#Morris is still tame here

[scratchandplaster]

Stack The Deck - PART 12

CW: PTSD, drug abuse, recapture, regretful Whumper, mention of past torture, Lima syndrome

PART 11 ⇽ [Masterlist] ⇾ PART 13

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

"Now comes the best part!" Brooke whispered, quickly sliding the pot from the stove top onto a coaster. The golden liquid inside was bubbling up to the rim, but without a chance to spill over, it was already poured down onto a blanket of crushed ice.

She had to be steady now, line for line of sticky syrup was traced back and forth, patiently waiting for her guest to join in.

Elliot did, eventually, by placing popsicle sticks down and coiling the already hardening candy around them. Although he always kept his left hand in his pocket, far away from any curious eyes, he managed to roll them along the lines of syrup quite well, until a stack of sweet rewards was formed.

"And you never did this when you were younger?" Brooke mumbled while her teeth were desperately trying to unstick from each other.

Elliot nibbled at the corner of his taffy, clumps of ice were still stuck to it: "I don't think so, our snow was too dirty. My uncles took me to winter festivals, though."

He wouldn't have come, if his guilty conscience hadn't forced him this time. He declined invitations and outings over and over since he moved back home, so many had stopped prodding after a while. Except her, she was stuck in his messages like a tick, coming up with all sorts of reasons to meet up again.

When asked if it wasn't a bit early for winter traditions, without any snow to be seen in August, Brooke was determined that it was never too soon for maple taffy. She didn't wait for the seasons.

She didn't question his absence either, and they never talked about the job - how it used to be. As the days grew shorter, so did his hope to join her once more.

All in all, Brooke hid her interest very well, even after he had to take his daily meds in front of her: little chalky pills he swallowed down with the help of tart and sticky candy.

"So, I thought," she started after they cleaned up all the dishes, "we could watch a movie, to get the Christmas spirit going."

"No space for Halloween in your holiday plans?" Elliot asked with a tired smile, though he wouldn't mind leaving horror movies on pause this year. Or however long it would take until he felt like himself.

Brooke shook her head: "Not really my thing, but we could call it even and watch Nightmare Before Christmas."

A part of him wanted this more than anything, this comfy sliver of normality, but a glance out of the window was enough to tell that Elliot had overstayed his welcome.

"It's getting dark already," the quiet apology towards his host was rewarded with a scrunched brow, "My, uh, mom wants me to help with dinner."

She didn't mind the shitty lie, that's what she got for gossiping around with strangers in the restroom. Brooke was sure Elliot had been told about the quick chat in every detail.

"No problem, what about next week?"

He agreed eventually, planning to cancel if he felt like it. Or maybe they could do it at his place, his parents would love this sign, him linking-up with friends again.

Elliot was a bit embarrassed by it, more so scared, but Brooke even walked him to the train stop. Standing engulfed by a crowd should've made him feel secure, at least he desperately waited for it.

I'm safe, I'm safe, nothing is going to happen. Nevertheless, Elliot recognized him sometimes: in advertisements, in the bus, as sneaking shadows at the corner of his eyes.

It was nice being out again, exhausting, but nice. He waved Brooke goodbye.

Everything is okay. It hadn't been a bad day, so why did he feel so uneasy? It's been fine so far, no need to start whining. Especially back home, I'll just upset mom too.

Another pill should soothe his racing mind, but that's it, he didn't want to act plastered in public. It was all agreed upon, he could increase the dosage as-needed: doctor's orders.

It. Is. Fine.

He could taste the rumbling heartbeat in his throat, and his left arm woke slowly from its medically-induced slumber. Too much, just too much at once.

Home- a bad idea. If whining upset her already, a full on panic attack wouldn't help either.

He tried to tune the people around him out; were they staring? Of course, they were. Sour spit collected at the back of his mouth, begging to be let out, but no matter how much he tried to keep focus, he stumbled out of the train one station too early. 

Elliot needed air, a second to breathe.

Automatically, he started fidgeting with the cap of the pill bottle. How many did he take by now? Whatever, one more wouldn't make him hurt any worse than he was now. Elliot finally got a grip on it and forced the tablet down dry.

There he was again: climbing out of the station to stroll along a lonely sidewalk in the dark. Exactly what he was trying to dodge.

Great plan, fucking brilliant.

A forced calm finally started to spread. Fatigue hit him with a gentle fist, but it was welcome, the better of the two moods.

A new message popped up on the phone display, making Elliot jump weakly:

Are you home? 

So to speak. He sent a thumbs up for Brooke because "- she seems so well organized."

Illusions made his head spin with every step.

Don't think about that, look for a place to rest.

Elliot was sure he fell at some point, but was right back on his feet, stumbling over to a bench. An inviting offer in the abandoned street.

What did dad tell me? Five things you can see- five things you can...hear...five thin...gs...

Tired breaths began to calm his system slowly, and the tight warmth in his chest kept his pain down.

He closed his eyes to rest for a bit, just a moment of-

--------

Elliot woke up slowly. Keeping his eyes softly closed, he tried to assess how bad it hit him this time.

After a night out in the cold, he counted himself lucky if his feet were still attached to the rest of him. It would take hours to shake the frost out of his bones, to creep back home for breakfast, but that's what one gets for overreaching.

He waited for the biting cold on his face, for the wind licking at the shell of his ears. But every painful itch turned out to only be a passing tickle, not even the traffic noise had woken him up.

His body felt warm and relaxed, covered by a soft blanket. He still couldn't manage to peel his eyelids open, too confusing was the silent murmur that this was off. That something was wrong.

First, both his jacket and shoes were missing. A sigh of relief echoed through the room.

Elliot had made it home, thank goodness! No future adventures in the evening for him, he knew being with Brooke had been a bad idea; not because of her, of course not, but he just wasn't... made for this anymore. As new waves of anxiety tried to stir up, a heavy weight pressed down on his chest: weird, he would never let Ginkgo run around at night.

Oh, quick, I need to feed her and clean up the cage.

While at it, his mother was in dire need of a hug until she would forgive him for still keeping up with his bullshit. Making her worry to death about her son, Elliot knew better than that.

Finally rubbing the grainy dust from his eyes, the first thing Elliot noticed was a blurred shape at the foot of his bed. The more his vision cleared up, the louder his heart pounded against the blanket and the hand above his own. No face was needed to recognize the person sitting next to him, he knew exactly who decided to haunt him today.

Oh, this again. Elliot quickly shut his eyes back to familiar darkness, cursing his stupid brain for dreaming up these memories. Sleep paralysis, very original, thank you.

They would fade, like they always did. He was home, he was safe...

...

..

.

Something was wrong.

Maybe the sun shining through the window that made his eyes water in face of brightness, an impossible task in his own windowless bedroom; maybe the fact that he'd rather die in a ditch than sleep without his wrist brace.

He had to know, and opened his eyes one final time - this was not his room, not his home. A trick of the tired mind, it simply had to be, Elliot prayed while looking the man of his nightmares straight in the face.

"Hi," Morris whispered, hand on top of broken hand.

No.

Not this.

Not again.

That wretched man slowly leaned forward to let his elbow rest on his knee, an expectant smile on his lips.

Staying horribly numb, Elliot's left arm automatically jerked back to his waist. He felt himself being dragged to that house and if he finally dared to be honest with himself, a part of him had never left.

--------

His guest gave Morris nothing, maybe he just didn't hear him right. Even though he specifically refrained from sitting on the bed and gave him some space to breathe, all the effort didn't seem to be enough. Elliot snapped up to sit ramrod straight under the covers, his breathing hastened to let his restless stare stop on Morris. 

Here they were at last, and this time nothing would go wrong.

"Uhm, do you want me to start or-" Morris said, a bit flustered and picking eagerly at the sheets. The answer came instantly: "I don't know where she is!"

"Who?"

"Wha-"

"Are you still high? It's been hours, that can't be right."

Much to Elliot's relief, Morris let go of him to turn around with a worried frown and fumbled for something at the foot of the armchair he was sitting in. Through blank fear, getting up and walking out was not even considered yet; but one thing came to Elliot's mind despite it all. The thing the world spun around.

"Amber. I don't know-"

"Ohh," Morris cut him off with a small laugh, forehead wrinkled in reassurance, "No, no, this is not about her. I think she had her claws on me for long enough."

Elliot fucked up bad this time. All the simmering fear, anger and helplessness pushed down on him with crushing force. Brooke - the crowd - Morris, it went over in the blink of an eye, his emotions couldn't catch up to the shock and the pills; and he was thankful for it. For letting himself hide inside a little longer.

Still, the icy-blue stare demanded his attention. He had called himself paranoid, laying awake at night to let his fears flirt with this exact scenario again and again, now he knew it had been warranted. Elliot felt it the first time he dragged himself home, just as intense as when he lied to his doctors all those times. Cluelessness spread and made Elliot trip over his own heartbeat.

"I-I didn't tell anyone either." he swallowed thickly, "I know what you said, I didn't forget."

Morris gaze softened, somehow relieved that he wasn't the only skittish one of them.

"You thought about me a lot, huh?"

He meant it to be playful, but seeing how much this comment made Elliot flinch back, he needed to choose his next words more wisely. Nothing but smooth sailing from here on.

He wants to know if I'm still in line. If I fear him more than I look for justice. Elliot would grant him that, gladly so: "Every day."

Much to his confusion, he just needed two words to make Morris empty eyes glow with joy.

This was good, great even, right? Keeping him satisfied, not provoke the anger that cost them so much already. Old survival methods slowly clawed their way back to the surface.

"Really?!“ Morris tone was laced with pure satisfaction, and if asking his guest, it was won out of superiority. Another fallacy that wouldn't be corrected anytime soon.

Instead, he just managed a weak nod above his sweaty hands. Elliot didn't trust his own voice, but still had to push forward.

"I don't really know why I'm here. If it's not about her...can I go then, please? My...my dad will be home in a few days, I miss him so much," his shaky tone somehow pushed out, helpless to stop the tears that started collecting and threatened to flow over. He should've watched that damn movie with Brooke; too late, all in vain.

Somehow, Morris didn't like this at all. Screaming and crying: no fun. How did Elliot already forget that?

"Why are you upset? Don't- no, that's not how it's supposed to go!"

Staying calm to ignore this dreaded feeling took everything out of Morris; if anything, he was the one allowed to be upset! He had been lied to, that old whore kept him away from her son, let him stew in pain for nearly a year. He was deprived of everything he deserved...

But wait, this was perfect: a gradual start. They both had been given time to process, hopefully enough of it to reward Morris for his good behavior. The lean years are over.

"One second," he finally huffed out, a tense hand running through his hair, "this is all wrong, I have a whole plan made up. Wait, wait!"

Knowing how this man's plans usually worked out, Elliot could do nothing but brace himself. Even trying to shrink further under the covers was only commented by a crooked smile: "I practiced, don't laugh!"

Elliot would never dare to, he hadn't in weeks. A quick clearing of his throat gave the go-ahead.  

"I'm really sorry for what happened. I lost control: of you, of the...situation. I'm sorry you were hurt, and I will make it up to you. But first, I just have to know:" stabilizing himself on his twitching knees, Morris finally let the dreaded question out, "Can you forgive me?"

Nothing but static whirred throughout his mind.

"Yeah," Elliot stuttered, "S-sure. It's alright."

In an instant, a pressure inside the room was lifted. Exhaling with a deep sigh, Morris steadied his forehead on his folded hands: "That's great, thank you. You're just great." We can go forward then.

A guilty conscience does weigh heavy, it seemed. That was it? This was no tasteless joke, all he wanted was absolution, granting at least one of them their piece of mind.

Suddenly, Elliot felt unreasonably bold.

"I need to leave."

"No, not yet," came the firm answer.

There it was, the catch. Who needed to call back this time?

Morris read the hollow why off him in a second and replied with a look Elliot couldn't place. Pity, maybe, with an unhealthy glow of hunger.

"Elliot, I know a junkie when I see one."

Don't let it be fentanyl, Morris prayed, otherwise he would tie him to the bed frame and never let him set foot on a street again. But he wanted to keep this topic on the back burner for now, to let new trust sprout.

Junkie - the nerve to even imply that had Elliot heat up in anger. Especially when it came from him.

"In my jacket," all Morris found was a bottle of Tramadol 100, half empty, "That's my medication, my-my painkillers. I need to take them every day, I got a prescription!"

Perhaps Morris' stock was running low. Elliot would help him make ends meet freely, however much he liked. Well, he had to be let go for that first.

"Sure you do. That's how it usually starts."

Elliot hesitated a second too long, thinking of another way out.

Meanwhile, his newest host had talked himself into a passionate monologue: "Yeah, you wouldn't believe how much shit they are stuffing down people's throats, but you're good, aren't you?"

"Yes, it's okay. I-"

"That's why I found you in Yaletown, passed out cold and begging to get robbed, mhh? Because you have everything under control."

This left them speechless. Elliot noticed the urge to cry freely this time, he was out of wits and excuses that wouldn't get cut down in a heartbeat.

On the contrary, Morris seemed triumphant about Elliot's little slip-up. Happy even, if one dared to look closer.

Somewhere at the foot of the bed, a phone started ringing. For the first time during this short waking-nightmare, Morris gave a nervous glance towards the door, biting his lip and clenching his fingers into a fist.

"Doesn't really matter," he decided quickly, "we have enough time to catch up later."

Later? That would imply stretching out this farce.

Finally, Elliot was awake.

"Morris, please listen-"

"Call me Chris."

Elliot was dead, he finally managed to fuck up the rest of his life and go straight to hell.

Make him like me. No, no, stop it. As if that ever helped.

Gathering his racing thoughts, Elliot hoped there was still a chance to steer things in his favor.

"Thank you for..." Abducting me? Helping me? Those words would never leave his mouth, "...letting me crash here. But we both know that I can't stay; with you." Wherever here was this time.

"You're nervous. That's alright, that's understandable. We can work through that!"

The steady anxiety collecting under his heart finally came to the forefront. Five - five things - things I can - His little tricks didn't seem to gain traction, he couldn't even hear himself think through the phone's incessant hum.

"D-don't you want to get that?"

Morris stretched out to snatch and softly cradle Elliot's left hand again. After the medicine's sweet numbness that held him together would fade, every touch will retaliate itself.

Dead focused on him again, caught between seconds that spanned hours, the man calling himself Chris now kept him close. Elliot was never spared, they had never parted ways.

"No, I don't think I will."

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Thanks for reading 🤍 [Masterlist]

Taglist: @whatwasmyprevioususername, @canislycaon24

#stack the deck #christoph morris oc #i hope i feed you well with this one #this is a romcom #Morris is still tame here #elliot ribera oc #whump series #recapture #captivity #kidnapping #whump #whumpblr #creative writing #whump community #whump drabble #obsessive whumper #yandere whumper #lima syndrome #disabled whumpee #carewhumper #PTSD #drug abuse #unhealthy coping mechanisms #obsessive behaviour #past torture #emotional whump #anxiety #regretful whumper

[sanctum-of-ramshackle]

In The Dark

[TWST AU]: An MC/Yuu who fights like Xu Shang-Chi

[Synopsis]: In this timeline, MC/Yuu was transported to Twisted Wonderland and uses their knowledge of material arts to survive through chaotic adventures.

[Gender Neutral MC/Yuu]

[(A/N)]: I love Simu Liu and how he acted as Shang-Chi to show Asian representation in the Entertainment Industry.

The first time MC/Yuu came to Twisted Wonderland, they were in a middle of a battle against The Ten Rings clan.

MC/Yuu broke out of the coffin with their bare hands, shattering the lid into splinters and scaring poor Grim.

They were confused and still on defense mode then asked Grim who send him.

MC/Yuu: Who sent you? Wenwu?

Grim: Who-wu?

MC/Yuu: Never mind. *Sprints out of the room*

Grim: Hey! I need those clothes!

The chase still happens like in the canon storyline, but with some parkour stunts and losing Grim until later in the Library.

Crowley was almost knocked down while he came into scene, but you know you can’t sneak up on a former assassin.

MC/Yuu (plus Grim after he was captured by “The Whips of Love”) were dragged into the Dorm Sorting Ceremony and the same disaster happens.

MC/Yuu: *Witnessing a mess after under a minute* …This is crazier than seeing Morris the first time.

They brought Grim in as an emotional support buddy since their childhood wasn’t too good.

[Campus]

MC/Yuu: *Blocks an attack and knocks out the Savanaclaw student* I told you to stop, but you didn’t listen. I mean, what were you proving? Your large physique or that attitude?

Ace: Whoa! How did you do that?

MC/Yuu: I was trained to be an assassin in a clan called The Ten Rings. They’re not good people and last time I was with them, Wenwu was tracking down his son after he left.

[During Chapter 1]

Trey: Thanks for coming with me, MC/Yuu. I could use a set of hands.

MC/Yuu: No problem. If it saves Ace from being a “magicless student”, then he doesn’t have to complain about my living situation.

Trey: Yeah, it’s for the next Unbirthday Party. I just needs some over from that tree.

MC/Yuu: Okay. That sounds easy.

Trey: Careful, they have an outer shell covered in spikes. I provide some gloves-

MC/Yuu: *Kicks the tree which shook off some chestnuts* This enough for the tart?

Trey: *Surprised* Huh. They are enough.

[Back in the Heartslabyul kitchen]

MC/Yuu: Wenwu talked about some wannabe who was impersonating him as The Mandarin, the leader of the Ten Rings. Anyway, I found out he’s reintroduced to his career of becoming an actor.

Deuce: *Curious* When did that happened?

MC/Yuu: Oh, when Shang-Chi, Katy and I were looking for Xialing after she was imprisoned.

Deuce: Oh.

[During Chapter 2]

MC/Yuu: *Fighting against Overblot!Leona* Is this what you want?! *Pulls out replicates of the Ten Rings* You sore fighter!

Ace: Beat his ass, MC/Yuu!!!

Deuce: Careful, Prefect!

Jack: Don’t kill him!

MC/Yuu:

Overblot!Leona: *Falls back from the impact and spat out the Blot stone*

Everyone: OH!!!

Ruggie: Ya didn’t have to knock him unconscious!

MC/Yuu: I’m sorry! I’m still getting use to the rings.

[Karaoke Night at the Monstro Lounge]

MC/Yuu = Red Lyrics

Cater = Orange Lyrics

[Run It - DJ Snake (Ft. Rich Brian & Rick Ross)]

MC/Yuu: I picked a perfect song to start tonight.

Cater: Go for it, MC/Yuu-chan/kun!

[Song starts]

MC/Yuu: You can join in, too.

Cater: Alright! #KaraokeDuet

Uh, rollin' in impalas but you too tame

I ain't from the South, but I appreciate the wood grain

Neighbor callin' me about the noise it's only two, man

Now I'm in the same building but the floors and view changed

I ain't for the waitin' now

I bought a 'Rari and I did it just to hear the sound

Drive safe really 'boutta lose all it's meaning now

Guess you love to travel when I pull up man you're leaving town

Say you're married to the game, and I'm just here to burn the gown

I got a flight in the morning

I see what you been tryna do and I'ma mission abort it

You think I never pay attention in my mind I'm recording

I'm 'bout to win and ruin all your goals and dreams out of boredom

Ridin' around with homies like we run the city (done it)

Lookin' fresh and feelin' like a milli (money)

Move in silence, you can never hear me (comin')

If you got a problem when you see me (run it)

Run it

DJ Snake

Rozay, woah

Bang, tryna show you what we came to do (huh)

Boss, only talkin' makin' major moves

Rolls Royce, no top, me

No one will ever stop me

Me against the world, I got my back against the wall (woah)

Know I'm hell bound (woah)

But I'm well now (woah)

On the road to riches I could never lay around (woah)

Told her don't make a sound unless she make it loud (ah)

Everybody scream (everybody scream)

Everybody scream (everybody scream)

Everybody scream (everybody scream)

That's my only thing (yes)

I'm a born winner

A Jordan 23 (woo)

All my people G's until the party ceased

Ace: *In the audience* Do a flip!

MC/Yuu: *Performs the impressive stunt*

[Cater attempts to flip, but flops instead.]

Cater: *Falls on his back* Ow…

MC/Yuu: Oh shit. You okay?

Cater: *Looks up at MC/Yuu* Did you get that on MagiCam?

MC/Yuu: Oh my god.

Epel: You are so cool! How can I fight like you? Y’know, like the punching, kicking, and parkour stuff.

MC/Yuu: Uhh…it takes years to perform everything. But it’s not too late starting your journey.

Epel: What should we start with?

MC/Yuu: *Holds up a wooden board* Break it. Use whatever strength you possess and maybe we’ll start from there.

[Within a second, Epel breaks the board with his palm. Except he received 5 splinters.]

MC/Yuu: *Inhales with caution* Vil is gonna kill me.

✨[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]💫

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twst au #twisted wonderland mc #twst mc #twisted wonderland yuu #twst yuu #Marvel #MCU #Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings #martial artist!MC #martial artist!Yuu #twisted wonderland headcanons #twst headcanons #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #Youtube

[writing-is-a-martial-art]

Oooooh, the whole concept of divinity being "pollution" is super fascinating. Is it like, actively harmful or is it just causing weirdness that then becomes harmful? (For example, does it kill people/animals that drink the water, or does it just make everything that drinks the water glow and turn in potatoes.)

How does it make the Earth unstable? What's the "last straw" that forces humanity to leave the planet? And since you said this all happened in the 1860's (or 1640's?), does space travel get invented earlier than in our universe (since technically we haven't perfected long-term space travel yet), or do things just not get Really Super Bad until ~200 years after that?

Also, is the Earth completely uninhabitable? Or are there still people and/or animals left down there? How far in the future does Starcrumbs take place? Is there a good record of how all of this happened, or is it mostly legends and guesswork?

Sorry for the massive question spam. I'm just absolutely fascinated by this WIP now!! Consider this a mega WBW ask, I guess!

~Morri🗡 (@memento-morri-writes)

HELLO Sorry it took a while to answer, I love long questions btw - you absolutely made my day!

1 - is divinity poisonous or does it just do weird stuff?

Yes and yes! To answer more coherently, it does weird stuff, but, above a certain concentration, the weird stuff becomes quite certainly deadly.

Divinity conducts 'miracles', or changes the properties of things in ways that should not be possible. Uncontrolled divinity usually tries to make all things equal, turning unusual instances, like living creatures, into the more 'natural' state of things, like mud or water. Fun fact - this is also how space is created! Ancient giant gods that look a lot like whales travel through space, and through their large concentration of divinity naturally create more of similar space around them.

Back to out question, if a human plummets into a liquid that's 30 or more percent divinity, they'll probably turn liquid. Is it's 10%, they might turn into a fish or another aquatic lifeform, and 1% would mean drastic changes to their physiology. 0.1% and under, however, would mean that the human would gain some water-related properties, from transparency to being able to breathe underwater, without changing their shape - pretty neat and kinda cool! A lot of research went into making those changes more controllable. The smaller the concentration, the more tame and favourable the results. Trace concentrations would still have noticeable effects.

2 - How do humans fuck up the earth? When do they abandon ship?

Earth gets seriously messed up during the 1860s-1870s because of

1) a select few countries trying to conduct experiments with divinity, which resulted in divinity contamination (areas where the local water and soil gained too high a level of divinity for it to not warp humans/animals/plants) and

2) divinity wars, which were caused by the other countries trying to get access to said divinity-containing material, aka a part of the angel's corpse (yes, they all fought over the corpse of one (1) angel.)

This resulted in most of North America and Europe being kind-of-not-habitable, and the rest of the world slowly experiencing the changes as small concentrations of divinity spread through the oceans, plus divinity powered weapons being... quite destructive.

The final drop that made people start leaving, however, was not necessarily a bad thing, and here we get to question no.3

3 - divinity, science and space travel

Having a gimmick that lets you bypass the laws of physics but comes with its own set of eldritch rules makes technology develop in bizarre patterns. For example, flight, including space flight, was exceedingly easy to master, seeing how the divinity stored in angel's wings already provides with flight capabilities, and things like pressure, heat, and atmosphere can be hand waved by infusing humans with tiny amounts of divinity until they adjust to their surroundings.

Telescopes, microscopes and all thing sight were also easy to make with angel's eyes, and the great migration began when someone spotted an angel in space - something of a second gold fever, the idea of space travel and angel poaching as the new course for humanity's development became the frenzy for the 1870s and early 1880s. There are, in fact, still humans on earth, some parts of it are in fact habitable, but the previous socio-economical and geopolitical environments are more or less nonexistent.

4 - how does the history look in-universe in Starcrumbs, and when does it take place?

Starcrumbs is technically set in the near past, the 2010s, although the alternative history splits quite far from the modern world for a number of obvious reasons.

There is no set history all people agree on - those that stay on earth mostly consider the angel's appearance a sort of test most of humanity failed but their ancestors didn't, a near-apocalyptic event to weed out the wrongs - the less religious ones consider it a sign of underlying tendencies of human nature. Still, the general earth-dweller consensus is "earth folk good, space folk not as good".

The beliefs of those that migrated to space and quite different, seeing for the solar system in an agglomeration of Holy Roman Empire-esque tiny state-settlements, but the general gist of it can be summed up to "earth-dwellers backwards and counter-progressive, space-dwelling and divinity gathering (not known as angel poaching because that sounds unseemly) good and progressive".

Sorry if I missed any points! This was super fun to think about, I have a better feel for the world now and would be glad to clarify on any points :-]

#oleg's lore #wip: starcrumbs #long post

[razputin-vodello-au-archive]

Alright so Interns I've seen this brought up through multiple answers to asks. I'm surprised nobody has asked about this, so what exactly happened with Raz & Lili during Milla and Sasha's wedding ? I hope Rasputin can forgive me for asking this.

[GISU] I guess it's about time you guys learn the story. (giggle). Just so you know, we just know what we saw, we don't know what actually lead to it. Raz won't tell us and Lili threatens to burn us. They'll tell eventually, but in the meantime, here's our version.

The whole thing went down during the dancing part of the evening, 'round midnight. So me and the rest of the guys were taking a break from dancin' the night away and just hanging around the drinks table, sipping or non-alcoholic beverages. The music had just changed to the slow dances. Off Course, MIlla and Sasha were stealing the show. She had such a beautiful dress ...

[NORMA] Anyway. So at one point while we were watching the slow dance, Lizzie elbows me and points to the window that gave view to the the Establishment's garden (Quite the beautiful garden, If I might add. Big beautiful flowers) and we see Raz and Lili having their own slow dance. Just chatting and dancing.

[LIZZIE] Pretty tame stuff, tough. Hand on the hip, the other ones held. No head resting on the shoulder, with the arms gently holding one another. (sigh)

...

Ahem...anyway, so we're watching and they have no clue we were.

[SAM] And that's when it happened. There were just talking on moment and I don't know what one or the other said, but they just gazed at each other for a few second. Then ...BAM.

[MORRIS] 'BAM' is right. Both of them lean in and just start kissing. I don't think they were realizing that they were.

[ADAM] I'm pretty sure they weren't, 'cause next thing we know, they push away from each other, both red and embarrassed. Few seconds later, Lili rushes away, saying something about 'getting a drink' from what I heard, leaving Raz standing there all red. He got in about a minute later. None of them noticed we had seen the whole thing.

[GISU] Since it was his Mom and Sasha's wedding, we decided not to bother him with it.

[LIZZIE] We waited at least a day 'fore we started teasing.

[NORMA] And even 'till today, they still refuse to talk about what happened, saying they 'both slipped and fell on each other's lips'. Load of ...ahem...Horse manure.

[MORRIS] And we've been waiting for them to get their head out of their-

[SAM] Morris, language.

[MORRIS] -behind, and just confess they like each other. but, alas, No bueno.

[LIZZIE] At this point, I think it's high time we give them a little push in the right direction.

[GISU] Not right now. Let's wait longer a bit.

[ADAM] If we wait any longer, we'll be full-fletched agents by the time they get together.

[SAM] Well, Raz is on his way to Lili's garden now. Wanna go spy on them?

[ADAM] lead the way.

#psychonauts 2 #psychonauts #razputin vodello au #razputin vodello #milla vodello #sasha nein #norma natividad #lizzie natividad #adam joseph gette #sam boole #morris martinez #gisu nerumen #lili zanotto #razlili

[thatbanjobusiness]

Salty Dog Blues Before Flatt & Scruggs

Old Salty Dog Blues is a Flatt & Scruggs classic and today the song is considered a staple of bluegrass music. However, bluegrass itself is a recent genre, with its inception typically dated 1945. Many songs from its early repertoire came from other sources, both popular and folk.

Above you will hear a compilation of Salty Dog Blues from recordings between 1924 and 1950 (ending with the Flatt & Scruggs version). Below the cut I will provide more details of each selection you hear. This is not a comprehensive compilation; for instance, I don’t have Lead Belly’s 1948 audio here. However, what’s incredibly fun about this recording is how DIVERSE the music is. And how incredibly NOT bluegrass it is.

Like many people, I became familiar with Salty Dog Blues through the Flatt & Scruggs version recorded in 1950. The song was catchy enough for me to love it as it was, but listening to the lyrics further piqued my interest. I realized I was assuming what a “salty dog” was through the lyrics rather than comprehending a precise meaning. But looking at the lyrics for clues was hard. There’s a narrative, but it feels just off-kilter enough I suspected the song had folk origin. Some folk tune variations can sound like the verses were sewn together haphazardly like patches of different fabrics on a quilt. It makes sense, when you consider how people would’ve gotten the words. Passing lyrics through oral tradition can create curious, wonky results and fascinating variations and divergences. It’s a game of generational telephone. Clearly, I had to go beyond the Flatt & Scruggs version in order to decipher my term.

And so. I found myself. Deep-diving this tune’s origin.

There hasn’t been a second wasted in my life fishing through this. Holy wow have I run into a jackpot of wildly fun things! I still have so much more I could look into. I had suspicions of what I’d find, but the following lyrics posted into a forum went way beyond expectations:

Two old maids laying in the grass, One had her finger up the other one's ass Honey, let me be your salty dog!

Welp. If I hadn’t been interested already, I would have been THEN. And the sexual explicitness... and other fun times... just kept COMING (wordplay intended here).

So! Below cut, I want to go further into the meaning of “salty dog” and listen to how the song developed from a blues tune to the 1950 Flatt & Scruggs country song. It would require a whole other post to go past 1950, so that’s why I’ve restricted my range from the earliest recorded tunes to the moment it entered bluegrass.

1. What *IS* a Salty Dog?

The first entertainment I got was seeking a definition for “salty dog.” The OED gave nothing to me, sadly, so I was left to peruse other sources. Reading forums, interviews, articles, and more, I encountered a hilariously diverse array of proposed definitions. I got peeps saying:

It’s a type of soft drink.

It’s a type of cocktail using grapefruit juice and gin or vodka. It’s served in a glass with a salted rim.

It’s the name of a specific bar in North Carolina.

It’s a medicinal solution from early frontier communities, especially in eastern Appalachia. A sausage soaked in brine solution was placed under people’s clothes during winter as a counter to pneumonia and flu.

It’s an ornery sailor, mariner, or pirate who’s spent a large portion of their life at sea. Just like a sea dog or an old salt.

It’s any person who’s really good with their work. A tough fellow, since salty can mean “full of spirit and fight.”

It’s a sweetheart, someone you love, or a favorite person. Applying salt to hunting dogs was believed to keep ticks away, and because salt was a rare commodity in those times, you’d only apply it to your favorite and most valuable dog.

It’s an illicit lover or libidinous man or woman, someone getting sex the wrong way.

It’s a pimp.

It’s a reference to oral sex. Have sex with one individual, then shortly later have someone perform oral on you.

The last one, which was embellished by Urban Dictionary (thanks, Urban Dictionary) could likely be an instance of linguistic pejoration, in which a word’s meaning “worsens” semantically over time. That said, I’ve seen everyday people in forums comment that in the 1940s and 50s in their communities, it did refer to oral sex. I’ll believe their testimony. So, contemporary to the time Flatt & Scruggs recorded, the more crude sexual sides appear to have been in vernacular use. It’s likely most if not all of the definitions proposed are real meanings of “salty dog,” but clearly the song Salty Dog Blues isn’t referring to all simultaneously.

Bluegrass musicians have not always been helpful providing a definition. For instance, Curly Seckler, one member of Flatt & Scruggs, proposed the benign soft drink suggestion. He said in this moment onstage in 1985:

Curly Seckler: I found out what a salty dog was. I think I was down here before I didn’t know, but I do now. I went home here, I believe it was last year, they had a big day down there. And, course I went over through the Smokies over there, and I stopped over there at Wiley Morris’s garage. . . . And we sang Salty Dog Blues and some of the old numbers together. But I asked him, I said, “Wiley, I’d like to know before I pass on, what in the world is a salty dog?” See, they wrote the Salty Dog Blues, him and Zeke. He said, “Well, North Carolina, years and years ago, had a drink they called salty dog. Now that’s a pop, a soda. And I said, “Well, I’m from North Carolina, but I don’t remember that.” But he said that’s why that got them the idea of writing a song called—”

And then, hilariously, Curly is distracted by his band, who’ve been whispering to each other the entire time and grinning, and calls out, “What am I hearing?” I’d like to imagine they were talking about the real meaning and Curly picked up the chatter’s more scandalous side.

After all, Zeke and Wiley Morris did not write Salty Dog Blues, and their story seems to be a coverup to defend their writer’s credit (which for the record is legitimate... a novel arrangement was given writer’s credit frequently in these times) and a polite way to get around the meaning of what a “salty dog” was. An article written by Wayne Erbsen shows that the brothers themselves gave varying definitions of the term:

Wiley explained that “I have a different definition of a salty dog than Zeke has. Back when we were kids down in Old Fort we would see a girl we liked and say “I’d like to be her salty dog.” There also used to be a drink you could get up in Michigan. All you had to do was say “Let me have a Salty Dog,” and they’d pour you one.” Zeke remembers that “I got the idea when we went to a little old honky tonk just outside of Canton which is in North Carolina. We went to play at a school out beyond Waynesville somewhere and we stopped at this place. They sold beer and had slot machines. At that time they were legal in North Carolina. We got in there after the show and got to drinking that beer and playing the slot machines with nickels, dimes and quarters. I think we hit three or four jackpots. Boy, here it would come! You know you had a pile of money when you had two handfuls of change. The name of that place was the “Salty Dog,” and that’s where I got the idea for the song. There’s actually more verses to it than me and Wiley sing, a lot more verses.”

As I and others who’ve read the article noticed, the fact that the Morris Brothers admitted there were many more verses... is indirect admittance of folk origin. The Morris Brothers were professional musicians in the 1930s, their recording of Salty Dog Blues was recorded September 29, 1938... and our earliest audio versions of the song come from the 1920s. There are many recordings of this song that predate the Morris Brothers. Still, even in a documentary from the 1970s, they maintained their story they wrote it.

But the song’s true origin outside the Morris Brothers allowed me to expand the scope of my investigation. It was time to peep into the alternate lyrics from earlier versions, and hope that those gave me a better understanding of the song and what a salty dog in this context meant.

2. The Lyrics of Salty Dog Blues

What the Morris Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs sang were fairly tame. However, the lyrics still involved a gun being shot and a person singing the following lines:

Looky here Sal, I know you Run down stocking and a worn out shoe Honey, let me be your Salty Dog

Let me be your Salty Dog Or I won't be your man at all Honey, let me be your Salty Dog

“I won’t be your man at all” in the chorus is a good hint of what a salty dog is supposed to be. It wouldn’t make sense to replace the term “salty dog” with mariner. I suspected from the start this song’s meaning veered toward the concept of a lover, and alternate versions of the lyrics prove that the case, oftentimes in wonderfully blunt or creative verses.

As I was investigating these recordings and their artists, I ran into information discussing the early years recording Salty Dog Blues, including times from before it was recorded. Jazz musician Bill Johnson (1872-1972) had his band playing this song circa or prior to the 1910s, and in an excerpt from the book Early Blues: The First Stars of Blues Guitar, I read:

Papa Charlie’s follow-up release, the ragtimey, eight-bar “Salty Dog Blues,” made him a recording star. . . . Old-time New Orleans musicians from Buddy Bolden’s era recalled hearing far filthier versions of “Salty Dog Blues” long before Papa Charlie’s recording.

Papa Charlie Jackson recorded his version of Salty Dog Blues in 1924 and Buddy Bolden (1877-1931) was popular with his band in New Orleans from 1900-1907. So... what were these filthier lyrics from the early twentieth century?

I want to go back to the lyrics I quoted at the beginning of this post... “Two old maids laying in the grass / One had her finger up the other one's ass. Honey, let me be your salty dog!” The individual who shared these lyrics on a forum said they heard Sam Bush sing that at Rockygrass in 2002. Maybe that was a recent permutation. However, I found variations on this lyric submitted independently by others, indicating this wouldn’t have been Sam creating lyrics out of nothing. Some posts, I don’t know if they were serious or not... “Two necrophiliacs lying in a bed / Each one a-wishin' that the other was dead,” but there’s too many similarities across what I’m seeing. Other individuals said they sang lyrics like these in college parties: “Two old maids, laying in bed / One rolled over to the other and said / Honey, let me be your salty dog.” And the Kingston Trio, whose music was folk-oriented and part of the Folk Revival movement, in 1964 sang in their version of Salty Dog Blues, “There were two old ladies sitting in the sand / Each one wishing the other was a man.”

Digging deeper, I found other folk songs contained variations on the “Two old maids laying in a bed / sand” concept. This discovery is in line with authentic folk lyrics. Remember that folk music is a game of telephone, and sometimes the same verses are found in two or more songs. I found several variations of Brown’s Ferry Blues with this couplet, some of them coming from Folk Revival musicians.

These lyrics give a starting point both to how Salty Dog Blues can contain bawdier concepts, and what a salty dog is.

But lyrics from Salty Dog Blues recordings in the 1920s and 1930s give even more reliable indication. Clara Smith’s 1926 version includes:

Oh, won't you let me be your salty dog? I don't want to be your gal at all. You salty dog, you salty dog.

Oh honey babe, let me be your salty dog, Salty dog, oh, you salty dog.

It's just like looking for a needle there in the sand Trying to find a woman that hasn't got a man. Salty Dog oh you salty dog.

Her lyrics also include a couplet I found in many of the early versions:

God made a woman, he made her kinda funny Lips around her mouth sweet as any honey, Oh, you salty dog, oh, you salty dog.

It says a lot: a verse about romantic love was one of the most oft repeated couplets across Salty Dog Blues variations. Papa Charlie Jackson included that verse, as well as these others:

Lord, it ain't but the one thing grieve my mind, All these women and none is mine.

Now, scaredest I ever been in my life, Uncle Bud like to caught me kissing his wife.

And for those of you who aren’t familiar with the sentential construction, “liked to” means “almost.” Uncle Bud almost caught me kissing his wife. This is a song about a lover, and in one of these verses, the lover’s doing something taboo.

Some forum dudes claimed Mississippi John Hurt and his friends sang a line like this one below, even though they also said it didn’t make any recordings:

Well, your salty dog, he comes around When your sugar daddy's outta town Baby, let me be your salty dog

And there’s yet more elaboration about what a salty dog is in verses in Afro-Creole singer Lizzie Miles’s 1952 recording, which we do have:

Mardi Gras is a dream You can meet all those Creole queens They’re salty dogs, yes, salty dogs

If you want to blow your cares away Just walk on in the Vieux Carré You’ll find salty dogs, yes, salty dogs

Never had no name, never went to school But when it comes to loving, I ain’t no fool I’m a salty dog, yes, a salty dog

I’ve got sixteen men in love with me But the man I love ain’t legally free He’s a salty dog, yes, he’s a salty dog

Granted, I *am* sifting through a huge storm of verses and intentionally picking ones that match this narrative. But these are all lyrics that show a wonderfully off-color, sexual side to Salty Dog Blues. This song sure as hell ain’t singing about soda pop or sailing.

3. The Earliest Recordings of Salty Dog Blues

So. In my compilation you’re listening to, what is it you’re hearing?

Between the 1920s and 1940s, “race records” were records from African-American musicians. The term would be used to describe the blues, gospel, etc. that these musicians performed. OKeh Records was the first company to use that term in 1922. Also during the 1920s, another line of records, “hillbilly” records, began; this was used to describe what was perceived as rural white musician fiddle and string band music.

These record companies, however, were separating music by race somewhat artificially. There were plenty of Black musicians playing string band music, for instance, during these times. The early history of American country music involves an amalgamation of musical ideas from many demographics sharing and adopting ideas from one to another and back again. When you listen to the compilation I made of early versions of Salty Dog Blues, you may hear a difference between the white and Black musicians, likely because of that artificial distinction I mentioned.

Still, there’s a fascinating amount of overlap. I think it’s particularly interesting to pay attention to how the melodic material varies; it’s the same core melody, but there’s certainly differences. Listening to the variations can get you a sense of how folk music is a wild world of branching versions. There’s different strains, with both the melody morphing as it gets passed person to person, and the lyrics morphing as it gets passed person to person.

Specifically, I took my samples from the following recordings:

Charlie Jackson - Released 29 Nov 1924. Papa Charlie Jackson was the first commercially successful male blues artist who played both fingerstyle and with a flatpick on his guitjo. He was born in 1887 in New Orleans. Even when he was producing his records in the early twentieth century, his music would have been old-fashioned to listeners and given people an ear to what African American music sounded like before the turn of the century. He’s similar to Lead Belly in this regard, whose 1948 recording of Salty Dog Blues I did not include in the audio compilation. Jackson’s music was also in that vague area that leaned toward hillbilly in the early days before the race records / hillbilly records division became distinct. 

Lem Fowler’s Washboard Wonders - Released 30 Dec 1925. Between 1922 and 1932 this jazz musician recorded 57 songs and 23 player piano rolls in New York and Chicago. A composer, most of his recordings feature his own work; Salty Dog Blues is one of three pieces recorded with his band that is not his own. I love this recording.

Clara Smith - Dated 26 May 1926. The first commercially successful blues singers were women. Clara Blues was an early classic female blues singer, a genre sometimes also referred to as vaudeville blues that combined traditional folk blues and urban theater music. This native of South Carolina excelled at emotional slow drag blues.

Freddie Keppard and His Jazz Cardinals - recorded July 1926. Freddie Keppard was a New Orleans musician. Interestingly enough, Papa Charlie Jackson is in this version as well, this time played with a full band, and you can hear someone declare “Papa Charlie done sung that song!” at the end.

Allen Brothers - Recorded 7 April 1927. I think this is the first recording of Salty Dog Blues by white musicians we have. Born and raised in Tennessee, Austin and Lee Allen were an early hillbilly duo popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Austin played banjo; Lee played guitar and kazoo. They were influenced by local jazz and blues artists as they were growing up. It’s interesting to note that Salty Dog Blues came out of their first recording session and became a hit, selling over 18,000 copies. And this band, the first white hokum blues musicians (so I’ve seen claimed), were accidentally issued first as a race record by mistake.

McGee Brothers - Recorded 11 May 1927; released Jul 1927. Sam and Kirk McGee were white old-time / hillbilly musicians from Tennessee who performed on the Grand Ole Opry starting in 1926. Sam learned blues techniques from Black railroad workers and street musicians, and the duo would adapt blues and ragtime pieces into string band music. I LOVE this version of Salty Dog Blues; while it squarely hits the “hillbilly” genre, some of the minor melodic fragments mirror what Black blues musician Kokomo Arnold sang.

Stripling Brothers - Recorded 10 Sep 1934. Fiddler Charlie Stripling and guitarist Ira Stripling were born in the 1890s in Alabama. They’re an old-time hillbilly music duo and Charlie Stripling is considered an important old-time fiddler. Their earliest recordings reflect what they learned at home; later recordings contained increasing pop influences. Salty Dog Blues is one of their later recordings; their last release was from 1936. I would love to know more about where they got this version of the song, as I feel its melody is diverges more than the others recordings in this time period.

Kokomo Arnold - 1937. Mentioned above. Kokomo Arnold was a left-handed slide blues guitarist from Georgia.

Morris Brothers - First recorded 29 Sep 1938; released 21 Dec 1938. Second version recorded 1945. I’ve already mentioned the Morris Brothers, but there’s more information you need to know. Zeke, Wiley, and George Morris were hillbilly musicians from North Carolina popular in the 1930s. The Morris Brothers was also the band in which now-famed banjo picker Earl Scruggs had his first professional job. Scruggs played with them about eight months in the late 1930s or early 1940s. If you listen to the full Morris Brothers, it’s obvious Earl learned it from them; Flatt & Scruggs keep everything from the lyrics, harmony choices, and instrumental break points the same as what you hear here. But the Morris Brothers’s version of the song is rather original compared to everything else in this compilation, which is probably why they managed a writer’s credit for it.

Flatt & Scruggs - Recorded 20 Oct 1950; released 1 May 1952. Earl Scruggs would have brought Salty Dog Blues to the band he was now heading, Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. This song was often sung as a trio in concerts when their usual lead vocalist, Lester Flatt, was taking a break. Their band rotated singers, performers, and other forms of variety in their radio, television, and stage shows, but such repertoire never made it onto official Flatt & Scruggs records. This record is, as far as I remember, the only instance in which another musician besides Lester Flatt sings both the verses and lead. That singer is their fiddler, Benny Sims. In later performances and recordings of Salty Dog Blues by Flatt & Scruggs, Lester Flatt took his usual role singing.

I find it interesting to also note the early musicians’ origins. Everyone came from the South. New Orleans especially appeared to have old widespread use of the song. I haven’t had time to listen to see if the musicians’ home location correlates to similarity in lyrics and melodic structure, but that would be hella fun to do sometime, too.

But! I have already fished through the song enough and given you a giant essay. Maybe at a later point I’ll have to entertain myself more and keep digging into Salty Dog Blues.

#hopefully I didn't make a link mistake or some obvious type #typo #I've written on this long enough #hope it's fun! #music #Americana Deep Dive #thatbanjobusiness #that banjo business #long post #Song Showcase #Tuning In #Haddock Deep Dives #General Banjo Business #audio #audio compilations #those old songs

[sea-side-scribbles]

Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/77806700

Chapter 62

The next morning, Nick was still clingy. “Good morning, my King. Did you sleep well in your new home?”, he whispered while hugging him. He was also rubbing his cheek against Arthur's shoulder, tickling the other man a bit. “Fantastic”, Arthur approved. “Just fantastic. And the morning sun”, he gestured towards the window, “I missed that too.” “It's much more comfy than a tunnel, right?” Nick's voice was soft as silk and he kept hugging. Arthur kissed his forehead, then he gently attempted to shove him away. “Nicky...why don't we try out your kitchen today? I wanna see if you have another coffee monster lurking in there that needs to be tamed.” “Hmmm...”, Nick said, “The monster is me.” “Then we better go feed you.” Nick slowly let go of Arthur, who noticed his lover was trying his best to look happy but his expression was rather bittersweet. It didn't take long until Nick put an arm around him again.

Side by side, they went all the way to the kitchen. They passed by the manager who gave them a surprised look. Arthur was almost blushing, but they quickly said good morning and went their ways. The kitchen was cleaner than it had been the first time Arthur had seen it. No dirty dishes in the sink and someone had dusted the place up. Nick pointed at the coffee machine. “There it is. Try your luck, my King.” Arthur figured this was easier. However, when the liquid ran out, he realized he had forgotten to put a cup underneath it and backed away from the hot splash. “Ouch! Goddamnit! No, no, no...!” The drink ran down the counter and created a puddle on the floor tiles. “Sorry...” Arthur turned around and was surprised to find his lover laughing out loud. Looking back at the mess, he couldn't help but to laugh with him. It was the first time this morning that Nick looked happy, and his laughter was enchanting.

When they started wiping up the puddle together, the door opened and Brad came in. “You having fun in here?” He eyed the scene. “Oh, hi Arthur.” “Good morning”, Arthur said shyly. “Busy reporting the news, huh?” Brad sounded rather bitter. “What news?” Then Matt came in. “Hi Arthur.” He looked from Arthur to Nick and Nick saw him draw the conclusion. “Nick”, Matt asked afterwards, “Can I have a word with you?” “Uh”. Nick glanced at Arthur who made a puzzled nod. “Sure.” He got up and followed Matt outside, bracing himself for a storm. In the living room, he leaned against the wall and eyed his friend who seemed to search for words. “Do you have any shame?”, he brought out. “What? Can't I have guests anymore?” “Guests?”, his friend snapped. “You're lying into my face! Arthur was the one you betrayed Morrie with! You spent days with him and we were joking about it! How long did you betray him?” “Sssh, quiet,” Nick hissed. “He doesn't know about Morrie.” “Oh, great! You better go and tell him then!”, Matt shouted. “Sssh, Matt, please, leave this to me!”, Nick whispered begging. “I can't believe it! You...” Matt made a fist. Nick braced himself for a punch. But Matt lowered his hand again – and his voice. “He's just another poor soul you're playing with!” “No, listen, I'm not playing, I love him!” Matt gave an upset gasp. “And Morrie? You used him because it was convenient? You heartless piece of...!” “No, I love him too!” Matt grimaced.

“Listen, I know it sounds funny, but...” “Funny?”, his friend spat. “It sounds fucked up! And it look awful! You spend the night with Morrie, he dies, you come back full of blood and instead of mourning like a true lover you bring the next playmate home!” “Matt, he's not a playmate and I do mourn!” “Really?” Matt lifted his brow. “Sounded more like laughter to me. You have a weird way of crying.” “I had one pleasant moment after a horrible day and you...” “Oh, you poor thing! One 'horrible' day of mourning for a year long friend! Are you sure one playmate is enough to repair your broken heart?” Now Nick raised his fist. “Say that one more time...” “Oh, now you're protective!”, Matt teased him. “If only Morrie had received your protective instinct! He'd still be alive!” That was too much for Nick. He jumped at Matt and threw him on the ground. Matt punched back, and soon they were rolling on the floor. The noise alerted Chris who ran in and stepped between the two. “Are you crazy? This won't bring him back!” Because neither of them wanted to hurt Chris, they stopped. Nick kneeled on the floor and started sobbing while Matt got up, his expression sour. “I'm done with you!”, he yelled at Nick and went out. Chris watched him leave and then pulled Nick up. “Come, let's get out of here...”, he said. “Great timing, really. Making that fuss while the reporter is here...” “He's a friend...”, Nick sobbed. “Sure...but he'd suck at his job if he wouldn't turn that into a story.” “Let me talk to him.” “Like that? No way, man!” But Nick escaped him and went back into the kitchen. Both Brad and Arthur sat at the table and gave him a startled look.

“Arthur”, Nick said wiping his eyes dry, “do you have a minute?” Both men exchanged glances, then Arthur went with Nick. Nick insisted to flee into his bedroom and then he clung to Arthur again. “I'm sorry about Morrie Memento. I had no idea...”, Arthur whispered. “I found him in the morning when I went back home.” “Oh god, I'm sorry...” “Now they think it was me...I touched Morrie, because in my panic I tried to shake him awake and then I was all bloody when they brought me home...” Arthur shook his head. “When I saw what they did to Kitty, I wondered if they were even human.” Nick cried as an answer. “Nicky, that'd be another reason to leave...” “But Arthur, I can't just abandon them...as long as they don't hate me, I'll stay.” Arthur sighed. “Were you talking about me? I think I heard you say my name.” Nick began to pat his hair. “They thought you were here to...put salt into the wounds, I guess. Create a big story about Morrie's...holiday.” “Is that why you were fighting?” “We're upset, all of us...”, Nick said quietly. “I should apologize to Matt.” “Later”, Arthur said and kissed Nick's cheek.

“Arthur?”, Nick whispered. “Yes, Nick?” “Could you do me a...big favour?” “Huh...perhaps? What is it?” “You're still a reporter, right?” “Yeah?” “And you were at the party?” “Oh, I forgot about that. I recall we had our own party.” Arthur was happy to see Nick smile at least faintly. “Could you...write a piece about it? Say that it all went smashing and no one was hurt?” “Uh...I guess...” “Please.” “It's actually about time I get something done...” Arthur crawled out of the bed. Nick busied himself gathering papers and pencils for his lover and put them all on the desk. “There you go. You need something else? A drink maybe?” “Uh...water would do, thanks.” Nick grimaced. “Water? You're not in jail.” “But everything you gave me so far made me lose my mind.” “Are you sure it was the drink?”, Nick purred and massaged Arthur's shoulders. “If not, there's no hope for me...”, Arthur sighed and stretched himself. “Water, please.” “Alright.” Nick shrugged and made his way to the bar to get the mineral water.

On the way, he met Virgil. Nick only muttered a greeting and then went to the counter. Virgil followed him and lay a hand on his shoulder. “Let me see”, he said. Nick turned around and showed him the bottle of soda he had in his hands. Virgil however inspected Nick's face. “Any bruises?” “No...”, Nick said. “You know Matt, he doesn't hit very hard...I'm fine.” Virgil relaxed and leaned against the counter. “So...Arthur's the one, huh?” Nick put the bottle down. “Yes...and I've been with him all night, so at least he knows that I'm not a killer.” A pause ensued. “How long do you know him?” “You too?”, Nick protested. “You never cared about my relationships and that made you very pleasant to talk to!” Virgil made a face. “I was more interested in how good you know that reporter.” “I know him good enough.” “Was he really with you all the time?” “Yeah...I guess so...I had him like that...” He held up his arms the way he had held Arthur and tried a smile. Virgil remained pondering. “What do you mean? Are you suspecting Arthur now?” Nick was shocked. “I'm trying to make sense out of things. And he wouldn't be the first bad egg you trusted. I feel that there's something off about him.” “Don't call him that!”, Nick blurted out. “He's just shy, that's all! And if you all make him feel like he's off, it's no wonder he's acting weird!” Virgil crossed his arms. “So, I'm not the only one who suspects him? Interesting.” Nick turned away and rolled his eyes. “Morrie was doubting him. The others like him.” “Morrie, huh?” Virgil took a deep meaningful breath. “Did you ask him what he thought in detail?” Nick noticed this conversation was going the wrong way. He should've bitten his tongue. “No”, he said coolly. “I think he was jealous.” “Well, he wasn't wrong, wasn't he?” Nick span back to his manager. “For Christ's sake, Virgil! That doesn't make Arthur a killer! I'm sure it's not one of us, I've probably never seen the guy! Or the girl! I have a lot of jealous fans, they're all suspicious! It's too easy to suspect Arthur instead! You should be smarter than this!” Virgil didn't answer. He quietly walked away, deep in thoughts. Nick could only hope that he drew the right conclusions. He came back to Arthur with the bottle in his hands.

“I'm sorry it took me so long, my King. Virgil held me back”, he said while serving his lover the drink. “There you go.” He patted Arthur's shoulder and looked at the paper that was filled with small handwriting. “Thank you. I'm almost done”, Arthur explained and took a sip from the soda. “A few statements from you should spice it up, if you don't mind.” “No, not at all!” Nick pulled over a chair and sat down next to him. They worked on the text and Nick was very happy that his lover was such a talented writer. “Alright, that should do it”, Arthur finally concluded. “Together with the photos I took it should be enough to make this look like the most smashing happening ever.” “Oh, Arthur!” Nick fell into his arms. “You're a life saviour, literally!” He ruffled and kissed the pretty black hair. Arthur answered with pulling him down for a deeper kiss. After that, Arthur collected the sheets. “I have to hand this in now.” Nick followed him to the door and blew kisses when he walked away. Arthur shyly waved. He was both embarrassed and flattered. Nick seemed to fully accept him now and didn't hide his affection.

Nick watched Arthur until he disappeared behind a block of houses. Then he stood in the corridor, not knowing what to do with himself when suddenly he heard a noise in the kitchen. He hesitated, not eager to have another fight with one of his friends. On the other hand, he wanted to know what they thought about Arthur and if they were okay with him moving in. If not, he had to convince them. So he went into the kitchen and was surprised by finding a woman in a black and white dress. “Sally?” Sally was huffing and puffing as if she ran all the way to here. “Hey, how're you doing? I haven't heard from you since...” He stopped. Oh... “Hi, Nick. I'm sorry for not coming by sooner. I really forgot the time while I was working on some... new specials. How are you doing?” “Great! Actually, I should tell you something...uh...it's nothing personal...” Sally's heart sunk. Fantastic! Now he'd tell her that he didn't want her around anymore and if she wanted help she better asked her other special friends... “I stopped taking party favors.” Sally needed a moment to process this. “Really?”, she then blurted out, relieved. “Yeah, I'm sorry....I really loved your stuff, but hey, the band is here, perhaps they'd like something...” He left the kitchen and Sally hurried after him. “Wait, Nick, I'm not here for party favors.” “No?” Nick eyed her. Then he came closer. “What else would you want from the Lightbearer?” Sally ran a finger along his arm. “I miss a song...It was so special to me but I can't find it anymore...It's the Unicorn Song. It's not on the market anymore but I thought you might still have a record.” Nick smiled. “Baby, who needs a record?” He began to sing the song to her and started to dance with her around the room. She joined his singing and danced with him until both broke out in laughter. Sally applauded him and he made an elegant bow. “This is even better than the original! What do you think? Fancy joining the band?” “Oh, no, rather not, I sound like a dying cat.” “But a cute dying cat.” She laughed and gasped. “Please, do you have a record of this? I really need this song.” “No problem. I think it's in my lair.”

They went into the dressing room that gave Nick a rather weird feeling in the stomach. Only a day and a few ours ago, everything had been still okay. With a fake smile, he opened the entrance to his lair. “Ladie's first.” They wandered along, passing by the massive statues of himself. He tried not to look at the spot where he had sat and cried. He found the record amongst other old records from his past. “There it is.” Suddenly, it was very precious to him, too. Morrie was on it. That was why he hesitated to hand it over. “Thank you so much, Nick! You don't know how much this means to me!” Sally looked at the record as if it was the most precious thing in the world. It comforted Nick. At least Morrie was in good hands. They way she looked made him ask: “If you need anything else...” She fumbled with her dress, as if she didn't know what to say, thinking. “You don't happen to have cod liver oil somewhere?” “Cod liver oil?” Nick had forgotten that stuff existed. “What do you need that for?” “It's for...a new formula...It's the last ingredient I need...and it looks like it's sold out in every store...” Her eyes rested on him. “Well, I don't remember having it but I don't mind looking. After all, I have all sorts of substances.”  He winked and she brightened up. Sally didn't believe he had cod liver oil, but by now, she was clutching at every straw she could find. First, they examined the bar in the lair but there was no oil. Next, they turned his kitchen upside down. Despite the gravity of the situation, Sally couldn't help but joke around with Nick during their search. Nick's kitchen was full of clobber that didn't belong there...or in any decent household in general. It was during another laughing fit that suddenly Arthur Hastings entered the scene, looking at her and Nick in disbelief.

“Arthur”, both Nick and Sally said at the same time and they made an effort to enlarge the distance between each other. “Look who's here”, Nick added brightly. “I see...”, Arthur replied less happily. “Hi, Sally.” “Hi, Arthur...Nick is helping me to get...uh...an ingredient...” “Yeah, she needs cod liver oil. You don't happen to have some in your stash?” “Cod liver oil? No, I don't think anybody has...” Sally's face fell. “What are you up to?” Arthur eyed her. Sally crossed her arms behind her back. “I...would you believe me if I told you that this is very important to me?” “Perhaps”, Arthur shrugged. “I don't know.” Sally then leaned against the counter, eyeing the floor tiles. “I actually know who has cod liver oil”, she confessed.” “Great, Let's go there then!” “It's in the Haworth Labs...and I'm like...persona non grata there...” “Everyone is”, Arthur protested. “It's insane to even go near there without permission!” “You could go in disguise....but I can't show my face around there, they'll recognise me anyway...” “Well, that's...bad for you...”, Arthur said, not liking this conversation one bit.

“You think one could get in with a press pass?”, Nick continued to make it worse for Arthur. “Yeah..., that would work.” Sally lightened up. “And you'd need someone who's good with words.” She darted a glance at Arthur. “Hey! Hey, stop, everyone calm down!” Arthur held up his hands. “I know what you're implying, but no one of us will set foot into Haworth Labs! It's fucking suicide!” “Arthur”, Nick stepped forward. “We're her friends.” “You're also her...friend?” He turned to Sally. “Who's not your friend? Don't you know someone who's fitting better for this kind of mission? A soldier maybe, or a martial arts professional?” “Well, Arthur, you're quite the good fighter”, Nick countered. “You really want to send me there?” “Not alone, dummy! I'll come with you.” “You? Nick, you can't hurt a fly! And anyway, what would be your disguise? You're not a reporter!” “But I have a press pass!” “What? Why?” “I...well, borrowed it from one of your colleagues I guess. I figured it's useful to have one.” Arthur stared at Nick. “You'd still have to defend yourself.” “Don't you remember the headboy? I can help myself just fine.” “That was mere luck!” “That and my strong arms! Anyway, do you think there are actual fighters in the lab? They're only scientists! We sneak in, grab the oil and get out without anyone noticing us! It's gonna be fun!” Also Sally began to look surprised, but she beamed at Nick and then turned back to Arthur, who's level of despair increased.

“You watched too many movies! In reality, nothing works out the way you think!” “That's why you'll figure out the plan, because you have all the experience and I'll do what you say.” Arthur looked at him helplessly. “Please, Arthur”, Sally stepped in. “I'll pay you back. I can get you that letter of transit.” “I already have that.” “Really?” Sally eyed the floor again. Arthur now felt sorry for her. Nick seemed to feel so, too. “Why can't we do this for her? We are her friends.” “We're not her only friends, trust me.” “But she asked us!” “No, you! I came here by accident.” “Right, and I even owe her one, for everything she did for me. If you don't want to come with me, I'll go alone!” Nick crossed his arms. “If you want to kill yourself, go on.” “Arthur, please!” Nick made puppy eyes. Also Sally. Arthur felt cornered. “Fine!”, he blurted out. “But if anything goes wrong, we'll escape, cod liver oil or not!” “Thank you”, Sally said and her fingers touched his arm. Arthur's gloomy look rested at her and she let go.

When Nick went out of the kitchen later, he ran into Virgil again, who wanted to talk to him. Nick wasn't very keen on hearing more accusations, but he went along. In his room, Virgil shut the door and then turned to Nick. “Could you...give me one of your Joy pills?” “What do you need it for?” Nick didn't like the idea of giving even one of them away. Virgil scratched his neck. “Well...I don't...feel alright...Your Joy seems to make you happier then the regular Joy, so I thought...I could borrow one just this once...” Promptly, seeing Virgil sad made him feel sorry and it won against his suspicion. “Hey, no problem”, he said and held out a handful of pills to him. “There you go. I want my dear manager to be happy again.” Virgil opened his hand and Nick let the black pills fall into it. “I forgot you miss Morrie too...I'm so selfish.” “Sssh”, Virgil held a finger close to Nick's lips. “You're upset too. Don't beat yourself up about it.” Nick cracked him a thankful smile. “Get well, Virgil...if you need more, just ask me...” Virgil returned the smile and opened his arms. Nick didn't hesitate to dash into them.

#wehappyfew #we happy few #whf #nick lightbearer #whf nick #nicklightbearer #nick x arthur #arthur hastings we happy few #whfarthurhastings #nickxarthur #whf arthur #whfarthur

[pluto-art]

- PINKY AND THE BRAIN - EXPERIMENTS -

Below the cut is a personal project on the much more morbid side. Animal lab experimentation is always something I’ve found equal parts horrible and fascinating. Once in a blue moon, I’ll do research on the subject out of curiosity and/or for storytelling purposes. Even as a kid, I found this of interest, and when watching Pinky and the Brain I was always a bit disappointed that we never saw more of what the characters actually went through in the lab during the day. Granted, there’s a reason as to why this was never shown, as a child audience had to be kept in mind, yet still I pondered about it....

Over the last few days, I’ve been churning out compositions based on internet findings -- old and new experiments that rats and mice are put through, many of them humane, some of them very much not. It was an eye-opening journey for me artistically and otherwise, discovering what I’m comfortable drawing and what I never want to sketch again, as well as learning more about this realm of the scientific world.

WARNING: SOME GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW THE CUT. If needles, patients dealing with the effects of cancer, and general portrayals of pain bother you, I wouldn’t bother venturing onward. I not only drew out experiments that the characters might have gone through, but also describe all of my findings in detail and provide video footage to go along with it. While I didn’t go full-on vivisection or anything, some of this might still be disturbing, so I’m taking extra precaution.

All of the images below are “color-coded” and graded. The experiments start out fairly tame, then get worse... and worse... and worse. The backgrounds reflect this, going from fairly light to quite dark.

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

Experiment #1 - Tail Flick Test

A fairly harmless experiment. The subject is mostly restrained, leaving only their tail exposed. An intense light beam is projected onto the exposed appendage, with the animal flicking their tail when the pain/heat becomes too much. This test is utilized in basic pain research and to measure analgesic effectiveness.

I wanted Brain to wear an expression of deep apathy -- he’s done this a million times and will probably do it a million times more. At this point, he doesn’t even care anymore.

For the background, I simply copied an environment in one of the videos I found.

Video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzrA1tDTfkQ

Experiment #2 - Rotarod Performance Test

Another experiment that’s generally harmless. One or multiple subjects are placed on elevated rotating rods so as to measure such things as endurance, balance, grip strength, and more.

I imagine Pinky would enjoy this test, as he’s familiar with running on a wheel and actually enjoys more strenuous activities. Brain, on the other hand, would only participate via sheer force. He’d also be more prone to fall after a shorter period of time, getting tired faster than his cage mate.

Video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v56MtrmWAs0

Experiment #3 - Shot (General)

Nothing special. Just Brain about to get shot.

This is all highly exaggerated, of course. A mouse would simply be held firmly, not strapped down, for a simple injection. Also, I can’t imagine why they’d be shot in the face, although Meg told me that scientists tend to draw blood samples from a mouse’s cheek. Need to look that up. I wasn’t at all going for accuracy here, but rather how it might feel -- how scary it would be.

Experiment #4 - Sciatic Nerve Constriction

An experiment in chronic neuropathic pain, due to the central or peripheral nervous system sustaining damage. Under anesthesia, the animal’s sciatic nerve is exposed via skin incision. The connective tissue between the biceps femoris muscles and the gluteus superficialis is cut. The nerve is then loosely tied with four chrome gut ligatures so to occlude, but not arrest, blood flow. The wound is sutured, the animal is given 24 hours to recover, and then both hindpaws are tested for pain sensitivity. Sounds terrible, but it’s certainly not the worst of the experiments I researched.

I have no idea what’s going on with the coloring in this. Again, going for feel more than accuracy, but the hues are way too calm.

Information link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22433911

Experiment #5 - Writhing Test

Particularly cruel test in which acetic acid is introduced into the system, inducing severe internal pain. The typical response includes writhing, abdominal retraction, and stretching of the hind limbs. Despite the test being withdrawn in 2004 for unethical reasons, it is still employed by some.

This was my favorite one to draw. Although the lighting and shading are not the greatest, it made for an interesting experiment. I did not intend for the lines to be so bold, but it kind of turned into an almost comic-style illustration. I ended up playing around with it a bit and like the result enough to post it.

I would not watch the video below if you are squeamish. It is difficult to swallow. On another note, you may find the “Empathetic Behavior: Emotional Contagion in Mice” section in the second link of interest. For cage mates in particular, if one or both mice were injected with the same acid, and allowed to observe one another, an injected mouse would writhe more if its partner was also in pain. I can’t help but imagine Brain and Pinky in this type of situation....

Information link #1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543562/

Information link #2: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/writhing-test

Video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib63O4F856w

Experiment #6 - Transgenic K5ras Mouse / Nude Mouse (Combination)

Experiment in which cancer is induced in the system. Nude mice are bred for a number of tests, and are used for this one, as well.

My least favorite to draw, but my favorite to color. One particular experiment I found showed a tumor in every follicle on a mouse’s muzzle. Was trying to go for this look, albeit exacerbated.

Information link #1: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(98)70203-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982298702039%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Information link #2: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/weirdest-lab-mice/

-------

Bonus:

This is based on a test that I found absolutely hilarious. There’s a certain chemical, called W-18, that’s been on the drug market for... some years. The potency of it is supposedly insanely high, although this has never been proven. It’s basically a research chemical (created at a university in the 80s) with analgesic properties that were shown to be “painkillers or blockers of the painkilling effect of morphine in mice”. Mice, not humans. To quote a specific article:

“... when they first injected some of these chemicals into the animals at a dose similar to aspirin, the mice stood up for about a minute and fell over unconscious. They remained unconscious – for five days. But they weren’t dead. They were still breathing. And when they woke, they seemed fine, other than being really hungry and thirsty.”

They literally keeled over from the supposed potency of it. From what I recall, they don’t even know exactly what it was doing to their system, other than the fact that it knocked them out. I just find it funny that they were completely fine after awakening days later.

Although the pure smell of it wouldn’t cause such a reaction, I liked the idea of it in picture form and so depicted Brain simply taking a whiff before passing out.

Information link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2016/04/30/w-18-the-high-potency-research-chemical-making-news-what-it-is-and-what-it-isnt/#2c45a5dd4757

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

Experiments researched, but not implemented:

- Tail dipped in ice cold water (mentioned here: cold water) - Morris water maze - Porton Down nerve agent test(s) (the worst; not even sure how I’d depict this)

The Porton Down tests sounded so indescribably cruel that I simply couldn’t bear to put Brain or Pinky through either of those, much less draw them out. It was the most horrific of the experiments I found, second only to a story about a French physiologist in the 1700s/1800s who performed, I believe, vivisection on live, six-week-old puppies. There’s a limit and that’s my limit. Even the cancer-based composition above was difficult to create. I legit felt dirty drawing it.

Researching these subjects was incredibly interesting, and I came across a few articles that touched on animal experimentation and the question of whether or not it’s ethical. Should such practices continue? It’s more complicated than a simple “yes” or no” answer. Some tests are fairly harmless, whilst others border on the inhumane, and some are downright cruel. Some people say that, without testing, there would be a lot less medicine on the shelves to assist in relieving and curing our ailments, whilst others argue that 90+% of the time the testing done is unnecessary, the results yielded by the subjects dissimilar to those that would be shown by humans and, henceforth, stating that the inaccuracies are numerous. This particular article offered up what I thought was a pretty genuine and interesting debate on the matter:

Pain in Lab Animals: How Much is Too Much?

In an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Mogil, a neuroscientist, he mentions that:

“You have complete control over everything in mice. Within limits, you can do whatever you want as long as you minimize pain and suffering of the subjects.“

Full interview: https://www.integrativepainscienceinstitute.com/latest_podcast/sex-differences-in-pain-and-pain-inhibition-with-dr-jeffrey-mogil/

While many establishments do follow the Animal Welfare Act, other laboratories still implement unethical practices. Also, the rules for what constitutes as acceptable in regards to tests that can only be performed without painkillers or anesthesia administered is... nebulous.

Thankfully, there is a number of lab testing equipment on the market specifically designed to be more humane and less stress-inducing to its subjects. These restrainers, for example, allow the animal to “walk in” without having to be physically forced backwards into a container:

Restrainers

Here is another example of testing that is relatively pain-free:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4401362/

It’s simple and inexpensive while still allowing scientists to perform tests.

Below is a video showing how a type of rotarod works, one that doesn’t place the rods too high and provides a cushion underneath in case the subjects fall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T38fDS2i13k

This tail flick analgesia meter comes installed with a cut off timer to avoid damage to the animal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgaStZt143o

So there are options. How often are such options utilized in the field? I have no idea, although there are laws that should be followed and, from the sound of it, generally are adhered to. Not everyone in this business is cruel. Though you do have your occasional psychopath who performs very morally questionable operations behind closed doors, I believe that this is a great exception to the rule, and that there are a lot of laboratory workers who genuinely want to inflict as little pain as possible upon the animal. Just an opinion. I don’t have tons of evidence, but it seems like most people are sane. Lol.

Most of the experiments I inflicted upon Brain because, I think, Pinky is so pure that I have a hard time imagining him sustaining any kind of extreme pain that would genuinely hurt him. Also, he borders on being freakin’ masochistic, finding pleasure in a lot of painful situations, whereas Brain does not. Brain has been through a lot, mentally and physically. It seemed more... “appropriate” to put him in these situations, as terrible as that sounds.

All of that having been said, I never want to do this kind of exercise again. While a lot of it was interesting, and some of it even fun, parts of it were legitimately painful. The cancer one.... I felt horrible....

#pinky and the brain #tw:pain #tw:experimentation #tw:needle #tw:needles #tw:cancer #fan art

[sebastiansallowwws]

Happyhoganon: Would you describe the DCEU?

Hello!!! Welcome :D Crossing fingers to not make an eyesore post, but I will try my best to explain them! :D 

Aquaman: I have a current story called Taming of the Tides and it’s an Oceanmaster/OC pairing. My OC is Mera’s younger sister and her name is Nothea, or Thea for short. She is compared as Xebel’s other princess because she is outshined by Mera who is far superior with her hydrokinesis mastery, but the sisters deeply care for one another. She goes with her sister to Atlantis to train with Queen Atlanna and meets a young Orm Marius as a result. I want it to follow events prior, current and post-movie. Currently on pause because I had trouble mapping out the story. I was halfway through the first chapter and I just got stuck. I have occasionally opened it up and wrote here and there, but not much progress has been made. Hopefully putting the section together with manips and gifs will get me inspired. 

Shazam: I had an idea for a Freddy/OC story called Words Don’t Come Easy and it focuses on an older Freddy with my OC, Theresa “Tessa” Strickland in their final year of high school. It is meant to be a polar opposites attract as Tessa is one of the school’s cheerleaders and a smart student in contrast to Freddy. She ends up being his Chemistry tutor during their junior year and has an on and off attraction to him which ends with her forcibly dating someone else because she thought her crush on Freddy was for convenience's sake. He saves her in his hero form and she ends up crushing on the wrong version of him. 

Suicide Squad: I made this on a whim and called it You Don’t Own Me and I have two sister OCs. I’m revamping everything so I don’t have much for now. I can confirm one pairing so far: GQ/OC, my OC’s villain name is Spectra and she was nabbed by the Scarlet Speedster. 

Young Justice: Contrast has been in the works for over a decade. I was obsessed with this show and still to do this day, occasionally do Robin’s “unwords”.  I have a set of cousins, Avaline “Ava” Hamilton and Jeremy Morris who are sidekicks to Ice and Fire respectively. They adopted the names Cryofrost and Hot Spark and are auditioning to join The Team. Ava is paired with Wally West/ Kid Flash while there is a slight crush on Artemis for Jeremy. Ava is a special character of mine because she is the first that I really laid out a detailed plot for, but action scenes are NOT my forte, so I have been struggling to write this. She is such a firecracker and I can’t wait to make more headway with this story. 

#Happyhoganon #Thanks for the ask! #OC: Thea #OC: Tessa Strickland #OC: Ava Hamilton #DCEU #aquaman #shazam #suicide squad #young justice

[spiderantsandbullets]

@chainedfire-wildrider​ ❤ ‘d for a starter.

Morrie knew the Spider riders weren’t the only ones to tame and rely on the wild creatures Pandora provided in abundance. Plenty of people had been heard to train skags, use them a guard creatures, defenders, just pets, or bred for the arena. It wasn’t uncommon actually.

But Morrie herself had never seen it. It wasn’t in the Hodunk’s usual array of skills and the Bloodshots had too many midgets and rats that would either eat or be eaten by tamed skags. So it was with great interest she watched the lone bandit woman and her skag crossing over the sands, standing up on Mim’s back so she could get a better look through her spyglass. She wasn’t exactly being subtle but she also wasn’t shooting at them so there was a chance, albeit a small one, that she wouldn’t end up getting shot at. Who knew, maybe the other woman was friendly. Or maybe she was the face eating type. It was really a toss of a coin out here.

Still, Morrie waved when she saw the woman turn toward her, more interested in conversation then a fight. Women were pretty scarce on Pandora, often nothing more then an object to whoever was strongest enough to keep ahold of them. A lone woman wandering was unusual enough to make note of, even better if she was talented and sane enough to be of possible use to Morrie’s clan.

#chainedfire-wildrider #(god this took so long I'm sorry)

[e8luhs]

HERE’S TO LIFE.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

TRACKLIST & ANNOTATIONS UNDER THE CUT! (last edited 04.18.19)

I. WALK, DON’T RUN / THE VENTURES

[instrumental]

II. SON OF A GUN / ERIC WILLIAM MORRIS

my favorite comic book, favorite comic book, favorite comic book about a guy whose hand's a hook, guy whose hand's a hook, guy whose hand's a hook and he's got blood on all his shirts, blood on all his shirts, blood on all his shirts cause everything he feels he hurts, things he feels he hurts, everything he hurts

III. ACTION MOVIE HERO BOY / LEMON DEMON

i gotta figure out where mommy keeps the dynamite i'll get some measuring tape so i can time it right i know it's dangerous, i know you're thinking i am a fool but it's the only chance i'll ever get to look so cool

IV. THE SHARK FIGHTER! / THE AQUABATS!

i gots me a knife, a bandanna and a topaz necklace yeah, i'm extremely reckless: i ride an otter like a motorcycle! yeah, i'm not kidding, man! yeah, i'm not kidding, man! i’m not kidding, man! you know i’m just a... shark fighter, toughest man in the sea! shark fighter, with his wavy blond hair flowing so freely

V. MR. REBEL / THE SURFARIS

[instrumental]

VI. KING OF THE BEACH / WAVVES

let the sun burn my eyes let it burn my back at the beach in my dreams but you still...

VII. FEEL IT STILL / PORTUGAL. THE MAN

ooh woo, i'm a rebel just for kicks, now i been feeling it since 1966, now might be over now, but i feel it still

VIII. HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO / THE HIVES

do what i want 'cause i can, and if i don't because i wanna be ignored by the stiff and the bored, because i'm gonna spit and retrieve 'cause i give and receive because i want to gonna get through your head, what the mystery man said because i'm gonna

IX. PIZZA HEROES / LEMON DEMON

when you need a disk of oven baked bliss (we always deliver!) 24-hour pizza pie power (we always deliver!) rain or shine (aaaah!) sleet or snow (aaaah!)

X. KIDS / MGMT

control yourself take only what you need from it a family of trees wanting to be haunted

XI. HOTTO DOGGU / SHAWN WASABI

[instrumental]

XII. WAVEFORMS / DJANGO DJANGO

touch it, break it, shake it, yeah take it apart and break it, yeah try to rearrange it, yeah couldn't recreate it, yeah

XIII. DIVE / COAST MODERN

sunrise over my shoulder, reflected in your eyes untied, we do what we wanna drifting in the wind, don't know where this will end up there's a fire in my head going wild over things we did can't believe it, am i dreaming i just feel like, this ain't real life, whoa

XIV. POPPIN’ A WHEELIE! / THE AQUABATS!

i like long walks on the beach and i like the feel of sand on my feet yeah i like nature just fine from time to time i like those video games and i like most airplanes and trains i like nice weather but there’s something so much better

XV. SECRET AGENT MAN / THE VENTURES

[instrumental]

XVI. BONETROUSLE / TOBY FOX

[instrumental]

XVII. THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN OF ULTIMATE DESTINY / LEMON DEMON

this is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see and only one will survive, i wonder who it will be this is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny

XVIII. WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE / BILLY JOEL

we didn't start the fire it was always burning since the world's been turning we didn't start the fire no we didn't light it but we tried to fight it

XIX. THE THREE OF US / STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO

i will never defend the men who make amends with any enemy’s friends, i will never pretend i will never bow down to another man even when everyone’s saying i’ve sinned, i will never repent

XX. ABRASIVE

[instrumental]

XXI. 10,000 EMERALD POOLS / BORNS

i'll make a living, trying to get away ten thousand fathoms, under a tidal wave it can never pull me away no way

XXII. KISS / PRINCE

ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with i just want your extra time and your kiss

XXIII. SUMMERTIME CLOTHES / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

it covers my rest with a saccharine sheen kissing the wind through my window screen the restlessness calls us, that i cannot hide so much on my mind that it spills outside

XXIV. SPICY BOYFRIEND / SHAWN WASABI

[instrumental]

XXV. FIRELIGHT / KUBBI

[instrumental]

XXVI. GOLDEN SKANS / KLAXONS

light touched my hands in a dream of golden skans from now on, you can forget all future plans night touched my hands with the turning, golden skans from the night to the light, all plans are golden in your hands

XXVII. HAWAII FIVE-O / THE VENTURES

[instrumental]

XXVIII. WOLF LIKE ME / TV ON THE RADIO

my mind has changed my body's frame, but, God, I like it my heart's aflame my body's strained, but, God, I like it

XXIX. EASY TIGER / PORTUGAL. THE MAN

but it's hard to see clouds when you're 6 feet underground keep building a house then tearing it down

XXX. THE END OF YOU TOO / METRONOMY

[instrumental]

XXXI. MASTERPIECE THEATRE III / MARIANAS TRENCH

i got a new disease in me i got a friend that's losing sleep i take it hard, it's hard to take i'm wide awake i'm wide awake

XXXII. HOW FAR WE’VE COME / MATCHBOX TWENTY

i'm waking up at the start of the end of the world, but its feeling just like every other morning before, now i wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone the cars are moving like a half a mile an hour and i started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?

XXXIII. LOST IT TO TRYING / SON LUX

what will we do now? we've lost it to trying we've lost it to trying

XXXIV. BURN YOUR LIFE DOWN / BLEACHERS

you lay awake in the night, just staring at the ceiling above pulling pieces of it out is such a waste of time keep on fighting to remember that nothing is lost in the end when you burn, burn, burn your life down

XXXV. CONTENT / JOYWAVE

i'm searching for the difference between what content and content can bring maybe they're no different 'cause they look the same maybe i'm just an algorithm with a given name but trying to find the difference

XXXVI. BLOODFLOOD / ALT-J

a wave, an awesome wave that rushes skin and widens in flooded veins breathe in, exhale i’ve poked a nerve; he’ll slap me like a whale

XXXVII. DOUSED / DIIV

now you've gone so far, you really had to get away you knew it in your lifetime running to it acting like you've come so far, the bed you made yourself, and this house, and me, are all falling apart

XXXVIII. LABYRINTH / MIRACLE MUSICAL

in the rear, i can see the beast getting close surrounded by ghosts in a cloud of smoke the smoke reeks of failure, i don't want to fail but all the stairwells lead straight to hell

XXXIX. APOCALYPSE DREAMS / TAME IMPALA

are you too terrified to try your best? just to end up with an educated guess like success like those times you wake up mystified

XL. CONSTANT CONVERSATIONS / PASSION PIT

now you're standing in the kitchen, and you're pouring out my drink well there's a very obvious difference, and it's that one of us can think if there's a bump in the road yeah you'd fix it, but for me i'll just run off the road but tonight you've got me cornered, and i haven't got a place to go

XLI. TONGUES / JOYWAVE

the palms are down, i'm welcomed back to town sometimes i feel like they don't understand me i hear their mouths making foreign sounds sometimes i think they're all just speaking tongues

XLII. KINDA BONKERS / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

i'm tryna reach out to you yes, i'm talking to you, you're the one in the room we'll share a moment, let's meet we're a fire with heat you didn't know, not me we all start suddenly and get carried so far away

XLIII. DIVINA / TORO Y MOI

[instrumental]

XLIV. ARE YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO BE? / FOSTER THE PEOPLE

with all these things i wait for revelation these things make me want to duck for cover with all these things i wait for revolution these things ask the biggest question to me and it's are you what you want to be... so are you what you want to be?

XLV. GUYS EYES / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

so i used my mind and i used my hand it was what i want to do i really don't know what to do if my body should want to what i want

XLVI. THE SUBURBS (CONTINUED) / ARCADE FIRE

if i could have it back all the time that we wasted i’d only waste it again

XLVII. TERATOLOGY / THE PHYSICS HOUSE BAND

[instrumental]

XLVIII. WAVES / PORTUGAL. THE MAN

no one cares about the waves at the bottom of the ocean and at the bottom of the ocean it's always blue no one will remember cause nothing lasts forever and everybody's looking for somebody to use

XLIX. A MOMENT OF SILENCE / STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO

so tell me: how long do you think you can go before you lose it all? before they call your bluff and watch you fall? i don't know, but i'd like to think i had control at some point, but i let it go and lost my soul sit tight, but the revolution's years away i'm losing faith and i'm running low on things to say so, i guess i have no choice but to regurgitate the tired anthem of a loser and a hypocrite

L. SUPERMAN / GOLDFINGER

i'm trying to keep the ground on my feet it seems the world is falling down around me the nights are long i'm singing this song to try and make the answers more than maybe

LI. BELIEVE / THE BRAVERY

so give me something to believe 'cause i am living just to breathe and i need something more to keep on breathing for so give me something to believe

LII. IS THIS IT / THE STROKES

is this it... is this it?

LIII. WATCH IT CRASH / TOH KAY

we can't just blame it on our mothers claim everything they did was always wrong and there ain't not turning back when our train is off its track and there's nothing we can do but watch it crash and there ain't no right and wrong when we know it won't be long and there's nothing we can do but watch it crash

LIV. THE MALL AND MISERY / BROKEN BELLS

i know what I know, but nothing will fill the hole so let your mind go (let my mind go) straight down the runway does one want to get more used to, the mall and misery? (the mall and the misery) the dead mouths it costs to be alive

LV. SICKOS / HARLEM SHAKES

if there's a bomb in your hand, just throw it if the ground's too hot, just run this place is filled with sickos! this place is filled with sickos!

LVI. THE GREAT ESCAPE / WE ARE SCIENTISTS

i'm making my escape, making my escape tell myself that everything's in shape everything's in shape, but me how long can we stay, how long can we stay? tell myself that everything is great everything is great, well how am i doing?

LVII. DIAMOND HEAD / THE SURFARIS

[instrumental]

LVIII. SAVE YOURSELF ILL HOLD THEM BACK / MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

we could leave this world, leave it all behind we could steal this car if your folks don't mind we could live forever if you've got the time, oh, oh, oh

LIX. UNREST IN THE HOUSE OF LIGHT / THE PROTOMEN

a time is coming, and i must warn you though it's something that you may not understand, they can't be saved by just one man and I am sorry, because i was wrong and I'd take away the weight his shoulders had to bear, because when he fell i was the only one that cared you need to know, you are not him, his fight's not yours!

LX. WILL DO / TV ON THE RADIO

anytime will do, my love anytime will do, no choice of words will break me from this rule anytime will do, my love anytime will do, what choice of words will take me back to you?

LXI. HUGGIN & KISSIN / BIG BLACK DELTA

pushing and shoving, hugging and kissing all of the time all over again

LXII. TRAINWRECK 1979 / DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979

so now i follow it around the world i can’t keep up the story never ends as long as we have blood and cuts

LXIII. INACTION / WE ARE SCIENTISTS

counting on my relative friends when this keeps coming up again and again if everybody knows how it's gonna end why doesn't someone stop me?

LXIV. AMERICAN HERO / RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE

i would do anything to hear you say “there goes an american hero”, darling call the press and tell 'em all "he's got a front page picture face with all of the amenities”

LXV. GHOULS / WE ARE SCIENTISTS

can't help but feel attacked, what's that supposed to mean? i know i won't relax or act like it's no big deal this happens all the time, it's kind of our routine but we all recognize that i'm the problem here

LXVI. VIOLET RAYS / THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

spells fall frail webs catching sail in eternal eternities divine purpose catching free

LXVII. CARRY ME / JOYWAVE

tonight, i think i might explode yeah, nothing's right, nothing's right comfort me until the sun arrives

LXVIII. BAMBI / TOKYO POLICE CLUB

i wanna tell you there's a really good reason why i came down easy, spinning threads to your throne a tiny kingdom at the bottom of the trees where i was always a winner and i was barely alone

LXIX. WETSUIT / THE VACCINES

if at some point we all succumb for goodness sake, let us be young 'cause time gets harder to outrun, and i'm nobody, i'm not done with a cool, cool breeze and dirty knees, i rest on childhood memories we all got old at breakneck speed slow it down, go easy on me

LXX. AFRICA / TOTO

the wild dogs cry out in the night as they grow restless, longing for some solitary company i know that i must do what's right as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like olympus above the serengeti i seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that i've become

LXXI. THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN / THE ANIMALS

oh mother, tell your children not to do what i have done spend your lives in sin and misery in the house of the rising sun

LXXII. THE OTHER SIDE / WOODKID

boy i was shaped for the fury now i pay the price of the human race's vice and i was promised the glorious ending of a knight but the crown is out of sight

LXXIII. RIDING THE FOURTH WAVE / STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO

[instrumental]

LXXIV. 4TH DIMENSIONAL TRANSITION / MGMT

i feel your racing heart, my liquid silver arms extended these waves aren't far apart black gold in claw foot tubs, unchanging i am fire, where's my form? whisper crimson, i intrude there's light beneath your eyes new overtones in view endless form, endless time

LXXV. I CAN TALK / TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB

now i can talk, no one gets off (i know how you like to) now i can talk, no one gets off

LXXVI. ATOMIC MAN / PORTUGAL. THE MAN

after you, i don't know what i believe in after you, hell should be easy after you, i don't know what i believe in after you, hell would be easier

LXXVII. GRAVITYS RAINBOW / KLAXONS

come with me, come with me, we'll travel to infinity come with me, come with me, we'll travel to infinity i'll always be there, oh, oh, my future love i'll always be there for you, my future love

LXXVIII. NECKBRACE / RATATAT

[instrumental]

LXXIX. WALK TALL / KELE

rule number one, be bright like the sun whether rude, whether flawed, like it's just begun rule number one, be the only thing they see

LXXX. THE WILL OF ONE / THE PROTOMEN

as i walk through the city streets, these frightened people watching me pass there is an evil that holds them here, yet they won't try breaking its grasp but if i stay here with you then i will leave them to their doom

LXXXI. FUCKING LIFER / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

[instrumental]

LXXXII. LETS GO HOME / BIG BLACK DELTA

so let's go home, let's go home let's go home, and you will never be alone

LXXXIII. BEACH BOY / AMINE

who knows what the future holds? i don't, if the truth be told they say "play it safe, young soul" fuck that, i'mma take control

LXXXIV. I BELIEVE IT NOW / EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

is this the place where all our hopes and dreams are piled and burnt? into the waters slide into the flames i'm light but they're watching us lift off, as the chasms open up, it took me a century but i'm starting with tonight

LXXXV. DON’T WASTE TIME DOING THINGS YOU HATE / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

[instrumental]

LXXXVI. DO IT ANYWAYS / BEN FOLDS FIVE

sometimes it's not subjective: wrong and right deep down you know it's downright wrong but you're invincible tonight so you, do it anyway it's done, you did it

LXXXVII. THIS YEAR / THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

i am going to make it through this year if it kills me i am going to make it through this year if it kills me

LXXXVIII. LIGHT UP THE NIGHT / THE PROTOMEN

there is a city that this darkness can't hide there are the embers of a fire that's gone out, but i can still feel the heat on my skin this mess we're in, well you and i, maybe you and i, we can still make it right

LXXXIX. BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

[instrumental]

XC. BELIEVER / IMAGINE DRAGONS

first things first i'mma say all the words inside my head i'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, the way that things have been second thing second don't you tell me what you think that i can be i'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea, the master of my sea

XCI. WE WILL FALL TOGETHER / STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO

and when we fall we will fall together no one will catch us so we'll catch ourselves and when we roam we will roam forever no one will understand what we meant

XCII. BARE MY BONES / BRONTIDE

[instrumental]

XCIII. AMY AKA SPENT GLADIATOR 1 / THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

play with matches if you think you need to play with matches seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot and bright find where the heat's unbearable and stay there if you have to don't hurt anybody on your way up to the light

XCIV. IF IT AIN’T BROKE... BREAK IT / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

[instrumental]

XCV. FALCON JAB / RATATAT

[instrumental]

XCVI. IT’S ALRIGHT / MOTHER MOTHER

oh hey, i had a night i had a day i did one million stupid things i said one billion foolish things i'm not okay, I got a baseball bat beside my bed to fight off what's inside my head, to fight off what's behind my meds i'm lonely; lost in pain

XCVII. WHITE WHALE / EVERYTHING EVERYTHING

your love is like the white whale my finger's on the third rail i want you to be okay i want us to be okay

XCVIII. EVERLONG / FOO FIGHTERS

and i wonder, if everything could ever feel this real forever if anything could ever be this good again the only thing i'll ever ask of you you got to promise not to stop when i say when

XCIX. THANKS. THANKS FOR COMING / JOYWAVE

i could get used to these endless possibilities adrenaline for dinner means a headache that the morning brings

C. HERE’S TO LIFE / STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO

and i don't know much, but i do know this: with a golden heart comes a rebel fist but i can't help agreeing with those that would not quit

#plylsts #cataclysmalbound #originally was going to put on much more streetlight manifesto but it ruined the vibe and i tried to make this less genre hoppy #vs the old one which was... all over the place. sad though because streetlight manifesto is SO cryluscore

[chocolategate]

Even Gods Love Frogs

Link to read on Ao3

Warnings: None

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Darcy & Thor friendship

Wordcount: 2k

Tags: Fluff, Animals, Darcy Loves Cats

I wrote this little thing for @pinkcoffeefrog.  

Thanks for beta reading @dresupi

“Wasn't Morris the cutest?” Darcy asked Thor as he flipped through a photo album of her childhood.

“He was indeed,” Thor answered. The photographs of a younger Darcy amused him. Her gap-toothed grin had stayed much the same, though her spectacles were far smaller and more flattering now. The orange feline in that particular picture hung in her arms as if he couldn't support his own body. “Was he a youngling?”

Darcy shook her head. “He was already fully grown by the time I was born. He's about nine in that picture.”

Thor frowned. That couldn't be true. Earth's beasts were indeed smaller than those on other planets, but according to a television program she'd shown him, some of the world's most deadly creatures were felines. The one she was holding was no larger than his forearm.

Darcy trailed her fingertip gently over the picture. “He was my best buddy. I miss having a cat.”

The sadness in her voice caught Thor off guard. He didn't understand much about the whims of Midgardians, but Darcy’s sadness hit him particularly hard. She was a brave warrior, much like himself. Sadness didn’t become her.  

“Can you not acquire another?”

She sighed and shut the photo book before hauling herself up off the couch to return it to its place on her overcrowded bookshelf. “My landlord doesn't allow pets.”

“Surely such a tiny creature would not be a nuisance.”

She huffed a laugh. “You'd think that, but cats can be kind of destructive. A lot of places around here don't allow pets of any kind, or if they do you have to pay a hefty deposit. Maybe someday, though,” she said with a tight smile that barely even lifted her cheeks.

She disappeared into the kitchen and left Thor sitting on the couch, stewing in his thoughts. There had to be some way for Darcy to have a cat. He would have to ask one of his other companions for advice.

On a rare Saturday afternoon that it wasn’t raining, Thor and Darcy walked to a nearby pet store. Thor had stopped by previously and learned it hosted local animal rescues almost every weekend and donated a portion of their proceeds for pet supplies back to those same rescues. The public was welcome, whether they wanted to adopt or simply spend some time playing with the animals.

As soon as the cat area came into view, Darcy squealed and Thor allowed her to pull him by the hand to the edge of the pen.

One of the volunteers, a kind-faced woman with graying hair got up to greet them.“Hi there, are you here to adopt or to play?”

“Just to play this time,” Darcy answered, the barest hint of that earlier sadness in her voice.

The woman let them into the pen, closing it behind them to keep all the wandering kittens in.

Darcy immediately dropped to her knees with the widest smile Thor had ever seen on her face. His heart swelled knowing he'd helped put it there.

He squatted down as well and observed a few of the cats before settling his attention on a sleek black one hiding beneath the table with the adoption paperwork. He scooted close enough to reach the cat, then waited patiently until it grew curious and took a few steps toward his outstretched hand. It glared up at him through piercing green eyes.

“Your coloring reminds me of my brother,” Thor said as the cat sniffed at his fingers. It turned away with a dismissive sneeze and he chuckled. “As does your countenance.”

He left the cat in peace and turned to where he'd left Darcy.

She was still on the ground in the middle of the pen, but now she had three kittens hanging from her sweater by their claws and two more in her arms. When he caught her eye she grinned and said, “This is literally the best day of my life.”

He crawled over and gave the biggest one, a handsome gray and white fellow, a scratch between the ears. It looked up and bit down on his fingertip with its sharp incisors. He let it chew fruitlessly on his finger for a minute, then pulled the digit free and said, “You have a warrior's spirit.”

“That one is pretty feisty,” Darcy agreed.

Thor brought the kitten close to his face and murmured, “May you be as mighty as Freyja's cats of old. I wish you a long and prosperous life, little one,” before setting the kitten back on the newspaper covered floor.

Several loud barks echoed through the store, startling some of the cats.

“I didn't know they had dogs,” Darcy said, comforting one of the frightened kittens in her arms.

Thor rose to his feet. “I should like to see these dogs.”

“Sure, dude. Go play with all the slobber-mouths. Just come back and get me when you're ready to go.”

She seemed content on her own, so he set off to explore. His first stop was the dog area. Most were significantly larger and more hearty than the cats had been, though several of the smallest appeared to be more cat than dog. One large golden dog reminded him of Captain Rogers if he were a dog.

He didn't linger there long, despite the warm feelings he got when the dogs licked his hands. The store housed a wide variety of animals, and he wanted to see all that he could of Midgard's “pets” while he could.

He passed some small hairy creatures, some tiny with long tails, others larger with no tails at all. Their information tags informed him they were mice, hamsters, and guinea pigs. There was also an enclosure with three long, sleek animals called ferrets. They looked like something Loki might like.

Toward the back of the store, away from the warm wriggling mammals, he finally found what he was looking for: a large wall of glass tanks cleverly camouflaged with leaves and logs to resemble a forest environment.

He peered inside one of them, grinning as wide as Darcy had when he spotted a snake coiled comfortably beneath a heat lamp. He hadn't seen one in centuries. As a boy, he'd spent vast amounts of time exploring the rougher terrain of Asgard, often with a cold-blooded companion or two, but once he matured and took on more responsibility for the realm, he had less time for such activities.

He hadn't been aware that Midgard was home to such creatures. Granted, this one was far smaller than any he'd come across before, but that made it even better. It could fit in his pocket. He'd be quite happy with a pocket snake.

He took his time and searched each of the rest of the containers with his eyes until he located their inhabitants. As with the cats, the creatures were smaller than he was used to, but he wasn't shocked until he came to the end of the aisle, where he found a species he'd never encountered before.

Unlike snakes, these creatures had four legs and short, round bodies. Their thin, wide-set mouths and large eyes gave them a friendly quality, and he squatted down to read the information posted beside each tank.

Frogs, they were called.

A vibrant green one with a thin white stripe down its side clung to the glass wall of the tank with its translucent toe pads and scooted away when he pressed a finger to the glass near its body. It was alone in its tank.

The next tank held five frogs, each no larger than the tip of his little finger and brilliant yellow with black stripes. The information sheet boasted of their poisonous skin and Thor grinned. It seemed even the smallest of Midgard's creatures were well equipped to take care of themselves.

That was one thing he admired most about the planet. Everything on it had such a short life span, but they all had one brilliant quality other planets could benefit from–they adapted to survive.

Thor crouched down and watched the little frogs in silent amusement until a tiny hand patted his elbow.

“Do you like frogs?” A tiny brunette, not dissimilar to Darcy, said.

“Aye, I’ve only just discovered them,” Thor replied.

“That’s neat. They used to be my favorites. Now I like ants.”

Thor hummed. There had been an ant featured on the most dangerous creatures show, so he could understand why the girl liked them.

“I have a pet one, but he’s not like other ants. He’s bigger than me.”

Thor didn’t know what to make of the statement. On the show, the ants had been quite tiny. Perhaps San Francisco was home to a giant species. It must be a fairly safe variety if the child was able to keep one as a pet.

“Have you seen these before?” He pointed to the tank of tiny yellow ones.

She leaned in to see and her face lit up.

As she cooed over the adorable little creatures, Thor  found himself wanting to introduce pets to his people. The life spans of Midgard's creatures was far too short, but perhaps Heimdall knew of a planet with creatures tame enough to be companions.

“Cassie,” a man’s voice called from nearby.

Thor rose to his feet just before the owner of the voice rounded the end of the aisle.

The man paused and several unreadable expressions flashed over his face before he settled on a pinched version of a smile. “Oh, hey there Peanut. What are you doing over here?”

The girl finally looked away from the tank and darted over to the man. “Daddy, you have to see these new frogs they got. This guy showed them to me,” she said as she dragged him by the hand to her previous spot.

Thor smiled. She reminded him of Darcy.

He noted how the man indulged the girl and chatted with her about the frogs, all while carefully positioning himself between Thor and his daughter. Thor took no offense to the protective gesture. He was far larger than most Midgardians and he was an imposing figure.

When it looked like the girl was going to spend a considerable amount of time looking at the frogs, Thor decided it was time to find Darcy.

As he walked away, the man followed him and once they were out of earshot from the girl, he said, “You look familiar. Ever spend any time in San Quentin?”

Thor shook his head. “I have not. I did spend several days in Puente Antiguo, however.”

The man’s face scrunched up the way Darcy’s did when she was thinking and Thor smiled. He saw a lot of her mannerisms in this little family.  

“I must go and find the friend I came with. Enjoy your day with your wonderful daughter. I believe she will grow into a fine warrior one day.”

His face scrunched even farther, if that was possible, and after Thor turned away, he heard the man say, “Thanks, man.”

Thor found Darcy right where he’d left her, though most of the cats around her were napping instead of using her body as a mountain for climbing.

She noticed him right away and gave him a wide, lazy smile. “You ready?”

“Only if you are satisfied.”

She removed the sleepy kittens from her person one at a time, kissing each on the nose before setting them back on the ground and spoke briefly with the woman at the desk before joining Thor outside the pen.

She hooked her arm through his offered elbow and leaned against his arm, resting her head against the pillow of his muscles.

As they walked back to Darcy’s tiny apartment, thunder rumbled through the sky above them.

Darcy glanced up at him. “Is that you?”

“No,” he replied with a soft smile. While the storms he created were indeed magnificent, he truly enjoyed Midgard’s natural weather patterns. The natural static in the air filled him with a buzzing energy that he couldn't manufacture on his own.

They were only a block from home when the skies opened up, and instead of making a run for it, Darcy paused. She tucked her glasses on the neck of her shirt and folded her jacket over them, then tilted her head up, giggling as the moisture collected on her cheeks and in her hair.

Laughter rumbled through Thor's chest and he joined her, embracing the feel of the icy droplets as they splashed against his skin.

Someday he'd find a way to get Darcy her cat, but for now this was enough.

#darcyland #thor #darcy lewis #friendship #frogs #fanfiction #cats #jo writes

[sea-side-scribbles]

Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/60012781

Chapter 20

Nick was glad he had hurried up, because he made it home right before it went dark. He was still high from his adventure with Arthur and looked forward to see him again. But the closer he came to his house, and thinking about who was waiting for him inside, he also looked forward to see Morrie.  When he entered it he noticed how quiet it was, as if they were still out and having a good time, or already asleep, what was unlikely. He called for them while he walked up the stairs, until a voice answered him. It was Morrie, looking like he had been waiting for Nick in the living room.

„Welcome back,“ he said holding up his arms and Nick grinned. Then he noticed.

„Are you all alone?“

Morrie shrugged.

„The others are in the pub again, but I wanted to wait for you,“ he explained.

Nick then ran into his arms.

They hugged and kissed, stumbled around and finally slumped on the couch together.

When they paused for breath Morrie quietly asked: „Where have you been?“

Nick cuddled into his side and it didn’t feel any less wholesome.

„I…told you before…I…I want to stop the drugs…I was in therapy today,“ he created an answer. It wasn’t entirely wrong.

„But Nick,“ Morrie turned to face him. „Why didn’t you tell me? This is the best idea you ever had and I’m absolutely with you! Everyone of us is!“

Nick avoided his gaze and simply said in a broken voice: „I have to make it…or I can bury myself.“

Morrie took his hands and stroked them with his thumbs 

„You will make it, Nick! You’re not alone with this.“

Then he made a painful expression.

„I guess I was sarcastic when you first told me…When I was still angry at you and also at myself. But I’m actually proud of you and if you need help, I’ll be there for you. Whatever you need.“

Nick lifted Morrie’s hands and gently kissed them.

„Thank you,“ he rasped.

Morrie eyed him.

„Does it hurt?“

Nick cleared his throat.

„It’s…not really pleasant,“ he answered, thinking about how he had spent hours alone in that bedroom, sweating and winding in pain and nearly losing his mind. 

„And it’s going on forever.“

At that, Morrie began to caress his cheek with his finger, purring „Aww, my poor baby.“

Nick turned his head, kissed the hand that was petting him and then started to cover the other man’s face with more kisses. Morrie closed his eyes, moaning with pleasure. Then he suddenly pulled the mask off his face and looked Nick in the eyes. Nick froze. 

„Isn’t that much better?“, Morrie whispered.

Nick’s gaze wandered over every single uncovered spot on the other man’s skin.

„Your face…I..“, he stuttered and gulped. „I forgot what your face looks like…“

Morrie leaned closer.

„Now let me see if I forgot about yours,“ he was whispering again, tempting him.

Nick shivered but he didn’t flinch when Morrie carefully touched his chin, then shoved his fingers under the white plastic of his mask. While he removed it slowly Nick was staring at him, paralyzed. He was waiting for the other man to be startled by his looks.

„Oh my…,“ Morrie sighted.

„What?“, Nick interrupted him. His heart was pounding.

„You’re so beautiful…“, Morrie went on and Nick’s eyes widened.

His fear melted away when he saw the other man’s delighted expression. When they kissed again, it felt like they kissed for real for the first time. Nick could feel Morrie’s skin on his and it felt so soft when he brushed it with his lips.

„This is so much better!“, he panted the second he could breathe again.

„My words,“ Morrie replied and chuckled.

He shoved his arms under Nick and pulled him onto his lap. Nick took this as an invitation to ruffle the other man’s hair in order to completely ruin his neatly combed strands.

„Hey,“ Morrie laughed while he tried to stop his lover’s evil plan. After he had thoroughly failed and his rumpled hair strands were covering his face, he said: „Alright, I get it. You need a completely different treatment now.“

He got up and lifted Nick up with him, who immediately wrapped his arms around him an giggled.

„What’s the matter, baby? You look ravishing!“

He was kicking his legs, downright begging to be tamed. Morrie wouldn’t let him go.

„Come here, hot stuff, you need a cooldown!“

He carried Nick all the way to his bedroom and kicked the door open with a loud crack.

„Hey, this is my interior you’re destroying right now!“, Nick fake-complained and laughed.

„I’ll destroy much more than that tonight“, Morrie announced and Nick moaned loudly.

„Yeah, baby, punish me!“

Searching for the light switch Morrie accidentally turned on the stereo system that started to blast out Nick’s cheery songs, accompanied with bright lights from a glittering disco ball. Nick could convince Morrie to dance with him, before they made love to the music.

Much later, when it was silent and Morrie was already asleep, Nick carefully freed himself out of his arms. He cast a last tender glance at his lover before he sneaked out of the room and entered the bathroom, where he brought himself to look into the mirror. At first he viewed himself from a distance, then his curiosity won him over and he stepped closer, carefully palpating his face. Bit by bit he remembered that there had been a time where he had seen this face in the mirror every day. His and Morrie’s - and even the Garden District brought back memories which felt like they came from another life.

Long before Nick Lightbearer was born he was simply called Norbert Pickles. He liked to play guitar and sing along in the park that was close to his school. Every since puberty had hit him he had spent a lot of time finding out what the girls liked. And it came out that playing guitar was one of these things. In addition had a good singing voice he was quite proud of. Since the first day he had vibed the strings and hummed a song the girls kept swarming around him and listened like they were under a spell. Words came easier to him when he was singing. 

Because boys like music too he soon found friends that shared his passion and they formed a band. They played at school events and became popular amongst their colleagues. They were ambitious, dreaming about the big stages, concert halls filled with thousands of fans, but it was still a long way.

This certain day started like many others. Norbert didn’t hate school, but all he really wanted was playing music and so he did as soon as the classes were over. It was just the right time: a sunny spring day, warm and dry, perfect to sit down under a blossoming tree and get lost in his songs. He didn’t think about their great plans for now, if anything he looked forward to the pretty bird he was about to meet again this evening. Life was beautiful.

When he finished his song he saw his friend Matthew approach him. He looked out of breath, as if he had been running all the way. 

„There you are,“ he said huffing and puffing. „I’ve been looking for you.“

Norbert was confused.

„Why, what’s up?“

Matthew leaned against the tree to catch his breath.

„There’s that guy from the parallel class. He’s quite good at the piano. Mortimer Dunn, you know him?“

„I’ve heard about him, yes.“

„I talked to him and now he’s thinking about joining our band!“ 

Matthew sounded very excited. Norbert put the guitar down, doubting.

„Is he really that great?“

Matthew held out a hand. 

„You’ve got to listen to him, man! He’s playing for us right now! Follow me!“

Norbert bopped up and followed his friend out of the park and back into the school building. He had mixed feelings about this. Of course he wanted the best for the band, but did it have to be this guy? According to what he had heard Mortimer was rather shy and mousy. How would that look like on stage? And did this guy even like pop music?

So he was preparing for nothing when he opened the door to the music room where a piano was standing in a corner.

What he saw and heard afterwards made him hold his breath.

The band was complete when he and Matthew entered. Chris and Brad didn’t say a word, only nodded to them and kept listening. Mortimer shortly looked up and his and Norbert’s eyes met for a second. Then he continued to play. Norbert watched his long, slender fingers skim along the keys and after a while he noticed that he himself was listening like he was enchanted. He couldn’t stop looking at him either. After everything he had been told about Mortimer he had expected him to be a pimply little podge. Instead he was tall and slim, with well-groomed dark brown hair. 

While playing, he had a charisma that Norbert couldn’t break away from. He was certain that he indeed was the one they needed. When Mortimer ended, Norbert was still frozen and gaping while the others began to applaud and cheer. Mortimer looked at Norbert and his expression was somewhat skeptical. Then Matthew pushed his elbow into Norbert’s side and the sudden pain made him snap out of it. He joined into their cheers, even though way too late. 

„Wow…that was…I’m out of words,“ he stammered.

Matthew stepped forward, asking who would vote for Mortimer as their pianist. They agreed in unison, then they welcomed their new member with more cheers and slapped him on the shoulders. Everyone but Norbert, who didn’t dare to touch Mortimer. He had goosebumps all over his body and he was shivering without knowing why. All he knew was that he needed to leave the room before he fainted, and so he quickly said his goodbye and fled back into the park. He tried to play another song, but the peaceful atmosphere was gone. He was upset. Not even the thought about the pretty bird had the same magic as before. Frustrated, he shouldered his guitar and walked back home.

Even at night he lied awake, wondering what was wrong with him. Mortimer must’ve played something that made him lose his mind. The others didn’t seem to notice, they had been acting completely normal. But if it was about the music, why didn’t he remember the melody he had been playing at all? Instead he could recall the slim hands, his focused expression and the one hair strand that was coming loose while he was playing. Then again, it was still possible that everything would be back to normal tomorrow, he tried to calm himself down. Sinking into his confused thoughts, he slowly fell asleep.

#whf #wehappyfew #we happy few #nick lightbearer #whf nick #whf arthur

[swimmingnewsie]

Ten Minutes Ago - Prologue

Hi guys! It’s been a really long time since I’ve post fic and even longer since I’ve posted Newsies fic. But with help of my amazing collaborator @ig0tfriends, we have written a multichapter fic. Swimmingcrutch is back and better than ever. 

Summary:  When the death of King Joseph comes, the child of Princess Katherine and Prince Jack is in need to find a partner to continue the family line. What better way to do that than with a ball? A Newsies Cinderella AU featuring Jack and Katherine as amazing monarchs, genderfluid Smalls, Races as a fairy godmother, and an adorable Crutchie.

Also posted to AO3 for convenience

Enjoy!

It was always nice to come home. For Smalls, being home meant all dangers were abated and he could breathe. He didn’t have to worry about sleeping in cold grassy fields as they awaited battle to come or how to command an army when he hardly had the will to fight himself. As he and his troops approached the castle gates, it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Smalls!” He could hear his mother calling him from the second he entered the grounds.

“Mama!” Smalls ran and gave a tight hug to his mother, Princess Katherine.

Katherine squeezed tight, feeling the relief of having her child home and safe. “How are you, my little one?”

Smalls laughed at his mother. She was always good about these kinds of things. “Your little boy is doing well,” he beamed. “I missed you.”

“And I missed you more than you could imagine. Though your father may argue he missed you more.” Katherine placed a kiss on her son’s forehead. “Come, let us go inside and see him.”

The doormen immediately opened the wide, wrought-iron gates to the castle without so much as a word between any of them. Still, they could hardly suppress smiles at the homecoming of their beloved prince. It was a rare thing to have all denizens of a kingdom be enamored of their royal family, but Princess Katherine, Prince Jack and their child made it easy to be liked by all, even if King Joseph was a little insufferable at times. Since the passing of Queen Kate and Princess Lucille, things had been shaky, but Princess Katherine led amicably alongside her father, leading to peace between all those who inhabited their kingdom.

With the great blare of a trumpet, the pair of prince and mother strode inside the castle walls. Servants hustled to and fro, each one taking the time to smile at the princess and son. One maiden with yellow flowers in her arms rushed up to Katherine, made a quick curtsy, and addressed the princess as fast as she could.

“The prince is in his studio, your royal highness. He asked not to be disturbed unless it was absolutely necessary!”

“While my husband may be enthralled in his art, I do believe he will wish to see his son home from battle.” Katherine smiled. Neither she nor Jack had known when Smalls was to be home. The war had ended about three weeks ago, so they had been expecting him any day. “Would you tell him we will be in the throne room?“

The maiden curtsied once more, nodding, and quickly gave a shy smile to the prince. It was hardly a secret on the castle grounds that he was favored by most of the young servants, all thinking Smalls terribly pretty and handsome. But the maiden scurried away without another word, and it was then that a rackety clattering click-click noise squealed into the hallway. Steering a most formidable wheelchair down the hall – formidable because the crotchety old man it belonged to used it to drive over everyone’s toes – was an aging, graying old man dressed in a crown and doublet that were fashionable about fifteen years earlier.

“Katherine!” called the wizened old man, giving a baleful eye and a wag of a crooked finger to all who passed him by. There was a reason most addressed him as Pulitzer. King Joseph was a name for a kind old grandfather, whilst his surname from birth far more suited the man he became. “Katherine! Where’s Hannah? She was supposed to return an hour ago with my completed treatise on gnomes!”

“She was in the garden last I saw, Father,” Katherine replied. “Perhaps doing more research for you?” She looked at her son, giving him a light rub on the shoulder. “Are you not going to greet your grandson?”

“I’ll greet my granddaughter,” he spat. “Hello, my sweet Samantha. I’m glad you’re back from that foolish errand, running an army. The army your father should have been running,” Pulitzer snarled. “But you’re done with all that now aren’t you, sweetheart?”

Smalls grit his teeth, but merely gave his grandfather a graceful bow. “Yes, Grandfather.”

Pulitzer gave a grunt of disgust before lapsing into a bout of coughs. Swatting away the servants like flies, he resisted all offers of assistance. With one last glance at his ‘granddaughter’, the old man turned his wheelchair around and sped past his daughter just in time to meet Hannah, a young woman who normally acted as Pulitzer’s assistant, who was teetering underneath a large stack of paperwork.

“I will see you at dinner time!” he called back, though he barely glanced back at all. “Have Samantha wear her blue dress – the one I bought her! HANNAH! I hope you collected all the information on the feeding habits of gnomes that I requested!”

As Pulitzer exited, another door opened, this time admitting a much more jovial man with bright brown eyes and paint-splattered hands.

“Smalls! How are you doing, kid?”

Smalls couldn’t help but grin. Maybe his grandfather didn’t understand, but the ones that mattered did.

Another day, another hour of mucking pig slop. At least that was the way it seemed to Crutchie, who stood in the middle of the once tame pasture, surrounded by numerous barnyard animals. He stood up once more, resting the shovel against the trough as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The once-comforting fabric pinned to the top of his crutch was soaked through with sweat from too many days of hard labor to count.

If anyone had chosen to walk by at that very moment, they would have assumed he, dressed in ragged clothes, was a simple farmhand or stable boy. No one would have ever known that Crutchie, formerly the young Lord Robert of the very estate he was now mucking pig slop on, was the son of a (formerly) wealthy merchant.

But all that was in the past. Now, he was only Crutchie, the crippled servant of the household. No one, even if they did walk past, would suspect anything different.

“Did you finish cleaning the manure?” his step-brother Morris called out. He walked out into the field, coming up close. Cruelly, he pushed Crutchie’s crutch into the pile of manure on the ground. Crutchie, barely having time to form a look of panic on his face, quickly found himself tossed into the pile of manure as well.

“Missed a spot,” Morris laughed, walking off.

Crutchie sighed, feeling the gross sensation against his skin. He had never understood why his step-brothers were so mean to him. He had never treated them with anything but kindness since they were children and yet they were still so cruel.

As if it wasn’t mean enough, Oscar came up close behind Morris dumping a pile of fresh manure into the pile. “Oops, it slipped,” he said menacingly. “But you can take care of it, can’t you, Crutchie?”

“Course I can, Oscar,” Crutchie managed to glare at his step brother but neatly bit his tongue to stop any biting reply he had in mind from slipping out. Ignoring both of the mocking grins plastered on his retreating step brother’s faces, Crutchie stubbornly stood his crutch up and stood up himself. He shuddered, praying he wouldn’t be sick at the sight and smell of the manure his back, arms and legs were now covered in.

Slowly, he picked up his shovel and finished piling up the manure. Before he could become sick from the smell, he managed to get himself into the creek. It may have been wet, but it was better than the sticky manure on his skin and clothing.

“‘Ey, Bobby boy, what happened to you?” a neighbor of his crossed over to the creek, cigar hanging from his mouth. “Fall into some cow crap again?”

“More like pushed in,” Crutchie mumbled. “But I’m fine, thanks for asking, Race.”

“Hey – hey kid, you’d tell me if anyone was givin’ you trouble, right?” Race gave the younger boy a tap on his shoulder. To his chagrin, Crutchie flinched away, his eyes filling with fear for half a second before they filled with shame instead.

“Course I would,” Crutchie answered with a fake smile, but did not return the gentle punch, “Thanks, Race. I mean it.”

“Alright, kid. Well I’ll let you get back to your swim. Gotta go make a deal for some new cigars.” He gave one last smile and was on his way.

“Crutchie, I swear to God you better get up here and clean this mess!”

His step-father. Snyder.

Well, there went his cleansing swim. There was work that needed to be done whether he was covered in manure or not. Crutchie pulled himself out of the water and onto the grassy bank, barely drying off his now soaked clothing. Once upon a time he would have believed it was no big deal to come home soaked to the bone – but this was no home anymore, and his step father seemed to hate him with a passion. Taking one last glance across the creek, Crutchie slipped his crutch under his arm and set off for the manor house.

Smalls waited in anxiety for his grandfather to arrive at dinner. He was in fact not wearing the blue dress his grandfather had bought. He knew it would cause a scene, but Smalls could not handle wearing that today. He felt far too much like a boy to put it on.

Sure he had attempted- no one liked to anger his grandfather if they could help it- but when he tried to wear the dress, he felt as though he was going to cry. His mother came in and helped him dress in his best shirt and tie, constantly reassuring him that it was okay to be their little boy today- even if Grandfather didn’t approve.

Half an hour had passed since dinner was meant to begin and Grandfather still wasn’t at the table.

“Hannah, have you seen Father?” Katherine asked, looking across the table.

“No, your highness. It isn’t like him to be this late. He’s probably looking over those reports on gnomes,” she sighed. “I will go check in on him.” Quickly after, Hannah left the dining room in search of Pulitzer.

“Personally, it may be a miracle your father’s late,” Jack winked at Katherine. “He’s getting to be a real pain in the –”

“Jack!” Katherine admonished him, and Jack grimaced.

“Smalls, he was hounding me everyday since you left,” the prince confided, “Kept nagging me about why I wasn’t doing ‘official royal duties’ when I was painting –which, by the way, is in fact an official royal duty now –”

A loud, piercing shriek interrupted Jack’s tirade, immediately freezing the blood of everyone assembled in the hall.

“King Pulitzer is dead!”

Along with shoveling manure, feeding the animals, and tending to other chores outside, one of Crutchie’s main responsibilities was to bring the meals to his ever-so-kind household. Breakfast was his first priority in the morning, and he busied himself with balancing the dishes on his arms as he walked out to greet his step-father and brothers without a word.

“I can’t believe King Pulitzer finally kicked the bucket!” Morris said looking up from the paper. News was only delivered every two weeks, giving him plenty to catch up on. “And that his kid is already pushing to get Princess Samantha a new husband.”

“‘Ey, Morris it says right here that everyone is invited to this ball thing. Maybe I could be king,” Oscar said, all hoity-toity.

Morris shoved his brother. “Like a baboon like you could be king. The princess needs a real gentleman, like me.” Morris shoved Oscar again, this time bumping him into Crutchie. “Hey! Watch where you’re going! You coulda spilled breakfast all over me!”

Crutchie, who had momentarily lost his balance, caught a disapproving glare from his step-father and quickly gave Morris another egg for breakfast. “It won’t happen again,” he muttered, limping around the table as fast as he could to distribute the rest of the meal. “Can I get ya anything else?” He asked, avoiding his stepfather’s eyes.

“Coffee’s stale. Make a new pot,” Snyder scowled, taking the newspaper from his sons. “And that’s enough roughhousing with your brother, Morris. Both of you will be going to the ball for a chance at Princess Samantha’s hand.”

Crutchie hobbled out to the kitchen to make fresh coffee, but was still able to hear his step-family’s booming voices..

“Hey- hey, Pa, I heard that that princess, sometimes she ain’t no princess. That she thinks she’s a boy sometimes. We can’t marry no prince! That’s just wrong!”

In the kitchen, Crutchie flinched, nearly knocking over the pot of coffee he was making. At the mention of marrying a prince, he had straightened his back and stood up taller than he normally did. He wouldn’t mind marrying a prince or princess but he knew neither of those would ever happen anyway. Not while he was under the unjust thumb of his step family.

But, that didn’t mean he couldn’t dream.

Dream of dancing with Samantha. Twirling her, or him if that’s how he felt, feeling their body close to his. Kissing them, loving them. Having someone care about him, not just as a servant, but as a person.

A whistling kettle drew him from his thoughts. The time for dreaming was done.  There were no princes or princesses here, just work to be done. Coffee needed brewing, and chores needed completing.

Maybe one day though, just maybe, that dream would be true.

#newsies #lambcuddles #crutchie #smalls #katherine plumber #jack kelly #pulitzer #the delancey brothers #synder #race #the gang's all here #swimmingcrutch #my fic

[shadows-of-almsivi]

[ Old Morry + dancing/music ]

M'Rajj finished sweeping the floor, rolling the ache from his broad shoulders with a satisfied sigh. The sand crept in so easily, and the day’s work had been long and tiring, but at last, at last he was done. The counter gleamed even in the dim duskfall light, the bottles of liquor glowing clean of dust. In a fit of unusual cleaning fervor, he’d even beaten the rugs for perhaps the first time in a decade. He’d honestly forgotten that the large one by the door had once been red; red and cream, in fact, once he’d gotten that old bloodstain out of it.

His tail flicked along to the music drifting in from outside, the intoxicating drone of lively strings making his tattered ears twitch. He straightened out his greying whiskers, rubbed a heavy hand over the back of a bullish neck. Time for some fresh air, before the night’s barflies descended. He plucked a bottle of the local honeywine from the shelf behind the bar– he would need this– as he passed through the archway and into the courtyard.

Scattered cushions and rugs softened the sandstone floors still warm from the day’s sun, littered here and there with lazing Khajiit in various states of dress and lucidity. Night flowers bloomed overhead to enrich the senses further, their vines creeping over the woven loom of cane to shield from the sun and rain. From beyond, over the high walls, the noise and roast-spice scents of the night markets competed with the music and sugarsmoke through which a few lithe Suthay dancers moved and spun, the hems of their budi'a cut tantalisingly short. A fountain set into the rear wall watched impassively over all, a graven manticore singing forth clear water from a fierce marble maw; its regal visage was meant to add some touch of refinement, some serenity to the establishment. So far, it had not precisely worked.

In the far corner, stretched lazily along a bench beside the white stone and babbling water, lay the pleasure-den’s other permanent fixture. His hair was a braided serpent draped over one shoulder, the salt-and-pepper still making its mind up on whether to turn silver completely. A number of metal trinkets hung from his belt on strips of leather like a flogger’s tails, gilt arrowheads and enamelled silver diamonds jingling like chimes against each other. An elaborate water-pipe stood amongst a few empty bottles on a low table to his right, its coils held delicately between leather-bound fingers, the single elbow-length glove conspicuous in the balmy evening air. A large, point-snouted dog lay on the floor at his left, long head upon its forelegs, sharp ears turning always; languid grey fingers petted the soft fur at the hound’s shoulders. Avidly watching a nearby dancer writhe, the delighted gleam of his heart-red eyes stood out amongst the drowsy golds and shimmering greens.

M'Rajj set down the wine and sat beside the utterly entranced Dunmer, shaking his head. “M'Rahlin drools over his meat more than dog, this one swears.”

“Hardly,” the mer muttered with a distracted, dismissive wave, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the cream-pelted dancing boy; more specifically, on the subtle, lilac-grey bars slowly being revealed upon the lean Khajiit’s upper thigh. “Admiring the supple glories of youth, old friend. No harm in that, is there?”

M'Rajj snickered, pouring out the wine into two green glasses. “The greyskin plans to steal away our fair ones, M'Rajj thinks.”

“The greyskin may.” Moraelyn took the glass with a polite nod. “But I always bring them back.” The smouldering coal flared brightly in the water-pipe’s bowl, Moraelyn’s eyes falling blissfully closed as smoke slithered through his words. “Sooner or later…”

“Ai, limping and dazed, you savage…” M'Rajj took the proffered mouthpiece with a grin, gesturing with it. Across the courtyard, a well-curved dancer shivered and sighed in the lap of a stocky old vagabond with his hands beneath her skirts, his one-eyed smirk pressed to her pale throat as his friends formed a rowdy, envious crowd around them. The bowlute-player with a permanently-kinked tail played a spirited accompaniment to help keep tempo, shrewdly increasing its tempo each time the dancer’s pleasured yowls faded. “Old Mormer should be over there, with the other slavering beasts.” M'Rajj’s smoke rolled between his teeth. “Painted deviant.”

Moraelyn glanced over, humming approvingly at the spectacle with an indulgent smile before returning his gaze faithfully to his quarry. He waved the creamy dancing-lad closer, a glint of gold between beckoning fingers to catch those pretty, sky-blue eyes; the dancer sauntered over, graceful, lanky limbs and smooth, soft fur, point-eared and purring. “If I am to play the leering old tom,” Moraelyn murmured, “at least I may have the good graces to remain as attractive as possible.” He turned a crimson eye appreciatively over the cocked curve of the dancer’s hip, smirking softly into the rim of his glass. “Which is more than can be said for some, you matted old wretch.”

M'Rajj’s tail flicked jauntily against the Dunmer’s leg, rousing the dog enough to sniff curiously at his fur. He leaned back to rest against the wall, reaching up to bat a little at a trailing tendril of silvervine. “Ah, but that is the difference between us, friend. M'rajj makes no secret he is scoundrel, yes. You, pitiless snake, you confuse with paint and pretty words, you make it a surprise.”

Moraelyn grinned, touching a finger to his lips. “Well, don’t spoil it. An old mer must have his joys.” He raised his glass to clink against M'Rajj’s. “Fusozay var var.”

“Fusozay var var.“ 

Moraelyn turned his attention back to the dancer, sliding the coin into his silver-furred hand and murmuring something softly into his ear; M'Rajj sipped his honeywine, quite entertained by how the dancer’s eyes widened and glazed, how a blush coloured the delicate flesh inside his ears, how the breathing subtly quickened. Moraelyn’s ungloved hand had just barely caressed the dancer’s pale flank to draw him closer, earning a lovely little shiver that ran the whole way down the tail, when a great clashing and jeering from the bar shattered the courtyard’s dreamy atmosphere.

An anxious-looking young mer– and what breed of mer had hazel eyes, had that dusty-almond skin that seemed more grey than fawn?– skittered down the courtyard steps, backpedalling away from a pair of scruffy, stringy-looking thugs with yellow sashes and bright, cold smiles. Moraelyn’s hound leapt up in a heartbeat, whole body tensed at the intrusion and poised for his master’s word.

”N'chow,“ Moraelyn sighed, more annoyed than concerned. "And we were getting on so well…” He patted the dancer’s thigh apologetically, nodding him towards the side door. “Perhaps later, hm?”

The newcomers were advancing on the poor outlander, who for his part looked as startled as a schoolboy to find himself suddenly in a garden. The taller of the two plucked at the mer’s shirtcollar with the tip of a knife, draining the colour from his victim’s dusky-pale skin. In the sudden deathly silence of the courtyard, even an old Cathay-Raht with war-tattered ears by could hear their threats: so, too, could the old Dunmer beside him.

“Khajiit won’t ask it again, shaveskin mutt. There are penalties for mongrel dogs out after dark…”

“Give us your purse, and maybe Khajiit lets mutt go easy. No stiff, shiny guards out here.”

“Grey thing, ptah. Does it even know where it is?”

“Likely not,” Moraelyn answered for him, scratching the dog between the ears. “But you certainly don’t.”

M’Rajj sighed.

The cutpurse with the knife threw a filthy glance over his shoulder, forgetting the frightened young traveller for a moment to stare at this bothersome new foreigner. “It wants something, slaver?”

A glass shattered, deafening in the tense quiet. M'Rajj took a prudent step back from his Dunmeri friend, suddenly recalling how that old bloodstain had gotten into the rug

Moraelyn, drawing unhurriedly upon the water-pipe, appeared lazily unchanged; M’Rajj had learned long ago that this was usually a lie. “Since you ask, yes,” Moraelyn replied brightly, showing his teeth in a broad grin. “I want to know who gave you permission to be here.”

They looked amongst each other, abandoning their would-be victim. “Khajiit is no tame pet, Mor-rrr-mer,” one sneered, tongue rolling over his disdain. “We go where we please.”

Moraelyn laughed, a high sound bordering on a giggle. “Not on this side of the Keirgo, kitten.”

They seemed to tense as one body, the one with the knife spinning it restlessly in his hand. “Is this one trying to insult us?“

"Oh, no, of course not.” Moraelyn had already turned back to his pipe. “I’m sure I would succeed if I tried, but why bother with the effort…”

They stalked towards the fountain, entirely fixated on Moraelyn, their bristling tails betraying their cool expressions; Moraelyn observed as if from a great distance, a theatre patron watching a mildly interesting play. "Oh, look. The prey approaches.”

M’Rajj, taking the opportunity to put some space between himself and his volatile little friend, slipped through the thinning crowd, tapping on the dazed traveller’s arm. “This way, cub. Don’t mind them,” he said, leading the mer deeper into the crowd. “Let this one get you a drink, hmm?”

Despite the torn edges, M’Rajj’s ears were still as sharp as ever. Across the courtyard, he could hear Moraelyn toying with the already-furious young thugs. “Your bosses should know better than to send cutpurses my way. Your clan must not love you too dearly.”

The leaner one sounded like he was spitting into the fountain. “It talks too much,” he growled to his friend. “Cut its tongue out.”

Moraelyn laughed, low and rough. M’Rajj continued to pour the shaken boy a cup of wine; he did not need to look to see how Moraelyn’s mouth had split into a slow burn of a grin, eyes cool and fierce as vipers. A single word of hissed Dunmeris carried easily over the courtyard: “Nivisu.”

The sudden chorus of snarling and screaming was both deafening and, somehow, inevitable.

Moraelyn’s dog exploded into noise and motion at his master’s order, a streak of fur and teeth and straining muscle. The knife clattered to the still-warm pavestones, shaken loose from the quick-bitten hand that had foolishly brandished it; there might have been some fire to help things along. It was all over in moments, much to M’Rajj’s relief, who had been praying there would not be another red stain to scrub from the floors.The surprising thing, to M’Rajj at least, was that the two thieves had been permitted to scramble away, egos as bruised as the rest of them. Was the old mer softening at last?

“M’Rajj?”

He turned; Moraelyn was dabbing at a stain on his singular glove with a handkerchief, the dog once more lying quietly at his feet. “Be a lamb and bring our new guest over, would you?” Moraelyn asked, tucking away his handkerchief and folding his hands delicately in his lap. “I’d best introduce myself, after all this rudeness.”

The young mer glanced silently between Moraelyn and M’Rajj, a little lost and wide-eyed, both hands wrapped tight around his cup as though it would be taken from him. M’Rajj smiled reassuringly, one hand patting him on the shoulder with what he hoped was a vaguely paternal air. Behind them, the crooktailed bowlute-player wasted no time in starting over his song list, helping to massage the tension out of the crowd.

The old Dunmer smiled at the young mer, disarming and velvety-sweet all over again, as though the boy hadn’t just seen him happily set his dog on someone. He held out his left hand as he openly admired the curious novelty of the boy’s dark and curl-tousled hair, the light of the lamps catching on his indigo-darkened nails. “A pleasure to meet you, dear boy,” he purred. “Allow me to welcome you to Senchal.”

M’Rajj pocketed the dropped knife, settling back into his seat with a weary grunt. It was nice, how easily things went back to normal.

#anonymous #askmeme #this became a drabble whoops #brevity is not my friend #drabbles #Old Morry #you sassy little shit #Old Morry ran out of fucks back in the 4th Era #the retirement he always wanted #drunk high and slutting on randoms #tw drug use #alcohol #asks #askmemes

[hogwartselementumrp]

Congratulations, Mario, on your acceptance as your OC Marco! We both loved your bio and are happy to welcome that touch of “comic relief and hotheaded drama” you talked about. We can’t wait to see how you develop him and how he weaves into the RP plot and our crew of university students (and the adults and younger Hogwarts students too). Let’s not delay any longer. Send in your account and get him onto our dashes!

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME/ALIAS: Mario

PREFERRED PRONOUN: He/Him AGE: 21 TIMEZONE: GMT -05:00 (I hope this is correct, time is wack) ACTIVITY LEVEL: I like to be on at least once every day to catch up on replies. Never will go more than a day without posting.

HOW DID YOU FIND THE RP (NEW MEMBERS): It was either the HP RP tag or the new rp tag, can’t remember!

ORIGINAL CHARACTER INFORMATION:

Desired Character: Marco Greene

Face Claim: Jake T Austin

School Functions (check Quidditch availability’s): Former Ravenclaw Chaser

Character’s Sexuality: Heterosexual

Why do you believe this will be a good character in this specific roleplay?: I have played Marco in HP roleplays before, always as a student enrolled there. This rp is drastically different in that it offers a place for characters who have graduated, which is something I would like to explore with him. He is typically well-liked and provides a steady balance of comic relief and hotheaded drama.

This is the bio layout, we ask you fill it out changing it with the right info!

MARCO GREENE is 18 years old, is studying in the CHARMS TEACHING PROGRAM and was formerly in the house of RAVENCLAW.

                                              ❝Here’s to the movers, the shakers, the mischief makers.“

↳ MAGIC

Marco’s magic wasn’t unexpected, the youngest of three muggleborn sons. An air affinity like his eldest brother, Marco picks up most wand based magic quickly, while faltering in areas like Potions. It was always charms that were his specialty, both in learning and putting his own special twist on them. He is still trying to figure out where his air affinity and charms affinity meet up, while still adamant he should have been able to use his natural gift during Quidditch matches.

↳ BACKSTORY

If you had asked any of Marco’s classmates on their first night at Hogwarts if they thought anyone had been placed in the wrong house, most would have pointed at the muggleborn boy. Everything from his go-with-the-flow personality to his tendency to jump on any opportunity to cause trouble made him read like a Gryffindor, just a tower away. It was for this reason Marco didn’t fit in for the first few weeks of classes. It wasn’t until the common room awoke one morning to find all the furniture sitting comfortably on the ceiling that the prankster finally earned his eagle wings and the approval of his housemates. What followed from then on were seemingly endless pranks from the boy, always followed by stern punishments from prefects. It was never enough to keep him tame for long though.

Expectations followed the boy like the plague during his first few years at Hogwarts. With a magical beast linguist and professional duelist for brothers, Marco’s professors expected him to follow in a similar fashion. Instead, late and sometimes half completed work is what they received, the boy going as far to nap in some of his classes. All he cared about was getting a spot on the Quidditch team second year and practicing his charms. He eventually found a balance that worked for both him and his professors using his natural charm to win their sympathies.

Graduating from Hogwarts with Outstanding results on his Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA N.E.W.T exams, the boy was encouraged by many to pursue a career as an auror, but the job never appealed to him in the same way teaching did. Towards the end of his days as a 7th year, he surprised his peers and professors again by taking up a tutoring slot with the first years. Marco hadn’t ever thought about it before, teaching charms to those as eager as him to learn about them, but he was hooked before long.

Newly enrolled at Hogwarts University in the teaching program for his favorite subject, he has his mind set on one day taking the position from his favorite professor. However, Marco struggles to get his work done, constantly procrastinating and never putting forth much effort. As much as he wants to be where he is, he hates to learn feeling like he’s trapped in a box. A resident in Hogsmeade, he spends his time playing street Quidditch and making life a little more complicated for the town with the flick of his wand, forever a prankster at heart.

↳ PERSONALITY TRAITS

» {+ positives} Clever, Athletic, Passionate, Confident, Humorous

» {- negatives}  Boastful, Mischievous, Hot-Headed, Lazy, Wary of negative feelings

↳ BASICS

» BLOOD STATUS: Muggle-born

» ELEMENTAL POWER: Air

» AFFINITY LEVEL: high affinity, rarely studious

» DATE OF BIRTH: June 18th

» WAND: Rowan wood, dragon heartstring core, 11 3/4th inches, sturdy.

» FACECLAIM: Jake T. Austin

MARCO GREENE IS PLAYED BY MARIO

It was the kind of weather that even two pairs of socks and his sturdiest winter boots couldn’t halt the chill of the snow beneath him from crawling its way into his skin. With only his eyes visible, forehead covered by his beanie and mouth by his scarf, Marco treaded his way towards the Three Broomsticks. Hot chocolate was the only remedy for a cold this severe, even if the warmth was merely a temporary solution.

He didn’t believe the sound meeting his ears until his eyes gave him a sight that he couldn’t dismiss as easily. The local choir was out in the middle of the completely covered road, singing as if it was a day in mid-May. "I can barely t-t-talk,” he mumbled to himself. “These guys are something else. That’s fucking commitment right there.” Every word he spoke died as a poof of air in front of him, the wind carrying it away.

There wasn’t another soul in sight. Anyone in their right mind was likely staying put in their room, heater running and blankets galore. Yet still, the choir sang on, most with smiles on their faces. He thought maybe they had actually frozen this way and had no means of changing expression. Hand on the entrance to his destination, Marco stopped and peered up at the lantern that had assisted in getting him there. Like any fire, it radiated, a tiny bit of heat rolling off in waves towards him. He peered around the street, taking note of all the other active lanterns stationed at the front doors to all the other shops. Without another moment of hesitation, he yanked his wand from inside his sturdy boots.

Carefully, he wafted the nearest flame from its cage, then the next and the next until all lights in sight were at his disposal. The choir hadn’t silenced themselves, but had grown quiet as he worked. One massive flame floated in the air feet from them, like a piece of the sun had fallen from space. Using his free hand to toss three idle pieces of firewood in front of the group, he then lit a gorgeous fire in front of them. The smiles that had already been present increased two-fold, the singing continuing on louder than it had before. “You crazy kids keep those vocal chords warm,” he chuckled before at last scurrying into the Three Broomsticks to regain the feeling in his hands. Nobody inside had noticed anything had occurred outside, but Marco preferred it that way. He wasn’t the sight to see, at least that day anyways. “Hey Morris,” he shouted as he hopped into a barstool. “Gimme a fireball, please.”

#accepted

[shakib-posts]

The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (June 12

This was a great week for Little Monsters, as Lady Gaga's new Chromatica album roared in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Gaga also appeared during YouTube's star-studded "Dear Class of 2020" event, delivering an impassioned commencement speech: "There is much to be sad about, there's also much to be celebrated... you are watching what is a pivotal moment in the country's evolution. You're watching society change in a deeply important way."

Plus, BTS delivered new content for their ARMY all week, a major music festival cautiously announced its 2021 lineup, Billboard debuted its 2020 Pride Issue, and much more.

Visit this website now

Take a look at some of the week’s biggest music happenings below.

Lady Gaga debuted at No. 1

Congratulations are in order for Lady Gaga! Following her Hot 100 No. 1 “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande, Mother Monster’s Chromatica album also stormed onto the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1. “The set starts with 274,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 4, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data -- the biggest week for any album by a woman in 2020,” Billboard’s Keith Caufield reports. Here’s the full rundown, and here are five burning questions about Gaga’s big month, answered.

YouTube's "Dear Class of 2020" event featured the Obamas, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, BTS and many more

Of course, graduation ceremonies across the country and worldwide have been canceled due to the pandemic, so YouTube stepped up to brighten graduates’ days with a virtual ceremony for the Class of 2020 this Sunday (June 7). Tons of pop stars, celebrities and public figures were all on deck to give commencement speeches, perform songs, and otherwise provide unique entertainment. From Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s powerful speeches to BTS’s blockbuster performance, "Dear Class of 2020" was definitely one for the books.

"Rockstar" rocketed to No. 1

DaBaby's "Rockstar" featuring Roddy Ricch hit No. 1 (up from No. 3) on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, earning DaBaby his first Hot 100 topper. See everything you need to know about this week’s top 10 here, and check out DaBaby’s reaction to the accomplishment here.

Singer Johnny Manuel wowed the judges on The Voice Australia

Johnny Manuel went viral this week for his powerhouse take on Diana Ross’s "Home" on the Australian edition of The Voice, but he’s actually got quite a bit of experience with reality TV singing competitions already. Watch his Voice performance here, and learn about his career history -- including stints on America’s Got Talent and in the Eurovision Song Contest -- here.

BTS had tons of new content for fans

Apart from their "Dear Class of 2020" speech and performance, James Corden shared a never-before-seen clip from BTS's "Carpool Karaoke" segment, and it was just what the doctor called for. We won't spoil it, but the silly moment involves "Baby Shark" and LMFAO's "Shots."

Plus, the K-pop stars dropped an animated music video for "We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal" as part of Festa 2020, and announced that a new Japanese album, titled Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~, is on the way! Check out the video and announcement here.

Primavera announced its 2021 lineup

Primavera Sound unveiled an ambitious lineup for its reboot, which is now slated to take place from June 2-6 in 2021. The 20th anniversary edition of the event is set to feature performances from The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tame Impala, Massive Attack, Pavement, The Strokes, The National, Beck, Tyler, the Creator, Gorillaz, Bad Bunny, Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, Young Thug, Kehlani, Doja Cat, Brockhampton, Earl Sweatshirt, Disclosure, Jorja Smith, King Crule, Freddie Gibbs and tons more. Check out the lineup here.

Billboard named the best 50 albums of 2020 (so far)

What do 5 Seconds of Summer, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny Selena Gomez and BTS all have in common? They put out stellar albums in the first half of 2020, and we’ve never been more grateful for good music. Presented alphabetically, check out the Billboard staff's 50 favorite albums of 2020 so far here, and see if your fave made it!

...And the best 50 songs

The top 10 of our list of the best songs of 2020 (so far) features some of our favorite ladies: Dixie Chicks' "Gaslighter," Dua Lipa's "Physical," Doja Cat's "Say So" and more. Check out the full ranked list here, and let the accompanying playlist be your summer soundtrack.

Garth Brooks made a major concert announcement

On Thursday morning (June 11), the country superstar announced on Good Morning America that he's going to put on a nationwide gig that will help bring everyone together. He'll host a concert event at 300 drive-in theaters across America on June 27; tickets for the gig go on sale on June 19 and they'll cost $100 per car/SUV. "We can have families jump in the car, come out on Saturday night and it's pretty cool," Brooks said. Learn more about the unique gig here.

Billboard profiled the women behind #TheShowMustBePaused

Billboard's Gail Mitchell spoke to music executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas about their idea to push the pause button on the multibillion-dollar music industry during Blackout Tuesday on June 2.

“In an insular industry where white men still occupy most of the top corporate jobs, Thomas and Agyemang’s bold and wildly successful call to action suggests that up-and-coming executives like them have more power to change the business than their job titles might imply — and they say they’re prepared to keep using it,” Mitchell writes. Read the full co-cover story here.

...And entertainer/activist Todrick Hall

Pride isn't canceled. Ahead of Billboard & The Hollywood Reporter's Pride Summit and Pride Prom, our newest cover features singer, activist and Taylor Swift bestie Todrick Hall. “He has appeared on Broadway, gone viral with dazzling music videos and sashayed all over reality competition shows. But Todrick Hall is still fighting for his place in the industry, where he says racism and homophobia linger — while owning up to his past mistakes,” Billboard’s Taylor Mims writes. Read the full co-cover story from Billboard’s 2020 Pride Issue here.

A new week brought a new round of Billboard Live At-Home performances

Country singer-songwriter Cam, British electronic duo Honne and more performed for this week's series. During her session, Cam shared some lessons about life and love, while Honne debuted a snippet of a then-unreleased song, "No Song Without You," during theirs. In case you missed any of the performances, you can watch them here! And there's still a bit more to come: Trixie Mattel will cap off the week with a performance today at 4:00 p.m. EST via Billboard's Facebook page.

New Music Friday was stacked

Rappers reigned this New Music Friday, with fresh cuts from Lil Baby, 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj, and DaBaby and Roddy Ricch. There were also can't-miss releases from J Balvin, Maren Morris and Chloe x Halle this week -- if it all seems overwhelming, get the TL;DR on everything you need to know about the best new music here!

Visit this website now