#which i think isssss just a me thing i need to listen to a song a lot to figure out harmonies usually>.< bc i’m not too musically inclined

[destiny-smasher]

I used to be close friends with one of the composers for Steven Universe. I watched them rise from a YouTube remixer living in a cramped bedroom in a shared apartment with nothing but a mattress on the floor and a keyboard beside it to owning a house, happily married with a whole backyard garden and a cat because they found success working on one of the biggest cartoon shows I’ve known. But they broke off that friendship earlier this year and it’s made my biased love for Steven Universe become very difficult to grasp with. Understanding how and why we weren’t friends anymore was likewise difficult to grasp, even after hours of us trying to hash things out and resolve it. And while we DID resolve things amicably (I hope) and peacefully, it wasn’t until Steven Universe: The Movie that I was really able to feel like I could see the forest from the trees and ‘get’ what happened. This will be a kind of review of the movie, but mostly it became more of a personal ramble relating my real life experiences with Aivi to those of characters within SU, especially the antagonist of the Movie. This is lifted from this Twitter thread, so it was originally written stream of consciousness and I’m sharing it here to keep it more readable and archived. This is a bit of a read so tucking it behind a ‘read more.’

--

"You keep on turning pages for people who don't care about you And still it takes you ages to see that no one's there Everyone's gone on without you"

Time to finally talk about the #StevenUniverse Movie. Strap in 'cause this gon' get personal.

It should go without saying BUT I am gonna be talking about the movie! Dunno how in detail per se but I can't properly say what I wanna say without diving into some of the important plotty stuff. So yea.

Don't read this thread if ya don't want #spoilers #sumovie 

First off, I wanna talk about what this movie does well. Going in, I had heard it was framed like a musical. And I wasn't sure how I felt about that idea, though it wasn't surprising. After all, the 'musical' style episodes tend to resonate quite a lot. 

I think they work great when it's one song in a 10 minute episode, but an hour and a half of songs? I wasn't sure how well that would go. Turns out, pretty well. This is due to many factors but primarily the variety of song styles and art styles used throughout. Basically every scene has a primary song that drives it home, and basically all of them have a different genre/tone as well as visual presentation style. A lot of work went into getting it all to work together and feel cohesive. TBH for me personally the main highlight of the movie was honestly the animation. Average TV goers might just see "yup sure looks like a cartoon" but on the whole, on average, the movie is CLEARLY animated and framed with much more dynamism and detail than the majority of SU. Getting to see these characters we've gotten to know over the past few years a couple years in the future, generally at peace with things, but animated with more detail than ever, THAT is the true highlight of the film for me. Naturally, there was a lot of bits of comedy, often relying on knowledge of what the characters have been through, and I felt a lot of bittersweet smiles throughout as this felt like a good send off for Steven and his Space Moms. It managed to work in cameos from basically everyone you'd expect, some of which...didn't work out as well as others (specifically, the Diamonds bookending the movie was a bit forced and weird IMO but they ARE important to the lore even if I find them boring tbh) It was nice getting to 'catch up' with everyone, and the plot itself uses a generic 'gotta save the world again' thing (bleh) in a creative way, at least -- it all becomes an excuse to "re-live" the four primary heroes' stories through song. Cool enough. Something the movie inadvertently highlights, however, is the fact that SU as a series really started spinning its wheels a lot for its second half, in particular. Much has been said about how and why and why or not this doesn't matter, etc. etc. I was just along for the ride. I've repeatedly expressed my personal bias in the series' favor for a long time, and now? I kinda don't really have that personal bias anymore. I still love the show, I still think it's one of the best cartoons I've ever seen. But those rose-tinted glasses are off now. Taking said glasses off and actually listening to and looking up what critics of the show had to say kind of unearthed a bunch of things I had kept sweeping under the rug for the sake of personal bias/support of someone I loved and cared for a lot. We'll get back to that. I say all of this because the movie ironically failed to do much of anything NEW, something the series itself kind of struggled with for a while until it finally got around to the conclusion of Steven's story arc. The film ultimately kind of ends with "yeah Steven can change!" Which, um yea? Obviously. He's a completely different person than he was in S1. But he's kiiiiinda been the same person for....some while now. The weird irony of SU as a series is that about halfway through the narrative, the protag has essentially grown up, done. The last half or third or so of SU's narrative was basically Steven having to cheer everyone around him up and help them deal with their shit, and...kinda just going about that essentially the same way every time. The power of love, the friends we made along the way, etc. To be clear, there's nothing BAD about this, and in fact it's what sets Steven apart from most every other narrative of this type. The protag is almost always forced to change in ways they don't want, do things they don't want to do, etc. But when you put it side by side with something like Avatar or Gravity Falls, those series saw everyone growing alongside each other. There are clear arcs for everyone, almost all of which get resolved in ways fitting each character. It's imperfect but it's varied. SU has a tendency to just...hammer everyone's character flaws and arcs with ONE option: just love yourself and be nice, and everyyyyyyythinggggg 'll work out in the end! Which is fine, but when a story does it for so long, over and over, always the same, it gets a bit weird. I specifically LIKED in the film, at the end, that Steven actually does have to fight, because THAT is what Spinel needed to do. She needed to let out all of that anger, and that violence was her own way of doing it. 'you can't just sing a song to make everything go away' etc. It's typical, perhaps, for protagonists to have to tackle problems in different ways because that's LIFE. The fact is, Steven's approach will NOT save everyone. Lapis stilllll kinda stands as an example of this but an as of yet unresolved one. I liked that at the end of things, Spinel still doesn't come into the same fold as everyone else. Basically "sorry, I already fucked this up too much, I can't really deal with this," and that is IMPORTANT and I really liked it. Before really digging into the personal angle, I want to bring up how fascinating it is that the movie essentially had a real BUDGET and so they deliberately seemed to design an antagonist that would take full advantage of that animation budget. EASILY, by far, Spinel is the most interesting-to-watch antag in the whole series imo, in terms of how she moves and fights, etc. They really just wanted to flex and they did it, but like any SU antag there's (somewhat predictable) motives. This gets back at what I was saying before -- how the series spins its wheels a lot -- but Spinel's motivation/back story isssss kiiiinnndaaaa a lot like many many characters' issues and, like, I get it. We get it. Steven's Mom was Not The Best does that have to be the basis behind kinda EVERYONE who goes against Steven? Or the Gems? Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot all offered more varied motivations, and even THEN, Bismuth was still essentially in the same boat? Anyway, I digress. I DO appreciate the way the series set up Rose as this wondrous lovely lady and has severely dissected and broken that down to the point where I really do not like Rose, in any of her ID's, as a character or a fictional person, and it did so gradually. A lot of what the movie did was kind of expected. Right? Songs, singing, check. Steven going about things the same way, check. Re-living/celebrating how far he and his moms have come, check. What I didn't expect was -- OK, well, there WAS that one fusion...which, um

But the actual thing that really latched onto me was how much I conncted with Spinel. As is the case with any story that has well presented characters, you can attach to SOME part of just about all of them. I associate most closely with Pearl overall but can relate with just about anyone prominent. I see parts of me and Jenny in Steven/Connie, in Ruby/Sapphire, in Peridot/Lapis. I see what kind of woman I might've become in Amethyst (and sometimes am). Spinel, though, is a really weird case because I see my adolescent self in her SO MUCH and yet fairly recent events in my life -- directly tied TO the show itself, mind you -- make that connection weirdly poignant and present. For some context, I used to be good friends with Aivi, one of the musicians who works on the series with their husband. Spring 2018, Aivi and I vocalized to each other that we considered one another one of the closest friends in each other's lives. We're no longer friends. To make sure this is clear, I think Aivi is a wonderful person, and our breaking apart wasn't violent or dramatic or anything, Aivi just...decided they weren't interested in the relationship anymore. And neglected to tell me this until like a year later. The context is of course not at ALL as severe or dramatic as Spinel/Pink, so please don't assume there's some one-to-one there. But OOF are there some harsh similarities and it really made Spinel's backstory sting in a very confusing way. I say 'confusing' because, as I mentioned, I see my adolescent self in Spinel. The way I was going about making friends matches her 'happy' self. The way I acted in my senior year of college matches her 'angry' self. There was no single person that created any of that, though. In high school, I was like Starfire, in college, I tried to nurture that, play to my strengths. I failed miserably. And what I feel is a big part of why is inherently tied to my transitioning (which is, still, something I feel I am failing miserably at). By the end of college I was more like Raven, and there I remained through the duration of my first long-term romance, into a very weird and atypical marriage and breakup, and then I moved to CA and started changing. Fittingly, my current self can't quite ID with any single Teen Titan. I'm not a teen anymore, after all. Throughout a lot of my friendship with Aivi, they really seemed to fixate on comparing me to Pearl. It sometimes made me uncomfortable the particular ways they did, though. I strongly identified with Pearl's flaws and strengths in personality (though we're obviously different people), and so seeing Pearl go through redemption via self-love and self-acceptance meant a lot to me. "It's Over, Isn't It?" I was IN THE ROOM listening to Aivi and their husband work on the chorus to that song. Obviously they couldn't talk about it but I knew damn well what it was about, and anticipated that piece for a long time. Now it's even more weirdly painful. I met Aivi because they made Mario arrangements they put on YouTube and they happened to live a few blocks away when I was subletting my first summer in CA. They seemed very kind and caring and eager to Be Nice and at the time I really needed that at a very vulnerable and fragile time in my life so I latched onto that. -In The Garden- The week when the LiS terfs freaked out on me and that Bad Spinel side of me lashed back, and I found myself suffering from being gaslit and facing the fact that the worst part of myself that Trigon in Raven's mind that Angry Spinel was still THERE was still ME It was too much For the first (and thankfully, only) time in my life, I experienced suicidal thoughts. And Aivi REACTED to that shit. Strongly. In a way no one ever had for me before, ever. They drove across the Bay to my house, picked me up, had me over, and helped me process it. And in the months to come, as I was healing and coming to terms with how That Worst Part of Me That I Wanted to BE RID OF was still THERE and apparently could just fucking show up, through all of that, Aivi helped me work through things, and we really bonded. In retrospect, though, it's SO damned hard for me to tell if Aivi and I became so close because of mutual respect or pity or just conditioned behavior to Be Nice and Keep Up Appearances. I dunno. What I know NOW is that apparently Cost More than I would've thought. I'm not Aivi so I don't want to really dig into 'dirt' (again, Aivi is a great person who works very hard and that's WHY their work is so good) but looking back, it's wild to see their progression into SUCCESS and fame while I just stood by, floundering The thing is, Aivi was a super busy person. We barely got to spend time together -- when we DID, it was a multi-hour affair and apart from like, Jenny, Aivi is prolly the person I've had the deepest, most vulnerable conversations with. They were next to me when I realized 'oh huh I'm maybe trans??' because they were there when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I never ASKED them to be there, to Be So Nice and as it turns out, Being So Nice is harder than it looks. So to kind of loop this back to the movie, I wasn't some Skullgirls Peacock Cuphead grinny goof or anything like that but I AM WILLING to bet that from Aivi's POV the way Happy Spinel acts toward Steven is prolly how I felt in Aivi's life at points, at the least. The irony is that we would go weeks, months, barely interacting. But looking back, the way Aivi talked about things, the same phrase keeps dominating my mind: Aivi got bored of me. I wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. Aivi said that day in spring 2018 was like 'the climax' of our friendship, or something like that. Way they talked about it was like...the finale of a season of TV. Our character arc together was over. Even though we TALKED about it, came to mutual understandimng of The Logic behind Aivi's decision to cut ties, I don't think it ever REALLY made sense to me, how Aivi must've felt about our friendship, until Spinel. By spring of 2019, my role in Aivi's life -- from what they have told me, from what I can perceive -- was more like I existed in a separate space from the rest of their life. I was that one interesting person always waiting in The Garden for them to visit when they felt like it Because while Aivi had gotten BIG, gotten MARRIED, gotten a HOUSE, found legitimate SUCCESS in their creative field I was still poor still stuck in retail still unable to find an audience still unable to understand the pressures of Success And OOOOFFF in those last couple years, interacting became more and more strained for both of us, from opposite ends of things. Aivi had responsibilities, PEOPLE vying for their attention, people wanting to hire them, projects to complete, a house, a spouse, etc etc My life was (and kiiiinda still is?) nothing like that, and as our Mutual Creatives Struggling to MAKE THINGS and Get By transforming into Yep I Am Still Here but you are SUCCESSFUL I think that really put a lot of strain on things I never accepted until Spinel. After Aivi hit it big with SU, in particular, they gradually started...acting differently. Acting in ways that made less and less sense to me. They were a Diamond now. And I was still just what I was. When drawing comparisons to characters on the show, Aivi persistently compared me to Pearl. A fact I once took pride in. They repeatedly compared themself to Garnet. Which...always kind of didn't make sense to me. Aivi wasn't really like Garnet. They are more NOW, though? In the sense of how they act, I suppose. Specifically, one of the last things Aivi said to me was that trying to be friends with me had started feeling like Pearl trying to force Garnet to fuse with her. This was problematic because from my POV nothing of the sort was happening. All I was looking for was occasionally hanging out a few times a year. Like. Ya know. Actually a lot less than what I was looking for with basically all of my other friends. And that was still Too Much? But when I start looking at things like Pink Diamond and Spinel instead of Pearl and Garnet, somehow things make a lot more sense. I was probably too clingy, too exciteable, and what amusement or relief I could provide eventually stopped being useful. Aivi eventually didn't even want to spend time with friends to just...spend time with them. Everything had to have some kind of practical Purpose to it, it had to be contributing to a Goal. I still don't get that, tbh. But I'm also not A Diamond. I'm not Successful. The most responsibility I have right now is fucking hanging up the laundry to dry. I have college loans that have and continue to feel pointless to try and repay. I have severe dental problems I haven't been able to fix. My body fell out of shape because of retail hell, and what energy I’ve had to spare from that always ends up going into the people I love, and trying to keep Making Things. Let's not forget The Complications of coming out and wanting to transition but not possessing the resources to do so. (Aivi was actually super supportive of this btw and was the first person to make me feel comfortable wearing feminine things so yea) Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that MY LIFE is not together. My personality is? I feel like I am finally Myself in terms of mental/emotional stability. And that is largely because Jenny helped me get there. But Aivi helped a lot with that, too. But I think Aivi got to a point where Success was more of a measure of how Grown Up and Healthy one was because despite my behavior, my personality, my mood, what I was asking for, and what I was giving, all changing DRASTICALLY after being with Jenny, I think Aivi still...looked at me the way Pink Diamond looked at Spinel during that song. Like, "yeeeaaaa ok kiddo it's time for me to go now, kinda done here" This is what's so confusing about all of this metaphor/etc. I'm not...like Spinel anymore? My current, post-coming-out self doesn't really relate with Happy OR Angry Spinel. It's almost like Aivi couldn't see me for who I became, and could only see me for who I had been. And maybe that's like why Spinel can't be friends with Steven at the end. It's too painful. I used to take pride in being associated with Pearl because "I'm enough" and "being strong in the REAL way" but now it's more like "oh you just think I'm still hung up and needy and clingy?" which uh don't feel so great a comparison. I can't help but wonder if while working on the movie, Aivi saw some of themself in Pink. Because I'm not the only person who apparently wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. And I'm not saying we should've kept forcing something that wasn't working. Not at all. What we had was good for both us, but it also entailed a lot of patience on my part and effort on theirs. And unlike any of my other long term friends, I often ended up waiting weeks, months, "Happily wondering night after night, Is this how it works? Am I doing it right?"

Years and years of broken friendships, one after the other, most lasting merely 6 months, MAYBE a year at most, with a handful that have lasted since middle school (but which are so much harder to maintain) took a toll on my Adult Self until Jenny, anyway. For quite a long time - the majority of my life, currently - I assumed I just was Too Different and that was why my friendships didn't seem to last, didn't seem to extend to the depths I was looking for. That's perhaps one critical difference between Spinel and I: she's looking for FUN, for smiling faces, for attention, for creating smiles, I just want some fucking consistency. At this point, I'm not even sure WHY I still reach out to people. I don't NEED friendships in that desperate way I used to, back in the Happy/Angry Spinel times. And I've come to terms with that Other Max part of myself and integrated it, accepted it. My worst parts are still me and instead of suppressing them (often by relying on bids of deep friendship with others) I just have to let them EXIST and let them do their thing once in a while. This is ALL why Celeste hit me as hard as it did. Because even if I'm not actually much like Spinel anymore, and Aivi's not really like Pink Diamond, even if I don't actually share much in common with Madeline (other than the subtle 'I drink sometimes to deal with my problems' thing, which I don't anymore) I still comprehend and resonate so much with that concept of just needing to accept the worst parts of yourself and work with them rather than trying to keep them caged up and then they escape and rampage every 5-10 years or so and ruin your life As I felt myself coming to all of these Good Feelings I FINALLY felt like I could help Aivi in the ways they had helped me. That I finally had something to offer I didn't before. Turns out, I didn't, apparently. Aivi had More Important Things to do than visit me in The Garden. And I couldn't blame them. Not a bit. Especially if they had gotten bored of visiting me. I didn't like feeling like a burden on them, either. Can't really argue with that. During the last time we talked, Aivi didn't use the WORDS, didn't literally say them, but I finally could see it: I wasn't Useful anymore. I couldn't Understand, either, because I wasn't Successful. Our friendship was rewarding, but because it required effort. And that effort was still worth it to me, but no longer to them. I was no longer worth it. And despite that, despite starting to feel those hunches, I spent those final months -- as had been the case before, they were afraid to hurt me so avoided actually confronting the problem -- I remained "Happy to listen, Happy to stay Happily watching her drift away" I have no idea if any aspect of our friendship impacted anything Aivi had worked on creatively. TBH Aivi seemed to approach even relationships themselves with more of a logical, pragmatic style -- it was entirely unique compared to anyone I had ever connected with. But if you've read @lis-allwounds then it might not surprise you to know that a lot of what I expressed through Stella and Max, as well as Other Max and Another Stella, channels a lot of these things. I even quoted Aivi directly in the story's end (perhaps foolishly optimistic) And yes, that epilogue moment of sorts is gonna be entirely different if I ever do finish the visual novel. The fact is that we were ALWAYS very different people and our friendship was weird and complicated and hard for one or both of us throughout its, what, 8 year duration? Ironically, I think I took away the opposite 'Character Arc Lesson' they did from all this. But that's just the thing, nothing is permanent for a Human Being. We aren't Gems, we don't actually fuse, we can't just change our appearances when we feel like it, or project ourselves to look how we want to look, or exist for thousands of years. But we DO all have different needs, different ways of understanding those needs, and different ways of needing to adjust or change ourselves or our environments in order to pursue what we want to pursue with the limited time we have here. We tried, hard, and it lasted long enough. If I'm not useful, I'm not useful, I guess? I don't have any ill will toward Aivi, I loved them as a friend and I know they loved me, too, and were better at showing it than most any friends I ever have had. If I'd been better at reciprocating in ways that were actually useful, that would've been good -- but then maybe we wouldn't have become friends in the first place if I hadn't needed 'saving' in the first place, I don't fuckin' know. And I hope my saying all of these things doesn't make anyone think any less of Aivi because your relationship with them is, very likely, not at all personal like mine is. And you know as well as I do how good they are at what they do. Aivi took the time to ease me out of things. Aivi did NOT suddenly up and vanish for thousands of years. While the dynamics of the situation might bare sharp points of similarity, Aivi is not like Pink Diamond and I'm not like Spinel -- not in the present, anyway. Stories help us because they share THREADS with reality but it's always important to recognize those threads for what they are and not confuse them for ropes. And me ranting and tossing all of this out there is something part of me has wanted to do for months but needed to take the time to grieve and process and accept. And maybe it's selfish to be posting all of this, I don't know. But it helps me accept myself and them a lot more. "Finally something finally news about how the story ends" Aivi likely has brand new friends, better ones than me, and I'm willing to bet some of them worked on this movie. And it turned out pretty good, all things considered, probably in part because Aivi was able to focus on it That person I became friends with, she doesn't exist anymore. Just like how who I used to be when Aivi first me, he doesn't exist anymore, either. We both changed, and grew in opposite directions, I guess. We've found happiness and growth and relief in different ways. In the end the Movie helped me come to terms with all of this in a way Angry Spinel younger me couldn't have still hurts yo

"Isn't that lovely?

Isn't that cool?

Isn't that cruel?

And aren't I a fool

to have happily listened,

happy to stay,

happily watching her drift away"

#Steven Universe The Movie #Spinel #Personal #SU #SU Spinel

[rockynfriends]

Tricky Treat

(This is a commissioned story from the fantastic @incaseofart​, just in time for the spooky season! Hope you all enjoy -- we have another post coming out later today so don’t touch that dial ;)

Two voices shout in unison “HALLOWEEN! HALLOWEEN! HALLOWEEN!”

“Alright, alright, hang on a moment. Before we leave, we need to establish some ground rules.”

“That’s right. Fugue and I want to make sure no one does anything that puts them in danger.”

“But Rocky -- you said that Halloween was a dangerous season!”

“I SAID that it was a season of intrigue and danger. I also said that it was a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings and not let yourself into situations with unnecessary risks.”

Fugue smirks as he listens to his friend talk about the merits of avoiding risk and describe the other ‘ground rules,’ thinking about the many and various ways in which Rocky has personified unnecessary risk.

“What? You don’t agree with me?” asks the latter, looking at Fugue with a coy grin.

“You know that when it comes to reducing danger I’m always in favor,” replies the Ampharos with a shake of his head. “I just never thought I’d hear YOU telling someone else.”

Rocky scratches his head and chuckles. “Well, a year ago neither of us expected me to be taking my little brother trick-or-treating either.”

“Like my costume?” asks Pizzicato gleefully.

Rocky smiles. “Absolutely. It’s very fitting, sweetie.”

“If he’s not careful he’ll end up being another dad friend,” Fugue thinks to himself as the younger mons grab their baskets.

“Ready to go, everyone?” Rocky asks.

“What about Cynthia and Deneb and Cassie?” asks the Azurill quickly, apparently noticing their absence for the first time.

“They’re gonna stay home and watch Arsenic and Old Lace. It’s one of Cass’s favorites – apparently they’re in it, though they’ve never told me where,” Rocky replies with a shrug and a smile.

Fugue stifles a chuckle at this. “I imagine Deneb will get a real kick out of that one. It’s the one with Boris Karloff and the psycho great-aunts right?”

“Psycho what?” Riley tilts his head.

“I’ll explain later,” Rocky replies. “For now, let’s get some candy.”

This is met with cheers from all sides.

“Now then,” Fugue begins, as they make their way to the first house, “Is there a reason you wanted to help chaperone instead of look for candy yourself, Rocky?”

“Uh, well…to be honest, I liked the idea of watching Riley more than getting extra treats for myself. He’s my brother and I wanted to just be there for him, I suppose. I’d like him to have a normal Halloween. No monsters, no villains, just candy and family and friends.”

“That makes sense. You’re pretty good at this big-brother stuff.”

“Ha, thanks. I’m learning that apparently it means being the responsible one, which used to be Cynthia’s job, but now I find myself trying to stop her from getting him into mischief! She loves him to death, honestly. Personally I think--”

He pauses as they stop at the first house.

“Uh, Fugue? Has this place always been…creepy?”

It’s a fair question. The building seems to loom over them with its spiked tower in the center leaning slightly forward and a dimly lit porch.

“Let’s uh, skip this—” but before Fugue can finish, Pizzicato has smacked the door several times with her tail.

“Ding-dong ditch?” asks Rocky nervously.

Fugue nods. “Normally I’d say no but let’s—”

He’s interrupted by a hissing sound, and then the air fills with smoke.

“Uh…what’s happening?” Riley says with a mixture of confusion and nervousness in his voice.

“Welcome travelerssss…” replies a voice with an unusual tone. “You’ve found my housssse of secretssss.”

“Great,” Fugue mutters. “Weird neighbor. Probably just pranking would be candy getters. Alright, then, thank you for the excitement but we have to go now.”

“Ssssooo ssssooon?” asks a Seviper, appearing in the doorway through the smoke. “Sssssurely you’re here for Halloween treatsssss!”

Riley looks at Seviper skeptically. “Yeah, without the smoke and scary expression, thanks.”

“Jussst sssstaying in the sssspirit of the ssseasssson,” laughs the Pokémon, “I like to keep trick-or-treaterssss on their toessss.”

“You don’t have toes though,” says Pizzicato innocently.

“True, ssssmall one,” replies Seviper with a chuckles.

“We appreciate your time, but I just remembered something important,” Rocky says. “We have to go get it. Sorry to disturb you.”

“Yeah…you’re creepy,” Riley chimes in.

Seviper laughs again. “Yesss…but that’ssss the point of Halloween, issss it not?”

A moment later, the Pokémon vanishes. Fugue shakes his head.

“Come along, then, onwards to—” his sentence is cut off when turning around makes him aware the group is now suddenly IN the house despite never making an effort to cross the threshold.

“Okay…” he frowns. “Rocky, any thoughts?”

“I’m thinking we just went straight to the trick part,” replies the Pikachu, looking around the large foyer into which they seem to have been transported.

“How do we get out?” asks Pizzicato. “We haven’t even gotten any candy yet!”

“I like her,” says the voice of the snake, though the direction from which it comes is no longer clear. “If you can find your way through thissss place, there will be a very big treat. Your firsssst clue issss to figure out which of you issss the odd one out.”

“Odd…one out?” Riley frowns.

“That’s me!” Pizzicato giggles. “I’m water and you’re all electric!”

Rocky nods slowly. “That sounds about right.”

Fugue shakes his head. “Yes, but there’s another interpretation. All of you are mouse Pokémon, and I am not. So it might be me too.”

Riley shakes his head. “It’s Rocky.”

Everyone looks at him surprised.

“Why me?” asks the Pikachu.

“You’re the only Pokémon that can use a move normal Pikachu can’t. I’ve seen you do it.”

Fugue pauses for a moment, then agrees. “That’s a good thought, Riley.”

“Indeed it isssss,” comes the hissing voice of the snake. “Up ahead there are doorssss with your facessss on them. Pick the door that you think hassss the ansssswer.”

Sure enough, a variety of doors appear out of the smoke.

“How did he get our faces…?” Fugue begins, but is interrupted by Riley marching to the door and throwing it open – only to nearly be tackled by Rocky.

“Careful!” the Pikachu nearly shouts. “Let’s at least see if we can figure out what is going on in there!”

So saying, he peers into the door…and a light comes on, revealing a wooden staircase leading downwards into a darkly-lit basement.

“Good choice, Riley,” the snakey voice says. “You’re on the right track.”

Fugue shakes his head. “Me first. I can light the place up.” The orb on his tail glows bright, showing the whole room – inside there appears to be a Rube Goldberg machine of sorts.

“What does this thing do?” asks Pizzicato as the rest of the troop follows Fugue downstairs.

“I dunno, but I want to find out!” Riley says excitedly. “After all, this is the right door.”

Rocky pauses. “How do you know?”

“Because it was your face, Rocky. I haven’t gone wrong by following you yet!”

The Pikachu is not expecting this reply, and sniffs slightly to hold back sudden happy tears.

“Well, how do we trigger it, do you think?”

Fugue looks it over. “I think that’s our next obstacle to clear. Figuring it out, I mean.”

No one notices that Pizzicato has wandered up to a small bowl and hopped inside. A moment later, it lifts into the air, taking her with it.

“Whee!” she shouts, much to everyone’s dismay.

“Pizzicato!” Fugue cries, but the machine continues to whir to life.

Her weight counters another weight, thereby knocking a lever over. It smacks into a cup with dice, which roll across a drum of some sort, which lets out a sound that fills the room and causes the plunger below it to pump once or twice, pulling a block of wood down a pipe and letting another ball roll down a ramp until it smacks a plank, which seesaws into the wall, knocking it down.

“All that effort just to open a door?” Rocky frowns.

“Sssssometimessss it’sss about making ssssure the participantssss are paying clossssse attention,” says the voice. “The next room will require ssssome extra thought. Better sssstay alert! Sssso far the young onessss have been more obsssservant. Can the adultssss catch up?”

The others exchange a look before Fugue reaches up and picks Pizzicato out of the bowl.

Rocky shakes his head. “This feels like a sort of game, but what kind of prize is there for winning?”

No answer comes, and Fugue shrugs. “All I know is that the kids seem to be having fun.”

“Yeah, but I’m missing out on candy,” Riley pouts a bit as they enter the next room. Suddenly carnival music plays and they find themselves surrounded by mirrors on each side.

“Did it suddenly get hot in here?” asks Rocky, shuddering.

“Who knowssss thissss ssssong?” calls the Seviper with a hissing laugh. “You’ll find your exit in the rhythm!”

“I don’t know this song,” Riley shakes his head.

“Me neither,” Pizzicato chimes in.

Rocky shrugs. “I’m lost, personally. Any ideas, Fugue?”

The Ampharos pauses. “Hold on a moment…I think…I think I’ve heard it before…”

“Holding on” proves to be a somewhat difficult task, as it only continues to get hotter in the room. It’s not long before everyone’s sweating.

“Fugue, no rush, but uh, if you have any ideas, we’d love to hear them,” Rocky says in a dry whisper.

The Ampharos’s eyes are determined – and suddenly they look inspired. He claps twice, stamps his right foot, then spins a somewhat clumsy circle – and the room almost instantly cools down as the mirrors fall away to reveal another door.

Pizzicato cheers. “I knew you’d figure it out!”

Rocky tilts his head. “What was the song?”

Fugue smiles, shaking his head. “Someone I care very much about sang it to me when I was younger. We had a dance we used to practice for it too. You know, like kids like to do? What you saw just now was part of it – it took me a while because I hadn’t heard it in years. I haven’t the faintest clue how Seviper knows it.”

“Sssome ssssecretsss ssstay that way,” replies the hissing Pokémon. “But you’ve done well. Can you ssssolve my lasssst puzzle? It’sssss a real doozy.”

“Last puzzle?” Pizzicato frowns. “I was hoping there were a few more.”

The others all give her a “you’ve gotta be kidding me” look, but only Riley says it out loud.

“Sure it’s fun but we’re missing out on all the treats!”

“Come on,” Rocky shrugs. “The more we stand here, the longer we’ll be missing out whatever’s out there.”

The group makes their way into what appears to be a great dancing hall, with portraits of Pokémon clad in formal, almost Victorian style attire, hung on the walls. It’s not long before they recognize their own faces in some of them.

“Hey that’s…” Fugue has to stifle a laugh as he notices Deneb, wearing a frilly collar and a somewhat dour expression. “I uh…I wonder what the puzzle here is supposed to be.”

“Hey, isn’t that your trainer?” Riley asks, pointing to another painting.

Fugue nods, perhaps even more baffled. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but that puffy wig actually looks pretty good on her. How did they get her likeness, though?”

Before they can discuss it further, the snake interrupts, suddenly appearing in another burst of smoke.

“You’ve sssspeculated plenty. It’ssss time for the main event! If you can bessst me in a fight, then I sssshall releasssse you!”

Rocky frowns. “Well…that’s sort of disappointing. I had hoped you planned a real mind-bender, not just a throwdown.”

“Ah, but you ssssee,” laughs the snake. “I will not be battling you directly. I have insssstead devisssed a battle of the witsss unlike any other!”

Another puff of smoke fills the room, and before them stands a perfect facsimile of Cynthia!

“What the heck?” Riley practically shouts.

“Don’t worry,” she laughs. “Your challenge isss to determine what move you have that could bessst counter an attack I ussse. If you win, then you will try another opponent, then another, before the tessst endsss.”

“So it’s a simulated battle,” Fugue thinks. “Well, I don’t have everyone’s movesets memorized just yet but—”

“I do,” Pizzicato says happily.

“Then it fallsss on you to determine the bessst courssse of action,” smiles the Eevee with her strange enunciation still in full force. “I trussst the othersss will not regret having you in charge!”

“Uh, Fugue? Are we floating?” Rocky asks calmly, but with a certain tremor in his voice.

“Quite suddenly, yes. Except Pizzicato,” mutters Fugue. “I guess the final test really is all hers.”

“The adultsss never quite caught up, did they?” laughs their Halloween host. “Nonethelessss, here’ssss the firssst tessst! Cynthia approachessss and ussesss ssswift! What do you do?”

“Riley! Use Protect!” Pizzicato says with confidence. Riley complies, though a moment later he looks quite confused.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Rocky says.

“Uhhhh, neither did I?” he replies.

There’s another puff of smoke, and this time it’s Deneb facing them off. As if to remain in character, this time the Pokémon does not speak, instead presenting them with a Psychic attack.

“Fugue, try Rock Throw!” The Ampharos does so, but his confusion is even more evident.

“Um, I can’t…actually do that,” he whispers. “I think Pizzicato doesn’t actually know what I can do.”

“Well now’s not the time to correct her,” Rocky says quickly. “We’ve KINDA got to rely on her so—”

He’s interrupted by the sudden appearance of Cassiopeia where Deneb was.

“Crap,” Riley mutters, only to quickly apologize when Rocky gives him a look.

“Here’sss a Ssshadow Ball!” they declare, only to have Pizzicato immediately say “Rocky! Bug Bite!”

For a moment the older trio all exchange a look of despair – but then Rocky stirs, looking as lost as he possibly can, and executes the move with perfect precision.

“Okay….” Fugue says, scratching his head. “I assume this means we win?”

As if to answer his question, Seviper reappears and smiles. “Well done, travelerssss. You’ve defeated my obssstaclessss and proven your ssskill. I presssent you with your reward.”

A golden plastic card appears in front of each Pokémon and Seviper vanishes, revealing the exit just ahead.

“What’s this?” Pizzicato asks plaintively, apparently bummed that the game has ended.

“Well, it’s…10,000 poke worth of candy – or rather, a gift card for that – for each of us,” Rocky says with a half-stunned expression.

“Candy? You mean that weird snake gave us free candy? And we get to pick it out?” Riley asks quickly.

“That is…indeed the case,” Fugue says, scratching his head again, this time with a smile.

“Wow! What a prize! Hey, can we play again?” Riley wonders out loud.

“I had fun too! I don’t even need another prize!” Pizzicato adds, only for both of them to find themselves half carried to the exits and into the night.

______

“That was pretty fun, Cassiopeia. I didn’t know you were such a prankster!” laughs Cynthia as they make their way home.

“I believe Halloween is an opportunity to enjoy the chance to give others a bit of excitement. I couldn’t have pulled it off without your help. Your portrayal of a Sevipers’ accent is quite convincing, Cynthia.”

“Ha, well, Deneb here had it the hardest, but she still pulled it off wonderfully!”

The fusion Ampharos grins and wobbles with delight, nodding in agreement.

“So they’ll probably need to go do more trick-or-treating, and tell us their story when we get home. In the meantime, shall we actually go watch Arsenic and Old Lace?”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll pop the popcorn!” Cynthia grins.

So, having finished their own trick, they make their way home to enjoy their treats.

#pokemon #halloween #fugue #rocky #pizzicato #riley #cassiopeia #cynthia #deneb #short story #have a great one all!

[serendipitousoracle]

Mixtape n wardrobe for like... ALL the ocs?

[♡ OC ask meme ♡]

i will give you six (6) ocs.

Egeire Mahariel:

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like

1. “Love Love Love” - Of Monsters And Men (basically The song for Egeire/Zevran tbh. love and reluctance and duty and fear and pining, which eventually breaks down as despite it all they keep getting in deeper and deeper until Egeire finally goes fuck this and for once decides not to sacrifice everything he wants to hold onto)

2. “Rather Be” - Clean Bandit (happy fluffy love song for Eg’s sweet, loyal attachment to various love interests. he is devoted and adoring and when he is with the one he loves he would never want to be anywhere else)

3. “Wolves Without Teeth” - Of Monsters And Men (wqieujb?? devotion and consumption and non-physical wounds idk how to explain)

4. idk. something emo? and then instead insert “Not Gonna Die” - Skillet bc it’s really the message Egeire should be taking home

5. and then as throwback to something he’d like maybe smth Gorillaz or Disturbed just for “smth that would probably be on Egeire’s music playlists somewhere“

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?                                  

In DA-centric universes Egeire ends up becoming fairly all-or-nothing re: clothing. at the end of the Blight, into Warden-Commanderdom, and to some extent post-Wardenhood, he is either in full armor and weaponry (with some extra flash and ideally some small piece of elfiness in the Awakening period), or when he is completely alone and not paranoid and with people he trusts in a space he feels safe in, he is wearing like comfortable loose-fitting pants and that’s about it.

In more modern AUs Egeire wears more like… practical clothes, probably? flannel and open button-ups over tank tops with sturdy pants and tough boots, whatever clothes have been Gifted to him over the years, annnnnd at-home muscly shirtlessness with loose sweatpants

Also he looks so great in lace

Under Cut: Egeria Surana, Flytter the Junior Historian, Cyrron Mirevas, Soveliss Liadon, Grey Surana

Egeria Surana

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like

1. “Arms” - Christina Perri (still p much the First and Most Egeria/Alistair song. being Wardens is one rough thing and then the elven mage and the bastard prince is harder still. it works out in the end, but….)

2. “Retrograde” - James Blake (ouch that isolation and your friends are gone, and your friends won’t come, so show me where you fit. i’ll wait, so show me why you’re strong– i’ll wait, we’re alone now)

3. “You May Be Right” - Billy Joel (whoops it’s The DenRia Song)

4. “Beth’s Theme” (Broadchurch OST) - Ólafur Arnalds(Ria’s canon is just so like…. sad. unintentionally sad. quietly, wordlessly sad.)

5. “Stolen Dance” - Milky Chance / “Budapest” - Georga Ezra / “Break Stuff” - Limp Bizkit (just kind of misc songs for Ria Chilling Around The House)

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?

DA: a mix of aesthetic robes and practical ones, some with long flowing pieces and embroidered flowers that gradually transition to black dust, wearing her mage blood and magic specialties quite literally on her sleeve, some that are more armor than robe (bc spellsword/arcane warrior) but with elements of robes nonetheless. Dresses more lightly in private for ease of movement, with fur shawls and fine shoes and all. may be talked into some sort of short top + long skirt look by her fawning husband. in private.

Modern: light blouses and either loose-ish pants or long skirts, fond of flower motifs, plenty of like cardigans and soft jackets and things that generally perfect that sweet and trustworthy and caring outward demeanor she wields like empathy made tangible and precise. also has regular graphic tees and jeans for gardening.

Flytter

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like

1. “Little Talks” - Of Monsters And Men (grief is what drives Flytter from home to wrap themself up entirely in their work… for better or worse, despite the best wishes of those who cared about them)

2. “Non-Stop”, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”, … - Hamilton the Musical (um excuse me if somebody made a musical about Egeire Mahariel/WAWsquad/The Fifth Blight Hero you fucking know Flytter would be all over that)

3. “Radioactive” - Imagine Dragons (radioactivity… lingering Blight corruption… same difference, right?)

4. “Heavy In Your Arms” - Florence + the Machine (not entirely happy with this pick but struggling to find something for just– that kind of background gnawing of the slow, slow, painful death seeping into their being, the constant pain and the losing fight to the ebb of the corruption and their inability to keep it effectively treated or soothed or just. nesdfds.)

5. “Beyond the Veil” - Lindsey Stirling (trippy instrumentals for recording things and remembering dreams? sure why not. clear Veil joke? woo!)

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?

.DA: robes, again. robes with a focus on complete head-to-toe coverage and not irritating rough patches of skin or what not too much. Something comfortable enough to sleep in. Not really much variety once they lock themself away in Kinloch Hold rebuilt.

Modern: light shirts tied up and semi-professional vests and the ability to quickly create a skirt in any situation when they need to really move in a hurry

Cyrron Mirevas

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like

1. “Enemies” - Shinedown (i didn’t even have to think about this one everyone hates Cyrron except like…. you jay. only you. everyone else goes ‘ew’ or ‘why are his eyes sockets not full of sharp/sharp-ish utensils’ when i bring him up. only you cheer when he shows up or hand him over to tentacle monsters but)

2. “Simple Man” - Lynyrd Skynyrd (and the complete flipside– a simple kind of man, not rushing, revering the gods, settling down with a bondmate and having children… it was the life Cyrron intended to live, not exactly a soft or warm or gentle man by any means, but a simple man. Then he lost everything, and survived Vir Banal’ras, and we have present day Cyrron.)

3. “The Dalish Elves Encampment” - Dragon Age: Origins OST, or something (this is basically a placeholder to state: what do you think super traditional Dalish elf music sounds like? for Ferelden Dalish if you want to get specific maybe. Basically, whatever Traditional Dalish Music is, that is all Cyrron himself cares to listen to. That’s it. He hoards it. maybe even plays an instrument. the world will never know.)

4. i swear to god i’m not putting “Closer” on this list SO HOW ABOUT THAT BODIES SONG HUH IT’S SUPER MURDERY N STUFF

5. “Indestructible” - Disturbed (fitting, since it was on Egeire’s list, and he definitely got that from somewhere. really, Cyrron is indestructible to a point that even upsets himself until all the venom he sank into others finally comes back to flood his veins)

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?

DA: Armor. Sturdy Dalish armor, long updated and cycled through with parts, blades on hand at all times, each meticulously well-kept and menacingly. The only time he’s not in armor is if he’s for some reason in disguise to get closer to someone to kill them.

Modern: ranges from business semi-casual to business ultra-formal and nowhere below that range, at least not for wearing out in the daylight. Cyrron mostly has his crisp dress shirts and pressed black slacks and all that easy “I am wealthy and important and you don’t need to know what I do for a living” class, even despite the clear vallaslin, but he also has a variety of tougher garb and more lowkey clothing for when his real line of work comes calling in the night for a slit throat or a poisoned drink.

Soveliss Liadon

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC or songs they themselves would like

1. “Addicted to Love” - Florence + the Machine (possibly the earliest defining song for my vague thoughts of ‘Soveliss and his feylock patron’. Soveliss insists he knows what he’s doing! He just has to keep his wits around him! … gods, though, he is so lonely.)

2. “Carousel” - Melanie Martinez (have I mentioned Sov is really super doomed? And it’s all fun and games/‘Til somebody falls in love/But you’ve already bought a ticket/And there’s no turning back now)

3. “Believer” - Imagine Dragons, & “Whispers in the Dark” - Skillet (the main brain-chewing songs for fiendlock!au Soveliss)

4. “Dust Bowl Dance” and “Broken Crown” - Mumford & Sons (hypothetical #mood for potential Angry parts of potential Soveliss character/story arc “You haven’t met me, I am the only son.”)

5. “A Martyr for My Love for You” - The White Stripes (i’m just saying if anybody else dies before we finish this adventure Sov is gonna start getting real antsy about forming attachments to normal, mortal people)

Bonus 6. Welp. (a ghost monk floats through Soveliss’ room as Sov puts up a bard band poster up in his room in the monastery like “soooooovelllllissssss whaaaat isssss thissss” and teenage Sov is just Instantly Teenage Annoyed “MUSIC, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE, IS CHANGING, DAD” (all the monks in the monastery are Dad sov has like 2 dozen dads it’s a time))

BONUS 2 EDIT EDITION: i forgot “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” - Florence + the Machine was also a Sov inspiration song whoops

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?

D&D: Soveliss at the moment generally has his greyscale Acolyte of Kelemvor robes/garb, some dark leather armor, maybe some shiny beads or baubles, and his gorgeous blond hair (it is probably literally enchanted t b h), buuuut he has no real exposure to like….. choice of clothing let alone fashion. idk we’ll see if aub ever gets us somewhere cool where I can get him a truly art-worthy outfit or if he dies first i guess.

Modern: ????????????

Grey Surana

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like

1. “Stray Italian Greyhound” - Vienna Teng (whoops first song is a Grey/Tamaris song. but: Grey is every bit the tongue-tied hopeless romantic that Egeire is, except he somehow works himself up about it even harder bc in a way Grey can be summed up as Eg But Extra (i love this song tho))

2. “I of the Storm” - Of Monsters And Men (wh o o ps it’s another Grey/Tam song. but it is also a good sort of song for Grey’s general insecurities, still carried over if reflected differently from Egeire’s. not measuring up. not being loved. feeling trapped. are you really gonna love me when i’m gone? are you really gonna need me when i’m gone? i fear you won’t; i fear you don’t)

3. “In My Sleep” - Mystery Skulls (can’t find a good video but you can’t do this like i do/i fucking wrote this in my sleep is just. 1. it mostly inspired an au. 2. take Egeire’s mild peacock tendencies and turn them up to fucking 11 and you might start to approach Grey levels of pride and showboating. tempted to put “Magic” on this list but just. it’s so great. just go look it up.)

4. “Through Glass” - Stone Sour (something quieter. bringing back that feeling of isolation from Ria, but a bit more self-imposed– putting up walls of glass to keep a distance from everything and ending up sitting alone inside his own head, which really could account for a lot of his doubts. a negative feedback loop of sorts. but he is so used to it.)

5. “Work Song” - Hozier / “Iris” - Goo Goo Dolls / “Rather Be” - Clean Bandit (just some more love songs for the hopeless romantic bc I’m p sure I’ve spent like 8 hours on this ask and I’m dead now)

wardrobe:what’s your OC’s style like?

DA: so fashionable. whether he’s the Circle Ambassador or the Warden-Commander, Grey is dedicated to keeping up with trends and edging out ahead of them where he can. It’s a careful balance to keep, neither being so compliant as to be invisible or stepping so far out of line that he’s branded “outsider“ again, but he loves it. Grey is all about politics, wealth, luxury, prestige– whatever the Circle and the Chantry wanted to deny him, he will take, one way or another.

Modern: so fashionable. if it’s In he is at least looking into getting his hands on it, if he doesn’t already have it. as the Circle is traded out for more like…. slicksharp white collar big business laddering-climbing type ambition, so too are robes traded for suits, and so some manner of dress shirt + jacket/blazer/etc + slacks/dress pants/etc becomes his norm. Whether he’s climbing or charming or sleeping his way to the top, he enjoys surrounding himself with luxury and learning how to take advantage of it.Is still a sweetheart who looks nice in lace though.

#Egeire Mahariel #Egeria Surana #Grey Surana #Junior Historian Flytter #Soveliss Liadon #Cyrron Mirevas #oracleanswers #meridok #now with 50% more songs than I was even technically supposed to provide

[enaasteria]

Answered Asks // 1

This first bulk ask is for Music Anon as you sent me your reactions while reading and I LOVED THEM SO MUCH. Under the cut!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: March 30th 2018, 6:51:00 pm · 4 hours ago But what happens after 18 T_T?! Do we send them off to happy ending AU? But okay I can’t wait to see them being all fluff balls like omg I need fluff after all that angst (though I do love angst but they deserve their happy)! Btw, I sent you a message about a song that reminded me of chapter 11. I was just wondering if you’ve received because I remember you saying your inbox eats your messages sometimes :)

18 is the epilogue. It really is just a cute scene I have in mind that I want to write out that gives insight into what their life is afterwards. And yes!! the music ask is in my inbox. I’m saving it for when I can really focus on the lyrics. My brain is a bit loopy right now from finishing 17 so I want to take my time and enjoy the music you sent. I’ll definitely listen to it tomorrow morning when my brain is refreshed~~~!!!

Anonymous said to enaasteria: March 30th 2018, 7:10:00 pm · 3 hours ago

Okay I saw that you enjoy messages while we’re reading so I’m going to send you a lot of annoying ones which will make you sick of me. I’m at the scissors part and can I just say CHANYEOL? WHY?! DO YOU NOT READ THE ATMOSPHERE. IT SHOULD BE SEHUN AND AHRI ALL TANGLED UP AND PRETZELING, NOT YOU AND SEHUN!! Buuuut awwwww the hand holding. SOFLUFFYLIKEABUNNY. I literally had to wear my pyjamas and run to bed so that I could enjoy it in my most comfortable position. Back to reading! - musicanon

I’m gunna answer all of your individual messages personally because I LOVED READING EVERY ONE OF THEM. THEY WERE THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY NIGHT MUSIC ANON. THEY REALLY WERE. OMG. I had to rewrite this part so many times because I couldn’t figure out how to get Sehun and Ahri to the bathroom scene. The flow was completely off and I was like---let me try having Chanyeol being a fidgety mess and grab Sehun all over the place and voila. LOL

Ended the intense haircut session xD! I love the way you describe scenes in which Ahri cradles Sehun’s face. It’s so intimate and loving. I also love how both haircut sessions in the story kind of depicts how Ahri is letting Sehun into her world. But this time, he wants to venture deeper and she also wants him to come closer. So much has changed! Did Sehun read a manual on perfect boyfriend 101 because damn boy, you’re giving Ahri (and me) heart attacks! STAYINYOURLANE. 

YOU NOTICED. YASSSS. When he kissed her inner wrist LIKE. PLEASE @ LORD. PLEASE BLESS ME WITH THIS ROMANCE IRL. I NEED THIS. EVEN HALF OF THIS ROMANCE. I ain’t a greedy lady but I just want some heartfelt moments like this. Haircut session. My hearteu. Side note---I really need my bangs cut. Where can I get an apt Sehun to cut my hair??? BUT SNIFFS. This is how I see Sehun being with the person he loves. I really think he would dote on her and really love her to the extent of his capabilities. It just makes me go uwu.

Btw, Soi being like are you sure you’re done reminds me of the scene in Black Panther where T’challa is having his fam reunion and M’Baku is like YAWN are you done? Are you done?! Cracks me up!

OMG. BLACK PANTHER. You are just about my favorite anon. Thank you and let me love you forever and ever.

Oh dear lord, I hope Yua’s work troubles weren’t the ones you were going through (or something similar)? Also, I hope you weren’t referring to your cousin x_x. But of course, if you were then SHAME ON ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS TO YOU. You’re like Ahri though! Strong and elegant in her way of dealing with things <3 Soi’s desire to smush the lovebirds together perfectly describes my own. I always think of the NOW KISS meme whenever Sehun and Ahri are in close proximity. JUSTKISSCOMEON - ma

Every work trouble I really did go through. I write a lot from experiences so this whole chapter encompasses a lot of moments I dealt in real life. The work, the 23 hr straight shift, the glass frame and rewriting it. All happened. But it’s also a reason why I quit so now life is a lot better without those leadership boogers. WHAT IS THIS MEME YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT AND WHERE CAN I FIND ITTTT???

How funny would it be if Ahri playfully called Sehun Monsieur and Sehun launches into full French mode like Bonjour oui oui mademoiselle (my last French lesson was 15 years ago. it’s been awhile xD). Ahri be like dafuq I’m out - ma

Ahhhhhh my dearest music anon. She would straight up respond back in fluent french and let him live out his wildest dreams PUAHAHAHAH

TIE SCENE SO CUTE *hearteyes* I can imagine it playing out in my head!!! I have to applaud Ahri for being able to tie it on someone else. I can only tie it while it’s on my neck, loosen it and give it to someone else. And lol, of course Mr Perfect Boyfriend has the ability to somehow make his gaze softer on command xD. Ahri bby, how are you not melting. SOI?! YOU JUST SAID YOU WANTED THEM TO KISS AND NOW YOU’RE INTERRUPTING THEM. For a good reason. BUTSTILL. Just wait 30 seconds!!! - ma

RIGHT. This chapter made me CRY A RIVER AND IM STILL A MESS. And Monsieur Oh is adept with his facial structure and actions and can be any man you want him to be. You want sturdy burly Sehun. You got it. Soft, cherub Sehun? NO PROBLEM. He can do it all!!! But honestly I would melt too and she sort of does. Eventually LOOOOL But to Soi’s defense, she just has terrible timing. HAHAHAHA She’s my baby. I love Soi. I love Yua. I love Ahri. I love Yumi. I love all my girls.

Ohgod! Poor Ahri for having to do all that name writing! Sehun is right. She’s got this! But you’ve perfectly described me whenever I make a mistake in my writing. I’m like FFS I NEED TO REWRITE THIS WHOLE THING. That’s why I like pencils because rubbers exist. Look at Ahri getting all turned on by Sehun’s knife skills *waggles brows* it’s like her artistic rendition of lumberjack Sehun. I bet Sehun is already planning their wedding. Crossing mirrors off the list or else the missus would cry -ma

This was another one of the scenes where I wrote from experience. I was helping out a wedding and this bride made her seating charts just as I described. Her wedding was outside and it was windy and it knocked over one of the seating charts. I had to rewrite all those names and it was such a PAIN IN THE BUTTTTT. OMG ARCHITECT SEHUN WOULD BE SO HEUNGNNGNGNG. She goes and visits him at the office while he’s drafting a building. AND SHE JUST LOOKS AT HIM AND ITS HIS TURN TO ASK HER, CAN YOU LOOK AT ME LESS INTENSELY PLEASE, AHRI. IT would be just cutest.

CONGRATS TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM! Dude I can’t believe you forgot her name. I don’t do this at all *rolls eyes and acts self righteous* btw, I didn’t know about the least to most important bridesmaids/groom thing! It actually made me laugh because if you’re asked to be one, you know exactly where you stand in the ranking xD. ASDFGHJKL. HANDHOLDING. FITTING PRECISELY IN ALL THE EMPTY SPACES IN BETWEEN. WALKING DOWN THE AISLE. That’s it. They’re officially married in my mind. No arguments! - ma

Seunghyun and Lia’s meeting was actually how I met my husband. He didn’t remember my name actually but I remembered his and it was and still is how I torment him LOOOOL. It’s not really least important to most important. I just did it for writing purposes but it’s your wedding. Sometimes people just place people in certain spots based on their height LOL. AHRI AND SEHUN. MARRIED> I DEAD.

Oh Chanyeol, you finally have met your violent happy ending. He’s a pup in love! Very unexpected but I approve. Yeol and Ahri’s pact doesn’t stand because Sehun and Ahri just got married (and secretly stole Seunghyun and Lia’s thunder). OMGKEEPERS! ISEEWHATUDIDTHERE. Man Sehun, how does it feel listening to how you’ve been a dick to Ahri in KeepersAU (also early in ApartmentAU)? But he made amends so he will be forgiven. IS HE GOING TO GIVE HER JEWELLERY?! He said he wouldn’t unless ...! - ma

HE’S A PUP IN LOVE AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT HE ISSSSS. IT was never really a true pact to begin with. Just a joke to mess with Sehun that I added in and I don’t think Ahri would’ve ever went through with it tbh. She’s not the type to marry someone at all, if ever and even if she’s old and wrinkly, she wouldn’t marry someone if she didn’t wholeheartedly love him. AND YASSSS KEEEPEEPEPERPRRSSS. I’m glad you see it. I was really proud of this. I wove in so many stories for this chapter. My brain was about to burst. AYEEEE. WILL HE. WILL WE FIND OUT IF HE GIVES HER JEWELRY in 18??? We shall see.

I just died of fluff and I’m not even done yet. I had to take so many breaks in between reading by smushing my face into the pillow because my heart was bursting with cotton wool!! Not gonna lie, I wanted to smack Sehun for using >100 batteries. BE ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY BOY. Even if you’re in a fictional scene. But A+ for set up. The jar of longing is so sweet! BESTILLMYHEART. HAHAHA I CANT BELIEVESHE TOLD HIM ABOUT HOW SHE CLASSIFIES HIM! Married couple spilling all their secrets & kissing -ma

ITS SO FLUFF RIGHT? LIKE I CANT EVEN FIGURE OUT HOW I DID IT. I can’t even live right now because I’ve never written anything like this before. I’m more into darker stories where things are just pain and crying and tears and heart breaking torment. SO THIS WAS A 180 FROM WHAT I USUALLY WRITE. I hope it wasn’t vomit inducing fluff but IM SORRY. THE BATTERIES. Would it help if I said they’re rechargeable?????? AYEEEE. VERSIONS EQUATE TO CREATIVITY. Who knows, it might be a kink. OR. he could spend the rest of his life entertaining her with versions and asking her what do you call this one? how about this one? AHRIIII~~~~~~She would major regret this later on hahaha

Aw, I’m glad Ahri got to see the stars!! And promptly decided that she wanted to be with Sehun instead. Omg HAHAH. I was like how do you unofficially own a star? Did he call the international space agency or Spock or something and told them to fly a toothpick flag up with the names of Sehun and Ahri written on it xD? Btw are those star designations real? I tried googling but ended up with Supreme Court cases lol! Whenever Sehun tells stories that his father told him, and he says that (tbc) - ma

YES! You can can actually “buy” a star and “name” it. It’s definitely not official. It’s not like N*SA will recognize it but it’s just a sweet gesture and that’s why he said unofficially. The star designations I used aren’t real but they are formatted in that way. I had do research on this and it’s really long and windy and hard to explain because even my brain was like---i can not understand this. The letters are usually an abbrev of the telescope used to discover the star and the numbers are sometimes the year found or the date or coordinates. Like I said, really complicated science stuff so for the sake of fic writing, I just made it simple and put in some numbers that mean stuff LOOOL

And he says that it’s been passed down from generation to generation. I have this picture of ancient Egyptian Sehun wearing the Pharoh headgear in my mind telling his son about how KeepersAU Sehun was a dick and how he should cling to a girl called Ahri when he meets her xD! HE IS SO SMOOTH IN THIS CHAPTER. I spilled tea on myself so many times while reading. Can I just say that the we are stars for eternity idea (unless they decide to be a supernova) is so creative and so fitting for them?

AHHAHAHAHAHAH PHARAOH SEHUN. IM DED. OMG. I will never forget this memory and look. Another version of Sehun to make me want to die in a pile of fluff. And tbh---I really imagine Sehun coming to Ahri’s classroom with the kids all around him. Ada. Joon. They’re all around him in a circle as he tells embarrassing lovey dovey songs about Sehun and Ahri and it just makes me smile soooo much. ISNT IT. I HAD THIS IDEA FOR 3 YEARS AND I FINALLY WROTE IT OUT AND IM SO CRY TEARS OVER IT???? But yes---no supernova. no kilonova none of that colliding and bursting together business LOL.

You are so incredibly thoughtful in crafting a sense of continuity and meaning for Sehun and Ahri <3. I think that’s why they are so addictive as a couple. Because we get to see the way they’ve grown, the way they accept the hurt they’ve inflicted upon each other and themselves but actually reflect on it and come out stronger. I love the honesty and kindness they’ve shown each other in this chapter. How they’ve come out of hiding to show that they do indeed love the other. - ma

THANK YOUUUUUU. OMG. THIS REALLY IS SO SWEET. Your messages made me so much and I’m addicted to them as well. They’re like my babies and I just want to give them all the happiness to make up for all the pain I put them through. 

I loooove the parallel scenes between this chapter and the previous ones because this time, their words and actions mean something deeper. I wish I was as eloquent as you are because I don’t have words to describe how beautiful they are together. They are so in love and I’m in love with them being in love *_*! Casually throwing myself in their relationship. I’ll be waving pom-poms in the bushes where they can’t see teehee! Can we have a reincarnation AU based on the last line xD? - ma

AHHHHH IM NOT ELOQUENT AT ALL. I really fail at words and I might reread to fix some things but YESSS. I’m all about parallels. I love making full circle of things to make sure it all ends cleanly and making sure they’re not who they were but better people now. REINCARNATION AUUUUU. MAYBE. MAYBE. I have a few reincarnation prompts saved so I might dig into them and may something will spark???

Thank you thank you thank you for writing this absolutely brilliant story <3. I know nobody is as attached to Sehun and Ahri as you are but we’ve all loved them together for the past three years. THEY ARE LIKE OUR BABIES! I teared while reading 17 T_T. I can’t let them leave the nest. They need to stay within our arms forever!!! How many thank yous can I say before you want to hit me? WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU? You’ve blessed us with this story and I only hope I could do something in return. - ma

THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME. I’m not sure how long you’ve been with my blog but if it’s been 1+ years or even from the beginning, I really want to thank you for your patience. I know I’m not the quickest writer out there but I’m nevertheless so grateful for your words. For your sentiments. For all that you’ve written for me to make me smile. THESE MESSAGES ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH AS GRATITUDE. I really love how you reacted to them and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Nothing makes a writer happier than reading messages like this and seeing how you loved this story and cherish it as much as I do.

Okay, I’m probably getting annoying by now. so this is the last one I swear (also because tumblr is being like WHOA WAIT AN HOUR BEFORE ASKING MORE. So I’ve had to switch my WiFi mode on and off so that it doesn’t recognise me as the same person). I’m just gonna reread the chapter again and again, and again tomorrow and again and again. Thank you for this masterpiece. suffice to say, I more than love it so don’t you dare think that it’s anything short of fantabulous! throwsheartsatyou - ma

This is not annoying at all. You’re not annoying, MA. omg TUMBLR DOES THAT??? I never knew!!!! But really, thank you again endlessly for all that you’ve written. I appreciate it so much and I’m so happy you love this story. You are just the sweetest and I PROMISE TO LISTEN TO YOUR MUSIC RECS TOMORROW THE MOMENT I WAKE UP. hugs you. LOVES YOU. THROWS CONFETTI AT YOU.

#music anon #messages #SO MANY LOVELY MESSAGES #ICRY