

OK, Russo - one point on the plus side to you, you conceded.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was paying full attention to his girl. He felt slightly triumphant that he’d managed to steal a kiss, and she’d only shoved him away when he’d vaguely heard the salon doors opening behind him.

He was so worried that she still hadn’t made her mind up whether to take him back or not, and he knew that today was his final chance to convince her to do so. Whatever was in his power to do, he’d do, to make that happen. And he wasn’t dumb, that meant not paying any attention whatsoever to any other females in the vicinity. He’d guessed that a couple of women had arrived along with the kids he could hear squealing and laughing just out of his sight line, so he made sure he kept his eyes trained solely on her.

Her lips curved upwards in a small smile as she looked back at him.

Pleased, he thought - ha, think I just scored a point there.

He wondered how many more of those he needed to rack up to finally win his woman back.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

There were no direct vaporetti lines to the Lagoon Islands so you had to firstly go to Fondamente Nove, which was a busy hub for several of the numerous lines. You wanted to visit two of the main islands; Murano - where Venetians had made their famed glass items for centuries - and Burano, an island of fishermen and lacemakers. You were really excited to go there, as the houses were painted in a rainbow of colours. Legend had it that this was so the returning fishermen could spot their own individual houses as they returned home across the lagoon.

You needed to find the ferry stop for Line 12, which luckily Billy spotted just as the two of you were about to walk right past it. There was a vaporetto arriving just as you did and swiping your travel passes, you went aboard and took seats in the salon. This ferry was a slightly different type to the others you’d been on, longer and lower and was soon packed with locals and tourists alike.

It took a little while to arrive at Murano, alighting at the Faro stop. They still produced glassware on Murano but nothing like as much as they had in the past. You and Billy wandered alongside one of the main canals, looking into the windows of all the little glass shops until you came to the entrance of one of the big glass foundries.

They offered tours of the workshop and of course also had a shop, so the two of you paid for the tour and watched in amazement as an old man took a fiery red and yellow blob onto the end of a pole, and blew and turned it until it started to take on the shape of a little vase.

In the store, you browsed along the shelves looking at all the glassware on display, until you suddenly noticed you were alone. Glancing around, you spotted a dark head over in the corner at the cash desk and were heading over there when Billy turned round. His trademark smirk appeared and he hurriedly picked up the little paper carrier bag which was on the counter by its handles and strode towards you.

“See anything you like, sweetheart?”

Smirk getting wider. You eye-rolled and grabbed his arm, noting at the same time that the female sales assistant was still gawping at Billy, even though he now had his back to her. You tugged him towards the door, asking, “What’ve you just bought?” as you went. He shook his head, “Can’t say. It’s a surprise.” You glared at him, “Billy….” but he just kept grinning as you left the store and wouldn’t say anything, even though you nipped at his wrist just below his leather jacket sleeve with your nails.

“Wanna get a coffee?” he suggested, as you resumed your canalside stroll. “Yeah, okay,” you replied, stopping next to the outdoor tables of a small caffé and sitting down, Billy joining you. He slid his hand over yours, “M’glad we’ve got this time together today, sweetheart. Wanna make you understand just how much you mean to me.”

You nodded in acknowledgment before waving at the waiter and ordering two double macchiatos. You carried on, “The main problem I have, Billy, is how I’m ever going to trust you again? You might not think you cheated, but that’s what it is in my book.”

Billy looked over at you, eyes wide, sad …and scared.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy had then looked up and thanked the waiter as the coffees were placed in front of you both. He really didn’t know what to say, to be honest. He knew Frank - and no doubt Karen - also thought that it had counted as cheating. But he truly hadn’t. Well…. Cheating Lite, as he’d already designated it in his head. But not proper, down-and-dirty, long-term cheating. It had been a means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less. He just hadn’t considered the bigger picture. At all. And that had been a big mistake.

He took a sip of his coffee, and cleared his throat before spilling out what had just gone through his head. “Y’know I’m not exactly an expert at relationships, angel. In fact, I’m sure you’ll agree I’m totally shit at them. I need you to keep me on the straight and narrow. Tell me how things need to be. Please don’t give up on us, don’t leave me… please.” Billy was completely and utterly pouring out his heart to her, and he prayed she could see that.

His girl looked at him, some anger and hurt still in her eyes but she managed a shaky breath and looked down into the depths of her coffee cup for a few moments.

Billy held his breath.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Your eyes met his again, “But how am I going to trust you again, Billy, tell me that? Every time you say you’re working late, how d’you expect me not to think you’re meeting up with her or someone else?”

Now it was Billy’s turn to look down. The silence stretched out to a few minutes, and you did nothing to break it. Eventually he looked up at you again, “M’tryin’ to think of how I can prove to you that I’ll never, ever, do something like that again - whether it’s work-related or not.”

He reached across and slid his long fingers between yours, holding onto your hand so tightly it felt like he’d never let go.

“Firstly, I give you my word as an ex-Marine that I won’t ever pull a stunt like this again. Secondly, I’ll be the most attentive boyfriend you’ve ever had. In and out of the sack.” You tried to hide a smile, but you knew he’d seen it. “Thirdly, I’ll put a tracker on my phone, and I’ll hack you into my messagin’ and email apps so you’ll have absolute access to my location and comms.” He was smirking back at you by now, he felt this was going pretty well.

“But you’ve got access to burner phones, Billy.”

His smile dimmed, while his brain scrambled to come up with a solution to this inconvenient fact. You saw his eyes light up and the smirk returned, “Easy. I’ll put Frank in sole charge of issuing them and I’ll tell him not to give me any unless it’s absolutely necessary for an op.”

“Could just buy them in Walmart’s,” you dropped into the slight pause after he’d finished speaking. His face fell again, and now you burst out laughing. “Okay, okay, Billy - I get the message. I see that you’re doing your best to be honest and transparent. There’s no need for you to put all that tracking and hacking in place.”

Billy beamed at you.

“I’ll just get Micro to track your ass.”

His mouth dropped open as you spoke.

“And monitor all your calls and texts.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Woah! thought Billy, didn’t think she’d be getting King Nerd involved. That was probably Karen’s idea. Gee, thanks Karen. But he would agree, what else could he do? And he’d offered to track himself, so it didn’t really matter in any case, did it?

“Uhhh…” he stuttered, “….uhh yeah, whatever you like, sweetheart.”

She smiled over at him, a genuine smile. “It’s OK, Billy. I wouldn’t do that to you.” She side-eyed him, “Unless you give me good cause. Like… coming home stinking of another woman’s perfume ever again.”

His hand went over his heart, and he put on his best puppydog eyes. “Angel, I swear on my life - never. Never. Ever. Again.”

She nodded. “Okay, Billy, I’ll take that as you being on oath now, just like when you joined the Marines.” His eyes widened and he nodded fast. “Yeah. I am. I’m on oath.”

He watched as she drained the very last few drops of her coffee. “Okay, Russo! Let’s go,” she said standing up and picking up her bag.

“Yes, ma’am!” He jumped up and saluted, taking his place at her side as they retraced their steps to the Faro stop and their next vaporetto.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You’d hopped onto the next Line 12 ferry which arrived, and recommenced your onwards journey to Burano. Sitting inside the salon again, the loud chatter around you from the mostly local passengers almost drowned out any conversation you and Billy tried to have. He finally leaned right up against you, snaking his arm round your waist, his lips against your ear.

“Got you a little somethin’, sweetheart.” He handed you the gift bag.

Opening it, you saw a mass of tissue paper inside the bag and took it out. “Careful!” he warned, so you slowly opened up the paper and saw a delicate rose pink heart trinket box sitting at its centre. You lifted its little lid up and then replaced it, delighted with it. Smiling at Billy, you said, “I love it!” into his ear and kissed his cheek. His lips returned to your ear, “See? You have my heart.”

Now you rolled your eyes heavenwards, “I’d stop there if I were you, Russo. Cheesy really doesn’t suit you!” He burst out laughing. “Hey! Give a guy a break. He’s over here layin’ his heart and soul right out in front of you.”

You leant in and kissed him on the lips, before pulling back and saying, “And don’t read too much into that!” But Billy was already grinning happily back at you.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was happy. His steps were light as he walked beside her from the vaporetto stop along a small street, lined with stalls and shops selling souvenirs and lacework, which eventually led to a square.

She loved the trinket box! he thought, very pleased with himself. The minute he’d seen it he knew that she would, and had decided to buy it on the spot. While he didn’t want her to think he was trying to buy her back, he’d just wanted to make some gesture to show her that he treasured her, the same way she’d treasure the little things she put in it.

He blurted all of this out to her as they strolled along. She stopped walking and looked at him, amazed, “Billy Russo! I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He felt shy suddenly, and he could feel his face heating up. What was happening to him? Is this what love did to you? He didn’t hate it. “It’s how I feel,” he mumbled, looking away from her. He felt her hand on his cheek, “Well, keep that up and maybe, just maybe…”

She turned and started walking again, and Billy hurried to catch up with her. I won’t push it, he thought, I’ll just leave it be while I’m on a winning streak.

There was another street leading off the square which was full of trattorias and caffés, and they chose one of the restaurants to sit outside, the tables rapidly filling as more people from the vaporetto stop arrived.

She’s definitely looking at me more kindly, he thought. Things might just be okay after all.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After a delicious lunch of pasta and several glasses of wine, you and Billy started exploring the little canals and streets with their cute colourful houses. They looked so bright and beautiful in the sunlight, and you imagined the fishermen back in the day sailing home and being able to see their own little house from afar.

You reached the waterside, beside a quiet little square with houses all around it and some grass in the middle, clothes on washing lines strung across it, blowing in the breeze. There was no-one else around and suddenly you found yourself pressed up against the wall of one of the houses, Billy’s long fingers on the nape of your neck, his hand on your waist. His dark chocolate eyes were gazing into yours, a soft look in them. But you could also feel something a lot harder pressing into your hip, and you saw desire spark in his eyes.

His mouth was on yours and he kissed you, the sudden passion of which took you by surprise. He pulled back, his forehead touching yours. “I’ve missed your touch so much,” he whispered, “…every minute of every day since you.. since you left me.” You laid your hand on his chest, “I missed you too, Billy - even if I did hate you at the time.” He chuckled, “Do you still hate me?” You looked into those beautiful eyes, “No, I guess I don’t. Although you’re still walking a line, Billy.”

He nodded, “I know. I do know. But promise me you’ll give me another chance?” You smiled at him, pushing yourself away from the wall and him, “Let’s see, shall we?”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy tapped on her hotel room door, and gave her a devilish grin as she opened it. He’d made sure to wear a white tank and a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms. He knew she liked him in those.

She was already in her sleepwear - an oversized Anvil T which she’d stolen from him ages ago - and leant against her door, looking back at him, amused. “Why Billy, whatever brings you here?”

He just kept grinning at her and also leant against her doorframe. As if she didn’t know, he thought. She’d had to spend the entire journey back from Burano fending off his hands and mouth.

“Just checkin’ you’re OK, sweetheart. See if there’s anything you need.”

She laughed. “And what could I possibly need, Billy?”

He angled his body so that she couldn’t fail to get a great view of his toned torso and more importantly, the very obvious outline of his erection showing in his joggers. If there was one thing Billy had complete confidence in, it was the effect his body had on women.

“I can think of one or two things, sweetheart.”

He was ecstatic when her hand reached out and grabbed him round the back of his neck, pulling him into her room. “Uhuh… maybe you should show me what those are.”

Billy’s grin got twice as wide.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You gave a huge sigh as Billy pushed inside you, hearing an answering one from him and you ran your hands up into his lush hair. You couldn’t deny it, you had missed him. And his enthusiastic lovemaking.

However you were a little taken aback when he began moving slowly and sensually on you, instead of his usual frenetic pace. He was stroking your hair, placing little kisses all over your face and neck, running his hands over your body, whispering “I love you, love you so much” between his languid thrusts. He slid a hand down and massaged your clit, so well that you climaxed within a few short moments. Not long afterwards, you heard him gasp and he released into you, with a long groan.

The two of you lay in silence, side by side but still entwined. Then Billy leant across and kissed you, softly, slowly, with passion. “I can’t be without you, angel.” The puppydog eyes were out in force again as he gazed at you, “Please. Gimme another chance. I’ll be a better boyfriend, a million times better.”

You continued to look back at him, then gave a quick nod, “Okay. Yes, okay Billy. But one… just one transgression…” His hands went up in supplication, “Understood! Not one transgression will be made.”

“And you make sure to tell that thirsty bitch back in New York that her little dates with you won’t be happening anymore.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“Already done.”

He saw her eyebrows rise.

Oh. Oh, she thinks that means I’ve been in touch with her.

“No, sweetheart…. Frankie took care of that for me while I’ve been away.”

She smirked, “Pleased to hear it.”

Billy let out a sigh of relief, he was going to have to be so careful over the next few months. He’d only just got her back! He couldn’t let a stupid, chance remark or two ruin it. He ran his hand over her hair again. “I’m so happy, y’know? M’never going to take you for granted again.” He saw her smile widen in the darkness of the room.

“But, sweetheart, you gotta promise me something too.” She looked at him, puzzled, amused, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. No more runnin’ out on me and flyin’ halfway round the world.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry @odetostep @supernaturalcat7 @obscurilicious @strawb3rrydr3ss @bruxa0007 @aleksanderwh0r3 @theshadowkingsqueen @bat-luna-cat @carlywhomever

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#ben barnes #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic

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quibblesandscribbles · 3 years

Text

Centaurworld Rewrite: A Serious Adventure AU - S1E1 Outline

I’m doing rewrite outlines, prepare for some AU. That being said, I still like several parts of Centaurworld a lot, namely Rider, Horse, Wammawink, and whatever the hell is going on with the Nowhere King, and hope there’s a second season to watch (which I will if Netflix doesn’t ruin our hopes and dreams).

Anyways, here’s like, a rewrite or whatever. I will probably post the outlines as I go, episode by episode. Will I get to them all? ADHD-willing, we’ll see. Also feel free to use these ideas/outlines? I don’t mind.

Also assume there are songs in this even if I don’t specifically mention all of them. Also I guess this rewrite kinda chains the 1st and 2nd episodes together as a two parter? Maybe, idk.

Also I’ll preface this with this too: I ship Wammahorse, yes I SHIPSHIP it. Moving on.

Some headcanons before we start:

Warworld (*the world Rider and Horse are from) is a Low Fantasy Setting, there IS magic, but it comes in two variations, either very subtle low-powered but relatively uncommon, or Terrifyingly Powerful and so extremely rare to the point that it’s not very well known and “just myths” (usually for Big Baddies)

Ideas for Horse’s Degree of Sapience Prior to Worldhopping:

A: Horse was just a regular, non-magical horse, and their exposure to the Artifact and Centaurworld has essentially made them a Fully Uplifted Animal. - This is interesting, but ultimately a difficult idea to convey because it would require a lot more setup and wouldn’t exactly fit Horse’s characterization without some rework. This is an amazing idea, but I won’t be using it because it would slow things down too much.

B: Horse is a low-fantasy magic steed raised as warhorse/war asset, who is much smarter than your average animal steed/companion similar to a DND Ranger’s pets, or Mabari from Dragon Age, or a Ranger Horse from John Flanagan’s ‘Ranger’s Apprentice.’ The combined exposure to the Artifact and Centaurworld could account for her gaining speech and her body expressing limited physical adaptation to Centaurworld’s different physics (her body’s new extended range of motion for example) but of course I’ll be limiting this because having stakes make it more fun imho. This is my favorite, I’m using this.

Horse would’ve been considered a very valuable war asset (trained warhorses are like, historical ferraris, expensive as hell, i can only imagine what low-magical smart warhorses would be valued at), though still ultimately expendable for the war effort like anything else

Let Horse have horse behaviors (*can you tell I haven’t really left my horse phase behind lol)! Nipping and grooming behaviors as affection or warnings, ear positions to indicate mood, grazing to eat, laying down only when truly relaxed, sleeping standing up. COME ON.

Centaurworld is a High Fantasy world with an Absurdist bent but with darker undertones, similar to how Adventure Time is, with an extremely high saturation of magic, maybe you could even theorize that due to the Splitting of the Two Worlds that all the magic is being Dammed up in Centaurworld like a river or reservoir, this could be a future plot thread that could be picked up in a later season.

Basic Changes:

Durpleton, Glendale, Ched and Zulius are supporting cast, not main

Durpleton is less stupid and more of a Kronk-expy: a little dim but ultimately kind/means well, has at least 1 life skill he’s good at buried in there though for the life of me I can’t think of one right now.

Glendale’s Narrative Framing: Glendale is amazing, but the kleptomania will be allotted ONE (or two) joke mentions but narratively isn’t treated like one after, somehow establish that her kleptomania is directly intertwined with her anxiety levels. Are there other denizens of the Valley that know the Herd? Are they mad at Glendale for stealing things? Does Wammawink have to constantly run interference to cover for Glendale? Probably.

Make Ched look like less of a pointless asshole: Have him show concern for his friends’ safety and his suspicion of outsiders, AKA Horse. If he’s going to be a jerk, at least let it serve a purpose.

Zulius can stay roughly the same - Zulius is great okay, just don’t tell me there’s backstory and then NOT TELL OR SHOW US ANY CLUES about what said backstory/history IS! (other than forcing us infer/project the headcanon[?] that him and Splendib might’ve been exes, from how they act around each other without any other context/visual/or confirming exposition we literally know nothing other than Splendib and him split/had a nasty falling out and Splendib took the glittercats and the career in the divorce.)

S1E1: Hello Rainbow Road

Opening scene in Warworld

If these episodes were allowed to be longer (shuddup it’s my AU), have the scene open with Horse sees Rider comes running out of some underground castle ruin catacombs and ominous roaring and clanging behind her as she deliberately sets off a dungeon booby trap (arrows or fire) she must’ve avoided while dungeon crawling earlier, and Horse runs towards her and circles at a canter and then Rider does a Running Mount (mounting a horse while the horse is in motion) and shoots an arrow at that flies offscreen

Smash cut to the DRAWBRIDGE door falling and Rider and Horse come galloping out while dodging some javelins and arrows and 1.5 seconds later 1-4 armored minotaurs (the lizardmen?) riding some coursers (swift horses or horselike creatures idk have fun) gallop behind in hot pursuit.

WARWORLD CHASE/FIGHT SCENE

Rider and Horse take out 2 of the pursuers on the run have Rider stay on horseback, dodge and make 1 pursuer shoot/javelin another 1 into a nasty-looking fall, and then Rider nails another 1 right through the helmet visor with an arrow. Have Rider throw a smoke bomb or something at the 2 remaining ones trying to catch up.

2 Enemies left but Horse is forced to skid to a stop as the suspension bridge approaches, then a tense moment forced to walk in order to escape safely across the suspension bridge which Rider cuts once they’re across. Maybe have 1 of the minotaur pursuers having been on the bridge somewhat behind them before Rider had to cut the line, sending the enemy hurtling down below. The remaining minotaur scout stares at them ominously from the other side before leaving.

Have Rider breath a sigh of relief

Smash cut to Horse and Rider traveling across a wartorn landscape, start Horse’s internal monologue narrative until they finally get to the hill and see the ruins of their village

Everything from this point to Horse getting transported to Centaurworld is the same as canon

Not Actually a DREAMVISION SEQUENCE:

Shot/Animated from Horse’s 1st Person POV: Darkness, the sound of whooshing Horse falls, shimmering flash colors [if this were an actual show pls put a Epilepsy warning at the beginning of the ep], then a loud Splash as Horse falls into Dark Water. POV looks down and we see Horse’s front legs and a bottomless abyss below and a then flash of green and off-white from deep below, then look up to see blue light, see the swimming motions of Horse’s front legs and getting closer to the Blue Light

Horse wakes up, blinking, alone (no Durpleton)

Horse gets up looks around, doesn’t see Rider anywhere and starts makes Whinnying sounds (specifically, Whinnying is a social horse call, like specifically going, “Rider where are you!?” in IRL horse)

“And what are you supposed to be?” the “camera” wheels around to see Ched who has landed on Horse just within reach of her tail so Horse lets out a startled squeal (the Horse noise, not the human one) and does that thing where horses use their tails to swat away insects which sends Ched FLYING as Horse’s squealing morphs into her Talking/Yelling “what the heck is going on?!”

Horse does what panicked horses do, she runs

Horse stumbles into meeting Durpleton, who freaks her out more

Meeting kinda the same as canon but with less constant emphasis on reminding the audience that the writer’s can’t write comedy

Wammawink and Horse meet, Ched flies in and goes “hey that asshole kicked my a-I mean attacked me, but I totally beat ‘em.”

Horse tries to leave, discovers the Barrier, tries to get through, fails multiple times, but only 3-4 attempts shown with time passage show by the time of day changing, have Horse’ talking to herself a bit about how utterly weird the talking words thing is, that this is a “human” thing why is this HAPPENING she needs to get back

Waste less time on the visual gags of the Barrier repelling Horse, also get rid of the Tree Catapult scene because it doesn’t jive with Horse being a horse, why do they know how to make a catapult? Also because I hate how it basically shows us that Horse has no physical danger or chance of injury from being FLUNG around like Pokemon’s Team Rocket.

Have the rest of the centaur Herd come up to and talk to Horse while Horse is trying to get through the Barrier, and Horse talks about the outside and her world and doing things, squeeze in some convo about how there’s no (current) war in Centaurworld and how Horse thinks that that “freedom must be nice.” Anyways these conversations are what has Glendale, Zulius and Durpleton at least considering the ups of leaving.

Durpleton: Durpleton approaches Horse alone and asks about where she’s from, what’s home like, expositiony bits for Warworld and how much Horse needs to get herself and the Artifact back to Rider; Horse should say something offhand, like how she dreamed about exploring the world with Rider after the War seeing new things together, to which we’d cut to a shot of Durpleton looking thoughtful, before asking a completely unrelated question before Horse asks to be left alone. He doesn’t go originally, but gets distracted by something (butterfly?) and trots off.

Wammawink, Ched & Glendale: Atop a hill, Wammawink looks up to see stormclouds gathering off in the distance and comments that they’re going to be in for some rough weather, then goes over to offer Horse food, but gets distracted by some other Valley Denizens who are mad suspicious that Glendale is responsible for something of theirs that’s missing. Leaving Wammawink to go off and have to run interference leaving Glendale to approach Horse alone. Horse will learn that there’s no (current) war in Centaurworld but there was one historically, and Glendale will offhandedly mention that they’ve stolen everything from everyone in the Valley at least 4 times and with the unspoken implication of boredom. Ched will butt in and heckle Horse like, “could you leave any quieter?” and Horse sniping back, ears pinned back and animated horse stress behaviors. And Horse’s last failed attempt at passing the Barrier has them drop the Artifact, and we get a shot of Glendale spotting and eyes widening at seeing the Artifact unattended on the ground, then we get a smash cut of Glendale getting herded away by Ched.

Zulius: Goes over to ask about Horse’s avante garde accessories (her bridle, saddle & armor[barding]), makes comments on her style/aesthetic and asks where he could find some. Horse loses her patience, and says that she Needs to concentrate on getting back to someone they care a lot about and could you please just go away?

Horse: (voiced as a rhetorical question) “Haven’t you ever wanted to go back to someone you loved before?”

Zulius gets a Look on his face, then he’d puff up, cover up the Armor Piercing Question’s effect on him with more bluster and then turn away as it gets later

Around sunset, Horse finally gives in to go ask Wammawink what’s up, and how can they leave.

Wammawink tries to feed them and convince them to stay, but Horse waves her off and moves away while muttering something about coming up with a plan

Speaking of plans, the Herd excluding Wammawink (& Ched) start talking about being bored, and mention Horse saying stuff about exploring the world (taken out of context, deliberately)

Wammawink, smelling the ugly head of discontent, sighs in defeat at not being able to recruit this new outcast in the Herd and approaches a grazing Horse and says she’ll help her through it with her magic(not admitting that the Barrier is her magic working in the first place because it’s not relevant right now okay) but then we get the “What’s magic?” bit from Horse and the rest of the Herd butts in with the Song. They wander off to go to bed afterwards, and Horse wants to go Now but Wammawink says that she’ll help Horse leave the Barrier but only in the morning because “you look tired”

Horse: “That doesn’t matter.” *awkward silence*

Wammawink, sadly: “Of course it does.” *Horse has already walked away*

The sun finishes setting as the wind blows the plants and through Wammawink’s fur (ominously) and she shivers, going back to the campfire

DREAM SEQUENCE: It’s dark, then we get a flashback dream of a younger Rider and Horse, idk a memory of something to showcase them either while in training or really show their Bond okay? End with them sitting around a campfire with other young soldiers and horses, someone is humming something (the first few bars of the Nowhere King’s Lullaby, no actual words yet). Then Dream!Rider turns to face Horse and asks, “how could you?”

Horse: “How could I what?”

Dream!Rider: “How could you leave me behind?” (The humming grows louder, there’s a lute being played, growing discordant)

Then Horse starts calling into the darkness/void, “I’m coming back for you, Rider! Just hang on, alright?!”

Rider: “Oh Horse, it’s already too late for me.”

“Rider!” Horse yells as they jolt awake, standing, because horses typically sleep standing up.

It’s dawn but the wind and stormy weather signs are picking up but not here yet, Wammawink walks Horse to the edge of the Valley barrier and tries to convince Horse to stay here where it’s safe, but Horse refuses to be deterred

Brief shot of Glendale hiding a bunch of things from her Tummy Hammerspace in order to simulate the feeling of stealing things again later, including the Artifact which falls on the ground

A shot of Durpleton seeing and picking up the Artifact and spotting Wammawink and Horse some distance away going toward the barrier’s edge

Wammawink hangs back on a hill, glowy hands and the magic wall flickers and disappears, and Horse immediately breaks into a gallop and disappears into the forest, Wammawink sighs and turns away

Indeterminate amount of time later, Wammawink recasts the Barrier, and Durpleton misses breakfast so Wammawink enlists Ched to help her look for him because Ched can fly

Cut to a shot of Horse dropping from a canter to a trot on the Rainbow Road, it’s grown darker and the stormclouds are in the sky. Distant thunder booms overhead, and a few scattered raindrops start to fall

“Heyyyy! You forgot your necklaceeee!” a shout from behind

Horse looks back and sees a running Durpleton holding the Artifact, and stops, he catches up to Horse and is gasping, “Wow, you run fast, hoooo, *deep breaths* you’re really *another gasp* athletic! Anyways you forgot your Necklace.”

Durpleton ties the broken string into a necklace around Horse’s neck and Horse thanks them and wishes them a safe journey back to the Valley, but as this happens the rain gradually falls harder. Then the sounds of the Rest of the Herd finally catching up happen, and Wammawink mother hens Durpleton and wants take everyone back home but then a loud BOOM of thunder and lightning overhead, and then it starts to Pour down rain, forcing Horse and co to find shelter until it lets up. Maybe have someone mention something about landslides being a possibility? Durpleton asks how they found them so fast, dim remember, then brief flashback.

FLASHBACK: Wammawink and co searching and calling out for Durpleton everywhere in the Valley, and realize that he must’ve followed Horse for some reason when Zulius FINALLY shows up and mentions that he remembers Durpleton saying he was gonna give Horse back her necklace. The recast Barrier is brought down and they leave the Valley to bring back their friend.

Back to the present where the group has taken shelter as the storm picks up more, and thunder booms overhead, Horse has some nervous horse body language going on, then we get to hear her mutter-singing or humming the “I never fear the drums of war” to calm herself down, but with more stanzas please, when asked she says it’s a battle hymn that Rider sang.

If Horse was humming, Wammawink could ask why she doesn’t sing, she’s sure that Horse has a lovely voice

Horse goes “I’m a horse, I don’t sing.”

Wammawink tries to be encouraging, Horse is resistant

Wammawink invites her to eat (AGAIN) but Horse still turns her (love and affection) down (AGAIN!) and says she’s fine with grazing and Glendale pipes in excitedly that they have decided that they want to travel with Horse (Ched pipes up that he didn’t agree to this) but pls help us convince Wammawink and Horse protests but someone points out to ask “do you even know where you’re going” and they have a point

Horse acknowledges this and relents, states some stuff about how she’s not going to slow down much however. Then Glendale, Zulius and Durpleton rejoice, Ched acts tsundere, but Wammawink looks nervous and wrings her hands together and relents that “they’ll go with Horse as far as the nearest Shaman” and Ched will go, “hey don’t you know he-” and Wammawink shushes him quickly with a gigglecake

Wammawink doubles down on the mother henning behavior

Horse doesn’t eat Wammawink’s gigglecakes but grazes by herself nearby, occasionally answering a question or two when engaged by the others (not Wammawink) and Wammawink mentions how the weather probably won’t let up for very long and they should take it slow and that Horse should bundle up

Horse disagrees but its bedtime and a bedtime song occurs in the backdrop as a restless Horse struggles to stay alert and awake but eventually falls asleep

VISION SEQUENCE: A shimmer of soft blue light, then shots of Rider ducking and weaving, her sword flashing as she tries to weave her way through a horde of enemy soldiers, blood spatters, then an enemy archer takes aim at a fleeing Rider, and Horse calls out a warning.

Rider turns her head with a surprised look on her face suddenly just enough that the arrow buries itself into her shoulder instead the middle of her back and then she stumbles, one of her arms going limp, but everything goes dark before we can see if she fell

Everything goes dark and the din of war fades away, we get a shot of Horse’s hooves splashing and making ripples into dark water but the camera doesn’t follow her, we hear Horse’s cries for Rider fade, growing further and further away

Still dark, but in the silence we hear distant sound, drip, drip, drip, drip.

Then the episode ends and the credits roll.

#centaurworld #centaurworld spoilers #centaurworld wammawink #centaurworld rider #centaurworld horse #centaurworld headcanons #centaurworld au #centaurworld rewrite #centaurworld a serious adventure au #wow I suck at naming things #centaurworld season 1 #fixed the ending scene order #your welcome

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literatureatthebowofnails · 2 years

Text

Earth to Duchess by Admiral at the Bow of Nails

Disclaimer: No one owns Loki; he’s just a hot pain in my sass. No one owns Thor. I don’t own Marvel, Viacom, SHIELD, Darcy Lewis, Drs Erik Selvig and Jane Foster or Marvel's interpretation of an Einstein-Rosen bridge. Mythological similarities are mostly coincidental

A/N: Part 1 of the Sigyn Timeline of the Duchess Series, (find masterlist here)! This part directly follows Chapter 7. Still looking for a beta for future chapters, so if you’re interested, hit me up

Series Warnings: Loki/fem!reader. Reader has nickname and backstory but no physical description. Language; fluff; smut: vaginal intercourse (m/f), panty theft, masturbation, cunnilingus, fingering, public nudity; drinking; seismophobia. Warnings will be added as the series goes on. I’m considering adding additional pairings with other characters. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in.

Series Summary: This series begins during Thor (2011) and generally follows along that plot. After Loki’s visit to the SHIELD encampment, the timeline branches

Timeline Warnings: Pregnancy, torture, Odin being his usual shitty self

Timeline Summary: This timeline follows the Sacred Timeline through the end of Thor (2011), at which point you're stranded on Asgard until the end of Avengers/beginning of Dark World

Chapter Warnings:

Chapter Summary: You prepare for your next trip to Asgard and catch up on what's been going on in Puente Antiguo

Word Count: 661

Midgard

On your bed you find the PJs you were wearing when you arrived in Jötunheimr. Everything is clean and neatly folded. Notably, your panties remain missing.

After taking extra care to pack half your lingerie and consumable necessities, you place the bag on your alter, asking “Um…could you get these to Asgard when you have a chance?”

“Of course, darling,” the bag vanishes and you jump. That’s going to take some getting used to.

You pour yourself another cup of tea and change your clothes, hanging your overdress and cloak, then tossing the underdress on the dry clean pile. The kransen and broaches are carefully placed with your jewelry collection.

You make a mental note to repot your rootbound plants in the morning if you’re still here, then pickup your phone to respond to Darcy.

Darc’

Darc’ 12:51 PM: A bunch of guys from something called Shield came and stole all our equipment

Darc’ 12:52 PM: WTF?! They took my ipod! I just downloaded 30 songs onto it. Damnit

Darc’ 1:41 PM: Jane left. Apparently decided to take Thor (hella cut homeless guy) to get Meyu-meh. He says it’s a hammer

Me 11:47 PM: Hey, sorry for not responding earlier. I didn’t have my phone on me. Any word from Jane?

Me 11:48 PM: You’re not going to believe this, but I’ve been with Thor’s brother for the last 24-ish hours

Darc’ 11:52 PM: He has a brother? How do you know his brother?

Darc’ 11:53 PM: Selvig thinks he’s crazy. Are you sure this is the same guy?

Me 11:54 PM: We’re definitely talking about the same person. I saw Thor last night

You pause, wondering how exactly you’re going to explain how you ended up in Jötunheimr, or how you know Loki for that matter. You comb your nails up your scalp and realize you forgot to pack hairbands, “Shoot.” You get up and put about 20 hair ties on your wrists. That should hold you over until the next time you get back.

Darc’

Me 5-3-11 12:15 AM: I’ve been having these weird dreams for a while. I thought they were just dreams until last night

Me 12:16 AM: Thor’s brother, Loki, was always in them. Last night I woke up (and I know how crazy this sounds) in Jötunheimr. Not Norway. A completely different planet or universe or something

Me 12:18 AM: Loki and Thor and some other Asgardians were there. Loki took me to Asgard. He just got me home a few hours ago

Me 12:20 AM: Actually, the Bifrost (this rainbow bridge we used to get back) left some interesting markings on the street. I’ll go down and take a pic. They look like something Jane would be into

Me 12:25 AM:

Darc’ 12:25 AM: Yea, that’s how Thor got here. Thanks for the pic. It’s the only piece of evidence we’ve got now that stupid Shield took all our stuff

Me 12:27 AM: No problem

Me 12:31 AM: Loki should be there in a few hours. Hopefully the five of you will be able to work something out with Shield and get Thor settled on Earth

Me 12:33 AM: Loki’s trying to keep things stable politically, but I can tell he misses his brother

Me 12:34 AM: I’m going to crash soon. I might end up over there or in Asgard or wherever Loki is. I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose, but I keep teleporting if I’m asleep when he’s upset

Me 12:38 AM: At least that’s the common denominator so far. Anyway, rest has been hard to come by

Me 12:39 AM: If you don’t hear from me for a few days, it’s most likely Asgard, but I’m sure Loki and Heimdall will get me home as soon as they can

Darc’ 12:40 AM: Ok, get some sleep. I might see you in a few hours. Let me know when you’ve got your phone next

Me 12:40 AM: Will do

Next chapter here.

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soundofsilverbirds · 3 years

Text

Back on “This Side of Paradise” again... This time looking at the poem the title comes from (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47234/tiare-tahiti). It is quite a sexy poem, and it’s interesting to consider the positions of the various characters in the episode relative to the poem.

The first stanza describes an afterlife in Heaven, explaining that after our bodies have turned to dust “Then, oh! then, the wise agree, /Comes our immortality.” This afterlife is a world of oneness, in which all individuals merge together: “there waits a land /Hard for us to understand. /Out of time, beyond the sun, /All are one in Paradise.” At first, the description of Paradise is enticing, but toward the end of the stanza a note of doubt creeps in: “Dance, but not the limbs that move; /Songs in Song shall disappear; /Instead of lovers, Love shall be.” In this heaven, we can experience something like ‘the love of God,’ but not the embraces shared by the physical limbs of individual lovers.

The second stanza makes this clearer. Paradise is a beautiful place, with its “stars and sunlight” and, notably for our purposes, rainbows. However, in Paradise, “there’ll no more be one who dreams... /Eyes of illusion, mouth that seems, /All time-entangled human love.” (Ahem. Gotta say that reading this I instantly got a pretty clear vision of whose mouth might seem “all time-entangled human love,” and who might see it that way.) In Paradise, “moons” (the symbol of romantic love, as Uhura demonstrated so clearly when she responded “I’m not surprised” to Spock’s insisting that Vulcan has none) “are lost in endless Day” (the light of Heaven or whatever). At the end of the stanza, the poet laments: “How shall we wind these wreaths of ours, /Where there are neither heads nor flowers? /Oh, Heaven’s Heaven!—but we’ll be missing /The palms, and sunlight, and the south; /And there’s an end, I think, of kissing, /When our mouths are one with Mouth....”

The third stanza switches into full-on seduction mode, as the poet entreats his beloved to “hear the calling of the moon” and “come away” to, uh, go play around in the water in the dark or something: “Hasten, hand in human hand, /Down the dark, the flowered way, /Along the whiteness of the sand, /And in the water’s soft caress, /Wash the mind of foolishness.” (Which sounds like a more pleasant way of reversing the effects of mind-control spores than whacking your beloved with a metal rod and insulting his parents, but I digress.) These are the final lines of the poem: “Spend the glittering moonlight there/ Pursuing down the soundless deep /Limbs that gleam and shadowy hair, /Or floating lazy, half-asleep. /Dive and double and follow after, /Snare in flowers, and kiss, and call, /With lips that fade, and human laughter /And faces individual, /Well this side of Paradise! .... /There’s little comfort in the wise.” (Setting aside how much this swimming imagery sounds like a scene from Sha Ka Ree or the 1979 K/S novel Nightvisions...) The wise, again, are the people who talk about Heaven, and say it’s a thing we get when we’re dead and our bodies have turned to dust. The poet rejects this, preferring the erotic, embodied joys that people can have when they’re discrete individuals, on “this side of Paradise.”

Of course, the theme of rejecting “oneness” and freeing people to make their own choices (often in an obnoxiously American way, and with a table-thumping speech from Kirk) is one of the most common in TOS, with “Return of the Archons” doing almost the exact same thing. “The Apple” is another similar one —like the poem, it rejects a paradise ruled by God in favor of a world where people can be individuals, promising that you won’t miss Heaven if you get to have sex instead. In “This Side of Paradise,” however, the symbolism is weirdly jumbled up. The only actual kissing that happens is between Spock and Leila, but their relationship belongs to the “paradise” side —the world of oneness and rainbows and the eternal sunshine that the poem claims squashes the possibility of eroticism. Meanwhile, Kirk stands for the human side of things. We can see the word “human” repeated throughout the descriptions of earthly pleasures in the poem, which is what makes some of the lines sound so amusingly as if they belonged in a K/S fic. But of course in the show, Kirk is constantly harping on about humanity not because it’s his literal species but because he represents a certain humanist set of values. If we line the episode up with the poem, Kirk is in the position of the lover, trying to seduce his beloved into human pleasures. That would make Spock the beloved he’s trying to seduce away from Paradise...

Near the end of “This Side of Paradise,” McCoy says, “Well, that's the second time man's been thrown out of paradise,” to which Kirk replies, “This time we walked out on our own.” Ostensibly, this refers more to the theme of humanity struggling to survive after being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, but of course the Tale of Genesis is also associated with sexuality, as “The Apple” shows. Given that in the actual events of the episode Spock kisses Leila and fights with Kirk, it’s rather funny that the title references a much more “Apple”-like view of Paradise, in which the garden itself is unerotic, and only after leaving it does the potential for physical love between individuals appear.

#ok I admit this is incomprehensible #but just read the poem and imagine it’s about Kirk and Spock ok #k/s

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chaotichedonist · 3 years

Text

Tharunka (Kensington, NSW : 1953 - 2010)

Wednesday 9 June 1976, page 14

Some funny moments to tease you into reading:

Press: Roger, you're noted for your amazing screams.

Freddie: It's a controlled scream. I'd rather call it art.

Freddie: You're joking dear. I'm just a singer, dear.

It’s been a struggle, because in the beginning nobody knew what we were doing. We were the only people who believed in ourselves.

back at the hotel sleazy

For all those fans who were misled by the media, Queen did not spend a couple of days-relaxing on sunny Perth beaches - it rained the whole bloody time they were there. (In Melbourne the hotel was 'besiged' by fans, who to quote Pete Brown — Queen's personal manager — seemed to be emerging from the wood work). Not to be put off however, by the Australian conditions Freddie Mercury (lead vocals and keyboards) attended the press conference in white pants and a simply sumptuous summer synthetic top with delicate butterfly sleeves curling gently over his shoulders. He was even more beautiful than Sophia Loren.

They were all quite chatty only Roger (Meadows-Taylor, the drummer) would keep interjecting, usually over John Deacon (bass) who said not an audible word.

Press: Would you describe your music as mock opera?

Freddie: They call it cock-opera back home.

Roger: I suppose because the vocals are in the 'grand style'.

Press: When is your next album coming out?

Freddie: We'll have a rest and think about it..

Roger: We just don't bung'em together.

Brian: We don't sort of write sitting in hotel rooms you know.

Freddie: We gather influences.

Press: Your music has been described as snob rock. What do you think?

Freddie: I couldn't describe our music as anything. We certainly don't put across that this it intelligent music that is on a completely differenrt level to the people who come to it.

Roger: It's written for the people. That's what it's all about.

Press: The theme of death recurs on your albums. Why this preoccupation?

Roger: Freddie's morbid mind.

Press to Freddie: Do you consider yourself a sex-symbol?

Freddie: You're joking dear. I'm just a singer, dear.

Press to Roger: Do you consider yourself a superstar?

Roger: As meaningless, (blows kisses).

Roger on the media - absurd for a magazine combine rock and politics.

Press: Roger, you're noted for your amazing screams.

Freddie: It's a controlled scream. I'd rather call it art.

Undauted by the fearless Australians they continued talking about their lyrics and the esoteric implication.

Roger: Freddie just loves the word 'Beelzebub'.

Freddie: Yes, well, Brian's got a taste for unusual words.

Roger: You talking about dandling on your knee and things?

All four of them write songs and each has at least one song on 'A Night At The Opera'.

Brian: It's very difficult to talk about our songs as a group because we all have different ideas of what the songs are about.

Roger: No we don't.

Freddie: Roger's the sensitive one. 'I'm in love with my car' is the most sensitive song on the album (Night At The Opera).

Roger did tend to sit there pouting at the bows on his pink lame gym-boots. One hardly noticed the dark roots in this gold angelic hair. We did ask, but unfortunately Roger didn't have a pic of himself in the gymboots. Roger was later accosted by David Essex fans in the foyer of the hotel, who wished to know if he was a popstar, girls now have Roger's autograph. Back to the lyrics..

Freddie: Every song is written by one of us and means something special to each one of us. Certain songs have a very literal meaning and can be understood straight away. Then there are some songs that can be taken on a lot of different levels.

He describes a lot of his songs as fantasies. 'We want to consciously lose ourselves. There are certain things we want to escape from in our lives or whatever.' He feels that people should create their own private fantasies from the images in his songs and so doesn't like to talk about what they mean to him. 'I'd hate to shatter someone's illusion. If I listen to somebody's songs I conjure up a fantasy of what its about and I like to keep it that way.'

He elaborated further.. 'Lyrically it is helpful to use certain words. You see it depends.. sometimes I want to use words that are phonetically useful. In the beginning they're surface words but you entwine them into the meaning of a song. That's what I mean about different levels.'

Brian May has a different approach to his songs, 'There's usually something serious behind them, but I feel a big responsibility not to over-indulge in idealogies. In 'White Queen' I was very interested in the significance of Queens and White Ladies in English folk lore. The song started off as a personal experience, the frustration of not being able to communicate, I was thinking about Robert Graves' ' White Goddess' and that became involved in the song.'

Roger: Romantic slush.

Brian: Our 'Now I'm Here' song is really about our first American tour. A big experience for anybody. It's a conglomeration of all the experiences we had on that tour. We had a great time with Mott the Hoople. I suppose they taught us to be a touring band.

We're very critical about each other and very cynical. We don't get deeply into meanings because you're living with it all the time. You have to be a bit light-hearted about it.

With four individual writers the albums were not done with a specific concept in mind. The 'White Queen' was written four years before the 'Black Queen'.

Brian: I don’t think that Freddie’s 'Black Queen' was a reaction to the 'White Queen'. We just discovered that we had these songs and the rest of the album seemed to fit around it.

Freddie: It probably subconsciously coheres.

Similarly ‘A night At The Opera’ has no overall concept though the name of the album is related to Freddie’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

As Brian puts it ‘We are four very different people with four very different directions, but there is a musical development that does make some kind of sense. Queen is very much an independent thing. We are always bouncing ideas off each other. We are very aware that we need each other.’

The rapport between them onstage bears out this statement. They work off each other in a carefully intergrated show thatt creates an atmosphere of spontaneity for the audience.

At the opening of their set there is a flash of fire and smoke as Queen emerge on stage. While music winds up they launch into ‘Orge Battle’. Like a Greek God or a simister Mephistopheles Freddie's powerful vocals cut through the smoke and flames.

With the stage show the band is doing something different to stimulating their records. Brian: "You don't get up there and behave like you do in the street. You go up there to entertain people and give them some kind of excitement". They have rearranged some of their songs especially for stage performance, including a medley of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Killer Queen', 'Black Queen' and 'Leyroy Brown', which grinds down into 'March of the Black Queen' and then skips out on a lighter note which features Brian on genuine Japanese ukalele.

The brilliant solo Brian performs in 'Brighton Rock', with sweet high Paginini frills and harmonies, stimulating two or three guitars on stage, is in a style he has evolved himself. He got the idea the first time he was in a recording studio. Says Brian: "It was my first experience of doing multi-tracking. It happened to be in the cannon-things which repeat themselves. You play one, then you play the same over the top of it after a time interval. Later we started to do those things on stage but there was the problem of how to do it. We started having a single delay and then another one over the top of it. Then afterwards you do another repeat on the second. You can then do three part harmonies with yourself. We started to base it all on ten second solos and it grew and grew. There's a lot of other people doing it now and I'm glad because it’s a thing you can play around with.'

In the stage arrangement of "Prophet's Song' Freddie uses a similar echo feedback system which multiplies his voice into a celestial choir. His voice floats as a vision - "Listen to the madman' - while Brian plays some beautiful guitar.

encore amore

Brian describes their encore performance as the time when the band really unwinds. "It's nice at the encore to just completely unbend and make a fool of yourself. It gets rid of the tension between the band and the audience. I used to get a kick out of going to concerts to see rock groups like the 'Who' and feeling involved, like the group knew you were there. WE go by the kinds of things we think people would like at an encore. It's at a very basic level really, an energy level, a physical level. Rock and Roll is kind of a body music. I get as much satisfaction out of basic rock'n'roll like Status Quo as the most sophisticated music I know.'

The audience certainly enjoyed it and really let loose their energy. Roger (who claimed the most female screams) in rainbow mop-wig opened the encore with slow heavy rock-beat as Freddie did a dramatic entrance in a silk kimino. As he eased into 'Big Spender', he peeled off to striped hot pants for an outrageous version of 'Jailhouse Rock' - simple hard-driving rock'n'roll that had everybody out of their sets.

gettin' feelin' thru th' transistors

Brian was rather upset that the Australian Press should braiid them as a manufactured band. If 'Bohmeian ,hapsody' can be seen as incorporating the spectrum of s talent - mood changes, heavy stuff, the soft ballad - it is not because they (men of letters from universities) have developed a magic 'X' formula. Rather the song can be seen as a musical progression, a reworking of motifs off their other albums.

Brian can only say that, 'They obviously didn't see us in the earlier days. I can understand why they'd say that over here. Big impact. Overnight success. It must have been all calculated. If you’d seen the way it happened in England, you wouldn’t think that. I’ve had years playing pubs in England where people were drinking beer and discussing what other people were doing and not listening to the music. I want to build up this thing where people do want to go to a concert. While it begins to look like the commercial side, it;s what it’s all about. I want knock it because I want people to come and hear what we do.

It’s been a struggle, because in the beginning nobody knew what we were doing. We were the only people who believed in ourselves. We started playing because we had some kind of vision that we thought was worthwhile. For over a year and a half we were playing to ourselves. Gradually you gather people around who believe and that’s the way it happened.

Nobody is going to tell us to play what is commercial. What we play comes from us. We’re very lucky really in that we have a kind of audience who are attentive to whatever direction we choose to follow. One of us will come up with a song and we'll say, 'Yeah, it needs that kind of treatment and maybe that turns out to be something you call heavy and sometimes something which is light.'

To get back to the charge that they are a manufactured band, while he doesn't like it, he can only take it as a compliment that they think the band is so good. He doesn't consider himself a technician "technically I've stayed the same for the last six or seven years. Progress is what you feel and what you are putting across. That's what playing is about for us.'

Freddie: There's a lot of music there too.

Roger: A bit of music, yeah.

low key queen

By Anne Finnegan

Wednesday 9 June 1976

If you save, do not forget to leave a link to this, coz i kinda found it by myself and made and transcipt. Thanks :)

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