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sprinklesandshatters · 3 years

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A Review on NCT 127′s 3rd Album <Sticker>

So NCT 127 just came back with their 3rd Full Album <Sticker> and this is my first 127 comeback since I became a fan last year! Neozone is such a special album for me as it was their first album that I explored entirely. I've known NCT as the group who never fails any expectations so I've kept mine up although I know they'll exceed it anyway. And guess what, they did! I absolutely love their new album hence this review~

This isn't a technical music review—as I am not a musician myself—but rather a listener's honest takes, goofy notes, and interpretation on each of the tracks in the album. I admit I've also struggled to build my own opinions on some of the tracks until I listened to them over and over again.

I have also heard there are mixed opinions on the title track <Sticker> and a lot says it's another acquired taste. But I think it's not just that, as it can be a grower, just like how most of NCT's songs were for me. Maybe after a few listens and a right passage of time, it will grow on those people. The bottom line here is, I like it a lot! 😛

So I listed down the songs according to their respective track numbers and followed each with a bulleted list of my opinions and interpretations.

(Viewer/reader discretion: before you continue, minors, do not interact as there are few 18+ contents under the cut. Thank you.)

1. Sticker

THEY DIDN'T JUST PUNCH A NEW NOTCH ON THE BELT LIKE THAT

THIS SONG SLAPS, LITERALLY SLAPS… AND WHIPS

The recorder at the intro boyyyy I thought something was wrong but then I remember it’s NCT lmao

It already stuck in my head from my first listen from the Instagram audio.

With Taeyong opening the verse with his divine rapping, I knew I'm in for a new ride.

STICK-UH STICK-UGH STICK-UGHGHGH

To those complaining it sounding like noise music, imagine it sounding generic. I don't think it would fit as the title track. Not a b-track or in their repertoire, even. They are called NCT because they define the NEO in the music culture and music technology!

It honestly was an unorthodox, just like all of their title tracks, which I’m inherently here for.

Literally, no one does it like them!

The growls and the vocal flexes and adlibs! (You can tell it has Yoo Youngjin's brand.)

The crisp metronome sound that’s consistently ticking except for the pre-chorus and the dance break adds depth to the soundscape. I love how it’s used instead of the usual snaps.

The production quality blew my mind. Like how can someone think those melodies would sound so exquisite? CAN I CALL THEM GENIUS?

The piano at the back, oh my God—Yes! It adds this mystifying element to the song.

I'm not sure if it's a midi violin at the pre-chorus, but it added thrill to the song. It was a great transition from the bass line in the verses to the combination of the flawless harmony with the same instrumental.

"You treat me like a boy, like a grown-up child chasing a dream" JUNGWOO BABY NO MORE HUH

Taeil, Doyoung, and Haechan—the bridge vocal trinity!

But why the heck are they cowboys? I dig the concept, but why? LMAO

BTW GUNSLINGER MARK I’M ON MY KNEES YEEHAW

This is easily one of my favorite tracks from NCT 127's entire discography 💚

2. Lemonade

(⌐■_■)

Jaehyun starting off this song with his deep voice eee

The song opens to a verse oozing with chill confidence. They're like, yeah you're lurking because we’re cool.

This is such a huge slap to their haters. NCT's not chillin' like a villain, nah they're the main characters!

Well maybe they’re villains, but still ya not cooler than them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Funny enough how they could have just referred haters as simply lemons whose sour/bitter to the taste, but 127 squad's success is sweeter than all the haters' spiteful remarks so yeah, SIPPY SIPPY LEMONADE 🧃

"WOOF"

I might have just barked too wOW

Yuta’s vocals hooooO his voice just sounds so glamorous mhmm

Also Mark referencing their previous title tracks such as: Firetruck, Cherry Bomb, and Regular (it's Irregular in the lyrics) in his rap part 👌💅

I just love Mark's energy when he raps. HE RESOLUTELY BITES AND STRAIGHT UP EATS EVERY TIME HE DOES.

3. Breakfast

Now breakfast time, oh jeez!

AAAHAHFU—

Summer 127's bestie!

If Summer 127 talks about dancing all night long, Breakfast is the morning after.

You know what it is.

"Even if I gulp and drink you, it's not enough for me." oho Taeyong no you ha—STOP

Sexual innuendos aside, isn't it just sweet if someone tells you they'd want to have breakfast with you every day? Okay maybe I'm melting at the thought 😩🙈💞

And I can see myself dancing to this song as I make breakfast (in the afternoon or at midnight bc I’m crazy)

This was an okay b-track for me at the first skim on the album, but boy it grew on me wildly.

Honestly one of my favorite tracks in this album.

4. Focus

Did I just invade a private call? LMAO

The analog voice filters make it like so.

Dude, this feels intimate in the level of eavesdropping a phone call between seasoned lovers. Then you realize you hear them whispering their kinks over the line and you're ooh, that's sexy! hfgklhfhf

My first listen to this, I almost went feral because,

"I can't wait to eat you…" when it's actually "I can't wait 'til we chill…" aahaha

"Baby call me when you want me." OKAY!

This sounds relaxing and chill. I'd love to play this on a late night drive or just before bed time along with Fly Away With Me, Sun & Moon, My Youth, and Long Flight.

Belongs to ‘make out session’ playlist ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

That was lowkey a playlist recommendation, huh?

I'd be kidding if I don't say I could touch myself while listening to this song AHAHAFGHFJFJ

I didn't know this would grow on me this much lol I love love LOVE THIS!

5. The Rainy Night

Ooh, the holy melancholy!

Piano at the intro—I knew I'd cry to this.

This song isn't just about break-up, but the heartbreak after one.

The yearning; the remnant pieces from the shattering of what was once there.

I think I crumbled from this one.

This hit so hard I felt like I fit in the shoes with the lyrics throughout the entire song.

What’s fascinating is I clearly forgot the title when I mentally said this sounds like a sad rainy day song from the first listen.

Something I’d turn up when it suddenly rains, just because I want to feel the blues.

Taeil and Haechan singing in lower register? I wanna cry :( they’re just one of the best vocalists in K-music industry right now.

Could have been also nice if they added Yuta to the vocals.

"My selfish heart who waits for you to come back," OKAY WHO HURT THEM?

And the fact that they sang it so good that it translated every ounce of the emotions well even before I looked up for English translations is the reason why I love this song too.

6. Far

Hmm… What the hell?! Do I like this? Wait...

Alright!

The jumpy vibe from the first verse to the pre-chorus set the mood for this song. It sounds merry and heavy. It was honestly too much to take until I’ve reached the chorus part.

Honestly, I think this song could fit NCT Dream better, as it gives off a vibe similar to Hello Future's b-tracks. If some credible source say this could have made HF’s track list, I might believe you too fast.

Also Dream’s Deja Vu where they go na nananananana na na na~

Playful yet confident! That’s what I mean!

As usual, the vocals are insane! Vocal flex from left to right!

I swear Jungwoo sounded a bit like Taemin at the second verse that I had to replay it hahaha

I love hearing Johnny as a vocalist! SM, how many signs do you need until you utilize his vocal talent???

Taeil's part where he sings, "go nuts, go nuts, 'til we go bust, go bust" IDEK BUT I SNORTED A LAUGH AT FIRST LISTEN HFCAHKFHK

Not my favorite, but still great though!

But wait it’s actually stuck in my head???

7. Bring The Noize

Yes, they never beat those noise music allegations

HERE'S SOME NOIZE, BITCHES

I love me some noisy percussions. AND THE BASS YO

This screams so much confidence!

The build up from the pre-chorus to the chorus—FIRE!

This song reminds me a lot of SuperM's Super Car, especially with the engine roar samples and the battle cry-like singing at the chorus.

JAEHYUN RAPPING? You mean Jaehyun the visual, the vocalist, the actor, the model, the funny dude, aka my everything?! (markie bb look pls look away for a moment)

THEY DELIVERED IT STRAIGHT FROM NEOCITY THAT'S SOME NCT MUSIC RIGHT THERE NO ONE DOES IT LIKE THEM

When I said I'd play Focus on a late night drive, and if I add this in the playlist, VROOM VROOM SPEED LIMIT WHAT

OUTTA MY WAY

“We got no shame” ouh TAEYONG’S FLOW IS JUST VERY HIM AND HE’S IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

You know what's so clever about this song? It's how it ended with Mark's final rap without any instrumental, leaving you standing there with a doppler effect-like post experience.

A super car on a super speed just whooshed past you and you look its way as it zips through the road. It's gone in an instant but you're floored dumbfounded at a sidewalk. That's how I describe this song.

8. Magic Carpet Ride

This song… Wow. Oh gosh it's so beautiful.

Their harmony in the chorus—it makes me want to kiss someone so passionately that I'd cry.

This makes me want to feel love that transcends the universe. Literally, just please take me on a magic carpet ride :(

The background harmonies too oh my goodness—HEAVENLY.

Jaehyun's voice is so warm and soulful it fits perfectly with songs of this genre.

Okay alright Doyoung Grande!

And Taeil makes me feel like I'm listening to old school R&B.

The first time I heard this from the track video, I can't stop replaying because it's just that great.

This makes me want to love. I think that sums it up.

9. Road Trip

This is such a soothing song for me, especially how I easily become nostalgic thinking about the road trips I've had.

Whenever I listen to this, my brain immediately conjures up thoughts of my ideal getaways. Gazing at the sky through the car window, stirring up from a nap in the middle of the ride, and eventually reaching your destination.

Oh, to travel around anywhere... (curse you covid-19)

Okay that's it. I'M PACKING UP.

But where do I go—

I could also imagine Mark playing this on the guitar and the other members sing along together, something like that.

Just Wholesome™ vibes.

I love how it evokes such a nice emotion within me effortlessly.

This isn't my favorite, but I still love this.

10. Dreamer

Eyyyy such a refreshing song!

This song is so bright it makes me want to dance. I play this first in the shower!

It reminds me so much of Elevator (from Neozone)

The horns make it more lively I think!

Yuta and Jungwoo's voice suits lively songs like this.

The background vocal in low register in Taeyong's part in the first verse is so good ahhfhf

Taeil, the R&B vocal king you are...

There's this part where Doyoung and Johnny harmonized, that at first listen they seemed to clash, but it sounded actually fine after a few listens. Maybe it's just that I've never heard them do it before.

And I think it's Doyoung's laugh at the end of the bridge? Oh my goodness I really love this too!

11. Promise You

MY FIRST LOVE AND MOST FAVORITE SONG IN THE ALBUM!!!

The first time I heard this from their NCIT Sharehouse Sitcom, I fell in love with the song already.

It sounds like something you'd feel from a warm, welcoming hug.

The lyrics are so beautiful and endearing. It's definitely a be-there-for-you type of song that will touch your heart.

It definitely sounds like a promise.

A song about platonic intimacy.

This really fits to be the closing song of the album. It's like the end of it but holds a promise that says “see you soon.”

Because they cherish their fans like that.

It's also like I've watched a movie with a happy ending, where the camera pans up to the clear sky and this song starts playing.

Speaking of ending, I would love to hear them sing this as an encore stage in their concert. You know, that moment just before the stage lights die down at the end of the concert where they send final blows of flying kisses to NCTzens. Then you come home smiling and crying.

This wasn't supposed to be this long since I originally planned to write this with just simple phrases and emojis but I got too engrossed lol. I also meant to include my own ratings but I figured it’s pointless since I can’t really decide about them hahaha

I really enjoyed the whole album and I love how they're progressively defining what NEO means by breaking through standards. It's not NCT music if it doesn't make you say "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?" But then you realize it’s stuck in your head and you’re enjoying it already.

✨ OVERALL RATING: 127/10 💚

if you’ve reached until here, thank you for letting me share you a braincell or two 💞

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ladyfeldspar · 3 years

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21x02: Put It Down

I've wanted to do a watch/writeup of this episode for a while now. Tweek has been my favorite character since Gnomes aired, when I was still in elementary school and secretly watching South Park with my dad at night. Craig, while I enjoyed him as a character before, absolutely won my heart in the Pandemics and gets third favorite. (My second favorite is Clyde but that doesn't matter right now.)

And when I got into SP fanfiction, and discovered that Creek was a thing, I hopped right on that train and have never looked back. Tweek x Craig made my life when I first saw it and this episode... Well, you'll see.

Disclaimer: I have A LOT of feelings about this episode. Sorry not sorry about how long this is.

"...a performance by one of our students who has written a song..." Raise your hand if the first time you watched, you also figured it was Cartman, the most musical one of the kids.

Raise your other hand if you also got unreasonably excited when it was Tweek.

Tweek "playing" piano is both exactly what I would have expected, and nothing at all what I expected.

I really, really just want to give this poor kid a hug, Jesus Christ.

Everyone just looks so shocked, but I feel like Kyle and Stan might actually care?

"He's your boyfriend, dude." Ugh, my HEART. They are legit and adorable and that's not the last time I'm going to say that.

Shut up, Cartman. I mean it's great you don't care if someone's gay or straight or whatever but shut the hell up.

Tweek being scared of his locker slamming, oh my gosh.

Okay. Jesus Christ. This. We've known Craig for almost 21 seasons at this point and he has been incredibly well-established as not caring about a whole hell of a lot. So when he comes up to Tweek actively trying to help him and chill him out it melts my icy heart SO MUCH more than a cool island song ever could.

I generally hate the terms "babe" and "honey" (I'm honestly just not one for pet names) but Craig calling Tweek those things is fucking adorable.

Side thought: I want another episode just about the two of them, and I want Tweek to be wearing Craig's hat.

"Cuuupcaaaaakes!?" Kills me every time.

Heidi is too sweet for Cartman.

Stan you're such a douche but I love you anyway.

Tweek's cupcakes are frosted 1000% better than mine ever are.

But his kitchen looks just like mine after a day of baking.

Fuck you Garrison for ruining Tweek's happy little moment. He deserves all the happiness in the world.

Craig just calmly walking into the kitchen, like, was he there the whole time? Just hanging out letting Tweek do what he had to do and destroy the kitchen? More proof that they're legit - find me anyone else that Craig has supported this much.

Like he went out and bought Tweek a fidget spinner how fucking cute is that?!

Okay. "Go ahead and bomb us, Kim Jong Dong," also makes me laugh for like twenty minutes.

Why is this song so catchy?! Why are Cartman's songs always so fucking catchy?? Like Minorities which I constantly have to stop myself from absentmindedly singing in public.

Logic!Cartman is remarkably inclusive.

Mic drop.

Poor Tweek, like Jesus, his dad is infuriating and so stupid. Not Randy level stupid but like, quit shoving a fidget spinner in your kid's face and actually talk to him for Christ's sake.

But I mean, this is also the parent who pointed a gun at Tweek's head while teaching him how to avoid being abducted, so I don't know what I expect of him honestly.

That poor kid getting run over. And yet it's that part of the story that pushes this episode into feeling like a older episode and is half the reason I love it so much. There's a really good point to be made, but the constant killing of kids by distracted drivers gives it the fucked up South Park edge.

I love PC Principal in this episode too, and how he just doesn't really care what the hell Cartman wants.

Open door, turn on light, close door. "Waaaaaagghhhh!" "Hey, Tweek."

You have to wonder how often this has happened. And AGAIN, more proof that Craig really legitimately cares about Tweek. Imagine if anyone else woke Craig up like this. I really don't think he'd be so calm.

But it's Tweek, so he just yawns and deals with it because that's what you do when you care about someone.

Also, Craig sleeps with his hat on and that's adorable.

I love how they edited Tweek's picture into real photos.

I feel so bad for Craig here. And through most of the episode actually. He's doing all he knows to do, because this is the kind of stuff that helps him. He's really trying, and Tweek's just wired differently.

And he has a stuffed astronaut monkey, because long live Spaceman Craig.

Again, shut up Cartman.

He brought him to an AMUSEMENT PARK, Craig has pink cotton candy, and they're holding hands. It's this kind of stuff that makes my brain explode from cuteness.

"THE FERRIS WHEEL!!!"

Of all Tweek's twitch noises, I for some reason find the, "rrrrgh" he does on the Ferris Wheel one of the cutest ones.

This fight breaks my heart a little because again, Craig is trying. He has put so much effort into doing his best to help Tweek and finally, finally gets frustrated. It shows how much patience he has for Tweek that it took him so long to get to this point.

I just want to hug them both during this fight. God knows they need it. It's just such a realistic argument, ugh.

And then this moment. This moment where everything clicks, both for us (the parallels of Logic!Cartman/logical Craig vs emotional kids needing to grieve/emotional Tweek needing to freak out) and for Craig, who finally realizes that everyone handles stress differently and you have to adapt to their coping mechanisms to be able to help them. And as soon as he puts that together, he's off to go find Tweek because he's worth it to him. And my heart melts again.

And he does so well, too, despite being completely out of his element. Their little smiles after Tweek calms down, Jesus Christ.

This song. THIS SONG. I don't know what it is about this song but it just hits me SO hard every time. Tweek actually being able to play the piano beautifully (I will argue that it's because Craig is there with him and that makes Tweek feel so much better), CRAIG SINGING even though he clearly isn't the most comfortable with it and is obviously doing it for Tweek (ANOTHER point of proof for the realness of their relationship), the chorus, the Cartman rap (!!!!), the memorial of distracted driving victims (Kenny)...

And this moment, right here. When it goes back to the two of them there, and the spotlight focuses on them and they smile at each other, just oh my gosh. I get really weepy almost every time I watch this. They're adorable. They support each other. They're willing to grow and adapt for each other. They have a real connection with each other. They're happy together. Like look at Craig's smile. How can you not love that?!

Thanks for reading my rambling disjointed nonsense. This episode is always going to be one of my favorites. Tweek and Craig forever. The end. 💜

#south park #southpark #sp #sp tweek #sp craig #south park tweek tweak #south park tweek #tweek tweak #craig tucker #south park craig #south park creek #south park Craig Tucker #South park put it down #sp creek #tweek and craig

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hooterhorror · 2 years

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May I please have a matchup? Personality wise- I’m extroverted, assertive, stubborn, a little impulsive, and idealistic. I’ve actually had a couple people describe me as intimidating but it’s entirely because of my chronic rbf. Aside from that, I’m loyal to a fault and genuinely caring when I warm up to people. I’m 5’8, I have long dirty blonde hair (dyed- actually a natural redhead ��), I’m pale af, and I have gray eyes. She/her, bisexual (leaning more towards men). I’m a power lifter (if that counts as a hobby) and I love playing piano and reading. My love language is a mix between acts of service and quality time. My ideal date is just a lowkey date at home watching horror movies together and eating junk food. I look for loyalty and dependability in a partner. As for cons..I have a short temper.

Powerlifting is so cool, my noodle arm ass COULD NEVER 😭 anyways!!! dearest slashy, I match you with.....

Stu macher!

Okay, I know it's an obvious choice with your horror movie date... But I wasn't sure about Billy. He is loyal and dependable to a fault, but your short fuse could easily clash with his own emotional instabilities. Stu is more genuine of a guy. He loves making you laugh and all that. Though his teasing and jokes might make you explode, he knows how to calm you. No matter what, he's by your side and apologizing for pushing your buttons and quick to accept any apology you might return for exploding like that. He understands it'll take time to fully control that kind of stuff and he's more than willing to help, cus you mean the world to Stu!

He loves to sit back and admire you with a dopey grin on his face.

"Who's that Stu?"

"That's my baby! 🥰" he is SO SMITTEN ISTG.

When he met you he was so determined to see you smile, not caring how he heard other people say you were intimidating or whatever- he'll walk right up to you and start cracking jokes and even offer you a flower to see that rbf break and turn into this sweetest smile and ugh- he's gone!

Stu is 6'3", a good bit taller than you. You're perfect height for him tbh! he loves to sling an arm around you while y'all are walking side by side or lounging on the couch, stuff like that. He's very affectionate and *might* need a little guidance with your physical boundaries, but he's very mindful of them! He won't kiss you without asking, especially of you're shy about pda. He'll still wanna hold your hand at least, it's comforting for him.

He loves to just watch you play piano and his heart always fucking explodes in his chest- you're just so effortlessly elegant and look so in your element... it's peaceful. He'll low-key want a mixtape of you playing piano so he can listen to it and fall asleep to it when you're gone.

Quiet moments when you're reading and Stu is just channel surfing beside you is very common. Sometimes he'll even curl up and place his head on your lap and take a nap! He might be Stu macher, but he knows how to be quiet and considerate to his partner.

he might even help bleach your hair if you're okay with that! Imagine sitting in front of a mirror and watching him stick his tongue out in concentration as he works on your hair 🥺 he'll also encourage you to let your red grow out if you start to consider it! He loves redhead :3

Yeah, in short, Stu macher is a HUGE simp for you.

#stu macher #stu #slashers #fluff #slasher #slasher x reader #slasher x you #scream #scream movie #stu macher x reader #stu macher x you #slasher matchups #🗝️—tunas matchups.#matchups #matchup #req #my writing

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dannypuro · 3 years

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because you asked for stuff that isn't music theory in response to that other ask you totally didn't upload like to minutes ago: Do you think any of the amis can play an instrument (or more) and if so, which (I think Grantaire can play two songs on the guitar and they are Never Gonna Give You Up and Wonderwall). P.s. I, too, am from that one Discord server, please don't think that's weird. And this is music practice, not theory

UGH you understand me. of course i have thought about this. of course i have. thank you i love you. (Something Telling verse: modern au with canon-era, time-zapped enjolras)

FIRST AND FOREMOST: the early 19th century was a time when the piano was an extremely important tool for social interaction in mid-to-high society. everybody who was anybody got a piano. it was really, really normal family entertainment, and when you went to call on another household, it was normal to play a little tune for them. so of course dear françois-marie enjolras was expected to learn to play the piano, the darling little baby of the family that he was.

HOWEVER.

this does not mean that he is any good at the piano. of course not. he is horrible and always has been, to the despair of his mother. she paid for lessons for him for ten years and STILL it is just.... painful to listen to. he should not play. he just... doesn’t really get music and it shows. his fingers are for writing, not piano-ing. one time he was invited over to a classmate’s apartment when he first got to paris and they asked him to play something and instead of facing the mortification that would come of it he simply left and never returned and never talked to them again.

but jehan has a piano in their apartment, of course, for the vibes. and enjolras mentions the fact that he had piano lessons as a kid, just in passing, and ferre’s like “!!!!! hey!!!!! jehan has a piano!!!!!!! you should get up and play us something!!!!!!!!! play us a tune!!!!!!” and enjolras just “😞😖😬😟🙃😰p l e a s e do not ask me to do so😦😥😔😣😶😞” and is reduced to a shameful lump on the sofa until ferre lays off him. let him rest. give him peace. he is 213 years old leave him alone.

but in other news.....

jehan plays the flute. this is actually just canon i don’t make the rules. they’re actually really good but mostly just play incomprehensible modern pieces, and also bach. this choice is not up to the listener. you get what you get and you don’t get upset. enjoy your spectralist 40-minute solo flute monstrosity quietly or leave.

i think that musichetta can play the accordion. i think that bossuet can play the banjo. i think that joly can play the clarinet. i think that together they have a stupid little bluegrass/klezmer trio that sounds questionable in concept but in reality is genuinely really good. they don’t perform anywhere, it’s just for fun. sometimes they play on the balcony or with the windows open, to mixed reviews. (the world is not ready for them yet 😔)

cosette can play the cello. cmon. of course she can. her cello vibes are through the roof. marius thinks it’s hot. he’s correct.

i think that courfeyrac actually can kind of play the piano, unlike CERTAIN people. like, he doesn’t play a lot now, but he had lessons growing up and can still play decently well. marius thinks that this is also hot. he’s correct. (RIP to marius’s little pea-brain, fried by musical talent. if courf and cosette ever played a sweet little duet he would simply perish.)

grantaire can’t really play the guitar, but he sometimes does anyways. HOWEVER, he’s actually got a decent voice.... which is a secret, except for when joly and bossuet and musichetta make him join their band for the evening and sing for a few songs. they hold his wine captive to make him stay, but that’s mostly for show--grantaire doesn’t really mind, so long as it’s a private affair and nobody records it. (courf has a recording, anyways--he shows enjolras and enjolras is..... 👁👄👁)

feuilly has the vibes of somebody who should be able to play the guitar, but he can’t. this is confusing to everybody. he does not care. he will not learn. it’s his business and he doesn’t want to. it’s not his problem.

anyways, my askbox is OPEN to questions/prompts/headcanons/etc. send me many i would like to procrastinate extra hard. xoxoxo

#something telling #les miserables #anonymous #les amis de l'abc #les mis #Anonymous

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onebizarrekai · 3 years

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HELP ME i saw you like a wilashe fic and immediately rushed to your account! i used to follow you in 2017 and got very excited!! ugh witchs heart the absolute flavour

yes!! hello! witch’s heart is very good and wilashe is also very good and fun and because this fandom is so tiny and has so little content I’m going to go on a tangent about all the reasons I love wilashe:

major spoilers for witch’s heart again!

ok. first of all, another thing I love about witch’s heart is that like every mc gets enough attention and gets enough interaction with all the other mcs that you get food for like all the ships. that aside, with all of the wondrous interactions we get among the characters and how pleasantly not straight-coded every character is, I fixated on wilashe for some reasons that anyone who knows me will probably not be surprised by.

firstly, the “you and I aren’t so different” dynamic which I’m a simp for, especially in this context. when you analyze their behavior towards each other and especially how wilardo perceives ashe, they have a really interesting dynamic with each other in particular.

sure, we get nice material like the screenshot below, but there’s more to it than an objectively hot cg and a boss fight between these two.

we have bad flirting with ashe bradley 101:

getting into some actual analysis, ashe and wilardo are perceived in the game as these two ‘problem characters’, not because wilardo is problematic himself, but because the two of them are usually the cause of things going awry, due to them both having the same goal of getting the witch’s heart to grant their wish, and being willing to kill for it. this being said, the difference between ashe and wilardo is that ashe is very unhinged at this point as he refuses to accept the death of his family and wishes to bring them back, and wilardo longs for death, y’know, because he can’t die and hasn’t been able to for like a millennium.

however, this doesn’t stop wilardo from sympathizing with ashe’s actions, even if their wishes are quite opposite, and this doesn’t stop the dynamic of their conscious ‘rivalry’. in the bonus stage, they both find the contract in an offhanded scene, and the first thing ashe says is “now it’s just a matter of who gets there first.”

ashe is much more dedicated to his wish. wilardo is hesitant and has been shown to be able to be swayed by reason, as you see in the bonus stage right after the scene in which they find the contract, where wilardo literally barges into claire’s room with ashe. you know, the scene where ashe made this face.

sirius gives them a big spiel about the cruelty of their methods while noel and claire run away, and ashe throws a temper tantrum as he often does. wilardo clearly doesn’t really like this and isn’t actually on board with this.

so like, wilardo shoots ashe, making a new decision at the last moment. now, this is a thing to think about in the context of sirius’s conclusion, which comes right after the bonus stage loop. you think to yourself “omg, wilardo has a heart!” but here’s the kicker. wilardo still sympathizes with ashe. actually everyone kind of does, except maybe sirius, who died again, since claire knows at this point that ashe lost his family, and wilardo knows he came to the mansion for the same reason as ashe–getting his wish granted. even though wilardo decided not to kill over it, he was still willing to do that in the beginning.

often times, wilardo’s reactions to ashe attempting to kill for his wish are with sympathy, even though he doesn’t know ashe’s wish. in wilardo’s own route, ashe literally attacked him and claire (that’s where the stand up cg came from) and all he had to say about it was “I’m sure he was just going through some stuff.” (which is kind of funny, if you ask me.)

so, later, in sirius’s conclusion, AFTER ashe’s bad flirting attempt, wilardo turns against ashe yet again in favor of protecting claire and sirius. ashe is already injured since he just fought sirius and also wilardo just shot him two seconds ago, so he starts to try and convince wilardo to side with him again and re-convince him that his wish is more valuable than the lives of strangers. ashe could have just attacked wilardo like he tried to attack sirius moments ago; maybe ashe knew that he didn’t stand a chance while he was injured, and because wilardo has a gun (not that that ever stopped ashe in the other stories, though), but I like to think that ashe viewed wilardo with some small level of fondness due to their similar goals and was actually taken aback by wilardo’s change of heart.

ashe’s feelings are the most confusing in the latter stories, since he goes from seeming like this unfeeling monster who will do anything (like, in the very first story, he tried to kill wilardo, stole his gun and then killed claire with it) to more hesitant and much more vulnerable, especially with his nightmares, general unwellness, and how much more he talks about his family. it feels like when ashe is left to his own, and isn’t spending all his time around claire like he does in story 1 (his own route) you can see his relationship with all the other characters grow a little more than they usually do, and this happens especially in noel’s story, the bonus stage and sirius’s conclusion.

also, the piano scene. you’re playing as wilardo and you find ashe playing the piano in one of the rooms in rouge’s club area. wilardo compliments his playing, asks if he can listen, and from then on in the game, they kinda have some really meaningful conversations that are much more personal than one would expect from two people who barely know each other.

anyway, yeah. wilashe is pretty neat and I just went on a big ramble.

oh yeah, that moment in wilardo’s route where ashe realizes that he can’t kill wilardo and doesn’t stand a chance against him and ashe is completely terrified is like. heh. nice.👌

#witch's heart #wilashe #wilardo adler #ashe bradley #random stuff #asks #witch's heart spoilers

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docholligay · 3 years

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LIVESTREAM WINNERS AND TOP POINT COMMENTS

THose of you who read the schedule already know this but the winners are:

HOLLIGAY INVOKES THE SPIRIT OF CLOSET GHOST

and

WE COOK FOR DINNER IN THE APOCALYPSE

Please join me for both! It’ should be a terrifying, thrilling time.

AND NOW, THOSE OF YOU WHO MADE ME FEEL THE WARMEST. Thank you to all who answered--I know this was super self indulgent and it means a lot to me that you took the time. So, literally 12 out of the 13 of you got at least one point (One person did not give any details, or even a quote) MAZEL.

Point allocations are below!!

One point winners:

4(?)ish years ago, you sent Jet a series of letters/cards/funeral lilies, from different Sailor Moon characters. The lilies were for Mako. One card was from Michiru, after Haruka's death. I have never been able to find them again, but I just loved the care you put into them--how they were all written specifically from the character, the fact that you even put tear stains and perfume on the cards. It was just so creative and touching, and it felt like the characters were real for an instant, mourning and living and giving you a peek at their lives. --- @kumeko (That was A Little Letter, and Mako’s was actually a separate thing for the same contest!)

“Before you get yourselves killed I want to go on record as saying this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.” Rei stood with her hands on her hips at the front of the garage- from that short story about Mina and Haruka strapping an engine to a shopping cart. You can really feel how rei must feel, the resigned exasperation mixed with genuine, but hidden, concern for Mina and haruka’s safety. I think i have said the exactsame thing before people i know do stupid shit. --- BeefSalad33 (oh ma, an oldie but, I think, a goodie)

OH MAN. I am always thinking nonstop about that piece where Minako confronts Seiya about bullying Haruka, specifically for the line where Mina spits out "you think she'll love you for this?" and UGH that LINE. it HAUNTS me, I want to BITE DOWN ON IT AND NEVER LET GO, I WANT TO PUT IT EVERYWHERE EVER BECAUSE IT HURTS SO GOOD, AND I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT SEIYA. --- @wouldntyoulichentoknow (I’m so glad that I’ve managed to make both you and jetty grit your teeth and care about Seiya at some point ahahah)

"*But flowers grow from death and decay, don’t they? That has always been true, you know that, Mako. You are a rose of perfect beauty, grown in the rich fertilizer of your loss.*

She threw the stress ball across the room, knocking over the cup on the sink, spilling the ice down the drain."

The contrast between reminding herself of how life works, and then still being bitter about it, and knowing what she is and being frustrated about it. It's a lot, when sorting out various issues- i have trauma, and that makes me better at empathizing with people, i'm adaptable long-term, and that means i can put up with some bullshit, that kind of thing, but that doesn't mean those are wholly good things. It's nice to see it put into words, and so plainly, and with such a strong reaction of it.

Roses can still grow wild, as pretentious as that sounds with how your passage resonates to me, but it's still nice to feel that. ---- @katrani (I’m so glad it resonates with you! I liked that line a lot! )

2 point answers:

Christmas Carol, Stave 1 - “You are a terrible person,” she jutted out her chin, feigning strength. “Fareeha deserved much better than you. But,” she took a deep breath. “I still hope she forgives you, someday. Someday, I hope you will deserve it.” It feels like cheating to use the most recent thing you’ve written, but nonetheless this section conveys so much about your take on Mercy, so quickly. She may be an idealist, the peacekeeper and builder, and she may want Pharah to have a relationship with her mother that’s not this disaster, but that doesn’t stop her from acknowledging that Ana’s been the primary factor in making it what it is and telling Ana that directly. I love how you write Mercy (and Tracer for that matter) as very warm characters who try to see the best in their situations but won’t gloss over the fact that sometimes, someone does have to be shot in the fucking face. “Good” doesn’t mean “hopelessly naive”, even with a pacifist, and I appreciate that you have characters who show that.

Bonus, and a fringe case as technically part of the Fushigi Yuigi hateblog: “She was still trying to get home, had been unable to get Tamahome to let her poison him, and then Nakago had hugged her into his chest until she had been forced to flatten him with a punch to the nads. She was tired, she was hungry, and she was trying to have a moonlight bath to consider her options and wash the stink of a man off of her.

And then, Tamahome, again.” - Haruka-gets-dumped-into-Fushigi-Yuugi-as-Yui was a delight that entire episode, but this post was one of the best. Is it really just narrativizing your frustrations with the many, many writing choices that were made here? Absolutely. But it’s a fun little bit of comedic pacing here, especially with the utter exhaustion of Haruka that this bullshit isn’t over yet. (“Fuck my life” to the moon wondering if Usagi could help and regretting how hard it would be to drown herself are close runners-up on that front.) --- Regalli

(Mercy is, in many ways, my attempt to write someone who is MOSTLY a pacifist that I can respect. It’s not easy for me! I often find pacifism to be cowardice, because so often in life the people I know who are pacifists are, well, not the folks in the street. So i thought, could you write someone who is very hesitant to kill, who believes that even Doomfist, even Reaper, even whoever, deserve care if they are hurt, who believes that a sword will not leave her hand free to uplift the fallen, and make her brave? And make her strong? And so was born, Mercy, who proved that, yeah that person, at least in my mind, can exist.)

I think one of my favorite passages from your writing is from "The Rest is Commentary". Particularly the part that starts with "I am a doer. " That entire paragraph is wonderfully written, with mix of beautifully descriptive language to describe *why* you don't trust words. It's slightly paradoxical, but it also fits with the rest of the essay (?) so well. And even beyond that, I love reading when you write about your faith. You are deeply devout woman, and a personal aspiration to me. When you write about your faith, it reminds me that there is work that needs to be done to live it, and not easy work either. But it is very much worth every bead of sweat, and every drop of blood. --- @shavedjudomonkey

(Thank you so much! I love that people have connected so much with my Jewish writing)

3 point answers:

From Requiem for the Great Consummation, I adore the word play with "compose." Ie, in the line, "Michiru folded her hands in her lap and composed herself." Why? I'm a musician. So, Michiru, with her music, holds a special place in my heart. (Why Ami gets the music attacks is beyond me. WTF?) I don't think the writers ever really understood what it takes to be a musician, and while fanfic writers often include Michiru's music, I've never really seen it done well. (I'm sure it has been. I just haven't seen it.) Music is all about structure. It has to feel free and soaring, but it can only be that because of the intense amounts of tension and structure underneath. A kite without a string plummets. When I reach for high, soaring notes, that's when I have to be most conscious of having a solid base. Making music Is constant tension. So, often when I see writers portray musicians, it's all "she never felt so free and untethered as when she sang/played the,violin/piano/whatever." And I think, "wow, really? She must have been Crap." So, back to compose/compose. This wordplay shows that tension. The "I have rehearsed this 5,000 times and am still working so hard I'm sweating standing still in this freezing auditorium so that it can look and sound completely free and easy." This is Michiru's entire life. She is composing herself. She is outlining complex rhythms and tensions and resolutions that even though you hear when the piece is played, you don't fully take in or understand, and all you consciously comprehend is 'wow, pretty.' Because that's how music works. Organs have keys that can't be heard by the human ear, and composers include them in their pieces. Why? We can't hear them! But we feel them. If you look at the score for an orchestral piece, it contains So. Many. Notes. So much going on. But when you listen, all you hear is that melodic theme. But if you take out anything underneath, things change and cam fall apart. Michiru lives her life like that. She creates herself, composes herself, and it looks elegant and free and easy, but it is so so very tightly controlled and rehearsed, and that particular wordplay showed off that side of Michiru's music, which is one I don't get to see explored much. --- @incorrecttact

(Thank you so much for this!! I am NOT a musician, but so much of Michiru and music speaks to me, the structure of it, the discipline, the way it allows you to express yourself while hiding behind something else. And yes! I think of that double meaning so much!)

I want you to know... that this was very, very difficult. I made a notepad and collected shit I'd pulled out from your work where I could find comments where I did such, and then I AGONIZED. Here is where I landed but know it's so close with other things god.

"Winston worked in earnest at his inventions, and Emily went back to teaching, and the two of them began to cook for each other again. Family dinners once a week resumed, grew with some of the new recruits that were being folded into their family. Pharah and Mercy’s daughter took them to the zoo, the park, out into the world. Dva had continued the game they had all been playing before Tracer died, their party picking up after the terrible and well-done loss of their beloved rogue. ***Life did not return, but it grew forward. It bloomed again.***" — A Clock's Fading Chime

I ended up choosing this one because I hate it a little when I read it. Not because it's not good but because it's SO PAINFUL. I love so much about the way you talk about love, and I think grief is all a part of that. We grieve because we loved. The idea of the grief period, especially for those in a close circle of a lost person, being like the cycle of the seasons where a flower may die but life blossoms in the soil it left behind is so evocative and perfect and everything leading up to that last line is the soil for which that line got to bloom. The slow, simple way life returns to them, that they adjust to the heavy rock in their pack (A piece of yours I revisited for this and a metaphor I will always carry with me) and start growing stronger together. And that they find it WITH EACH OTHER too just god, it kills me. But would I rather wish it wasn't necessary? YUP. FOR SURE. It hurts to think about someone who plays Lena's role dying in our own lives and trying to mend the rift between those left behind. But it brings all those possibilities and who may have gone already before to mind because it feels so grounded in the reality of what these experiences are like and shit it's just a great sampling of everything I love about your work. Beautiful prose, saying so much with so little, grounded in stuff that feels read, and ending on a banger, transfixing line. ---- @thoughtfulfangirling

(Thank you so much! I LOVED that whole series of fics around that, as it is in the way that I often like to toy with the nature of grief, and the way that we go on. Things aren’t ever the same, but we go on. And I’m so glad you gt into it too! It’s very self-indulgent for me, basically everything with OW, so I love when other poepl like it)

4 point answers:

Given that I am not Jewish, I hope this isn't overstepping my bounds, but your passover Seder speech really spoke to me this year. Specifically the bits about the relationship between cowardice and metaphorical bondage:

"This is a celebration of our freedom from bondage, but it is a also a reminder, a call that we must ensure we do not, in cowardice, return ourselves to bondage. "

Without explaining too much, and risking the kind of parasocial oversharing that you lamented the other day in a post, this particular push and pull has been at the forefront of my mind this year. The intense gravity that the familiar, the easy, the safe, can have, versus the genuine terror of pressing out into the unknown in search of something better.

Trying to change, and to do better, and to press on, is fucking terrifying, and hard. But, that is not an excuse. And I appreciated the reminder. --- @blastoise-m

(Not overstepping at all! I am so glad that it speaks to you, I really, really love this kind of writing, and I really should get back to doing more of my Jewish writing. My rabbi is leaving, because we apparently don’t have the money to have a rabbi! And he’s readying people to be lay leaders, and called on me to be someone who could give Divrei Torah (sort of like our sermons) because of my tendency to do stuff like this, and it’s very scary! But really exciting as that’s the kind of stuff that had me interested in being a rabbi, is picking this stuff apart and applying it to our own lives HI YOU ASKED FOR NONE OF THIS SORRY)

"There are no beautiful deaths in this world, and am sorry that you must know it. Rei never was allowed to say goodbye. I watched Haruka grow weaker and more ill every single day. We each have been jealous of the other, at turns, but I tell you this truth now: Our lives mean much more than our deaths. You and Seiya had a wonderful love story, and you raised a wonderful daughter, and unfortunately it is very often difficult to finish a story in a satisfying sort of way. It is not the end of your story, simply of hers. For you, it is a new chapter"

I think this is still one of my top 5 fav fics that you've ever written. I still think of it randomly once in a while. It's such a small moment but it sold me Usagi and Seiya in a way never would have expected. It's such a moment of growth for both Usagi and Muchiru. A small moment of connection for two people who are so different.

This is wrapped up in the entire MaS series, which I could never separate from this work let alone this quote. The entire series is a series about love and all its many permutations. About finding meaning in a world when you think your meaning has been taken away. About carrying on when you think there's no reason to do so. And I think this quote really encapsulates all of that.

This story, this entire series, is one the favorite things I've ever read and I'm so glad that you decided to share it. --- @madegeeky

(I truly and in all ways love how much you love this fic, it cheers em and makes me so happy every time I am reminded of it. And thank you for loving that line! I FEEL that line. It’s been true for every death that has come to me, so I love when it has meaning for others. )

The 5 point answer:

"God separated the sky and the sea, and that’s true, but there will always be the horizon where they blend."

I'm not much of a quote person. I'll often remember the feeling or the takeaway but rarely the words themselves. This, though, has stuck with me.

There is so much in this world, and so many people, who see everything as absolutes. Black and white. Good or bad. Right or wrong. And as I've grown and changed, that has come to bother me more and more.

This quote is such an elegant and accessible way to express how that oh-so-common point of view is a fallacy. And really it's just a lovely line that invokes both lovely imagery and feeling. ---- @seolh

I FORGOT I WROTE THIS, and like the completely arrogant piece of shit I am, when I read it was I was like, “Oh fuck, that’s a solid line.” And yes I am with you on getting older and relizing that the horizon line can be so fuzzy out there, sometimes, and this quote WEIRDLY came back to me when I needed it, a lot, and so thank you!

#names for thing

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #384

“watch your tongue or have it cut from your head”

Do you post to say happy birthday on other people’s walls? Sometimes. Depends on my mood and the person. When was the last time you saw a rainbow? Idr. What’s your favorite television commercial? I don't watch TV enough at all to have one. And who has a favorite commercial, anyway? Do you trip a lot? I don't really trip a lot, but kinda fumble over my footing and stray a bit. I'm horrible at walking straight, and it's gotten worse as my legs have. How old is your television? The one in the living room is god knows how old. My parents were still together when they bought it. When did you last talk on the phone with someone? A couple days ago for my appointment with my psychiatrist. Are you currently sleepy? I'm quite convinced I'm permanently tired. Are you hot or cold natured? I am ALWAYS fucking hot, ugh. Do you take any advanced classes? I took mostly Honors classes in school. Do you have weak upper body strength? My body is just weak as a whole. What is the worst insult someone can call you? Emotionally weak. Are you good at sketching? If we're talking meerkats, haha. They're the only complex thing that I can freehand no problem without needing a reference, honestly. Ever play Angry Birds? Nah. I thought the movie was cute, though. Have you ever been to the zoo before? Yeah. Has anyone ever been weirdly obsessed with you? No. Are you afraid someone might steal your identity someday? It's not something I actively worry about at all. Like, you don't want my identity, I promise. Do you have any talents that come naturally? Growing up, adults always told me I was a "gifted" artist and writer. Also that I seem to have an unnaturally strong connection with animals. I've always been that person where a pet's owner is like "omg ____ never lets people do that" and whatnot. Have you ever had plastic surgery before? I haven't. It's funny though, how opposed to it I used to be... Like goddamn, I was such a fucking stupid and honestly judgmental teenager, regarding many things. I look back on her and cringe. Like damn dude, if you have a safe surgical procedure to help you enjoy the body you're stuck with the rest of your life, you go for it, boo. Are you afraid of airplane rides? Not really. What’s the best Valentine’s Day gift you’ve gotten? There was this one year where Jason had to go to work on Valentine's Day and I was super bummed, yet he still surprised me with a heart-shaped box of chocolates, roses, and a game I really wanted, Heavy Rain. I thought it was the sweetest. What is something you lose often? My phone. ;-; Do you enter a lot of sweepstakes? I don't enter any. Do you consider yourself physically active? *chuckles nervously* Do you have Netflix? Yeah. Favorite salad dressing? That Olive Garden replica you can buy at the store. Do you enjoy dancing? Once upon a time I did. My body could never handle it now. Have you ever considered writing a novel? Many times. Snow or sand? Snow, by twenty thousand miles. It is VERY hard for me to walk through sand, and I also hate hate hate hate HATE the sensation. Do you like sour candy? Heeeeeell yeah man. Have you gotten any injuries lately? If so, what & how? Nothing notable. Are you a clumsy person? Like you would not fucking believe. Last male you talked to in person? I think my primary physician's nurse. Are you thinking about asking anyone out? No. Pink lemonade or regular lemonade? Pink lemonade, for sure. But I love both. Chocolate or strawberry milk? CHOCOLATE. Strawberry milk is disgusting. Have you ever won a contest on the radio?No. Is there a song that reminds you of your best friend? There's quite a few. Has a book ever made you cry? Yes. Do you automatically check your phone when you wake up? Yes, for the time. Do you know anyone who has a pet bunny? Not that I'm aware. What store or website would you most like a gift card for? Rebel's Market. How do you feel about wolves? I adore wolves. Beautiful, majestic creatures with very interesting social dynamics. Name your top 3 favorite musical instruments. Electric guitar, violin, piano. What was the last book(s) you bought at a bookstore? At an actual bookstore, I think it was The Fault In Our Stars, which I never actually read. Do you use Pinterest? Yes. Do you know any sign language? No. Do you have a favorite poem? No. Do you have a dog? No. The one we were pretty much stuck with has a home now. Have you ever read The Little House on the Prairie series? I haven't. Have you ever gone on a service trip to an underprivileged country? No. Have you ever performed in front of more than 100 people? Yes, for dance. When (if ever) was the last time you went to church? Forever ago, I don't even remember the last time. What's a quote you think is really powerful? There's a whole lot. The first one that came to mind was, "An eye for an eye will leave the world blind," which I do believe has great depth in it. Have you ever had to do your laundry at a laundromat? Yes. Are you the oldest person who lives in your household? No. My mom is turning 60 (... I think?) this year. If you have tattoos, how long have you had them? I got my first the day I turned 18. Do you and your dad have similar personalities? We're alike in some ways, imo most notably in that we have NO fucking common sense, embarrassing as that is to admit. We're both kinda slow at understanding things, too. What were the last three things you had to drink? Mountain Lightning, milk, and water. What did your family usually do for Easter when you were a kid? Us three kids all got Easter baskets full of stuff, and we'd go egg-hunting when we were all awake. My little sister Nicole would always wake our parents up in excitement, haha. My parents hid plenty throughout the house, and there was always this one "special" egg that was actually from Mom's childhood and was extremely intricate and beautiful. You basically "won" the hunt if you found it, and it was extremely well-hidden. When you have house guests over, where do they sleep? Historically since living here, my two half-sisters and their spouses (the only people who've stayed over) slept in what is *technically* Mom's room, but for whatever reason this woman still insists on sleeping on the couch in the living room, I guess because she's used to it after all the years she didn't have her own room and bed. Are you emotionally stable? LOLOOLOLOOLLOLOOLOOLOLLOOLOLLLLLLLLLLL Do you still talk to the very first person you had sex with? No. Are you an atheist? No. I don't quite know how to define what I am, but since I believe there's SOME higher power, I don't think it's fitting to call me an atheist. What’s the largest bug you’ve ever found in your house? Hm... I'm unsure. Probably a male mosquito, 'cuz them bitches are big'ins. Would it annoy you if a stranger called you "sweetie?" If it was a man, I'd be creeped out. Are you into fashion design? Not really. What’s the worst thing you’ve gone through in the past year? My leg muscles continuing to degrade, honestly. I have to do something about this shit. How did you get your last bruise? I fell when stepping over the stupid dog gate. Have your parents ever forgotten your birthday? Yikes, no. Would you rather have some bacon or beef jerky? Bacon. Do you like your orange juice with lots or no pulp? NONE. Do you wear skinny jeans? Back when I wore jeans, they were the only kind I wore. What projects are you doing now for school? I'm outta school. What’s the most number of comments you have on a Facebook picture? What is the picture of? I have no idea. Do you like coconut flavored things? No. Have you ever met a famous author before? No. Do you know anybody who has been raped before? No, thank god. I know someone who might've almost been, though. I don't know what the fucking pig was going to do to her if my sister and I weren't there. Have you ever wished for bigger boobs? No. Being overweight, I just want smaller ones now, haha. Have you ever gone a full day without interacting with another person? I've gone many days without it. How many relationships have you been in that lasted less than a year? Four, if you're counting everyone that had the "boyfriend" title. Where were you going the last time you were on a plane? Home from Illinois. Where were you going the last time you were on a train? I've never been on one. Have you ever been significantly more physically fit than you are now? Holy fuck, yes. You would never guess now that I was perfectly healthy in high school especially, yet I still thought I was kinda fat. It hurts so much to look back on. When growing up, did you parents keep the house very tidy? I mean not excessively, but Mom was pretty dedicated to keeping the house in decent condition. With three kids though, of course the house was somewhat messy with toys and all. When you shop at IKEA, do you always stop to eat a snack/meal in the cafeteria? ... There's a fucking cafeteria in a furniture store? o_o I've never been there before. How many watches do you own? None, save for one in my "treasure box" from when I was a kid. I was SO SO SO obsessed with Finding Nemo that I kept my broken one. I did the same with my horribly aged sneakers, like the soles were coming off and Mom finally made me stop wearing them, ha. Are there any ways in which you greatly differ from everyone else in your family? I do fucking nothing and am useless to society. Should teenagers be allowed to have their cell phones with them in class? Yes, because emergencies happen. I personally think it's best to maybe have your cell phone flipped over on the corner of your desk or something and on vibrate, that way the noise isn't too disruptive and the teacher can see you're not just using it for other purposes. Do you have any gay relatives? Yes. Have you ever had to have a pet put down? Sigh, multiple. Have you unfollowed, deleted, or blocked anyone on social media recently? If so, what was the reason? Not recently. How many cups of coffee do you typically drink per day? None. Do you know what your vocal range is? No, but it's not very broad. What’s the biggest financial mistake you’ve ever made? I haven't been in this position before. Have you ever been in a relationship where there was a large difference in maturity levels? No. What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed as a guest at someone’s house? I wanna say over a month while we were technically homeless. How bad was your acne when you were a teenager? Oh dear, it was rough. Like there were people who had it worse than me, but ya girl was lookin preeeetty rough lmao.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''hail to the king'' by avenged sevenfold

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lu-undy · 4 years

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Chapter 39 - SBT

Here it is!

Lucien and Mundy entered the hotel and Lucien pointed him straight to the lift. They got in and a young man was there, in his working uniform.

"Bonjour Bastien."

"Is it you, L?" Bastien asked, visibly confused as he stared at the bandaged face and the absence of a suit. The fact that the Frenchman was half carried by a friend of his puzzled the young man too.

"Oui…"

"Oh, Gosh, what happened?" Bastien pressed the button for the fifth floor and the lift took off.

"I got what I deserved." Lucien answered.

"Is it that serious?"

"Non, I am delighted to know that it is more fear than harm as we say in French. And please, meet my partner in crime, M."

"Hello, M."

"Hey, mate."

"Hold on, I've seen you before…" Bastien examined Mundy's face. "Do you know Maurice by any chance?"

"Yeah, used to work with him. Parents would also bring-"

"God yes, I remember! Your parents were the farmers, weren't they? I remember when I was a kid!" Bastien burst out.

"Yeah, that's them, yeah."

"Your mum used to make the best of jams, M."

Lucien looked up at Mundy. The man had a smile on his lips but the Frenchman could easily read the sadness on his face.

"Yeah, she did."

The lift stopped and after the jingle of a bell rang, the doors slid open.

"Merci, Bastien. And sorry I don't have anything for you today…"

"L, you don't need to, look here." Bastien removed his red and golden cap off his head. The young man had got a haircut. "I put a lot of your tips aside and could pay for my first proper haircut at a barber's!"

His hair was short on the sides and behind, a bit longer at the front with a longer tuft above his forehead that fell between his eyes. It was Lucien's haircut, minus the grey hair.

"Oh…" The Frenchman's jaw had dropped below the bandages.

"Very bad choice, mate, look at his ugly face eh. Lucky you, you don't look like him at all." Mundy teased, to lighten up the moment as he saw Lucien's shock.

"Bushman!"

Mundy chuckled and they got off of the elevator.

"See you later!" Bastien said as the doors of the lift slid slowly shut.

Mundy waited for the lift to close completely before asking.

"Right, which room is it?"

"Go straight and it's the first door on your right."

Mundy obeyed, still carrying part of the Frenchman's weight on his shoulders. He walked through the carpeted corridor and stopped at the door. Lucien unlocked it and both entered.

"Perle? Je suis rentré, mon bébé."

[I am back, my baby.]

Mundy held his breath for an instant. He heard noises like ticks against the wooden floor. He didn't understand where it came from until he saw Lucien bend down and kneel on the floor.

"Oh, you ok?"

A ball of white fluff came running, her claws trying to grip the sliding floor and she drifted on the varnished wooden planks. She crashed into Lucien's hand and mewled repeatedly.

"Oui, mon petit tu m'as manqué à moi aussi…"

[Yes, my little one, I have missed you too…]

Mundy stared and blushed. He didn't understand what Lucien had said but seeing him display affection caught the Aussie off guard.

"M, please…?"

Mundy helped him up.

"Let us take a seat on the sofa."

They both sat down and Lucien raised Perle to his face. She tapped the bandages, tried to tear it away from his face.

"Non, mon bébé, je ne peux pas l'enlever au moins pour quelques jours."

[No, my baby, I cannot take it off before a few days at least.]

"Meow!"

He kissed her fur and she started purring.

"Your sheila's not in?" Mundy looked away as if Lucien had been kissing a human lady.

"Yes, she is."

"Ah, ok." Mundy answered. "You sure you don't want me to leave you alone with her?" He stared at how Lucien was tickling his snow white kitten and how she squealed happily under his fingers.

"Please, M, have I not insisted enough?"

"Right, right, ok." Mundy wiped his hands on his thighs nervously.

Lucien played with Perle while Mundy looked around him at the living room of the Frenchman's suite. It was very spacious, the furniture was of a very modern style and oh Lord, the entire wall on his left was windowed; that is of course if we also forget about the massive piano standing there and looking as though it is not occupying as much space as it should.

Lucien noticed the awkward silence and how nervously Mundy's eyes darted from every detail in the room to the next.

"Something is the matter?"

"I'm… I'm waiting to meet Pearl… Uh, is it ok if I say it the English way? I can't say it like you do… uh… Payrle or something…"

"Meow."

"What are you talking about, Bushman? What are you waiting for?"

"Well, your sheila! You wanted me to meet her, didn't you?" Mundy whispered such that she wouldn't hear.

"What did you say her name was?" Lucien asked with a calm grin on his lips.

"Wasn't it Pearl?"

"Meow."

Lucien smiled and released the kitten from his hands.

"Say it again." He said.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not gonna call for her!" Mundy whispered.

"Please, just say her name."

"Ugh…" He sighed. "Pearl."

"Meow." The kitten trotted to the Aussie and climbed on his lap.

"Oh, hello there, little kitty cat."

"Say it again."

"What the h-"

"Please." Lucien insisted.

"Pearl."

"Meow." She squealed under Mundy's fingers and started to purr under them. Oh yes, this one knew where to scratch perfectly…

Lucien looked down at the kitten and back at Mundy.

"What?" The Aussie was confused.

"Say it again."

"What are you not tellin' me again?"

"Please, Bushman."

"Right, last time… Pearl."

Lucien nodded at the kitten and Mundy looked at her in his hands.

"Meow?"

But still, the Aussie didn't seem to catch the drift and Lucien sighed at how oblivious he was.

"Look at her collar."

"Yeah, it's pink, she's a little girl. Gosh, is this silver…? Spook, you're one hell of a - No, are you shittin' me?!" Mundy burst out when he read the name on the silver pendant.

Perle.

"You named your kitty after your sheila?!"

"Non, I didn't! I am not that strange. Non, this is Perle."

"Meow?" Perle looked up at Lucien.

"Yeah, her name is the same as your lady's."

"Bushman, this is Perle."

"Meow."

"Stop repeatin' it, I got it, her name's Pearl!"

"Meow?" Perle's head swooshed to the Aussie.

"Bushman, there is no other female in this suite but her! Perle is my kitten, not my lady companion!"

"Meow!"

"What?!"

Lucien laughed at how shocked his guest was.

"All this time I thought she was a sheila!"

"I know!" Lucien answered and Perle brushed herself between their thighs, a bit on Lucien and a bit on Mundy.

"And you didn't tell me anything?!"

"Non."

"She's a kitten!" Mundy slapped his own forehead.

"Very observant."

"You bloody mongrel!"

Lucien chuckled.

"I do apologise."

"Why not tell me Pearl was your cat?"

"It is the way you react when you talk about her." Lucien answered, his eyes on the kitten again.

"What d'you mean?"

"I can feel it. Whenever you remind me that I have someone waiting for me at home, you have this particular tone of voice, this peculiar look on your face."

Mundy blushed slightly.

"Well, I don't know, I mean uh…"

"Neither do I. I don't know what you feel when you talk about her. At first, of course, I thought you envied the idea of having a partner and, if I am being honest, you told Lulu so, so I knew this was at least partly true. But it isn't just that." Lucien shook his index finger. "There is something else that I cannot understand…"

"And you smile at it." Mundy said, tilting his head on one side.

"Oui, I must admit I like mysteries. But we need to figure out something first." Lucien said.

"What's that?"

"Perle absolutely hates people. So far she hissed at anyone who came close to her. She also brings her claws out and threatens to strike anyone who gets close to either me or her. But look at her now…"

Perle was laying in Mundy's hands. She was purring as he scratched below her jaw and her neck, and the rhythm of her blinking slowed down.

"She is purring loudly and about to fall asleep in your very hands."

"Yeah, well, I'm good with animals, always been like that."

"And animals are good with you too it seems."

"Hm, yeah… So wait, I'm piecin' it up together now. This kitty is the reason why you don't want to kill Duchemin and end up dead yourself?"

"Partly, oui. If I was to go to the next life, no one would be left to take care of her. And she likes no one apart from me and you it seems. But presumably, if I die, that means that we will have caught Duchemin, and in this scenario, you would die too. Oh, look at her now, she is asleep…"

Mundy didn't dare move his hands in which the baby cat was sleeping.

"Yeah… She's adorable."

"She is indeed. Also, please excuse me, I will make that cup of coffee I promised you."

"D'you need help?"

Lucien managed to stand on his own.

"Non, merci. I think the pills are kicking in. I don't feel the aches as much. I should be able to do it on my own. Please keep an eye on her." Lucien answered and Mundy nodded.

The Aussie waited with Perle in his hands, feeling her tiny body inflate and deflate in his hands. On his side, Lucien was preparing a cup and a mug. He readied the coffee machine and waited, preparing a tray with a few nibbles.

"She'll grow up to have very long hair."

"Huh?!" Lucien got startled, he didn't hear nor expect Mundy to come and join him in the kitchen. "What are you doing here? Where is Perle?"

"In my hands still, look. And I came to make sure you wouldn't collapse or anythin'."

Mundy leaned on the kitchen top.

"Very posh-lookin' kitty with her long hair, I'm not surprised you chose her.”

"Don't they all have the same hair length?"

"Nah, hers is quite long, especially for a kitten."

"And you are wrong, I didn't choose her." Lucien answered, now dealing with the coffee and pouring it in the cup and the mug. "She chose me."

"Ah, so you went to a fancy pet shop and she kept on staring at you?"

"Non, Bushman. I found her at my hotel room door, dirty, shivering and hungry."

Mundy's eyebrows jumped.

"You rescued her?!"

"Shh… Don't be so loud, you will wake her up." Lucien answered and took the tray. "Come, let us have a seat."

They found themselves on the sofa again, the coffee and nibbles on the coffee table. Mundy put the kitten on his lap delicately and took the mug that Lucien handed him.

"Thanks, mate."

"My pleasure."

They both sipped on their coffee.

“Mh, that’s a good one… Doesn't taste too bitter. Did you put sugar?"

"Non, you saw me prepare it and you are right. You have quite the palate, M."

"Well, and you're one hell of a weird bloke."

"Why?"

"You really rescued her?" Mundy looked at Perle on his lap.

"Oui. At first I thought I would just feed her a bit of tuna and she would go away. I also thought she was grey but that was only the dirt that her fur had accumulated in the streets. Look here, you see these little scars?"

Lucien showed his hand.

"Yeah."

"That is from her, on the first day we met. She bit me and wouldn't let go. After she ate the tuna, I gave her a quick wash and seeing how hard she clung to me, I let her sleep with me."

"And she slept under you, eh?"

"Sort of, oui, she slept on my very pillow, next to my face."

"L, from what you are telling me, she loves you more than she would her own mum."

Lucien smiled tenderly.

"So do I." He answered.

"And after that, you ended up buyin’ her a silver collar, and little toys…?" Mundy pointed at a few of them on the floor.

"She has a harness and a leash too. I take her to Victoria's diner for breakfast or lunch sometimes."

"Meow…"

Perle woke up and brushed herself on the Aussie before climbing on Lucien's lap and lying on her back.

"Look at you, mon bébé, you are spoilt."

"Did you call her 'my baby'?"

Lucien scratched her neck and she yawned.

"Oui, I did. Does that surprise you?"

"Y-yeah, kind of."

"Why?"

"You're so… cold. It's just a bit odd to see you like that." Mundy answered honestly.

"Remember that Lulu and me are one and the same." Lucien explained while Perle purred, her fur being massaged slowly under his fingers. "The man you saw sing and cry is me."

"You could have faked it, eh. I saw you with Duchemin, you faked smiles like I've never seen before."

"It is different when I sing. I don't fake it. Music overtakes me." Lucien reached out to the coffee table for some biscuits and handed one to Mundy.

"Thanks, mate."

"Am I a mate now?" Lucien asked.

They exchanged a gaze and a smile.

"Possibly, yeah."

"Good." Lucien nodded to himself. "What privileges does the rank of mate grant me?"

"What? Mate, it's not like the army with ranks and stuff… It just means you're a friend."

"Well that is quite the recovery. I went from the man you wanted to kill yesterday night to a mate the next day. Besides," Lucien leaned back and Perle climbed up his chest to settle on his collar bone. She curled up there and purred on his shoulder. "I do imagine a man like you does not have a lot of those."

"A lot of what?" Mundy asked.

"Mates."

"Yeah, well… Used to have more before my parents passed. Now I have fewer ones."

"Can you name them?" Lucien asked.

"Why? Wanna see if someone's already got your name?" Mundy joked and took another sip.

"Highly unlikely, non, it is just to satisfy my curiosity."

Perle brushed herself on the bandaged face and purred. Lucien left a silent peck in her fur.

"Yeah, alright… uh… There's Eddy, Matt and Phil… Maurice counts too, I guess."��

"And outside of your professional duties?" Lucien asked and Mundy frowned. His eyes went up to try and find at least one person he had kept in touch with outside of his job, but his prolonged silence was the answer that Lucien had expected.

"I see." The Frenchman said, and Mundy lowered his head in shame. "M?"

Mundy didn't raise his eyes.

"Perle, s'il te plaît, vas-y. Toi, il ne te résistera pas."

[Perle, go ahead, he won't resist you.]

Perle climbed down Lucien's shirt and jumped on Mundy's lap. He could feel her tiny claws grip the fabric as she climbed up his polo shirt and settled on his shoulder, brushing herself there. She mewled and purred.

"M?"

This time, Mundy raised his head.

"There is no shame to have. I have lived the same way. You are my first 'mate' in a long, long time."

Mundy smiled.

"Sorry about beatin' you up that hard. I was really pissed off."

"I understand, you had every right to feel so."

"Yeah, well… I beat you up hard, hm?"

"Oui, harder than I thought you could or would."

"Sorry… If that's any help, I can give you a hand to change your bandages. The Doc showed me how to do it and I did it with him."

Lucien's eyebrows jumped.

"You helped him?"

Mundy lowered his head.

"Yeah. I… I had the entire night to think it through while you were sleepin'."

Mundy leaned back on the sofa, Perle still on his shoulder.

"I don't know why you thought lyin' was better than just telling me the truth. But I won't kill you over this, of course not. I was just pissed off because I told Lulu things that I didn't want to tell you. But now you know them anyway."

"I told you a lot too." Lucien answered. "And I thought I could fool you into telling me more about yourself by sharing a bit more about myself too. The only catch is that of course you wouldn't know it was really me."

"Why did you want me to tell you stuff like that?" Mundy had that earnest look in his eyes, a look of genuine kindness.

"Because…" Lucien sighed. "Disclosing what I am or what I feel is not something that I… do? Do you remember when you told me that you envied Lulu's ability to talk openly about whatever he wanted without feeling odd about it? Well, I can't agree with you more. I wish I could just let my emotions speak more in me, let them guide me and see where they take me."

"Why don't you do it?" Mundy asked.

"For exactly the same reasons as you. I have done it in the past and it ruined me. I cannot afford to go through that again and I don't want to."

"Hm."

Mundy seemed a bit away, as if his mind had gone far.

"What is the matter?"

"There's something you said, I mean, something Lulu said, that I can't get out of my head now that I know you're him."

"What is it?"

"When you said that you… uh… you didn't only like sheilas…" Mundy's face turned as red as a brick. "I mean obviously if you don't want to talk about it or - or if it's a lie then that's fine but uh…"

"I told you, M. Everything I said to you as Lulu is the truth."

Mundy's eyes rose behind his yellow glasses to meet Lucien's.

"Hm, ok, alright…"

"Why are you so uncomfortable? You told me that you too could enjoy the company of men, non?"

"Y-yeah…" Mundy put a hand behind his neck nervously. "I mean… No one knows that about me. Even my parents didn't know."

Lucien smiled and put a hand on Mundy's shoulder, next to Perle.

"Then I feel privileged to know that you trusted me with this knowledge."

"I trusted Lulu." Mundy answered and Lucien felt something fall in his ribcage. He removed his hand off Mundy's shoulder. "It's hard to trust you."

The Frenchman sighed.

"I know. It is my curse. My tongue is tied by contract. I cannot say anything I want. I cannot say the truth of what I am, what I want and what I feel…"

"Why?" Mundy asked.

"I told you. It is by contract."

"A contract with who? Who's the mongrel who got you to shut your mouth and bottle up everything you feel inside you?!"

Lucien raised distraught eyes to his friend, through the bandages. He couldn't say that it was the French Ministry of Defense.

"If I told you, I would have to kill you."

"Not if I find them first and deal with them." Mundy answered. "Tell me who they are and where to find them. Are they in Oz?"

"M, would you really go out there and kill them if I told you who they were?"

"I'd talk to them first but if they leave me no choice, yeah. I mean what could possibly be worse than what I'm goin' through now? I'm walking to my death. Might as well help a friend if I can, eh?"

Lucien's smile faded.

"You have no idea what you are saying."

"Yeah I do." Mundy put his arm around Lucien's shoulders. "Whoever they are, we can do something about it. There's always a solution, ok?"

"Not in my case I am afraid."

"How long has this… uh… 'contract' been going on for now?"

"Almost three decades."

Mundy's jaw dropped.

"What…? Oh Gosh… I'm sorry for you b-but I'll help, ok? Just tell me who and where, I won't tell you anything and you won't know."

Their eyes were locked on each other’s. And Lucien felt it. Mundy's arm was on his shoulders and Perle was curled in a ball of fur on his shoulder. That man was absolutely mad. He was ready to go and kill just on Lucien's word, even though he had lied to him continuously.

"How do you know that what I am telling you now is not a lie?" He asked the Aussie.

"I don't. I just continue to trust you."

Lucien might have melted in tears if decades of being a professional spy hadn't made him a machine.

"Even after all the lies? And those that I refuse to break yet?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I've seen you with Pearl. You can be genuine about yourself. I don't know what holds you back to do it, but you can be honest. I've seen Lulu too. He's… He's really something and it's a shame you feel you can't be more like him because of some stupid paper." Mundy answered. "Look, you don't have to help me do it. Just tell me who and where."

"I… I can't."

Lucien hid his face in his hands and lowered his head.

"I am sorry you will never know me really. You will never know my name, never know the respect I have for you, M." He spoke in his hands. "You will never know what I am, my profession, and you will never understand anything about it all. That is why I lie. I have no choice."

"Hey…" Mundy's hand slid on Lucien's back and he stroked it slowly. "It's alright. I don't get it but I respect it. Just please, keep the lies to a minimum, ok?"

Lucien's head jerked back up and he looked at Mundy with glistening eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're right. Your lies and me blindly trusting you led us to see Duchemin from up close. So even though it's not ideal, it works for what we want to do." Mundy answered. "But uh… Why did you sign that contract in the first place? Can you tell me?"

"Because… Back then was a different era with different problems and they needed someone like me." Lucien answered. "Me on the other hand, I had fled home and had nothing to lose, or so I thought."

"Was it also like this with your… your fiancée?"

"Oui. I am afraid so. I was lying to her but like you, she knew I was lying and yet decided to support me. I was younger and not half as broken as I am now so I thought it could work. But part of me always said it: I cannot settle down, I can't think of doing all these things that normal people do."

"Because of your contract?"

Lucien nodded.

"Oui, because of that cursed thing."

"Hm." Mundy tapped Lucien's back gently. "I don't care about it. We all have our burdens and our mistakes to drag with us I guess. I'll help you and we'll get Duchemin."

"M?"

"Hm?"

Their eyes connected and even with the bandages, Mundy could see Lucien's eyes shining differently.

"For what it is worth, I will try to not lie to you about anything else than my name and what I am, my identity."

"Are there other lies you want to set straight with me?"

"Hm, let me see…. Perle is a cat, I live here in this hotel, I am Lulu… Non, I don't think so. But if I think of anything that I can share with you, I will."

Mundy smiled.

"Thanks, mate."

"Non, thank you…"

Lucien looked away to dry his wet eyes.

"... You are quite unique, M."

"Yeah well, you're one hell of a weird bloke too, eh?"

"Meow!"

"C'mon, admit it, kitty. Your dad's weird."

Perle brushed herself on Mundy's neck and cheek.

"Here, go and tell him he has a friend, now."

"Meow?"

"No, not you, you're his baby apparently, I'm the friend. Now go tell him, chop, chop"

Perle turned and went to Lucien's lap. He carried her to his face and didn't deafen the sound of the kisses he gave her.

Mundy laid his arm on the sofa's back and Lucien played with the kitten as he leaned down more until he let his neck rest on the sofa's back too. Mundy froze as Lucien was in fact using his forearm as a pillow.

"Mon bébé, s'il te plaît, va lui dire à quel point je… Tu trouveras les mots mieux que moi."

[My baby, please, go and tell him how much I… You will find the words better than me.]

Lucien released the kitten who went back to Mundy. She climbed on his polo shirt and reached his shoulder. She walked carefully on the arm he had laid across the sofa's back and curled in a ball of warm fluff down on it. Lucien stayed there and raised his head and his eyes to Mundy who was past crimson.

"Thank you, M." Lucien gently said, almost like a whisper.

The Aussie was paralysed way too firmly to say anything back. Perle was on his arm and Lucien rested his head on his forearm, staring at him with his gentle, almost poetic light blue eyes. Mundy lowered his head and looked away to bite his cheek.

And he remembered Emma, that waitress. He had spent a night with her and didn't feel a millionth of the chaos that he was now experiencing in his insides. And L had just laid on his forearm...

#tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sniperspy #SBT

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outshinethestars · 4 years

Text

Falling Gently (Hetalia)

Life is a succession of moments, one following from another, small, ephemeral things, like dust blowing in the winds of time. Sometimes there are no grand turning points, no transformations. Love and growth and change occur by degrees, infinitesimally, and you are unaware of your own movement from one mode of existence to another, until the world has shifted beneath your feet, and you have found yourself somewhere new and look back.

But in that light of hindsight there are some moments suspended in memory, no more significant than those around them, perhaps, but typical of others, steps reminiscent of a journey, like lights along the path.

So, these are moments.

You are still his servant, and you hardly know him at all.

You resent him, of course you resent him. You resent his snobbish pride, his arrogance. You resent that you must serve him. You have always been proud. You resent him for having power over you. Your practicality, though, is greater than your pride. You are willing to bend and bend and bend so long as you do not break, because above all you refuse to break. And so you are willing to bow to him. Willing to reshape yourself to gain his favor, because you are determined to take from him all you can.

But, one day he is playing the piano, and you don’t think anyone has ever played anything as beautifully as he does (and you resent that but you enjoy it too.) And he looks up at you and smiles a little, and says, “Thank you.”

Later, in memory, you will not recall what you were doing or what he is thanking you for. It could have been any number of inconsequential things, he always is scrupulously polite.

But there is something in the way that the light hits his face, the resonance of notes fading as he pauses in his playing to speak to you. Something in the small, soft, almost-shyness of his smile that feels so genuine. You look at him in that moment and you think Oh. Oh, he’s handsome, isn’t he.

You feel your cheeks heat up and you duck your head down into a curtsy and hope he doesn’t see, and mumble something polite and servantly to him before retreating from the room.

You have never had a crush before. It strikes you as a very silly girlish sort of affliction, and if you could choose to be attracted to anyone in such a way it certainly wouldn’t be him.

***

It is the evening after your wedding.

The marriage is one which you are amenable to, because you hope it will grant you greater power and agency. It is a matter purely of politics, but then so are most marriages, and anything, you think, might be better than being his maid.

You are dancing with him at a ball in honor of your marriage, and you are dressed in the most beautiful and costly dress you have ever worn. Perhaps it is the dress, or the music, or your own imagination, but when he looks at you there is a light in his eyes that usually seem so distant and cold, and you think he might be in love with you.

It catches you off guard, this thought, this fancy, the possibility, though perhaps it should not. You have, after all, served him humbly, shaped yourself so as not to offend him. It is not strange, in a sense, that this self which you have created, in part to please him, since embracing your womanhood, should be a person he would fall in love with.

But you had not expected it, because before now it had never occured to you to think of him in such a way, as a man with a heart and feelings, who might fall for a girl who cleaned his house and brought him tea, who wore embroidered aprons and a flower in her hair because she thought they were pretty.

You knew he was gentle with you because he is a gentleman, but it has not occurred to you until this moment that perhaps he likes you.

You dance. And you see the way he moves in relation to you, observe the angles of him, how he reaches to you almost reverently, the tautness and the restraint of him. He wants you, but he knows you do not reciprocate. He wants you, but he will not take you by force, not when it comes to this. He respects you.

His hands in yours are slender and smooth and soft. They are the hands of a musician and a nobleman. Your own hands are rough from washing and calloused from fighting with sword and bow. You have the hands of a woman and a warrior.

When you were a girl (or a boy) you had respect only for men who were like yourself, men whose hands told the tale of their work, whose skin was touched by dirt and sun, who could hold their own in a fight.

He is a different sort of man, one of sly intelligence and refinement. But he has a strength and cruelty of his own. Power is no less powerful for being won by treaties and marriage alliances than by the sword, and there is something to be said beauty and music as well. You have come to know him well over the time you have lived in his house, and you have learned to respect him, also.

He is a gentleman and you are a lady and you dance together. You are husband and wife, and maybe he loves you. He respects you and you respect him and that is far more than most have. If you must marry anyone, you are glad to have married him. You grant him a kiss, and he blushes comically beneath your lips.

***

It is after a battle with Prussia, and he is not even there.

You and Prussia are meeting together as you often do after having torn each other to pieces in battle (or in this case, after you have torn Prussia to pieces), reminiscing and boasting and telling tall soldiers’ tales, and arguing tactics and strategy without ever giving away anything important, in the bright, comfortable way of old enemies who are also friends.

Your conversation wanders, and you tell Prussia a story involving Austria and a bit too much beer and your own slightly inebriated attempts to keep him from embarrassing himself entirely, and Prussia laughs until he winces with pain.

“Fuck, Erzsebet,” he says, “You can’t break my ribs and then tell a story like that. It’s not fair.”

You just grin smugly at him, “It’s not my fault you’re a fucking wimp.”

“Fuck you,” he says, eyes still laughing, and the two of you descend into a companionable silence.

But then he’s looking at you, considering, in that way of his, as though he’s trying to take you apart in his mind, examining you like the inner workings of machinery that he can disassemble and put together again to understand how it works and make it better.

“Do you love him?” he asks.

The question startles you, coming from nowhere as it does. He does not speak of such things, is not interested in feelings and relationships, or perhaps he is simply not adept at them. It is not the sort of question he would ask, but then again, he never fails to say what he wishes to, however indelicate.

As for you...

You are not an honest person. Your heart is your own to govern, yours immutably in a way that little else is. And it is such a complicated question asked so simply. That is just like Prussia. He is such a straight-forward person, and always demands simple answers where there are none. But you would tell him it is none of his business, because it isn’t. That is what you mean to say.

Except.

Perhaps it is the blue sky above you, the green grass beneath, the golden daisy you worry between your fingers. Perhaps it is the blood under your fingernails and the warmth of triumph, the settled feeling after a satisfying battle. In moments like this your life is brought to a point, there are no important dignitaries, no matters of state, no complications. Regardless, you have always had little need for pretense with Prussia. Somehow, you are without your facade in this moment, and there is no overshadowing of what ought to be, or what might be best for your purposes, only what is. And what is is simple.

“Yes,” you say, “Yes, I do.”

Your heart pounds with the truth of it. It is a strange revelation, and you do not know what to do with it. Do not know where it came from, how this came to be. But you do love him. You do. It is obvious in your heart, and you do not know how you never noticed it before.

“Well shit,” Prussia says, “I never took you for a madwoman.” His tone is jokingly scornful, but his shoulders relax just a little. He is relieved. He is happy that you are happy, that you have not been forced into an unhappy marriage against your will all these years.

This is much more comfortable territory for you, strange as it may seem to most who know Prussia. You had not realized he was so worried for you even still, but it is not a shocking revelation.

“It’s sweet of you to care so much,” you say, because it is, and because you enjoy teasing him.

“Ugh,” he says, wrinkling his nose up in exaggerated disgust as his cheeks grow pink in true embarrassment, “How could you? I don’t believe I’ve been so insulted in all my life!” And you laugh at him cheerfully.

Love is such a strange thing, tossed on the careless waves of time, lost beneath the troubles and ambitions and concerns of life. Fitting in to place between waking and sleeping, growing slowly in the spaces between smiles and arguments. Moments follow moments, flitting away without trace. You look back and try to find the thread, but it is woven so skillfully into the tapestry of time, and there is no pattern for you to grasp. You love him. You cannot find the reason. Perhaps it is because he is handsome and charming, but it cannot be only that. Perhaps it is because he loves you. But you are not so kind hearted to let that sway you on its own. Perhaps love is not a thing bound to reason. Or perhaps the reasons are countless and forgotten and insignificant. Perhaps what matters is simply what is.

Austria is your husband, and he falls asleep in your arms, and you love him.

#hetalia #fic and fic-like things #my stuff #aph hungary #aph austria #aph prussia

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zealynstan · 4 years

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26/2/2016 The day Angie Miller became Zealyn

Today marks the four year anniversary of how Zealyn was made. It all started when Angie Miller releasing a countdown of photos with a Z in front of it on her social media accounts. (I may not have all of them but here's some)

Fans were excited and anticipated what this is about. New music? A song that starts with Z? A collaboration with an artist named Z? Whatever it is, they are looking forward to it. Flashforward on the end of the countdown, Angie posted this tweet alongside a video teaser

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And let's say some of the fans are excited, confused or befuddled. I was in the middle at first like, “What? Why? The music sounds cool but why?" until she announced her debut single as Zealyn called Talk:Listen (which I'm also celebrating its fourth anniversary, the original to be exact). I first listen on SoundCloud and I was blown away by it.

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Previously, Angie was known for singing pop-rock songs under her previous EP Weathered (which is sadly no longer available unless you can find the tracks somewhere on YouTube or SoundCloud) and now as Zealyn, it looks like she's heading a new direction towards indie electronic alternative pop. After re-listening to the song four years later, it still holds up although I prefer the remix version over the original. The 2-minute track consists of two verses, no chorus, and vocal breakdowns.

As of now, the track has 19.3k listens on Soundcloud, 196k plays on Spotify and 43k views on YouTube.

Most of the feedback of the song is positive and there are some who were "eh" about it and there are some who hated it. Ever since the name change, it causes a division of fans. Some have stayed while others have left. Those who stayed were excited when Zealyn released more music in a genre she’s comfortable with while those who left were not into it and they say they want the old Angie back to sing songs in a piano, not that blip bloop bs.

Zealyn didn’t care about losing fans, she cares for the music she wants to make and the fans who supported for many years whether she’s Zealyn or Angie Miller. To quote her from an interview on Talking Lion podcast, “If you don’t like my music, go away.”

Two EPs later and one Reimagined, she continues to rock out and kick ass. Her recent single So Damn Charming is a bop and you should stream it alongside her other songs from her two EPs.

Oh, and for the people who asked her why she changed her name, I’ve compiled links and quotes to provide answers;

We Found New Music

“Well, my sound has definitely evolved a lot. I started as a pop artist and I just- I wasn't being creative, I never pushed myself. It was just very generic pop music and I got really sick of it and I knew that I really wanted to just experiment more and create more and work with artists that had like such incredible talent and that's what I've been able to do with this.”

Wicked Local;

(North of Boston)

“To the city of Beverly, I hope that they know this is in no way me wanting to forget Angie Miller or forget their support. This is me wanting to continue that so, so much. Even though it looks different and sounds different, it’s 100 percent still me,” Miller said. “I’m still a small town Beverly girl with a great family and awesome friends. I’m still me.”

“I started “American Idol” and didn’t know my sound at all. I was 18, I had just graduated high school,” she said. “All I knew was that I loved singing. I loved it and I loved performing and I knew I wanted to do that, but I didn’t know how.”

“I wanted to expand and stretch myself to try new stuff for the first time,” she added. “I’ve been growing up a lot and I think my music has grown up a lot.”

(Beverly)

“I wanted to build my own brand from the ground up,” Miller said about taking on a new persona. “I wanted to make sure my music was what I wanted it to be.”

“If you listen to my music from when I was on ‘American Idol’ as Angie Miller, and listen to what I’m doing now, you can hear the growth,” she said. “It’s better songs and better songwriting.”

Salem News;

"When I played The Cabot four years ago, it was shortly after that that I realized how much American Idol created me," she said. "They chose my branding. They chose my look. They chose my sound. I had some sort of say, but I was young. I was easily moldable. I realized I wanted to start over. I wanted to re-brand myself and be 100 percent myself."

"I know it's probably confusing for a lot of people, but it's so true," she said. "Once I had a stage name, I felt more myself and it sparked so much creativity. I think my choices were, go with this label and have instant money and probably have instant success, but be something you don't want to be — instant gratification but not happy with it. Or go for the long run. I am very happy that I went for this long process."

"A lot of people were saying, 'We want Angie back,'" she added. "But it's still me. It's still the same voice. I love to sing and I love to show off my voice. I think the music has gotten more creative. It's not so cookie-cutter what everyone else is doing. It's a better expression of my creativity."

Unlabelled;

“So that experience releasing my first EP just felt good to learn all of that. And it felt good to release and play shows and get better at- being more comfortable and growing. But then I quickly realized still like I am not just, I don't know, it didn't feel like me. I needed to completely shed American Idol because they created my branding. They created who I was and I wanted to rebrand and start over, just go clean slate. And that's what I did in.... 2016.”

Northshore 104.9 FB Live;

“So I released an EP under Angie Miller and that's when I actually played at the Cabot last time I played all those songs. And it's still- I mean- When you're 18 and thrown on national tv and they're saying, "who are you? who are you? what's your sound?" you don't know anything. Like, I didn't know anything. So American Idol in a way created me. It chose my sound for me and my look and it chose the way I was gonna act and be perceived by America. So they did it all for me, they created Angie Miller and I just, I couldn't stand it. And I just kinda wanted to be me and it's funny that changing my name made me feel more like me. No, I didn't change it legally or anything.

It feels more genuine, it feels more- that's why- there are a few fans who are like, "Why would you not go by Angie?" but I wish people would just know and if people are listening and didn't know I went by Zealyn like, it's me. I'm Angie. It's just a stage name.“

ECHO:

“Angie is not a cool name on a poster, I knew I needed to rebrand and have something that had more mystery behind it, appealing to the eye, plus I knew my sound was going to change and I wanted to set myself apart from American Idol, so that decision was easy. Finding a name was hard and Zealyn was a name that I fell in love with right when I heard it, there’s no crazy meaning.

It’s FREE, I don’t know how else to describe it. I think if people see a live show they get it. I embody this music so much, like it is me. There’s so much joy and pain, there’s so much in my music. I feel confident and free when I make my songs. So, I hope when people listen they feel a sense of freedom.”

Encourage The Artist;

“Well, thankfully I kind of had a test run at first because I released music under my birth name. I think I was 20 or 21 when I finally released like my “first” EP under Angie Miller and it was just really really cheesy pop music and I hated it. It just- it wasn’t me. It was not me. Three months after when I played my first show. Playing all this music for the first time, I was so excited and instantly just hating it. I played a live show and I was like, “Ugh! This does not feel real, I hate this.” And I knew right then and there, I needed to change. I needed to rebrand, I needed to find what I thought was cool, what I thought was inspiring.”

And here are other links as well;

MJSBIGBLOG

Talking Lion

Matt Barker On The Radio (skip to the timestamp 1:33:48)

#long post #Zealyn #my post #my writing #Angie Miller #Four year anniversary #2020 #took me awhile to write this post #belated post #Talk:Listen

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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784

What's one thing you really want right now? I want mass testing in my country so that we can actually reach some fucking progress. All they made us do was stay at home for two months and now they’re starting to reopen malls and public places are starting to crowd up again - how was quarantining ourselves supposed to fix anything? Is there anything you're looking forward to? Getting my thesis ready for binding!!! Andrew and I are soooo close to wrapping it up and our adviser has just been giving us super minor edits because we’re pretty much good to go. I’ll just wait for the green light from her so I can finally heave a huge sigh of relief. Are you in love? Yes I am. Is love even existent at your age? I mean...yes? Love doesn’t always have to be romantic, and I’ve always been surrounded by it through relatives and friends. When was the last time you exercised enough to break a sweat? That would be my last PE class, which was last March. I don’t exercise outside of PE lol.

Have you been annoyed at someone/something today? Lol yep well I’m super irritable and I always get annoyed with at least one thing everyday. Today it was over how hot it’s back to being. We had one sweet day of rains and thunderstorms last week and I actually wrapped myself in a blanket and had my electric fan on low and it was the besssssst. Now we’re back to having uncomfortably humid and 42C days. Are you avoiding anybody at the moment? Yeah. Rita messaged me a reminder about a survey that we have to take within the org, but I hadn’t taken it yet. As much as I love the org, I’m so over that chapter at this point and I honestly can’t care any less about stuff they’re still making us accomplish. Is rap your favorite genre of music? No it’s not. I like some of it, but very seldom will I feel like looking up rap songs on Spotify. Have you ever used someone to get what you truly wanted? No. I don’t call it using, I call it asking for help to be able to submit stories for my journalism classes lol. There’ve been times I’ve had to tap high school classmates I haven’t talked to in a while, knowing that they will be a good source for whatever article I’m writing. It’s for acads and business is business, so over the years I’ve learned to not be chicken about it and just reach out if I need something from them. I know I would do the same and happily be interviewed if I can be a source for anything. Are you one of those people that gets jealous easily? I have my days, but generally I feel envious more often. What was your favorite show as a kid? Hi-5 when I was much younger, Spongebob when I got a little older, and Drake and Josh when I got a liiiiiiittle bit older. Do you get along with your whole family? I get along with everyone, but the least with my mom. With her, we get along just enough to not like, pull each other’s hair on a daily basis. It’s the bare minimum and I’m fine with it and I have no interest in getting closer to her. When was the last time you were sick? January 2017. What's one thing you want to tell somebody right now? “You can’t keep fucking doing that” How are you today? Partly giddy because we made final edits on our thesis today, and also partly giddy because I just learned that my mom has been asked to report to work again starting tomorrow and I cannot waaaaiiiittttttt to have a full day without her at home again after two months. Imagine not being yelled at or criticized or scowled at or judged??? Love that for me, love that for my family. Has anybody close to you passed away in the last six months? Angela’s grandmother passed away last month. I wasn’t close to her per se but she was always the first person I saw whenever I’d come over her place, and I’d ask for mano and she’d go on to ask me how my day’s been, how school’s been, so I was also crushed when I found out. Have you ever lasted a relationship longer then two months? Yes. At the moment, what's your favorite song? Hayley Williams’ Why We Ever is probably gonna be my favorite for a long time. Are you obsessed with anything? Not really. I think I’m mostly done with my fangirling/fandom years hahaha it was fun while it lasted, but I’m generally just a casual fan of the things I’m into now, like Beyoncé or Paramore or wrestling. Do you think that weed/marijuana should be legalized? I haven’t heard a single bad thing about it unless it’s coming from traditional boomer politicians in the country, so yeah why not. I heard it has medicinal purposes too, so I don’t even know why its legalization is even up for debate. I gotta be honest though and say I don’t know much about it to be any more passionate or stronger in my stance. Is it safe to walk around your neighborhood at night? Only because I live in a gated village. I wouldn’t walk along the highway just right outside. If you could visit any state/country you wanted, where would you go? Chicago, USA. If money weren't an object, what would you do with your life? ^ Go to Chicago. And proceed to travel to the other places also on my bucket list. Are you a fan of heights? I’m not a ‘fan,’ I just don’t have a phobia of it and don’t mind if I’m way up somewhere. What is the last compliment you recieved? Andrew told me I was smart. Rate your typing speed on a scale from 1 - 10? 9. I know there are much quicker typers than me, but I know I can type fast myself too. Is there an instrument you can/wish you could play? Piano and violin. Are you artistic at all? Not at all. Why do you take surveys? It’s my way of journaling and it also allows me to release tension or stress or anguish when it’s necessary. Also, very few people do it so I find it private enough that I’m able to share with people interested in reading answers, but not to the point that the audience is overwhelmingly large. Where are you? I am on the couch in our living room, which never allows me to have proper posture lol. What is your goal in life? To end up being happy with who I eventually become.

Do you enjoy tanning? I don’t really need to do this because I’m already quite tan, but sure it’s fun to sunbathe whenever I’m at the beach so I can get even darker and have an obvious fresh-off-the-beach look when I get back to the city haha. Is everything going your way right now? Obviously not. Ugh. What's one aspect of your life that you want to change? There is one glaring aspect in life that I’m sure everyone wants to have changed, but we don’t have any control over it at the moment. Do you text more then you talk on the phone? For sure. Is music a big portion of your life? Not really. I’ll have music on when I’m driving, when a favorite artist puts new material out, when I’m rewriting notes from class...but that’s it. I find music to be a bit distracting, especially when I’m writing or working. Does anybody call you 'baby'? Yes. Is there someone you want, but can't have? Nope. Have you ever broken the law? Yeah dude, just look at my hard drive and all the movies and shows I have on there lmaooooo Are you scared to grow old? I’m scared of the mounting responsibilities that are slowly making themselves known as I’m inching closer to graduating, but I’m not afraid of growth and new people and new experiences.

#survey #surveys

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glamrockmonarch · 5 years

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We Are The Lovers - PresentDay!Brian May (Fluff/Smut)

Requests: “Omg I’m a sucker for your older Brian! Could you maybe do something about Brian dating a younger woman who maybe had a kid from another relationship. I don’t even like kids but older dad bri is the sweetest, especially when you’ve written your previous blurbs! Yknow or something really smutty because countryside was bloody amazing! :P I love your blog so much, a definite favourite! XxxX” - Anon

“Okay but can we talk about reader taking care of the 7 musical fox cubs with present day!bri” - Anon

A/N: I put these two requests together simply because I could not help myself the mushy feeling that it brought into my heart. Also, Imma toot my own horn: this is cute af (although I did not proofread because ugh).

You held the little brown cub in your hands and stared down at Danny, your four-year-old son. He is quite inquisitive at the moment, his mind seemed to be more and more awake with every passing day and you sometimes had to make up explanations for his weirdest questions. Lucky for you, you had met Brian the year before and hit it off. Brian was now your boyfriend and although Danny had not spent much time with him, they liked each other, and Brian being a bright mind himself was fascinated by your son’s curiosity. In the past few days, you had been busy working so your son had stayed with Brian a few times during the afternoons, both of them getting to know each other better since you decided to introduce them a few weeks before.

Brian proved to be a wonderful man, and you trusted him to watch your son when you knew his own father would not. It broke your heart, but Danny was so young he could not yet realise how much his father rejected any type of contact with his son. You were just happy to have such an amazing man as Brian in your life who would listen to your son’s rambles and respond with some of his own, somehow Brian still kept up with the childish games, making your son laugh and more than often surprising him with incredible tales.

You were impressed a few days before when you arrived at your boyfriend’s place to pick up your child and found Brian holding a sleeping Danny.

“I showed him to make a stereoscope,” Brian had whispered with Danny fast asleep on his shoulder, Brian’s hand on your boy’s back.

Of course, when you arrived this morning at Brian’s place you were not exactly expecting him to have fox cubs curled up in his kitchen. Danny ran right up to Brian as he usually did, he also looked forward to seeing your boyfriend - at age four he was already on his way to learn how to play the piano, so meeting Brian made him realise he could also play the guitar. You were not too enthused by the prospect of loud evenings at home when he turned thirteen and “you just don’t get it, mom!” became a thing.

For now, Danny held a small furry cub in his small hands, cupping them, too scared of squeezing the animal too hard. This was something else that Brian had started teaching your son; animals are friends. And one must always watch out for his friends. Therefore, Dan was over the moon about the prospect of 1. being able to help save some cute animals, and 2. see something considered more of a baby than himself.

Brian brought a pair of bottles and handed you one of them while helping Danny feed his cub.

“You said they were red,” Danny accused your boyfriend, looking up at him.

With a side smile you looked up at him only for long enough to see him smile with that sort of satisfaction that seemed more personal than shared, he nodded and his curls bounced, he tilted his head to see Danny’s y/e/c eyes.

“They really don’t look it, do they?” Brian paused to watch Danny shake his head, “well, that’s because they are cubs, too young, Dan, to even open their eyes...but they will turn this beautiful ginger colour!”

“Their hair changes?” Danny stared down at the cub in his hands, then turned to look at Brian, “did your hair change too?”

You felt slightly embarrassed listening to the girly voice of your only son, too young to see how that could potentially be offensive. And still, Brian knew how children were and he enjoyed this dynamic with your little one, always curious he sometimes made odd deductions, trying to make sense of the world on his own - mostly getting it wrong but never failing to try.

“Yes!” Brian laughed, your red face turned to look at both males, you watched Dan’s face show an obvious shock while Brian laughed at the peculiar question. “It used to be so dark, almost black!”

Danny, whose hair was a dark shade of blond, just like his father turned to you.

“Mama, is my hair going to be white like Brian’s?” He asked you, his neck bending a funny way.

You shook your head and smiled up at Brian before turning back to your son.

“No,” you played a little bit with your son, “it will be red - like the cubs’!” You insisted.

Brian laughed with you at the expression of pure despair that located on your son’s face. It might have been a bit cruel but your son was so sweet and positive he immediately turned his frown upside down and turned to Brian.

“That means I will get a crown! Like, like...Harry!” He nodded enthusiastically, now excited about the prospect of getting ginger hair.

“I think this one has had enough, Danny...let’s feed one of his sisters, shall we?”

For the better part of the afternoon the three of you sat in Brian’s kitchen to babysit the cubs while Anne got there to pick them up, she was supposed to take them for the night and then pay a visit to the vet in the morning to make sure they were all alright, you could already tell that Danny would not take it well when he had to say goodbye to his sisters and brothers future gingers.

You offered to make dinner while Brian finished feeding the cubs with the willing help of your little boy, although he did not want you to do it on your own you had no problem finding your way around his kitchen. Placing pans on the stove and finding everything you needed in the fridge you stole glances at the two sitting on the floor with the furry animals.

“Why not, Brian?” You thought, “as if I wasn’t already in love: you’re good to Danny too!”

For Brian it was not intentional, he genuinely enjoyed the company of your son; seeing the little boy understand him more and more every time they met.

By the time Anne came and picked up the little fox cubs, Danny was ready to turn in for the night; after having dinner all three of you, the day seemed to have drained his young body of all energy.

As Brian’s friend left, you sat back at the dinner table with your son, pulling him on your lap and allowing for his little arms to wrap around your neck as he cuddled with you, nuzzled in your hair on your shoulder, he fell asleep quickly after proclaiming his admiration for Brian.

“I like Bri, can we hang out tomorrow too?”

This made you laugh, so you nodded and kissed his forehead. “You’ll have to ask him, but I think he would love to!”

The sweet boy pouted and searched for your cheek, kissing you loudly before settling in your arms, feeling loved and safe.

Danny often reminded you of his father, but it was days like this when you saw him as the different person he was; the man he would someday become. You could see him growing closer to Brian, looking up to him and learning with him. You liked this warmth that spread through your chest when Brian came back in and you had your hand on Danny’s messy hair, your cheek against his forehead.

“Is he out?” Your boyfriend wondered.

Smiling you mouthed a yes, not daring to move yet.

“A sweet kid,” Brian praised.

Your boyfriend started picking up the plates and taking them to the kitchen. After he put everything away he came back and leant down to press a soft kiss against your temple, his hand squeezing your shoulder with a tender touch.

“We should go,” you whispered, reaching up and placing your hand on his still on your shoulder.

Brian sighed and looked back at the hall leading to the door. “I’ll just get my jacket.”

“That’s okay, I’ll take an uber.”

“No.”

He stood his ground and left you to get his black jacket on; coming back holding both yours and Danny’s. He watched you get up from the chair and wrapped your jacket around your shoulders and covered part of Danny’s body with it as well.

“Thanks,” you mumbled at him, giving him a toothy grin.

Brian rarely drove his car, so you took it this was a sort of special occasion. You had to sit Danny in the backseat to secure the seat belt around his body, much to your surprise he did not wake up. Riding in the front next to Brian you picked up a light conversation, joking and laughing together while he drove.

“Alright, alright, next time you have to cook!” You teased him after he told you about his mother’s cooking skills.

“No, no...I wouldn’t do her any justice, love.” Brian patted your knee.

As his fingers lingered on your exposed skin, you brought your hand on top of his and giggled.

“Should’ve thought of that before telling me!”

Brian turned his hand around so your fingers could intertwine and you looked back at Danny for a moment, checking on him.

“He wants to hang out with you tomorrow.” You wiggled your brows at Brian and heard him chuckle. “Maybe you could come at...let’s say six?”

“Yes, of course.” Brian smiled, trying to hide his enthusiasm and failing to do so.

Arriving at your place Brian picked Danny out from the seat and carried him inside while you opened and held the door open for him. Closing it carefully behind him, you pointed the way to his room. At last, Brian placed your son on his own bed and you took off his size two sneakers, placing them on the ground before pulling his pjs out of one of the drawers with Brian watching you, helping as he could. Your boyfriend picked up the dinosaurs pjs and warmed them up in his hands while you got Danny out of his little jeans and jumper.

“Thanks,” you said to Brian as he handed you a warmed up pair of pants.

“You know, I am a parent too.” He reminded you.

You rolled your eyes at his comment, it was not like you could forget with all what was being said on the press about how you were younger than his youngest daughter and all…

Kissing your son’s cheek you pulled the covers over his body and wished him sweet dreams. Brian watched your every move, admiring you and taking you in. It had not been long that he was presented to this side of you: the motherly one. He was completely lost in the tenderness of your eyes when you looked at your baby boy; the boy was bright as a red light. Brian was taken aback by some of his reasonings, he was not a bad kid only a curious confident one; which was not always easy to deal with...but entertaining for sure.

When you stood from the side of Danny's bed Brian kissed his palm and pressed it gently on the kid’s forehead. How could he not? The boy was making it hard for him not to spend the entire day by your side.

Stepping out of the dark child’s room, you waited for Brian. Opening your arms you invited your boyfriend in for a hug once he closed the door behind himself. With your arms wrapped around his shoulders, you smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“I think you have made a little friend, Dr. May,” you squeezed your lips together to stop from laughing.

“I think I have!” He pecked the tip of your nose. “Goodnight.”

Brian kissed you again, his arms still wrapped around your waist, although this time you felt attached to him, refusing to let him go, heat spreading from within your stomach as you felt lips move against yours ever so slowly. Following his lead you slid your hands down his neck and followed the line provided by his unbuttoned shirt, tickling him with the tips of your fingers.

Recognising the need in your kiss, Brian pulled you closer, sneaking his hands down your back until he reached your butt and squeezed you against him, making you whine.

“Don’t leave,” you mumbled against his lips, barely opening your eyes with your nose grazing his as you felt your heartbeat quicken.

Unable to resist, Brian tilted his head and captured your lips in a new hard kiss. He slid his tongue inside your mouth and made you weak in the knees.

Stepping back in the direction of your room down the hall, you slipped from his grasp with swollen lips.

“You coming?” You asked him playfully.

Brian followed as you turned around and made your way to your own room, throwing your jacket away on the floor as Brian closed the door behind you, locking it just in case. You went to your dresser to take your earrings off and step out of your shoes, only for Brian to come up behind you. His hand pulls your hair to the side and he starts kissing your neck, now touching your sides and pushing his body on yours, his growing erection pressed against your arse. You tilt your head to the side and finish taking the earrings and bracelets off in time for his hands to come up and squeeze your breasts. You had only slept together a couple of times, but you already knew that he could get quite dominant if he meant to. Seemingly, tonight he was going for it.

“You’re so soft,” he spoke on your ear and you were left with nothing to do but let him feel you up in front of your dresser mirror.

You gasped at his touch once his calloused hands went under your skirt and squeezed your butt, reaching up you tangled your hands on his hair and arched your back against him. Brian’s hands followed the line of your panties and then he sneaked his hand inside them, his fingers brushing right over your clit, your legs almost giving out as he went further and slid two fingers inside your wet pussy, pumping them rather harshly as he watched you in the mirror. Eyes closed and mouth hanging open.

“Brian…” you felt your own juices coating his fingers as his fingers fucked you.

Brian kissed your shoulder and you touched his cheek, a miserable moan escaping your lips as you tried to stand on your feet the whole time.

“Feels good?” Brian bit your shoulder. “Does it feel good, love?”

“Yes…” you had to support yourself on the dresser when he slid his thumb across your clit, his fingers still working your pussy. “Brian-yes!” You felt yourself edging closer as he curled his fingers inside you, playing with you a little rough. “I want you, I want you so bad...Bri…” You admitted.

“Show me.”

Brian watched in ecstasy as you started to come undone under his touch. You opened your eyes and found him staring, you stared back into his dark eyes as he brought you closer to the edge, and finally, you bit your lip as you came, aware that you could not get too loud with Danny in the house.

Brian took in a deep breath as you clenched around his fingers and he loved the feeling, knowing he was making you feel this good. He let go of you and watched as you turned around in wobbly legs; you kissed him and sucked on his bottom lip.

“Can I make you feel good too, Bri?” You started undoing a couple of buttons Brian actually buttoned that morning.

With a smile you pushed his shirt off and pushed your dress off, letting it fall to the ground and pool around you as you took off your bra and watched Brian take his pants off. You climbed on the bed and pulled the covers away so at least those would be at the feet of the bed and wouldn’t be stained with your body fluids by morning. Brian dropped his underwear along with the rest of your clothes and climbed on top of you, kissing your back and leaving a trail up your body with his lips. You turned and faced him, eager to take off your panties, you kissed his cheek and neck as you wiggled out of the little pink underwear, now soaked by your previous orgasm. You watched Brian lick his lips before kissing you, returning the gesture he bit your lip and made you moan when he pulled your legs apart and teased you by sliding his cock along your slit. You wrapped your legs around his waist and put your arms under his, brushing his back with your fingertips as you arched your back, giving him good access to your neck and breasts. Brian gave your neck small playful bites and left open-mouthed kisses along the valley of your breasts before taking his cock in his hand, driving it right into your wetness, he pressed his nose against your cheek and reveled in the feeling of your tight pussy around him as he sank inside you in a single hard thrust, your moan lost in a gasp as you felt him fill you up. With little time to adjust you dug your nails on his back and kissed his cheek and chin as he pulled almost all the way out, thrusting his hips right back into yours, picking up a steady pace soon, leaving you moaning and gasping for air, your hips jerking up to meet his, your body felt hot and his skin on yours was the sweetest burn of them all… You hooked your leg to his hip and felt your toes curl in pure pleasure as his cock brushed against your most sensitive spot, somewhere so deep inside you your first instinct was to clench around him. Brian moaned along with you, feeling close, encouraged by the quiet sounds leaving your mouth, you just felt so good wrapped around him. So warm and welcoming.

“Bri, don’t stop, I-” you slid your hands down his back and tried your best to pull him closer to you, wanting nothing more than to have him buried inside you, fucking you so well, you threw your head, “‘m cumming…”

“Yeah?” Brian remained relentless in his ministrations, “cum for me, love.”

Brian breathed heavily against your neck, his hips losing their regular pace as he too neared his own orgasm; he kissed your collarbone and pulled your hips forward as he fucked you through your high, feeling your walls clench and release and clench again around him. So perfect he could not help himself, he emptied his seed inside you.

Your hand dragged up to his shoulders and you cupped his face with one hand, watching his face as he came, his cock twitching inside you still; his eyes were closed and his mouth pouted the form of a little “o”. You kissed the corner of his lips and felt his lips look for yours, letting him find them you kissed again, your bodies brushing against each other for a moment longer before Brian pulled away and rolled away from you on his back so he would not crush you under his weight when he collapsed, exhausted as he was.

After a few minutes catching your breaths, Brian rolled on his side and kissed your shoulder, seeing some marks left by himself all over your body.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up and going into your bathroom.

Brian helped you clean up and after throwing the paper towel away, he came back to bed, holding you in his arms as you rested your head on his chest.

“I’m so glad I didn’t give up birth control…” you mumbled half-jokingly.

“That’ll be two of us.” Brian agreed, his thumb caressing your skin as it went back and forth.

“Only two,” you tilt your head back and look up at him, “Danny has been wondering if I’ll “get him” a brother soon.”

Brian simply chuckled. “What have you told him?”

“I offered to take him to the movies instead,” you smile and laugh, covering your face for a moment, “he forgot everything about it!”

Brian laughed along with you, pulling you closer to him. “I tell you, wonderful child!”

#brian may #brian may imagine #present day brian may #present day stuff #present day brian may x reader #present day brian may x young reader #young reader is a mom #reader is a mom #brian may fic #brian may fanfiction #brian may fluff #brian may smut #queen #queen fandom #queen fanfiction

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wee-miss-noone · 4 years

Text

C’est la Vie, C’est la Mort (or an Odd Encounter in a Bar)

Warning: the following content includes foul language AKA swearing, mentions of violence and death. Nothing explicit though.

It’s also not so well written but hey, everyone has their hobby. And this is mine. Pseudomacarbe stories.

Read at your own risk.

I curse thee, I curse thee for eternity...

I was walking, not sure how long. Maybe hours, maybe years. Stumbling through the streets and roads, from nowhere to nowhere, without purpose or goal. Just keep moving, do not stay in one place too long. I was a leaf in the wind, never free to rest. Welcome nowhere and never satisfied. How it went? Unyielding. Restless. Yeah, that old chestnut. I cracked up at the cruelty of that joke and paused for a moment. I looked around. I arrived in a city. Or so I assumed. It looked like a ghost town, empty, dirty and forgotten. Windows shattered, glass shards glimmering on the pavement that’s cracked and filled with holes. Walls covered with graffiti and stains of questionable origin. Signs with names of streets missing, fences torn down, most of them having already succumbed to wildlife and weather.

Only one place was still open in here. It was a small shabby-looking bar right in front of me, not very well kept at that, though far from falling apart. The neon sign blinked weakly, only half of it lit, so I couldn't even figure out the name of the place. A bar at the end of the world. An absolute shithole for a complete loser. How did the old master put it? The smelliest shit attracts the most flies. Yeah.

I stared at the bar for a long while, the neon sign blinking back at me.

A drink does sound nice…

I entered.

The inside had only slightly more charm than the outside. The bar consists of only one room, the furniture - an odd mixture of long wooden tables and small metal ones, ordinary wooden chairs, an old piano, three or five tall leather chairs next to the bar. The black and white wallpaper although lacking vulgar drawings had yellowed with time and smoke and was coming off at the corners, revealing grey concrete walls underneath. There were no decorations, no pictures on the walls, no flowers aside from some withered weeds standing on every other table along with a cheap yellow candle. A low hanging dusty chandelier in the middle of the room was giving out weak light, not enough to cast aside the shadows lurking in every corner. Some of them even looked alive. More than some of the customers anyways.

I shivered as I made my way to the last free table at the back of the bar.

Luckily, none of the customers seemed to as much as lift their head to acknowledge my existence, sketchy figures looming over their drinks.

The barman glared at me like I was an intruder. Must not be used to strangers coming by. Or maybe I just looked that bad.

I murmured something incoherent to him - a half-apology, half-order - and his frown deepened as he vanished behind the curtain separating the bar from the back.

Firstly, I fought he was going to call some sort of security, a bouncer or a neighbour to kick me out. However, as soon as I sat down he appeared at my table with a surprisingly clean glass and a bottle of what I presumed was whisky. No questions asked.

That was an hour ago.

I blink at the bar through an almost empty glass. Not even alcohol makes this place look better. Who would have thought that an attention seeker like me would end up hiding his face from the rest of the world? And in such a dump nonetheless. But then again, shit and flies...

“For your pride, for your crime against heavens as great and grave as it was, you shall be punished...”

“Can I sit here?”

A sweet voice interrupts the unpleasant memories.

I look up.

In front of me stands a woman in a long red dress, her luxurious manicured fingers already set possessively on the table. She perfectly contradicts her surroundings. It must have taken hours (and more than one person) to make her hair and make-up. Although she wears no accessories her dress looks expensive too. Her figure stands out in this yellowish shabby bar more than a diamond in the mud. She's too fancy for this place, too elegant. Too alive. What happened to her to come to a place like this? Better not ask. She might ask back.

“Until now you have only sewn without once thinking about consequences - from now on you shall only reap.”

She leans over the table in the most provocative way, revealing the full depth of her cleavage.

“Can, I sit here? Pretty, please?” she tilts her head with anticipation.

Then I realize I must have been staring at her for too long.

“I...ugh, sure,” I mumble at last like a total imbecile.

She smiles and sits down.

“Are you new here?” she purrs seductively.

"I've never seen you around."

This woman's a regular?

“I’ve never been to this bar before,” I admit choking down the last bits of my drink. She bites her bottom lip.

“Is that so? So what about I show you around, stranger?”

I look into her eyes, dark and deep like an endless night. I can see them asking for my name.

“Thine name shall be fear, thine friends shall be worms. The grave shall be thine home, funeral thine party.”

“You better let it be, “ I breath out.

“Why such a grave expression now?” she jokes, not aware of the irony of her words.

“Nothing, ” I growl as I raise my glass, but then I realize it’s empty.

She laughs. A nice hearty laugh so at odds with what I have been hearing for the last few days.

“Where are my manners, darling!? ” she snaps her fingers at the barman. “Joe, whisky and white martini!”

The barman growls something back and starts messing with bottles behind the bar.

“Drinks are on me,” the woman winks at me.

“Well, at least this round.”

“Thanks, but you really shouldn’t get involved with someone like me,” I protest, but I don't sound too convincing.

“You have no idea how dangerous I am.”

She leans in, my words only seem to attract her more.

“Oh, stranger danger?"

Her gaze slips down to my lips. Oh, gods those eyes…

Just when I think she’s about to kiss me, she leans back on her chair, with a mischievous expression.

“We are just two lost souls getting a drink, nothing more. So what’s the problem?”

Her eyes study me. I shiver but don’t look away. She seems to enjoy this little game.

“You shall spread only death whenever you go, whoever you meet. No matter whether you wish to, no matter whether a child, a mother, a king a peasant, your scythe shan’t stop.”

The barman brings the drinks. I turn my attention to the glass with gratitude.

“Nothing,” I dodge the question as I take a sip.

“I Nothing a drink wouldn’t fix.”

Total lie, but I like the idea.

“It seems that you had a hard day, huh?” she asks playing with her glass.

“No love, no mercy, no justice. Life will spit on you, the living will despise your very existence.”

I turn the glass bottoms up.

“You have no idea.”

“I take it that you don’t want to talk about it,” she notes playing with the withered rose in the centre of the table for a change.

I nod.

“Give it a minute. Or eternity, “ I add.

“You have all the time in the world, “ she replies. She starts pulling on the petals of the wilted rose in the vase in the middle of the table.

I pull out a cigarette and light it with the candle in the centre of the table. The burst of flame for a moment illuminates our scene. The bare wooden table, her, me, the cigarette, two empty glasses, the small red rose in her hands, as dry as the drink of my companion.

Or as dead as me.

I watch her hands, mainly because I don't dare to look at her face again.

They never seem to stay still, always doing something. Now, they stop pulling on the petals of the rose and take the flower and put it behind the woman's ear. She notices me looking at her and winks. I'm looking at her face again. Damnit.

“What are you doing?” I ask trying to cover up how uncomfortable I am.

She tilts her head with feigned naivete.

“Flirting. Obviously.”

She motions towards my cigarette.

“Just as you are.”

I cough on the cigarette smoke.

Flirting? I did not intend to do that. But… She looks damn sexy in this light.

A lazy smile - an old long-forgotten friend of mine - spreads across my face.

Maybe, a one-night stand would be such a bad idea.

A few drinks, then go to her place and vanish before she wakes up. Or maybe a heated moment behind the bar would be enough. Clothes off but shoes still on, she captured between me and the wall, whispering my name …

“Thou shall become a dark angel, the king of the underworld, the servant of the fate, master of eternal sleep...”

The smile vanishes from my lips. Or, maybe not. Shit.

I gulp and shook my head.

“We really shouldn't do this.”

“Why not?”

I should stand up and leave. I should tell her I have a girlfriend or something. Instead, I look at her and tell the ugly truth.

“I’m cursed."

Her smile doesn’t wither - only grows brighter. She must think I’m joking.

“Oh, no!” she exclaims, clapping her hands and turns to the barman.

“Joe! Two glasses of Rosarita and leave the bottle here, when you’re at it!”

“Alright! And stop putting the table decorations into your hair, got it?!”

The woman rolls her eyes on him and then pats my hand understandingly. This is even better, she thinks I’m a lunatic.

“How did it happen?” she asks. Her voice was no longer that flirtatious undertone.

Now, it’s caring… but also curious. Too curious.

“I should be going!” I pull my hand away and stand up quickly, maybe away too quickly.

My head starts spinning and I grab the table to regain balance.

”You shall see people die, but thee thyself shan’t rest - you became immortal.”

Of all the things that could have remained from my humanity, it’s alcohol intoxication.

A grin appears on my face, bitter like the bile rising in my throat. I make a step forward and almost fall.

“Ho-ho, young fella,” the barman grabs me by the shoulder and helps me sit down.

"You no abrupt movements.”

Strange, now I understand his mumbling completely. Must be the drinks.

He pours me a glass and forces it into my hand.

The drink is red like blood.

Twenty-nine of the people I saw dying today, were bleeding. Fifteen stab wounds, twelve bullet wounds and two child labours. I didn’t help one. I was not supposed to. I was not able to.

“It’s fine,” I hear the woman’s calm voice.

“You can tell me. I won’t judge you. It’s not in my nature.“

She sounds convincing as if she honestly believed me. The best goddamn actress I had ever seen.

I drink. The red liquid is cold but soothing.

“I messed some shit up,” I confess and pour another one. The drink untangle my tongue and now everything up

“I thought myself to be a god. I was an aristocrat and a spoiled kid. And I enjoyed life a bit too much. Hunting, girls. Then the war came. It was the same for me. Killing, girls - though they were dirtier and less welcoming than before. Then the peace came, they celebrated me as a hero. I was a hero. And I had everything. Hunting, killing and one girl.”

“Oh,” the woman sounds like she regrets asking and I - in need to clear my name - shout.

“We were happy!” I close my eyes and Mia’s face appears in front of me. “We were happy. But she was the only child of the highest priest, and she was betrothed to heavens. They took her. I thought I can get her back. I had power, I had an army…”

“You didn’t have a brain,” the woman concludes.

I chuckle at my own pitifulness.

“And so I became.. this. A cursed fool, not dead, not alive. Doing nothing but taking lives."

The ultimate curse.

“So, he’s the guy Q’s been bitching about?” an unknown voice wonders.

I open my eyes and look up.

There are at least three human faces, one dog-like face, two skulls and three shapeless chunks of darkness, all watching me intently.

“Yeah,” replies one of those darknesses - the one with one bloody red eye in the middle.

“Where is he from?” another customer asks.

“From Q’s world, duh!”

“Do I look like I know which world is Q’s?”

“You know that world with that giant sexy goddess,” the barman mixes in.

“I know at least a thousand… two hundred and thirty-four goddesses like that.”

“I think her name is-”

“Myo-,” I fill in automatically still in shock. Is this the alcohol’s doing? No, my companion looks like before.

Then what am I seeing? Demons? Or worse? No, that’s not it...

One of the skeletons - the one with a large gold bow tie - laughs victoriously. His bones rattle against each other.

“Yes, Myo!”

“Isn’t that the world Q works in?” intrigues eye-less darkness floating above the barman’s head.

“Fired.”

“We were just talking about that. Are you sitting on your ears or what?”

“I don’t have ears.”

“Oh, apologies.”

“Poor Q, wonder where’s he gonna end up?”

“I heard there’s a free spot in the Rabbit world now.”

I look up all the sudden sober.

“Who is Q?” I ask.

And who are you? I want to add, but I don’t to my surprise more because of embarrassment than fear.

“Oh, Q?” replies the head of a dog - attached to a completely healthy human body as I notice.

“That was the guy who was the Grim Reaper before you. He’s sitting right there.”

He points to a corner of the room. I follow his hand and look behind me.

In the corner of the bar, sits a man in a long dark robe, a pint of black beer in hand. It wasn’t hard to understand where he got his nickname from. His face was a perfect white oval framed with black hair and goat beard sticking out to the side in one slick tail. A literal Q.

He glances in my direction and our eyes meet. He growls, then looks away.

“I wouldn’t go after him if I were you,” the bow tie skeleton advises me.

“Especially if I were you. He’s still bitter over losing his job. He really liked the place.”

I stand up.

“Well, he can have it back. I don’t want it,” I say, hopefully, loud enough for him to hear me. However, the man with the dog’s head stops me and puts a and on my shoulder.

“Sorry, mate, that’s not how it works.”

“Anu is right,” my original companion joins in.

“Myo won’t allow it. As a matter of fact, I do believe that the only reason you got "punished" this way, was so she would get rid of him. She hated the guy.”

“Yes, Writers know why,” the bow-tie skeleton notes and pats me on the shoulder.

“That’s a Grim Reaper’s life for ya,” he says with a sigh.

I clench my fists. Then let go when it clicks.

All of it.

I look over all the faces and not-so-faces around me.

It’s so clear no, so much so I want to beat myself over the head for not getting it sooner..

“You are Grim Reapers,” I mumble under my breath.

“You are deaths. All you.”

The dog man and my original companion (Gods I should ask for her name finally) both nod. The one-eyed darkness rolls its one eye and scoffs.

“Hardly all of us,” they reply, “though this was originally supposed to be a Death bar for Deaths!”

Their last loud remark is obviously aimed at the table a few feet to the right. Behind it sits a skeletal woman and a gorgeous muscled well-tanned man in a toga.

"Life and Death," springs to my mind immediately.

The woman perks up at the remark and turns to our table. Her watery eyes narrow as she stands up and wavers only ever so slightly. (Two empty bottles of wine on the table are a clear indicator of the cause.)

“You have a problem with me, wench?” she hisses.

The one-eyed darkness floats up. They seem to grow in size - both the eye and the darkness.

“I have many problems, but you seem to have one more,” their voice comes in an otherworldly rumble.

“And that is not knowing when to stop showing off your plaything.”

The place woman steps closer. She also grows in size, her figure becoming more and more skeletal with each step. A sword appears in her hand. It’s made of bones.

“I just wanted to have one. ONE! Nice Valentine’s day with my boy,” she shouts, her voice howling like a storm. "But some bitter bitches just can’t seem to my their business.”

“Better bitch than a slut,” the darkness spats out. The big eye is blood red and more small eyes ope around it yellow and red and burning. The pale woman’s sword emulates cold, freezing everything around it.

“This is bad,” I think, but I also hear soft chanting.

Catfight, catfight!

A small part of me wants to join in.

“Hey, cut it out!” the barman’s voice resonates through burning and freezing air.

“Just because this weekend’s theme night is ‘A Shitty Pub From a Noir Detective Story’ doesn’t mean I will tolerate this sort of behaviour!”

Two opponents look at him with murder in their eyes, but the darkness turns smaller and the cold subsides a bit.

“ Really, you two," the barman shakes his head.

"Either get along or get out."

“They started it!” the pale woman shrieks. Fortunately, her masculine partner is next to her now putting his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

“Shhh, honey,” he whispers to her and throws an apologetic smile at the barman and the darkness.

“Sorry, she had a bit too much to drink. I left the check at the table, you can keep the tip. Now, common darling...”

“B-but, they were mean about youuuu,” the pale Death vails, “and I was defending your Honouuuuur.”

“I know, darling and you did great,” the Life smiles at her soothingly, as he pushes her towards the exit.

“But now let’s get you sobered up. Your brother needs a little break from subbing from you all night."

The darkness finally shrinks to their previous size, all eyes but the central one disappearing.

“I really can’t stand her,” they grumble.

“You can't stand anyone who has a better relationship with their personification of life than you,” the bow tie skeleton notes.

The darkness glares at him like they wanted to hurt him, but then just scoffs and floats away.

“Sorry, about that, darling,” the bow tie skeleton looks at me apologetically.

“The Destroyer of Life and Bringer of Death can be quite crabby. You get used to it.”

Used to it. Those words send a shiver running down my spine.

“I rather not,” I mumble and my gaze wanders back to Q’s seat. He’s not there anymore. Maybe went for the toilet or whatever the reapers needed to go to.

The woman in the red dress notices my look and sighs.

“I know the beginnings can be hard,” she says, “especially if you haven’t been.. born for the business.”

I look into her eyes. They are still so ridiculously full of life it makes me want to laugh. Or scream.

“Well, I would prefer to leave this whole thing at the beginning. Is there perhaps a chance for you taking my place seeing you are all experienced?” I quip but I know what the answer will be.

She shakes her head again.

“I have my own domain darling. We all do. Our own responsibilities. And our own paperwork. But we will try to help you as much as we can,” she adds.

I want to scoff at such a cheap offer, but honestly, I hope she means it.

“Thanks” I croak.

“That’s the spirit!” the bow tie skeleton pats my back.

“Oh, too soon?”

For some reason his concerned expression makes me laugh.

“It’s fine,” I reply and sit down again.

I look around the bar once more.

A giant monster with skin black as ink, flaming red hair and skull necklace around each of its three necks walks in. When it notices the dog-headed man, it waves at him. The dog-headed man waves back and goes to greet it. The others leave as well. The one-eyed angry one goes to a box, accompanied by another skeleton and the bald man. The other two darknesses leave together to the bar to greet a tall woman with long hair tied with a white ribbon. One half of the face is beautiful and the other lacking any skin or muscle. She snacks on peanuts.

The bow tie skeleton orders some too and brings a chair to my table.

He pulls out a packet of cards.

We still have time for one round before the bar closes (which is at three a.m., I have no idea how I know that, but I do).

He mixes the cards and starts distributing them among the three of us. I still don’t know the name of either of them.

So I ask.

Her name is pretty, he is impossible for me to pronounce without losing my vocal cords. We settle on Monty.

The barman brings more drinks. A martini for the lady, Rosarita for the newbie, angel dust for the gentleman.

And then we play.

#short story #death #death bar #bad puns #death puns #mid swearing #mentions of violence and death #writing #idk whz I even bother with tags noone's gonna read this anyways #HAHAHAHAHA #HAHAHA #HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA #PFFFF

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