#AND HE PLAYED THE DEMO FOR GHOST TRICK SO HE MIGHT GET TO THAT AT SOME POINT TOO

[whoslaurapalmer]

I love playing ace attorney at the same time as my brother and I love being on the same case at the same time (and so does he!!) but we have. very different. play styles. I have to Dedicate A Majority Of My Brain Space to the game and not like, barrel through a case but definitely play it consistently otherwise I WILL forget what is happening, especially with the longer cases, but my brother will go days in between playing a case, so I am waiting for him to finish justice for all while longingly looking at the game cartridge for trials and tribulations

[19thperson]

19th's Steam Next Fest Impressions Day 3

Day 0/Day 1/Day 2

Year Unknown

You wake up in a superstructure called "The Library" said to house all human information across all time periods. You seem to be the only living human there. You find an AI who claims you're the first person they've talked to in years. Soon later, you learn there's a distress signal coming from "the center."

sparse demo, and the gameplay is lite. Walk around to find a terminal and then have a foreboding or philosophical conversation with an AI. Repeat. Demo was very short, just enough time to tell the premise, the tone, and a stinger hook. Interested, but it feels like it's yet to "prove itself."

SCHiM

Lo-fi Ghost Trick. You play as a man's shadow, which somehow becomes split from his host. Said host doesn't really notice due to being recently fired and going through the psychological torment of being incredibly unemployed.

Jump from shadow to shadow. If you land on non-shadowed space, you have a single jump to reach another shadow. Otherwise, you are teleported backward. When in an object's shadow, you can press interact to make it do various things.

At the start it didn't feel like a puzzle game, just an uninteresting platformer with a gimmick. 2nd half of the demo does show off some interesting concepts, like having to cross a bridge with no shadows, so you need to find a runner that will eventually cross it, or trying to go up a street where all the foot traffic is moving down.

But it never really felt actively challenging. The trailer suggests some stuff that might have teeth, but it seems like this is a game where you're mostly here for the vibes.

Judero

I will give the game this: it's built a really distinctive aesthetic and tone for itself. Mixed media that includes claymation, action figures, photos, and hand drawn artwork, all wrapped around what appears to be a deep appreciation for scottish mythology.

And it doesn't work for me at all.

Without that hook, the action adventure game underneath it just feels kinda bland.

I'm sure if someone was knee deep in the mythology, or more appreciative of its deliberately ragtag visuals, it would click better. But that someone is not me.

The Blue Prince

Your fuckoff rich great uncle has bequeathed you his fortune in the will. The problem is that in order to claim this inheritence, you have to find the 46th room of his 45-room manor. you have a limited number of days to do this.

Further exasperating the issue: He has a House of Leaves House that changes layout every day.

the way this comes into gameplay is that every time you open a door, you're given 3 possible room layouts to slot into the blueprint. At first, the puzzle seems to be "get the right combination of tiles to reach the antechamber in the back of the building," where it's easy to dead-end yourself if you aren't careful. But I see a metapuzzle brewing beneath it. Having to fulfill some condition once you get there, as well as finding scraps of a longer family history.

Add to that an interesting routing puzzle with your character having a stamina value that goes down one every time you enter a room, even when backtracking. And there's some need for backtracking, stuff like finding a breaker box to fix an electrical problem in another room.

So far, it's my favorite demo in the next fest. I knew I was getting into something nice when the game told me to grab a notebook.

[youngerfrankenstein]

Okay. Properly watching through the direct and thoughts.

Never got into Pikmin. Really doesn’t seem to be my thing, but I’m happy for the people who have been waiting for a new instalment!

Every time I see more of Xenoblade I become more confused how it’s popular. The character models are so bland and over-polished? Is that a term? They suck, is what I’m saying (though some of the ones in XB2? I think? Were just outrageously terrible) Maybe the story is really good but it doesn’t really, seem it? (I know I have followers who love these games more power to you guys!) I have XB1 for the 3DS and might try it someday but ehhhhhh

Rhythm game. Don’t care. Fashion game. DOUBLE don’t care. Dead Cells crossover? Still don’t really care. Blah blah.

I love Ghost Trick so much… I’m so glad it’s coming to the Switch.

More stuff I don’t care about. Okay the Bayonetta prequel looks like a fun little game maybe?

I don’t play Splatoon, sorry. Glad people are excited though!

I still have no intention of ever playing Engage, oh man what did they do to the poor emblem characters and, well I do like Hector but Chrobin are really the only emblem I’m happy to see. I also become more convinced every day the main point of this game is to get children into gambling 🙃

Octopath demo. Nice!

Yada yada, oh hey Advance Wars! We thought you were dead!

Kirby! Never played a Kirby game but how can you not love the little guy?

YAAAAY! GBA for Switch FINALLY. Dumb it’s only in the deluxe subscription. I really hope I get to see some mutuals who started with later FE’s enjoy FE7 (or at least try to) Hope we get a lot more titles later on. Particularly harder to find ones.

Metroid Prime remaster. I can almost hear the popping blood vessels of the people hoping for news on 4. One of those games I always meant to try but never have.

Baten Kaitos rumours were true! Now people can play Origins without shelling out hundreds of dollars!!! I’ll think about picking it up, have Eternal Wings but this way if I ever play and like it I will not be crying while browsing EBay. Sounds like they cut the English audio track for no reason? Which is shitty. Wonder if they lost the recording and didn’t feel like making a new one. Somehow wouldn’t be surprised.

🥹 He’s back.

Zelda news! Looks purdy, not sure I think Ganon’s voice suits him, oh Zelda is in this one, I will say again it looks purdy. Happy for my Zelda friends! Angry both on behalf of my Zelda friends and in general at Nintendo following the price hike on a game they KNOW people will pay anything for. Fuck you Ninty.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Change My Mind | Carrie Wilson

Request: Hey! Love ur writing! Could I request a JATP fic where the reader is Julie’s sister who can see the band too, and she’s in love with Carrie. Carrie loves her too but she pushed her away. And basically Julie and the boys trying to get them together.

Author’s note: This is my first Carrie fic I’ve written! And the first wlw au at that! Thanks for requesting this, I loved writing for Carrie! I hope you like this! 

Song(s) used: Change my Mind - One Direction

Pairing: Carrie Wilson x Fem!Reader

Warnings: none

Words: 4,250

“Hey sis, we’re gonna rehearse, wanna co--” Julie stops in her tracks on the threshold of her sister’s bedroom as the older sibling quickly drops her phone on her bed, startled at the sudden noise from her sister.  “What are you doing?” Julie asks, finding it a tad suspicious why her sister would just drop her phone like that. “Nothing!” Locking her phone, she scrambles off her bed and moves towards the door, “Just scrolling through Instagram, waiting for you to come and get me for band practice.” Julie shoots her a questionable look, but decides not to dig any deeper even though she knows her sister is lying to her. And she’s right. The truth is, Y/N was stalking Carrie Wilson’s Instagram profile. She’s had a crush on the blonde-haired girl since the very first time she saw her perform with Dirty Candi. It may have been the pink wig, or just the fact she looked incredibly confident on that stage with her girls, but it just did something to Y/N that ignited the flame in her heart. Sure, Y/N is a year older than Julie and Carrie, and those two used to be best friends when they were younger, but that doesn’t take her enormous crush away. Besides, it’s not like Carrie could ever like her back. She’s only Y/N Molina, Julie’s big sister with no talent whatsoever. Julie inherited all of their mother’s skills and talent. “‘Sup, guys!” Y/N throws up a peace sign as she enters the barn where Julie’s bandmates are waiting for the two Molina sisters to show up. Julie’s band are ghosts. Yep, you read that right. Ghosts. They showed up here when Julie played their demo and now, every time they sing with Julie everyone else can see them too. Julie and Y/N are the only ones who can see them all the time. It was kinda funny the first time Y/N saw them, actually.  They were about to eat dinner when Y/N found Julie in her mom’s studio, talking to three boys. “Uhm, Jules… What are these boys doing here?” Julie and the boys were very confused that she could see them too. But it made it so much easier for Julie since she could at least talk about them with someone. And ever since that first day, she’s been Julie and The Phantoms’ number one fan. The first few minutes of rehearsal, Y/N listens to every song and sings along softly with a couple of them, but by song number five, she’s back on her phone, scrolling through Carrie’s Instagram profile again. At first, it’s just a scrolling through her grid, but then she turns to the highlights of Carrie’s stories, starting with the one titled ‘Dirty Candi’. Giggling, she watches each and every single one of the funny behind the scenes bloopers from their rehearsals. As long as Carrie is certain they’re going to get these routines down and there’s no time pressure, she can actually be very chill and hilarious. Or that’s what Y/N has noticed whenever she sees them rehearsing in Los Feliz High���s gym. “Earth to Y/N,” Alex’s voice makes her snap up from her day dream about the it-girl. “Wh-what?” she stutters, unaware they were talking to her, but very aware she’s grinning like a fool. All four of them stare at the older Molina, all with teasing smirks on their faces. “What’cha looking at?” Reggie asks even though he already knows the answer. “Nothing,” she quickly utters whilst locking her phone as if that would make things less suspicious. “Just some funny TikToks,” she shrugs. Her four friends in front of her exchange knowing glances before placing their instruments on their stands or coming out from behind them to surround their very own Pinnocchio. “What were you really looking at, Y/N?” Luke asks, crossing his arms. “And don’t tell us another lame excuse, we know what you were really doing, Pinnocchio,” Julie adds, raising her eyebrows. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Y/N drops her phone next to her on the sofa and rubs her hands over her face. “We know how you feel about her, Angel,” Alex chimes in with that soft voice of his that could calm Y/N down in an instant. “You don’t have to lie to us.” Luke nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, Y/N. We just wanna help ya,” he says. Y/N hesitates, but then shakes her head anyway. “Just… Don’t,” she says and stands up from the couch before heading into the house again. The four bandmates are left dumbfounded and utterly confused. “Don’t what?” Reggie asks the others, “What can’t we do?” The three others simultaneously roll their eyes before getting back to their instruments. “Can’t we help Y/N? I mean, everyone knows she’s in love with Carrie, right?” he picks up his bass as the words roll off his lips. “Yeah, but if she doesn’t want our help, there’s not much we can do,” Alex replies with a shrug. “I know my sister like I know my own mind, she’ll want to figure it out by herself before getting others involved,” Julie adds while plopping down on the stool behind the keyboard. “So, we’re just gonna do nothing?” Reggie queries. The other exchange solemn glances. “Some friends you are,” he mumbles before plugging his bass into the amp. “Reggie’s right, guys,” Luke finally says. Reggie’s face lights up at his buddy’s words. There aren’t very many moments where Luke would agree with anything Reggie says. “We can’t just let her mope around the house and do nothing about her crush on Carrie, which by the way is totally mutual.” Julie’s eyebrows rise at the leadman’s words. “How’d you know that?” she asks. Luke lets out a huff as the corners of his lips turn up ever so slightly into the cheesiest smile as he shoots alarming glances at his buddies. “Luke  Patterson, how do you know that?” Julie’s voice sounds so stern and nearly angry, it scares Luke ever so slightly. “Uhm…” all three of them shriek out into that high-pitched tone of theirs they only use when they’ve said something they shouldn’t have. Alex sighs when he sees Julie’s face turn from angry to I-swear-I’d-kill-you-if-you-weren’t-already-dead. “We may have stalked Carrie a tiny bit when we found out about Y/N’s crush on her.” “Alex,” Luke snarls, but immediately calms down again upon seeing Julie’s glare directed to him. “But we actually found some pretty interesting things!” he continues as if that’s going to make it any better. “Yeah! We found her lying on her bed, scrolling through Y/N’s Instagram for a while before she started writing a song called ‘my love’,” Reggie carries on with the story. “Spoiler alert, she didn’t sing about a boy or ‘his eyes are so pretty’. Nope! It was actually about a girl!” “That could be about everyone, guys,” Julie rolls her eyes. The boys exchange another glance before bursting out into the snippet of the song they heard that day in Carrie’s bedroom. “I’d so be with you if it wasn’t for your sister, or the fact that you’d rather be with a mister!” Julie’s eyes widen at this. Girl code states you never date your brother, but in this heteronormative world, no one ever said anything about sisters. But that’s probably a given you wouldn’t date your best friend’s sister either, right? Plus, Carrie and Julie haven’t been friends for a while, that could be another reason why Carrie wouldn’t date Y/N. “You guys might be right,” Julie whispers as though she’s telling them a secret. “Let’s end rehearsals and think of a way to help them get together!” The four of them placed their instruments back in their places again or come out from behind them, and gather on the couch and armchairs to figure out a scheme to trick Y/N and Carrie into a date. It’s going to be difficult, but they’re all up for the task. They just want to see Y/N happy. 

About three days later, while at school, Y/N receives a text from Julie, telling her to meet the band in the music room during lunch. Confused as to why the band would be at Los Feliz High, Y/N drags her feet towards the classroom, only to find a picnic blanket with food scattered all around it in the middle of the floor. “Guys?” she calls out, hoping the boys would explain what’s going on. “Y/N?” a soft, melodic voice sounds from behind her. The girl immediately turns to find, in her opinion, the most beautiful girl that ever walked this earth. Her hair is curled to perfection, cascading down her right shoulder and framing her beautiful round-ish face. Her brown eyes are curiously and confusedly darting around the room before landing on Y/N’s face. Question marks are haunting the beautiful dark orbs Y/N had fallen in love with. “What’s going on?” “I-I…” Y/N doesn’t even know what to tell her. She barely knows what’s going on herself. Carrie holds a perfectly manicured finger up as a thought crosses her mind. “This isn’t what I think it is right?” Y/N opens her mouth to say something, but nothing other than weird sounds fall out. Making a great impression, Molina, she thinks to herself. “Y/N, we can’t. I can’t. Just… Don’t.” Carrie turns on her heels and leaves the music room along with the sadness and pain of a broken heart. She hears a whoosh behind her before she hears Alex’s voice say, “We’re so sorry, Y/N, we wanted to help…” As tears stream down Y/N's face, she forcefully turns around to face her friends. “I told you guys to just not do anything and you can’t even do that! Stop meddling in my life, for crying out loud! I never needed you here! I never asked you to do this! Just stay out of my life!” Her voice is shrill and cold. So cold, it even chills the three ghost boys. After sending them one last sharp glare, she turns on her heel and rushes out of the room. She doesn’t even realize she’d run past her sister and her best friend, even though the two call after her. The sobs wracking through her body deafen her whilst she blindly finds her way to the bathroom and into a stall where she collapses to the floor. “Hermanita?” Her sister’s voice calling out is the first thing she hears between all the sobs and sniffles. Julie, hearing this, starts pushing against all stall doors until one opens slightly before bumping into Y/N’s knees. The girl scoots over as far as she can to let her sister inside, deciding she needs her little JuJu right now. “I’m so sorry, Hermanita,” she whispers as she slides down to the floor too on the opposite side of the stall. Their knees touch, which feels weirdly comforting to Y/N.  “No, it’s okay…” she sniffles, “At least now I really know where I stand, you know?” Julie presses her lips together into a tight smile before sliding forward onto the dirty bathroom floor and wrapping her arms around her big sister in a kind of awkward hug. “You deserve so much better than Carrie Wilson, Y/N/N,” she whispers in the older Molina’s ear. “So much better and so much more.” More tears roll down Y/N’s cheeks upon hearing these words. “But all I want is her, JuJu,” she cries out. Hearing her sister break down like this breaks Julie’s entire heart in a thousand pieces. She was so wrong about trying to set her sister up with Carrie on this date, but there might just be another way to help her instead. All she’d need is the boys for moral support and a bit of alone time with Carrie. That should do it. 

That night, Julie takes the boys with her to go to the Wilson’s. To Julie’s surprise, Trevor opens the door with a surprised smile on his face upon seeing his daughter’s ex-best friend. That ex-best friend, however, tries to focus on the man in front of her instead of the tensing, nervous boys behind her. They still hadn’t been able to talk to Trevor about the whole song-stealing thing. “Hey, Trevor, is Carrie home?” Julie asks with the widest smile on her face to try and hide how nervous she really is. This is either going to ruin Y/N chances with Carrie completely or help them finally get together. She’s banking on the latter, trying to stay optimistic. “Uhm, yeah, she’s upstairs in her room. She hasn’t left since coming home from school,” Trevor explains as he steps aside to let the young girl inside. “Think I heard her crying too, so I’m kinda worried, but kinda scared to go in and ask. You know how she is.” Julie simply nods her head at the overexplaining man. “I’ll go and check up on her. I wanna talk to her about something anyways.” Trevor offers her a thankful smile before letting her go upstairs. Still being followed by the three ghost boys, Julie makes her way up to Carrie’s room. Memories from when she used to come here on play dates when they were younger flood in her brain. It’s a nostalgic, yet heartbreaking feeling. Upon arriving at Carrie’s bedroom, Julie raises her fist to knock on the door, but stops half-way there. “What’s she waiting for?” she hears Reggie whisper behind her. “You got this, Julie,” Luke encourages, and Alex chimes in too with the words she needs to hear at this very moment. “For Y/N.” Her fist knocks a soft, steady beat on the wooden door, and then the waiting game commences. Which doesn’t last too long. Twenty seconds max. Before that, there’s some rustling, some nose blowing noises, and then the door opens. Carrie’s face falters upon seeing Julie’s face, but Julie doesn’t care. All she cares about is the fact that Carrie’s eyes look red and puffy, as if she’d been crying all day. Trevor was right about hearing sobs. “What do you want?” she asks sharply, but her voice still wavers ever so slightly. “I wanna talk to you…” Julie says, and as Carrie opens her mouth to object, she follows with, “About Y/N.” The blonde girl’s eyes tear up upon hearing the name as it’s clearly the big trigger for her breakdown. Carrie opens her bedroom door a little further before turning and walking inside, leaving it open for Julie to follow. She and the boys walk inside, and while Julie stops in the middle of the room, the boys scatter around. Luke goes to sit on the edge at the foot of Carrie’s bed since she’s resting against the headboard, Alex takes a seat in the bright pink armchair and Reggie sits down on her desk, knocking Carrie’s pencil case off. The owner’s eyes widen upon seeing the pencil case drop without a cause while Julie just shoots Reggie a glare. He whispers a sorry while holding his hands up in defense. “What do you have to say?” Carrie then focuses back on the intruder in her house. “I …” She realizes she has no clue what she’s going to say or how she’s going to say it. “Carrie… I know you’re in love with my sister,” she then blurts out. Carrie perches up at this, eyes wide and filled with terror. “It’s fine, Carrie. It really is okay. I’m glad, even! She’s mad for you too, girl. And I kinda set up the whole picnic thing in the music room to force you two together, finally, but I guess that kinda backfired…” “Y/N’s in love with me?” she asks, and Julie nods. “I thought she hated me because I kinda dropped both of you when your mother died…” A twinge of pain shoots through Julie’s body at the memory of their fight. “I don’t get it either, but she does really love you.” Carrie chuckles light-heartedly at that, telling Julie it’s okay to do so, too. “Why did you run away from her at lunch?” she then asks, looking at Carrie who’s fidgeting with the hem of a cushion. “Because I’m scared,” she says after a few beats of silence. “Scared that if we date, people are gonna talk. Scared our fighting might put a wedge between our relationship. Scared my dad’s going to react weirdly.” Julie subtly glances at Alex. He’s giving her a reassuring look, telling her Trevor was really okay with him being gay. “It’s 2020, Carrie, I’m sure most people at our school would be jealous of whoever you date, whether it’s a guy, a gal, or a non-binary pal.” She carefully inches closer to the bed. “I heard your dad is pretty okay with the lgbtq community. My mom once told me he had a friend that was gay and he supported him and didn’t treat him any different.” She takes a deep breath before sitting down next to Luke. “And as regards to our fight, I’m willing to put that grudge aside if it means you’ll tell my sister the truth.” A twinkle in Carrie’s eyes tells Julie she likes the sound of that idea very much. “It’s been a year, Carrie. I’m pretty sick of us fighting anyway and I miss the fun times we had together,” Julie shrugs as she brings out the words carefully. Before she can even register it, Carrie has launched herself forward and taken Julie in her arms for a tight hug. Julie is surprised at first, but then wraps  her arms around her oldest friend too. The boys watch the scene with tender eyes, glad this is going so well. After a while, Carrie pulls back and holds Julie at arm's length. “Can we keep the rivalry for our shows though? I think it adds a little more showbizz to it,” she says, which makes Julie snicker, shaking her head in disbelief. “Okay, then can I ask you for another favor?” “What is it?” Julie asks, glancing at Luke quickly. He’s as intrigued as she is. “I don’t know what to say to Y/N that doesn’t make me look like a fool.” The Carrie Julie used to know back in the day is rearing its head again. It’s a soft, shy version of the one Los Feliz High knows. It’s the version Y/N fell in love with. “I have an idea.” 

For about a week, Carrie comes in on rehearsals to rehearse their surprise for Y/N, but of course, they have to hide it for the older Molina. They’d rehearse at Carrie’s place or in the garage whenever Y/N was with friends or at Carlos’ baseball games. Whenever she did walk in, Carrie would hide behind Alex’s drum kit, trying her hardest to withhold herself from jumping out and just confessing her love to the girl. This is the most perfect surprise and if she ruins it now, it’s going to take away the romantic flair of it all. On Friday, they’re finally ready to execute the plan. Julie sets up her keyboard outside in the garden underneath her sister’s bedroom window, along with a microphone for Carrie, plugged into the amp. The boys are ready to jump in too, instruments in hand, ready to go. “Ready?” Julie whispers to Carrie. The girl nods her head, but the fear in her eyes says something different. “You got this,” she utters the words Luke always tells her. “Okay, let’s go,” she whispers. Julie starts playing a couple of notes on her piano whilst Luke starts to strum his guitar, suddenly appearing to Carrie. The girl, now a little calmed down, inhales deeply before starting to sing, her soft melodic voice carrying through the night. “The end of the night We should say goodbye But we carry on While everyone's gone” Y/N’s lying on her bed, scrolling aimlessly through Instagram when she hears the voice of an angel in the night from outside her bedroom window. Thinking it’s Julie and the band rehearsing, she ignores it and continues scrolling. “Never felt like this before Are we friends or are we more As I'm walking towards the door I'm not sure” Alex and Reggie join in too, appearing next to Luke and Julie, and giving Carrie another boost of confidence. In the past week, these hologram boys have really given her a little more confidence for this surprise as she really didn’t think she could do this. “But baby if you say you want me to stay I'll change my mind 'Cause I don't wanna know I'm walking away If you'll be mine Won't go, won't go So baby if you say you want me to stay Stay for the night I'll change my mind” Y/N finally starts to realize that this isn’t Julie’s voice at all, and crawls off her bed, leaving her phone there. Carefully, but drawn in by the music, she moves to her window and opens it further to find Carrie along with the rest of the bend on the lawn. Upon seeing Y/N’s beautiful face, Carrie’s lips curl upwards, reaching her eyes. The other confidence boost she needed. “Lean in when you laugh We take photographs There's no music on But we dance along” Y/N sits down on her window sill, enthralled by the gorgeous voice serenading her from her backyard. She glances at the boys and Julie once, and each of them has the proudest, happiest smile on their faces. Happy they could help their friends finally get together. “Never felt like this before Are we friends or are we more As I'm walking towards the door I'm not sure” Then Y/N focuses back on Carrie and the words she’s singing, feeling each and every single one of them deep in her heart. It even makes her tear up a little. “But baby if you say you want me to stay I'll change my mind 'Cause I don't wanna know I'm walking away If you'll be mine Won't go, won't go So baby if you say you want me to stay Stay for the night I'll change my mind I'll change my mind” Carrie takes the mic off the stand and walks even closer towards the window, never breaking the intense eye contact the two are sharing. “Baby if you say you want me to stay I'll change my mind” Quickly wiping away the tears that have fallen, Y/N makes her way downstairs and into the yard as fast as she can, in time to hear them sing the last chorus. Carrie, having seen this, is waiting for her at the door and grabs her hand to lead her towards the rest of the band whilst still singing to her girl. “But baby if you say you want me to stay I'll change my mind 'Cause I don't wanna know I'm walking away If you'll be mine Won't go, won't go So baby if you say you want me to stay Stay for the night I'll change my mind” The boys stop playing, and to Carrie, they disappear, but Y/N can see they’re still there. It does make her relax a little, knowing she has their moral support. Carrie takes both her hands in hers, pulling her a little closer to her body as she inhales deeply. “That was beautiful, Care, I--” Carrie interrupts her by placing a finger on her lips. “Please, let me talk?” Y/N nods her head slowly as Carrie removes her finger and places her hand back in Y/N’s. “I’ve been so scared about what people at school would say behind my back or what my dad would say, but… I don’t care what they say, Y/N. I am so in love with you and I have been for a while now, but I was so scared to admit that even to myself. But I know now that it’s okay to love whoever you wanna love and I know that the people who love me will still love me and will realize that nothing has changed. I know now I wanna be with you, Y/N.” A smile plays at Y/N’s lips upon hearing those words. The words she wanted to hear for such a long time have now finally reached her ears and settled in her brain for her to think back on later. “I wanna be with you too, Carrie. You have no clue how long I’ve wanted to tell you that,” she chuckles, and Carrie lets out a giggle too. It’s Y/N’s favorite sound in the entire world. Carrie then lets go of Y/N’s hands and places hers on her cheeks instead, bringing the girl closer to press their lips together for their very first kiss. The firework-filled, long-awaited kiss that sends Julie’s ghost band into loud cheers. Y/N is too focused on the girl kissing her, she doesn’t even notice. Carrie is finally kissing her. The girl she’s been pining for is finally kissing her. They’re actually together. That’s something she’d never thought would happen, but now that it’s happened, it’s better than she could ever dream of. 

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[holy-trinity-of-one-braincell]

So someone made a post about Willie and Noah Czerny being skateboarding ghost buddies and it got me thinking for some reason of an alternate reality where ghosts were more like Noah. Flickering from being alive to just being mute and hallow.

So look, the boys die and when Julie plays their demo they reappear. Only more gruesome. They look exactly like the second they died with empty eyes and sickly pale skin and clothes covered in the dirt from the alley and blood (because for some reason I imagine them throwing up blood don’t ask) Naturally Julie freaks out because this fucking Conjuring just appeared in front of her. She runs from the studio screaming. Once she gets the courage to come back she doesn’t find them again.

But they are still there. Just invisible and mute. They can hear each other and see each other but not by lifers neither can they interact with the world of the living. See the rules are that all people with unfinished business come back to resolve it. But they are literal phantoms of themselves. The longer they interact with other ghosts or the lifers (however one-sided) they gain back their humanity. They can start interacting with the real world. Most of the ghosts, however, try to contact their families after they come back. The trick is the dark room Reggie talked about. Because it’s a time warp. So many when they come back to come to a different year if not a decade. In most cases, the unfinished business is connected to their families but this also raises problems. See, one scenario is that the ghosts follow their loved ones around regaining their humanity and sometimes eventually crossing over. But usually, they just get discouraged or angry because they are very much not corporeal and they cannot be heard so they just get frustrated or resign and go back to their hollow form. Other scenario ties with revenge or anger that turns the ghosts into poltergeists which are extremally dangerous to both the living and dead.

So the boys are fairly lucky because they have at least each other to talk to. Not being able to interact with Julie they decide to check on their families. Luke goes back to his parents and it gave him some sort of comfort knowing that he was remembered. So he spends there most of his days. Reggie checks on his family but his house is sold and turned into a bike shack. He’s not angry. He’s sad and little disappointed but not angry. In a way, he saw it coming. But Reggie is also a people person. He’s shy at first especially with adults because adults were rarely reliable and trusting in his experience but nevertheless, he’s a people person and loves to interact with lifers. Even if it’s one-sided. Also alternatively Reggie has a younger brother because I adore that idea, fight me. So this is the two out of three. But not Alex. Alex doesn’t want to see his parents. But he wants to track his siblings because he gives me big brother vibes. So he looks for them.

The boys occasionally, mostly Reggie, hang in the house. They flicker on from time to time and Julie can see them for a second. It freaks her the fuck out. Because there are three very dead-looking boys in her house. But they look a bit better. The blood is at least gone. She goes back to the demo she played and finds the picture, then she googles Sunset Curve. She doesn’t know why three dead band members are in her house but she needs some answers.

When she plays their music they become visible but are still unable to communicate so the conversation is very based on yes and no questions. But they start hanging out more. Julie is still pretty freaked out but once she got the initial shock it’s not half bad.

At some point, the boys start to sing just messing around I guess. And she can hear them! They talk about music and how Rose loved it. This makes Julie reconsider singing again. So she does. And the boys join her. And something happens. They are not only visible and Julie can hear them but also they don’t look so hollow anymore. They still look phantomish but not as much as before.

They figure it is the music that brings them back to their old selves. And now they can interact with Julie more so that also helps. So Julie and Luke write some songs and they find a way to pick up things so they can talk more freely and the boys look almost as when they were alive only a bit bleached and transparent. So overall considering their situation it’s ok.

But then the shit hits the fan. One, the boys learn that Bobby stole their music. They are all pissed. Luke goes all poltergeist and it’s pretty terrifying. Julie rushes to Trevor’s house to stop it however she can. It’s chaos. Eventually, she salts them (because I watched Supernatural and I say so), because Reggie and Alex are not as fuming as Luke but they are still pissed and their combined energy is just pure chaos. It makes them disappear for long enough so they realise what is happening and get a grip. They could have hurt Julie in the process!

The other thing that happens is that Julie is obviously mad but also scared of what has happened. Because those sad boys just did that. And it’s scary as shit because what if you anger them and they lose control? So the are left to cool off. Luke goes off to his parents to ground him or stays behind and plays some music with Reggie because Reggie cannot go back to the house to hang with Ray or Carlos because it would upset Julie and also he’s scared that he might fuck something up like they just did with Bobby. Also, Carlos reminds him so much of his younger brother, this is canon now fite me!

But Alex, Alex needs to clear his head (and look for his siblings). So he walks down the Sunset Blvd and he meets Willie. More like Willie crashes into him but you get the point. And Willie, he is so ALIVE. He could be mistaken for a lifer if he hasn’t just phased through them. They talk and Willie offers to take Alex to Hollywood Ghost Club where they can be back to their old selves. No more hollow shell. They can interact with the real world. And Caleb can make them visible. It’s a tempting offer that he has to stomach so he tells Willie that he will meet him again when he decides.

Alex tells the boys about it and they immediately decide they are in. Luke is tempted by being made visible so he can get back at Bobby. The anger has dimmed but it’s still eating him inside. Luke can hold a grudge. Reggie just desperately wants to interact with people. He loves his friends but he wants to make people laugh and to make jokes so he won’t be left alone with the dark thoughts in his head. And Alex above all just wants to see Willie again.

So they agree and meet Willie who takes them to the HGC. And it’s amazing. Because for the first time, apart from when they played with Julie, they feel ALIVE. They are bright, and vibrant, and feel like they belong. Like it hasn’t been 25 years since they walked the earth. Of course, Caleb knew they boys are visible to Julie when they play but this is not the major point here because although he plays on their ambition to be successful musicians (because they can do it here with Caleb) it’s more about being alive than just a shadow of a person. And the boys know that they need to be grounded and connected to someone to stay the way they are. This place is filled with other ghosts and lifers that can see them so it’s so easy to find their place in the world. Out there, outside the HGC there is Julie and her family (and Willie) but that’s it. And in fact, Julie is the only one that can see them. That’s why this offer is so tempting. Because outside of Julie who might get bored of them, who will grow up and move on, they have no one. Luke has his parents but it’s not for forever either he knows. And they have each other but would it be enough? And on the top of that, there is their unfinished business that they have no clue what it is so they might spend an infinite time on earth just searching.

So it’s fucking tempting to just stay here. But they miss Julie. They brought music back to her life and she literally brought them back. They owe her. So for now they decline Caleb’s offer. But that tricky bitch is having none of that because it’s not about boys being visible to others when they play. No. It’s about trapping their soul here because it would make Caleb more powerful. He needs the souls to keep up this whole place and himself because he has no connection to anybody. So he feeds off souls to stay ‘alive’. If not for that he most likely let the boys go and let them whiter on their own, turn back to hollow shells or angry spirits. But he needs a fresh supply of souls to keep him ‘alive’. Willie is forced to help him and he is one of a very few, in fact, that is ‘alive’ contrary to how it looks like. It’s all a show. An illusion. Because Caleb is sucking the ‘live’ force out of the ghosts he has trapped here. So he stamps the boys.

The time passes, not considerably but it does and Julie sings with her new ‘hologram’ band. They start getting popular but of course, things go wrong. Because of the stamps. It’s different than in the show because it will not destroy them by the jolts. It’s not either crossing over or joining his house band if they don’t want to be erased. No. They are left free to be but Caleb will still take their ‘live’ force. They just don’t get the benefit of being a member of the HGC. The only indication that something is wrong is that they are being drained. Even when they play with Julie they are more transparent on the borderline of hallow. Playing and singing give them a boost that sustains them for a short while but then disappears again. And it shows when they appear while playing. They are no more almost alive happy himbos they are almost a scene out of a zombie flick. Which would be fine for the Halloween gig but not in ordinary circumstances.

Then Willie comes to the rescue. He explains what is happening and the only option to stop it is to end Caleb.

So I slept like 3 hours and I woke from a fever dream and I wrote this. It makes no sense. Please accept my contribution to the phandom.

[jynxes]

Leather n’ Red - Reggie Peters

Summary: Much like the deceased boys of Sunset Curve, Duchess died right before the gig that could’ve been her band’s big break. Thing is, she left the dark room a little earlier than they did, made a couple friends and learned a few tricks. What will happen when she and the boys can be seen when singing with Julie, the only alive person that can see them all? 

Paring: Reggie Peters x Duchess Himura (OC)

Word count: 2.3k

A/N: This is my first JATP fic so I’m sorry if some parts seem ooc. Also this book can be found on Wattpad if you prefer to read it there.

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Prologue // The Ballerina Necklace

June 25, 2005, The Orpheum

"Come on! One, two, three!" Marisa yells, hitting her drumsticks together before we begin the soundcheck.

Danielle begins strumming her guitar and we start singing.

"Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together I need the other one to hold you Make you feel, make you feel better It's not a walk in the park to love each other But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're the worth it

Some things just, some things just make sense And one of those is you and I Some things just, some things just make sense And even after all this time

I'm into you Baby not a day goes by that I'm not into you

I should be over all the butterflies but I'm into you, I'm into you And even baby our worst nights I'm into you, I'm into you Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all Yeah after all this time I'm still into you I'm still into you I'm still into you."

We finish and Danielle runs over to my mic, "We're Moonrise Edge!"

"Tell your friends!" I chime in with a smile and pick up my keytar from the song before Still Into You. We're all smiling and can't wait for tonight, tonight we're the opening act in the Orpheum, I KNOW, how amazing is that?!

"We KILLED that sound check! It was amazing!" Marisa says after giving me a quick kiss.

"Yeah, too bad it was only a soundcheck. Tonight is gonna be amazing though, it's gonna be PACKED with people and we're definitely gonna get signed by a label if we perform like that," Dani brags.

"For sure! Then we're gonna sell a bunch of albums and get a tour!" I begin adding onto the fantasy we're gonna live after we perform tonight.

"Wow, you guys were great," a voice says, and we turn, who is it but rock god TREVOR WILSON.

While I'm too busy freaking out internally Marisa is completely calm, "Thanks dude, we can't wait to open for you tonight."

"It is gonna be awesome," Dani grins.

"Oh! We didn't introduce ourselves, I'm Marisa, this is Danielle, or Dani," she says pointing to the dark-skinned girl, "And finally this is Duchess or Doll," the Hispanic girl points to me.

"Well I think you're definitely gonna go far," Trevor compliments, "What got you guys into music?"

"Thanks," I finally find my voice, "We were always kinda into music but then we heard of this old band that was kinda big like, I don't know, ten years ago? It was called Sunset Curve, some of them died from like food poisoning or something. Anyway, we heard their demo and loved it so much that we wanted to become a band."

"Yeah, that's why we chose the name 'Moonrise Edge' because of 'Sunset Curve' it was supposed to be a bit like a joke but then we started getting gig so it kinda stuck," Marisa adds on.

"Oh, okay, well I gotta go do my soundcheck," Trevor says hurriedly, seeming to get really nervous.

"Okay, see you later," Dani yells after him.

"That was weird," Marisa says.

"Yeah, it was. I wonder what it was all about," I say before putting my hand in the pocket of my leather jacket, feeling around.

"He's famous, famous people are always weird and doing weird stuff," Dani rationalizes, when I feel nothing in my pockets, I begin patting down my red flannel skirt.

"Whatever, let's just get back to our dressing room," Marisa suggests, then she turns to me, "What is with you? What are you looking for?"

"I can't find my necklace," I say, fumbling in my bag, "Where is it?"

"Why do you even need your necklace?" Dani says, "I know it's your lucky charm, but we just played that soundcheck and crushed it, meaning you don't need it to play well."

"I know, I know, it's just that I've had the necklace for each of our gigs and we always crushed it. Soundchecks don't matter, the gigs do, so it's the same with the necklace," I explain, I've had the necklace with me for each milestone of the band. When we heard Sunset Curve's demo, when we formed Moonrise Edge, when we got our first gig and finally when we were asked to play the Orpheum.

"Look, it might be in the dressing room, let's check, yeah?" Marisa says helpfully.

"Okay, yeah, let's check," I say, and we enter the dressing room. We search and we search, and we search, and the necklace is nowhere to be found.

"Wait, I think I remember where it is!" Dani yells suddenly.

"Where? Where?" I ask worriedly.

"Do you remember when we were at Mari's and we were getting changed?"

"Yeah," I say, "Get to the point!"

"It fell off in Mari's room. I told you when we were leaving, and I thought you got it because you were the last to leave. You mustn't have heard me," Dani sighs.

"Oh damn!" I facepalm, "What time is it?"

"Right now it is 6:17pm," Marisa looks at the clock.

"Okay, it's a ten-minute drive each way, just drive to mine and you'll be back with plenty of time to perform," Marisa says calmly, trying to soothe my nerves.

"Okay, okay, I'll go get it, Dani do you mind if I take your car?" I ask, while grabbing my bag.

"Sure, think fast," she says, throwing me her keys.

I catch them and begin running out the door, "I'll be right back!"

"See you, I love you, Doll," Marisa shouts.

"I love you too Mari!"

I get into Dani's car and turn the key, I reverse out of the parking spot and get out onto the road. I take the right turn and stop at the red light. I go ahead when the light turns green but suddenly, I'm going sideways, I feel a pain in my side then all I can see is black.

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July 15, 2020

I've been in this dark room for like forty-five minutes now. It's pretty boring. Basically what happened was that when I began driving again after the light turned green some asshole decided not to stop for HIS red light and he hit into me. The car turned sideways and smashed into a building, I was dead before the car stopped moving. Then I floated out of the car, I knew I was dead, and I was transported to this weird dark room. And here I am.

I start to hear music, then I realize it's Still Into You from the Moonrise Edge demo, then the music is distorted, and the ground of the dark room seems to dissolve.

I scream a little as I fall on my back. I then stand up and look around, I'm in someone's room. Then I hear the voice of a little boy.

"Who are you?" I turn around and see a Latino boy about ten or eleven with his jaw dropped.

"I- uh, I'm Duchess, who are you?" I stutter out.

"I'm Carlos, what are you doing in my room?"

"I actually have no idea," I tell him, "Last thing I remember is dying and then being in this dark room with nothing in it."

"You're dead?!" he exclaims.

"Yeah, wait, you're not? Where even am I?" I'm getting really confused now.

"You're in my room," he repeats from before, "In Los Feliz. How did you die?"

"I- Los Feliz? Wait, that where Mari lives," I realize, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

"Who's Mari?" Carlos asks.

"Mari's my girlfriend, the drummer in my band," I overexplain to him for some reason.

"You're in a band? Cool! What's it called?"

"Moonrise Edge, we were supposed to play the Orpheum last night," I say, running my hand through my dark hair, "Wait, I wonder what they did, since I died and everything. Do you know what they did?"

"No, but I can look it up if you want," he says.

"Sure," I say.

"I'll be right back," he says before leaving the room. I walk around the room, looking at a baseball bat in the corner and a jersey lying on the bed with the number 7 on it.

Then Carlos comes rushing back into the room with some kind of device in his hand, "Okay, I've got my iPad, now what was the band called again?"

"Uh, Moonrise Edge," I say, suspicious of this 'iPad' device.

"Wow, you were in a band, and you did die, but not last night," he says, after typing on the device.

"What do you mean not last night?" I say, super confused at this point.

"You died in 2005, right?"

"Yes..."

"Well it's not 2005 anymore," he says carefully.

"What do you mean it's not 2005 anymore? I was only in that dark room for like forty-five minutes!"

"It's now 2020, you died fifteen years ago," he explains.

"WHAT!? IT'S BEEN FIFTEEN YEARS! I SPENT FIFTEEN YEARS IN SOLITUDE!?" I exclaim.

"Okay, uh, calm down, it's okay. It's okay, look, you're not alone anymore, you've got me. I'll help you with anything you need," Carlos tries to comfort me.

"But-but it wasn't that long, how has it been fifteen years?" I question.

"That, I don't know. All I know is that I'm here to keep you company, if you want. I can help you find out what happened to your bandmates, you parents or whatever and I'll get you up to speed on what you missed."

"You'd do that for me? Why?"

"Because, ghosts are pretty cool," he says simply.

"Okay aha, can we start with what happened to my bandmates?" I ask him.

"Yeah sure," he sits on his bed and ushers me to sit next to him.

"This," he points to the device in his hand, "is an iPad, it's like a computer but it's just the screen and it has a touchscreen, you use it like this," he explains, swiping his finger along the surface.

He then explains to me how to search things on it and looks up what happened to Dani and Marisa. Apparently, they went on and played the Orpheum gig without me, which I'm not mad about I mean they worked as hard as I did to get there, they deserved to play the gig. After playing they split up the band after that, believed to have done it out of respect for me, and became solo acts. Mari got signed to a label and was asked to join a band named 4 Orchids they've done a few tours and now she's living somewhere in New York. Dani went on to become a solo act and was also signed onto a label, she's done tours and collaborations and now she's living in San Francisco.

Carlos told me that if I wanted to stay in the garage behind his house. He told me that it was his mom's studio but ever since she sadly passed away last year no one's went into it. I thanked him and told him I was gonna stick around.

Then I decided to go and explore the streets of Los Angeles, see how things have changed since I died. I got to meet some cool celebrities that are dead, but I didn't make any friends today. I got to see Marilyn Monroe, gotta say, she's as hot in person as she was on film.

Before I go back to Carlos's house, I go to the house that Mari used to live in, which turns out to be next door to Carlos's. She doesn't live there anymore, but her parents do.

I walk in the hall and see the photos of Mari growing up, a couple pictures of her now and a picture of Mari, Dani and I before our first gig when we were 15. Then when I go into the living room where I see Mari's parents, Lydia and Victor, are watching something on TV. I see more picture of Mari with her parents, some with Mari and me, one of our unofficial pictures from prom, some with Mari and Dani and some with Mari and her cousins.

I go up the stairs and see Mari's bed is more or less the same as it was when I was still alive. When I go to her desk, I see my necklace lying there with a sticky note, 'Doll's necklace' is what's written. I lift my necklace and inspect the charm, the ballerina dangling from the chain. I take it and clasp it around my neck before leaving to go to Carlos's garage.

I explore Carlos's mom's studio and it's kinda cool. Up in the loft there are drums and a couple guitars, and also a bag of clothes, I don't know who owns the clothes so I'm not gonna take them. I check out the couch and it seems pretty comfortable, I lay down on it and try to go to sleep. After a few hours I realize that I don't actually need sleep, but it's an easy way to pass time.

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[lanottedellastrega]

Out of the Shadows

Metal Hammer, Summer 2015. Transcript behind the cut.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS Poised to release their third album, Ghost have returned from their unholy slumber to reveal how their conversion mission is progressing - and when their end times might come... Words: Chris Chantler. Pics: John McMurtrie

Surely this can't be right. Hammer is awaiting an audience with a Nameless Ghoul from the Swedish Devil-worshipping cult of Ghost, half-expecting to be blindfolded and ridden to the ruins of a deconsecrated church for a clandestine rendezvous with the masked and robed envoys of Satan. Yet we're in the executive lounge of a Kensington hotel, and there's an extremely polite, alarmingly youthful-looking short-haired man in a leather jacket being introduced as "the author of Ghost." Hammer experiences some cognitive dissonance, imagining that this is a hoax, that Ghost are slyly pretending to have human faces and interpersonal skills to divert attention from the true nature of their esoteric origins or seduce us into foul practices. The only visible clue to this young man's role as Ghost mouthpiece is the symmetrically matching pair of skull-and-crossbones patches on his leather sleeves. Yet when he starts talking about Ghost's third album, the majestic Meliora, it's clear this guy knows what he's talking about.

"The first album [2010's Opus Eponymous] was about the impending doom of a more old-school Biblical sort, where death and destruction will come in the form of locusts and dark fog: it was the coming of the Antichrist," he explains in soft, measured tones, choosing his words with care, maintaining near-constant eye contact. "The second album [2013's Infestissumam] was about the presence of the devil, taking place aesthetically in a 1700's milieu with a more Baroque theme. Whereas this album is the absence of God. It's a futuristic, pre-apocalyptic record. The cat is out of the house and the mice dance on the table. But at some point, the cat comes home..."

Meliora is a godless state, where Ghost's totemic frontman-cum-sigil Papa Emeritus wields power and terror with fearful impunity. And like his spiritual predecessor, Iron Maiden's Eddie, he's renewed with each new phase of band activity, so we're now on Papa III. His city bears more than a passing resemblance to the world we live in.

"Meliora is the metropolitan landscape in which this album takes place; a backdrop that looks like a big city with a lot of hopeful people living in fear of not succeeding," he explains candidly. "Many of the lyrics on this album deal with ambition. It's ridden with a certain degree of self-loathing. I really hate ambitious people - that's why I live in a place where there's not a whole lot of them."

Ghost may not have had any grand ambitions, but five years on from their debut demo, single and LP, some of their original concept has had to be compromised by unimagined levels of growth and demand. For example, talking openly and earnestly to the press in his street clothes, his face and voice undisguised (rumours suggest he's singer-songwriter Tobias Forge, but his real name is politely unconfirmed) is something the Ghoul never intended to do. But he admits that the success of the band thus far - and the enthusiastic patronage of superstar superfans such as James Hetfield, Phil Anselmo and Dave Grohl - has greatly surprised and humbled the men behind the masks.

"Contrary to popular belief, we did not know that we were gonna get that much heat," the Ghoul affirms. "It's fun to play high horse and say it's just a trick and we're fucking with everybody, which we obviously are not. We had no idea. When we were rehearsing our debut, we had a conversation with Rise Above and were contemplating whether to make 500 or 1,000 copies. And maybe we could do a show at Roadburn. It was very innocent - even though that's a word I've never used in terms of Ghost! We've had to grow with it, and we had a lot of catching up to do between the first and second albums. But aesthetically a lot of things we're planning on doing are things we had on paper to begin with."

Realizing something magickal was happening, Ghost made a concerted decision to spread their message of Satanic arch camp horror out of the underground, moving from cult indie label Rise Above to Spinefarm, an imprint of Universal, the world's biggest major. But from their first recordings, Ghost were a musically accessible, traditional, melodic pop-rock showbiz act with influences from some of the biggest bands of the past (Kiss, Abba, Blue Oyster Cult), a strong visual identity and a mischievously lurid theology; it was clear this band needed a level of production above the average low-key doom band.

"In order to present ourselves in the way that we intended, we needed a larger setting," agrees the Ghoul. "We want Papa's hat to not touch the ceiling. We want the band to look like we're performing a mass rather than in a punk squat. What we saw in our minds was something that looked and felt solemn and larger than life."

From their earliest pronouncements, Ghost were demanding the world's attention, and with "a lot of touring," they made sure they got it. But the question of how long they can hold it for is one that the Nameless Ghoul is acutely aware of.

"We have our figure. We have our concept. We can work with that. But we're just on our third record. Out of all our favorite bands, where were they on their third record? They sure weren't chickening out and doing the same safe shit. That's not how you make a third record; that's not how Master of Puppets or Number of the Beast got made. You have to build and be as bold as you can be, even though it feels a little scary. Because we know, we can fuck this up. Especially on the third record, when you're supposed to take a big step. Are we gonna go down to the basement again? You don't know how many chances you get. This might be our last one."

To make that all-important leap forward on a pivotal album, as Metallica or AC/DC can tell you, the secret often lies in the choice of producer. Although there's a great metallic crunch to the music on Meliora, and a psychedelic audacity, Swedish pop savvy is the band's trump card. To further that end, Ghost employed knob-twiddler Klas Ahlund, best known for his songwriting collaborations with Britney Spears, Kylie, Katy Perry and Madonna.

"We felt, 'Maybe we should work with someone who can really help us redefine what we're doing,'" the Ghoul reasons. "He was keen to find a rock band with their own material, and we were looking for a producer with more of a songwriting skill, so it was a good match. As much as we could drive a car on the energy of thinking we're the best band in the world - a very small car! - we knew there must be things we can do better. Every band with self-respect should work with someone who can really challenge what you're doing, and we did that with Klas. When you're on a major label with bigger expectations, you have the opportunity to get a yes or now from people you'd like to work with. But early on we realised, as much fun as it is to look at records we love and say, 'Let's get Mutt Lange!' or 'Let's get Bob Rock!' it felt like we should get our own man. Many of these big producers weren't big producers until they did that big record that we associate them with."

As they await the world's reaction to Meliora, Ghost have already amassed "the ground basics of what will become the next album." Nevertheless, for a band with such clear vision and attention to detail, it's tempting to wonder if they've planned an exit strategy.

"I had one vision two years ago and I have another vision now, and I may have another two years from now," muses the Ghoul. "We can catapult our concept around a few times, into different eras and spheres, but it has its time and place. I don't think anybody would enjoy having us around doing this forever; when there's nothing more to say, I hope we're sober enough to yank out the cord. We're not going to use Ghost for every musical dream we have. It's all fun and games to be in robes, but it's also lots of fun playing three-piece punk rock in your t-shirt."

However, with the musical development evident on Meliora, happily Ghost look set to continue expanding their sound and mythology. Have you joined the cult?

---

WHO IS PAPA III? Three things we know about our new, mysterious leader...

Papa Emeritus III is younger than his brother, Papa Emeritus II, by three months. Nameless Ghoul: "There are several Mamas. And one big, old, really, really bad Papa. That might give you an indication of what's gonna happen in the future. There's one shark in the water you haven't met yet..."

He controls his followers in Meliora. Nameless Ghoul: "Papa is the authoritative religious leader among his followers. He comes into the vacuum of the godless contemporary world and manipulates the people. We are, together with our fans, agreeing that you are here to worship us, and we are telling you what to do. And in this era, it's all taking place in the futuristic dystopian city of Meliora."

He was inspired by Sir Christopher Lee. Nameless Ghoul: "From Scaramanga to The Lord of the Rings, Sir Christopher Lee played a large role when it came to the concept of Papa. A scary, sophisticated, handsome older man who inflicted terror and arousal. I greatly admired him."

[lupinwritings]

My giant fic rec list

Here is my ongoing list of fic recs! More added as I read.

* unfinished

Featuring peterick, hankcon, erasermic, leopika, and ineffable husbands

Peterick

 With The Moon In His Arms

Pete is a merman who saves Patrick’s life. 

A Little Infamy

Patrick is a solo artist who's sunk his heart and soul into a second album that's failing to chart. Obviously what he needs to bump up sales and dirty up his nice guy image is a sex scandal. His music label hire amateur porn star and aspiring poet Pete to pose as Patrick's boyfriend and together they make one intimate video destined for infamy on the internet.

Patrick falling for Pete isn't part of the plan.

The Truth About Patrick

Pete Wentz is a fashion mogul with a brand new music label who gets an earful of struggling artist Patrick Stump's demo and wants to sign him. Except when he asks to see a photo of Patrick, Patrick sends him a picture of his hot roommate Mikey Way instead.

An AU based on the movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs.

Anything by SnitchesAndTalkers

Seriously they have so many good fics so I just linked their AO3 but some of my favourites they’ve written are Christmastime In The City, Dead and Dreaming, Pretty In Punk, and The Pros and Cons of Craigslist

I Could Crush You With My Voice

Pete was in an accident at an Arma show that left him totally blind. After four months of moping around his apartment, totally depressed, he opens his window and hears Patrick singing. It's love at first listen.

I Have Forgiven Jesus

In June 1952, Father Patrick Stump is involved in a scandal so great that the Diocese of Chicago has no choice but to send him away in disgrace. He finds himself in the town of Clark, Mississippi, a town not known for its tolerance of anything other than the All American Dream.

Pete never wanted to make the move to Clark but found himself forced by lack of opportunities and the death of his father during the war. Out of work and close to out of hope, he stumbles across a card in the general store, neither he, not the writer of the card aware that what follows will alter the course of their lives irrevocably.

But the smallest towns often have the darkest secrets...

You Know, I Only Wanted Fun

It’s a Hogwarts AU

But There’s No Preparing for This

Out of absolutely everything in the Central Chicago Public Library that Patrick was proud of, the number one thing was the erotica section. Was that a weird thing to be proud of? Possibly. But everyone knows librarians are the weirdest people on the planet.

On the other hand, the one thing Patrick absolutely hated about his job was difficult patrons. And the most difficult patron in the existence of difficult patrons was Pete Wentz, a man who had a big mouth and bad opinions about Patrick’s erotica section. Patrick could happily go the rest of his career without seeing Pete Wentz ever again. Like, ever. He had a loud voice and grating jokes and Patrick hoped he’d stay far, far away this weekend when Central Chicago Public Library played host to Kingston Lewis, the best erotica writer this century.

Hankcon

All The Beds I’ve Made *

Connor, co-owner of a popular coffee shop in Detroit, has been content to bury himself in his business instead of putting himself out there.

Things change when a cantankerous lieutenant becomes a regular.

(Modern Coffee Shop AU)

Bound

Hank is the sole owner, and worker, of a quaint little cafe nestled in a quite coastal village in the far north of the UK. Nine times out of ten the weather is utterly abysmal, rolling grey clouds and rain showers most days, and his shop is hidden down a narrow cobbled back alley, but he’s somewhat of a local legend for his comfort food.

It’s during one such grim, dreary day when Connor stumbles into his cafe, and his life.

Eighteen Wheels on an Uphill Climb

Hank is going to die. He’s going to die right here in Kentucky, 53 years old, halfway to broke, and tragically sober. Survived only by a nine-year-old St. Bernard and the 31-year-old twink who delivered the fatal blow.

Erasermic

How To Take Care Of A Mummy? *

Present Mic is being a personal nurse for an injured Aizawa.

Guess the rest...

Dragon Fruit 

Being a dragon slayer is certainly a lonely and dangerous job, but someone has to do it, and Shouta Aizawa is that someone. He is a member of the Aizawa clan, after all. The job was supposed to be routine, just another dragon to kill to protect a nearby village, but the slayer's life changes forever when he meets Hizashi Yamada, a bard cursed to turn into a dragon whenever the sun rises. Really, there's only one glaring issue: Aizawa can't stand bards.

Hizashi doesn't deserve this curse - at least he thinks he doesn't. How's he supposed to live out a normal life of playing music and seducing women when he has horns and a tail? And that's only during the night! Nevertheless, he's survived with this curse for three years now, but his time's running out. Mating season is fast approaching and if he isn't cured by spring, he'll be completely consumed by the curse. His only hope is Shouta Aizawa, the same man who has promised to destroy him should they fail. Can the two really work together and find the cure when they can't even get along, or is Hizashi doomed to succumb to the dragon's curse?

Leopika

Event Horizons series *

Living in New York City is tough for anyone, and it’s no different for Leorio Paladiknight. He’s a medical school dropout, he’s up to his ears in debt, and his best friend Pietro has been in the hospital for months. But when he meets a feisty blond barista named Kurapika on a beautiful spring afternoon, his life takes an unexpected turn. 

It’s Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride *

Leorio hated his cousin, Ging. He was a failure of a dad and couldn’t be bothered to watch his own kid for more than three minutes. It was Leorio’s turn to watch the kid now and it wasn’t like he was going to say no. Gon had no where else to go. He could at least let the teen bum on his couch for a few days.

He did not anticipate Gon’s incredible ability to talk to anyone, including his strange and stoic neighbor with the creepy quiet kid. He could have done with out the crazy clown and the gang drama but, hey, anything for family. (Plus that neighbor is cute when he’s not contemplating murderous revenge.)

The Odd Job

Amateur ghost hunter, Leorio Paladiknight, seems to put himself in quite a lot of spiritual predicaments. This leaves him at the mercy of a surly occult shop owner who might have more than just a few tricks up his sleeve.

Ineffable Husbands

Break my Cage and Spread my Wings *

Everyone called the Titanic the 'Ship of Dreams', but for Aziraphale, it was the ship of nightmares, carrying her away from her home in England, and her dreams of freedom, and towards the bleak future of her arranged marriage in America. The only spark of light in the darkness is her new and tentative friendship with the boldly intimate Crowley. 

[chorusfm]

Butch Walker – Sycamore Meadows

Few albums can put a smile on my face as quickly as Sycamore Meadows. That’s probably an odd thing to say, since Sycamore Meadows is not, by most metrics, a happy album. Butch Walker’s fourth solo LP was birthed in part from the California wildfires that destroyed his home, most of his possessions, and the master tapes for every song he’d ever recorded up to that point. The songs catalog breakups, painful journeys of self-discovery, and the record business being irreversibly fucked. The album’s last track is a sobering piano ballad that bears one of the most emotional vocal performances Butch ever put on tape. And yet, Sycamore Meadows still makes me smile. So many of the most important albums in my life are the ones that found me in times of strife and held me together when I couldn’t do it myself. I believe a similar statement would hold true for most other people who love music to the point of insanity. We cherish those albums because they seem like old friends to us. They were there when we needed them most, and so we can’t ever forget them. For me, Sycamore Meadows was not that kind of album. Instead, it was a record that came into the world at a time when everything in my life felt like it was going well. My what a difference a season had made, on that front. A few months earlier, I’d been driving to my first day of school blaring Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger, trying to nurse the wounds of a summertime heartbreak. By the time Sycamore Meadows arrived, though, the humid summer swelter had been replaced by a crisp autumn chill, and my sadness over the girl who’d left had been replaced by acceptance. I was in a different place, and I was ready to stop wallowing in sad songs and embrace something more hopeful. On first blush, Sycamore Meadows seems like an odd album to play that role. Many of these songs are crushing. “Vessels” finds its central couple so fractured that they can’t even sleep in the same bed any more, a far cry from the days when they used to lay entwined on car hoods, snuggled beneath the stars. “Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car, Thought of You” finds its protagonist pining over a former flame who left him for another man and then passed away tragically. And “ATL” is a coming home song in its most desperate form, featuring a chorus where Butch begs his hometown to need him just as much as he needs it. If I had been in the mood to wallow some more, Sycamore Meadows would have done the trick. But what really drew me into those songs on those cold November afternoons back in 2008 were the flickers of hard-won resilience. “Going Back/Going Home” both directly addresses the fires that took Butch’s home and recounts his entire career in a mini “rap” section in the second half, but it does so set against a triumphant electric guitar lick and a wash of bells and keys that sounds like a holiday season celebration. “Ships in a Bottle” likens walking away from a doomed relationship to walking away from a pile of ashes and rubble—a few burns on your skin, but your heart still very much beating. And “Closer to the Truth and Further from the Sky” sounds like pure Springsteenian romanticism, a rousing anthem suggesting that redemption and rebirth is just around the next bend of a rattlesnake canyon highway. To a lot of people, Sycamore Meadows sounded heartbroken and reflective. I recall many fans pointing to it as Letters part two, a reference to the album that was, at the time, Butch’s most emotionally intense and intimate work. To me, though, Sycamore sounded hungry and unbridled. It wasn’t an album about ruminating on regret and loss. Instead, it was an album about stepping back, re-evaluating, realizing which things were truly important, and then taking the bold first steps toward a new start. “Closer to the Truth” sounded like rebirth because it was one: this album recalibrated Butch’s career and set him on the path that would lead to brave and unflinching records like Afraid of Ghosts and Stay Gold. The way Butch tells it in his 2011 memoir Drinking with Strangers, he’d lost the plot leading up to Sycamore Meadows. His 2006 album, The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites!, played as a wry critique of the L.A. party scene, but Butch admits he was getting swallowed up by that scene himself. He also says he was struggling with writer’s block and becoming complacent and materialistic in his lifestyle. That all ended in November 2007, when a friend phoned Butch to tell him that his Malibu home had burned to the ground. Fortunately, Butch and his family were safe, away for a string of shows on the East Coast. However, aside from a few guitars and a hard drive full of in-progress songs that his buddy had managed to save, everything was gone. The fire burned up guitars and cars and master tapes and photographs. It burned up recording equipment and furniture and family heirlooms. It burned up memories and stability and the life Butch Walker thought he was building for his family. But it also torched his complacency and burned down the walls that had built up between him and his creativity. One of the first things he said publicly after the fire was “I finally know the difference between going back and going home.” That line would become a song and a mission statement for the new album, and ultimately, for the next decade of Butch’s career. Sycamore Meadows—named after the street where Butch’s Malibu home used to stand—is a literal rise-from-the-ashes LP. There are flickers of sadness, but it’s mostly forward-looking, finding plenty of time for raucous fun. (See the bombastic horn-blasted funk of “Ponce De Leon Ave.,” or the runaway train rocker “The 3 Kids in Brooklyn,” still the preeminent concert showstopper in Butch’s catalog.) In the fall of 2008, feeling like I was living my own rise-from-the-ashes narrative, I loved how vibrant and bright Sycamore Meadows sounded. Even the sad songs were fleshed out and colorful—like “Ships in a Bottle,” initially demoed as a devastating acoustic ballad, but awash here in gorgeous 70s-style guitar and a rousing horn arrangement. I especially loved “Closer to the Truth,” a song with so much fire that I immediately wanted to play it loud enough to make good on the chorus, about static singeing the speakers “like a thousand hymns of inspiration.” When I listen to Sycamore Meadows now, it takes me back to those days of optimism: to driving around my hometown as the season turned from fall to winter; to my last performances in my last high school musical; to the realization, as I filled out college applications and wrote bad admissions essays, that my youth was almost gone. I like to say now that Sycamore Meadows was the first record I fell in love with after I really grew up. I think that’s why it continues to mean so much to me, and why it still feels so recent and fresh in my mind—even though I’m currently writing a piece to mark its 10-year anniversary. Sycamore Meadows was never my favorite Butch Walker album. Letters was so formative for me that I doubt anything will ever knock it off that pedestal. But if I had to recommend a starting point for a new Butch listener, I might point to Sycamore Meadows. In a lot of ways, it feels like his best album: the one with the purest and truest songwriting accomplishments, and the one that best distills his influences—Springsteen, Petty, Costello, Prince, and a growing lean toward country music—into a cohesive and emotional whole. It’s also the record that sounds the most like a classic, with gorgeous and carefully wrought arrangements on every track, stacking guitars, pianos, glockenspiel, strings, horns, gang vocals, an explosive rhythm section, and even woodwinds on top of Butch’s honest storytelling. Most Butch Walker albums are loud, loose, and spontaneous, recorded in quick bursts and focused on the essentials of guitar, drums, bass, and piano. On Sycamore Meadows, Butch took his time and worked in layers, even going so far as to cancel a planned tour with Jesse Malin so he could re-record the entire album from scratch. It’s the album in his catalog that feels most like a conscious attempt at making a masterpiece. It absolutely is one.   --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/review/butch-walker-sycamore-meadows/

[karuuhnia]

what will the mercs pass the time with when there is a temporary power outrage

Scout: He was probably the one who caused the outage in the first place (accidentally or purposely?). He uses the occasion to play tricks and spook people.

Soldier: The Founding Fathers didn’t have electricity, so he as a true American doesn’t need it either! (Also, since his helmet covers his eyes all the time, he doesn’t really notice much difference.)

Pyro: His first reaction is to look for his flamethrower to make a “camp fire” in the living room. If he can’t it within a couple of minutes he gets very tired, curls up on the spot and falls asleep.

Demo: He’s a master of orientating himself in the dark, due to his experience of coming home drunk late at night. He might take the opportunity to gather the others for a spooky ghost story session.

Heavy: He tries not to move too much to avoid running into (and thus breaking) things and people.

Engie: He grabs a rusty bicycle wheel, a small rubber band, the broken toaster from the kitchen and a tube of toothpaste to macguyver the team a provisional power generator.

Medic: Just wait a few minutes. He’ll get one of the radioactive bioluminescent monstrosities he created in his lab a couple of days ago.

Sniper: He lives in a van. He probably doesn’t even notice there’s no electricity. And if he’s inside the base he’d just wake up, see that everything is dark, assume it’s night and then go back to sleep.

Spy: He goes to his room, lights a candle or two and just enjoys a book with a glass of wine.