#13 reasons why soundtrack

[closetfascination]

I'm obsessed with this soundtrack... And the the name of the artist is Let's Eat Grandma which I don't know seems fitting considering the tradition of heart eating amongst Blood Witches.

[gamermattsgf]

Coming of age movie hot takes // Matt + Chris

YES, I realise that this is not a proper piece of writing, but don’t worry babies, mommy has got u covered for the weekend coming (hopefully) *nervous laugh*.

You guys can ignore this absolute yapping if u want but it’s really something that I must get off my chest because I think about it an unhealthy amount and make up too many scenarios for each of them in my head with themes and certain plot lines included. Plus, I feel like some of u are absolutely gonna eat this up lol.

But… here are my individual hot takes for both Matt and Chris and what kind of coming of age films they look like they’d star in + with specifically random but accurate details included. (Obviously these are all my own ideas and they may be vastly different to someone else’s, but I felt as though tumblr was the perfect place to brain dump this onto all of u lovely readers)

Matt:

So first up is Matt. Matt gives very much one of those low budget indie coming of age movies where the quality may not be as good but the cinematography is beautiful, as is the plot line. Matt’s movie is the kind of movie you would go to watch and sob at for the entire time because it’s so irrevocably soul-crushing that it tears your heart up piece by piece. If he were to be in an indie movie I feel like it would low-key give off the same kind of energy as something like ‘All the Bright Places’ or possibly even ‘Five Feet Apart’.

Something absolutely tragic is bound to happen in Matt’s movie, and I feel like him dying due to some kind of terminal illness is a high possibility because I don’t know why, it just fits his vibe in a really weird way? Like- his coming of age movie has to be unbareably depressing for some reason.

He’s delicate and gentle, one of those really interesting characters that has so many layers/complications to him. Him and his main love interest share such an odd but heart-warming relationship that you just can’t help but be stuck thinking about the movie days after it’s finished. It bothers you so much that their happy ending was just out of reach.

For the soundtrack, I’m mostly getting Phoebe Bridgers vibes (specifically her Punisher album), something that’s mind-numbingly sad and fits the overall heartache of the cinematography so well that you just want to cry whenever something like ‘Smoke Signals’ or ‘Halloween’ plays beneath the ensuing dialogue. Also, in addition to Phoebe, I also get heavy Current Joys vibes such as ‘In a Year of 13 Moons’ and ‘A Different Age’. The very thought of imagining it makes me want to flat out sob.

Outfit / aesthetic wise for Matt, I envision very much warm brown leather jackets and baggy blue jeans with beat up sneakers and knitted sweaters. He always carries a tattered notebook and drives around a beat up pick-up truck. He smokes red Marlboro cigarettes and constantly seems to have one neatly tucked behind his ear (what-? It would literally look so pretty matched up with his beard and fluffy hair combo… don’t kill me). He’s shy and likes to keep himself to himself but is also hopelessly in love with our main character that also sort of keeps to herself, so he decides to pursue her before it’s too late.

I also feel like this Matt would for sure write 100 love letters to the main character but she would only discover them hidden within his notebook after he had died because when he was still alive he would never tell her what he was writing down whenever they shared moments together. Possibly Matt never got the chance to confess his feelings whilst he was alive, so they stayed forever friends and nothing more right up until he slipped through her fingers at the very end…?

(Bye I’m sobbing, why the fuck does my mind have to be so vivid and imaginative??)

Chris:

For Chris I feel like it’s a little different. His coming of age movie would definitely be a mix between a light-hearted comedy of the classic ‘underdog that finally gets the girl’ whilst also incorporating really important life lessons into the mix of the colourfully bursting screenplay. In contrast, the cinematography is just as beautiful as Matt’s, but in a hazier way, so I’m getting very much party + late night hang out vibes from what Chris’ gives off. This includes darker, more moodier lighting, almost like ‘Euphoria’ in a way. I think his movie would more so correlate with either something like ‘Perks of being a Wallflower’ or even something like ‘10 things I hate about you’. I think the added comedy matches up with Chris’ personality in real life perfectly.

There’s definitely got to be one of those cliche scenes where they lock eyes at a party and all of the other guys on the football team are staring at the most well-known girl in school but Chris only has eyes for our main character. There’s some form of blue/pink/purple flashing lights and everything seems to take place in slow motion as they tentatively peer at each other from opposite sides of the random fish tank before them (Romeo and Juliet style) or some other form obstacle in the way.

For Chris’ soundtrack, I’m thinking something a little more upbeat, and I was possibly debating on Lorde, her songs fit Chris perfectly in my opinion, and no one understands the young mind quite like she does. The emotional vulnerability of her songs mesh together beautifully with Chris’ love language of touch and teenage curiosity and I can just envision something like ‘Perfect Places’ or ‘Hard Feelings’ playing over the back of one of those ending monologues where the movie cuts to a bunch of different scenes as maybe Chris says something really sappy and sentimental over the top of them in his voiceover.

Finally, outfit / aesthetic wise for Chris, I would normally put him in his baggy light-wash jeans and then pair it with a white t-shirt and some form of a zip up hoodie with a backwards cap, but to be honest, most of what Boston Chris used to wear way back when works pretty well too. I’m thinking, typical high school student attire, he’s on the lacrosse team, and is always wholesomely trying his best to impress the girl he’s had a crush on for years with his skills, giving the movie that light, feel-good atmosphere that leaves you with a fuzzy glow after you’ve rewatched it for about the 5th time.

(Again, actually sobbing, I wish these two brief ideas of movies actually existed wtf)

Author’s notes: I’m sorry if this is literally so stupid but I think about it so much, and I think about a lot of other possible movies the triplets look like they could star in. In fact, I even have a whole entire second series sitting in my camera roll of me explaining what horror movies I think each of them would look good in, so if u guys end up liking this one, then I would consider giving u a breakdown of my horror movie ideas if anyone were to wish it hehe. But thank u for listening to my rant and I hope it makes as much sense in your head as it did in mine… 🎀

People who I think would entertain this yapping and enjoy what I have to say here: @luv4kozume @luverboychris @lovingmattysposts @luvmila444 @rootbeerworshiper @nicksmainbitch @lacysturniolo @thesturniolos @strniohoeee @asturniolos @sturniolosreads @sturniolosstar @meanttomeet @sturniolowhore @mattscokewhore @matthemunch @mattestrella @vecnasnose0 @ellie-luvsfics @imwetforyourmom @breeloveschris @kvtie444 @stursweet @bernardsgf @fake-sturniolos @mattslutt @1800chokedathoe @orangeypepsi

[ladykailitha]

Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 14

I'm thinking about writing an epilogue/sequel to this because after reading the ending, I feel like I've cheated you out of something special, but the story feels like it should have ended after the rut. So let me know in the comments if you would like see the bonding and birth of their first child.

First of two chapters being posted today.

The after party. Tommy makes an appearance and Chrissy comes to rescue...well so do everyone in Stevie's corner, but especially her.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

****

The after party was buzzing with the who’s who of the industry. Producers and artists mingled with label execs and the best escorts Starcourt had to offer.

Steve had been invited to a couple of these in his time and always had fun.

Eddie was talking to this beautiful actress in a long purple and black gown. She had song on the soundtrack of her latest movie, surprising a lot of people with her vocal talents in addition to her acting.

Steve gulped down a bit of champagne to chase the bile of jealousy that he had forced back down.

“Well if it isn’t, Steve Harrington,” a cool voice said behind him.

Steve schooled his expression and turned around.

There was Tommy Hagan.

It had been a lovely couple of months where they hadn’t run into each at an event at all.

Steve smiled. “Hey, Tommy, you working a client or just the room tonight?”

When Starcourt supplied omegas to after parties like this one, they were allowed to network to get new clients. So not only were they paid well, they could bring in even more money by picking up new clients.

“He doesn’t love you, you know,” Tommy sneered. “This is all stunt to take the attention off of the fact that he fucked up with two omegas and nearly caused a scandal for the label both times.”

Steve knew that was the reason for the ‘fake dating’ contract. It was his business to know. “What’s the matter, Tommy? Upset that I get to fuck your favorite rockstar? You must have been so livid when you found out that I got invited to their charity gala and you didn’t.”

“You think you’re so special getting a million dollar cherry pop price,” Tommy snapped. “But that just means that you had to stay longer to pay it off, stupid.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yes, and I made that my first year. I didn’t have to stay, but I know my worth, sweetie. And it is a hell of a lot more than a million dollars.”

“You’ve got your claws in him now,” Tommy hissed, “but he’ll figure out that you’re as shallow as your intelligence.”

Steve flushed and Tommy smirked, knowing he hit the mark. The one thing that Steve was always worried about and that was coming across as the dumb bunny.

“I’m not stupid,” he whispered harshly. “Just because I haven’t gone to fancy schools doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”

Tommy laughed cruelly. “Look around you, Steve. This is all you’ll ever have. All you’ll know. You’re only worth is what’s between your legs, not what’s between your ears.”

Tears stung at the corner of Steve’s eyes.

Then there was a warm arm that slid around his waist and Steve leaned into the embrace.

“You okay, baby?” Eddie murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“Much better now that you’re here,” Steve whispered back, nuzzling the under side of his throat.

“Stevie and I were just having a little chat,” Tommy said all false smiles, “weren’t we?”

Steve pressed further into Eddie’s side.

Eddie scoffed. “I heard what you were saying, it’s why I came over.”

Tommy blanched. “What?”

“And I did not like what you said at all.” He kissed Steve soundly on the lips. “Troy and Robin are waiting for you, babe. They’ll take you somewhere where you can calm down and I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

Steve nodded and went right into the waiting arms of Robin, Troy covering Steve from behind so no one could see how upset he was.

“You’re Tommy Hagan, right?” Eddie asked, low and menacing.

Tommy nodded.

“I’ve been hearing about your supposed rivalry with Steve from a couple different people tonight.” Eddie’s tone grew even darker.

Tommy opened his mouth, but Eddie held up his hand to stop him, “And no, Steve was not one of them. From other handlers and escorts. From what I could gather, you’re pissed because he rose to the top of the company faster than you did. He’s prettier, more charming, and better at his job.”

“Think whatever you like,” Tommy scoffed. But the red flush to his cheeks belied his statement.

“And now he’s dating the lead singer of your favorite band and you are just eaten up with envy and jealousy,” Eddie continued. “So you decided to go after Steve’s intelligence knowing it was a soft spot for him. But there are different kinds of intelligence and Steve’s is all emotional. And that’s what makes him brilliant at what he does.”

“Still makes him as dumb as a rock,” Tommy hissed.

Eddie just shook his head. “I’m making a complaint against you with the agency. This is really bad behavior for a Starcourt omega and doesn’t reflect well on them.”

Then Tommy really did pale. All color drained from his face, leaving his freckles more pronounced in the absence of color on his cheeks.

Eddie just shook his head and went in search of Steve.

Troy spotted him first and waved him over to a small alcove where Robin was rubbing Steve’s back as he struggled to calm down.

Eddie knelt in front of him and began rubbing his arms. “Hey, sweetheart. Do you need to leave?”

Steve took in a deep shuddering breath and held in his a moment. “No. Tommy is an ass but I can handle it.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Eddie murmured, caressing Steve’s cheek with his thumb. “With the horrible questions, the sexist alpha, and now this asshole. You admit it affected you and we can go home.”

Steve’s lip quivered. “But what about you, don’t you have to be here?”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie said, cupping his cheeks, “I have been here. I could duck out. The rest of the band is still here as well as Benny and our producer Alexi. They could hold court if you really needed us to go right now.”

“Tommy’s already been reported to management,” Troy said, cradling his ear. “They still want Eddie to make a formal complaint, but they’re pulling Tommy out and replacing him with Chrissy Cunningham.”

Robin nodded. “Elinor and a couple other omegas who were here with actual clients had run afoul of him as well.”

Steve raised his head. “Wait, really? He’s pissed that he was only here to work the room as opposed to being with a client? Is he stupid?”

Troy raised his hand and rocked his fingers back and forth. “The jury is still out on that one.”

Eddie looked back between Troy and Steve in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“It depends on the client,” Steve said, “but an escort can make $1000-5000 a night. But working a room, you’re paid an five grand plus the chance to pick up future clients. Alphas that aren’t there with anyone who might have an event coming up that would be improved by having an escort. Maybe their rut is coming up soon. Working a room can net an escort closer to ten to fifteen grand.”

Eddie blinked. “Holy shit. Now, I’m wondering how he could be so stupid.”

“I could answer that,” a warm female voice said behind them.

Steve looked up and grinned. “Chrissy!”

Eddie stood up and turned around to see one of the prettiest female omegas he ever seen. Her strawberry blonde hair was artfully pulled back in a wavy bun, highlighting her green eyes and dazzling smile. She wore a pink mermaid tail dress that had feathers on her hips and on the train. She held a matching clutch.

She gave Steve a hug. “I’m sorry Tommy was an douchebag tonight, cher. But I’m here now.”

Steve relaxed, the last bit of tension bleeding from his frame with her casual support.

“So why would d-bag want a client over working the room if the gains are greater working the room?” Eddie asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

He had changed, too. The tuxedo pants had been replaced by leather ones, and he wore a band tee under a leather jacket. His knee high boots gave him a little extra height on Steve even in his own heels.

Chrissy smiled up at him. “Because if you’re working the room, that means you weren’t good enough to get a client going to the Grammy’s. It’s about the prestige of being with a big name artist. And that clout can’t be bought. Steve here is going to get more requests being at Eddie’s side, then I will from working the room.”

Robin snorted. “Only because Steve’s that hot.”

Steve ducked his head to hide his blush. He really did have the best of friends.

Chrissy giggled. “There’s a little bit to that, sure. But the salient point is that Tommy is jealous because he knows that even with Eddie courting Steve, Steve is going to make a hell of a lot more money than Tommy could hope to dream of in just this year.”

“He was trying to upset the escorts on jobs so that they would leave,” Troy said, “which would free up the clients for those only working the room.”

Steve and Chrissy gave Troy an appraising eyebrow, impressed.

“Sounds about right,” Steve said. “Which means leaving would be giving in to his schemes. Plus, Chrissy is here now. That makes the party way more fun.”

Eddie held out his hand and helped Steve to his feet. “Whatever you want, princess. I am but yours to command.”

Steve wagged his eyebrows. “Something I’ll consider for tonight.”

Robin and Chrissy wolf whistled.

Troy just shook his head. With Robin in tow, Troy melded back into the crowds to keep an eye on Steve from a distance.

Chrissy was introduced to the band. Jeff was immediately smitten by her charms.

He was falling over his feet to impress her.

“Jeffy here writes our music,” Eddie told her and Steve. “I write the lyrics and he turns them into songs. Really I have the easy part. He does all the heavy lifting.”

Gareth, immediately picking up on where Eddie was going with this followed that up with, “Yeah. Which considering he boxes to stay in shape it’s really easy for him.”

“You box?” Chrissy asked, all interest. “Do you actually get in the ring or do you just go up against punching bags to prevent ruining the prettiest face of the band?”

Steve hissed at her, “You take that back! Eddie is the hottest member of the band.”

“Hottest guitarist, maybe,” Elinor huffed. “Hottest member is clearly Gareth.”

The three alphas were starting to growl when Brian stepped in. “Guys, guys. You’re all very pretty. The prettiest. Now can we move on?”

Just when everyone had calmed down, he said, “Besides we all know the best looking one in the band is me!”

His friends dogpiled him and wrestled him to the ground.

Chrissy leaned over to Steve as the four of the tussled. “Do they do this often?”

Steve just shrugged. He hadn’t had the chance to hang out with band yet.

Elinor rolled her eyes. “They are like this all the time. In a minute or so, they’ll get tired, give up and move on like nothing has happened. They’ll straighten their clothes and hair, all the better for it.”

Sure enough they did just that.

Brian looked the worst for wear considering he had been the one under attack, but nothing was torn or out of place and quite quickly they were looking like nothing had happened.

“I love these dorks,” Eddie murmured. “So, so much.”

Steve kissed his cheek. “That’s good, because I think you’re stuck with them, being in a band and all.”

Jeff giggled. “Is he stuck in here with us, or are we stuck in here with him?”

Steve tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Oh, definitely the latter.”

“Hey!” Eddie protested.

Gareth shook his head. “No, no. I’m with Steve on this one. We are definitely stuck in here with you.”

“Traitors,” he muttered darkly.

Steve nuzzled his scent gland and Eddie’s alpha purred. It took every ounce of Steve’s professionalism he had to keep the replying chirp quiet enough that only Eddie could hear.

Eddie grinned. “Just let me make the rounds one more time and then you and I will get out of here.”

Steve nodded and then watched him go. He grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downed in one gulp.

Chrissy’s eyes went wide and she slipped her arm through his and murmured, “Come on, cher. Let’s talk, you look like you need it.”

Steve nodded and followed her outside to get some fresh air. Once there he told her all about his night and not just the Tommy fuckery.

“I was standing there already feeling jealous about the gorgeous female omega actress that he was talking to and then Tommy came in and poked at my other biggest insecurity and I just crumpled...”

Chrissy put her arm around his shoulder and laid her head on his chest.

“You’re going to have to decide if that side of his job is going to be worth it, because if you’re freaking out over him just talking to an actress,” she said gently, “how are you going to fare when he goes on tour?”

Steve sighed. It was one of the reasons that Neil never requested to court him. Being on tour all the time, the constantly being away from Steve who was very much of fixture of LA.

“I don’t know,” he admitted softly. “But he stirs something inside me that I have never felt before and it’s addicting. It feels like flying and I worry that I’ll fly too close to the sun and fall.”

“Soar anyway, Steve,” she advised him. “It’s scary and it’s new. But soar anyway. You deserve a chance at happiness, just be sure to tell Eddie when you feel this way. Because he’s not a mind reader. He can’t see what’s happening behind his back.”

Steve frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Eddie was told Tommy was harassing you,” Chrissy said. She held up her hand before Steve could say anything. “Now before you get all in your head thinking that he had to be told to come to your rescue, we both know that’s not true. But he had to be told you were in danger. Because it was happening where he couldn’t see. So you have to tell him when you’re feeling left out or jealous, because if it’s happening where he can’t see, he can’t fix it.”

Steve let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I see what you mean. If I had been more honest about the actress, Eddie would have already been by my side and maybe Tommy would have still approached or not, but probably not.”

She nodded. She turned around and saw Eddie looking for Steve. She spun Steve around and pushed him toward Eddie.

“Now go get your man.”

Steve stumbled into the venue and began moving quickly so he could reach Eddie faster.

Suddenly Eddie had an armful of soft omega.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured into Steve’s ear, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist. “You ready to go home?”

“Yeah,” Steve said softly. “Take me home, Eds.”

****

Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

The confrontation with Tommy had been stewing in my head since I first starting writing the story, originally it was going to be with the Nancy and Billy at New Yorker party but there was already too much going on in that chapter so it got moved here.

Tag List CLOSED: @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​

@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi

@maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv

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@ellietheasexylibrarian @rememberthatiloveyou @slowandsteddie @r0binscript @alyelf

@melodymeddler @mogami13 @annabanannabeth @disrespectedgoatman @manda-panda-monium

[stunningsturns]

OMGG you know in highschool musical when troys dad sees troy and gabriella on the court together and their being super cute and flirty ?! pls write something like that

༉‧₊˚. On the Court

pairing: Soft!Chris x Volleyball Player reader. warnings: none! word count: summary: Chris and Y/n play volleyball together, and the coach is Y/n's dad. Little do they know; he pays close attention to both of them, and they begin flirting on the court. authors note: I added my own little twist to this! I hope you love this!! :)

I arrived at the court for the game. I took a good look at the court, seeing as I will be playing here. My dad comes up behind me, patting me on the head. “Are you ready for the game y/n? I know you have it in the bag.” He whooped. I giggle at his enthusiasm, “Yeah! I am ready for the game.” I grinned. “The rest of the team should be here shortly. I will be at the hotel across the street, so just call me if you need me.” He replied. I nod my head, and my Dad walks away leaving me alone in the court. I decided I am gonna work on my dolphin dives, I go over to my phone and begin playing my favorite song, “Back to You” by Selena Gomez. I put on my knee pads and throw the volleyball up and dive. Little did I know, someone was watching me. A figure appeared behind me and a familiar voice spoke up, “Nice form.” Chris commented. I immediately stop and turn around. He giggles, wrapping a hand around my waist and pulling me into a tight hug. “I missed you.” He exhaled. I blush softly, “I missed you too.” I cooed. His cologne flowing into my mouth making me want to hold him longer. He pulls away for me, “That was a long hug.” He giggles. I smile, “Well, I haven’t been able to hug you because of my Dad, remember?” I replied. He nods his head in agreement, “Yeah, well the rest of the team should be here so, don’t flirt with me.” He jokes, I giggle “I know what you mean, haha.” He smiles, “Let’s warm-up?” I nod.

** TIME SKIP **

The game had begun, our server Raleigh served the ball, the opposing team hit it back on our side and it almost reached the floor before I swooped in and hit it back up in the air for Chris to hit over the net. He spiked the ball over the net and it hit the floor, meaning we got a point. The scoreboard lit up, ‘1-0’ He high-fived me. 

Later on, the score was ‘24-24’ This was the point determining who won. We had to win this, we exchanged glances and boom, the game had started back up again. The ball was in the air, one of my teammates hit it but it didn’t go over the net, so I swooped in once again and hit it up and Chris spiked it. The ball hit the floor, meaning we won. Chris ran up to me and picked me up. He kisses my cheek, “We did it!” He whispers in my ear. I smile, “Yeah! We did.” Chris puts me down as my dad approaches, “What was that all about?” My dad questions.

Taglist: @hysteria-things @stellarsturns @lightningsturvn @sturniozo @notariverdaleacctanymore @tillies33ssss @maggieflms

[swiss-mrs]

Theater Kid

Rating: PG-13, Pure Fluff, All Major Characters are 18+ (Seniors in HS)

Reader/OC Description: Reader is African American/Mixed. Reader’s Hair is Usually Braided. Body shape/type is not detailed.

Synopsis: Being known as part of the designated nerd squad didn't leave Dave in the best light at school, but some nerds are more acceptable than others, specifically pretty, talented ones. 

Warnings(?): Minimal Adult Language, Not Much Kick-Ass, Just a Whole Lotta Awkward Teenage Dave, Reader’s Parents are described (Mom is Black, Dad is Ambiguous), but They Are Not Explicitly Labeled Biological. Reader’s Parents are Not Together, but They Have a Healthy-ish Parent-Daughter Relationship. Somewhat of a Lengthy Play/Musical Description.

This is written in second POV, but No Use of Y/N.

Musical Soundtrack

Dave stood in the hall, staring at a particular poster on the school's bulletin board. ‘Millard Fillmore High Presents The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. Just underneath the word ‘Staring’, he saw your name listed second. He vaguely remembers seeing the Disney cartoon as a kid and recalls Esmeralda as one of his sexual awakenings, but that was about it. Of course, that's who you were staring as.

Dave was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the jocks who he clearly caught the attention of. As they passed, one of them snuck up behind Dave and threw a basketball at the back of Dave’s head, knocking his glasses right off his face. A chorus of laughter could be heard behind him. Dave rubbed the back of his head, bending down to pick up his glasses. The laughter was cut short by the sound of a loud smack and a rogue basketball.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” A feminine voice rings through, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hall. “You're not hurt are you?” Dave's eyes adjust as he puts back on his glasses and looks over to the commotion, finding the guy who hit him on the floor with a bewildered look on his face. Above him stood you, clutching your textbooks to your chest.

“Uh, yeah, no. I'm cool. Just…tripped?” He replies, looking around as if he'll find the reason he's suddenly on the tile floor.

“Be more careful, stupid.” You say with an innocent pout before walking off, in the direction of Dave. The jock’s buddies and a couple other students laugh at him as he scrambles to his feet. They all continue down their path in your opposite direction. Dave thinks he's hallucinating for a second, but you seem to be waking straight for him. “Are you okay?” Your voice carries a tone different from the one it held earlier. It was softer, genuine. Dave stares at you wide eyed like you've just seen through his power of invisibility. The pause between you was long, long enough for your face to contort further with concern. “Hello?” You wave a hand in front of his face, the other hand still gripped tightly around your books. Dave blinks rapidly for a few seconds. “Wow, he hit you pretty hard.” you say sadly.

“You- You saw that?” He says starstruck. You scoff. 

“Of course. Why do you think I tripped him?” You retort, putting your hand down, letting it fall at your side. Dave stared at you, gaping. There's no way. Not only are you acknowledging his existence, you're talking to him. Not only that, but you also stood up for him. What? “Jeez, I think he might’ve given you a concussion. Let's get you checked out.” You place a gentle hand on his shoulder, turning him slowly and leading him to the nurses office. The short walk there was spent in silence with Dave staring down at you, you occasionally looking up to him with concerned eyes. As soon as you both walk through the doorway of the office, your name rings out from the nurse herself. The graying brunette rounds the corner of her desk and greets you.

“How ya doin, superstar? You alright?” You let out a sigh of a laugh and return her soft smile.

“Hi, Nurse Patty. I'm perfectly fine.” You look up at Dave and pat his shoulder, his eyes still on you. “This guy on the other hand.” You look back to the nurse. “That jerk, Matthew, hit him pretty hard on the back of the head with a basketball. I'm just concerned. Do you mind checking him out real quick?” Nurse Patty glances up at the taller boy.

“Not a problem at all.” She replaces your hand with hers, “Right this way, kiddo.” She says guiding him to one of the private rooms. His eyes continue to follow you as he is led away. Patty notices and calls you over, keeping you from leaving. She sits him down on a bench and starts rummaging through her tool drawers.

“Yes, Ms. Patty?” You reply, coming to her call but staying in the doorway of the room.

“Would you mind staying here for a few while I do his check up?” You open your mouth to protest as the bell rings, announcing tardiness for the current class period. “I'll get you a slip.” She says before you could counter, giving you a knowing look. She holds a suspiciously smug expression on her face. You scrunch together your brows and squint your eyes at her. You don't know what she's up to, but you can't help but let a small smile creep onto your lips. Her aging features were just too cute to decline, her plump cheeks pushed up even further by her grin.

You shrug it off, breaking eye contact with her, and silently make your way over to the metal chair in the corner of the room. You place your backpack on the floor next to you and let your textbooks rest on your lap. You look up to catch Dave still staring at you, but this time his eyes quickly avert your gaze, a warm blush dancing across his face. Patty grabs his attention.

“Alright, hun. I'm gonna do a few tests, just follow as best you can.” She starts, beginning to run through the series of minimally invasive tests. It takes a few minutes, but each chance he got, he would sneak a glance at you. You were sat there, watching him. God, you were just so pretty. Your hair was braided away from your face, the loose braids in the back gathered into a messy bun, a few strands sticking out strategically. You had one braid framing the front of your face, of which Dave desperately wanted to move behind your ear as an excuse to touch your face. You wore black leggings that flared out at the bottom, falling over your dirty and well-loved black and white converse. You had a large black hoodie that was half zipped up in the front. He found it cute how the sleeves of your hoodie constantly fell passed your hands and the legs of you pants seemed just an inch too long, constantly getting caught under the back of you shoes. He mindlessly completed each task he was half paying attention to.

“Welp, seems like you're just fine, young man.” Patty interrupts his trance. “Maybe he's just lovestruck.” She chuckles. Both you and Dave look at her wide eyed, but she pretends not to notice and continues with her tasks. This time when your eyes meet, you both quickly look away with heated faces. She walks out of the room and to her desk. You quickly gather your things and follow suit. You and Dave nearly trap each other in the door frame, neither of you wanting to be left alone in the awkward silence. Dave takes a step back and silently motions for you to exit first, mumbling an apology.

“Alrighty, my dears.” Patty says, eyes still trained down as she scribbles on two pink slips. She looks up at you two, standing side by side on the other side of her desk. She hands one slip to you and one to Dave. “Here ya go!” She looks over at Dave, “If you notice any worsening symptoms, come back to see me.” She turns to you, “Thank you for bringing him in, sweetheart. It was a pleasure to see you as always.” She gives you a sweet smile and wiggles her brows. You squint at her. That was suspicious. Dave mutters a small thank you, and you give her a smile, still squinting at her. You exchange your goodbyes, and you and Dave file out of the office. You both start walking in the same direction to your next class. You look up at him as you walk, his eyes scanning over the pink slip.

“You sure you're alright?” You break the silence. Dave jumps as if he didn't realize you were still walking beside him. His eyes dart back and forth between you and every other thing in the empty corridors.

“Uh- Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks.” He says, subconsciously rubbing the back of his aching head. “It's just a bit tender, but I'll be fine.” He drops his hand back to his side, his hand grazing yours. He flinches away, apologizing. You let out a scoff of a laugh, giving him a curious look. He’s so odd. He continues to avoid your stare as you squint at the side of his head. “Why’d you help me?” The strange question breaks your stare, taking you off guard.

“Uh… well,” It was now your turn to struggle to find words. “That’s a weird question…” You turn your head, looking forward as you two slowly make your way down the empty hall. You shrug, “What was I supposed to do? Just let some jackass be a bully without consequence? Don’t think so.” You raise a brow and hold your head high. You notice out of the corner of your eye that it is now Dave’s turn to stare at your profile. “Why are you so surprised that someone stepped in?”

“No one ever does.” He shrugs. The way that sentence rolls off so easily and nonchalantly pierces your heart, and you glance over to him before switching your gaze to the ground with a heavy feeling in your chest. Dave looks down shyly, running his fingers up and down his backpack straps nervously, “And, you know, you’re, well, you.” You are taken aback. You look up to him with furrowed brows, confused, wondering if you should be offended or not.

“What is that supposed to mean?” You ask. Dave stutters, trying to find the right words.

“Well… I mean... You know... You’re just so… Uh…” He huffs out an uncomfortable, humorless laugh, gripping to his backpack straps for dear life. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” He lets out a sigh, “You’re just, you know, really pretty, and, uh, kinda popular, and I, uh, I guess it’s just a bit of a shock that someone of your… status?... would give me the time of day, let alone stand up for me.” You tried not to focus on the fact that he just called you pretty. You look down at your feet.

“That’s sad…” You say just above a whisper. You look up at him. “I’m sorry I never stepped in sooner. I mean,” You look back ahead of you, “I’ve never been one to watch idly while douchebags try to run things, but I guess they’re just a little more well behaved when they realize they’re around me.” You shrug and look down, ashamed.

“No, no, no! Don’t blame yourself! I’m not blaming you. I just…” he lets out a heavy sigh, looking down, defeated. “I finally get a chance to talk to you, and I’m really screwing this up right now.” He says out loud, more to himself. He glances over to you, nearly tripping over his own feet when he sees the wide eyed, innocent, kicked puppy look on your face. He quickly steadies himself as you slow to a stop.

“Finally get to talk to me?” you look up at him confused. You turn to face him, he does the same. He curses under his breath.

“I need to learn how to keep my thoughts in my head.” He says nervously. “I just, uh… I’ve… admired you?... for, like, a while now.” You avoid eye contact, eyes darting wildly, “I mean, your performances are always so fantastic!” he backpedals, a bit louder than intended. You let out a soft sigh of laughter.

“Well, thank you. I’m actually headed to the theater right now.” You say and point to the door behind him.

“Oh!” He jumps out of the way. He glances through the small window and is met with the sight of some kids in mismatched capes ‘fighting’ with plastic swords. It genuinely looked like an easygoing, fun (and slightly nerdy) environment. Dave felt a small pang of longing in his chest, wishing he had a group to belong to like this.

“Will you come see the musical? It’s the largest production of the year, and we only get to do one of these every two years. It’ll be my best performance. I promise.” You grin up at him.

“Of course!” He says a bit too quickly. “I- I can’t wait.” He says, trying to redeem his everly excited exclamation from earlier.

“Good. I’m excited. Esmeralda is like my dream casting. I have to nail every show. Do her justice.” You look straight ahead with a happy yet determined expression. Dave finds your determination utterly adorable. He looks at you longingly.

“I can't wait.” He sighs out in an almost whisper. You switch your gaze to him and smile brightly.

“I’ll save you a ticket.” Daves brows shoot up. “See you around, Dave.” you say before opening up the door. The class erupts with a chorus of dramatic, accusing ‘ooo’s at your presence, mocking your tardiness. You hold up your pink slip with a smirk, getting a couple of playful scoffs and eyerolls, the class half upset they don’t get to see you get in trouble. Dave stands there even after the door shuts behind you, awestruck. You… You know his name? You know his name!

Dave breaks out of his trance by the sound of the final bell to dismiss class. None of the kids in the theater room actually leave as they all have a theater club immediately after school, but the rest of the classes are soon to empty, flooding the hallway. Dave looks around him, ignored by everyone passing by. His face lights up. He couldn’t think of a better way he could’ve spent his final period of the day than by getting to talk with you alone. He carries a happy grin on his face as he makes his way down the hall to meet up with Todd and Marty. You know his name.

》》》

Tonight is opening night. Tonight is opening night! Dave didn’t even bother leaving the school that day. He didn’t even care that he had 4 hours to kill afterwards. He wanted to be the first person in the theater to ensure he had the perfect seat. He even gave a half-assed excuse, so he can ditch Marty and Todd. They already made a comment, questioning him for wearing one of his ‘nice shirts’ to school today. Thankfully, they didn’t see the flowers he hid in his locker. He didn’t need them making fun of him ‘simping’ over the female lead of the school musical.

He spent hours in the school library, reading and rereading his favorite spiderman comic he kept on him. He finished all his homework and eventually moved from comics to doodling in his notebook. He started out by sketching himself in his ‘Kick-Ass’ costume, but his pencil soon switched over to doodling a girl with varying braided hairstyles, even sketching his cartoon version of you with ‘Kick-Ass’, drawing out his dreams of sweeping you off your feet like Peter did with MJ.

His eyes found the clock hanging on the library wall, and he decided it was time to pack up and head down to the school’s theater. Though it was 30 minutes prior to showtime, there were already people gathering by the theater entrance. Some were students, some seemed to be parents. Dave noticed a dark-skinned woman with long straight braids and a hot pink beret talking excitedly to a dark haired man. She was standing and talking with her hands while the man sat on a nearby bench, seemingly ignoring her and focusing on reading through the laminated playbill. “I can’t believe my baby gets to play her dream part in her senior year! My girl is so talented!” She squeals excitedly, causing the man to wince at her loudness. “Aren’t you just so proud of her?” She smacks the man’s plaid sleeve covered arm. He looks up at her annoyed.

“Of course, I’m proud of her. She’s a natural talent, and she’s flourishing. I’m just not as hyper as you.” He quips, almost offended by the question. The woman scoffs and rolls her eyes, killing her mood.

“Boy, whatever. Maybe you should try to be a little less depressed looking.”

“I’m here for my daughter. She knows good and well I am happy for her.” He retorts, going back to busing himself with the playbill.

These were your parents, Dave realizes. His heart pumps hard in his chest as he passes them. It’s not like he needs to go up and introduce himself. It’s not like he’s your boyfriend. Jesus, you couldn’t even be considered friends, barely acquaintances. His panicked thoughts are interrupted by the sliding of the box office shade opening, the student behind the glass announcing the booth’s opening.

A group of 5 students who were obviously together were first to line up and get tickets. Next was your parents. Behind them was a single, balding man with glasses holding a clipboard and tablet, probably someone’s dad? David guessed. Dave lined up just behind him. The line quickly moves up, and he finally gets to the glass. “Just one, please.” He says shyly.

“That’ll be $7, please. Name?”

“Dave? Dave Lizewski.” He says, more so coming out as a question. He reaches in to hand the brunette his cash.

“Oh! Nevermind!” The student says, looking up from her paper. “Here.” She takes a ticket and a playbill, handing it through the hole in the glass barrier. “You already have a ticket saved for you.” Dave’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, taking the ticket from her.

“Th-thanks.” He says shyly. She gives him a kind, customer service-y smile, and he walks off, heading into the theater.

The house lights were warm and dim, just bright enough to find a seat without tripping over anything. Dave noticed the group of friends that were first took up most of the front row, off to the left of the stage. Your parents were 3rd row back and centered. The man he saw earlier was seated at the end of the aisle, not far from the entrance, busying himself on his tablet. Dave decided to pick a happy medium, choosing a seat in the middle, two rows behind your parents. It gave him a perfect view. He was far enough to view the entire stage without straining his neck but not too far that he would have to strain his eyes to see. Perfect.

It didn’t take long for the theater to fill up. The seats right next to Dave remained empty, but besides that, the theater seemed nearly sold out. Dave felt a slight pang of pride. His girl who isn’t quite his girl brought this kind of crowd? Of course she did. She deserves it. The lights began to dim, and the theater began to silence. Slow claps and cheers started as the spotlight grew to show some of the choir students walking onto the stage. They were dressed in old looking robes. As they walked out, they began singing in Latin harmonies. Dave sat back in his chair ready to be fully immersed in the story. He recognized the two boys who came out next as one senior and one junior in the drama club. The spotlight brightened on another senior boy and then two girls, keeping this same pattern as each individual sung their lines.

As the prologue comes to completion, the introduction to an adult hunchback begins. The lyrics strike a chord with Dave. He feels sorry for the character. He’s already fully immersed in the play before you even appear on stage, growing a jealous dislike for the Captain.

The guy who played him was a senior, Andrew Samonsky. A tall and handsome dirty blonde with hazel eyes. He recalls overhearing some of his female classmates gushing over him. He fit this Captain character well, overconfident and a little douchey.

Not long after the Captain’s introduction, you finally appear, popping out of the crowd of actors on stage. You start dancing with your tambourine. Dave’s heart dropped to his stomach. Your usual braided style was replaced by long black and brown waves that fell just passed your waist. He noticed the chunky waves were mixed with braids, giving you what Dave associated with a bohemian goddess look. He sat up in his chair as soon as he saw you, entranced by your dance moves and angelic voice. Your teasing and playful act made his heart flutter.

Soon your first proper solo came, ‘God Help The Outcasts’ you’d sing. The message of the song, your voice, and your emotion nearly brought tears to Dave’s eyes. He was thanking the powers that be in the back of his mind that Marty and Todd didn’t tag along with him. He would never live this down. His heart only wrenched further when your duet with Quasimodo came. Not once in his life had he regretted his decision to quit choir back in middle school, but right now? He never regretted anything more. Dave desperately wished he could be up there with you, sharing these moments, up close and personal.

The entire play was spent with his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. He was focused hard on the story and on your performance, especially at the turn of the story. His chest burned and his brows grew closer together when he realized you, well Esmeralda, were being hunted down for being such an angel, all because some religious, rapey dickhead couldn’t keep it to himself.

When your song with the Captain came, he felt another pang of jealousy, not liking that your story was being driven into a love triangle. He wanted you to end up with Quasimodo. Give him a chance. He needed you to end up with Quasimodo.

Dave was genuinely taken aback when you were caught. Things were no longer looking up, and he didn’t like it. He was frustrated. There’s no way you don’t get a happy ending.

Your next big song came, ‘Someday’. You sang with such sadness. There was this dark and contradicting mixture of hope and hopelessness. Man, Dave was really grateful for his lone attendance. He was really tearing up now. Even though he wasn’t a fan of that Andrew guy getting to hold you, your heartfelt performance was too emotional for him to get taken out of the moment. Even from where he sat, he could see tears welling up in your own eyes. As the song came to a close, Dave took a deep breath, blinking his tears away. He looked around him, preemptively embarrassed for crying in public, but the embarrassment quickly dissipated when he realized he wasn’t the only one affected. Several faces in the crowd were damp with tears of others who let them fall freely. Dave sat back, sighing as he gathered himself. He focuses his eyes back on the stage, allowing himself to get drawn back in by the hunchback’s defeated solo.

Dave resonated with the scared, misunderstood character, but god, he wanted to smack the shit out of him and yell at him to go save you. He watched as you held a brave face, tied to a stake, ready to burn. His body flourished with violent fire. He wanted to kill that creepy ass priest, his leg shaking anxiously as he watched the finale. Finally. He mentally thanked the hunchback for ridding the fictional world of that asshole. His leg ceased its movements and sat idly as the story closed. You were badly hurt, weakened from the flames. You were dying. Dave frowned, quickly losing all anger. All of it was quickly replaced by a wave of sadness as he watches your limp body get lifted up by the hunchback and carried to the back, disappearing off stage. You died.

Dave listened solemnly as the story came to an end. Slowly, the actors on stage filed off the stage in lines as they sang their final melodies. The crowd erupted in loud claps and cheers, giving a standing ovation.

The choir of townspeople and background characters reappeared back on stage first, then the gargoyles, then the gypsies, then the lead fool/gypsy guy, Clopin. After him was the senior who played Frollo, still dressed in his old man get up, then Andrew aka Captain Pheobus. For him, lots of high pitched cheers could be heard, Andrew’s little fanclub. Then, finally, it was your turn.

You came out, walking side by side, down the middle of the stage, with the senior who played Quasimodo. The crowd gave you both a long, loud cheer. He could hear your mother’s, “That’s my baby!” above the rest. It brought a small smile to his face. He joined in, letting out a loud ‘woo!’. Dave never raised his voice, so the sensation was a bit unfamiliar, but he had no regrets and didn’t hold back. He had an overwhelming feeling of pride supporting you. He watched you and the shorter, brown haired boy next to you bow with big smiles on your faces. You took the hands of your neighboring actors and lifted your arms, the entire cast bowing in unison.

The cheers went on as the cast exited the stage and the house lights came back on. As Dave was dead center, he didn’t have anyone waiting on him. He sat back down and waited for his row to empty. He was one of the last people out, your parents not far behind him. He smiled, laughing under his breath, hearing your mother gush over your performance. Even though he couldn’t see him, he could tell your dad was probably trying his best to ignore the woman.

As soon as he makes it outside the theater and back into the halls. He debates on whether or not he should just leave or if he should wait around and see if he can find you. Some of the audience has mostly dispersed, but a few parents and students hang around, waiting for the cast to empty into the halls. Dave comes up with a quick plan. He’ll wait.

He sits on a bench, close enough to spot you when you come out from backstage, but far enough that he can make a quick exit if things start to look like he won’t be welcome. A few feet away, he notices your dad finds a seat on the bench next to the theater, the same one he sat at earlier.

Daves looks down at his backpack and opens it up, pulling out the assortment of flowers he brought you. Thankfully, they weren’t too squished. He sat, bouncing his leg as he waits. About 15 minutes go by, and most of the people in the hall have left by now, their friends and family members already appeared from backstage. The crowd had dwindled down to about 8 people, Dave, your parents, a redheaded girl with an older couple, and two other girls. Dave didn’t realize, but your mom had passed by him a minute ago to use the bathrooms that were just on the other side of him. “Look at all that beautiful hair!” Dave looks up to find your mom walking toward him with a big smile, exiting from the ladies restroom. His brows raise, and he points a finger at himself. “Yes, you. Oh my goodness. I love your curls. You are so handsome, and those eyes!” She holds out a hand towards him but restrains herself from the urge to reach out and touch his hair. She purses her smiling lips, squinting at him. “You don’t have a girlfriend do you?” She asks, pointing at the flowers in his hands. He smiles shyly, her squinting eyes reminding him of you. You definitely must get that habit from your mother. He chuckles awkwardly and shakes his head.

“No, ma’am.”

“And a gentleman, too? Good! My daughter is single, you should meet her. You definitely seem like her type.” She exposes, laughing a little. “She’s a sucker for nerdy boys with curly hair and glasses.” She continues. Dave’s heart flutters, and his shocked expression causes your dad to pipe up. Dave looks over at the older man.

“Leave the kid alone. I’m sure our daughter won’t want you playing matchmaker.” He spares an awkward glance over in Dave’s direction. Dave felt a small wave a calm wash over him. Apparently, your dad also shared a little awkwardness, and it strangely brought Dave a sense of comfort. Your dad wasn’t a stereotype hard-ass that would rather die than let Dave near his daughter. Good to know.

Your mom rolls her eyes at your dad’s comment and continues on with the conversation. “Did you enjoy the show?” She asks.

“Y-Yes, ma’am. It was amazing.” That answer seemed to please her. 

“Right! It was fantastic! My daughter is the lead. I’m so proud of her. Everyone did so well. She has dreamed of playing this role since forever, and she completely nailed it.” Your mom has a proud smile, and Dave breaths out a laugh, nodding in agreement.

“100%. She did wonderful. Definitely deserves to be on Broadway or something.” He says with a smile.

“I agree! She said there was going to be a scout here, scouting for future talents to qualify for a college scholarship. She wouldn’t stop worrying about tonight. To think she was so nervous and she completely nailed it!” Daves brows shoot up, again. That must’ve been who the guy in front of him in line was. A few squeals interrupt them. The two girls Dave noticed earlier jumped up out of their seats and ran up to you as you round the corner. Those must’ve been friends of yours. Dave allows himself to stare now that all eyes are off him. You were makeup free, fresh faced, and your hair was still wavy and long. You had on a pullover hoodie and leggings similar to the ones you wore the other day. They talked loudly of how great you were, causing you to smile wide and laugh. You turn to your dad, and he gives you a big hug. Dave stands as your mom starts walking over to you.

“Good job, munchkin.” He says calmly. Even Dave could feel the warm sincerity in his voice.

“There’s my superstar!” Your mom shouts, next to give you a big hug, rocking you back and forth. “I knew that wet and wavy crochet look would be perfect!” She adds, touching your hair, causing you to roll your eyes with a small smile.

“Mo-om!” you say in a playfully whiny tone. Dave couldn’t help but smile watching your biggest supporters praise you. He stood back as they all talked about the play and how proud and blown away they were at your performance. You seemed busy, and Dave felt as though he might be intruding, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Instead, he chose to stay back and wait for his turn patiently.

After a couple minutes, your two friends gave you a quick hug, saying something about catching up with you later before leaving. Your parents, your mom more so, continue to talk about how great you were, your dad checking up on you, knowing how nervous you were prior to the performance. You say some reassuring words to him to let him know you’re okay. Just then, you finally look in Dave’s direction. When you catch his gaze, a bright smile breaks out on your face, nearly melting Dave where he stood. Your dad follows your gaze, noticing you tune out your mother’s words, distracted. He notices Dave, the flowers in his hands, and the shy look on his face. Your dad places a hand on your mothers shoulder, effectively shutting her up as this was out of the norm for him.

“We’ll be waiting for you up front, munchkin.” He says, gently ushering your mom away. She was confused and a bit offended at first, that was until she followed your dad’s gaze, quickly getting the message. She bites back a knowing smile and reiterates your dad’s words.

“Good job, sweetie.” She gives you a kiss on the cheek before they both walk away. As they walked away, another squeal broke out. The redheaded girl from earlier runs up to Captain Andrew himself, jumping into his arms and giving him a kiss, what Dave presumes are his parents walking up to the guy shortly after. Dave refocuses his attention to you as you close the distance between you two.

“Hi.” You say shyly, biting your smile. Dave studders.

“H-Hi.” You two stare at each other for a few seconds before he breaks the trance, looking down at the flowers in his hands. He shoves them abruptly into your arms, the sudden movement taking you aback. You allow your smile to grow as your eyes dart back and forth from the flowers to an awkward Dave.

“Thanks, Dave.” You laugh out in a sigh, biting your bottom lip as you smile down at the flowers.

“Your problem!” He says a little too loud. Your smile falters slightly, and your jaw drops a little.

“What?” You laugh out, confused.

He stammers “Uh, no, uh- shit.” he curses under his breath before letting out an awkward laugh. “I- I, uh, I couldn’t decide between saying ‘You’re welcome’ and ‘no problem’, and it came out as ‘Your problem’. I’m so sorry.” He rambles on nervously, a horrified look on his face. You giggle and shake your head.

“Do you have this hard of a time talking to all girls or just me?” You look up at him with an amused look on your face, trying to contain your smile. He smiles shyly, looking down.

“Technically, all girls, but you’re special.” he sways awkwardly, shifting his weight from side to side, glancing over his glasses at you. You lose control of your smile and allow it to grow so wide it scrunches your nose and narrows your eyes, lighting up his world.

“You know, if you keep making comments like that, I think you’ll break some hearts.” You say, leaning in to nudge his arm with your shoulder. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to break hearts. There’s only one I’m after.” Your brows shoot up, a shocked and impressed expression on your face.

“Wow, you’re a quick learner.” You laugh out. “That’s a good one.” You and Dave share a short laugh.

“Thanks.” He looks back down, all boldness leaving his body. A male voice interrupts your moment, Felipe the Janitor. He’s always been nice to Dave.

“Alright, we gotta start locking up.” The short, chubby man motions for all of you to start heading to the front doors. Dave quickly picks his backpack up from the floor and slides it on, the other four people walking to the front a few feet ahead, you and Dave following not far behind.

“So…” You start, Dave’s eyes finding you, “you got any plans after this?” You ask, looking down shyly at your flowers. Dave shakes his head, shoving his hand in his pockets.

“No, not really. Probably, just gonna go straight home.” he admits, opening the door for you as you two make it out of the front doors and into the crisp night air.

“You gonna catch a ride with your boy, babe?!” Your mom yells over to you from her car, halfway out the driver’s seat. Your eyes widen in embarrassment.

“MOM!” She raises her hands in surrender and sinks back into the car. Your dad could be seen shaking his head in his car, parked right next to hers. You wince and look over to Dave.

“Sorry about that.” You let out a big sigh.

“It’s okay. Your mom is actually really nice.” He says. Your face drops.

“My mom talked to you?” You ask, horrified. He chuckled.

“Yeah, just for a little bit after the show while we were waiting for you.” He held a small smirk, deciding not to bring up the little secret she shared with him about your ‘type’. You close your eyes and shrink a bit, wincing.

“Oh no.” You strain out, with a frown. He lets out another chuckle.

“Nothing bad. I promise.” He looks over at your parents as they wait. “I don’t want to keep them waiting for you. I don’t actually have a car.” He admits. You lose all embarrassment and look at him with furrowed brows.

“You’re walking? This late?” You ask in disbelief. He shrugs.

“Yeah, it’s how I get around.” You scoff and shake your head.

“Yeah, no. You’re riding with me.” You say firmly. “I’m not just gonna let you walk.” Before he can protest, you’re grabbing his arm and dragging him behind you towards your mom’s car. You let go of his arm as soon as you guys are across the lot and in front of your parents’ cars. You walk around to your dad’s driver’s side. He gave you another ‘good job’ and a ‘smell you later, munchkin’. You gave him a quick ‘thank you for coming’ and ‘goodnight’ before walking over to your mom’s car. “Hey, mom? Can we give Dave a ride? He’s on foot.” You tell her, and she is quick to gasp.

“Of course!” She looks at him through the windshield, “Get in, babe!” You look back at Dave as you round the car and wave him over. You get into the passenger’s side, and he sides into the backseat.

“Thank you, ma’am.” She waves a dismissive hand.

“Don’t mention it. What do I look like letting a little boy walk home alone at this time of night. It’s cold out!” She replies. Your dad pulls out of the lot first, your mom following behind him. Your mom turns on the radio, playing one of her favorite CDs, Mariah Carrey’s ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ album. “Sing it, baby!” She says to you. Dave chuckles from the backseat and looks over at your shrinking form in the passenger seat.

“Mom, please.”

“She used to sing to this album as a little girl right in that seat. Every morning to school. No wonder she’s got such a beautiful voice. She was born singing along to Mariah.” Dave can barely see you anymore. You’re shrunken down so much. Dave can’t help but smile at your embarrassment. You were just too cute. “Are you going to the after show party too or am I taking you home, young man?” Dave looks over the passenger seat to get a better look at you. You look over your shoulder at him.

“After every opening show of our performances, we usually gather at Brandy’s house and throw a bonfire. I was going to ask if you wanted to join earlier…” You trailed off, giving him a look, silently asking if he wanted to go.

“I-I wouldn’t want to intrude.” He says. You sit up properly and turn to face him a bit more.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re welcome to join if you want to. ” You look down shyly, “But, I understand if you’d rather go home. It has been a long day after all.”

“I’ll go.” Dave rushes out. Your mom looks at him through the rearview mirror with a knowing look. You look back up to him with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah?” He nods. “Great!” You turn back around in your seat. “To Brandy’s, mom!”

“You got it.”

The rest of the drive was spent with your mom belting out Mariah as best as she could, you humming some of the songs to yourself as you looked out the window. Dave watched you the whole 15-minute ride there. The only time Dave takes his eyes off you is when you pull up to Brandy’s house. It was a stand alone, two story house, easily a multimillion dollar property. He shouldn’t be surprised, Brandy Radke was a well-known, wealthy kid. “Here we are.” Your mom announces, pulling up right along the curb to let you and Dave out. “I know you will probably catch a ride with your friends after, but let me know when and if I need to pick you up, and don’t get into any trouble.” Your mom calls after you through the rolled down window as you and Dave exit the car.

“Thanks, mom!” You shout back before grabbing Dave’s hand and leading him up Brandy’s front porch. You knock on the door, and an older lady opens the door, yelling your name and bringing you into a tight hug.

“Glad you could make it, leading lady!” The woman releases you and looks over to Dave with a smile, “And who is this?”

“This is Dave. He came to support me tonight, and I thought I’d bring him as my plus one. Hope that’s okay.” You reply. Dave looks down at your interlocked hands.

“Of course! You know we always have extra food!” She moves out of the door frame gesturing for you both to enter. “Everyone is already in the backyard.” You thank her as you pass, leading Dave through the house. Dave looks around as he’s being pulled, enamored by the nice interior. This was moons away from his place. As soon as you two reach the screen door leading into the backyard, loads of cheers could be heard, the group of teenagers chanting your name.

“There’s our Esmeralda!” A strawberry blonde girl with wavy locks down her back stands up and starts walking over.

“Hey Brandy!” You go in to hug each other. Dave misses the touch of your hand as soon as it leaves.

“Who’d you bring with you?” She turns to face Dave with a curious look on her face.

“This is Dave. Dave, meet Brandy.” The green eyed girl greets him. Dave was already well aware of who Brandy Radke is, but, of course, she had no idea who he was, even though they had two classes together.

“Hi.” He returns. 

“Well, make yourself at home, girly!” She gestures, heading back over to her spot around the fire. You start walking over to an empty spot, grabbing one fold out chair and placing it next to another, Dave following like a lost puppy. You take a seat and look up at him with a smile, patting the empty chair beside you. He does as you command and sits down. As soon as he’s sat, Mrs. Radke appears seemingly out of nowhere, startling Dave. She hands a plate of grilled food and a canned drink to each of you before disappearing back into the house to chat it up over a beer with the small group of adults inside.

“Oh, hell yeah.” You say over your food before placing the can in the cup holder of your chair. Dave looks over at you, watching you take a bite. You hum. “I am starving. This really hits the spot.” You giggle shyly when you notice his stare. He smiles, mimicking your actions. He hums as he tastes his first bite, nodding.

“Oh, yeah.” He chuckles. “This is amazing.” You both share a laugh with stuffed cheeks.

An hour passes quickly with Dave watching you interact with your fellow castmates, friends, and friends of friends. Suddenly, someone calls out to him. “So,” He looks over to find none other than Andrew Samonsky looking at him, his arm draped over the shoulders of the redhead from earlier. “Since when was Dave Lizewski into musical theater? I thought you were just a comic and science nerd.” He teases.

“Oh come on. We’re theater kids. We’re all nerds.” You but in, glaring at Andrew with a raised brow. The corners of Andrew’s lips tilt down and he raises his hands in surrender.

“No harm, no foul. I’m just askin’.” You squint at him, daring Andrew to try something. Dave speaks up.

“Well,” He looks over to you, “I was invited to the show,” He pauses before looking back over to Andrew, “and, you know, it would be rude of me not to show.” He concluded.

“Yeah, she saved her one family-friend ticket for him.” A girl adds, he notices her as the one who was running the ticket booth. You were met with a chorus of ‘ooo’s and kissing noises. You shake your head.

“Oh my god, you guys. Shut up.” You roll your eyes and turn your head, looking out to the trees lining the backyard.

“Didn’t your little boyfriend show up, too?” Another kid asked one of the other girls, one Dave recognized as one of the gargoyles. Another round of ‘ooo’s sounded off as everyone got back to talking. You sigh, thankful that the attention was taken off of you two. A sudden wave of confidence hits Dave.

“So,” he says quietly, just enough for you and only you to hear. You turn to look at him. You cock your head to the side, urging him to continue. “Your mom said you like nerdy boys with curly hair and glasses.” He smirks innocently. Your face drops, and you bring your hands up to cover your face.

“Lord have mercy.” You whisper, the words muffled by your hands. Dave chuckles. “I’m so sorry about her.” you drop your hands to your lap. He looks down at your fidgeting hands and fights the urge to grab your hand in his.

“No need…” He pauses, contemplating his next words, “Was- Was she right?” He asks softly, still looking down at our lap. You turn back to the trees, trying to hide your face from him. You were utterly embarrassed.

“What would you do if I said yes?” Dave stills, his long pause feels like a rejection. Your nose started burning. You felt like crying.

“I-” He starts slowly. “I don’t know…” Jesus, he was shit with words. He wanted to punch himself in the face for how bad he was fumbling this.

Your wandering glance at the trees turned into the thousand yard stare, trying to fight your tears off. Dave watched as your hands stilled before gripping tightly to one another. He couldn’t stop himself. Dave reached out and forced his hand in between yours, prying them apart and taking your right hand in his left. He wrapped his fingers around your palm and gave your hand a light squeeze. Your head turned slightly to look at your connected hands. Dave’s heart tightened seeing the nervous and sad look on your face. He sighs. “Look, remember what we established earlier? I’m terrible at talking to girls, and you aren’t just any girl to me.” He ducks down to try and make eye contact with you. “You’re you. You’re the star of Millard Fillmore. You’re going to be a superstar after graduation. You’re- You’re going places, and I’m just… me. Just Dave.” He shrugs. “You deserve the world, so much more than I can give you.” He leans back, still holding your hand. He reaches his other hand up to mindlessly scratch the back of his head. “You don’t know it, but,” He lets out a huff, an awkward laugh. “You’re everything to me, and I- I’m nothing to you. I- I’d just bring you down.” his hand drops to his lap. “You- You don’t want that.” It’s your turn to squeeze his hand.

“Don’t tell me what I want.” You say, determined. You sigh and turn in your seat, facing him as best as you can in your flimsy camping chair. Your eyes dart across his face. “If- If I’m as great as you say, we should try this. Whatever, this,” You gesture between you two, “is.” You pause, sighing. Your eyes flutter in soft, rapid blinks. “I like you Dave. I really do. You’re sweet and cute, and ever since I first saw you walk into our home ec class in sophomore year, I knew, if I had the chance, I’d put on my big girl panties and ask you out.” Dave looked up at you with wide eyes. He could've sworn he was dreaming right now.

The soft glow of the flickering fire danced across your skin, bringing out the richness of your eyes. You looked ethereal. “So,” you started again as you stared into each other’s eyes, “bullshit high school popularity status aside, all fallacies about you aside,” You raise a brow, squinting slightly and giving him a barely there, reassuring smile. “What would you say if I asked you to give me a chance and go out on a date with me?” You searched his eyes. He stared back, surprised at your boldness.

“Yes!” He blurts out, a little louder than expected. Thankfully, the loud conversation and laughter of those around you provided cover, so he didn’t bring much attention to you two. “y-yeah, yeah, yes.” he sighs, trying to calm himself. Your smile grows, bringing light to his world once again. It’s contiguous. He smiles in return, albeit a bit more restrained and shy than yours. You bite your lip, and in the blink of an eye, you lean forward and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. It happened so quickly that Dave thought he hallucinated the interaction. He blinks a few times, eyes following as you lean back in your seat, avoiding his eyes and blushing. Dave’s face breaks out on a huge, dorky grin. He leans down and plants a quick kiss on your cheek as well in a wave of confidence and excitement. Your eyes widen, and you bite back your smile. Dave mimics your posture, slowly leaning back into his chair, but he leans back a little too hard, causing the front legs of the flimsy thing to lift off the ground. A split second heart attack occurs, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he leans back forward and catches himself. You can’t help but lose it, breaking out in a hearty laugh. Once Dave regains his composure, he joins in.

You two laugh like maniacs, stuck in your own little, happy world. You get a couple weird looks from the others, but you two ignore them, painfully happy tears brimming your eyes. Your laughter becomes contagious to the strawberry blonde seated a couple feet in front of you. Brandy shakes her head and turns back to face the fire. “You guys are such weirdos.”

This seems very self insert 😅 but idc. let me be. Hope you enjoyed!

As usual, proper moodboard under the fic tag.

P.S. reader's Esmeralda look is giving Doja/Tinashe 2021 MTV VMAs Red Carpet

[sarahivess]

60 questions to ask the Duffers if Byler isn’t endgame

Thank you @merth-or-nothin for the help!

1. Why emphasize so much on the strong “Friends don’t lie” in the very first episode of the show, showing Will couldn’t even lie to Mike, only for him to lie to Mike for the first time in the second to last episode of the second to last season?

2. Why did Mike and El such a short build up before getting together? If they were meant to be endgame, why not build them slowly, so the audience could be invested in the development of the relationship?

3. Why were Mike and El separated every single season?

4. Why do Mike and El fight so much when they’re together? They barely have any cute scenes at all when they’re dating.

5. Why did El refer to Mike as "her first boyfriend?"

6. If she was meant to only date (then marry) Mike, why draw attention to the fact that he's the only boy she's dated?

7. What was the purpose of El asking Mike if he'd be like her brother in s1? Why give them a familial association?

8. In season 4, why is it revealed that Will is in love with Mike as Mike's relationship with El is eroding?

9. Why make a point to show the audience Will loves Mike the way he wants to be loved, while El makes him feel like a random nerd?

10. Why have Will in the background of every single Mileven scene (except for their bedroom fight) in the entire S4, making the audience to root for Will?

11. Why have Will love Mike at all?

12. Why bring Will into Mike and El's relationship? If Mike doesn't feel the same way, it's a waste narratively and it's anticlimactic.

13. Why did Mike change so much between seasons 2-3 without any perticular reason? And no, it wasn’t just puberty. That change made Mike go from being one of the most loved characters to one of the most hated ones.

14. Why frame Mike and Eleven’s relationship in S3 as unserious and unhealthy?

15. Why make everyone go against their relationship and why break them up as early as in the beginning of the second episode of S3?

16. Why empathize so much on El in EP3 and her independence, making us (the audience) feel genuinely happy when she breaks up with Mike and frame the breakup scene with light-hearted humor and comedy?

17. Why make Will and Mike’s first fight scene in the show dark and angsty? And making it a huge contrast to Mike and El’s comedic breakup scene.

18. Why make Max say “he’ll come crawling in no time begging for forgiveness” to El, which was true, but he didn’t come crawling back to El. He went to Will’s house, begging for forgiveness.

19. Why spend SO MUCH time on the Byler scenes and putting so much effort in them so they’ll look intimate? It’s such a contrast to Steve and Dustin’s scenes for example which is almost always comedic.

20. Why have so MANY Byler scenes at all?

21. Why have “tender emotional music” in almost all of the Byler scenes in S4?

22. Why make Will even confess behind El’s name instead of just confess himself and having Mike rejecting him right away? Why drag it out all the way to the very final season?

23. Why spend an entire day filming the van scene if it wasn’t that important anyway? If Will is just ending up getting rejected anyway?

24. Why the whole painting plot?

25. Why so many parallels with Jopper, Jancy and Lumax?

26. Why the very same soundtrack when they became friends again as when Lucas and Max became friends “On the bus”?

27. Why is Finn describing Mike’s story arc for both season 3 and season 4 as “Mike is trying to be a normal teenager”, “Mike is trying to be as normal as possible” and “He’s trying to keep on a normal path” why so much focus on Mike trying to be normal?

28. Why spending two seasons on Mike trying to say the word “love” to his girlfriend? Isn’t that a kinda boring arc for someone who’s just having bad self esteem because of his parents loveless marriage?

29. Why does the whole cast and even the Duffers always so secretive and giddy and smiley every time Byler gets brought up if it’s just another sad tragic unrequited love story?

30. Why having Will say “I’m not gonna fall in love” with such a heartbreaking tone and then end up making him not get the boy he’s in love with and has been since the very beginning?

31. Why put so much effort in the set design to queer code Mike (as in rainbows, shirtless men, monsters with muscles, the word BOY in the bg, multiple closet imagery, even a big sign towards the closet saying “One way” if it meant nothing or was just weird coincidence’s?

32. Why the triple take? What was the point of that?

33. Why filming and editing the last scene of S3 emphasizing that Mike is going to miss Will more than El? (Him looking back at Will’s house, then it cuts to Will, then it cuts back to Mike who walks up to his mom and hugs her with a heartbroken look on his face)

34. Why make El say in the letter “I think there’s someone Will likes, cause he has been acting weird” but all we see in s4 is Mike acting weird?

35. Why make Mike being able to hug everyone except for Will, when he could hug him just perfectly in s3?

36. Why make Mike treat Will differently than his other friends?

37. Why make Mike and Dustin have the same look on their faces as they watch Will and Max dance with other people and then after that Mike looks upset until El shows up?

38. Why is The Duffers so “hushy hushy” about Byler at all? If it was obvious it’s unrequited why not just clear that shit up because they KNOW they’ll get a lot of backlash if it turns out it was a big queer bait all along.

39. Why start to build up and hint at Will’s love for Mike from the very first episode and make it canon in the second to last season?

40. Why so many coded talks which easily could be interpreted differently? Like Karen’s “I want you to know you can talk to me, I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me”, Ted’s “See what happens?” About Will’s disappearance (as in see what happens if you’re queer? You get abducted, killed etc) and Ted’s “our son with a girl?”

41. Why make Mike NOD in the scene when Will talks about how difficult it can be to open up about something the other person may not like to hear?

42. Why make Will having to remind Mike of the painting and his coded speech before Mike can say it? Why could he only say it the moment El was about to die?

43. Why make it look like Mike doesn’t want to kiss El by removing her hands away from him (3.01) and not reciprocating, not kissing back with eyes wide open looking confused in 3.08? Why frame him like he isn’t interested in girls at all? (Princess Daphne, Phoebe Cates, Max etc.)

44. Why never show us Mike’s pov?

45. Why SO MUCH effort in flashbacks during the entire S4 except for the monologue when El only remembered one single moment with Mike? Why did she had so many with Max but only one with Mike?

46. The ending scene in S4. WHY put them in couples when they could just have made them stand together all of them instead?

47. Why does it look like El isn’t talking to Mike at the end of S4? Why does she look annoyed at first and THEN sad when she finds the bottle under her bed which reminds her of Max?

48. Why SO MUCH yellow and blue coding when it comes to Will and Mike? Even their colors of their clothes are almost always blue and yellow as well.

49. Why make Mike nervous every time Will is close to him in S4 or accidentally touches him?

50. Why make Mike say “we’re friends” to Will twice when both him, Will and the audience clearly knows that already?

51. Why associate the word “crazy” with “love” and then make the “crazy together” scene?

52. Why having Mike saying “it was the best thing I’ve ever done” about meeting Will but then having him say his life didn’t start until he met El?

53. Why did Mike’s words work for Will in S2 (making him being able to communicate) but didn’t for El (not until she looked over at Max)?

54. Why write the lines for Will “We could just play DnD for the rest of our lives” and “Not possible” about him joining another party?

55. Why make Mike look at Will’s lips so much? Why the flirtiness in the bedroom scenes in S4? They could easily have remade those scenes if that wasn’t intentional.

56. Why all the classic romantic interruptions in season 4 which we’ve seen plenty of times in the show between “more than friends”-couples earlier?

57. Why make such a HUGE contrast between El’s reaction to being without Mike and Will being without Mike in S3? (El did a high five with Max while Will cried and destroyed Castle Byers)

58. Why make Mike say “Hawkins isn’t the same without you” to only WILL and not to El? Why does Mike not have any problems opening up to Will but only to El?

59. Why couldn’t Mike say the full reason why he and El had their fight in 4.03?

60. Why have so much hints and clues in the show that Byler is endgame so it’s possible to make 300+ pages slideshows, hours of long videos with proof of Mike being gay, if everything is just unintentional or “made up”?

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 13/02/2024

NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2)

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: FINAL BOUT ~ SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day Tournament Original Soundtrack VOL. 3

Ripped by Princess Sylvysprit Visuals by 813N

I covered KFAD just two posts ago with Unhealed, and a big point I wanted to drive home in that post was just how much effort each and every ripper and contributor put into the event, in a way that still feels unbelievably impressive to this day. It's no secret that the King for Another Day Tournament absolutely ballooned in scope from its initial proposal, with tons of things added and changed last-minute to keep raising the bar even higher. And that scope is, again, the main reason why I cover the event so prominently when discussing Season 4 Episode 1, as its unprecedented scale and quality throughout eclipsed anything the channel had done up until that point (and, arguably, since!). Yet for as troubled as production reportedly was, as unchecked as that ambition might have been, its incredible to think that...most all of it still managed to stick the landing? And there's no better example of this in action, I find, than NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2).

I think it came as a surprise to most of us, especially those who had followed the original King for a Day tournament just a year earlier, that the second contest slowly began to grow itself a sort of storyline. It wasn't much, and it wasn't in the forefront - but ones who remembered to check the King for Another Day MOJO website would get to see in universe "interviews" with the event's contestants, small little side stories in their time between matches, and full-on emotional beats of character development. As I mentioned way back in mines.ogg (unused) (and of course in Unhealed), a contestant like MissingNo wound up actually becoming a fleshed-out, fully-rounded character, more than just a vague concept attached to a source list. I truly salute the team who worked on the MOJO writing, being able to effectively improvise such an effective narrative and writing wholly unique dynamics and developments based on the per-match outcomes of the tournament. All of this all-around development, this investment into the entire cast of the event, and the excitement for the final match, made the surprise reveal to come so much more exciting - the reveal that the King for Another Day Tournament had a final boss to defeat.

Winner of the prior year's King for a Day Tournament and the in-universe host of the entire second tournament, Unregistered Hypercam 2 fell victim to possession by the mysterious "crown", set to be awarded to the Tournament's winner. Controlled by a still-unexplained sentient life found within the crown's ruby, the final match between DJ Professor K and Mariya Takeuchi wound up suspended - as this new monstrous force threatened to keep the Tournament running forever, eternally suspended with no resolution, yet another timeloop right alongside the one the Christmas Comeback Crisis already presents in the channel's main story. The Tournament calls for the help of both finalists, every other contestant - and the power of us, the viewers, to use the "MF LIKE BUTTON" from all the way back in Season 1's lore - to fight against and destroy the concept of eternal safety, the concept of maintaining stagnation for the sake of not losing those temporary moments of joy.

...look, I could over-analyze and dissect this finale as much as I want, about how pitch-perfectly each storybeat fell into place to truly connect the King for Another Day Tournament to the theming and narrative that the prior three Seasons had been so rigorously following, but...we're here to cover the theme of the battle itself. But I felt that all this context did need to be conveyed in some way - becuase NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) reflects the tone and energy of the entire event so pitch-perfectly, it amazed me to learn just how last-minute its production truly was. Princess Sylvysprit employs her expertise and familiarity with the Touhou series to arrange Dreamscape, anthem of the old internet that Hypercam represents, into a rhythmic, hectic, exciting melody, with a sense of dread overlaid on top of it all from the heavy synth covering it (see, there WAS a point in covering Nostalgic Blood of the Gregg ~ Old Source right before this!). It becomes a full-on back and fourth, triumphant higher-key brass responding to the droning eternity of Hypercam's synth melody - made even clearer as the melody and instrumentation occasioally changes to reflect the two finalists' own sourcelists. The amount of layers present in this theme are absolutely incredible, from the choir adding a sense of dread to the track's Hypercam-led sections, to the lone piano sounding as if the original Hypercam is trying to break free from the eternal spell he's been cast under, to the incorporation of the King for Another Day Tournament's main theme for the chorus - we may not see the battle play out, yet the music all on its own conveys a battle in such an engrossing, layered way.

The visual of the Unrestrained Hypercam 2's looming figure just adds the final touch upon it all, wielding the same spinning buzz-saw that was seen severing the thread of hope for all contestants way back in the "opening" to the tournament as a whole. The finality of the story was conveyed so expertly on every front, and the excitement back then was palpable - I still have my contribution to the MF LIKE BUTTON's power left on the video from all the way back in 2019, alongside 14 thousand other viewers (19 thousand on the video announcing the battle!). A duel with the Hypercam, and NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) by extension, may not have been part of the initial plan for the event - but I am so, so happy that it wound up happening. Because the sense of community and excitement that I, and so many others, felt at this very moment of the channel's life, is one I'll forever cherish.

[cryptid-moone]

No I’m serious he needs a good cry and a hug from his parents why did they just never mention the-

OK OK so my thing is, why did the game just brush over the like- 32 hours (give or take im making half this shit up) Wilbur spent fixing the timeline??? Like yeah I get it’s supposed to be a goofy fun silly game but ??????? I’m 100 percent sure no 13 year old would be completely anxiety free during all this like Wilbur was 🤨

Anyways more hcs but this time is just Wilbur:

•he’s actually closer to Talulla than Lazlo

Idk I feel like they bond pretty well as the dramatic(er) family members, plus talulla seems like that cousin who just vibes with the younger kids in the family

•”I’ll put all my feelings right here, then I’ll die.” He’s the gifted kid burnout

No because he was fr willing to run around alone in lava ass city instead of asking his parents for help, if that is not some “I need to be independent” thought train. Plus as the gifted kid/sibling I look at this kid and think to myself, “you’re a burnout 🤨”

• He was/is a bolt mega fan

Penny was his celebrity crush before captain time travel, she’s low-key the reason he’s so, adventurous and “cool” (he is cool but ok that’s a whole persona)

•he angry cries (see picture)

No because I’ve said this like 10 times but, how did he:

1. Almost die in a pyramid

2. Fuck up the time stream (1)

3. Fight multiple iron giant head ass robots

4. Help civilians around magma city

4.5. Fight mega Doris (that bitch)

5. Go back in time

6. Witness his future father interact with his present time family without anyone besides him and CARL knowing the truth

7. Watch Carl DIE

8. DIE HIMSELF

9. COME BACK TO LIFE

And be completely chill????? Rubs eyes omg

Anywho the game soundtrack is fire I think there should’ve been an extra cutscene where he gets to hug his parents and just be happy everyone is alive HAHAHA

[truths33k3r4]

I Care Comic Dub Part 13

PART 13 IS FINALLY UP!!!!

SAKES ALIVE that took FOREVER. 

I originally had finished editing back at around 3 in the afternoon today, but for whatever reason Youtube refused to upload the video.. I tried five separate times.. And nada. At that point I explained to my channel followers what was happening and why I was behind schedule, and asked for them to please pray that the upload would finally work. 

I expected it wouldn’t work all day, so I even drew an extra art piece to thank them all for their patience.

AND THEN- during a call with a close friend, I tried one more time to upload the video- and it WORKED THANK GOD!!!!! Prayer is a powerful thing and I’m so happy that God reminded me of that today. :) 

Anyways! Here’s the dub. :) Credit for the art and the comic goes to @sarathrwizard, while I lent my voice to do the dialogue and editing. I used Sara’s soundtrack of the comic for the music, and Epidemic Sound covered all 70+ sound effects.. XD

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[skinneybonboni]

[chiarrara]

the authentic 2011 indie kid playlist

"real 2011 pandora radio recreation: the songs that always played on my hypercurated matt and kim radio, is this it radio, and pumped up kicks radio a.k.a. the authentic 2009-2012 indie kid playlist (ft. my actual authentic 2011 facebook profile pic)"

including full liner notes (typed out below the cut for readability):

- for @justrustandstardust <3

Daylight - Matt and Kim: one of the most iconic songs of my teenage years. I feel like me and Michael based our life off this song. Matt and Kim is one of the bases for the radio stations I picked for this playlist (the ones I listened to constantly). There will be more Matt and Kim on this playlist, but not enough. You really should listen to this whole album (this will not be the last time I say this)

Kids - MGMT: everyone knows electric feel. I picked the underrated classics I was obsessed with after I loved electric feel

Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: a staple. so silly, but so iconic

Midnight City - M83: the first of the songs that I only listened to on Pandora & never learned the names/artists. also, became car commercial songs. banger

Is This It - The Strokes: you simply must listen to this album. half of it is on the playlist, but still you must. This album is the second base of a radio station.

Automatic Stop - The Strokes: listen, there's gonna be a lot of Strokes on this playlist. I fell in love with them listening to this radio station.

Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second - STRFKR: the second of the Pandora exclusives. why is it named that? so iconin

Float On - Modest Mouse: as classic as classics get

Hard to Explain - The Strokes: I found this album at the library and picked it up based on the album art alone. this was back when I got all my music from the library & burned cds onto my computer to make mix cds, listen in windows media player, or upload to my ipod nano

Flourescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys: we're in the pre "AM" era! their back catalog is so fucking good, and this is one of the best examples of that. I love this song

Soma - The Strokes: it's gonna be a lot of Strokes. trust me, it's authentic to the experience

Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand: ICONIC BANGER.

Breezeblocks - alt-J: (so groovy) another Pandora exclusive. mainstay on the channel. like these songs would play every 30 mins & I loved it

Song For No One - Miike Snow: ah! Miike Snow my beloved! never listened outside of Pandora for some reason but SO iconic. they were so popular

Loud Pipes - Ratatat: the beat just gets into your body with these ones

Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings: Icons! defined the era. watch the music video.

1901 - Phoenix: we played this and the next Phoenix song so. fucking. much. goin hey hey hey hey hey hey hey!

40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: when you thought of indie, this is what you thought of

Skinny Love - Bon Iver: jk jk this is what you thought of. This was hipster before it got picked up by Hot Topic

Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare - Matt and Kim: full volume, windows down, 100 mph screaming <3 (I love this song sm)

Intro - The xx: another Pandora exclusive car commercial song but listen, I was obsessed. hearing these songs again is like waking up dormant genes

Lisztomainia - Phoenix: this song and 1901 are a bonded pair. do not separate.

Lessons Learned - Matt and Kim: it was so impossible to pick from this album it's all so good. let it turn your love into a coming of age movie

Sleeping Lessons - The Shins: The SHINS bro THE SHINS. every indie movie had the Shins on their soundtrack. They're so good.

Here (In Your Arms) - Hellogoodbye: listen I didn't want to pick their most popular song but it's so definitive I had to. I saw them live like 4 times. This album is so important to me. All my love songs for my 13 yr old relationship came from this album

Crystalised - The xx: not a listening session would go by that I wouldn't hear this song

All My Friends - LCD Sound System: he's so good

Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend: THIS ALBUM IS SUMMER 2011. it was one of 2 or 3 go to CDs in my first car. I listened to it over and over and over again. it always brings me back to my ugly brown 2001 Chevy Malibu outside Michael's house, or driving down to the lake. I seriously couldn't pick songs from this album it's all one big song to me. formative. what else can i say.

Time to Pretend - MGMT: I'm feeling rough I'm feeling wrong in the time of my life. underrated classic

Cough Syrup - Young the Giant: a late addition but I know every word

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear: THE Pandora radio song. I would listen just to hear this song eventually

We Used to Vacation - Cold War Kids: One of my favorite bands ever. Their first two albums were on repeat. This song is my favorite. It just rips something out of me

Rhinemaidens - The Envy Corps: The Envy Corps have made their entrance! I've seen them more than Hellogoodbye. The epitomal hipsters. and some of the best music of all time. They're absolutely foundational. (listen to the album!)

Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People: The third and final base for a radio station is this song. That's how much I listened to it. One of those songs that just got into my bones. Forever favorite song it never gets old. also, listen to the album. so good

Animal - Miike Snow: the Miike Snow song. One of the first songs I ever discovered on Pandora <3

Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John: iconic. I don't know what to say

The High Road - Broken Bells: Michael was on the hs radio station senior year & he played this whole EP straight one day

Call It What You Want - Foster the People: BANGER ("what's your style and who do you listen to" WHO CARES <3)

Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun: I did not know the name of this song or the band or even recognize the cover art but I know this song. They put them in car commercials because they're good

What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club: this and the other two door cinema club song came up all the time. bops.

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend: (ay! ay! ay! ay!) most iconic riff of all time! can't understand a damn word but I was screaming them anyway (100mph)

Rill Rill - Sleigh Bells: (Pandora Exclusive!) iconic! can't help but groove to this song. the mood of this song is so representative of this lane of music

Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club: the opening to this song gets me so hype! I know you'll like this song

Dragon Queen - Yeah Yeah Yeahs: you know Heads Will Roll but did you know this underrated banger? they're awesome, their other songs should get more attention

Don't Slow Down - Matt and Kim: 100mph dancing like a maniac lol look I should not have been allowed behind the wheel of a car. Don't slow down (listen to the album!)

All I Want - LCD Sound System: he's just really good idk

That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings: we were obsessed with them. this song was everywhere

Story Problem - The Envy Corps: for the longest time I didn't know any names to Envy Corps songs because I mostly listened to them live, on a mix cd, or someone else was playing them. so i always got surprised by each song like, oh! I love this one! to be honest I still don't know the titles lol but every song is so damn iconic. at the concerts they would split the audience in half and have half of us do the "dada dada dadada da da da" part and the other half do the "oooooh wa oh wa oh" so you were singing your part throught the end of the song while they played. it was so magical <3

All Time Lows - Hellogoodbye: underrated banger. this album is like the definitive electronic indie sound of the mid-aughts

Somebody Told Me - The Killers: incredible song, incredible band. mainstay. they're so much more than Mr. Brightside

(starting the list over bc of tumblr's character limits. add 50)

Reptilia - The Strokes

Someday - The Strokes

Under Cover of Darkness - The Strokes: listen, this is accurate to how often they would play on that station. just Strokes back to back. and I loved it. their discography is just that deep. they don't miss.

Fell In Love With a Girl - The White Stripes: had to get some Whte Stripes in here. had to.

New Slang - The Shins: this song and Caring Is Creepy just, so iconic. they're so good

The World At Large - Modest Mouse: gonna float on maybe would you understand. ah ah ah ah ah ah aah (dashboard by modest mouse should also be on here but i couldn't find a spot for it :( played all the time) my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth <3<3<3

Black Balloon - The Kills: does anyone remember the kills? I wanted to be them so bad. this was the era of iconic indie duos (ting tings, matt & kim, white stripes, she & him...)

When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney: one hit wonders, my beloved

I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - Black Kids: I'm convinced no one listened to this song but us. that's not true, and thank god cuase it's such a bop but we felt like we were in on a secret or something. the true 2010 hipster experience lol

Kid Gloves - The Envy Corps: I would literally put this song on a t work and walk around like I was a manic pixie dream girl in an indie movie. unironically amazing song tho (listen to the ep)

Henrietta - The Fratellis: there should have been four more of their songs on here. broke my heart to cut them

Phantom Limb - The Shins: I don't think I've said listen to the album on this one yet. the way this song just vibrates in you

Naive - The Kooks: another underrepresented band. She Moves In Her Own Way, Ooh La, Seaside!? all staples. I mean... if you need another album to listen to... im just sayin

Finer Feelings - Spoon: a bop. fun song <3

Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys: this was my first Arctic Monkeys song <3<3<3 forever. the coda is everything. god I love this song

Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine: listen, the original song by The Postal Service is so so so good and we listened to it just as much as this cover. this cover had us in a chokehold. go listen to the original tho. and the whole Postal Service album I promise it's so fundamental

Janglin - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: the last of the three iconic ES&TMZs songs. This is like the progenitor of Stomp Clap corporate indie. everyone wanted to be them

Tighten Up - The Black Keys: the opening base notes on this song make me go feral. there should be way more Black Keys on here but if you have to pick one this is an easy choice.

Last Nite - The Strokes: the most iconic Strokes song. try not to scraem the first words. you can't. Last Night!

Australia - The Shins: time to put ear covers on! just makes me smile :)

All These Things That I've Done - The Killers: got us screaming "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" (are we human or are we dancers is also the killers. icons of the era)

Two Weeks In Hawaii - Hellogoodbye: I felt so bad when your mom caught us eating ice cream in your room at three in the morning. the best parts of my adolescence consolidated in this incredible song. the first of this type of album closing song to deeply affect me (followed by only in dreams by weezer in college). coming back to this album was part of me coming out of my depression last summer. my inner child just lives here, and I love her so much <3

A Certain Romance - Artctic Monkeys: I don't know, this song just gives me warm feelings. I know every shape of this song. I'm pretty sure it's about how America is a cultural wasteland lol. over there there's friends of mine, what can I say I've known em for a long long time, and it might over step the line, but you just cannot get angry in the same way, no not in the same way.

Daylight Outro (Remix) - Matt and Kim: back where we started. thx for listening <3

[ashwithapen]

⚠️ this post is edited and updated regularly! last edited: 31 march 2024

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ᯓ☆ rentry!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

hi, my name is ash! here are some things about me...

⤷ 18 ⤷ autistic, adhd, osdd-1b (system sideblog) ⤷ agender, greyromantic, bisexual, & queerplatonic ⤷ intp, aquarius, hufflepuff, 5w4, etc.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

some things i do...

⤷ write! i'm an author :) (prose, poetry, plays...) ⤷ compose music (i use musescore) ⤷ film & edit videos (check out my youtube channel) ⤷ play guitar and write songs

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

im SUPER into soundtracking & symbolism in music as well as abnormal psychology!!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

link to my creative portfolio with writing (fiction, nonfic, poetry, plays), music, video editing, and photography

recently: i wrote an original soundtrack for a book

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

i hope you enjoy :)

— ⭑

below the cut: tags, WIPs, fandoms & interests, and more!

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ᯓ☆ tags!

#drabbles: shorts

#poetry: poetry

#life writing: life writing

#creative non-fiction: creative non-fiction

#fiction: fiction

#get wipped lmao: anything about my WIPs

#ash writes (as well as any of the above tags): original work

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#ash.txt: for when i have stuff to say

#ash answers: where i answer asks take a wild guess

#don't give me ideas: writing ideas & prompts

#write that down: things to come back to/reference

#oo shiny: stuff i liked a lot

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#composing: i write music scores sometimes

#insane mashups: sometimes i combine songs and create monstrosities and that's okay

#music!!: where i yell about songs/artists i like & other music stuff

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ᯓ☆ WIPs!

heart beats fast; colours and promises

Viva La Ávila

tales, second edition

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ᯓ☆ fandoms & interests!

ranges from obsessed, to involved, to generally liking. listed alphabetically. i will probably post/reblog about mainly the ones in bold as they are my current 'favourite' interests, but anything is free game.

13 reasons why (show, haven't read book)

abnormal psychology (neurodiversity)

ASMP (minecraft rolepay series)

avengers + avengers adjacent (mcu, haven't read comics)

avpm, avps, avpsy (musicals)

bo burnham (musician + comedian)

c418 (composer)

circe (book)

cream crew (content creator group)

crywank (musician)

dream smp (livestream series; i don't support dream/dream team)

e7i (musician)

generation loss (interactive livestream + adjacent media)

good will hunting (movie)

hamilton (musical)

harry potter (fuck jkr)

hazbin hotel (tv show)

heartstopper (show, haven't gotten to read the graphic novels yet)

heathers (musical and movie)

heroes of olympus/percy jackson (books, still watching series)

how to train your dragon (movies + show)

how to train your dragon soundtrack

hozier (musician)

jacob collier (musician)

james marriott (musician + streamer)

john powell (film composer)

magnus chase and the gods of asgard (books)

modern baseball (band)

mom jeans. (band)

nimona (movie, haven't read graphic novel/web-series)

rainbow kitten surprise (band)

sherlock (bbc show)

sleepy bois inc. (content creator group; fuck wilbur soot)

song of achilles (book)

soundtracking & symbolism in music

star wars

studio ghibli (movies by the animation company)

the 1975 (band; i don't support matty healy)

the star and the sun (book; still reading)

the oh hellos (band)

toby fox (music, haven't played his games yet)

qsmp (livestreamed minecraft server)

why don't we (band; old fan, not in as deep as i used to be)

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ᯓ☆ extras!

⤷ as mentioned, i'm the host of an osdd-1b system @ourstarsys ⤷ my co-host, Misty, also has a side blog @wolfdogmisty ⤷ i also own @jesterjac (agere)

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[somos-deseos]

Te recibí como un disparo, pensé que podría darte caza

con el frío de la noche. Dejar que en un par de años se llevaselo que siento por ti.

Y cada vez que hablamos, cada palabra se levanta hacia este momento, y yo tengo que convencerme a mí mismade que no lo quiero, aunque lo quiera.

Puedes romperme el corazón en dos, pero cuando sane volverá a latir de nuevo por ti.

Sé que es directo, pero es cierto,

quiero abrazarte cuando se supone que no debo,

cuando estoy tumbada junto a otra persona.

Estás atascado en mi cabeza y no puedo sacarte de ahí. Si pudiera hacerlo todo de nuevo, sé que volvería a ti.

Sé que volvería a ti.

Nunca lo entendimos bien, reproduciendo y volviendo a reproducir viejas conversaciones.

Pensando demasiado cada palabra, y yo lo odio,

porque yo no soy así. Y qué sentido tiene ocultarlo, todo el mundo sabe que tenemos asuntos pendientes.

Y me arrepentiría si no dijese que esto no es lo que podía haber sido.

Puedes romperme el corazón en dos, pero cuando sane volverá a latir de nuevo por ti.

Sé que es directo, pero es cierto, quiero abrazarte cuando se supone que no debo, cuando estoy tumbada junto a otra persona.

Estás atascado en mi cabeza y no puedo sacarte de ahí.

Si pudiera hacerlo todo de nuevo, sé que volvería a ti.

Sé que volvería a ti. Volvería a ti, volvería a ti.

Lo que había no era algo seguro, pero volvería a ti. Sé que volvería a ti.

Puedes romperme el corazón en dos, pero cuando sane volverá a latir de nuevo por ti.

Sé que es directo, pero es cierto, no mentiré, volvería a ti. Sabes que mis pensamientos andan sueltos, es algo que tú me haces hacer, y podría combatirlo, ¿pero para qué? Sé que volvería a ti.

Quiero abrazarte cuando se supone que no debo,

cuando estoy tumbada junto a otra persona.

Estás atascado en mi cabeza y no puedo sacarte de ahí.

Si pudiera hacerlo todo de nuevo, sé que volvería a ti.

Volvería a ti.

Sé que volvería a ti.

[chaifootsteps]

Hi!! Same anon with a foot in the fandom and the shipping servers of hazbin here! (The one who told you about how everyone of the creative side that ISN'T always blowing steam up Dani's ass, HATES HER GUTS). Literally, SO MANY active people in the fandom have her quietly muted. Another fun fact, Husker//dust is actually one of THE MOST DEVISIVE ships in the fandom. Hazbin fandom is sort of broken up into ships. Husker//dust is the loudest but NOT the biggest: just look at AO3: Radio//dust fics: 2,024 Husker//dust fics:  809 

Val//vox: 583 Radio//husk: 504 It's not overwhelmingly more popular than any other ship.

Here is the issue, for as many people that ADORE Husker//dust, it is as many people's ALL TIME NOTP. I can't tell you how many creators i know who have had both the word and tag blocked for years (and have been PISSED the last year how the husker//dust people stopped tagging their ship because they were "sure it was cannon so everyone just has to deal with it."

It isn't just a petty ship war reason, most hazbin fans are very pro multiship. It's the fact that the spindle crew's love of husker//dust lead to all of the fandom's number 1 bullies and bootlickers to hop on that bandwagon. The husker//dust fandom is UNBEARABLE to interact with because it has captured all of the cloutchasers, Viv ass blowers, fandom police and 13 year olds in the greater hazbin fandom and put them in one place. It is single handedly the most toxic section of the Hazbin fandom. By having it blocked people like dani just DISAPPEAR out of your feed. (unless you also follow sto//litz) A lot of creators have had very personal negative interactions with the Husker//dust fandom and it soured the ship for them (even if they were once into it). They used to regularly hop onto other ships' fan art and say "do husker//dust next!" there was an OVERWHELMING wave of fandom harassment in 2020-2021 lead by people with husker//dust bios explaining why all other ships that weren't cha//ggie and husker//dust were problematic and bad (and they did this by harassing some of the BIGGEST artists and writers from other ships. Constantly. In call outs, in the comments of their works, using their ship tags, etc) Tiktok was FULL of videos making fun of all ships but Husker//dust while literally stealing fanart of creators to make fun of their ships. (examples of videos: a HUGE radio//duster's gorgeous ship art over a soundtrack of barfing noises or with cartoon edits of characters like sponge bob pointing at the art and freaking out about how hideous it is)

I see a lot of people upset with the art style of the new show, a lot of people upset about the voice actors, a lot of people upset about the direction of the plot but you'd be surprise how many people are okay with all of that but their ONE straw for dropping the series was 'if husker//dust became cannon or teased and I can't avoid it's fandom anymore on twitter' So tl:dr: promoting one ship after letting the fandom go unchecked and wild for 4 years wasn't the great show promotion they thought it was either. I think they thought it was THE favourite ship of the fandom simply because they are the loudest and most drama prone and because Viv only follows the accounts that idolize her and therefore ship Husker//dust because it was the 'most likely ship to be cannon compliant and GOD FORBID you ship something that isn't cannon or part of Vivzie's grand vison)

Well...shit! Looks like we're about to get Stolitz 2.0

Everyone cross their fingers and pray that the comparison ends exactly there, because if one of these characters extorts sex out of the other, I don't know what we're all going to do.

[thirdtidemouse]

my (official and real) sketchbook playlist!! descriptions underneath! i have put the songs in a specific order and tried to make sure all the songs fit their vibe too outside (or disregarding) lyrics. also the types of music i think theyd enjoy lol.

1.. don't believe - vashti bunyan

oh, don't believe that love brings happiness gone tomorrow, here today love involves so much unhappiness don't believe what they say

lets kick it off with some folksy bittersweet 🤟this is both kaisa and johanna separately, before they meet. and their mirrored loneliness

2. apple pie - the scary jokes

i'll always be too shy to say what's on my mind i'm fantasizing all the time

the scary jokes are on this playlist. kaisa music. magic shygirl type of stuff

3. walking all day - graham coxon

walking all day with my mind on fire tryin' to get talkin' to you

this one's johanna vibes. ohh the days she'd spend walking round town, visiting the library, daydreaming about running into her and pretending it was an accident. she can't sit still, always restless, a teenager again

4. beautiful brain - mabel ye

i think you're beautiful i think you've got a beautiful brain i think you're beautiful i check up on it every day and while we sit just four feet across separated by a wall that is both white and moss i feel distance from you i feel closer to you

real ones know this came up in sketchbook week.. watch the music video for this!! (its sketchbook af)

5. super crush - tiger trap

i've got a supercrush on you because i think about you night and day

i'm not explaining this

6. the too much song - lemon demon

you're too much or am i not enough? you're (too much) and i feel this way much too much the longer that i wait the more you are much to my dismay

kaisa's perspective..

7. pink smoke - the scary jokes

you walk through walls set off the smoke alarms i feel your arms wrapping around me your aura almost drowns me pink smoke gets stuck in my throat when i say your name my heart goes up in flames

aaah johanna is crushing on a being of magic!

8. trees and flowers - strawberry switchblade

and i hate the buildings and the way they tower over me can't you see? i get so frightened no-one else seems frightened

strawberry switchblade is such kaisa music! goth & sweet! this song is definitely her but i think johanna's general anxieties about the city & the wilderness really show up in this song. they connect over these anxieties

9. i wanna be the moon - the scary jokes

it's scary to see you falling for me i wish that i could be i wanna be, i wanna be the moon i can't make you cry from way up in the sky and that's the reason why i wanna be, i wanna be the moon

kaisa's perspective. she doesn't like to get too close to people

10. it must be love - madness

i never thought i'd miss you half as much as i do

cmaaan johanna would love madness. london gerl. also one of the actual best love songs ever written ever

11. i have the moon - lush

you have to fly around the world all day to keep the sun upon your face i'd like to come and comfort you but i'd be blinded by the blue you have the sun, i have the moon

another sketchbook week song OOPS... literally sun/moon couple.

12. m'lover - kishi bashi

i wanna do what lovers do with you i wanna walk the edge of the earth with you

ripped STRAIGHT off the hilda soundtrack shamelessly. lovely magical sound. this plays when they're going on a very long expedition together

13. soho square - kirsty maccoll

one day you'll be waiting there no empty bench in soho square and we'll dance around like we don't care and i'll be much too old to cry and you'll kiss me quick in case i die before my birthday one day you'll be waiting there come summertime in soho square and i'll be painting stars up in the sky before i get too old to cry before my birthday

one of kaisa's first crushes was kirsty maccoll i'll say it. this song is so emotional the strings her vooiice!! this is a city love song. this is johanna leaving trolberg within the hc that they were childhood friends.

14. let's do everything for the first time forever - of montreal

may we dance again so i can pretend we're dancing for the first time? because when we danced for the first time i was so nervous!

it's been so long for both of them they're like teenagers again.. every time they talk its like talking to a school crush. embarrassing af. we both are out of practice with romance. let's do it together!!

15. black magic - little mix

take a sip of my secret potion i'll make you fall in love for a spell that can't be broken one drop should be enough

hehehehe!!!

16. my girlfriend is a witch - october country

spells fill the air i think i hear footsteps on my stair coming near her thoughts are telling me that she's here

quintessential hilda fandom song. how could i not?

17. she's got a new spell - billy bragg

one minute she says, she's gone to get the cat in next thing i know, she's mumbling in latin she cut the stars out of the sky and baked them in a pie, that's how i know she stole the scene and the scenery the script and the machinery, that's how i know that she's got a new spell

another witch's lover's song.. all that magic in one household can't be good.

18. lovers rock - tv girl

are you sick of me? would you like to be?

this song is just so chilled and lovely like a quiet night in. but captures the nerves and uncertainty of dating as well

19. riches and wonders - the mountain goats

we write letters to each other, invent secrets to confess to i learn foreign and exotic terms of endearment by which to address you we feed fresh fruit to one another we stay up all night and i am healthy, i am whole, but i have poor impulse control and i want to go home but i am home we are strong, we are faithful we are guardians of a rare thing we are filled with riches and wonders our love keeps the things it finds

domesticity and true love at its greatest. i love tmg!!

20. settin' the woods on fire - hank williams

you're my gal and i'm your feller dress up in your frock of yeller i'll look swell, but you'll look sweller! tonight we're settin' the woods on fire

off some country records johanna would 'co-own' with woodman. so fun. this gets put on in the pearson household when they have a family evening in

21. acolyte - slaughter beach, dog

annie, i want you to marry me we'll wait a few years i don't mean to frighten you i just want to be clear. man, it cuts like a dull knife when you're young and you're told 'makes sense when you're older,' darling, let's get old

not much to say on this one. i luv this song :-)

22. all i want is you - barry louis polisar

if you were a river in the mountains tall the rumble of your water would be my call if you were the winter i know i'd be the snow just as long as you were with me when the cold winds blow

juno soundtrack to finish it off :-) the core of sketchbook to me is joy & comfort & nature & magic

i hope u guys enjoyed this! lmk what you think of these interpretations! show me some lyrics you think about!