#but seriously what I would GIVE to go to an Aurora concert

[fuzzytadpole]

I love her music SO MUCH!!!

Definitely recommend for any alterhumans, but especially therians, alienkin, and diety/angelkin.

Some of my go-to’s are, of course, running with the wolves and runaway. But also it happened quiet, animal, forgotten love, inhale exhale, all is soft inside, dance on the moon, under stars, and soft universe. The ones that can and will make me sob are a different kind of human and mothership immediately after each other. :)

#Aurora #aurora aksnes #therian #alterhuman #angelkin #alienkin #dietykin #music #song recommendations #I made a meme template haha #but seriously what I would GIVE to go to an Aurora concert

[abundanceofsoph]

SkyFire 1: Chapter 12

London: January 2014 

Word count: 1.7k

SkyFire 1 MASTERLIST

>Instagram posts

On the 2nd of January, Aurora once again made her way back to the Golden Stag. She offered a wave of greeting to Greg behind the bar when she walked through the front door and headed over to one of the booths along the wall to wait. Her best friend, Ella, walked through the door 15 minutes later.

“Sorry I’m late,” the blonde yelled as she barrelled into the pub, a hurricane of energy as always. Aurora laughed as Ella rushed toward her and she stood just in time to catch the other girl in a hug.

“I think I’d genuinely die of shock if you ever arrived anywhere on time,” Aurora replied when they both pulled apart and sat down at the table. Greg appeared a few moments later with a coke for Ella and a sprite for Rori, the two girls too predictable for him to need their drink orders. “Thanks Greg,” Rori cheered, taking a sip of her drink.

“You’re welcome,” the older man said. “Good to see you El. What can I get you girls?”

“I’ll have the fish and chips please,” Ella ordered, while Rori nodded and gestured that she would have the same. As Greg walked away from the table the girls dove into discussion. Despite having lived in separate countries for the last 2 and a half years, they had successfully maintained their friendship, rarely going more than a day or two without messaging or calling each other. As such there wasn’t as much to catch up on since they’d last seen each other on Rori’s last visit as one would expect. Rori explained in minute detail every aspect of the AMAs, only glossing over some of her interactions with Harry, keeping most of their conversations private, while giving Ella enough details to keep her friend satisfied and sufficiently excited.

They’d mostly finished their food when Ella’s head snapped up to meet Rori’s gaze. “Shit I totally forgot that Mum told me to invite you and your dads for dinner tonight.”

“Can I get a rain check?” Rori replied, “I’ve got plans tonight.”

“What kind of plans?”

“Dinner and a games night apparently.”

“With who?”

“No one you know.”

“Are they famous?” Ella asked, “because I know that I’m the only one you stayed in contact with after you moved to the states so it’s no one from school.”

“Yeah, they’re famous,” Rori replied, scrunching up her face in response to the word.

“Enough of that, spill. Who is it?”

“You’re not allowed to freak out, Ok?”

“Ok,” Ella agreed excitedly, causing Rori to shake her head with a chuckle.

“It’s at Louis Tomlinson’s house.” The other people in the bar turned to stare at the girls as Ella squealed. “I thought I said you couldn’t freak out,” Rori chided.

“Louis fucking Tomlinson?” Ella asked in shock. “How the fuck is Louis Tomlinson inviting you to his house?”

“Actually, Harry invited me,” Aurora explained.

“Harry Styles invited you to games night at Louis Tomlinson’s house?”

“Please stop saying their full names like that,” Rori begged. “It’s weird.”

“Well I’m sorry I’m not on a first name basis with Louis Tomlinson or Harry Styles,” Ella replied. “You better start talking right now because you have been holding out on me, I thought you said you’d just been talking with Harry a little since the AMAs but know he’s inviting you to Louis house so you’ve clearly skipped some pertinent details.”

“Ok, we’ve maybe spent a bit of time together since I flew in on Sunday,” Rori admitted.

“Oh My God!” Ella gasped. “You sneak. Tell me everything. Wait is Harry who you spent New Year’s Eve with? You said you had an industry party but were you really with him?”

“First of all, it was an industry party, but yes I did go to it with Harry, but we actually caught up the day before for lunch. I swear to god you better not shriek again but he asked me to be his girlfriend.” Aurora rolled her eyes as Ella clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle her excited response. “You can’t say a word to anyone El,” Aurora said. “Please, you know what the Directioners are like. We just want to keep it out of the media for now.”

“Of course, I’ll keep it secret,” El promised. “Can I tell mum though?” She breathed a sigh of relief when the brunette nodded. “ You have to admit that this is bizarre,” Ella continued. “Imagine going back in time and telling 15 year old Rori that she’d grow up to date Harry. Omg your kids are gonna be so adorable and the wedding! The wedding will be the event of the fucking season.”

“Easy El,” Rori laughed. “We’ve been dating for 3 days, let’s not go talking about weddings and kids ok.”

“Seriously though. We went to the X Factor finale and were crying when they didn’t win and now you know them and talk to them and you’re going to their game’s night! You better introduce me at some point or you’re a terrible best friend.”

“I promise I will introduce you,” Rori told her best friend. “Just give me a month or two to get used to the idea myself. Trust me I’m just as overwhelmed by the idea as you are. I mean I’m kind of freaking out about tonight.”

“Oh, babe don’t,” Ella said. “They’ll all love you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Rori replied nervously.

They stayed at the pub for another few hours, chatting and laughing before Aurora had to leave to go back to the hotel to get ready before dinner. As they were leaving Greg popped out from behind the bar to give both girls a hug goodbye and reminding Rori that he would see her on Saturday night for her birthday dinner with himself, Helen and Rori’s dads.

xXx

Aurora let out a nervous breath as the Addison Lee pulled up outside the white expanse of Louis’ north London house. Harry was waiting on the doorstep for her, stepping forward to open her door and offered her a hand as she exited the car. He pulled her in for a tight hug as the car drove away and then kissed her briefly before pulling back to look at her.

“Hi,” he greeted, smiling brightly down at her.

“Hi,” Rori echoed with a laugh.

“Shall we?” Harry asked, gesturing to the front door in front of them. Aurora nodded, placing her hand on his offered elbow as he ushered her into the high ceilinged foyer. “Everyone’s out back,” he said as they walked down the hallway.

“Who exactly is everyone?” Aurora asked.

“Louis and his girlfriend Eleanor, Liam and his girlfriend Sophia, Zayn and Niall,” Harry listed. “We always get together after we spend Christmas with our families,” Harry explained. “We have a games night with the girlfriends and just hang out as friends before all the craziness of touring kicks off again.”

“Sounds like fun,” Rori said as the pair finally reached the back of the large house to find the previously mentioned group sat around a fire pit on the patio.

“Aurora!” Louis cheered when they came into view. “So glad you came, Love. Harrold, the UberEats delivery should be here in a minute, be a lad and go grab it for us.” Harry looked to Rori hesitantly, not wanting to abandon her immediately after arriving. “Oh, just go,” Louis continued, “I’ll introduce your girl.”

Harry turned on his heel and walked back into the house, leaving Rori to approach the circle of friends sitting around the fire pit, taking one of the two empty seats. “So everyone, this is Aurora,” Louis announced, before pointing to each person and providing Rori with their names.

“It’s so nice to meet you all,” Rori offered, “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Eleanor replied, “and of course you got an invite. It’s a right of passage for anyone dating one of this idiots.”

Harry returned shortly after, his arms loaded up with pizza boxes, chicken wings and rolls of garlic bread. “Grubs up!” he announced cheerfully as he dumped everything onto the table beside the fire and then collapsed into the seat next to Rori. “They’re not given you a hard time, are they?” he asked his girlfriend.

“Not at all,” Rori said, smiling as he reached out for her hand, threading their fingers together.

The night was spent chatting, eating and drinking, as well as playing Uno, a disastrous attempt at monopoly, snap and go fish. Rori had been surprised to find the boys very easy to talk to and it took very little time for her to shake off her nerves. By the time she had been halfway through her second slice of pizza she had almost forgotten that the young men surrounding her where the same boys she had screamed at in concert years ago. Hours later, when the fire had burned down to a few embers and everyone but Rori was 4 or 5 drinks in, they sat in the near darkness talking quietly. Rori found herself talking football with Louis given that her team, AFC Wimbledon, had recently played his Doncaster Rovers in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy the previous month. The pair found themselves deep in conversation about the league tables, completely unaware of the soft look Harry was throwing their way, so happy to see his girlfriend and one of his brothers getting along so quickly and easily.

Eventually everyone started to yawn, and the night wound its way to its conclusion with cars called and everyone hugging each other goodbye. Harry walked with Aurora to the front door, waiting with her until her car arrived to take her back into the city. He held open the door for her as she climbed in and then surprised her by joining her on the backseat.

“And where do you think you’re going?” she chuckled as he leaned his head against her shoulder, his lips pressing gently against her neck.

“Not ready to call it a night,” he mumbled, his hand coming to rest on her waist. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, ever the gentleman, even if a little tipsy. Aurora nodded slightly as he mouthed his way up along her jaw, finally reaching her lips and the pair continued to make out for the entire ride to Rori’s hotel.

NEXT CHAPTER

OR CONTINUE READING ON AO3

#skyfire #skyfire fic #aurora stark #dad!tony #stepd dad steve rogers #iron dad #stony #stony fic #boyfriend harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #superfamily #harry styles #tony stark

[dotzines]

Artist Spotlights!

🎤 Keldan 🥁 KentuckyTheFried 🎷 Kisse

🎺 lemonbaristas 🎸 LicoriceRoll 🎻 Linkyu

Interview below the cut!

Introduce yourself

🎤 I'm a hobbyist artist. Wander around the Fire Emblem fanbase mostly. Social media: https://twitter.com/KeldanCon 🥁 Hi there! I’m a 19 year old hobby artist with a passion for designing OCs and fantasy/sci-fi characters. I’ve been drawing seriously for the past three years, but only got into digital art in September 2018. I’m active on Twitter (@KentuckyTheFry) 🎷 I’m a commission artist with a media background. I enjoy drawing cats, plants and lgbt+ topics. You can find my art on my website at juliusjoki.com, on instagram at @kissegram or on twitter at @kissecatte. 🎸 Hey there! Im an art student, I draw on both digital and traditionnal, mainly fandom stuff~ You can find me on twitter and insta @Licoriceroll , and tumblr @lico-arts :) 🎻 Hi, I’m Linkyu; I am here as a digital artist, but I’m also an independent game developer at Duality Workshop. My favourite genre is Sci-Fi, closely followed by Fantasy. I like to write dark themed stories, but most of the time I’ll make sure to make them hopeful. I don’t like sad endings. I'm currently most active on twitter, where you can find most of my recent art here: https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3ALinkyuTL%20%F0%9F%8E%A8&src=typed_query&f=live

Do you do commissions post? Where can we find the info?

🥁 My comms are always open and available right here: https://twitter.com/kentuckythefry/status/1171914175028875270 🎷 http://teaspionage.com/blog/work-and-commissions/ 🎸 https://twitter.com/LicoriceRoll/status/1151212909067931649 🎻 I do, actually; it's the pinned post of my twitter: https://twitter.com/LinkyuTL/status/1197969362096992257

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing?

🎤 Between music and contingency podcasts. 🥁 All the time! I actually find it hard to draw WITHOUT something in the background. I usually listen to music, but if I’m in a particularly good headspace and have a ton of work to do, I’ll listen to episodes of Critical Role ~ 🎷 I listen to music almost all the time and spotify is my best friend. I also watch a lot of documentaries while I draw. 🎸 I never do anything without music playing, silence gets too lonely ._. 🎻 Yes, although I tend to avoid lyrical songs because otherwise I end up distracting myself singing along and… not … drawing,,,

What’s your favorite music artist/band? If you could ask your favorite band/music artist one question, what would it be?

🎤 Nightwish. Are you ever gonna make a recorded concert with a full orchestra? 🥁 Right now my favorite artist is Aurora, and if I got the chance I would ask her for a hug - she strikes me as he type of person who would give good hugs xD 🎷 I don’t have a single favourite but I’ve been listening to a lot of Japanese rock music and city pop recently. Right now I’d like to know what art styles the members of BUCK-TICK find the most inspiring. 🎸 My favorite band is BBHF (ex Galileo Galilei) 🎻 Dave Grohl, by far. He is the musical embodiment of the philosophy that I adhere to.

Do you play an instrument? If not would you like to play one? Which one?

🎤 Guitar and keyboard. 🥁 I’ve been playing guitar for twelve years and violin for ten! If I got the chance I’d love to learn cello or harp. 🎷 I used to play the violin before I lost my instrument. I’m also interested in the bass guitar. 🎸 I never took actual classes but a friends taught me the basics of ukulele and piano. Outside of that I just sing a lot~ 🎻 I've played a fair amount of bass guitar, and some normal guitar too. I've started picking up the keyboard again for composition too, and I'd like to do some drums too in the future, actually.

Which song(s) are you going to draw?

🎤 Children of Bodom - All Twisted 🥁 I’m drawing Godhunter by Aviators! (It’s a BOP, highly recommend) 🎷 Morning Hangover by King Quartz 🎸 Im drawing Tsugi no Hi from BBHF 🎻 Definitely Hail to the King, from Avenged Sevenfold. Maybe more?

What do you expect from this zine?

🎤 Keep improving my art skills and find some interesting fellow artists to follow. 🥁 I’m challenging myself, in a sense! I always tell myself I’m gonna draw something based on one of my favorite songs but I never do, so this zine was a great opportunity to just sit down and say “yes! I’m drawing this!” ~ 🎷 I’m excited for creating original work and illustrating music as well as looking at how other people have interpreted songs that I know. 🎸 I think it's great to step ouf of my confort zone when it comes to illustrations: drawing for a song can be a lot more abstract than drawing for a specific character. Being more loose with the interpretation is pleasantly freeing ^^ 🎻 I'm mostly in it for more incentive to draw. I don't get commissioned very often, and I tend to neglect my art for other hobbies instead, so participating in zines forces me to keep the pen moving, you know what I mean? Besides, I get to see some nice art and the DotZine community has been great, so, it's also a nice ride.

Anything else you want to add?

🥁 Just some words of inspiration - whatever it is you’re doing, whatever you’re going through, don’t give up on your dreams! You’re stronger than you know 💕 🎻 Keep Rocking 🤘

#Keldan #KentuckyTheFried #Kisse #lemonbaristas #LicoriceRoll #artist spotlight #loop #loop artists

[medea10]

Medea Rambles...It’s Reality

I would really love to put up a review today. Really, I would. And I would love to talk about the latest Pokemon episode, really I would...But, I'm not in the mood. Because of certain events, I'm not in any mood for my usual Sunday shenanigans.

Whenever I pick up my phone and see that damned CNN Alert message, I think one of three things has happened.

1. Trump said or did something incredibly stupid, illegal, or dickheadishly stupid.

2. A celebrity from my childhood died.

3. A massacre has occurred and was caused by gun violence.

And in the past seven days, that third option has come up more often than not. Now, by no means am I fully against guns. It's not my thing, if you like hunting, by all means. If you feel you need it for protection, I don't give a flying fig. However, there are certain guns that really shouldn't be in the hands of anyone. Period! And each time I hear about what a gunman uses, it's usually an AK or an AR-15 or some other monstrosity that really shouldn't be in the hands of (what it seems like) very unstable men. And in a lot of these massacres including the last three prominent tragedies, these very unstable men are under the age of 25.

That is fucking frightening.

Why would anyone want to go to an open place like a school, a Walmart, a gay nightclub, a concert on the Vegas strip, a church, a mosque, a synagogue, a local pub, a college campus, or a garlic festival to shoot up innocent people?

Oh yeah, all of these places have been shot up in the last couple of years. And again I need to say, THREE OF THESE HAPPENED JUST THIS WEEK ALONE!

I remember being in middle school when the Columbine shooting happened and in shock over what I was witnessing. Now it’s by no means the first gun massacre in our country and sure as fuck wasn’t the last. But the mere fact that this was a high school and these were students being slaughtered raised a lot of eyebrows. Now not much action was taken at the time, but there were plenty of back-and-forths over who was to blame for this. Being in middle school, they pretty much blamed all the things I liked including video games, South Park, and Marilyn Manson. Seriously, just because Dylan and Eric listened to Manson, all Manson listeners were going to go on a killing rampage? Fuck you then and fuck you now!

Then I remember 12 years ago with Virginia Tech and freaking out because, hey, I’m a college student. Who’s to say UNM wouldn’t end up on the national news one day because of a tragedy involving gun violence? Then again, I’m just a paranoid, autistic person and I worry over everything.

But then it wouldn’t just be at a school...it would be in places you wouldn’t expect. A strip mall in Arizona. A theater in Aurora, Colorado. And even an elementary school in Connecticut.

Yes, I have to talk about Sandy Hook! Twenty 1st graders and their educators were gunned down. That should have been the final straw in taking some freakin’ action! These were six and seven year olds going to school. AND RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS FOR CORN SAKE! Because of this, my cousin has a quiet room in his home where his daughter used to play and sleep.

Yeah, not-so fun fact about Medea. I have a relation to one of the victims in Sandy Hook.

So imagine my disgust with pukes like Alex Jones attacking these families, calling them out for faking their children deaths. Alex Jones can just drop from the face of the earth and I’ll sleep like a baby at night. But like with Columbine, not much action was done. Even though President Obama tried, he couldn’t get Congress and Senate to pass any kind of gun regulation laws.

I would like to blame it on the fact that both the house and senate were Republican-led at the time and whatever the black president wanted to happen, they told him to sit and spin because fuck your needs! Yeah, I want to say that they’re all a bunch of racist crackers, but most of them are still kinda lobbyed by the NRA. And when I say kinda, I mean, these guys are willing to lick boots for the NRA and screw the safety of the people.

So, no gun regulations happen and more tragedies continue happening. It wasn’t really until the San Bernadino tragedy that lawmakers wanted to do something. But not about gun regulation! No, because in that particular tragedy, the people causing the mayhem were part of ISIS (or so they claim). If the shooter is someone from a different place other than the U.S., they hate us for our freedom and this is terrorism. But if a white guy from Ohio does it, it’s just a sad day in America.

Now there are many of factors to these killers. Mental health is a big factor played in many of these tragedies. Yes, that is a biggie in general. Because people suffering from mental illness are statistically more likely to be a victim of gun violence than to commit one. People only bring up mental illness if the shooter is a white, American-born boy and soon enough, they’ll drop the subject of helping folks with this problem. How about we talk about gun regulation?! Have weapons of war off the streets and out of our homes! No one needs guns that can turn a body into swiss cheese in a matter of seconds given to a regular joe. Oh and once again, nothing happens. Even after we get some of the worst shootings after Sandy Hook! Because while 20 1st graders being gunned down in a classroom was pretty fucked up, we ended up with more obscene tragedies.

Just to name a few, the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, FL where 49 people lost their lives (during Pride Month no less), an outdoor concert on the Las Vegas strip where 58 people died, and another high school shooting in Parkland, FL where 17 students lost their lives. At least with the last shooting I mentioned, the surviving students had ENOUGH and demanded action. In some ways, change did happen. We have a new generation ask the questions my generation didn’t and the generations before ignored it all.

With the swearing-in of a new Congress in January (the first time it was Democratic majority since 2010), the first issue they took up was on gun regulation. And it passed the house! The only problem is that the leader of the senate has refused to let ANY of these bills pass. He just let’s it die. And then you have that same sonuvabitch send out thoughts and prayers? The Congress is trying to do something so we wouldn’t have to go through these horrible tragedies time and time again! Fuck you Mitch! No seriously, fuck you and shove those thoughts and prayers up your ass because we know what you’re all about! We saw you during the days of Sandy Hook!

And so we continue with this wave of gun tragedies! Only now, a lot of these recent shootings seem to have a certain, controversial thing in common. All of them either liked Donald Trump or praised his rhetoric. I know I shouldn’t tie any tragedy to any serving president. I didn’t blame Clinton for Columbine. I didn’t blame Bush for Virginia Tech. And I never blamed Obama for Aurora, Phoenix, or Sandy Hook. But Donald Trump is a whole ‘nother level of blame.

It’s safe to say we’ve NEVER had a president quite like this. Someone who would rile up his supporters in some frightening ways. I don’t want to repeat ANYTHING of what this fool says. He carefully words his statements to his base and watch these fringey people go off the deep-end. When you have a president blaming Mexicans, banning Muslims, and criticizing African-Americans, there’s a lot of toxicity to absorb. And I am sick of it!

A lot tragedies in the past two years have had the essence of Trump lingering around it. The man who sent bombs to Trump’s enemies last fall was a staunch Trump supporter. The man who shot up a Jewish synagogue last year, also believed in Trump’s words. As did the Parkland shooter! Oh, let’s not forget the man who shot up the mosque in New Zealand earlier this year, he believed in Trump too. And same with the two of the three shootings that has happened in the last 7 days. People trying to enjoy themselves as they eat garlic-flavored foodstuffs in Gilroy and families buying things they need for the upcoming school year in a Walmart in El Paso...all of them taken out by white supremacists guided by words of a lunatic leader who believes black and brown people are the enemy.

His words are not helping. His words are damaging.

I know gun violence has been a major issue way before Donald Trump became president. But this recent onslaught of violence is too much to bear. If he was a decent person, he would put an end to his disturbing rhetoric. No more of these “Go back to where you came from” tweets. That means calling out white supremacy when you see it! And cut the shit about good guys on both sides! When you have one side marching and shouting, “Jews Will Not Replace Us” and the other side finding offense to those words, this shouldn’t be a fucking debate!

This country needs to fucking change and change now. Whether it’s through legislation, replacing political representatives with people willing to give a damn, or overthrowing a dictator. Do it and do it now!

Sorry for this rant, but...I’m just tired of this happening over and over again. I’m almost to the point of being numb by these tragedies. And that shouldn’t happen.

[ssnakey-b]

FF8 English-French translarison, part 18: A tribe called Side-quest

Hello again, everybody! It’s been a while but we’re back! Quick refresher: last time, we went over the many differences in the concert scene and the stuff leading up to it.

And now, Squall wakes up and is being summoned to the bridge, but before that, let’s take another look around Balamb Garden and see if there’s anything of interest, shall we?

First little thing, the CC Club. For the most part the dialogue with Jack here (or Valet in French) is pretty much the same in both languages, but there is one small difference, in that in English, the CC members other than the King are described as “Card _____” whereas in French, they are just referred to as their title. So for example, you get “The Knight of Clubs” instead of “Card Knight Club” (by the way, “Knight Club” sounds like the name of a place that specializes in all-sorceress bachelorette parties).

Also, the Joker is referred to as just that, not Magician Joker, although the Jack does call him a magician once.

Here’s something interesting if you talk to Irvine. Most of lines are pretty much the same, except for one, where in French, he says “There’s no big secret to hitting on girls, you gotta look cool!” whereas in English, he gives Squall the following advice: “Like... I’ve been thinking about this for a while now... Maybe you should loosen up a bit? You’ll be sure to get girls that way...!”

Weird that only that one line would be so different. Also, thanks for your input, mister Love Doctor, but I think Squall is going to stick to the patented Loire-Leonhart seduction technique: be lucky enough that you’re so hot girls go after you, and not you after them, in spite of your massive awkwardness”. Seriously, between Laguna’s cramp and Squall’s... self, their family line would have extinguished itself centuries ago if it weren’t for their absurdly good genes and actually had to put any effort into wooing ladies.

Skipping ahead to plot stuff, this is a good spot to tell you that in French, Squall’s title isn’t “commander” but “chef”. And no, that doesn’t mean he’s a cook, that word actually just means “chief” or “boss”. The term used in English comes from the title “chef cuisinier”, which translates as “Head cook”.

But yeah, the French title is kinda lame regardless. It’s such a generic title. Don’t know why they couldn’t use “commandant”, which you know, actually is a military rank and would describe Squall’s role far better. “Chef” sounds more like something cops would call their boss in a TV show. Although I will say, now that I think of it, I so want a whodunnit series where Balamb Garden is a police headquarter.

More importantly, though, we have a very different reaction from Squall depending on the version. In English, he actually gets annoyed and asks Quistis not to call him that. In French, he’s more confused and just repeats “Chef?” as shown above.

Anyway, Squall’s filthy assistants suggest checking on Balamb but fuck that, we’re going on side quests! Yeah, I figure that now that the game world is finally almost completely opened up, it’s a good time to start doing these, and generally exploring. Plus, I’ve worked out a neat way to alternate between side quests and plot stuff at least until the battle of the Gardens, so it’s nice to have a bit of organization for a change.

First stop, Obel Lake. We have another bizarre change here as in the English text, the shadow you can meet after humming a song sends you on a quest to find his friend, Mr. Monkey (and with that, it just occurred to me how freaking weird that game can get). But in the French version, his friend is called “Ryo the idiot”.

Yeah, they’re nothing a like and I really wonder what prompted each version. Again, if you played another localisation of the game and they call it something else, I’d love to hear what it is.

After we find the idiot / monkey / idiot monkey and return to mr. Shadow (hm, is it the same one from Fifth Element?), we have another interesting difference as in French, the shadow says “Booyaka” to great you. Looks like Selphie’s catchphrase did catch on to someone after all!

Now then, you may be aware that relaying his friend’s whereabouts makes the shadow give you some helpful hints as a reward, and of them is to “take some time off at Eldbeak Peninsula”. Once you get there, you find some weird message, and the trick is to literally take the words “time” and “off” away from the message the reveal another hint.

Of course, that would only work in English, so what did they do for the French version? Well, the shadow tells you “Retire tes pompes à Eldbeak Peninsula”, which means “take off your shoes at Eldbeak Peninsula”. And indeed, removing the words “tes pompes” pulls the same trick.

Also, annoyingly, the shadow’s hint refers to the place as Eldbeak Peninsula despite being translated as “Crête d’Eldbeak” in French, and since the hint is in a very specific spot and could find it right away, I ended up wondering if I got to the wrong place at first and started looking futilely around for an Eldbeak Peninsule (or a “Péninsule d’Eldbeak”), until checking the Internet confirmed that I was in the right place at the beginning.

If you go back to the dumbass ape after you manage to skip the rock “many, many times” (or “an incalculable amount of times” in French), he’ll get angry and start yelling “Ahhh! Darn it! Y-You’re just a big loser! I’m able to skip the rock as many times as I want! So there! Ha-Hah! Loser! Dork! Idiot! Your mom wears combat boots!”

Well that certainly was creative, although I think most of the cast except Linoa and Zell is immune to “yo mama” jokes, what with being orphans and all. ANyway, he is a bit more restrained in French, going “For God’ssake! How can anyone suck so bad? What a butterfingers, really! I can skip rocks 100 more times than you!”

Do note I specified “a bit”.

Moving on to Timber, let’s see what’s new. This little girl says her mom will let her have a cat when Timber is independent in both versions, and in both versions, she struggles with the word “independent”, but they way to present it is different. In English, she slowly sounds it out. In French, she mispronounces it as “indéTendant”, with a T instead of a P. Well, can’t blame her, I’d rather have a T than a P too. Thank you all for coming, I’ll be here all week!

This guy says that his girlfriend keeps nagging him, saying he’s a loser. In the English version, he than whines that if someone had told him not to give up back then, he would have tried harder, proving his girlfriend right. Oddly, he doesn’t say that second part in the French version, so you don’t get a hint that you should have encouraged him earlier, because apparently this guy makes career decisions based on the advice of random passers-by.

Here’s a very interesting one as the dialogue with both NPCs goes in waaaaayyyy different directions. In English, the mom says “I’m so proud of my daughter. You guys help your parents out, too while you can. They may not ask for it, but it’ll make them really happy.”

Tssssss... about thaaaaat...

Let’s move swiftly on. In French, she instead says “From time to time, I feel like I am my daughter’s grandmother. Strange, isn’t it?”.

As for the daughter, in English, she says “It”s quite tough being the eldest daughter. I have a lot of responsibilities... But I love my parents who adopted me and my twin brothers.”

Gee whiz, it keeps getting more and more awkward. In French, she says “Sometimes, I feel like I’m my parents’ mom... That’s strange, right?”.

So yeah, very different and all kidding aside, I once again have to give it to the English version, as I like the mention of the kids being adopted. It goes to show that the main characters aren’t the only orphans in that world.

Back to smaller differences with these two. For the most part, their dialogue is the same, with the girl saying she used to get fired up but calmed down later on, and in English, the guy says “you were just as attractive when you used to beat me up.” whereas in French, he says “Oh! The beatings she would give me whenever I tried ti give her a little kiss!”.

Well... still a healthier relationship than 50 Shades of Grey, I suppose. Not by much, but hey...

Inside the pub, in the English version, the lady says it’s called Aphrora and that it’s related to an Aurora. However, in the French version, she straight-up says it’s called Aurora. In both versions, she then adds that it means “drink until you see [an/the] aurora,” but interestingly, in English, she tells us to come back for drinks when we’re older, while in French she jokes that “considering the décor, it should be ‘drink until you stop seeing the horror’.“

But far more importantly, this:

Alright, so in the English version, she explains that her boss and his wife are part of different resistance groups, respectively, the Forrest Duck and the Forrest Fox, and that it resembles their relationship.

In French, she says her boss is a “Canard de la Forêt”, which does translate to “Forrest Duck”... but then adds that his wife is part of a different group (which she doesn’t name) and that she always changes one letter from he name of her husband’s group.

Now, this to me seems like a covert yet very obvious reference to the word “connard” (meaning she technically changes two letters but let’s not nitpick), which is a variation on “con” which is French for “cunt”. The closest I could translate that is would be “cunter”.

So yeah, that’s some classic crap getting past the radar right there, although I’m not sure it was even necessary considering the translations of later FF games include similarly coarse language such as “merde” and “connerie”, another variation on “con”.

I should point out that the French are generally way more cool with swearing than Americans seem to be, and boy howdy do we love ourselves some cunts and variations of it. We have cunters, cuntesses, cunteries, etc... Yeah, you’re not gonna have the outraged reactions you’d get from that in America over here. We basically use “cunt” the same way you guys use “fuck / fucker / fuckery / etc”.

In fact, I remember the French dub of one of the Harry Potter movies has Harry call Ron a cunt as well, at some point. It doesn’t help that with a few exceptions, we don’t really have mild swears in French, it’s usually either tame or strong, so translators often go for the stronger option when a scene needs the extra punch, with sometimes hilarious results.

Anyway, let’s move on. I’m putting this above screenshot in English because this guy seems to have an accent or something, which is absent in the French version. Although that does seem to confirm the previous mention of accents in the FF world, which is a neat bit of lore.

If you go back to the area where two kids are playing on the train tracks, you can rescue the little girl after she falls and nearly gets crushed by a train, because apparently Squall just wasn’t sexy enough, so he also has to save adorable little girls to make women will swoon some more. More relevantly, after the girl thanks you, a model train appears to bring some news, which apparently travel very fast in Timber.

In English, it says the girl was saved “in the nick of time” by a brave young man. The French version make sit a bit more grisly, saying she was saved “from a horrible death”.

If you talk to this girl a couple times, she’ll tell you a story about how she was nearly hit by a train and was saved by a very handsome man named Loire (guess it runs in the family) and how he was the man of her dreams and Squall presumably starts feeling nauseated and ddoesn’t understand why. In French, she tells the same story but oddly, she can’t remember his name as well, and calls him La Gooma instead.

And now we move on to Dollet, where there is quite a bit to look at. First thing of note is this guy and his sister; they have quite a bit to say, but the reason I bring him up is that at some point in the French version (and only that one as far as I’m aware), he name-drops Corto Maltese by saying he wants to be a sailor, like him.

For anyone who may not be aware, Corto Maltese is the titular character from a cult classic Italian adventure comic series by Hugo Pratt. Even though it never really became a huge mainstream name, it was still very popular, especially in the seventies it seems. As a result, you probably won’t be surprised to hear it often gets pretty psychedelic, not to mention the art style is rather unusual (but gorgeous) to begin with.

Corto is indeed a sailor, although I don’t remember him ever actually doing much sailing (not that I have read many of the albums although I do recommend them), to the point that in the movie adaptation (which, much like the comics, is excellent yet very obscure), he claims his sailor hat was a gift, and he always ends up embroiled in massive adventures and conspiracies, somewhere between Indiana Jones and James Bond.

And as I alluded to, although the comic is pretty famous, it’s still fairly obscure so it’s pretty amazing to see it brought up in Final Fantasy of all things.

If you talk to this kid, whom is playing hide-and-seek, he tells Squall to go away in both versions, but there’s a slight difference. In English, the kid calls him “mister,” which surprises Squall a bit and he replies that he’s only 17. In French though, the kid calls the group “old guys” and Squall understandably gets more upset about it. Either way, I do love how that’s one of the few things that gets him to explicitly react to what an NPC is saying. Guess even he can’t always be above vanity.

Here’s a bit I love. When you talk to the guy in the green vest and you tell him the town hasn’t changed, he then starts to recognize you as the kids who were being chased the giant robot spider (or robo-crab, as the French version puts it). You then get two options. The English ones are fairly standard: either “don’t know” or “can’t say who, but we know.”

The French one got a bit cute with it, and your choices are “Not at all, What robo-crab?” and “It was our brothers and sisters...”. If you pick the first answer, it’s also different. In English, he just says it’s his job to make repairs. In French, he says “forget it, I got you confused with those 3 kids who destroyed the town”.

Not sure why he’s blaming it on them though, considering it’s Galbadia who did it during the whole “invasion of your dukedom that these kids actually helped stop” thing. At most you could argue Seifer disobeying orders is what led to the Galbadians launching the robot, but that wouldn’t be the other kids’ fault. Also, that’s something to think about when you talk to that little girl by the beach who says she wants her mommy back.

But anyway, if you pick the other option, he more or less says the same thing, except in French, he of course says to tell their siblings they owe the town money and on top of that, while the English version has him mention the specific sum of  1 370 000 gils, the French one rounds it out to 1 000 000.

Next is the painter’s house. Couple things here. First, in the French version, the grandpa explicitly says he’s going to spank the kid if he keeps messing with his paintings, whereas the English version had him says something about “cuchi-cuchi-coo” his neck, which frankly sounds worse. However, in both versions, in the last part of this quest, the grandpa does mention tickling the kid as “punishment”.

Also, in the English text, the kid says adding the white bones are his way of expressing himself and to be novel and original. In French, he just says that in comics, dogs always have a bone in their mouths, so why couldn’t Rex have one?

Finally, after you’ve ended the quest, the grandpa gives different lines depending on versions. In English, he figures that maybe he should have played with the kid more so he wouldn’t be so bored and trying to get his attention, but that he’s too old for sports, and is considering poker instead (so card games other than Triple Triad do exist in this universe!).

In French, he says he’ll stop including dogs on his landscapes and that he’ll try painting cats instead, though he’s afraid the kid will start painting fish bones.

Also, while the kid feels like he’s grown a little from being able to express himself in English, the French one says he’s gonna stop his pranks and that he wants to be a veterinarian, now.

In the bar, there are some changes in what the guy in the white shirt says. In English, he says it’s nice to have a drink after work, and his friend asks him what he’s talking about since he’s always drinking there. Then, if you talk to him again, either he or his friend drunkenly mentions playing ball.

In French, it’s kind of the opposite, as he asks for his last drink of the day, only for his friend to point out it’s only 7 in the morning (which still seems early to start drinking to me, but hey, you do you and your liver problems). Bizarrely, if you talk to him again, he says it’s time for his first cognac of the day, and his friends asks what he’s talking about since he finished the bottle an hour ago.

Speaking to the friend, we have a choice. In English, the prompt is “Yeah, that’s so true...” and the choices are “What is?” and “Yeah... sure...”. If you pick the first, he says life is nicer during peacetime. If you pick the second, he advises not to eat off the floor.

In French, the prompt is roughly “I needed that” and the answers are “What?” and “that hits the spot”. If you pick the first, he asks how many drinks an hour make you an alcoholic. If you pick the second, he says he doesn’t feel too good.

Boy, that sure was a rousing conversation! Let’s talk to the lady on the left.

In both versions, she laments the fact that the rich young men in the dukedom are all married, then asks Squall what he thinks of her. Surprisingly, the answers are the exact same in both versions, but the woman’s reactions are quite different.

In English, picking “you’re very attractive” has her say maybe she should go for older men. In French, it has her say that while it’s true, only perverts like her. And then there’s the much ruder “Are you really a woman?!”. In English, she tries to laugh it off, saying she’s not his type, only to turn around and mumble to herself, wondering how Squall know (s)he was a man. Her French counterpart gets more offended, complaining about all the men she spends at beautician. After she turns around, she makes the more subtle remark that he must have a 6th sense.

WELP. Not opening THAT can of worms.

Next, that female NPC who says she’s window-shopping. In English, she then asks Squall if he has a problem with that (not sure why he would, but okay). In French, she asks him if he wants to buy her something.

In the town Square, we have this guy. In French, he says that due to taxes as a result of hiring SeeD, he’s gonna have to sell his cards collection, which is far nicer than in English, where he said "Better get ma young bride and start havin’ children”. What the actual fuck, dude?!

In the hotel, the two employees have a weird accent which I think is supposed to be vaguely German, but I’m not sure. In the English version, only the one in the back has any sort of special speech pattern, and it’s just a habit of saying “y’all”. Either way, more accent shenanigans.

And here we have one of the strangest differences yet, to the point it actually caught me off guard because I didn’t remember that text in French at all, and for good reasons since it says something completely unrelated! Right, so if you beat that guy in the upper floor of the bar, he’ll invite you to his private room(or secret room in French), where he’ll give you some cards and you can find some of other stuff.

There are also several piles of books, and when checking one of them, you’ll find what is presumably the previous owner’s diary telling a truly harrowing tale of meeting a woman who kept beating him at Triple Triad, eventually marrying her and having a daughter with her, but it ends with her trying to save their daughter from drowning, only to drown herself. It ends with the bleak statement that neither the daughter or he himself can comprehend their loss. Jesus Christ! Even for a Final Fantasy game, that’s dark.

But in the French version, it seems to just be a collection of random thoughts. For example, it first says that his son is studying the Sorceress War (one of the few times Sorceresses are referred to as such in French, instead of “priestesss”), and how he doesn’t understand any of it in spite of having lived it, then he ponders why extraterrestrials in movies always look like animals, and that maybe it’s because humans are bestial in nature as well, concluding that being at the pub sometimes feel like being at a zoo.

It just fascinates me that it could be so different. I can’t fathom what caused this and it’s one of those things that really makes me curious about other versions.

To make this even more baffling, if you check another book pile, the text is very similar, including a bit about Laguna coming along and getting his ass kicked at cards. Interestingly though, in the English version, he can’t quite remember his name, simply remembering it started with Lag, and says an easy win doesn’t leave much of an impression, but in French, he calls him La Gouma and says he’s a “nice guy, but sucks at cards”.

And now we can continue onward to Deling City! First little thing, when asking Caraway about Edea, in the French text, he says that he fears her influence will lead to “a new world war”. Now, the French version does use the term “sorceress war”, so it’s interesting to see him also refer to it as a world war, and it seems fitting for a serious military type.

Another interesting tidbit comes when you ask him about Esthar. For starters, in English, he says that Esthar took over the world under Adel, which isn’t mentioned in French and I don’t remember being said at any other point. This makes me wonder if that was a strange decision on the English translator’s part, but that does make sense as Esthar making it to part of the Galbadian continent would explain why they’re even at war, why Galbadia started invading other countries and forcing them into their army, and even why Galbadian people where paranoid of Sorceresses before Edea.

At the same time, the French version also has an interesting detail, where they mention that even after Esthar went silent, relationships between the two nations remained strained, alluding to the situation turning from a world war to a cold war situation. He also theorizes that perhaps this is due to Galbadia being jealous of Esthar’s technological success and the efficiency of their democracy. Compelling, although I do wonder how Galbadia would know about “the efficiency of Esthar’s democracy” since it stopped all contact with the outside world right after Adel was dethroned.

There isn’t a huge difference in what the various NPCs say, but this one’s pretty intriguing. In French, she just says that she heard a sorceress can transfer her powers to the person of their choosing. In English though, she explicitly says that she learned in the Garden that any person can receive a sorceress’ power, and I thought that’s obviously wrong since it’s stated multiple times that only women can inherit such powers,

But just as I thought that, the next speech box has her explain that while she did go to Garden, she wasn’t a very good student, which would explain why she wouldn’t have gotten it completely right.Cleverly done. Also, I like the implication that the average person isn’t all that aware of exactly what sorceresses are and how their powers work. It’s an interesting treatise on the link between fear, admiration and ignorance.

In fact, reading what the Deling City citizens have to say about Edea and how they blindly believe she’ll lead the country to greatness because she’s tough, promises a renaissance for their country and that even the smaller guys wild be able to make it is fascinating in general... and disturbingly true to real dictatorships.

There’s a small difference I find amusing where in English, one NPC says that people like Edea because “people follow strength, not charisma” whereas contrariwise, the same guy says in French that “Edea is much more charismatic than old Deling”.

ANd here’s a guy who straight-up calls Edea their Messiah in French!In Eglish, he just says he now know he has to abide by Edea after feeling a surge of energy during the parade (which might allude to at least partial mind control).

And finally, we finish with this NPC, whom in the English version, says she’s been sending Edea fan mail daily, but in French, she says, that she hopes Edea will publish a magic cookbook. Which does sound awesome, but unlikely. To be fair, what she says is literally “book of magical recipes”, so she may be referring to like, potions and stuff, but I prefer to believe she means how to use magic to enhance the flavour of your dishes.

And so we reach the end of our first part dedicated entirely to side content and my God there was way more stuff to cover than I ever expected. I hope you enjoyed it because I certainly found a lot of these differences very interesting. As always, if you enjoyed this post, reblogging it would be very appreciated, do not hesitate to commentate or send me asks, maybe even suggest things you’d like to see that I may have missed, and I’ll be seeing you next time for part 19, where we return to Balamb City. Have a nice day, everyone!

#Translarison #Final fantasy VIII #Final fantasy 8 #FFVIII #FF8 #French #English #translation #comparison #localisation #difference #localization #differences #side quest #balamb garden #obel lake #dollet #deling city #Timber #Edea #Kramer #sorceress

[lalainajanes]

A secret admirer. It would be interesting if Caroline was the one with the crush. Lol

This was from the mini prompts I got awhile back. Worked for my current fluff mood! Somewhat based on a true story.

Keepsakes

Klaus SUVis parked on the street and the garage door is open when Caroline pulls up totheir house. She creeps slowly up the short driveway, trying to see what Klausis doing. He’s surrounded by piles of boxes – not an unfamiliar sight latelybut Caroline had thought that they were finallydone unpacking. He smiles as she coasts into her spot, brushing his hands offon his jeans. He opens the door for her, standing back to let her climb out. Hedrapes an arm around her waist, pressing her lightly against the side of hercar. “You’re home early. Everything all right?”

“Yup!”Caroline chirps. “The construction workers on the street hit something theyshouldn’t have and the power went out. Boss sent us home. I thought we’d go outfor dinner? Someplace nice?”

They’dmoved into their own house six weeks ago, have found the whole process –painting, deciding on furniture placement, merging her things with his things -exhausting. Dinners have almost exclusively been eaten while wearingsweatpants. Caroline wants to put on a pretty dress and flirt with her fiancé acrossthe table at a place with dim lighting and good wine.

She runsher hands up Klaus’ chest, curls one around his neck and tugs at one of hisnecklaces, “You can pick the restaurant. Anywhere with cloth napkins.”

Klauslaughs softly, stepping back, “Sounds good to me, love. You can shower firstand I’ll pack away this stuff.”

He bends topick up a box and Caroline steps forward, flicking aside a flap curiously. Theboxes are pretty mangled, dusty, with shipping labels attached. “What’s all this?”

“My mother’sselling the house, remember?”

“Right!”She’d known that, Klaus had mentioned that Esther would be shipping whatever remainedin his childhood bedroom to them. She peers inside the box she’d opened, hercuriosity piqued. She’d grown up with Rebekah, had nursed a major crush onKlaus (and a briefer one on Kol but they didn’t talk about that) for the bulkof her adolescence. She’d never been inside his room though, vaguely remembersgetting a peek at dark blue walls and a lot of posters as she’d walked passed.

Klausapproaches her from behind, having dropped his box next to the doorway. “Snooping,are we? Can’t say I’m surprised.”

Carolinewhirls, gasping theatrically, “Are you accusing me of nosiness? Rude, Klaus.”

“And yetyou don’t deny it.”

“Sure don’t!”Caroline turns back, digging into the box shamelessly, slightly disappointed whenshe comes out with only a handful of X-Men comic books. “I’m hoping forsomething a little juicer then your not so secret nerd tendencies.”

His handbrushes her side, the exact spot where she’s most ticklish and Caroline yelps,circling the stack of boxes. “I wasn’t complaining!”

“I shouldhope not. I seem to remember you picking up the lab coat and glasses you’re sofond of.”

He did lookreally hot in the glasses. “Oooh, maybe we can break those out again later.” Klausappears intrigued and Caroline uses his distraction to her advantage, shiftingto another box. There are certificates in this one, a couple of trophies. He’dplayed soccer in high school, had won a bunch of art competitions. Shifting afew things aside she sees a shoebox. Now thishas potential.

Carolinedigs it out, gives it a gentle shake. She eyes Klaus, checking to see if he’sperturbed but he doesn’t seem uncomfortable. “Do you remember what’s in here?”

“Nothingall that important. Photos, concert ticket stubs. Silly mementos.”

She’salways found his hoarder-ish tendencies charming, evidence of his carefullyhidden sentimental streak, the one he’d strenuously deny having. She leans in,twisting her hand into his shirt to steal a quick kiss. “Softie,” she teases.

He grunts,annoyed and Caroline opens her mouth, deepening the kiss to distract him,licking into his mouth with a pleased hum. She pulls away after a moment – they’dtotally already christened the garage and it hadn’t been the comfiest – pullingthe lid off the shoebox in her hand.

There’s agarish homemade card on top, Klaus’ name spelled out in thick lines of pinkglitter. A startled laugh spills from Caroline and she almost drops the box.She recognizes that sparkly monstrosity.

“Oh my god!”she exclaims. “I had no idea that you actually got this! Bekah never saidanything!”

She glancesup to see Klaus’ brows are furrowed in confusion. “Why would Bekah know aboutan insanely treacly love note one of my classmates sent?”

Carolinesnorts, bending slightly as another wave of laughter shakes her. “Oh no, whichpoor girl did you think did it? Did you deep freeze her?”

“I thoughtit might have been Aurora de Martel. She never hid her interest in me.”

Carolinevaguely remembers a pretty redhead by that name. Feels a brief pang of guilt –Klaus had dated another redhead for most of high school so maybe she’d killedAurora’s shot at landing her crush.

Not that itwould have mattered in the long run. Klaus is very firmly hers now.

“It wasn’tAurora,” Caroline confesses. “I made this.”

Klaus mouthfalls open in shock and his eyes drop to the card. Caroline clutches ittightly, just in case he tries to make a grab for it. She doesn’t rememberexactly what she’d written but given the stuff thoughts she’d poured out into herdiary around that time she imagines it’s superembarrassing.

Twelve yearold Caroline’s flair for the dramatic had been impressive.

“It wasactually Rebekah’s idea. It was supposed to be a prank and I kind of jumped atthe chance.”

“Because ofthe tremendous crush you had on me?”

Ugh, heremains way too pleased about that little fact. She’s already resigned herselfto the fact that it’s going to feature heavily in their wedding toasts. Carolineglares at him, “Crushing on older boys is perfectly natural, thank you verymuch. All the boys in my grade were shorter than I was. And you know what yourdimples can do. How was a girl supposed to ignore all that?”

Klaus nods,attempting seriousness even though she can see his lips twitching, “Of course,love. Height and dimples. Your attraction was totally natural.”

“Youwere the one that was all over me at the beach house the summer after Bekah andI graduated college.” She’d been over her crush on Klaus at the time, hadn’tseen him in years. It hadn’t taken more than a few conversations by the firepit for it to rage back to life (neither Rebekah or Kol had been pleased).

Klausshrugs, shameless. “A beautiful and intelligent blonde in very small shorts witha penchant for cheating at board games is hard for a twenty five year old manto resist.”

Slightlymollified by the compliment Caroline nods sharply, “That’s right. I did notcheat though.”

Klaus grinsand Caroline cuts him off before he can restart that old argument. “Let me helpyou move those boxes. Then I’ll help you clean up in the shower. We really needto get on installing those handles, hmm?”

It’s anoffer she knows Klaus won’t be able to resist. She tucks the card into herdress pocket, peels her blazer off her shoulders. Klaus’ eyes follow themovement hungrily, tracing her newly bared skin, and Caroline pats herself onthe back.

She’s gonnahave to hide that card really well if she doesn’t want it popping up to biteher again.

#klaroline #klaroline drabbles #Anonymous

[imaginedeux]

Knight (Single Dad! Calum Hood AU) 6

A/N: Y’all ready for the last part? This one is going to be a doozy. Thank you all so much for all the support on this AU, it means the world to me! If y'all have something you want me to write, just send me a message and I’ll get to it! Again thank you!

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

“Are you all excited for your last show for almost a year?” Ben, one of Luke’s older brother asked taking a seat in the ‘big room’ backstage at the last show in Australia. Theres been a passing of time since they first landed in L.A., almost two weeks ago now, they spent a week there only doing a couple of shows, before hitting the last leg in Oz, much to the relief of the lads and (Y/N). She had been put back on the original security detail she was hired for because the fans had been getting a lot more violent lately, much to Aurora’s dismay. (Y/N) and Calum still hadn't broken the news to ‘Rora, or anyone else because of the rocky waters they knew they were going to endure for the next while with moving around, and the hectic schedule she and Calum would be enduring.

“You have no idea.” Ashton laughed getting yet another snack from the table at the front of the room, you could tell they were nervous. Ashton was a nervous eater, Luke would get almost violent, but he had been going through a rough patch with his current girlfriend so that could be the explanation for the hostility for when he got nervous, Michael would game and tune everyone out, Calum on the other hand would try to spend as much time as possible as he could with ‘Rora, and (Y/N).

“Do you have plans for the break?” Michael’s mom asked getting her son’s attention.

“I might travel for a bit, been stuck behind these concrete walls for a while.” Ashton said taking a seat next to his siblings. “And spend time with these buggers.”

“Not really sure. I’ll come up with something.” Luke said pacing back and forth behind the couch that held most of his family.

“Take care of my mental health.” Michael said seriously. “A year is a good time to start to better myself, and spend time with you and dad.” He smiled at his mum.

“Helping Aurora transition into going to school, she already a year behind because of her birthday.” Calum said with a knocked out ‘Rora at his side, his family next to him as well.

“What about you, (Y/N)?” Jack asked this time, all eyes suddenly on you, who was keeping an eye out from the doorway.

“Have no idea really. Try to find a stable place to stay, find other jobs just incase it doesn't really work out here.” You answered honestly, well semi honestly. Calum had already told you that you were free to move in with him and Aurora after the tour was over, and said you wouldn't have to worry about having to work because he made more than enough to maintain a three person household. You declined his second offer as soon as it left his mouth, you had been working all your life, and you didn't like to burden people especially when it came to money. The first offer you said you would keep in mind if anything.

“They still haven't come up with a decision?” Calum asked from his seat.

“They said it depended how well today went.” You explained shaking your head, you hated the fact they were basing a good chunk of their decision on one show, when the rest of the tour had gone off without a hitch.

“(Y/N), we need you at the mouth, we need you to escort someone to the den. Over.” James ordered through the walkie talkie at your hip, except he sounded mad, which was rare.

“Understood, on my way. Over. Are y'all expecting someone?”You asked everyone before jogging to where security check was made, which was nicknamed the mouth, and the den was the big room where everyone was at.

“Are y’all expecting someone?” You asked before going out of sight down the corridor. Everyone gave each other a look, there were only certain people who were allowed this far back stage, and everyone who was, was already here.

“Who the hell do you think it is? I mean everyone’s here.” Michael asked saving his game, wanting to see who the new person was. Everyone started talking about a couple of things that had happened over the tour that they would remember, most of them revolved around (Y/N), having to deal with all of their antics.

“Daddy what’s going on?” Aurora asked yawning, rubbing the sleep out her eyes.

“Nothing Love, just talking about how good the tour went, and what were going to remember.”

“You know what I'm going to remember the most?” Aurora asked waking up more.

“What baby?”

“The first time (Y/N) sang me to sleep.” ‘Rora smiled probably thinking back to the memory.

“Really gorgeous?” Calum asked kissing her forehead.

“Yeah.”

“Looks like most of the memories revolve around (Y/N).” Mum said from Calum’s side, giving me a look. Calum shook his head before (Y/N) popped her head back into the doorway.

“Um, is ‘Rora awake? She has a visiter.” (Y/N) asked, her voice shaking a bit.

“Yes, I'm awake.”

“How’s my gorgeous girl doing?” A voice none of the group have heard since a couple of months after Aurora was born.

“Alicia?” Calum’s voice quivered as his ex, Aurora’s mum walked into the room. You could feel everyone’s mood change instantly, ever since the break up no ones really liked Calum’s ex, that you had heard of.

“Daddy, who’s that?” Aurora asked holding onto Calum tighter.

“Oh my gorgeous girl, I'm your mommy.” Alicia said stepping closer to the two Hoods.

“I don't think thats a good idea ma’am.” (Y/N) said softly coming into the room.

“What do you mean it’s not a good idea?! I have every right to see my daughter!” Alicia snapped at (Y/N).

“You’ve had every right for the past almost 5 years.” Calum said getting up, giving Aurora to his mum. “We’ve been perfectly well off without you Alicia, I don't think its a good idea to come in like this.”

“Is she my mummy?” Aurora’s voice asked from behind him.

“Yes sweet heart, I'm your mommy.” Alicia said coming closer to Aurora.

“No, no you’re not!” ‘Rora yelled at Alicia taking everyone off guard.

“’Rora, what have I told you about yelling at people?” You spoke giving Aurora a stern look.

“No! I don't want her to be my mummy! Daddy she doesn't look like a nice person!”

“Hey lads sorry to interrupt, you all are up in 5. (Y/N) you’re on barricade duty this time around. You know what to do right?” James interrupted giving some in-ears, nodding you put them on and gave the guys all a look.

“Come on guys. Everyone please keep an eye on Aurora, Miss. Alicia I kindly ask you not to upset her anymore, if you do, I will find out, and I will personally escort you out of the building. And I will make sure you are no longer allowed into a 5SOS concert again.”

“I’ve never seen someone stand up to Alicia like that.” Luke commented as he grabbed his guitar.

“I’ve never seen (Y/N) so scary before, remind me not to mess with her.” Michael said shivering a bit.

“Are you lads ready for your last show for a year?” You asked as you came up to the group giving them each a hug, Calum holding onto you a little bit longer than the rest did.

“Of course we are, and good luck at the barricade, it gets a little bit wild.” Calum smiled at you.

“I don't need luck, I'm good at my job. Alright good luck guys! See you in a bit.” You smiled back before running towards the barricades.

“What was that about Cal?” Ashton questioned, giving the Kiwi a look.

“What do you mean?” Calum questioned back.

“What do you mean, what do you mean?” Michael laughed this time.

“Is there something going on between you and (Y/N)?” Luke chimed in, smiling at Calum with a shit eating grin. All Calum could do is roll his eyes and plug in his in ears in.

“Don't forget we added a new song in before Perfect, now come on.” With that they started their last concert for almost a year.

“I hope you guys are having an amazing time!” Ashton yelled from his drum kit, out of breath, but full of energy. Hearing the crowd scream in excitement was a new feeling for you. This was only the 2nd or 3rd time that you’d been able to see them on stage playing to the fans, and it made you so happy to see everyone having a good time.

“Alright, we have a little surprise for all of you!” Michael yelled into his mic, gaining another response from the crowd. You turned to see what was going on, you weren't informed of a surprise, the other body guards just smiled and shot a quick look at Calum.

“Since this is the last show for pretty much a year, we’ve decided to add a song from before our first album. Calum can you tell the crowd what that song is?” Luke asked getting the spot light on Calum who had a huge smile on his face.

“This song is called ‘Try Hard’, I really hope everyone enjoys it!” Calum yelled before Ashton counted everyone in, starting the song no ones heard for a long time. You smiled looking up at the stage, a couple of weeks ago Calum asked you what your favorite song of theirs ways, and you replied with Try Hard, since that was the first song you had heard of by them. You walked back and forth on your side of the wing, enjoying the song, and making sure that the fans at the barricade were all good.

“(Y/N), we need you at the end of the run way, now.” James said through the walkie talkie, which were connected to the in ears, hearing this you quickly ran to the location. Your bosses were looking at how well this last concert went, so you knew you had to make sure everything was going off without a hitch.

“What’s up, did something happened?” You asked coming to the end of the run way.

“But now who knew, that she's in the crowd of my show. Nothing to lose, she's standing right here in the front row. The perfect view, cause she came along on her own, and there’s something that you should know!” You looked up at the stage, not hearing Luke singing one of the more iconic parts of the song took you by surprise. You felt your face heat up seeing Calum kneeling at the end of the run way, looking straight at you, the mic in his hand, and the most amazing smile you’d every seen him muster.

“Thank you!” The guys yelled as they took their bow, saying bye to the fans who were still screaming.

“Is there a reason I wasn't informed of this little surprise?” You asked as the boys came into view, your question targeted towards one of them.

“If I would have told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He smiled bringing you in for a sweaty hug. “I wanted to do something a little special for you, hence why I asked you what your favorite song of ours was.”

“You know you didn't need to do that right?” You asked hugging him back before you could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps behind you. The five of you turned to see what was going on, Alicia and the guy’s families all had the same look on their face. “What happened? Where’s Aurora?” You asked instantly.

“We can't find her.” Jack said gasping.

“What do you mean you can't find her? What happened?” Calum asked this time, panic setting in.

“She just ran away, it was near the end of Perfect when she started screaming and ran!” Alicia explained, speaking a bit too quickly.

“What did you do? She’s never done this before.” You asked getting closer to Alicia, you would have gotten a lot closer but Calum took hold of your hand, keeping you away from the unwanted guest.

“Don't lie, you were saying that you were going to take her away from us because you believe that this isn't the right environment to raise a child!” Mali-Koa yelled this time.

“Okay! Look what matters right now is finding Aurora, well split up and try to find her.” You took authority, giving everyone an area to search. You knew that this venue was being renovated, and a good portion of the back stage area was under construction, you left that area to yourself, not wanting anyone to get hurt. “Someone in each group will have a walkie talkie on them, so when one of us finds her press the red button on the walkie and we’ll know to meet back at the big room. Alright, go!” You said before making a b-line towards the construction area.

“’Rora! Sweet heart! Where are you?” You yelled into the room full of 2x4s, industrial sized tubs of materials. “Come out Love, we’re all worried!” You started to climb over the partially completed objects, trying to see where she would have gone.

“(Y/N)?” A small voice rang out from behind a huge pile of iron pipes.

“Aurora?!” You yelled again going to where you heard ‘Rora’s voice. It only took you a minute to reach the tiny Kiwi. “Love, are you okay? Can you move? Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, I want to get out of here, but everything keeps moving and Im scared!” She cried making herself smaller. You looked around and it looked like anything could knock down the pipes, you quickly found a space where Aurora could crawl through and get out.

“Aurora, look there’s a passage here you can get out of, you just have to be very careful.” You said kneeling down to where the space was. “Come on love, I'm right here, I won't let anything happen to you.” It took a little bit, but by the time Aurora finally made it half way before the pipes started to shift.

“(Y/N)!” Aurora yelled before you crawled into the passage, covering her, from the pipes that were now falling around you. A couple of minutes passed and it felt like everything had already fallen, lucky enough for the two of you, there were a few of them that created a teepee around you and helped soften the blow of the other ones that fell.

“What the hell was that?

“What’s going on?”

“Is everyone okay?” Everyone started to ask through the walkie. “(Y/N), come in. Are you okay?” Calum asked this time.

“I’m okay. I found Aurora, were in the part thats under construction. We’re stuck under a pile of pipes that fell.” You explained as you held onto Aurora. “We’re going to be okay, everyone’s coming to get us. It took another 30 minutes before the firefighters were called, and started moving the debris around the two of you.

“(Y/Full/N), and Aurora Hood, are you two okay?” Someone asked as they got closer to you, moving more and more pipes away from the two of you.

“Yes we’re fine.” You called out, holding onto the still crying child. She was like a koala holding onto you for dear life. “See, love? They’re here to help.” Finally the firefighters got to the two of you and helped you up from the position you were in, kneeling over Aurora trying to cover her.

“Can you walk?” One of them asked as they helped you up and were creating a path for the two of you. 

“Yes, thank you.” You said, Aurora still sniffling and crying into your shirt. “Everything’s alright love, we’re safe now.” You whispered into her hair.

“Oh thank goodness!” You heard Joy gasp as you and Aurora came into view. 

“Oh Thank god you’re okay baby girl!” Alicia yelled trying to grab onto Aurora, before you could protest, ‘Rora held onto you even tighter.

“NO! Mummy, please don't let her take me!” Aurora yelled, gripping onto you even tighter. The atmosphered instantly changed, you felt your heart stop and your eyes start to water. “Mummy please!” She yelled again, this time looking up at you.

“I promise that I won't let her take you. I’m right here.” You said holding onto her even tighter, kissing her forehead.

“D-d-did she just...” Alicia started before you interrupted her.

“I told you, I would find out if you were to make Aurora upset again. James can you please escort Miss. Alicia out of the facility, and I’ll make sure she’ll be on the no entrance list.” You said walking around Alicia and to Calum, who looked distraught.

“Good night Aurora, if you need anything we’ll be next door.” You whispered, tucking the toddler into bed. After the whole ordeal Alicia was escorted out, and the medics who were on site made sure you and Aurora were okay. After getting the clear, everyone decided that the day was excited enough, and that you and Aurora needed your rest.

“Love you, mummy.” She whispered before falling asleep.

“Love you too, Aurora.” You whispered before kissing her forehead. You turned off the lights and quietly closed the door. Once it was closed you lean against it and took a deep breath.

“So that happened.” Calum spoke from the door way of the bathroom, Calum had decided to rent a Airbnb for the next week not wanting to bother his parents with the whole room situation.

“Yeah that did happen.”

“Are you okay with it?” Calum asked taking hold of your hand.

“Yeah, of course I am. I-I just didn't think she would see me as her mom.” You replied leaning your head against Calum’s chest.

“Why wouldn't she? Besides my mum and sister, you’ve been one of the only female figures she's looked up to. And with Aurora seeing you as a mum, I think that breaking our relationship to her is going to be a lot easier than we thought.” Calum chuckled holding onto you, bringing you into his chest. You shook your head before your wrapped your arms around him.

“And to the guys and your family as well.”

“I think the lads already know, they would smile anytime we would be near each other.” He smiled looking down at you. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah sure, whats up?”

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” Calum asked with a straight face, while your face turned red, its rare when you got embarrassed, so this was a shock to the both of you.

“Oh, um wow. I didn't see that coming, I would for you to, but I haven't brushed my teeth since this morning and we had a huge lunch, so I don't know if my breath is g-” You rambled before Calum kissed you, causing you to stay quiet. It took a second but you were soon kissing him back, a smile on both your faces.

#calum hood #calum hood imagine #calum imagine #calum hood au #calum hood blurb #Knight AU #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer imagine #5 seconds of summer au #5 seconds of summer blurb #5sos #5sos imagines #5sos imagine #5sos au #5sos blurbs

[henrivillegas]

Conquering Rainway

Ever since my first concert experience, I’ve dreamed of going to as many shows and festivals as I could. For years I’ve settled for livestreams and webcasts, vowing that one day I would fly to a music festival abroad where all my faves are playing. I didn’t expect 2017 to be the year it begins.

We arrived at Singapore two days before the festival to make time for sightseeing. This was my first time overseas and I wanted to see everything! We decided the night before to get to the venue as early as possible to get one of the free ponchos they were giving away at the festival. The weather forecast for that day has not changed all week, so we were expecting rain to happen at some point during the festival.

The weather was great that morning though: sunny like we’re baking in an oven. It was the perfect weather for us to take a few photos of the area and take some selfies. It was also too hot that I had to get myself a cap to shield my poor scalp from burning. It’s okay, their caps were cute. All the merch at the booth was cute, tbh. We arrived just in time for Stars and Rabbit opening the festival. While I did enjoy the songs they had on spotify, it certainly paled in comparison to hearing and seeing them play it live.

Tash Sultana played next, and she was AMAZING. It was no surprise that a crowd gathered even before she took the stage. Sadly we didn’t go too close to the stage because we were busy unintentionally getting our tan on. To be honest, I’ve never been early and relaxed enough at a festival to check out the booths and get free stuff. Laneway was the first time I got to really experience casually walking around the festival grounds and stage hop. We got free perfumes, and gif print!

After we got settled with our backup stash of water (gotta stay hydrated, kids!), we went our own ways to check out the artists playing early, like Wednesday Campanella, who had the craziest set I have ever gotten to experience. It was so much fun it deserves its own blog post, but I’ll try to condense it. She started her set on a ladder in the middle of the festival grounds, then carried to the stage on a plank/raft/thing where she had chewbacca-like dancers, an inflatable lucky cat, plus trippy visuals, before getting into a zorb ball to roll above the crowd for her last few songs. She also threw kitkats at the crowd and even taught us some dance moves.  I have never been more entertained.

The rain we anticipated just went to town during Aurora’s set. It poured like there’s no tomorrow. But for some weird reason, the rain and Aurora performing on stage felt just right. She was adorable and ethereal and AMAZING. I should probably use that word less but I’m not sure what better way to describe hearing her music live. People swayed and danced in the rain as she sang Wolves and Conqueror. It was beautiful.

Most of the artists I was looking forward to seeing were playing at their main stages: Garden Stage, and Bay Stage. Other acts I wanted to see, like NAO, were playing at the Cloud Stage, which is about a two minute sprint from the main stage. Sprinting isn’t necessary though, unless you want to see ALL the artists, something I tried to do since Gang of Youths and NAO’s set times are only ten minutes apart. 

I’ve only recently listened to Gang of Youths, and I immediately had them on my must-see live list. Seeing them play live was everything. And I wasn’t sure if it was my hormones wreaking havoc or just hearing that speech pre-song that I could relate to, but I very nearly cry-danced. Their set alone was worth the trip, but I had to miss their last two songs to catch NAO’s last two songs. The sprint and maneuvering I had to do in the crowd to get as close as I could to the stage was worth it. In those two songs I got to see her perform live, it didn’t surprise me that my friend would camp at the barricade for it.

My friends and I reunited at the food truck closest to the Cloud Stage to regroup, recharge, and know who’ll be where when. At some point during the festival, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably not get to see artists I’m only curious to see if I want to make it real close to the barricade for Glass Animals AND Nick Murphy. So with our bellies satisfied, and our water supply good, we picked our spot between the Garden and Bay stages and waited for our faves.

Seeing Tycho again felt a lot like reuniting with an old friend you haven’t seen in years. Nakakabusog ng pagkatao hearing them play my favorite songs live. It felt like my heart filled up to the brim with so much joy. So did the way the crowd sang along to Awake.

All that Glass Animals hype I’ve been getting from my friend (hi Alex!) was definitely worth it. I’ve been a casual listener for a while but man was their set on fire. Their energy on stage was just as infectious as their music, and it didn’t take long for people to start grooving to it.

Sadly, I had to weave my way closer to the Bay Stage by the time they were down to the last three songs because Nick Murphy. But trust that I like Glass Animals a million times more and aaaahhh how long do we have to wait for that Manila show? I really really really want to see them again.

Finally. It. Is. Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmeeeeeeeee! Since hearing Nick Murphy’s cover of No Diggity, I never thought I would ever have the chance to see him live. I even got to sing along to 1993 though we were singing different versions of it.

He also played a bunch of songs I’ve never heard before and they were lovely. By the time he played Stop You, my heart was doing somersaults. And when the beat intensified, as if on cue, I started jumping! Only two of us in our area did that. We had a brief moment looking at each while jumping. It was fun. And also awkward. Because seriously? Why didn’t anybody else even have the same idea? Were they tired? That beat was awesome! Why?

I found myself near tears a couple of times during his set. I swear these hormones and those onion slicing ninjas are inescapable. It was beautiful. Hearing my favorite Nick Murphy/Chet Faker songs live was priceless. I’m so glad I flew all the way to Singapore, endured the rain and my ridiculously sore feet (istg I thought for a moment I fractured my bones bc pain I’ve never felt before) for this.

Exhausted from days of exploring the city and enjoying one of the region’s most popular music festivals, we retired to our airbnb with sore bodies and happy hearts. I was sad to leave Singapore so soon. But we had a flight to catch and had to be at the airport early. I saw my first sunrise of the year on our bus ride to Changi Airport. This was definitely one of my most memorable weekends of my life.

#music #music photography #music festival #laneway #laneway singapore #singapore #concert #concert photography #tash sultana #nick murphy #chet faker #glass animals #tycho #astreal #aurora #stars and rabbit #gang of youths #nao #rainway