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nocturnalghoul · 1 year

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Mushy May Day 15: Standing up for them

For the longest time Cowbell has only really had Special to back them up, but now he has Ifrit too.

Partner ficlet with my Day 19 entry partially about Bell and Spesh as brothers and how much they mean to each other. This is the Bell side of the pair, and the one about what Bell means to Special will be for Day 19 (edited this to add link).

The next Mushy May I'll be posting is the Day 19 one partially because they go together, but also because I will be out of town most of this week and didn't want to have to stress writing those days. See ya then :)

Words: 1222

Rating: Gen/Everyone ; Note- light mentions of bullying etc.

Read below the cut or on AO3 here

Cowbell is well aware of his status within the organization. They know they are far from anybody’s favorite ghoul, the siblings and higher ups all finding them rather strange and unusual even for a ghoul.

Their pack loves them, he knows that, but he also sees the way that they are not normally anyone's first choice. It’s never a conscious decision made by the other ghouls, it's something that just is. Anytime they notice Bell getting left out the rest of the pack will make an effort to include them but the original sting of being excluded is still there.

The exception to all of this is Special, the two of them being like brothers. No matter what the problem, Cowbell knows that without doubt or hesitation he will be there, and Special has proven it time and time again.

Bell has always struggled to advocate for themselves properly. With the other ghouls they are more than comfortable stirring up mayhem and speaking their mind, but outside of that tends to be a more soft spoken and awkward presence. Luckily for them, having the silver tongue of the abbey PR ghoul comes in handy.

When there was discussion from Imperator that he wasn’t good enough to serve as a band ghoul, Bell had accepted it, but Special immediately marched to her office and wouldn’t leave until the matter was settled. Several hours later the two emerged, Imperator looking more annoyed than she had in years, and Special with a cocky shiteating grin. Not only did Bell get to keep their intended band ghoul status, but also they would be added into any special privileges awarded the band ghouls from then on.

Even for unrelated matters Special always had the little earth ghoul’s back. Everytime Bell would skitter down the hall and hear a group of siblings talking about them, they always saw Special later that day chewing them out. The PR ghoul tried to be subtle about it, supporting his brother from the shadows, but Bell always knew.

Then there was the day Alpha would not stop giving Bell shit all day, pointing out every little idiosyncrasy that makes them different from the other ghouls. The fire ghoul kept insisting that he’s only lovingly teasing “the goofy little weirdo”, but the words stick with Bell harder than they are willing to admit. Every protest from the earth ghoul is met with dismissal from Alpha because he is “only messing around.”

Right as they decide they have had enough and stand to leave, tears already welling up in their eyes, he notices Special speed around the corner, fuming.

“Spesh, it's nothing. You don’t have to-” is as far as they manage to get before Special finishes closing the distance to Alpha, punching him so hard that the fire ghoul’s shoulder dislocates.

As good as Special is with his words, he’s even better with his fists, and Alpha has always been a more tactile learner.

“Aw come on Alpha, it couldn’t have hurt that bad. I’m only messing around” he spits out before escorting Bell out to the gardens. They never told him how much they appreciated the gesture, but it was clear Special already knew from the wink they gave them.

~~~

Given the protective role his adoptive brother has always served, Bell understands the skepticism shown to Ifrit when they first start getting close. For the longest time it has always felt like Bell only truly has Special to back him up, and the fire ghouls loud and boisterous nature does little to convince Special he won’t eventually hurt his brother. Bell knows that the various “talks” his brother has given Ifrit are only to impress upon him how much he cares, but Ifrit is still rightly terrified.

Despite the looming threat of Special, Ifrit is still insistent on joining Bell whenever they take their evening walk through the section of abbey gardens they are in charge of. The fire ghoul always insists it is the perfect time for the two to just enjoy each other's company in peace without the other ghouls butting in. Of course Special sometimes can be seen watching out from the distance at some point but Ifrit does his best to ignore it.

As they round the corner to the small shed full of supplies Bell keeps stocked, they notice a few siblings attempting to vandalize the structure, tacking up flyers warning others against “the terror that is that freak ass earth ghoul” they hear one sister say. It’s a common prank that he is used to at this point, but Ifrit immediately springs into action.

By the time Ifrit is done reprimanding them and threatening to expose all their plentiful secrets to Imperator, two of the siblings offer what seem like genuine apologies. The fire ghoul is a favorite among the siblings and they all know the plentiful secrets he has witnessed in an attempt to impress him. Ifrit does his best to keep a level head, however his intimidating presence definitely has an effect. As the siblings scamper off, Ifrit rips down the posters burning them in his fist.

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that, Fritter. I’m used to it at this point” Bell laments.

The fire ghoul immediately sighs, casting a look laced with so much affection their way that Bell thinks they might melt under the attention. “Maybe so, but you shouldn’t have to be used to it, love. I don’t care if it takes a thousand tries, I will always be there for you no matter what, okay?”

Bell lets out a happy little chitter and clambers up onto the fire ghouls back, demanding to be carried home.

“I of course don’t mind, but you could have just asked for the piggy back ride instead of climbing” Ifrit teases, already walking back towards the ghouls dorms.

“Maybe so, but if you’ve allegedly always got my back it only seemed right that I get some proof by hopping onto yours” Bell retorts before leaning down into Ifrit’s ear. “Also, I saw Spesh appear at the top of the hill and wanted to fuck with him.”

The two continue their way back to the dorm, laughing and joking around the entire time. Right as they get to the patio leading to the common area, Special appears seemingly from nowhere.

“Ifrit. It’s good to see somebody else look out for Bell even when they are resigned not to look out for themselves. Thank you.” Special remarks tersely before turning to let the two enjoy some actual alone time. “However, if you let him get hurt… well you know the rest.” he tacks on, but his heart is clearly not in the threat this time.

Bell can see on his brother’s face that the switch from “if you hurt them” to “if you let them get hurt” means that the fire ghoul has finally won him over.

“That is incredibly high praise, Frit. See I told you he would grow to like you” Bell chirps once they get inside. Ifrit doesn’t look entirely convinced, but Bell knows their brother. Knowing that Ifrit is a second person to look out for them and entrusting him to do so is the highest blessing of approval he could give. Someday the fire ghoul will come to see it.

#mushy may #nocturnal mushy may #the band ghost #the band ghost fanfic #nocturnal writings #cowbell ghoul #special ghoul #ifrit ghoul #cowbell x Ifrit #Cowbell and Special are brothers your honor!

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actual-dunwich-horror · 2 years

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Back already to ask more about Ghost ksjdjsd-

Is there a way to tell the ghouls apart?

Oh boy, there is a way to tell them apart but I'll be honest, it's more difficult! And it's even more difficult when they aren't holding their instruments... I'm gonna have to split this into two parts.

Check reblogs for part 2!

A guide to ghouls under the cut:

The first thing you should know is that each Papa has their own unique ghouls! Here's what each of them look like:

Papa I ghouls:

Papa II ghouls:

Papa III ghouls:

Copia/Papa IV ghouls:

So there's all the different Papas ghouls! Now for the hard part; differentiating which ghoul is which.

There's a really cool system to the ghouls; each instrument is a different element:

Lead guitar: Fire

Rhythm guitar: Quintessence

Bass guitar: Water

Drums: Earth

Keyboard(s): Air

Multi-instrumental/backup vocals: Multi

The only two eras of ghouls that have named characters would be Era III and Era IV, so let's get into those! For Era III, some of them are simple: the keyboardist is named Air, the drummer is Earth, and there are actually two bassists during Era III, one of which are just named Water (but sometimes people call him Delta?). For the others, well, here's a lil guide to them:

Alpha ghoul:

Alpha is era III's fire ghoul and lead guitarist! His guitar is white, and when he doesn't have his guitar, a good way of distinguishing him is the tattoos on his hands and the triangle sticker on his guitar. There was another fire ghoul for era III later named Ifrit, and he does not have hand tattoos or stickers on his guitar.

Omega ghoul:

Omega (my absolute favorite of all the ghouls!!) is era III's quintessence ghoul! His guitar is black and has the omega symbol on it, and he's easy to differentiate because he's big (but in a good way, hehe) and he wears matching rings on both hands, sometimes on his middle fingers, sometimes on his ring fingers.

Mist ghoulette:

Mist, the middle in the pic, is Ghost's very first ghoulette, and one of era III's water ghouls! She's a little hard to spot sometimes because she wore the same costume and mask as the others, but she was a lot smaller than the others, and her shoes were also different. Hers had more of a heel to them while the others wore regular dress shoes. (she's so underrated, I love her so much)

Special ghoul:

Special ghoul, sometimes called Phil thanks to an interview he did, is Tobias (the lead singer) in a ghoul costume. If you watch interviews on youtube with an era III ghoul, there's a 95% chance it's with Special.

Cowbell ghoul:

Cowbell ghoul was only in a few shows for a few songs and was actually just Ghost's tour manager having fun with the band. He was very short-lived but he was very fun. We all love Cowbell in this household. <3

OKAY I'm gonna continue this in the reblogs bc I almost hit the limit on pictures, so keep an eye out for part 2 where I talk about the current ghouls as I feel they're the ones that are most well known throughout the fandom! I have a lot to say about them, ahaha.

(check reblogs for part 2!)

#the band ghost #nameless ghouls #ghost b.c.#sorry this took forever and it's sooo long #it's about to be even longer ahaha #whistlingstarlight

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hitogatarock · 2 years

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takt op. illustration novel # 10

Daphnis et Chloé : "The Future I Believe In"

a special short novel entry for the game takt op. Destiny by the City of Crimson Melody by Ishihara Sora ( 石原宙 ).

illustrator : tef

All translations are belongs to me, make sure to credit properly if you plans on sharing this! Enjoy reading!

Link source • twitter post

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character appearance in order + color code : Daphnis et Chloé

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Today is calm, a change from last night's heavy fighting. Sitting on a gentle mountainside, I watch the wind brush the short grasses and flowers across the mountainside.

"Such nice breeze...."

The dry wind ruffled my long pigtails, which reached my waist. The alpine plants, such as pretty alpine roses, buttercups and wasrena grass, which are blooming a little in the area, seem to have bowed in unison, and my lips loosen. On days like this, I wish I could blow my pan flute and chase the sheeps. When I close my eyes, scenes of peaceful times float behind such indications.

Flock of lambs grazing. The distant sound of a shepherd's whistle. The sound of cowbells announcing lunch, and the savoury smell of burnt bread and cheese coming from the open shed window.

"Fufu."

It was so much fun just to imagine it, I couldn't help but smile. But it was an illusion. I inhale and my nose smells not of bread and cheese, but of burnt trees and faint gunpowder smoke. I can't even play the pan flute now. Because the beautiful sound of it would attract the D2s.

A small village could be seen below. A deserted village, already uninhabited. I'd only been here a few times before, but the Christmas trees and wall swags on the houses were still there, but looking so old it was painful to see them. I wonder if the people who lived there were able to celebrate Christmas with those decorations.

Did they leave the village with the ornaments intact, thinking they would be back again soon? If so, the little feelings they entrusted to that ornament have already passed decades without being fulfilled.

Unbeknownst to me, a tear drops from my right eye. The red right eye was a crybaby.

I would walk a little and find a stream flowing and reflect my face on the surface of the river, my right eye was as red as a ruby and, in contrast, my left eye was as clear and blue as an aquamarine. Odd eyes, I suppose you could call them. People who meet me for the first time usually tell me that I "look pretty" or that I "look unusual".

The red right eye was still slightly moist. The red eye always see only sad stories. I force myself to smile and chuckle to myself.

"Ehehe...... If Miss Belkis sees me like this, she will scold me yet again."

If Miss Nutcracker saw me, she would probably be worried, and if Miss Air saw me, she would probably start crying even more than me, saying things like "I'm in the mood to cry more than you....". Thinking about this made me feel a little amused, and I wiped the area around my eyes with the back of my right hand.

.......I'm alright.

Unlike the red eye, which reflects "tragedy", my blue left eye reflects "hope". People don't believe me, but sometimes I can see the future. It's not as clear as a vision, but it's more like a vague picture or intuition. I think it must be a mysterious power given by the score to a such withdrawn person like me.

In the past, the red eye have sometimes shown only "tragedies". In fact, it was all about that. And in reality, it turned out that way, for example, the big war against the D2s..... I even thought that I would have left this eye behind. But this time it was different.

The "hope" my blue left eye saw was the shadow of someone I had not yet seen, carrying a single baton.

That shadow will soon shine a bright light and illuminate this tear-stained world. And it will lead us to a world of peace and smiles. Last night, between morning and night, in my battle-weary slumbering consciousness, I did indeed see that light. I'm sure that person will wake up soon. I had such a premonition.

I felt that the blue eyes reflected on the surface of the river were shining brightly. Before the tears that had spilled had dried, my lips loosened. Should I tell someone about this? Will they say I'm starting to sound weird again? Still, this premonition seems special and....

Hmm...

Hmmm.....

"I've made up my mind! Let's go!"

Because it's good news, and I want to tell people about it! I don't care if they make fun of me and say, "She's saying weird crap again!"

I look up and start running. Flipping up my long skirt and swinging the two pigtails tied into a braid. I run down the slope, stepping on short, dead grass and jumping over exposed rock faces. But— halfway down the slope, I stopped dead in my tracks. Suddenly, I noticed that my right hand feels cold.

"Eh....?"

When I touched my right hand, my fingers were wet. Is this rain? I thought so and looked up at the sky. Before I knew it, the sky was dark and covered with thick clouds. The sky looked as if it might snow or rain at any moment, but it hadn't started yet. But the wet kind made me understood that it was tears. Before I knew it, my red eye was tearing again.

"What are these tears...?"

What is the red eye trying to tell me?

"......!"

Then, in a split second, a dark shadow crossed my mind. Many images of separation, pain, suffering and difficulty came and went.....

Why? My blue eye should have shown me "hope". But at the same time, do it say that it's the beginning of a "tragedy"? Someone I haven't seen yet, carrying that baton. Who are you? The sky darkened further and the wind became more humid. I felt a chill, probably due to the drop in temperature.

".....Nuh-uh!"

But I shook my head and started running down the slope again. I squeezed my red right eye shut. I looked straight ahead with my blue left eye.

It didn't really matter whether I could see the "future" or not. I didn't care whether what I saw was real or not, I just didn't want to be at the mercy of a "future" that I didn't know would come. I wanted the strength to carve out my own future. I would run and wait. I will wait while being strong. May that someone's baton, whom I have not yet seen, will point me correctly to a future I believe in.

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— translator's note : anyone agrees that this "person" daphnis sees on her vision was takt?👀 because she said, "that person will wake up soon" which takt was still in sleep during these times. and the way her eyes can see different "vision" is really interesting! next week, it comes to the last two, either moonlight or air! I hope you enjoy!

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#my translates #translation #gata: game tls #takt op. destiny by the city of crimson melody #takt op.#takt opus #short novel #daphnis et chloé #タクトオーパス

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themousefromfantasyland · 3 years

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Creatures of Yuletide: Krampus, the Christmas Demon

He sees you when you're sleeping

And he knows when you're awake

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good FOR YOUR OWN GODDAMNIT SAKE!!!

Christmas season is full of magical beings and creatures that travel through our world. Jolly old men from the north, elves that sleep in our homes, goats that give presents, the holiday season is full of all sorts of weird and wonderful characters. However, Santa Claus tends to me the most famous among them, and the most remembered in popular culture. This was, until some years ago, when a forgotten Christmas character rose in popularity in pop culture as an antithesis of good old St. Nick. I’m talking about Krampus, the Christmas Demon from German and Alpine lore.

One of the reasons why I believe Krampus became so popular recently is because he’s a scarier and less commercial alternative to Santa. In older posts I talked about how people used to tell scary ghost stories during Christmas and how Christmas once had this spooky side to it. Then one day it hit me that, in a way, Krampus is exactly a call back to these traditions. While not a ghost, Krampus brings back the scary atmosphere to the holiday. People tell stories about Krampus, they dress like him, they fright their neighbors in these costumes. People in general like to be scared, and in particular, even though they won’t admit it now, children too. Krampus is celebrated because he brings back the fun that overly commercialized Santa took out from Christmas.

Jeremy Seghers, organizer of the first Krampusnacht festival held in Orlando, said this in an interview to the Smithsonian Magazine:

"The Krampus is the yin to St. Nick's yang. You have the saint, you have the devil. It taps into a subconscious macabre desire that a lot of people have that is the opposite of the saccharine Christmas a lot of us grew up with."

Krampus is mainly a holiday tradition from the Alpine region and Central Europe in general. His name is derives from the German word krampen, meaning claw. On the night of December 5th, the eve of Saint Nicholas Feast, Krampus, and Saint Nicholas himself go out in the streets to punish or reward kids. This makes him one of the Companions of Saint Nicholas, a group of holiday figures that would help him in punishing kids. While they do the punishment, jolly old Nick brings the kids gifts, in a sort of Good Cop, Bad Cop dynamic.

Our friend St. Nick fills the shoes of good children with fruits and sweets. Krampus carries birch branches for senseless beating the misbehaving ones. On his back he is often depicted carrying a sack or a basket. This is to carry the naughty kids to his layer for more torture later. He can also eat them, threw them out in the river to drown, or bring them straight to the depths of Hell. In some parts of Austria, Krampus presents the families with gold-painted twigs that are to be displayed year-round in the house, constantly reminding the kids of his ever-watching presence.

What lovable fellow!

It was common in the 19th century to exchange Gruß vom Krampus, “Greetings from Krampus” cards that contained humorous rhymes and poems. In these Krampus is depicted looming menacingly over children. In others the creature receives sexual undertones, pursuing scantily dressed women.

There is also the Krampuslauf, or, Krampus Run, where people dress up as him and parade through the street dressed in fur suits and carved wooden masks and carrying cowbells. This one is very important for understanding Krampus origins.

Now, no one really know where Krampus comes from. The most popular theory is that he was a fertility god from the Alpine Region before Christianity retconned him as demon. Scholars often link him, Pan, and the satyrs to the archetype of the Horned God. Some claim he’s the son of Hel, but I didn’t find any real or credible source to this.

What we do know is that Krampus has some connections to a goddess in the Alpine region called Frau Perchta.

Now Frau Perchta is a very mysterious figure from the German folklore. She had many different names depending on the era and region. We don’t know a lot about her before Christianization, but what we do know is that in the folklore of Bavaria and Austria, she was a witch said to roam the countryside at midwinter, and to enter homes during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. Good children would find a silver coin in their shoes. Bad children would have their bellies sliced open, their stomach and guts removed, and she would stuff the straw and pebbles in the hole left behind. She had two forms in which she could be encountered, beautiful and white as snow, or elderly and haggard.

Perchten is plural for Perchta. Originally, the word referred to female masks representing her, but the name come to refer to the animal masks worn in parades and festivals in the mountainous regions of Austria.

A Perchten mask

In the 16th century, the Perchten took two main forms: Schönperchten, "beautiful Perchten", or the Schiachperchten, "ugly Perchten”. The beautiful Perchten came during the twelve nights of Christmas and festivals to bring luck and wealth to the people. The ugly Perchten, who had fangs, tusks and horse tails which were used to drive out demons and ghosts. Men dressed as the ugly Perchten during this time and went from house to house driving out bad spirits.

From the Smithsonian Magazine: A man dressed in a traditional Perchten costume and mask performs during a Perchten festival in the western Austrian village of Kappl, November 13, 2015. Each year in November and January, people in the western Austria regions dress up in Perchten (also known in some regions as Krampus or Tuifl) costumes and parade through the streets to perform a 1,500 year-old pagan ritual to disperse the ghosts of winter. (DOMINIC EBENBICHLER/Reuters/Corbis)

People would masquerade as these devilish figures and march in processions known as Perchtenlaufs. The Church didn’t like these creatures and tried many times to ban these practices, but due to the sparse population and the rugged environments within the region, the ban was useless.

In Catholicism, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children. His saint day falls in early December, which helped strengthen his association with the Yuletide season. A seasonal play that spread throughout the Alpine regions was known as the Nikolausspiel, "Nicholas play". In these plays St. Nick would make questions about morality and reward children for their scholarly efforts. Eventually the Perchtenlauf, in an attempt to pacify the Church, introduced Saint Nicholas and his set of good morals. Krampus, the in-chains helper of Saint Nicholas, was then born.

In 1975, anthropologist John J. Honigmann wrote that:

"The Saint Nicholas festival we are describing incorporates cultural elements widely distributed in Europe, in some cases going back to pre-Christian times. Nicholas himself became popular in Germany around the eleventh century. The feast dedicated to this patron of children is only one winter occasion in which children are the objects of special attention, others being Martinmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and New Year's Day. Masked devils acting boisterously and making nuisances of themselves are known in Germany since at least the sixteenth century while animal masked devils combining dreadful-comic (schauriglustig) antics appeared in Medieval church plays. A large literature, much of it by European folklorists, bears on these subjects. ... Austrians in the community we studied are quite aware of "heathen" elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil"

Is worth noting that this is exactly what happened to the Yule Goat. He was a pagan symbol, people dressed like him to keep winter spirits at bay, but the Christians demonized him. There are illustrations of Saint Nicholas or of Father Christmas riding the Yule Goat during Christmas and these were meant to represent the power of God over the power of the Devil. Krampus is represented in chains by the same reason. However, the Yule Goat came to become a gift-giver and a more positive force in holiday lore, with people dressing as goats to deliver gifts to their families in the 19th century. Krampus didn’t have the same luck. I really wonder if the Yule Goat and Krampus came from variants from the same or similar cultural traditions, but that took drastically different routes.

I must say that, although I'm more in the team Santa, I learned to love Krampus over the years. It’s undeniable the amount of fun he brought to those who wanted something a little more darker and creepier in the holidays, and as someone who identifies itself as 90% lover of cheesy, cutesy and sappy stuff and 10% lover of everything earie and macabre, the idea of a monstrous boogeyman in the shadows of good old Santa Claus is fun. I personally think there’s enough space for both, the terrifyingly scary and the joyful jolliness.

Fun fact: Krampus, the one people rescued from German obscurity to combat the overly commercialized Christmas, is now being criticized as being too commercialized. C'est la vie

Story time: In my country I once heard the tale of a guy that went as Santa to deliver Christmas presents to children in a poor community. He brought many gifts and toys with him. The children loved them, until there were no more gifts to be delivered. The remaining children and their parents became so angry that they chased away the guy, throwing rocks at him. The guy came to them with free stuff, helped as much as he could, and people still threw rocks at him and chased him away, almost seriously hurting him.

I admit, there are cases where Krampus is truly needed 🤣🤣🤣

Art by Helen Mask

#The Creatures of Yuletide #christmas #holiday season #gruss vom krampus #krampus #Greetings from Krampus #Gruß vom Krampus

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btsandvmin · 3 years

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Short initial review on BE.

BTS always deliver good music and this is no exception. As a whole the album does what it sets out to do and fill me with soothing messages and feelings of small happiness in the hard times we are all going through this year.

Life goes on - A sweet and cute song that I really like and think I will listen to quite a lot. The video is nothing special, but that is kind of the point and it is very fitting. I actually think I like the shots that are obviously JK’s more than Lumpen’s shots. So I kinda wish he could have shot more individual phootage of the members and scenery. It puts a smile on my face both to listen and watch. I really liked the lyrics as well. It has a melancholy feel I really enjoy and I like the beat and instrumentals quite a lot. The adlibs and vocal performances I also really love. It sets the tone perfectly for this album. Soft and sweet and definitely one of my favorites on the album.

Fly to my room - Another sweet song and the lyrics are perfect for the album as well with acceptance of the current situation and finding small ways to enjoy the now. The song is a bit too simple and repetitive for me though. And the rap doesn't seem to fit as smoothly as I would have wished and it feels more like Vmin feat. Sope than a Vminsope song. Jimin and Taehyung's vocals are great though, especially in the more melodic parts. The effects on the voices feel a bit unnecessary at times though. I also wish the music arrangement had more to it. I feel in general they could have done more with this than they did, especially since some of the melodies are really nice.

Blue & Grey - Probably my favorite on the album at the moment. Just beautiful. Every member shines and I love both the vocals and the rap parts. The mix of English and Korean is also good and the lyrics really touch my heart. Honestly Taehyung needs to write more songs. It makes me very emotional and I think Taehyung's feelings really comes through, especially in his own parts. He really shows his range in this song and the soft timbre of his voice just works so well. I wonder how his full version would have sounded. But I do really love that they decided to make this a OT7 song because honestly all of them are so good. This song makes me emotional and I am so happy they decided to not add too many effects but rather keep it a bit more raw and aucustic because their vocals are just so good they need to let them shine. The music and melody is great as well and I might even listen to an instrumental version of this. Love it.

Skit - I mean it is just proper chaos and very fun to listen to them isn’t it? Congratulations nr. 1 Billboard singers!

Telepathy - Retro and funky. Big hit seems to have something for cowbells recently? (Which I secretly love, shout out to TxT) A more upbeat and fun song that also represent BTS and ARMY's feelings of being unable to meet. The songs feels a bit short, but I enjoy it and think this bop will grow on me. The song balance between vocals and rap well. This song is needed to add some more positive vibes to the album. The synth and effects on the voices works well and I feel it fits in an album that also has Dynamite on it. The fade out on the end feels very old school.

Dis-ease - This song feels different and fresh and especially the second half I really love. Like it just goes off and it really lifts the song for me. It has an interesting structure but I do feel something is a bit missing from the beginning which I can't put my finger on. But I think as I hear it more times I won't really see it as much of a problem. Maybe the start needs to be like that to make the rest of the song work better, like it is working itself up to this heavier beat at the end. I feel Hobi really adds his vibe to the start of this song and the rappers sound very good. The lyrics are as usual good and I am glad they bring up this topic of weird restlessness that I think many have felt. I relate to this song, and especially this year and as a person who wants to work but can't and who has also experienced burn out. It’s a fun song, a lot happens and I think the more I listen to it the more I will like it.

Stay - A very nice and simple but cute song. I like it a lot, especially with their great vocal performances. This is soft EDM done right as it doesn’t get too repetative and they switch things up to keep it interesting. It feels short but fresh in its variations, even though I probably could have liked a third chorus as well. The bridge is probably my favorite part. Namjoon's rap really suits the song as well and elevates the song further. The lyrics (except the rap) are a bit simple, but it matches the tone of the song so I don't really mind. Another soft bop!

Overall a nice album but with many songs I might need more time to listen to before I can truly and fully appriciate them. The vocalists are the highlight of this album, which makes sense considering the type of songs, with some great harmonazing and beautiful tones. That being said the soft rap parts in Blue and Grey and Namjoon in Stay are definitely some favorites as well. I wouldn't say this album has a lot of instant favorite songs for me, but that is mostly due to the nature of the songs and my own taste. Overall this is a good minialbum which fits the times and works well in comforting me.

So those are my thoughts right now, just my own opinion and something that will probably change as time goes on as well. :) I know I don’t speak about BTS’s music a lot, but I really love them for their music and wanted to share my thoughts for this mini album. I hope you enjoyed reading and that you all enjoy listening to the album. I purple you. <3

#bts be album #bts song review #bts be review #bts be #btsandvmin #bts #my post

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queenjunoking · 3 years

Text

Wolf Taming pt 45

CW: Noncon - Petplay - abuse - weight gain

I didn’t even notice we had left the barn right away, I was just trying to process the information Eos had dropped on me. I didn’t think Z was a particularly safe or stable person to be around, but I didn’t think she was capable of something like that.

But on the other hand, did she even do anything wrong? She had been like me, someone had kidnapped her off the street. The difference was that she escaped by any means possible while I didn’t. I hadn’t woken up between getting captured and arriving in Z’s basement, but I couldn’t deny that I had several chances to try and overpower Z that I didn’t take. The one chance I did take I ruined by gloating.

I told myself I didn’t want to lower myself to Z’s level. But Z’s level was doing anything it took not to be where I was now. Z did whatever it took to get what she wanted. Even after I was captured I held back.

“Thoughts, Callidora?” Eos’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I realized there was sun shining on me. I looked around and it looked disturbingly like a farm. The area here was fairly open. I could see two barns and a house. I was expecting the house to be bigger for some reason, but it looked like a large farmhouse. A bit more modern maybe. I had no idea how something like this couldn’t have been found.

The cracks in this serene landscape started to show as I started to pick up on the activity. I saw some stablehands running about between the barns. The regular ones appeared to wear red jackets. There were some wearing black and white versions of their outfits, but I wasn’t sure what the different was yet.

It wasn’t until Eos took me further down the path that I saw others like me. Outside the barns were various pens. Each of the small pens were circular and had a pole in the center that had an arm coming off of it. I saw one one of them in action. There was a slender, but muscular, man was hooked onto some cables in the pen, forced to keep walking in circles as one of the stable hands in black shouted at him to raise his knees higher.

It suddenly sunk in that the ones in black were probably the personal handlers that Lucky and Clover were talking about. Given the plans Eos had for me, I would probably be stuck in one of those eventually. As we walked I saw more people dressed like ponies. Both men and women being taken from place to place. Some being given instructions, some being punished. I watched as one was strapped to what appeared to be a modified wheelchair that her handler was sitting in. I watched the handler crack the reins and the woman tried her best to pull the cart.

“It’s awful.” I finally said. The idea that anyone could think this was ok disgusted me.

“Well, we’ll see if you still think so in a moment.” The path Eos took me on went from the open area of the farm into the woods. I couldn’t imagine what could possibly be here. It took another few minutes of silent walking before I saw what it was.

A third barn.

“My farm is mostly known for the horses. We do other things here as well though.” A few stable hands were working on some machine outside of the barn as we approached. When they noticed us they quickly got up and opened the door so we could pass. Eos didn’t even acknowledge them. “If you don’t want to be a pony, Callidora, this is the other option I’m going to give you.”

The inside was horrifying.

The barn was lined with women all locked into metal frames. They were bent over, arms locked in the frame by their side, legs spread far apart. They had strange proportions. I could tell that, even if they could stand, they would have problems walking, they were far too topheavy. It took me a minute to realize that they probably weren’t removed from the rigs often. They probably had to learn to sleep like that, never being allowed to sit, lay down or stand up fully.

There were all kinds of tubes on them. I could see one going into each of their mouths, I had to assume they were sealed in there somehow since none of them were spitting them out. I could see ones inserted that were obviously meant to remove wastes. I heard one near me groan as some liquid started to come down the pipe and into her mouth. Given her reaction, I doubt it tasted very good.

Their wear was just an insult to injury. Each had a heavy cowbell around their neck. I could see each was wearing a headband with cow ears and horns on them. Most were wearing leggings with cow print on them.

I watched as one of the stablehands pulled a pair of clear cups out of a machine next to the poor woman’s stall and attached them to the breasts. I could hear the woman moan as I heard the machine start pumping. I looked at the woman, but she avoided my gaze the best she could.

I didn’t need Eos to tell me what they were. I knew what she was doing here. “These women are cows.”

She turned around and smiled at me. “Very good, Callidora. The Society has made a lot of medical advancements that aren’t really available to the public. One of which is simply referred to as the ‘hucow’ formula. It has various stages. A low dose can simply cause breast growth, it's something even Society members will use if they want a bit of a bigger bust. We also use it on show ponies in low doses. But if you stay on it for too long, it starts to cause lactation. Of course this kind of breast growth, along with the lactation results in more calorie intake. We’ve found it easier to just keep them locked in their stalls then to let them walk about. For the production level I desire, most couldn’t walk normally anymore anyway.”

Z was one thing, she was dangerous but she was an isolated incident. The ponies at least got to move around and get looked after. This on the other hand.

This was too much for me.

I felt the tears stinging my cheeks. “Why would you do this?”

“There is a market for everything, Callido-” Eos was cut off by one of the women moaning loudly. I saw one of the stablehands back up, a bit surprised. I could see the vibrator in her hands. I could put two and two together. She sighed and turned back towards me. “Plus there are some pleasurable parts of this job. I make sure the stablehands give each of these cows a few orgasms a day to keep them feeling good. Plus, another side effect of the formula appears to be that nipple stimulation feels very good. I’m sure each of these cows would hate to admit it, but I know they all just want their next milking to happen as soon as possible. The food having drugs in it that keeps them in a heat state doesn’t hurt either.”

“Talk to them a lot?” I was angry. But I couldn’t summon it. I was sad and scared. Eos said this was my other choice.

“Of course not, those tubes never come out of the mouths of these cows.” She gave my leash a tug and I just decided to follow her. Whatever would let me leave this horrible place the fastest. “I have one more sight to show you before you make up your mind.”

She walked me towards a door at the end of the hall. I stared at the ground so I didn’t have to look at these women anymore than I had too. I heard the door open and watched as we walked through. I didn’t lift me head until we were out of that area of the barn.

I regretted it immediately. There was only one woman in here. She was in a similar rig that every other woman was, but it seemed to be more padded than the other rigs. There was something special about this woman apparently. I watched her lookup, a blank expression on her face.

I gasped as it clicked into place who she was.

“I thought you might recognize her, Callidora. Audrey Whitlock. She was the Olympic gold medalist that went missing shortly after the closing ceremonies a few years ago.” Audrey tried to look back down, but Eos held her head up.

“Moo?” Audrey said out loud, looking at Eos. The blank look on her face never went away. She looked like she had mentally checked out a long time ago. In a way I was happy for her, she might not be aware of what was happening to her.

“Audrey here was an experiment that made me quite a bit of money. I’m not going to bore you with the details. I honestly don’t care about them much myself, I’m not a biochemist. She has the honor of being the first in a line of cows here that have had some modifications done to them to not only make their milk creamier and much tastier, but produce much more of it.” I watched Eos stroke Audrey’s hair. She closed her eyes and leaned into it like she was enjoying it. “Audrey is the sole producer of the milk used for my Gold Medal chocolates. They’re very indemand, I sell each one for thousands of dollars a box.”

Every word made me feel more numb. I knew Audrey’s story. She was one of my heroes. At one point I thought about what I could do to become an olympian because of her. When she vanished I just… couldn’t dream of filling her footsteps anymore. She had vanished and no one could find her. To think this is where she had been for years, having all of this done to her. It hurt more than I thought it would.

I watched as one of the stablehands approached. “Would you like us to wait to feed her. Mistress Eos?”

“No, go ahead.” She stepped to the side as the stable hand lifted her head back up. Audrey mooed again before a large plug shaped thing was pressed into her mouth and secured around her head. I watched a greyish liquid make it’s way from a nearby tank into her mouth.

I watched this for a bit, Eos made no move to pull me away or say anything. I could feel new tears streaming down my cheek as I watched my hero just… locked away like an animal. Spending her days being constantly fed and milked. This was her life. She had been here for years.

“I…” My throat felt raw as I tried to speak.

“Hm? Did you say something, Callidora?” Eos turned away from Audrey and turned to face me.

“I want to be a pony.”

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mirkwoodshewolf · 4 years

Text

Time travel rescue pt.3; 11th Doctor x teen reader ft. Queen

*Author’s note*

Alrighty now the next part will be the last one for awhile till I get around and finish writing pt.5 so you all will have to be on hiatus for a bit till then. But I’m happy to see people taking notice of this new mini-series crossover. Trust me this was really fun to write, but we get into a serious note. So here are the warnings for this specific chapter.

Warnings: Parent abandonment, gang activity, drugs, violence, knives, attempted murder, but I SWEAR NO ONE DIES IN THIS PART I PROMISE!!! So if any of these things make you uncomfortable, just skip this part, you won’t be missing much, (plus all this stuff get at around the middle of the fic and the end so you can read the beginning and then skip the middle, trust me you’ll know when one of the warnings begins)

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@ixchel-9275

@waddles03

@platawnic

@bensrhapsody

@queendeakyy

@kairosfreddie

@geek-and-proud

_________________________________________________________

I arrived at the Hammersmith Odeon and snuck past security using my own psychic paper that the Doctor had given me (in fact this is the first time it’s worked with just me alone so I was praying that it did. Thank god it did). I told him that I was a new volunteer to Roger’s assistant called in to help check in and make sure his drums were in tiptop shape.

Thankfully security at the time of the 1970’s just let anyone come in and out, not as fully overprotective as they are nowadays. I walked through the doors and soon came onto the stage and I just took it all in. I myself had never been to the Odeon theater, but I knew every square inch from the concert footages Queen did every time they performed here, and I couldn’t believe my luck that I was actually here, here.

As I walked closer to the stage, I was in awe to see Roger’s drum kit all set up and ready for rehearsal. I couldn’t help myself as I walked right up onto the stage and stood right before his drumkit, my eyes immediately catching the Queen logo on it designed by Freddie Mercury himself.

“Hello gorgeous.” I whispered as I very slightly stroked one of the crash cymbals. I walked around the back and couldn’t help myself but sit down and I stroked along the floor toms where Roger was most known for pouring his beer on at the time to make it go really high once he hit it to make it theatrical and rock-n-roll.

I then noticed his drumsticks sitting on top of the one of the two middle toms and I couldn’t help but grab them. Just touching them felt like I was touching something created only by the gods of drums themselves. I twirled one of the stick very skillfully in my hand, much like how Roger does and I thought about what to play.

I knew I couldn’t risk playing any of their future work (which is a shame cause not to brag I could play a mean Hammer to fall) but there were still plenty of choices to play that involved the guys’ early works.

So I decided to try my hand at playing the solo I knew he would play at the live performance Christmas eve, because besides the solo at Montreal 1981, the drum solo he did here for the Christmas eve performance at the Hammersmith was one of my favorite drum solos for Keep yourself alive.

I heard the tune in my head and did my best to replicate each of his movements that I saw him do time and time again every time I would watch that concert. I hit the bass drum when needed, the middle toms and the cymbals were the ones that got struck the most, I played the cowbell when it called for it, and I rhythmically beat down on the floor toms when needed.

I’ll admit there was a slipup here and there (cause hey I hadn’t even reached my five year marker from self-drum lessons). When I knew the drum solo ended I struck the cymbals one last time before grabbing them so that the echo wouldn’t last long.

Already I felt winded cause it’s been awhile since I drummed with my own kit since I was so busy with the Doctor. But I was shocked when I heard four separate applauses. I turned around and there stood Freddie, Deacy, Roger and Brian all with impressed smiles spread across their faces.

I smiled nervously and set Roger’s drumsticks back to where I found them and stood up and lightly curtsied before them.

“Well that’s it Rog we’ve found your replacement.” Joked Fred.

“I wouldn’t go saying that. I’m mediocre at best compared to Roger Taylor.” I said.

“Oh don’t be so modest darling, if you were any more modest you’d be Brian.” Brian looked at him before turning to me and he asked.

“So how long have you taken an interest in drums?”

“Only a couple years now. I was like—14 maybe 13 I can’t remember. My nana actually bought me my first drum kit.”

“Did you take lessons?” asked Deacy.

“Oh no we couldn’t afford drum lessons. I’m—kinda self-taught. I taught myself to play the drums by listening to different records. I know it sounds weird and a bit risky but—nana always told me that I had a keen ear for music, especially the harmony section. She caught me banging on the table with two pens and she’d name the song I was playing.”

“With skills like that I would’ve thought you’d been playing for at least 7 years.” Roger spoke up as he handed me a cup of water. I thanked him and took a sip, “And yeah there were some mishaps that I heard but maybe I could teach you how to properly strike the drumsticks in order to get the perfect sound.”

Oh my god. Did I just get offered a tutoring session with my hero? Roger Taylor was willing to give me a drum lesson? Holy shit nobody pinch me because I better not be dreaming.

“You’d—you’d really do that?” I asked.

“Absolutely. Hardly do I ever see a female drummer and you definitely got the skills love. In fact I’d be honored to teach a worthy student such as yourself.” I blushed at his praise.

“So (y/n) what other songs can you play?” asked Brian.

“Well mostly your stuff is what I first learned to play but I can play some other songs.” I stated.

“Do you know the opening to our song Liar?”

“Do I? That’s like my favorite live performance song you guys do. Well next to Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Well let’s hear it lovie.” Roger told me as he held his drumsticks out for me to take. I took them in my hand and twirled the sticks again before playing the opening note with the cowbell. I heard the opening in my head and then immediately switched to the high and middle toms before going down to the floor toms and alternating both floor and middle toms.

But what I was shocked to hear next were the joining sounds of Brian’s Red Special as well as Deacy’s bass, even Fred got involved with the tambourine. Roger stood behind me to observe and he would occasionally point out where to go next or whisper a brief tip on how to strike either the cymbals or the floor toms.

Once the intro was done, I exhaled and wiped the sweat already coming down my face and rubbed my hands.

“Well I guess it’s my horror to say that you’ll put me out of the job love.” Roger teased with a grin.

“No, no, no Rog. Like I said I maybe good but I’m nowhere near your speed.”

“But you are getting close. Looks like I better watch my back.” He said as both his hands came on top of my shoulders and he massaged my shoulders which made me rock back and forth.

“And once she surpasses you we can replace you. Maybe she’ll have some sense and not lock herself up in a cupboard like a child over a song.” Said Deacy. Whoa wait a second that actually happened?! I thought that was just a rumor.

“At least my song is worth more than yours was. ‘I’m happy at home’? What the hell kind of rock and roll lyric is that!?!”

“Children please. It’s already set and stone and Deacy’s song is a hit single in America.” Freddie said trying to tone down the heat before the flame got worse.

“Whatever Fred.”

“Alright well we’ve only got an hour for lunch, what do we say we head out and get us something before Reid or in worse case Paul comes in and tries to make us rehearse before we even have the chance to eat. I had to skip breakfast this morning.” Brian said.

“Well then you shouldn’t have slept so late Brian.” Deacy said.

“I hate mornings Deacy, not my fault.” As the boys went ahead it was just Roger and I as we got on our coats.

“So how did the search go? Did you find him?” he asked me.

“No.” I said solemnly.

“Do you have a number that you can call him on?” I mean I did but it was in my cellphone and I’d really rather not show it to Roger because wireless phones weren’t even invented yet, not till like 30 years from now. And even if I could try the Tardis number from memory, there’s just too many numbers for me to keep track of all of them.

“His line’s been down lately. Bugger always has it off the hook for whatever reason. Roger I’m really worried about him. He can be—a bit eccentric and—jumpy after something like this.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay. For now let’s get some food in that belly of yours then after rehearsal I’ll help you find him okay?”

“Or—maybe I should stop trying.”

“Don’t say that love, okay? I promise we’re going to find your friend okay?” I looked into those deep blue eyes of his and I just felt this warmth, that everything Roger had said was true. I nodded and that’s when he leaned his forehead against mine.

Our noses softly touching each other’s and we just stood there with our eyes shut, drawing in each other’s strength.

We got lunch at a nearby pizza joint and I was told tons of stories about the guys. Things that not even the fans of the future on tumblr even knew about (but to respect their privacy, I will not disclose any of that).

Freddie told me about how he and Mary first met each other and how he and her have a flat together. He also told me about his precious furbabies and even showed me a photo of them that he kept in his wallet. I awed at the pictures and he pointed out each cat in the photo; Tiffany, Oscar, Tom, Jerry, Lilly, Miko, and Romeo.

Deacy shared a little bit about his marriage with Veronica and the birth of their first born son Robert. Aww so Robert was born around this time. He even allowed me to see a picture of them, it was a recent picture taken around 2 months ago and he shared that his boy was now 5 months old.

He said he was a handful but Veronica and him loved him to pieces. And I know for a fact he did, I mean I’m talking to the one Queen member who ended up having 6 kids all with the same woman.

“Is that why you dedicated your song to her?” I asked.

“Well it’s only partially true.” I looked at him confused.

“See while I did dedicate it to Veronica, I also kept thinking about my son while I was writing the song. I just imagined playing catch with him in the front yard, teaching him to ride a bike, just—being there for him. So it was both for her and my son that my song is dedicated to.” Aww why couldn’t my damn alcoholic/drug addict of a father be like Deacy?

And the same was said for both Brian and Roger. I got to learn so much about these guys that it felt like I was somehow becoming a part of their little group, their family. Which was a feeling that was quite alien to me (no pun intended since I am technically friends with a timelord) but I liked it.

After lunch, I got to watch the boys rehearse some more till it was nightfall and currently Roger was giving me that drum lesson that he promised. Ohhh I can’t believe I get to say that I got to have a drum lesson with the Roger Taylor of Queen.

“Okay so when it comes to playing Keep yourself alive, you always must keep hitting the bass drum in order to keep the tempo. The drum is like the heartbeat of the band. If it’s all out of sync, then we just sound like rubbish.”

“Okay so when it comes to the first opening note, I can go either cowbell tempo or the high toms?”

“Yes I mostly prefer to use the high toms as the main intro but once you commit to one thing, you gotta follow through with it.” I nodded.

“Now when it comes to playing Now I’m here, do you just find yourself going crazy cause I’ve tried to play it and all I end up doing is act like I’m having a seizure.”

“Yeah it can get easy to just let it all go, and sometimes I find myself doing that for the intro. But the way I remember is just go from high to low on the drum kit. The cymbals, to the high and middle toms down to the low toms. But mainly keep the rock out on the middle and high toms.”

“Okay.”

“Okay let’s see what you got. Start with the double cymbal. I’ll lead you in.” I nodded and twirled his drumstick around. He then began singing Freddie’s part and I nodded to the tempo of the song as I could hear it in me head. When he got midway through the intro at the “Now I’m here/there.” I slammed the cymbal twice before catching it so that the sound would go silent.

Then when Roger sang the “I’m just a” line right before the rock out came on, I did as he said. I went from high to low on the drum kit as Roger kept singing. Once that was done, I caught the cymbals so that they ceased their ringing and Roger clapped.

“Phenomenal lovie, you are truly the best drummer I’ve seen.”

“Thanks Rog. I couldn’t have done it without all your teachings.”

“Well with the speed you’re going you won’t need my teachings for very long.”

“Oh my word. Never did I think I’d live to see the day when Roger admits that someone is better than him at the drums.” We looked up and Deacy soon came in but it wasn’t him that spoke out, it was the woman next to him.

She had long, dark brown hair and a beautiful face even without makeup on. In her arms she held a tiny baby boy and judging by the way Deacy had his arm around her, this had to be Veronica.

“Ronnie, so good to see you. Still seeing your husband’s painted me to be a dick.”

“Hey now no swearing in front of the baby Roger.” She warned him.

“Right, right sorry Robert bubbies.” Roger cooed down towards Robert and he lightly began tickling his tummy which made him coo and laugh. I couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight and that’s when Veronica turned towards me and asked.

“And who’s this talented young lady?”

“Veronica love, this is (y/n). (Y/n) this is my wife Veronica.” John introduced us as he went ahead and took Robert off her hands for a bit. Veronica held out her hand and I shook it.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” We both greeted each other with a soft smile. God she was beautiful, just like the pictures I’ve seen of her. Sure she was older in the pics because like her husband, she preferred to stay out of the limelight but she still supported her husband through and through. Which is why in the real world, they are my OTP.

“So how did you meet my husband and his friends?” she asked me.

“Well I first ran into Roger the other night.” I explained.

“(Y/n) here got jumped by some arseholes.” Said Roger taking his break from playing with Robert.

“Oh no you poor thing, you okay?”

“Yeah I am. Thanks to Rog and his friends.” I said as Roger came up to me and he playfully gave me a noogie.

“So where are you staying?” she asked me.

“She’s staying with me for now. She had a friend with her that night and we haven’t found him yet. I’m hoping to help her tomorrow since we don’t have as long of a rehearsal tomorrow.”

“Well you know (y/n) if you’d like to take a break from these guys, you’re more than welcome to stay with me at the hotel I’m staying at.”

“How far is it?” I asked.

“Oh it’s just a mile from their hotel.”

“No Veronica how dare you try to take my roommate from me!” Roger exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around me tightly almost to the point of smothering me.

“Rog don’t smother the poor girl.” Said Deacy. Roger released me from his strong embrace allowing me to breathe.

“Besides I know what hanging around you guys for too long does. At least let her hang around someone whose sane and won’t start an argument every five minutes.” Veronica said. Deacy looked at her accusingly and she said, “John you know I love you but let’s be honest, you can be a bit bitchy.” Roger softly laughed before looking down at me.

“Well (y/n), do—you want to go with Veronica for the night?”

“I—well I don’t want to impose. Especially since you have your son.”

“I wouldn’t mind, in fact I could use the extra hand since my love is pretty much busy for the next few days.”

“I promise I’ll try to be over by tonight though.”

“I know you will.” She said as Deacy cupped the side of her face as Veronica nuzzled against her husband’s palm. Gahh I can’t take seeing them together it’s just—so kawaii!

“Well—if you don’t mind. Then I could spend a couple of nights over at your hotel.” I said. She smiled and said.

“Now worries (y/n), we can leave after we all get some dinner.” And that’s what happened.

Soon Veronica and I arrived back at her hotel room. She insisted on helping with my bags but I told her that she needed to take care of Robert and that I could handle everything myself.

Once I got unpacked and changed into my pajamas, Veronica was putting baby Robert to bed. As I watched her look down at her son with loving eyes, I couldn’t help but just feel envious of Robert. They were the perfect parents to Robert who gave him nothing but love and attention and he wasn’t even a year old yet.

She was reading to her son a lovely bedtime story while sitting in the rocking chair. Baby Robert cooing as he leaned against her chest trying to fight off sleep, but the sound of Veronicas soothing, motherly voice as she read to him made him fall asleep.

I couldn’t help but turn away and try to hold in my tears. I buried my face into my hands and bit my lip to hold in any sobs that tried to come out. Damnit what I wouldn’t give to have parents like Deacy and Veronica, instead my parents cared more about their next fix rather than their daughter.

I was a means to an end to them, when they really did notice me it was before they could sell me for drug money. I could’ve been sold off, molested by drug abusers, hooked on drugs and probably died by 5 years old from malnourishment. Why didn’t they love me?

“(Y/n)?” I looked up to see Veronica standing over me looking at me concerned. “Are you okay sweetie?” I sniffled and wiped my tears.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine….I’m fine.” I choked out as I turned away from her still wiping my tears.

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

“How can you tell?”

“You and John do a similar thing. You refuse to make eye contact with me whenever you lie. So come on out with it. What’s going on in that mind of yours? Is it your friend?”

“No, no. I—god you’re gonna think I’m a horrible person when I say this.”

“Try me.” Wow she’s such a sweetheart. As she rubbed my back comfortingly and handed me a box of tissues, I dabbed my eyes of the tears and I said.

“I—envy your son.” She looked at me confused and that’s when I continued, “I—I haven’t even told Roger the entire truth but uhh—my parents were…..drug addicts. Hell my mum never even knew she was pregnant till she gave birth to me behind a dumpster. I was—merely a coat to them. They only noticed me when they wanted to. Then when I was 3 they—” I trailed off and shook my head.

“You don’t have to explain anymore (y/n). God I—I cannot even begin to think what you went through. You poor thing.” She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and I said.

“I always believed that—all parents were like that. That’s why I also denied authority in my younger years. But then seeing you and Deacy speak and treat Robert like that it—” more tears spilled from my eyes and that’s when Veronica took me in her arms and proceeded to rub my back comfortingly.

“Ohh (y/n) I am so sorry you had to go through something like that. But think of it this way, even with a sad and troubled upbringing, you’re still this beautiful, talented, charismatic young woman. Who I believe one day is going to change the world.”

Wow—I mean I read on biography information that she was sweet and down to earth but this—it was just completely mind boggling. I mean I’m barely an acquaintance of her husband and she’s already treating me like I’ve known the boys for years.

“Thank you Veronica.”

“You’re most welcome love, do you feel any better?”

“Yeah I….I’ve never really had the chance to cry about my past….at all really.”

“Well I’m always here to offer a shoulder to cry on, or if you want to get away from the boys.” We both chuckled and that’s when she got up and actually made me some hot chocolate as a comfort drink. As I sat there for a while, I saw Veronica going through Robert’s baby bag when she said.

“Oh darn it.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought I packed enough diapers for Robert but I guess I used the last of it just before his bedtime. And I can’t ask John to run the errand for me because his hotel’s 20 blocks from here.”

“You can go get the diapers, I’ll watch Robert.” She looked at me wearily.

“Are you sure? And I don’t mean this in a crude way but do you know how to take care of a baby?”

“I’ve dabbled here and there with some neighbors around my nana’s place.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?” she asked worriedly.

“Hey Veronica, trust me I’ve got this. Besides it’d be better than driving with a baby boy with a wet diaper to the nearest store, get the diapers, come back here, change him and put him back to bed.”

“You’re right okay well if you insist. His bottles are already made and in the fridge. Just warm it up for about 30 seconds in after putting the water in for the same amount of time. Uhh if he drops his sea turtle in the night just put it back in his crib. I should be back in a few minutes so you won’t deal with him long okay?”

“We’ll be okay Veronica now go. Go get those diapers before a store closes for the night. Especially with the holidays getting closer.”

“Yeah you’re right. I’ll be back in about 10 minutes if not 5, think you can be in charge for that long?”

“No worries you can trust me Veronica, now go.” She nodded then grabbed her coat, purse and keys and headed out the door. I went to take a quick peek over at baby Robert to see that he was still asleep which put me at ease so I went back into the main room without a second thought.

I managed to find a random fashion magazine probably given by the hotel management and just browsed through it. Now I’ll admit some of this stuff that came out during the 70’s I’ll admit were super stylish and I kinda wish we kept them around. And yeah call me an old soul but hell I’ve been everywhere far, wide and in between.

But as the minutes ticked by, I kept getting this itch that something wasn’t right. It reminded me of being back in the gang when a standoff would happen and next thing we would know, BANG! BANG someone got shot in the head or heart.

So I went back to check on Robert to see that he was still fast asleep in the pitch black room, but there—there was just the feeling in the air that someone else was here in the room. I thought I heard the chair rock but I was nowhere near it, I carefully and slowly reached into my back pocket my 6 inch tiger claw knife.

I actually caught sight of these when helping out with a weapons trade when I was around 12. I saw this knife along with the tiger-like claws along the handle and I thought ‘damn this is a badass weapon’. So I swiped it and no one suspected a thing. I readied it on my right hand and decided that anything I would see move, I would attack.

Because I’ll be damned if anyone attacks Robert.

It was then I saw a shadow quickly go past the door and I sprung out and immediately attacked the person. I stabbed them repeatedly and all I got in response was an animal-like hiss, a very familiar animal like hiss. The thing and I rolled on top of each other before I kicked them out towards the living room and there I saw it.

It was the fish-humanoid creature that had somehow gotten on the TARDIS, however it wasn’t the exact same one that pushed me out. This one was more strongly built and had a more greenish tone than the previous one. But those eyes, webbed hands, claws and teeth were still the same.

I stood guard over the door holding and skillfully spinning my tiger-claw knife that I wasn’t gonna let this beast get by me without a fight. It snarled as it stared at me pacing back and forth but I kept my eyes and would adjust my stance following it’s every move so that it wouldn’t sneak by me.

But then I saw it smirk at me before it suddenly morph it’s shape into a more human form. The claws shrunk to fingernails, the skin became slightly more tan and long blonde hair began to grow out of its head. Soon standing before me was none other than Roger.

Oh shit. What if—what if this thing was some kind of a siren? I mean it would make sense, fish-like creature, able to turn into a handsome person whether male or female. But there’s one thing this siren didn’t really include, I may love Roger but not in the way it thinks I do.

So I literally had no problem with lunging right at it and pinned it against the wall. I got a knee right where the sun didn’t shine before getting a few good jabs in.

“Nice try, but our love is different you bitch.” The siren eyes shifted from Roger’s famed blues back to its pitch black as it’s teeth and claws came back out and it lunged for me again. It tackled me against the counter and proceeded to try and take a bite out of me but I held it back with as much strength as I could before finally taking a stab at it through its shoulder.

It hissed in pain before taking my wrist and twisting it to the point where I heard the bone break. I let out an agonizing scream as it then grabbed me and threw me towards the table which broke the glass top and I lay there groaning in agony. It’s eyes glared at pure hatred towards me before it turned its attention back towards the bedroom.

It suddenly turned to water and it drained right towards the bedroom. Oh fucking hell you don’t! I tried as best I could to get up and crawl towards the bedroom. I saw it’s shadow standing over Robert’s crib and it took my knife out of it shoulder before admiring it and turning down towards Robert.

No, no, no, no, no, no! That bastard was gonna point the blame on me for killing John and Veronica’s first born! It grinned maliciously at me before pointing the blade right down to Robert.

Suddenly a high pitched sound came out of nowhere and the siren dropped my knife to the floor. It held it’s ears in agony and hissed an echoey type shriek as it’s form kept reverting between it’s true form and Roger’s.

I took this as my moment to take my knife back and tackle the damn bastard down to the ground, but in that process, we had actually knocked the crib over and the next thing that echoed through the room was Robert’s crying.

I trailed behind the siren until I managed to corner it behind the rocking chair and the drapes. I pinned it down with both my legs and stabbed it repeatedly in the back roaring and crying out before finally slicing it’s neck which stained the corner of the room with it’s blood.

Robert’s crying softened as I came out from the corner of the room and collapsed exhaustedly to the floor covered in the siren’s blood.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was about you missy?” I could hear Robert’s cooing and I heard the voice say again, “Yes, yes she did save your life. And she was very brave at that too.” I turned around and smiled and chuckled softly.

“Doctor.”

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sselkie · 4 years

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C H A R A C T E R S T U D Y ⇁ ( 1 / ? )

They never knew who to blame it on. The gender. The sex. Perhaps the doctor was the best choice. He had always insisted that it would be a boy; a strong, healthy baby boy that would make his parents proud. He would play football, listen to classical music, become a lawyer. God was sending them a saint. The perfect son. Except you were not a saint, or a son for that matter. Someone had to paint the crib pink and buy some dresses. In fact, all the pants would have to go. Even the binkies and the bibs were the wrong colors. And they certainly couldn’t name a little girl Penley. Only a monster would do that.

The first words that graced your ears were from that of the doctor, a statement twisted into a question. “It’s . . a girl?” Then your parents had clamored, began panicking. “Wrap her up in a pink blanket! Get rid of the blue — you told us it’d be a boy!” A baby girl. What a nuisance. They’d raise you as their daughter, and what would you do? You’d just take someone else’s name in the end, continue on a different person’s legacy. Bullshit. Total bullshit. But what could they do?

Yet, they took you home. Long, sleepless nights exchanged between your parents. It should come as a surprise that they refused to hire a nanny with their deep pockets. Part of you might always wonder how they could want you and care for you as a child: screaming, helpless, annoying.

II.

For years, they kept telling you a baby brother was on the way. Their expected prince. But for years they couldn’t seem to make it happen. The longer they failed, the farther pregnancy seemed away. Your hopeful little smile dipped farther from returning each time the announcement was retracted. Nonetheless, your father would go out and buy a bouquet each time he’d think they’d done it. You’d sit by them for a few hours each day, memorizing the different colors and the droop of the petals, until eventually you couldn’t help but touch them. The velvety petals would roll between your clumsy fingers and if you didn’t accidentally take one off, then the next morning you’d return and they’d have retracted.

It tended to be those same days your parents would get into a heated discussion — the doctor informing them that no, they were not pregnant though you’d tried your best to beg him for a different answer. You would proceed to coax the flower back out, talking till your throat was raw, and your mom peppered you with kisses to inform you that bedtime had arrived. The connection was simple to reach for, but you’d always eventually give in and feel the petals between your fingers. You’d certainly love a baby brother with golden hair like yours, but he was not here and you could not solve that. You loved the flowers, and it was too trying not to strain for their embrace.

Other days, Mama would set up a picnic out back, the woods edging against your backyard and the wildflowers calling you from a distance. Those were the times that Dad would be at work all day. You’d fill your mother’s antique tea-set with your special punch — melted popsicles, and sip away under the Indiana sunshine. She’d let you run free, go screaming victoriously into the forest. Those were different times. Sometimes you’d come back without a shirt, your skirt riding high in all your childhood glory and she’d lift you up into her arms and chastise you with a smile. Then, you’d both disappear in the forest looking for the lost articles of clothing as she talked about how children of God were supposed to wear clothes and that you were not a witch, not like the people far down the street.

III.

The news came too soon. Father fumed for days, raving on and on about how that this wasn’t his fault. Given, you didn’t learn till years later that it truly wasn’t. There was no chance for that baby brother you and your mother dreamed about aloud on sunny, summer days. Hope lay stagnant between your parents, but hidden in your underbelly waiting for a new dream to arise. Dormant, realizing that they had hit a wall, Mama and Dad never recovered. Weekends spent watching reruns of Tom and Jerry interchangeably with them were warped into something else. A nightmare you never understood of vodka, rum, wine, beer, anything really.

Being perfectly honest, the difficult part was never tucking yourself in at night. It was that you still loved them when they would not give in to your childish pleas of coming home, going inside, and just falling asleep. So that your worrying may not warp your dreams into nightmares. From there, alcohol was the easiest thing to erase from your future.

But with fifth grade arrived a project. It hadn’t seemed significant at first, just wasteful. You didn’t want to spend the time prepping a tri-fold when you could be running rampant in the woods outside or riding your bike to the park or painting. At some point your parents had even cracked and bought you an easel once they’d tired of constant finger-painting. Of course, you’d rather be tracing dandelions than doing homework. With topics being plucked up within days of the two week assignment, you scrambled for whatever was thrown your way. That was when you knew what you wanted. The job fair had gone smoothly; the idea of being a real life police officer racing through your mind. That concept, the possibility of helping people snagged under your skin.

IV.

Teenage years passed as a blur in your peripheral vision. They were years of confusion, certainly. You definitely weren’t interested in sex, though you assumed you’d just wait till you found the right person. Additionally, you never bothered dating; you’d rather ignore how you’d always need to strike up a conversation with Jen from physics.

Eventually, your parents gave up on trying to sell you the life of a florist as opposed to that of a police officer. In fact, they struggled for anything else they could get you to do. A nurse. A mother. A teacher. A waitress. A secretary. “Please, anything, but a man’s job.” Your mom was known to beg and for a while you had made them happy as a waitress, saving money and waiting till you could move out.

It was no big shock to most in the church community when you were offered a job. You still do not understand your parent’s complete disdain. Many people aren’t thick-skulled. They had accepted the possibility of a woman working a man’s job. Still, the offer was huge to a girl like you. It has been what you’d wanted since forever. You’d have to attend the police academy, not too far from Wheeler, but not within the town limits. In return, you were promised a job at the Wheeler Police Department and half of your tuition paid for.

You accepted without hesitation and with a noticeable lack of any conversation exchanged with your parents on the topic. Inevitably, the good news couldn’t be stifled for long. Believe it or not, you knew right when they knew; father insisted you were to leave. Your mom, as always, only offered a saddening smile behind his back. You took what was important: your flower pots, bed, bike, clothes, painting supplies, and toothbrush. And in a fit of frustration and rage, you dumped their wine stand onto the floor. The glass and alcohol pooled into a mosaic; one that you can still remember, a message from God no doubt hidden somewhere in it. But you were gone, sprinting out the door and swinging into your friend’s pick-up before it could speak to you. As far as you know it still sits there, waiting to be translated.

Two and a half years passed quicker than you expected and graduation occurred late April. It was the ceremony that churned by in two and a half years rather than two and a half hours. You achieved near two disembodied claps after your name rang across the stage. There was no “that’s my girl” or cowbell echoing distantly.

Within the week after, you had your hand on the bible and an apartment. The week after that, your first day on the job. An early birthday present, better than lamenting in the Chinese restaurant for the third year in a row.

Soon though, it seemed that with your hiring came an avalanche of horror. Cassie Klein’s disappearance. You’d broken down in the brush behind the Klein’s house less than an hour after arriving on the scene, praying to God that he need not do this. This karma was reserved for you, not a child. And yet, it appeared he hadn’t listened, not since you had cried till utterly raw with blood dripping from your nose.

These mental breaks were never supposed to become ritual. But ever since her disappearance (one year exactly), you cannot catch a break. You want to do good so badly that maybe you don’t know when to quit, but you’d like to learn how to do better.

#TW: alcholism #TW: sexism #& . ( i could have been a great many things. ) / * bio.#& . ( hearts like flowers cannot be rudely handled but must open naturally... ) / * aesthetic.

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twigstarpikachutroll22 · 4 years

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Day 15 of #30daysofautismacceptance

April 15: Free day! Write about any topic you want!

*beating a cowbell and imitating Mr. Krabs’s voice* DAY 15!! GIVE IT UP FOR DAY 15!!

XD okay I’ll stop.

Anyways, picking a topic for today was a little hard. But eventually the idea came to me to just list some positive autism-related experiences! A bunch of this can get to be about struggles we have as autistic people, but, like, there’s a whole positive side to be autistic too, right? So Imma just take today to talk about that!

1) A few weeks ago, one of my favorite slow burn fanfics got an update that gave me SO many different feels on top of each other I could just EXPLODE. After reading that, I found myself pacing around and around the house for an undisclosed period of time just thinking about it and flapping my hands like crazy. I couldn’t stop flapping. I don’t particularly often feel like I stim to express my feelings, but that day, I was flapping out ALL the insane amounts of feels that chapter gave me and it felt so, SO good.

2) I think I mentioned that back in 7th grade when my special interest in Trolls first took hold, I was at PEAK obsession, and part of that was blurting out random quotes from it at random times all day long. Several times a day I would, unprovoked, shout “NO TROLL LEFT BEHIND!” I got kind of a reputation for that. At some point, some other kids from other classes who I didn’t know, including some kids from the older grades, started calling out “No troll left behind!” whenever they saw me. And that would always make me so happy. I’d be grinning ear to ear shouting “NO TROLL LEFT BEHIND!” back to them. A lot of those kids hadn’t even seen the movie, actually. They were just like “yeah, that girl always shouts ‘no troll left behind’ for some reason. we don’t know why, but... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “ To this day, some people still call out “No troll left behind!” when they see me, and I still shout it back to them.

3) The first time I told a group of internet friend/sisters that I’m autistic and talked some about that and what it’s like, several of them commented saying they were autistic too and ALSO talked a bunch about it. They said a bunch of stuff that I related to a lot. And the few who commented and weren’t also autistic were just like “wow, i never knew that about you guys! this is so cool!”

4) Those same internet friends/sisters were also super supportive and awesome when much much later I told them the whole story of my emotionally scarring first year-and-a-half or so of middle school as an autistic person, which I hadn’t told anycreature about in the three years or so that had passed since then.

5) O.T. at my elementary school had some pretty great stuff. The obstacle courses, the various sensory toys to play with, the ball pits and trampolines and dance parties and containers of putty to find objects in and bins of rice and stuff to stick your hands into? Not to mention at some point they got these meditation stories to play the audio for aloud, and they were amazing. We could lie down somewhere soft in the room and listen to relaxing music and some calming voice tell stories about finding a room full of trophies for your proudest moments in life, or finding a rainbow that brings you all different positive feelings when you touch the colors and that you can slide down afterwards, or going on a magic carpet journey and finding all kinds of amazing things that you capture in magic jars like a lion’s roar or a really pretty snowflake or a flower that smells really really good... you get the idea. It was awesome. I miss it.

6) Last year for a school project we were supposed to make a presentation on a historically oppressed group of people, and the group I chose was autistic people. I went through a bunch of really stupid supposed “treatments” people had tried over the decades, went into the general problems with them and how those problems still exist and everything. I actually really enjoyed doing that project and the presentation turned out REALLY good in the end. I got a bunch of applause afterwards from the rest of the class. Heck, I'd even made a slide all about why the R word is a slur, as a “take THAT” to those few idiots in my class who insisted on throwing it around all the time no matter how many times I told them how offensive it was. Those idiots didn’t take the hint, but this one other kid in the class who actually was kind of nice came up to me afterwards and talked about how he’d never known that stuff before and using the word like that had kind of gotten to be a habit that was gonna take some effort to break, but like...y’know. So yeah, I was really proud of how that all turned out.

I think that’s enough for now. Always good to spread the positivity! :-)

#30daysofautismacceptance #2020

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retrocatastrophy · 5 years

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Hey! I’m a fairly new ghost fan and I’m getting kinda confused with the ghouls and was hoping you could help me out! Who are the current ghouls? I guess some are past ghouls? But i’m seeing a lot of different names and some posts feature some and not others and i’m just very confused 😅😅

Ever since their debut, the Ghouls have been constantly replaced. Some of them, especially from the first 2 eras are hard to notice being replaced, since their regalas were making them look all alike.The Ghouls that have been replaced the most are the Water Ghouls, the bassists.

So far from 2008 to now there have been 7 bassists, 4 drummers, 3 lead guitarists, 4 keyboardists, 3 rhythm guitarits, and 3 “special” ghouls. In total, 22 ghouls (two switched instruments), out of which there are 7 currently in the band, as seen below

I won’t give the real names here, but I can show you all the Ghouls.

Fire Ghouls *the most upbeat ghoulsFire Ghoul aka Alpha (2010-2016) *very close to Omega. Those two had strong chemistry on stage.Fire Ghoul II aka Ifrit (2017) *jumps a lot on stage with Aether.Ghoul aka Dewdrop (2018-) formerly as Water (2017-2018) *very skinny and stopms a lot

Aether Ghouls *all are beef boysQuintessence aka Omega Ghoul (2010-2016) *the most beloved former ghoul. Stopms a lot. Wrote the songs Year Zero and Zenith.Aether Ghoul (2016) ex Water Ghoul (2015-2016) *often replaced Alpha or Omega on guitar when necesarry. Later switched permanently to rhythm guitar.Aether II/Ghoul (2017-) *the most beloved current ghoul. Chemistry with Dewdrop is similar to Alpha and Omega.

Water Ghouls: *they’re usually timid, but once they come out of their shell, they easily tend to get amoung fan favorites.Water Ghoul (2010-2011)Water Ghoul II (2011-2012) *people often tend to forget about this one, since he’s hard to tell apart from his successor.Water Ghoul III (2013-2014) *son of the first Air GhoulWater Ghoul IV (2015-2016) later as Aether (2016)Water Ghoul V aka Water/Mist Ghuleh (2016) *first lady GhoulWater Ghoul VI aka Dewdrop (2017) later as Fire/Ember and other (2018-) *at first confused a lot with his female predaccessor(Water) Ghoul, knows as Rain and many other pseudonyms (2018-) *a bit taller than Dewdrop

Earth Ghouls *none of them wear shoes (except during Meliora)Earths:Earth Ghoul aka Terra (2010-2013) *flamboyant. Has pale teal eyesEarth Ghoul II (2014-2016) *smallest male GhoulEarth Ghoul III (2017) *sometimes people tend to forget about him (Earth) Ghoul IV aka Mountain (2017-) *skinny and hunched a little. Tallest of the current batch

Air GhoulsAir Ghoul (2010-2016) *tallest former ghoulAir Ghoul II, known as Chair (2017) *sadly isn’t liked a lot by the fandom(Air) Ghoulettes/Ghulehs aka Cirrus and Cumulus and other (2018-) *also play the tambourine and sing (the taller one less often, tho)

“Special” Non-elemental Ghouls Special Ghoul (2010-2018) later as T. himself *the one who does the interviews, talks about cats and flaps his hands about.Cowbell Ghoul (2016) *only appeared on a few occasions to annoy Papa during Ritual and If you have ghosts on Popestar.(Multi/Swiss-army) Ghoul (2018-) *performs as Papa Nihil during Miasma. Plays the tambourine and sings too. Darker skinned and lean built. Seen next Mountain.

Hope this helped. :)

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nocturnalghoul · 11 months

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Mushy May Day 19: Found Family

Special has never really felt like they have a pack, but they have Cowbell and that's enough.

Partner ficlet with my Day 15 entry about Special and Cowbell's connection and how they are like brothers to one another. This is Special's side of the dynamic and the other one was Cowbell.

I am trying to get caught up on my Mushy May's but we will see how it goes. Also gonna do a quick little tag for @askingforthesun cause I yelled about this in your DM's a bunch <3

Words: 822

Rating: Gen/Everyone

Read below the cut or on AO3 here:

Special has never truly fit into a real pack, he just has Bell.

The band ghouls and him are all still close enough, it's good to know the band you are doing PR for, but he isn’t technically in the band. They are a very close knit group and while Special is welcome to join them at any time there is a difference between that and the intense connection of the pack. Several times he has tried to hang out with the general non-band ghouls but they are uncomfortable with the status he holds. It has been made very clear by Sister Imperator that Special is above them in rank and disapproves of the beloved PR ghoul “wasting his time” with them.

Cowbell however, fills a similar role to Special, both ghouls thrown into this weird in between area. They are technically part of the group but also partially on the outside looking in. That kindred connection tied the two of them together in the beginning until it reached the point of closeness like brotherhood that they have reached now.

Bell is technically a band ghoul, Special has made sure time and time again that the earth ghoul be included in that definition, but his time was so short lived that they too are not a true part of that pack. They are a bit odd even by ghoul standards, and while everyone still loves them immensely, it's still plain to see it. Special however always sees all of Bell’s idiosyncrasies as charming. They are a weirdo, but they are his weirdo.

Of all the ghouls, Bell is the only one that Special truly feels like he can confide in. He would do anything for the little ghoul and they return the sentiment the best way they can, by making them feel included. Bell is the only one who makes them feel like part of a pack, and Special loves his brother for that.

There are times however that he wishes his brother would include him a little less. Looking down at the matching crop tops that Bell has made, Special decides this is one of those moments. The earth ghoul clearly not only cut them themselves with what he guesses had to be garden shears instead of real scissors, leaving a brutal hack job, but also fingerpainted them.

“I’m not wearing that Bell” Special declares with as much certainty as he can manage. The earth ghoul looks so excited though, and already Special can feel himself starting to soften. Special is a ghoul who could talk his way out of anything, but when it comes to his brother all that rhetoric leaves him.

“Come on, Spesh” is all Cowbell has to say in response, letting his big sad eyes do the rest of the convincing. With a deep sigh he caves, replacing his current uniform shirt with the crop top. Someday he will figure out how to tell his brother no and actually mean it, but not anytime soon.

Not that he would ever admit it, but it's silly moments like that which really make him feel the most loved and welcomed inside the abbey. Special might have decided to take Bell under his wing to begin with, but it was their dedication that made the two begin the path to being brothers.

~~~

When his brother first started hanging around Ifrit, he was worried. The loud and boisterous fire ghoul seemed perfectly poised to break his brother's heart so Special did the one thing he was good at, and that wouldn’t get him in trouble for jeopardizing the ghost project, he talked. By the time he was done with his whole hurt my brother and I’ll hurt you ‘discussion’, Ifrit looked like he was gonna shit himself in fear. That’s fine though, just shows that the fire ghoul was listening.

The text he got from Bell later that day reading “Special Philharmonic Ghoul, what the fuck did you say to scare Ifrit so bad” may have been an indication he had gone a bit overboard considering the full name drop, but Bell was worth a little drama. Besides, it didn’t seem to scare the fire ghoul away at all and that was respectable.

Slowly as Ifrit started to begrudgingly grow on him, not that he would ever admit that, Special realized that as long as Bell cares for them that’s all the vote of confidence in the ghoul he really needs. Bell always makes sure to make Special feel included, so maybe it was time for him to return the favor and include the fire ghoul in their little circle as well. Slowly his reminders to Ifrit change from “if you hurt them” to “if you let them get hurt” and while Ifrit still seems concerned at the tone, the blinding smile on his brother’s face at the approval is all he needs to know the right decision has been made.

#mushy may #nocturnal mushy may #the band ghost #nocturnal #nocturnal writings #cowbell #special ghoul #cowbell and special are brothers your honor!

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thesunlounge · 4 years

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Reviews 296: Warning

The Berlin based Warning functions as a mix series, label, and party crew dedicated to safe and inclusive raving and some of the artists and labels I follow most enthusiastically are associated with the collective, including, but definitely not limited to, Brothers from Different Mothers, Mirror Zone, Doom Chakra and a whole host of Salon des Amateurs related crews such as Themes for Great Cities, Aiwo, and candomblè. The record label aspect of Warning began earlier this year with the release of a white label, hand-stamped 7” containing two must have edits: one where DJ TABLEDANCE transforms Blaze’s classic “Lovelee Dae” into a hypnotic and hazy electro epic, and another from Benedikt Frey that chops and loops Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” into a delirium vocal tapestry while stoned out basslines and crushed beats stomp through layers of feedback. And just a few weeks ago, Warning released their second white label 7”, this time featuring Your Planet is Next and one of my current favorites: the mysterious Giraffi Dog. We get original compositions this time around, with Giraffi Dog operating in primetime breakbeat mode and delivering a delirious rave adventure carried by pleading vocoder hooks and moving between cosmic techno mysteries and orchestral LSD euphorias. Then on the B-side, Your Planet is Next presents a stripped down and tripped out slab of sci-fi electro minimalism, with paranoid energies and slap bass weirdness constantly morphing the track while space age string synths generate nightmare visions and gothic choirs sing shadow spells.

DJ TABLEDANCE / Benedikt Frey - WAR1901 (WARNING, 2019) DJ TABLEDANCE’s “S3NS3TIVE EDIT” of Blaze’s timeless house bomb “Lovelee Dae” is particularly special and transforms the track into a cloudform electro zone out. We start with soulful hooks smothered in shadow and looped choirs blowing like a galactic breeze. Hi-hats wash across the mix…though faraway in the distance…and rapid fire cymbal patterns fade-in while snares clack on the beat. The energy is anxious and anticipatory as we build towards a magnificent drop, wherein electro breakbeat sorcery rides through swirling synth and vocal fogs. Blaize’s legendary hook drops and sits alone amidst the rhythmic intensity, with certain parts of the singing caught in delay boxes and smeared into an ethereal haze. At some point the kick drums fall away and “Lovelee Dae” echoes out as an incredible basslines slams into the mix, all pulsing psychedelic militance and liquid acid intensity filtering through the void. As the rhythms return, the vocals continue moaning and crooing over top, with sections pitch-shifted and arranged in round…creating a delirious call and response. Basslines morph and phase as the hypno-breaks cruise through stellar worlds until the beats begin reducing in intensity, with the track eventually taking on a hypnotic swing as tambourines pan back and forth. Later, a splattery snare roll rockets us back into the electro beat science, with acidic bass synths lowly filtering and pulsing eternally as the vocals are reduced to amorphous delay dreamscapes…no hook or distinct melody discernible…just a paradise of looping vocal circulations. There’s another kick drum drop out which sees aqueous vapors moving through the stereo field, and as the bass rhythms return, the synths and voices sit like a mirage over deep space breakdance narcosis.

On the flip, Benedikt Frey presents a feverish rework of Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat,” wherein kick drums crunch and stomp and the singer’s soft coo flows overhead, with everything surrounded by string synths that hit like waves of starlight. Noisey snares shape the rhythms into a sort of swampy breakbeat as the increasingly layered vocals envelop the spirit with soul whispers and romantic breaths…everything transforming, filtering, and eternally mutating. Finally, a greasy fuzz bassline drops and gives the beat its final shape while Aaliyah’s ethereal hooks are woven into an aquatic tapestry, with lyrical phrases such as “rock the boat” and “stroke it for me” executing spellbinding repetitions while backing vocals swell in strength. The well known verse and chorus are cut-up, manipulated, and repurposed via Frey’s own drug-kissed pop logic, resulting in a world of echoing wave fronts and pitch-shifted romantics that evolves around a low slung lover’s rock chugger. During certain moments, siren waves, wailing synthesizers, and white light feedback work in the background, creating clouds of glacial ambiance, while at other times, the basslines drop away and the vocals flow like gas into the cosmos before fading away completely. Elsewhere, basslines lead us through an instrumental bridge of slow motion cosmic disco and interstellar sludge rock before Aaliyah’s voice resumes its feverish flow...now swirled about by oceanic atmospheres and droning string swells. The entire track is a masterful display of contrast, as big bulbous noise beats, stoner bass riffs, arcing feedback textures, and symphonic vapors are sorcerously married to Aaliyah’s chilling vocal dreamscapes…a seemingly impossible combination that has to be heard to be believed.

Giraffi Dog / Your Planet is Next - WAR1902 (WARNING, 2019) Flutey bubbles flutter at the start of Giraffi Dog’s “The Temple of Magatao” and synthetic fireflies are sequenced into a mating dance while hi-hats tap and disjointed hand drums bounce through the spectrum. A drum fill introduces a cruising breakbeat, one that rides on fat and funky basslines as saxophones bleat like robotic sheep and minimalist melodies flow forth on tapped cymbals. Snare and hats work through narcotizing patterns while claps rocket across the stereo field and at some point, the track morphs into Kraftwerk-ian electro skitter, with sinister bass synthesis pulsing and cyborgs singing songs of melancholy. Elsewhere, we work into all out euphoria, as sci-fi string bursts and cycling pad melodies push the mind towards a trance state while ethnological rhythms accent the breakbeat intensities. Big waves of atmosphere swell in the background, portending some romantic club climax and indeed, after machine toms flash across the spectrum, the beats fade away as the cyborg vocals return, now singing their sad melodies while organs generate heavenly hymns to the gods of dancefloor positivity. As the breaks return, things push further and further towards lands of ecstatic fantasy, with heady rhythmic switch-ups bringing in space age synth textures that hover like an ocean haze above theanthemic rave majesties. The basslines dance up and down through sensual pop motions as cloudscape electronics sparkle in hues of aquamarine and gold, with every single second awash in vibes of youthful naivety. And towards the end, the ethereal layers of synthesis disperse and we cut back into the futuristic breakbeat funk, wherein basslines are reduced to horror movie pulses, electronic skitters mimics cave liquids, and saxophonic bursts skip on starbeams.

On the B-side sits the aptly titled “U.F.O.” by Your Planet is Next, which comes to life as mutant bass pulses and spectral distortion bursts lock into a mechanized dance. Roland cowbells and rolling snare cascades introduce the main beat, all minimal electro magic, with hypnotic pulses ticking away in one ear and disturbing clouds of ambiance hovering in the other…their elemental shimmers like a cloud of crystal reflecting ghostly light. Virtual vacuums suck energy out of existence and the kick drums soon drop away, setting the stage for a funk infused bass guitar to riff through sinister patterns before descending through slap bass chaos and returning us to the electro beat militance. Then, after snares roll across the surface of mind, we rush into an interstellar climax wherein string synths like a sawing symphony from a horror film generate nightmarish textures while acid synths prance and synthetic frogs squelch into empty space. During these passages of electro terror, mysterious choirs emanate from unknown origins and sing druidic rituals while elsewhere in the track, minimal passages of hovering bass ambiance and vibing snare patterns give way to acid trance melodics and droning robot voices. At some point, the gothic choral movements are tracked by those abstracted funk bass guitars, which lead us once more into a haunted electro haze via chaotic slap runs until the mix is stripped of almost every layer, leaving just cowbells and liquid bass squelches. And as the track works towards its conclusion, futuristic textures and magical percussive fx dance across nerve strands, psychotropic vapors hover over electro breakbeat zone outs, and bell bursts fire rapidly amidst virtual snake tail rattles.

(images from my personal copies)

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