#Damien: And if you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last

[wilyfoxmuses]

tag dump, will keep adding please ignore

[marvelmaniac715]

I’ve just finished listening to ‘Tightrope’ from The Greatest Showman and now I’m sad, so I’ve decided to write an angsty fic about Tiffany missing Chucky in the years leading up to Bride of Chucky, because why not?

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It was his birthday today. He would’ve been 34 years old. When Chucky was alive, he’d celebrated his birthday by getting drunk and going on a mini killing rampage. He’d said it was because ‘with every life comes a death’, but Tiffany always knew that he just wanted an excuse to kill people. But she never faulted him for it, it was one of the reasons she’d fallen in love with him after all.

When she’d called the police to report Chucky, she’d been expecting him to be put into prison, or that he’d escape with Eddie before Detective Norris caught him. She’d just wanted to give him a scare and teach him a lesson for cheating on her. She hadn’t expected him to die. When the news was announced, Tiffany hadn’t believed it. But the next night, before the body was buried, she went to the remains of the toy store, and there he was. 

At the time, she’d gasped in horror and thrown herself on top of his corpse, sobbing into his chest. He was so cold, so still, so… lifeless. This wasn’t right, Chucky was never silent, not even when he killed. He was always laughing and joking, Tiffany had never known him to be quiet. Even in more peaceful moments when the couple were cuddled on a couch or in bed, he’d be quietly humming the tune to a half-remembered song, or conveying the events of the day through soft whispers. Even when he didn’t speak, Tiffany would rest her head against his chest and listen to him breathing, soothed by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. But when he was dead, she’d put her head in the exact same spot, and there was nothing.

Years later, Tiffany could still remember the sight of his corpse. Pale, blood seeping from his mouth and chest, running down the front of his treasured trench coat. His eyes, which had been so expressive in life, were sightless, and beginning to glaze over. Rigour mortis had set in, all of his muscles had been so tense, his face, his hands… he looked like he was in immense agony. 

The details after this point blurred slightly, Tiffany didn’t enjoy dwelling on the last time she saw her boyfriend. But she could remember squeezing his hand tightly, as if trying to will life back into his body. She could also remember carefully removing his trench coat and folding it neatly to take with her. She slept with it every night now, desperately clinging to the lingering smell of him that was still left in the fabric. 

She regretted what she’d done. She’d promised to support him no matter what. They’d bought a car together, they’d rented an apartment. They were going to start a familytogether, but now they never could. She’d bought a crib and toys for a nursery that would come to fruition. She’d brought the remnants of this nursery to her new trailer, along with the trench coat, some of his paintings that she could salvage, a photo album and the engagement ring he’d left in their apartment. He was going to marry her, Tiffany was sure of it. Every time she thought about it her heart filled with guilt and shame, and she’d cry into the trench coat.

When Chucky was alive, Tiffany had cried very few times. But whenever she did, he’d hold her in his arms, tenderly stroke her back and whisper:

“Don’t cry doll, it’s alright. I’m here, I’ve got you.”

She missed him so much. She’d tried to date other guys, but none of them were like him. The latest was called Damien, he was… sweet, a little eager, but nice. Tiffany refused to sleep with him. She didn’t love Damien, he was nothing like Chucky, despite how hard he tried.

Tiffany had been in a really dark place for a while, she’d considered joining Chucky in death, but one day, she found something interesting in a box of Chucky’s old things. His copy of ‘Voodoo For Dummies’. He’d called it a ‘hobby’, but he’d often talk about it with such religious reverence that it gave her hope that there might be real magic involved.

There was a supposed ‘killer doll’ in the news, and oh god, so many of the killings perfectly matched her boyfriend’s style. And the doll matched the newly unboxed Good Guy doll that he’d been clutching in the pictures that all the newspapers published following his death. Chucky had often rambled about the possibility of a soul transfer in the event of one of their deaths, perhaps he’d seen it as his only option? It made so much sense, so surely, reanimation was also possible.

The original doll was gone, but Tiffany salvaged as many parts of the doll’s charred remains as possible, filling in the missing parts with substitute doll limbs and features. She memorised the incantation and set up a ring of candles. It was a long and difficult process, but Tiffany Valentine vowed that her boyfriend would live again.

[sub-hoshi-enthusiast]

It is done!! I just have two more to work on before I finish up the requests :)) (also the gif 🥺🥺 mayhaps I am in love 😔💔)

⚠️Warnings⚠️: sub!hanbin, fem!dom!reader, hard degradation, small dick hanbin, public sex, sexting, window sex, use of toys (buttplug), oral (f recieving)

A Quick Visit

You are currently sitting in a meeting that honestly made you wanna shoot your brains out. You were supposed to be looking into a partnership with another company but you already knew it wasn't gonna happen, based on the fact the moment you stepped into the room he had asked you for a coffee, assuming you were some secretary or something, and then after he found out you were indeed the CEO he continuously flirted with you. You didn't know what this guy's problem was but you were certain you never wanted to see him again. You had your head resting in your hand as he continued to blabber about something, probably himself, but you had resorted to tuning him out.

     Suddenly your phone started ringing, finally making him shut up. You took the object out of your pocket, furrowing your eyebrows as you saw Hanbin's name pop up.

     "Uh- sorry, it's my boyfriend. He usually doesn't call me during work though." You stated quietly as you silenced your phone. The man in front of you looked down at his watch, letting out a quiet chuckle as he realized how late it had gotten.

     "I guess I have kept you for quite a while. We should be heading out, but please contact us when you wanna start working." He told you with a smirk, sending you a wink as he walked out the door. His poor secretary was left to pick up all his things and race after him. 

     "Hey, Damien." You said, turning to said boy. He sat straight up, looking at you with attentive eyes.

     "Yes ma'am?"

     "Please delete his number and contact information from everything in the building." Your secretary chuckled before giving a playful salute and scurrying down the hall.

《●●●》

     You slumped into your office chair, rubbing your temples in hopes it would get that insufferable voice out of your head. You had reminded yourself to call back Hanbin after he had called you during the meeting a few minutes ago, but you were just taking the time to calm down. You looked at the door when you heard a knock, calling out a "Come in" as you assumed it was Damien. Surprise flashed across your face when your boyfriend peeked his head through the door.

     "Baby!" You called with a smile, sitting up straight in your chair. A quick and nervous smile flashed across his face as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. You furrowed your eyebrows as he shuffled in his place, eyes glued to the floor with the occasional glance up at you. You tilted your head as you beckoned him closer. "What's wrong sweetheart? Did something happen? Was it what you were calling about earlier?" Hanbin blinked at you.

     "D-didn't you see my texts?" It was your turn to blink in confusion before pulling out your phone. Just as he said, there were about 11 missed texts from your boyfriend. You hurriedly opened them, worried something had happened. Your brain stopped when you looked at the first message. It was a picture. More importantly, it was a picture of your boyfriend with his cock leaking precum all over your panties in his hold as he bit down on his plump bottom lip. Drool pooled in your mouth as you read the following messages. 

I miss you

I was doing the laundry like you told me to but I found these and I remembered how pretty you looked in them and I just couldn't help myself :(

I hope you're not mad at me :((

…

Maybe I could come make it up to you?

I know how you love the thought of fucking me where anybody could see how good I am for you

And we both know I'm not quiet so I'd have to try and be extra quiet cause the thought of someone catching us would be so embarrassing but god would it be hot

Now I'm all worked up again miss…

2 Missed Calls from 💖Hanbin💖

💖Hanbin💖 has sent an image

I'll be there in a few minutes <3

     The image he sent was a mirror selfie of the outfit he was currently wearing, but he was pulling down the pants a bit over his hip to show off the panties that he had been using in the first pic. You heard your boyfriend whimper at the growl you let out upon seeing the scandalous messages he had sent you. Your eyes glanced up at his figure. Hanbin audibly gulped when you backed your chair away from your desk and motioned him closer. When he was standing between you and the desk you stood, making him yelp as his back hit the wood behind him. His breathing was uneven as you brought your hand up to his face to softly brush some hair out of his face. 

      "You're such an insatiable little whore, aren't you? Showing up here in hopes of getting your dick wet. You couldn't even wait five minutes for me to tell you it was alright." He bit down on his lip, eyes fluttering as your words made a tingling feeling erupt in his lower belly. "What if I were in a meeting when you got here? Would you have wanted me to slam you on the table and use you in front of everyone?" A shaky moan filled the air as he threw his head back, your words making his cock harder in the panties you knew he was wearing.

     "Yes~ Want everyone to see how you use me. How you make a mess of me for your own pleasure." He whimpered breathlessly, already falling apart before you. You snickered at him as you sat back down in your chair.

     "Look at you, begging for me before I've even touched you." Your eyes raked over his body, taking in his panting form as sweat was already forming on his brow.

     "I-I edged myself twice on the way over here s-so my cock would be ready for you." A loud snort left you at his confession.

     "What, you think I'm gonna fuck that thing? You really think that would be able to please me?" He whimpered as you reached up, digging your nails into his cheeks as you yanked him down so he was eye level with you. "Pathetic." 

     The tips of his ears were bright red as tears began to brim his eyes, but you knew he liked it from the way he kept squeezing his thighs together. You moved your hand to his shoulder and pushed him down to his knees. You let out an exaggerated huff while brushing your fingers through his hair. 

     "I've just had the worst day today baby. Do you think you could help me… de-stress a little bit?" You asked as you pulled up your skirt so it scrunched up around your waist. His eyes seemed to sparkle in excitement as he licked his lips, nodding as he shuffled closer to you. Your head rolled back as he licked a couple stripes up your slit over your panties before moving the fabric to the side to wrap his lips around your clit. It was truly amazing how he had managed to learn so much from you in such a short amount of time. He had no clue what he was doing the first time he had eaten you out but, as you found out, he was a very quick learner. 

     A moan flew past your lips before you could stop it, your hands shooting down to tightly grip his hair as his tongue teased your entrance with his nose rubbing your clit. There was a sudden knock on the door. Both Hanbin and you tensed up before you cleared your throat.

     "Come in." You called. Damien walked through the door, holding a small stack of papers. He sent you a bright smile as he set them down on your desk.

     "Okay, these are the reports from each of our divisions you asked for yesterday." You sent him a tight lipped smile, pulling the stack closer to you to quickly skim through them. You internally groaned as he sat on the edge of your desk. "Sorry about that meeting earlier today though, I wouldn't have scheduled it at all if I had known what a tool he was."

     "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. There's no way you could've-" your breath hitched in your throat as Hanbin suddenly continued his tongue's movements over your entrance, "-ahem- kn-known that." Relief washed over you when Damien didn't question the split second pause in your sentence.

     "If your boyfriend hadn't called when he did I feel like we'd still be stuck listening to him." Your secretary chuckled. "Speaking of which, how has Hanbin been recently? I remember you mentioning worrying about him cause he kept locking himself up in his studio." You moved your foot to dig your heel into your boyfriend's thigh in an attempt to get him to stop. The only thing it did was make him let out a breathy sigh against your core before digging back in. Now you were almost regretting teaching him as much as you did.

     "H-he's been good. I actually see him around the house now, so that's a relief." You managed to get out with a strained laugh. Damien nodded.

     "That's good to hear. You were starting to make me worry, heh. It's not good to go that long without a proper meal. I assume it's gotten better now? You making him eat more than those instant ramen cups you said he was hoarding back there?" You hesitantly nodded, kicking Hanbin's thigh under the table again when he started thrusting his fingers into you. God you hoped this conversation would end soon. You froze up as soon as Damien looked you in the eyes, his unwavering gaze telling you everything. 

     "Welp, I'd better get going. Lots of work to do." He said as he walked to the door, turning around last second to send you one last smile. "You two have fun in here." Mere seconds after the door closed behind the boy, you came with a muffled cry. Your boyfriend quickly lapped up your release, making sure not to waste a single drop. You sat there for about a minute as you waited for your heart rate to return to normal. As soon as you had calmed down you roughly grabbed the boy on his knees by his hair, yanking him to his feet.

     "What the hell was that?! In what world did you think it was okay to embarrass me in front of my secretary?!" You saw a look of genuine guilt flash across his eyes for a moment, making you loosen your grip on his hair and soften your features. "Are you alright baby? Am I going too far?" He immediately shook his head.

     "You- you're not actually mad at me, are you?" You cupped his face in your hands, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before resting your forehead against his.

     "Of course not baby boy. You did such a good job for me, made me feel so so good." A smile spread across his face at the praise as he nuzzled closer to you. "So do you wanna stop here or…"

     "No, I'm good now." He said with a smile. You pressed one more soft kiss to his forehead before spinning him around and harshly bending him over your desk, making sure to steer clear of the files that had just been set there. He let out a cute little gasp of surprise when his warm cheek met the cold surface.

     "Now baby, how would you like it if I embarrassed you huh? Make you scream like a little bitch for me so the entire building can hear you." You growled out the last sentence as you rolled your hips into his clothed rear. You furrowed your eyebrows. Hanbin gulped as you hurriedly pulled down his pants and panties to reveal the jewel ended plug you had gotten him for his birthday. You groaned as you tucked your bottom lip between your teeth. The loud smack was followed by Hanbin's sweet whimpers as the stinging sensation slowly reddened his cheeks.

     "Such a shameless whore aren't you. You must've been real needy for me, huh baby?" Helpless whimpers fell from him as he nodded his head. A smirk spread across your face as you suddenly got an idea. Before he could fully process what was happening, you had Habin pressed to the glass of your office window that overlooked the buzzing city streets down below.

     "Look at that baby. If anyone just so happened to look up here they'd get an eyeful of your slutty little body pressed to the glass. I bet you'd like that huh? Letting everyone know that you're just my little whore?" A breathy, high pitched moan left him as you lifted his shirt so his nipples were pressed against the cold glass. What you had said was absolute bullshit since the window was too high up for anybody to possibly see what you were doing, but the thought was still there. The fact that you were grinding your hips into his didn't help either.

      "Yes, your slutty little whore. I'm your little fucktoy." He murmured against the glass, his mind fuzzy as he only focused and the pleasure you were teasing him with. "Please!" He whined as he grinded his ass back into you, biting his lip when it made the plug inside him shift deeper. You giggled at his impatience and kissed his cheek before grabbing a hold of the jewel base and thrusting the plug into him at a steady pace. 

     His noises were music to your ears. Sweet melodic moans and whimpers flowed from his opened mouth as he urgently grinded back against your movements, urging you to go faster. You rolled your eyes and focused on moving the plug around in search of his prostate. A smirk settled on your face when almost screamed in pleasure, muttering a string "There!" and "Please~", letting you know you found your target. You made sure to hit his prostate with every thrust, picking up the pace while thrusting the toy into him harder. His head was thrown back against your shoulder, mouth hung open in an endless stream of moans and whimpers while his hands gripped your hips since it was the only thing he could hold onto at the moment.

     "Oh fuck- AH- f-fuck miss! I'm- I'm gonna- oh god- c-cum! Ngh- please please please let me c-cum miss!" He cried out, legs shaking beneath him and drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. You pretended to think about it for a minute, teasing him as you pumped his cock; a difficult task since it was just small enough that it seemingly disappeared in your grasp.

     "Hmmm, I dunno baby. You've been an awfully bad boy today; teasing me at work and sending me those whorish pictures of your pathetic little cock." You teased, emphasizing the little while flicking the head of his dick. His eyes rolled back in his head at that. 

     "I-I'm sorry miss, so so sorry! Please let me cum! L-let me- holy shit- let me be a good b-boy for you!" You scoffed at him.

     "You really are pathetic. I bet you'd whore yourself out for anyone wouldn't you?" 

     "NO! No no no no no, o-only miss gets to see me like this! T-touch me like this! Nobody else- I p-promise!" You hummed, delighted by his words.

     "Good. I mean, it's not like anyone else would take you anyway. They'd take one look at your tiny cock and go find a bigger cock to satisfy them." He whined, tears pricking his eyes from the humiliation of your words as well as how long he'd been fighting to hold in his orgasm. His eyes locked with yours, unable to form coherent sentences anymore and begging with his eyes. "Alright baby, you can cum now." A mantra of 'thank you' filled the room, followed by a loud cry of pleasure as his white ropes of cum covered the window. You slowed down your movements, leaving a trail of kisses down his neck and across his shoulder. More kisses were peppered all over his face as you turned him around, cupping his face in your hands.

     "You did so good for me baby, took everything so well for me." A weak smile spread across his face as he came down from his high. Your eyes shone with worry as you took him in. "I didn't go too far the last little bit, did I?" He giggled weakly, giving you a kiss while smiling against your lips.

     "No, I know that I please you in other ways." You smile back at him.

     "Hell yeah you do. I swear your mouth is a gift from the gods, and I still don't know what I did to deserve it." He giggled at your remark, lightly slapping your arm while whining a quiet "shut up~". You joined in his giggling, giving him another kiss. "I love you baby."

     "I love you too." He said with a dopey smile on his face. You reluctantly pulled yourself out of his grip to dig around in your drawers for some window cleaner.

     "You get dressed while I clean the window. Afterwards we can go home and chill on the couch eating pizza if you want." He smiled like a kid on christmas morning, nodding excitedly before practically jumping into his discarded clothes. Another giggle left you at his excitement. Love filled your gaze as you looked at him. That was the love of your life right there, and you were certain that there was no one who could take his place.

[slutforagoodsmut]

Is That Alright? (Lucius Malfoy)

Song: Damien Rice- 9 Crimes

         Phoenix Malfoy sat in her room, strumming her guitar, looking out the window. She was back at Malfoy Manner, had just finished her third year at Hogwarts, and she was bored out of her mind. It was hot outside, humid and sticky. Her parents had important business to attend to, and Draco was most likely off doing something with Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, so it was only her. Ugh, Draco. Just thinking of her evil twin made her sick. She absolutely hated her brother. He was arrogant and spiteful. Cruel and selfish. Draco was a down right bully. Especially to her. Potter thought he had it bad? That was nothing compared to what Draco did to Phoenix. He was cold to her. Would push her down, laugh at her, make fun of her, call her names, anything that made her feel worthless. Draco made sure he told Phoenix that he hated her every day. Did everything and anything that a brother shouldn't do.

        Anyways, Phoenix couldn't take being cooped up in her room any longer, so she headed downstairs. It was rather cold, sending chills down her back. It was quiet. It was lonely. But it was her home. She wandered into the family room, where the grand piano sat. It was big, and well, grand of course. Black and shiny, with glossy onyx and ivory keys, and a fancy big gold 'M' on the top. She sat on the black shiny bench. Phoenix ran her hand over the dusty keys, her slender fingers collecting the dust. You would think that of all things in the Malfoy house, the piano would be kept neat and tidy. But it wasn't. It was just sitting there, rotting away, not being used for what it's suppose to. She hasn't heard the piano in years. Last time she heard it, she was nine years old. Lucius used to play it for her all the time...Yeah...used to. Phoenix straightened her back and sighed softly, she clenched and unclenched her fingers, stretching them out. Her fingers shook a bit as they started to play a soft tune she had made up not so long ago. Music filled the room, before a delicate and soft voice chimed in.       

'Leave me out with the waste,'

'This is not what I do.'

'It's the wrong kind of place,'

'To be thinking of you'

'It's the wrong time'

'For somebody new'

'It's a small crime'

'And I've got no excuse'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when it's loaded'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when it's loaded'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'With you?'

        Her fingers seemed to move on their own, like she didn't have to put any effort into it. With half lidded eyes Phoenix could feel them getting glassy. She closed them, and took a deep breath, feeling her throat get a bit tighter and her chest heavier. But she continued on with the words, her voice becoming a bit more audible.

'Leave me out with the waste,'

'This is not what I do.'

'It's the wrong kind of place,'

'To be cheating on you.'

'It's the wrong time'

'But he's pulling me through'

'It's a small crime'

'And I've got no excuse'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when it's loaded'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when it's loaded'

'Is that alright,'

'Is that alright,'

'With you?'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when its loaded'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it'

'Is that alright? Yeah...'

'Give my gun away when it's loaded'

'Is that alright,'

'Is that alright,'

 'With you?'

        Phoenix took a quick deep breath, tears pooling in her icy grey eyes.

'Is that alright? Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhh...'

'Is that alright? Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhh...'

'Is that alright? Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhh...'

'Is that alright,'

'Is that alright,'

'Is that alright,'

'With you?'

'No...'

A tear rolled down her cheek

Her voice broke. Two more tears came, and she swallowed hard, as she continued to play. The song had then ended. She took a shaky breath and she bit her lip. "What happened to us? What happened to our closeness? What happened to 'I love you'? What happened to 'I need you'? What happened to you and I, dad...?" Phoenix asked out loud to no one and shook her head. She closed her eyes, feeling a lump form in her throat. She breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. Her breath rippled as she held her stomach.

        A hand then rested on her shoulder. She gasped and her body jumped, immediately turning around. His grey icy eyes stared down at her. His long white blonde hair slicked back. He stood tall with pride, his cobra walking stick right next to him. Lucius Malfoy. Phoenix's eye widened. "F...F-Father?" she asked looking up at him, and twinge of fear stirring in her head and stomach. Oh god he was standing there the whole time, hasn't he! He heard me, didn't he! "I-I...I thought I would play a little..." she looked down. "No one was home...." she mumbled. Lucius suddenly kneeled down in front of Phoenix. He gripped her shoulders firmly. He looked into her eyes, before she moved her head down. 

               "I'm sorry -- I'm sorry I'm not a Slytherin -- I'm sorry I'm a Ravenclaw -- I'm sorry I hate that your a Death Eater -- I'm sorry I hate being a pureblood -- I'm sorry I can't stand Draco -- I'm sorry I'm friends with Harry -- I'm sorry I don't make you proud -- I'm so, so sorry I'm fascinated by muggles--I'm sorry I'm not perfect like Draco -- I'm sorry you don't care about me -- I'm sorry you hate me--I'm sorry I don't exist to you anymore..." She blurted out in one whole breath. Lucius stared at his daughter with both a stunned and pained expression. Phoenix covered her face with her hands as she began to cry, profusely apologizing. "I'm so sorry I need you. I'm sorry I miss the old you. I'm sorry I want our relationship back to the way it was. I'm sorry I want you in my life. I'm sorry I miss the times we had together. I'm sorry I'm your daughter. I'm sorry that I'm weak. I'm sorry for being a pathetic little-"

       "Phoenix!" he yelled, taking her hands away from her face "stop...please," he begged his daughter, a hard lump in his throat. Black eyeliner smudged under her eyes, dark tears slipping down her cheeks. She looked up, but closed her all red and puffy eyes. "...look at me..." Lucius spoke in the most softest tone she ever heard in her entire life.

        She opened her eyes, shocked at the way he was talking to her. At the way he acknowledged her. She looked into her father's eyes. He...he's...no, he can't be

        Lucius' voice was so steady and calm. "I want you to listen to me," He took off his gloves and cupped Phoenix's cheek, wiping away the drying tears. "I am proud you are my daughter, Phoenix. I am proud that your a Ravenclaw. I would risk anything for you--protect you--" Phoenix kept quiet. Lucius' lips curled downwards, furrowing his eyebrows sadly. "But I'm failing to do that. It's my job to keep you safe. It's my job to protect you, as a father should. I'm suppose to take the pain away, not give it to you," He looked into her eyes. Oh those innocent pleading eyes. She was hurt and he knew that. He neglected her for the past three years, and he thought he was doing the right thing. He never wanted her to find out that he was a Death Eater, nor ever Draco. And when she did one night while he was chatting with Severus Snape, his only reaction was to cut the connection between them. He never wanted his children in harms way--never ever in his life, but his stupidity and recklessness got in the way. He loved his children equally, but what he did to his own daughter was unforgivable. It wasn't just. It was wrong and dumb. 

        He felt the tears come down, covered his grey cold eyes as tears pooled over and over. He turned his face away, ashamed of himself, as he choked on a painful sob. Lucius covered his face with his hands as his head hung low so Phoenix couldn't see him like this. Phoenix watched her father, in absolute shock. Never has she ever seen him cry. Never. Never has she seen him in this state. She didn't know what to do as she watched her father cry out. His shoulders shook as he whimpered quietly at her feet. "I don't know if you could ever forgive me, Phoenix," he choked "I really don't know if you should," he paused, before he weeped again. "But I'm sorry," he whispered, shaking his head, "I'm so sorry..."

        A new set of tears flooded Phoenix's eyes, biting her lip, "Father," she said gently, before getting on her knees. "Daddy..." The young girl grabbed her father and pulled him close to her, throwing her arms around him. Lucius wrapped his arms around her small figure with a tight grip, resting his head on her shoulder. She shut her eyes tightly and hid her face in the crook of his neck, clutching his robe. He ran a hand through his daughter's hair, swaying her side to side.

        "I'm proud to be called your father. I'm proud of what you've accomplished so far in your youth." he kissed her cheek, feeling her hot tears on his lips. "And don't you ever think different..." Phoenix nodded her head. "I love you Phoenix--both you and Draco very, very much and I would do anything for you. I love you more than anything else in the world," 

          "Do...do you love us more than serving the Dark Lord? " she whispered reluctantly.

        "Oh god yes! So much more than being the Dark Lord's servent,"

        It took Phoenix a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. She was on the floor being cradled in her father's arms, Lucius Malfoy, pouring her heart out on him. His actions right now were very out of Lucius Malfoy character, oh yes indeed. He was such a snarky, mean person, thought highly of himself, made sure everyone knew of his pureblood status, almost like a older version of Draco you could say. He never showed the side of a loving father. Never. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She buried her head into his shoulder and Lucius continued stroke her hair. "I love you too Dad," she started "more than you could imagine..."

'Is that alright?'

'Yes...'

[after-hour-writings]

Hello! I was wondering if you could do a Dadsona who is a war veteran? And lives off of government money cuz of wounds and scars he got in the military (since in game Dadsona just kinda chills out in his most of the time) If writing all those dad's reacts is too hard Robert 'Bobert' Small would be ideal thank you!

I read my notes again and this one got a little bit more melancholy than my previous works and I have no idea what part of my brain saw your ask and decided that this was the time to for scar-worship.

Dads w/war veteran dadsona

Robert: At the beginning he didn’t give much thought on what you did for a living. But before your third date he started to worry he was keeping you up and disturbing you work, but time-wise it worked out pretty well for your first dates. If you’re not shy about showing off your scars . no matter how many times you tell him he doesn’t have to do that, he’d just be too busy tracing them with his hands to pay attention what you’re saying.He likes to remind you how brave you are while doing so. If you don’t believe him when he tells you this, then be prepared for him to just double his efforts and there is no stopping this man when he sets his mind on something. Mary often congratulates you after getting Robert to go to a formal event, even if she knows the driving force behind that was seeing you in uniform. 

Damien: Is it even possible for this man to swoon more. Apparently yes it is.You could almost see the hearts in his eyes when you show him your scars. Like Robert he’d love tracing them with his fingers, but he leaves feather light kisses on them and telling you how he loves them, because they’re just extra proof of how strong you truly are and he won’t hear any objections. No matter how many times you tell him to stop the sweet talking, he won’t stop. He’ll only increase it and add some more mushy compliments for extra effectiveness.     

Mat: He got worried the first time he noticed that you might not have a job. You kept hanging out at the coffee spoon almost as much as he did, and he owned it.When he asked you about it, you ended up talking about your history in the military for the duration of his breaks that day. He might not relate to a lot of things you tell him, but he’s a great listener and is always ready with a cup of tea when you’re feeling overwhelmed and want to talk. He’s a great calming presence in your life and if you suffer from nightmares he’ll play a gentle tune on his guitar for you to help you sleep. You might stress over it in the morning when he has to drink more coffee than usual, but to him it’s all worth it to see the serene smile on your face before you fall asleep.   

Craig: It took him a hot minute to recognize you.He knew you were deployed after you two drifted apart, but the last time he had seen you, you were still young and dreamy eyed. Those same eyes were still there, but they looked so much more tired. The reality of it all slapped him right across the face the moment he realized that you were really in front of him. He was so busy taking you in that he only realized that the teenager next to you was Amanda. When he last saw her she was Rivers age and now she was big enough to wear Alex’ old jacket. Be prepared for a long chat, because he wants to now everything that’s happened since you last saw each other. He harbors some guilt over not being there for you when you needed a friend, but both of you agree that you should focus on the present and make up for lost time. To see his now scarred best friend holding his youngest daughter and making her laugh with funny faces never fails to melt his heart. 

Joseph: He learns about your situation pretty quick after meeting you.It comes to light during your awkward first meeting, but it was dulled by the rest of the mess you called a conversation. He’s occupation has made him a great listener and can be very sympathetic. If you ever want a break from the stress that comes with being a veteran, he’ll take you out on the open water with his yacht. Just listen some Jimmy Buffet and forget about your worries and focus on the sunset. You are altogether beautiful my darling; there is no flaw in you. He likes to remind you of gods love and how you’ve done so well with your choices. Some of the church might not take it so well that he divorced his wife and is now dating a man, but he brings up the fact that they were just telling people that they should respect veterans and that manages to shut them up for a while. 

Hugo: He knew about your situation through Amanda. She has done many school projects about your situation and they’ve all been very touching pieces. He’s read many books and seen many documentaries about war, but he can admit that he isn’t an expert on the matter. He does his best to apply his knowledge to help you with the problems that life causes. If you want to really impress him just show off some of the skills you learned from the army. If you managed to maintain the physical fitness from the force he’ll be thrilled to have someone to wrestle with. He also loves it when you pin him so effortlessly. He’ll lay down with you for hours and wax poetic about your scars if you let him, but usually either you or him end up falling asleep in your embrace. If you want to just sit next to him while he reads his current book out loud to you, he’d be very compliant.   

Brian: Likes to remind you that you don’t always have to be the strong guy by lifting you into a bridal carry. He himself isn’t very good with his words, but you can tell his always genuine with his support. If you ever have an attack or feel too stressed out he’ll scoop you into a bear hug and kiss the top of your head. He’ll whisper comforting words and won’t let go until you’re feeling better. If you’re not standing up, you can be sure Maxwell is going to be joining this cuddle party. If you’re ever feeling insecure about your scars, he’ll show you his stretch scars. He knows it’s not exactly the same thing, but it’s his way of telling you he would never judge your scars. 

[azritesx3]

“A Devil’s Love” Chapter 3: It’s Not A Date

Description: Chloe’s best friend is back, and Lucifer’s charm can’t seem to affect her either. Is she also a miracle child? Or something…more? [Story starts during S2 Ep4, Female Reader Insert]

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AN: Updated March 14, 2020 - Grammar, Mention of a new character, Mention of a previous relationship AN: Updated July 15, 2020 - Grammar, Minor story change

Rating: Teen Warning[s]: Swearing

Show Timeline: Season 2 after episode 11

Spotify Playlist /// AO3 Fanfiction Net Wattpad DeviantArt

Tag List: @ayanna-wild, @anushay1998, @emiwrites3reads, @i-am-canada-13, @heart-of-pots-and-pans, @tinyybiceps, @jessicarene99, @lucifersnipnips, @givemebooksorgivemedeath, @sailor-earth-1

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It was so...quiet.

You walked down the steps in LUX. No drinks were being served. No bodies were grinding up against each other on the dance floor. No one made out in the dark corners.

The only music that filled the empty space was a piano, which was being played by the only other soul in the room besides you.

“Lucifer.”

“Hello, K9.” He gave you a small smile and stopped playing, “I was just playing my goodbye tune.���

“Goodbye?” You looked at him, head tilted in puzzlement.

“Yes. It seems no amount of money will please that swine of a woman, and besides,” he lightly traced his fingertips over the keys, then smiles back up at you, “I've come to learn that ‘home’ is more than just a building.”

“Well, that's good,” you gave an over dramatic sigh, “but that totally ruins my thank you.”

Lucifer looked at you confused. You motioned for him to scoot over on the piano bench and sat down next to him, handing him a blue folder.

“What's this?”

“A certificate from the city. Stating that LUX is now a historic building and cannot be torn down under any circumstances.” You smiled.

“K9...” Lucifer was in complete bewilderment as he looked at the paper, “How did you…”

After a beat of him not continuing his question, you answered, “Well, I got the idea when you told me the little history quirks this place had. So, once I finished the case, I went to Chloe because I knew she had connections in that area. And,” you tapped on the paper, “presto!”

“K9...Thank you.” he smiled warmly at you.

“Yeah well, you should thank Chloe too.” You looked away from him slightly to try to stop the rising blush on your face, “Plus, I in no way can help you in getting the deed back from Eleanor. I mean,” you chuckled softly and looked back to him after cooling down, “I'm sure she'll sell it back to you now since she can't build her dumb mega mall, but definitely way above market value.”

“Of that I have no doubt, but K9,” Lucifer placed the folder down on the piano and turned his body towards you, “what did you mean by ‘this ruins my thank you’?”

“Oh, well, um,” you couldn't stop the blush this time, “I just felt like I had to properly thank you for that construction company.” You looked down at your lap in embarrassment, “I know it seems like a silly thing, but those guys really pulled through with my building. Once I hire some staff I can open up within two weeks, at most.”

“My dear K9,” you couldn't help but look back up at him at the sound of amusement in his voice, “if you wanted to find a proper way of thanking me you should have come to me, because I'm afraid this isn't it.”

“Um.” You looked back and forth between the discarded folder and the man next to you with wide eyes, “It isn't?”

“Nope! Afraid not!”, He gave the “p” in “nope” an extra pop. Lucifer was back in full form.

Oh boy.

“Now, I am in no way ungrateful for this gift, I assure you,” he placed a hand on the folder, “buuut,” he sang, “there is only one form of a ‘thank you’ that I will accept.” He smiled devilishly and leaned forward towards you.

“And...that is?”

“You.”

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“Um...you ok there Ms.?” Alice sits on your bed holding a cup of tea. You don't see it, but she looks more amused than concerned.

And why can't you see her expression? Because you're currently standing, with your back to her, in front of your closet staring at nothing for at least five minutes.

“Yup.” You continue to stare into the dark abyss of clothes, “Super.”

“You say this isn't a date, but you sure are stressing like a woman going on a date.”

“It's not a date, Ali!” You finally move your body to face Alice and give her a stern look.

“Uh-huh.” Alice just smiles up at you as she takes a sip of her tea.

“It's not, Alice. How many times do I have to tell you?” You start to feel a bit frustrated and turn back to your closet.

“Until I start believing it.”

“I only agreed to tonight to make sure he's good for Chloe.” You say to your closet.

Alice sighs and places her tea down on your nightstand, “Earth, stop using Chloe as an excuse. I think Lucifer really does-”

“NO!” You whirl on your sidekick, “He does not. He's a playboy nightclub owner who tries to get under everyone's skin!” Your nostrils flare, “And Chloe is not an excuse!” You point at Alice with one hand while the other balls into a fist, “You didn't hear what those two said about each other at court yesterday. They-” you slowly start to breathe in and out. Alice didn't deserve this, “they have...a connection.”

Good little Alice didn't yell or fight back. She just sat there and listened to your ranting with a serious expression on her face. No judgment. No eye-rolling.

She pats the spot next to her and you sit, “I have to make sure Chloe will be all right with him.” You say to the floor.

“Earth,” Alice wraps an arm around your shoulders, “You deserve to find that kind of connection too.”

“No, Alice. I've been through that before and you know what happened. I'm good with just worrying about you and Damien." You close your eyes and shake your head slightly, “I can't go through something like that again. Not when he still has so much damn power over me."

“But Lucifer might be able to-”

“No.”

Alice sighs. She knows that “no” means to stop talking about it. Against her better judgment, however, she will humor you, “So, what does this ‘connection’ between Chloe and Lucifer look like?”

You heard her, but didn't answer. Alice squeezes your shoulders after some time.

“Earth?” She whispers.

“Soulmates.” You chuckle, not happily, when the word escapes your mouth, “Something I don't even believe in, and there it is.” You visibly swallow, “They're the perfect example.”

“Maybe you're wrong. Maybe it's different.” You just shake your head in response.

Your phone pings on the nightstand. The sound was that of the text message alert you picked for Chloe. You stand up and walk over to your phone. Unlocking it and reading the message, you give Alice more of that pitiful chuckle.

“Still think it's different?” You hold up your phone screen to Alice so she can read Chloe's message:

I kissed him. KISSED him, and I didn't want to stop. How the hell am I going to face him tomorrow? :sweatingemoji:

“So,” you pull the phone away once you see Alice done, “you going to help me pick an outfit now?”

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“Uhhh,” you stuttered and moved away from him slightly, “excuse me?”

“Well someone has a dirty mind! Don’t worry darling, I don’t mean in that way. Well,” he followed you, making your attempt to escape for not, “unless you're up for that.” He stared deeply into your eyes and licked his lips.

You practically fell off the piano bench.

Lucifer laughed loudly, “Come come, my dear! I’ll stop now, I swear.” He grabbed your arm before you fell and pulled you back up.

“Yeah. Right.” You warily replied.

“I’m a man of my word, K9.” He smiled, then looked at you with interest, “Honestly K9, I had quite a fun time working with you on this case. What with both of us having the same wit,” he started counting off his fingers, “both becoming quite nauseated at the sight between Eric and Christi, and your impeccable knowledge on the correct height for a proper suicide jump.” His eyes sparkled, “Plus you have some fantastic dance moves, dear. Makes me wonder what other talents you have.”

You had no response to give the man. You were too focused on calming your heartbeat.

“So, here’s how I would like my favor repaid:” he continued, "let me take you out. I want to learn more about you, K9. Honest.” You looked at him, and you could see the honesty in his eyes. It made you feel more...comfortable.

“Well,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, “alright. If that’s what you want.”

“Oh it is, very much so.” He smiled so brightly at you, “I will make sure it’s fun for you as well, my dear. I hear from the Detective, and that lovely assistant of yours, that you’ve been all work work work since arriving.”

“Well, you have to ‘work work work’ in order to survive.”

“For you humans yes, but last night I saw a woman who was just begging to let loose.”

“It has been an exhausting couple of months back…”

“Lovely!” Lucifer looked genuinely excited now, “It’s settled then! I’ll text you the details once I’ve made them.” You smiled and nodded.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

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“This is absolutely 100% bad.”

You can feel the anxiety building up in your stomach as you drive to LUX. As hard as you tried, you could not convince Lucifer to just send you the address to wherever he was taking you. He insisted that you arrive at LUX first, “Let me take you for a ride in my corvette! :winkieface: :devilemoji:”

The thought of spending an entire evening alone with Lucifer is anxiety-ridden enough, but now knowing you were also going to be stuck in a vehicle with him driving made it worse. You’ve heard the horror stories from Chloe.

Trying to calm yourself, you choose one of your favorite songs on your phone to play through the speaker. Focusing on singing to the song made the thoughts of tonight ease away.

Until you pull into the LUX parking garage, of course. You stop your car and hand the keys to the valet. The security guards let you skip ahead of the ever long line.

You stand at the top of the stairs with your hands on the railing. You scan the floor in search of Lucifer, but he was nowhere to be found within his crowd.

I’m here. You text him.

Wonderful! Come on up to my penthouse, dear! I’m almost done getting ready. The elevator is to the left from the entrance.

The first thought to cross your mind is how Lucifer is the first guy you met who takes longer than Damien to get ready. The second is the anxiety vomit that wants to burst its way out of you when he tells you to come up to his penthouse.

You swallow it down, though, and wipe your sweaty palms on your dress as you walk into the elevator and press the button to go up. You expected the ride to be longer, so when the elevator doors seem to open after less than a minute you squeak in surprise.

“Is that you, K9?” You hear Lucifer’s voice off in the distance as you exit the elevator.

“Um, yeah.” You say nervously.

“I’ll be done in just a minute! Make yourself at home!”

“Yeah, sure,” you whisper, mainly to yourself rather than to him. Your eyes widen in awe at the beauty of his penthouse.

The space is entirely sleek black, with pops of color from the furniture and small decor. The light that illuminated the space came from the huge private bar, an upside-down tree that hung from the ceiling, and a fire that was burning brightly in a far corner. To the left, Lucifer has an amazing looking library, and you have to physically imagine that you are superglued to the floor. Otherwise, you would have just ran over there and started reading. The bar is to your right, and under the upside tree stood another piano. In the middle of the space are some orange-colored, expensive-looking, couches with a coffee table and flat-screen tv.

You walk next to the piano and through the wall of windows you can see that Lucifer has a magnificent view of LA. You also see, to your right, Lucifer’s large bed covered in silky looking black sheets. There's no door separating the bedroom from the rest of the space. Instead, it's separated by an antique-looking wall on the left and an intricate colorful stained glass piece to the right.

Becoming braver, you take the step down into the living room. Around the corner of the antique wall, you can see that the balcony wraps around and spot a hot tub.

“Seriously? A hot tub too?”

“It’s my companions’ favorite feature when I bring them up here. Well, besides my bed of course.” You squeak again in surprise and spin on your heels to face Lucifer. He stood in the entryway to his bedroom and was smiling down at you.

“My my, you look positively stunning K9.” He continues to smile as he descends his bedroom steps. Adjusting his cufflinks, he looks you up and down. You're wearing a green, long sleeve, cocktail dress with a hollowed-out design. On your feet, you wear white sandal wedges with the same type of hollowed-out design. You can hear him make a delightful purring sound when he sees how your wedges made your legs look more toned.

“Um, thank you.” You aren't quite sure how to react, or how you are feeling at this moment.

“You’re welcome. Now come along, darling.” Lucifer pushes out his arm to you and you wrap your hand around it, “Let’s get to know each other!”

Lucifer leads you to his black corvette. Opening the passenger door for you he says to “get comfy” for it was an hour ride.

An hour. In a car. With him as the driver.

The seats are indeed comfy, but unfortunately they were doing nothing to calm your racing heart.

There's something else you notice about the car that was not helping your heart rate, “Um, Lucifer. Where are the seatbelts?”

He just smiles devilishly at you as he turns the car on, puts the car in reverse, quickly backs out of the parking space, and zooms out of his parking garage.

Fuck.

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"I told you that I'd make this fun for you as well, darling."

It has been fifteen minutes into the ride, and you are just now realizing that Lucifer has been following all traffic laws.

"Oh…" you slowly release your hold on the car seat and door, "Sorry…" you feel completely embarrassed.

"No worries, K9. I had a thought that you've heard about my incredible driving from the Detective, and since you are also a cop I figured you would be more comfortable following the silly laws."

"Laws are there for a reason, Lucifer."

"Ah yes, and the reason is to be broken!" Lucifer gives you a wink and a smile. You turn your head away so he can't see your small smile.

"What kind of music do you like, darling?" Lucifer asks you after giving you a moment to calm fully down.

"Hmm," you think for a minute, "honestly? Anything."

"Truly?" Lucifer looks curiously at you, "Even gospel? Rap? Bloody country? The music that's called my music?"

You chuckle, "If I listen to the song enough I usually tend to like it. Unless the lyrics make absolutely no sense."

"Surely you must have a favorite genre though?"

"Hmm," you tap your chin in thought, "guess it'd have to be alternative."

"Lovely!" Lucifer turns his radio on to an alternative/rock station. For the rest of the ride he sings and taps to the songs, and you tap and hum along with him.

You aren't comfortable enough to sing around him.

Not yet, anyway.

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The car ride ends when Lucifer pulls into some hotel's parking garage, and you give him a warning glare.

"We're not here for the hotel, sadly." Lucifer opens the car door for you and leads you by the small of your back.

"Then why are we here?"

"For the hotel's restaurant!" He leads you through the lobby of the hotel and through two huge glass double doors.

"Wow." You can't stop the amazement forming on your face at how beautiful this place is.

The restaurant's called "Openarie", and it lives up to its name. The structure is basically one giant greenhouse. Pots of various plants are hung on the ceiling and along the walls. Fairy lights light the space and the floor's pure concrete. Outside you see a dance floor with a small band on an elevated stage. There are a few couples out there swaying to the music.

"I take it I've done well?" Lucifer looks down at you with a shit-eating grin.

"Eh. So far." You just shrug and give him a sarcastic smile.

Both of you walk up to the booth and Lucifer gives his last name to the host. The host leads you two to a table seated for two, and thankfully there are no other parties around the table. Lucifer pulls out your chair for you to sit as the host puts the menus on the table.

"I take it since it's pretty busy in here and there's no one seated at the tables around us, you rented those out too?" You ask him, eyebrow raised, as you take a sip of water that your waitress puts down.

"Correct!" Lucifer gives you his devilish smile, "I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted."

"More like overhead." You scuff, "Are you expecting me to tell you all my secrets?"

"Just the ones you're willing to share, darling."

You hum in response and look down at the menu while Lucifer orders some wine.

You look quizzically at the menu, "This looks like-"

"Shareable meals, yes." Lucifer smiles at your expression and takes a sip of the wine, "It's the theme of this place. People getting to know each other through shared food. Most of the time it goes well, hence the attachment to the hotel." His smile turns flirtatious.

"You actually did research for this?"

"That surprises you?"

"Well...yeah." Lucifer's smile turns small as he looks to his own menu.

Within a few minutes, the two of you manage to decide on an appetizer, meal, and dessert. Both of you engage in idle chatter while eating the appetizer, but once the main course arrives Lucifer wants to start asking those questions.

"So, my dear," Lucifer leans forward a bit and stares at you with interest, "tell me something about you."

"Before I do that I would like to talk to you about something." You place your napkin on your lap and have a bite of the food.

"Oooh, a twist! Alright then, K9." Lucifer does the same as you.

"What's your relationship with Chloe?"

Lucifer has to cover his mouth with a napkin to keep the food in from his laughter, "Well, aren't we the little overprotective friend?"

"Yes." You look at him seriously enough for his laughter to die, "I am."

"Alright. I'll answer your question, but first answer me this," Lucifer leans forward again, "Why?"

You pause, "Why?" When he nods you take a breath and look him in the eyes, "Because she's...my friend. Best friend."

"Yes, but you don't show this possessiveness with Ms. Green."

You sigh, "Because," you have to take another breath, "she's the first person to not fake anything with me. The first person not to lie to me. The first person…" you pause, "...who made me feel comfortable." You look at him now, "The first one to make me feel like it's ok to be myself."

Lucifer gives you a genuine smile, and his eyes are filled with no judgment. Just approval.

"Well then, we have another thing in common, K9."

You smile back at him. "Good. So how about an answer to my question?"

"It's quite simple, my dear." Lucifer takes a sip of wine, "She's my partner."

"But in what sense?" It's your turn to lean forward, pressing on, "How do you feel about her?"

"You sound like my therapist." Lucifer evades your question by taking a large sip of his drink.

"Look Lucifer," you intertwine your hands and place them on the table, "Chloe told me about the kiss." He's looking at you now, "I just want to make sure that she'll be ok. That she won't end up with another 'detective douche'."

Lucifer chuckles at the mention of his nickname for Dan, "What makes you think I'd be douche number two?"

"Well," you shrug and look up at the imaginary list in your head, "you're a player. You have a man, woman, both, or even multiple genders in your bed every night. You flirt with everyone. Oh and," you look back at him, "Chloe isn't someone who would appreciate getting dagger glares from another female while on a date."

"What makes you think she'd be getting glares from someone else while with me?"

"Because there's a tall blond woman who's been giving me daggers since we got here." You move your head in the direction behind him and drink your water. He turns a full 180 in his chair and says surprisingly:

"Mum?!"

You almost spit out your drink.

Did he just say mom?!

The woman smiles, finally being noticed, and saunters over to your table. She stops next to Lucifer's seat, "Hello, my son." She says with a fake surprise to her voice, "It truly is a small world my husband has created after all." She looks at you and sneers, "I'm Charlotte Richards, Lucifer's mother."

"Mother." Lucifer stands up and turns his body to her, blocking your view of his face, "Why are you here?" His question comes out as a hiss.

"I'm here for a company dinner."

"By yourself?" You speak up, and slightly regret it at the look she gives you.

"Most have left while others went to the dance floor." She says matter of factly.

Uh-huh. Your police senses start tingling.

"Well, if your companions have left then you should too." Lucifer says, "It's terribly embarrassing to be the only one at a table."

"I'm sorry, son!" She feigns ignorance, "Am I ruining your date?"

"This isn't a date." You say without thinking. She looks at you curiously with a raised brow, "I'm just...returning a favor."

"Yes," Lucifer says quietly. You think you see his shoulders slump slightly, but just mistake it.

The Goddess, however, sees the quick emotion of confusion slip past her son's eyes.

That's all she needs.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to have interrupted." She smiles at you, "Goodbye." She gives Lucifer one final look before strutting out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry about her." Lucifer sits back down.

"No worries. Protective mother, I presume?"

Lucifer scoffs and takes a sip of wine, "Hardly."

The trouble you see inside Lucifer is hurting you, for some reason. So to try and get rid of that cloud on him, you decide to start talking more about you instead of Chloe.

You aren't too worried about her with him anymore.

"Well, how about I actually start this favor." That perks him up, "What would you like to know?"

"Do you want to trade mothers?" You burst out into genuine laughter, and you can see it pleases Lucifer considerably. He's back.

"Unfortunately, for you, I don't have one."

"What?"

"I grew up in an orphanage. From there to various foster homes."

"You wouldn't consider any of those foster parents as parents?"

"Nope." You pop the "p" and drink your water.

Lucifer starts to continue his questioning, but pauses as the waitress gathers our eaten meal and places down our desert. Once she's out of earshot he continues:

"You have no knowledge of your real parents?"

You're quiet for a second, using the excuse to take a bite out of the chocolate cake, "Nope." No pop to the "p" this time.

Lucifer hums and takes a bite of the cake himself, "Why did you come back to LA?"

"Well," you give it a considerate thought, "I did miss Chloe a lot. Plus, even though I'm not too fond of children, I feel a bit guilty for not being here to help her out with Trixie."

"You despise children too?" Lucifer looks ecstatic, "I'm enjoying you more and more, K9."

You laugh, "Yes I don't like children and have no wish to birth any, but that doesn't mean I might not want to adopt or foster." You take another bite, "Since I know what it's like to have that kind of life and all. Plus," you point your fork at him, "I may 'despise' children, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't risk my life to save one. No one should die so young and innocent."

"Of course, and I agree." You just give him that "uh-huh I don't believe you" look while you chew on another bite.

"My next question is," he takes another bite, "why did you leave?"

Your fork pauses mid-air to your mouth. The memories whizzing by in front of your eyes.

"K9?" You're brought back to the present by Lucifer’s hand on yours. He looks fairly concerned.

"I'm sorry." You put the fork down and remove your hand from his, "That's too-"

"Private. It's quite alright dear." Lucifer gives you a warm smile, "I told you I only want to know what you're willing to give."

"Thank you." You smile back at him and you two finish the desert with Lucifer now asking "typical" get to know me questions.

What's your favorite color? Green. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Mystery, fiction, and fantasy for books. Musicals for movies. Don't like horror or thrillers? No, I don't like the feeling of my heart during those. Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy gardening and volunteering at animal shelters. Sounds boring. For you, yeah. Pet peeves? A man named Lucifer Morningstar. Haha, very funny. Thanks.

Dessert is now finished. Lucifer pays and tips the blushing waitress. You hear the band outside start to play a more upbeat tune, and can't help but stare.

"Would you like to dance, darling?" Lucifer smiles down at you and holds out his hand.

"Yes." You smile back and take his hand, "I would."

You two dance together until the band leaves for the night and head back to the corvette.

"Hey, Lucifer?" You look at him while he pulls out onto the road.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Drive." Lucifer smiles so brightly at you. He turns the radio full blast and drives without a care in the world.

This time you sing along with him.

----------------------------------------

While Lucifer parks in his parking garage he manages to convince you to come up to the penthouse. There he gives you a glass of water, after failing to hand you whiskey instead, and you both sit on the Italian leather sofa. This time you're the one asking the typical get to know me questions.

What's your favorite color? Black. Yeah I really should have guessed that one. Quite. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Erratic books and porn. Uh-huh, do you have any hobbies--No, wait I think I know this one: watching porn, having sex, doing drugs, and drinking? You know me so well already K9, but you forgot about me helping the Detective on cases. That’s a job Lucifer, not a hobby. Is it? Hm. Any pet peeves? Humans blaming me for all their wrongdoing. What? Oh, that’s right. Your whole “devil” shtick. It’s not a shtick.

Once 2 am rolls around you decide it’s time to head home. You bid Lucifer farewell, and you might be going crazy from tiredness, but it looked like he wanted to say something to you. He says nothing, however, and bids you farewell as well.

As the elevator goes down to the garage you check your phone for the first time that night and see a bunch of text messages from Alice.

“It’s about time!” You decide to call her.

“Hello to you too, Ali.” The elevator doors open and you start the track to your car.

“Sooo, how’d your not-date go?”

“Honestly? Not bad.”

“You enjoyed yourself?”

“Yeah,” you smile to yourself, “Yeah. I did.”

“When’s the next not-date date?”

“There is no next time, Ali. This was just returning a favor.”

“Did it look like Lucifer enjoyed it?”

“Well-”

“Earth!” You're surprised to hear your name being called. You look over your shoulder and see Lucifer. He wasn’t running, but he was taking large strides towards you, and he was...smiling?

“Lucifer-” The heat behind you cut you off.

It’s like everything went into slow motion. You turn towards your car and see a bright white light and feel heat.

Very, very, hot heat.

You feel the fabric on your arms burn away as you cover your face. You drop your phone as you're pushed back into the air with huge force. You brace yourself to fall on concrete, but instead you hit a body. A toned body that holds you like wall support.

You chance a peek to the outside world, and all you can see before shutting them again is an arm in dark sleeves around you. The hand attached to the arm wore a familiar onyx ring.

Lucifer.

How did he...

But you couldn’t speak. Your throat's shut tight, and the only thing your brain can focus on right now is the pain happening over your entire body.

You can faintly hear Lucifer call out to you over the ringing of your ears.

You can feel Lucifer pick you up in his arms and run outside. You remember seeing more blinding lights, but this time of familiar colors, arrive around the nightclub.

Someone forced you out of Lucifer’s arms, and you can hear his panicked yelling as someone else pushed him back from you.

Then your world went dark.

[haich-slash-cee]

Being Human (UK)

This is a show that I recommend to people... but I add a lot of caveats.

The recommendation: A werewolf, vampire and ghost are flatmates. This show is hilarious! So much macabre and slice of life humor! And horror and whump!? Also, the show was run by a side-channel of BBC (BBC3) and I guess they had no production money, so the actors mostly look human and they just refer to each other as being a 500-year old vampire or ghost or whatever. Which makes it even better. The werewolf is Jewish, recites a Jewish prayer at least once, and hangs out watching “The Real Hustle” with the vampire. They work in a hospital as janitors. The ghost has a habit of making everyone tea to soothe herself and the flat is cluttered with tea mugs everywhere all the time. Also, people do get fang-y or wolf-y or do weird poltergeist stuff. And gore happens.

Longish post, more below the cut.

PS, this is the 2008-2013 UK version of Being Human, which I hear had a cult following. There’s certainly stuff on Tumblr. I found the BBC version through the US remake of Being Human, but I’m much more charmed by the BBC version. (The US version has the vampire and werewolf as hospital doctors? Why?) Also I watched the show maybe 4, 5 years ago, so impressions are from that.

And the caveats: There’s a lot of sexism which was hard to watch. It’s engrained in the premise and plot and occasional gross sexist jokes. And there’s other problematic stuff in the writing. It’s like having glass shards show up the meal you are enjoying, and it’s why I’m not sure I’ll rewatch the series (or not in it’s entirety, anyway). There’s also a limited spinoff web series called Becoming Human which also had some problems for me, including some gross sexism and fatphobia. (John Boyega from Star Wars does show up as a character in that series, for anyone interested.)

Back to Being Human and overall series recommendations. So the 1st season was good. I kind of forgot what happened in the 2nd and 3rd season (I think they got depressing and slow?). The 4th season picked up again, much to my surprise, and I remember liking the 4th and 5th season a lot. Even though [spoilers] there was a complete cast change by this time. But it worked, somehow. The show did go from at least having one woman of color to having an all-white cast at the end, which was not great. And there’s other racism too.

For people who like their happily-ever-after: uhhh so I vaguely recall that a lot of characters don’t really get a happy ending. Granted, half of them are walking around dead already, so...? Overall, the ending of the 5th season is... Is that a happy ever after? Happy for now? The Bonus on the DVD kind of makes it a happy-for-now with a continued possibility? It’s an acceptable HFN?

.....And now, the notes for all the hurt/comfort people and whumpers:

Holy crap people, there is SO much h/c and whump!?

OK first -- George the werewolf. George’s transformation sequence, SUPER whumpy.

Also, George ends up naked often, come to think. And he screams a lot during the show, for various reasons. The actor himself, in the bonus DVD interviews I think, cheerfully says something like, “People really like the way George screams, I do too.” (This is like when David Tennant cheerfully talked about how he enjoys playing a character who is unconscious and sick and gets fussed over by people.) And George is a very sympathetic, nerdy character who is easy to feel for. Who occasionally turns into a SNARLY SCARY WEREWOLF AGAINST HIS WILL. As mentioned, I think I liked season 1 George more than seasons 2 or 3.

Emotional hurt/comfort -- so Annie the Ghost provides a lot of the emotional centering, as I recall. Throughout all 5 seasons, all the characters lean on each other for support and there’s a lot of lovely warm fuzzies from that. Also, one of the later werewolf characters, Tom, is generally a sweet kid. I’m glad they didn’t do too much of the transformation horror with him, honestly. George/Russel Tovey could carry that, but I thought Tom’s strong point was looking puppy-eyed and folorn-eyebrow’d and trying to navigate the world with a mix of naivety and half-feral-ness.

Above: exhausted naps on the couch.

Below: Classic Being Human humor. A review of house rules and vampire stabbing etiquette, between Annie and Tom --

[Spoilers from here on] Okay, so as mentioned, the cast changed over between season 4-5. And to my surprise, I think I loved the new trio as much as, or more than, the original trio. I liked how loud Alex the ghost was. And I liked both Annie and Alex.

Also, I did not expect this either, but I got so interested in Hal! Yo! First of all, Hal is a centuries-old Vampire and speaks/looks like, idk, a Regency Character. And then 19-yr old Tom puts Hal to work at a fast food shop and bosses him around, and Hal’s indignation is hilarious. So already, this is excellent.

And somehow, Hal is very, very whumpy? So: the character of a “vampire who is trying to be good and suffers” is not new, and I’ve encountered versions where I haven’t been interested. (I was lukewarm about Mitchell, the original vampire in the show.) But for whatever reason, I really dug Hal. Maybe, for me, Hal was just the right mix of very serious and earnest but also ridiculous and tragic all at once. (I read some interviews with the actor Damien Molony, who mentioned how he’d done a lot of history and addiction research in to prep for the role. The new trio actors also had a lot of chemistry and fun on sets, it sounds like. So I might be picking up all that.)

Also, Hal is actually two characters -- the ridiculous indignant serious Good Hal who is desperately trying to keep the horrible, rude, murderous, Bad Hal from taking over. But, as one of the show producers, a woman, cheerfully commented in the DVD extras: “And then Bad Hal shows up, which is great, everyone likes a bit of Bad Hal”. 

Honestly, why do we even pretend to hide our fascination with the macabre and the whump, when showrunners and actors are cheerfully not hiding it all.

Here’s clips of Good Hal in Season 4:

Oh, I forgot about this part until I rewatched the last clip -- but at the end of season 4, Hal asks his flatmates to forcibly bind him to a chair, because he’s trying to fight off Bad Hal. Based on my perusing of the whump community, pretty sure that scenario is of interest to someone.

Also notable is the episode “No Care, All Responsibility” (Series 5 ep 3). In one scene in particular, where Natasha has offered Hal a way to control his bloodlust and there’s this mix of vulnerability and power with Hal asking Natasha to put a stake against his heart, I remember thinking -- “I bet a woman wrote this ep and I bet she knew exactly what she wanted”. And I was right, that woman is Sarah Dollard, a queer woman who has also written a lot of other things (including Doctor Who). She also wrote Being Human goofy web extra eps with Alex, Hal and Tom called “Alex’s Unfinished Business” and they are so good ! (Interview). 

Also... the opening 3-minute backstory in “No Care...” made me cry. You get a glimpse of the show’s baddie showing real care and emotion in rescuing this little kid (an important character). When this kind of scene is done well, it just gets me. every. time.

Anyway here’s an appearance of Bad Hal (much later), being completely awful, murdering people and turning them into vampires and singing Broadway tunes during this.

Side note on Vampire narratives. Although Hal’s narrative arc of season 5 was interesting, and I’m aware this is show is urban fantasy, I still have qualms of the show enforcing IRL stigmas/ideas that addition is incurable and addicts are doomed. They’re not. (General overview on NIH page.) Addiction research is a growing field. From listening to NPR and reading articles, my impression is that addiction treatment will change quickly in the next few years. Related to the vampire blood addiction trope, Terry Pratchett covers vampires finding ways to be “dry” (one vampire, Maladict, swaps out blood addiction for coffee addiction) and you can find fanfics about the topic as well. (General link to Being Human Ao3 fanfics, why not.)

Side note on Hal’s dual characters -- recently, I did consider, “Is there overlap with Hal and portrayals of Dissociative Identity Disorder (MPD) folks?” IRL DID people have complained about movies with gross portrayals of people with DID. To me, Being Human’s Hal feels removed from that and closer to a fantasy.... but, I’m also not multi, so.

* Update: after having learned more about plural history, I’m even less sure now. (Note: my opinions are of someone who isn’t plural, as far as I know, so note that.) There’s a number of early problematic movies and books that hugely affected the popular narratives of plural people in the west, and still affect how therapists and non-plural people treat plural people even today. These include the movie “The Three Faces of Eve”, which has the narrative of “Good Eve, Bad Even, and later smushed together become ‘Fixed Eve’ or whatever”. There’s practically a whole lecture series on how the books/movies were made with sensationalism and formulas in mind and pretty gross things. Chris Costner Sizemore, the IRL Eve, had to fight the movie studios in court because the studios claimed they owned her life story. (There’s practically a whole lecture series on early plural history in the west, I might link more information later). Like, even today, multi people feel pressured to hide their plurality because they are afraid singlets or other people are gonna say “oh so which one of you is the ax murderer”, or that they are going to be fired from work. So.  

This post turned into a “Being Human seasons 4 + 5 Appreciation Post”. I guess Season 1 and 4, 5 were my favorite. I watched the show through library DVDs, but I think there’s eps of the show on YouTube. The DVD extras are probably on this YouTube playlist?

(Also, there is a pilot episode, with different actors except George/Russel Tovey. I don’t think one needs to watch the pilot to watch the main series; I kind of recall that the main series recycled some of the pilot. There is a funny scene in the pilot where George and Mitchell meet Annie.)

Being Human: a macabre, hilarious, horror-filled, flawed, sometimes dragging, emotional, whumpy, oddball show that I still think about sometimes.

[theinvisiblespoon]

Front of a Building - Chapter 1: What Goes On Behind the Words

Next

tw: panic attack whoops sorry 

Word count - 1134

The bed was hard.

It wasn't truly, he knew—others would sink into his bed like it was water, remarking at its softness, but Dark only felt the bed as cold concrete. The specially-made mattress was not to blame, but he gave it a full punch anyway. For a moment, his shell broke with a sickening crack, but he brought himself back in another moment. He listened to the quiet of the night around him, not even crickets daring to climb this high up the Ego Manor. The empty room felt—as it often did—like a cage. Though the large balcony doors were clear glass, he disliked the feeling of entrapment the room gave—he felt it on himself too often for it to be comfortable. He glanced at a side table, the shadow of a cane barely visible in the low light. He turned over under an insurmountable amount of blankets that did nothing for the chill plaguing him, and let the old argument wash over him.

You know it's not his fault, you hypocrite.

That doesn't excuse what he did, Celine!

The monochromatic aura around him jumped from a dominant red to an overpowering blue—his shell broke again, splitting himself into two halves of pain and rage before settling back into one monotone gaze. This happened entirely too often for his liking, but it was a constant, a grim sort of comfort.

A fire of rage rekindled within him, but his temperature remained ever icy. Realizing this was another sleepless night (among weeks of the same) he glitched into standing, the pile of blankets caving in on itself with nothing to hold the mountain up anymore. He strode through the double doors to the silent night.

The stone balcony walk—which wrapped around the entirety of the top floor—was empty, except for a few stray leaves, eager for the coming of fall. A light breeze ruffled his silk pajamas, and he paused for a moment, enjoying the sensation. A heat wave had recently vacated the area, and the rush of cold air was bliss. Dark first checked that his only neighbor was asleep. Wilford slept soundly, sprawled across his multicolored bed and snoring softly, face smoother as he slept. The top floor’s rooms were abandoned of people, aside from these two—Will had always been a bit of a baby, eccentric though he was, and Dark preferred the isolation, interrupted only by Wilford’s antics. Dark turned from his friend and tucked his hands behind his back, staring out into the night. The grounds of this new manor were very similar to the old one, a swirling mass of finely tuned green. He wasn't sure which ego found pleasure in gardening, but Dark was often too cooped up in his room to notice.

He took in a breath of fresh air and stared at the stars. They twinkled with renewed energy, shining valiantly against the utter darkness. All was quiet.

Mark had liked the stars.

He found the fire in his chest growing hotter as his temperature grew colder. He was sure the glass doors behind him were icing over, but he couldn't hear it over the deafening ringing and the screaming and the sound of reality breaking around him.

He's a traitor!

It's not his fault, Damien!

Tell that to my body, Celine!

Shut UP!

Breathing heavily, he restored his broken form to find himself lying flat on his back, still staring at the expanse of black. If his heart had still beat, he imagined it would be racing. He wasn't sure how long his breakdown had lasted, but he hadn't lost control like that in quite some time. The ice had receded from the doors after half an hour, Dark still flat on his back, his mind buzzing and hollow. After another half hour, Wilford came through his doors rather hesitantly. He rarely saw Dark in such a subdued state, and the results of when he was were never favorable.

“Uh...Dark? Are you alright, old chap?”

The strangely quiet voice of his closest—and only—friend brought Dark back to his senses, and his blank eyes met Will’s. For three seconds (or three minutes) the shattered souls stared at each other. Then, in one quick, fluid motion, Dark pushed himself off of the ground and into a standing position. His feet were spaced a little unevenly, arms hanging loosely by his side, hair disheveled, and his expression uncertain. It was highly unusual to be caught like this, as he was well versed in manipulation and deception, but Will had caught him off guard. He wavered on the truth and the lies—the truth brought a harsh light and painful relief, but the lies were comfortingly enticing…

Will saved him the trouble of his Decision™ by speaking first.

“Are you okay?”

Dark couldn't help it—he let a small, humorless chuckle escape his lips, falling into his usual stance with a steady air of nonchalance.

Typical Willy.

He looked into his dearest friend’s eyes and lied with such finesse he would win a gold medal if deception was an Olympic sport.

“Of course I am. I was merely stargazing.”

However, Will knew him better than anyone and saw through the deceit easily where others would fail spectacularly. Wilford decided to let this slide, however. His face split into a grin.

“A nice night for it, eh?”

The stars were absolutely marvelous at this time, though dawn was quickly approaching, overtaking the darkest blues with brilliant reds, highlights of swirling purples where they clashed until the sky was a cacophony of color, clouds separating the madness with soft pinks and oranges. It was, perhaps, the most beautiful morning in the history of the human era. Alas, before Dark could witness the conclusion of the dawn, he had retired to his room again. The balcony door closed with a muted click, and he was alone again—or, as alone as he could ever be. The new dawn cast shadows across his room, his own mysteriously absent. After he dressed himself, he began to pace the space, running his plans through his mind for the two hundred and forty second time. Decades of planning had lead to this, and he could not spoil it now. He glanced again at the black cane with a dull silver handle, abandoned on a side table and dusty.

He stopped abruptly and looked left to his sole mirror, cracked and bruised as it was, and straightened the tie of his best suit. Staring into his own eyes for a moment, he was entranced by the somewhat foreign gaze. At once, he swore he felt someone staring back at him, from the corner of his eye…

Stomach turning with twisted nostalgia, he turned sharply and strode to the exit, stepping into the hall with the snap of the door.

WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING

agh so I write a little sometimes and I was really proud of this, and I wanted to post this. I have plans for the egos, but I’m honestly not sure how it will pan out, so don’t expect a chapter 2 until it’s out. Then you can expect a chapter 2. 

The chapter title is from a song called 6/10 by the fabulous Dodie Clark. The theme of this song coincides with the theme of this story, at least in my head, so take that as you will. 

Thank you to @incorrect-ego-quotes @forgottenbehindtheinternet @nikkyshows @pleaseletthisjimbetaken and @slim-jims for helping me find the courage to write this 

Side note: whoops he had a panic attack I was not expecting this to happen SORRY

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[this-is-for-the-record-blog]

Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam - Album Review

Pearl Jam is the Seattle alternative rock band’s eighth studio album released in 2006 and the first and last with Sony owned J Records. The band came into the studio with no pre written songs, but rather just ideas that were hashed out into songs once the band jammed in the studio together, similar to Vitalogy, completing ten songs in just one week. Something the band hadnt attempted or accomplished since Vs. or even Ten. The record was described by the band as very Democratic with its collaborative contribution and its fair communication with all members of the band contributing lyrics and music, the way the band has been since Yield. The record contains a formula similar to the bands older material, some may consider it a return to form and is the reason the band went with the self titled rout and while a lot of the songs have an angsty, up tempo, hard rock energy, I feel the bands sound is more inspired by classic rock influences especially looking to The Who, Thin Lizzy, Buzzcocks, Ramones, Tom Petty, AC/DC, Heart and Led Zeppelin as major influences on the record. The aggressive drive and themes were inspired by the frustration with President George W Bush and his second term in office, the current state of America, as well as The War on Terror, the mourning of friend and punk rock guitarist Johnny Ramone’s passing also served an influence on the darker songs. It sounds to me as though the band was consciously writing classic rock sounding record or it was at least the sonic direction. The longest break between releases came between the bands last record Riot Act and their self titled record here. This was attributed to singer Eddie Vedder getting married and having his first child while the band also supported the Vote for a Change tour during that break. Avocado is the closest the band has ever been to producing a conceptual record giving the listener a glimpse into the life of a working class American with financial struggles, despite having hope and faith. The mainstream medias sugar coating of pharmaceutical drugs as a solution to your problems or alcohol which is marketed as an answer to a fun time, with both of these ending in addiction. That American who cant find a job to pay the bills and provide for their family they turn to dealing. The grief stricken family of a fallen soldier, or that Army reservist manipulated and taken for granted by the government, and is stationed far from his loved ones. The record has themes dealing with feelings of political anger, addiction, religious resentment, poverty, death, anxiety, escape but ends with renewal and personal growth. You can almost see a drama unfolding throughout the album.

Alvocado was produced by Adam Kasper, producer on the bands last record Riot Act. Unlike Riot Act though instead of focusing on love as an answer the band vents all its frustrations here. Musically the record is much less of the recent experimental and calming Pearl Jam we have come to know, but much more straight forward musically and lyrically, a hard hitting formula seen on their debut and sophomore records. Singer Eddie Vedder said this about the records musical energy “It’s easily the best stuff we’ve done but also some of the hardest stuff. It’s very aggressive, because again, it’s kind of a product of what it’s like to be an American these days. It’s pretty aggressive, especially when you turn it loud.” The first half of the record contains all up tempo tunes, 5 hard rocking songs back to back, the most high energy songs in a row than any other Pearl Jam record before it, while the second half offers ballads and more mid tempo tracks. Producer Adam Kasper was able to bring the same live raw sound that was present on Riot Act again on this record here, but fills in the gaps a bit more than before. A couple of those raw, hard rocking, muscular tracks are “Life Wasted” which features an Angus Young guitar riff that bares the same energy heard on AC/DC tracks like “If You Want Blood”, “T.N.T.” and “Walk All Over You” with its off the cuff guitar solos and improvised jamming at the end. The song is played a half-step down and uses a capo on the 3rd fret (first 5 strings only, with the 6th open.) This oddly written song structure has become more frequently seen among the bands back catalog especially since Yield and really reminds me of song writing seen in bands like Led Zeppelin. Then theres the anthemic, politically ranting “World Wide Suicide” which opens with Eddie Vedder grinding an ebow into the strings and pickups on his guitar, a technique I dont think ive seen or heard before with an ebow and has a riff similar to Buzzcocks’ “No Reply”. The track has an older grungy Pearl Jam sound similar to “Satan’s Bed” while a bit of “Spin the Black Circle”, another song from the bands third record, Vitalogy, is heard on the punk rock influenced “Comatose”. The song kicks in heavy like AC/DC’s “Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be” while the hard rock energy of “Severed Hand” reminds me a bit of the beginning of The Who’s “Wont Get Fooled Again” with its guitar part at the beginning mimicking a synth, while the main riff is very similar to The Who’s “Go To The Mirror” just sped up and “Matt Cameron’s Kieth Moon sounding, chaotic drum rolls. “Marker In The Sand” the last of the first 5 up tempo songs and reminds me of “American Woman” by The Guess Who. It experiments with tempo a bit shifting time signature going into the chorus, claiming the best melody on the entire record and might be my favorite track.

The record doesnt take a breath ‘till the simple love song “Parachutes”, an acoustic, psychedelic ballad that reminds me of The Beatles “Hey Jude” with the cadence of the guitar being played like a piano, but the break doesnt last long as things pick right back up again with “Unemployable” a song that reminds me of The Who’s “Another Tricky Day” and “Big Wave” the only care free track on the record reminds me of Soundgarden’s “Never Named”. The album periodically breaks the high energy again with “Gone”, slowing down at the end starting with “Come Back”, a charming, soulful ballad that leans heavy on organ, bass, hi-hat, snare and kick drum. The song musically and conceptually follows “Last Kiss” harkens back to Motown 50s era ballads paying homage to Otis Redding’s “Come To Me” and Eric Clapton’s “Bell Bottom Blues”. Some of the songs like the album closer “Inside Job”, a slowly building, climactic track that starts off like The Who’s “The Song Is Over” meets R.E.M.’s “Boy In The Well”, but builds into a progression and a lead guitar part similar to Tom Petty’s Organ soaked “The Waiting”. Songs like this one explore more varied tempos and have an artistic and darker cathartic rock sound to them. The song features Mike McCready on a double neck SG guitar, playing the electrical 12 string in the beginning. Eddie Vedder said this about the up tempo music and how it relates to the darker lyrical themes, “the hope was going to be in the guitar solos. It was the guitars and drums going at it that was going to lift you out of the dark abyss that I had painted.” Needless to say guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard channel guitarists Angus Young, Jimmy Page, Dan Thunder Bolton, Eric Clapton, Johnny Ramone, Kieth Richards, Scott Gorham, Peter Frampton,  Mike Campbell, Steve Diggle and Billy Zoom and Eddie Vedder seems to be channeling Pete Shelley, Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Pete Townshend on the record. The drums, guitar leads and vocals really shimmer and take a lot of the spotlight on this record and Matt Cameron puts in a lot of vocal work as a back up singer as well, while organist Boom Gasper takes lead spotlight on “Wasted Reprise,” a sort of intermission that brings back the chorus heard in “Life Wasted” and leads nicely into the next track “Army Reserve”.

In the song writing department, the band took their time in a process that was very tedious with the songs having many different sets of lyrics. Eddie Vedder described it as a process that demands “the patience of like a National Geographic photographer sitting underneath the bush in a tent”, adding that he would at times “figure out after eight, nine or eleven drafts that the first one was actually the one”. Where Riot Act was Pearl Jam’s most politically driven record this record takes that to the next level in a more upfront way and is the bands most socio-political to this day and takes the approach of writing from the perspective of someone else something present on Pearl Jam’s earlier records. The songs “World Wide Suicide”, and “Army Reserve” a mid-tempo rocker co-written by Damien Echols (one of the West Memphis Three), are about the Iraq War and express opposition against the war and president Bush’s agenda in Iraq, questioning his motives. It also provides a bit of hard truth behind war from the perspective of the family of a fallen soldier as well as the average American who reads the news paper, making the song relatable to many. “It’s understandable why someone would like their entertainment to provide an escape from modern day worries and the reality of war. We feel this record creates a healthy opportunity to process some of these emotions rather than deny them. It’s like we took our aggression’s and shaped something positive from them in a very direct manner” Vedder also stated the record “deals with real content and the moral issues of our time”. Other politically driven songs like “Marker In The Sand” deal with the hypocrisy behind religion and how it seems to be at the center of Bush’s agenda and how its always at the center of every war, while “Unemployable” a Springsteen type song that reflects on issues of poverty during the economic decline of the Great Recession and “Comatose” points out the threat on civil liberties backed by religion specifically in regards to same sex marriage. Guitarist McCready said, “We all feel that we’re living in tumultuous, frightening times, and that ranges from the Iraq war to Hurricane Katrina to wiretapping to anything that smacks of totalitarianism. And just bad political decisions being made. We feel that as Americans, and we’re frustrated. So a lot of those feelings have come out in these songs.”

The song “Come Back“ is easily the most heart wrenching ballad the band has produced since “Black” and has similar themes of heart break after someone you loved has past away or moved on, much like “Last Kiss”. The track has been said to have been inspired by the death of famed punk rock guitarist and Vedders close friend Johnny Ramone. Another song like “Severed Hand” is about dealing, addiction and substance abuse with “Life Wasted” being viewed as having been on the verge of overdosing or witnessing a friend overdose or just a simple brush with death. Eddie Vedder has stated the song was written after attending Johnny Ramones funeral and reflecting on mortality and the outcome of substance abuse. Eddie stated, “When you leave that funeral, that drive is as important as any single stretch of road you’ll travel on. You’ve got a renewed appreciation for life. And I think that feeling can last through the day, through the week, but then things start getting back to normal and you start taking this living and breathing and eating thing for granted. I think that song is there to remind you, ‘This is that feeling’.” The existential track “Big Wave” is a fun song of oceanic celebration, where Vedder expresses being of crustacean origin, evolving and adapting into a human but still having connections with his aquatic roots through his love for surfing, constantly seeking that next big wave. Songs of self reflection, soul searching and renewal are expressed on songs like “Inside Job” a song written entirely by Mike McCready, his lyrical debut about recovery, sobriety and loving yourself so you can share that love with others. Vedder said one way to deal with negative energy and frustration is “to kind of look within. If nothing else, effect some change in yourself. If you’re in a position of feeling pretty together at that point, then you feel like you can make a contribution to society, as opposed to being a fucking wreck and just adding to the pile of destructive forces you can find yourself surrounded by. And that’s exactly, verbatim, what’s in the song, really. Like ‘shining a human light.” and the song “Gone” is a song of liberaion that goes back to the idea expressed on the bands song “Rearviewmirror” where the character in the song is getting in a vehicle and heading out of town, leaving his/her anxiety and materials behind in search of peace, autonomy and freedom. Vedder has said “Gone” is about someone “needing to find a new life without his past, without his possessions, and not really looking for more possessions.” Early shades of what was to come on Eddie Vedders “Into The Wild” record. The line “nothing is everything” was taken from the song “Let’s See Action” from the 1972 Pete Townshend solo album, Who Came First. Vedder thanks Townshend in the liner notes for the album.

The cover art of the record depicts an avocado cut in half with the seed still in place. McCready said, “That symbolizes just kind of … Ed’s at the end of the process and said, for all I care right now, we’ve done such a good job on this record, and we’re kind of tired from it. Let’s throw an avocado on the cover. I think that’s what happened, and our art director goes, hey, that’s not a bad idea.” Because the album is self-titled, many fans refer to it as “Avocado” or “The Avocado Album.” I feel the record’s minimalistic cover art is an artistic symbol and straightforward display of this unique fruit that is organic and natural, which is exactly what the music on the record and what the band has always been, so the records self title and artwork makes sense and is fitting. Vedder explained, “In the end, we thought there was enough there with the title of the songs, so to put another title on the album would have seemed pretentious. So, really, it’s actually Nothing by Pearl Jam.” The liner notes contain artistic images of wax sculptures, in an almost “Body Worlds” style recreation of each band member with their flesh either decaying or lit on fire and other times have insects crawling out of them. The art was brought to video in the music video for “Life Wasted”, the band’s firorst conceptual video since 1998′s “Do The Evolution”. The music video represents the fragility of life, a theme that is expressed in the song as well. 

Pearl Jam’s self titled record is a great record, its my first record purchased through the Ten Club as an official member, this was the record I was listening to in high school while everyone was listening to modern emo and pop punk music. No one understood it or heard of it and thats what I liked most about it cause I never understood the appeal or the popularity behind the shallow music at the time, but I dont think it met the production or passionate song writing that was offered on Riot Act or even Binaural and I think it is the first record that showed the bands age a bit especially with Eddies vocals sounding a bit strained now going into a higher register on the fast songs but I think It gets credit for being as hard hitting, aggressive, scientific, and objective as their earlier records and most politically driven and socially critic to this day, making it arguably the most important and meaningful record in the bands discography. It has been been stated that atleast 12 songs were left off of the record. Not much is known of the songs. This would also make Avocado the most fruitful songwriting from the band since Ten! Some of the known songs are “The Forest” a song released on Jeff Ament’s solo record “Tone”, “10 Billion Years” was a song that ended up on Stone Gossard’s second LP and the track “Of The Earth“ is speculated to be B-side from their self titled record and has made some rare live appearances in 2010. The beautiful “Man Of The Hour”, one of my favorite songs was one that was recorded for the film Big Fish but wasnt included on the self titled record here. The song seems to conceptually connect with “Come Back” from the record, paying tribute to an idle or father figure after they have passed with them giving their final bow but stating that its only goodbye for now. The band had also recorded covers of “Someday at Christmas”, “Love Reign Oer Me” and “Daytime Dilemma” around this time. My favorite tracks are “Life Wasted”, “Word Wide Suicide”, “Marker In The Sand”, “Come Back”, “Army Reserve” and “Inside Job” If you like Burden Brothers, X, Foo Fighters, Wellwater Conspiracy, The Rockfords, Mother Love Bone, Skin Yard, AC/DC, Ben Harper, Temple of the Dog, R.E.M., Peter Frampton, Soundgarden, Bob Dylan, U2, Led Zeppelin, Hater, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Green River, Brad, Pete Yorn, Mad Season, Neil Young, Supersuckers, Heart, Three Fish, Steve Turner, The Verve Pipe, Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Sonic Youth or The Who you will love this record.

[septic-dr-schneep]

WKM Fanfiction - First Line of Defense

A/N: Are there any WKM kid fics out there? Anywhere?! Well, if they are out there, there aren't enough! In this story, Celine is Damien's older sister (since in real life Pam is actually older than Mark); I'd say Damien is around eleven and Celine, Mark and William are around thirteen years old. At the moment, Celine and Mark both like each other but aren't dating yet and Celine still doesn't know about Will's crush on her.

Summary: Celine and Damien haven't been getting along very well lately, which is why Celine isn't paying enough attention to what's happening to her brother on the playground. When she finally notices...Well, it's been said before that her temper often gets the better of her.

Damien wasn’t one for confrontation, to say the least. He was at the young, tentative age where he was desperately eager to get along with everyone and hopelessly confused when he failed. He didn’t seem to understand the concept of anger; whenever he was part of an argument, he only resorted to shouting if he thought it would make the other person stop and otherwise he completely shut down and ran. Even his secondhand anxiety when he saw others arguing was near crushing.

Once, when she was in the process of calming him down after a fight between their parents, Celine had asked him why he never got angry. For a long minute he’d simply stared at her, looking almost betrayed, and then he’d ducked his head.

“I do,” he whispered. “But I don’t want to. I just want everyone to like each other.”

Celine wasn’t at all like him; she was more than willing to get into a fight if it meant having her way and while their parents often took the brunt of her temper, there were times when Damien was nosy or clingy or too observant for his own good. It was infuriating and Celine wasn’t one to keep her mouth shut. Frankly, he was an easy target. What followed, however…the color draining from his face, the half-stifled sob, his fingers wringing into the hem of his suit jacket as he crept away from her…It made her feel guiltier than she had ever imagined she could feel. In her shame, she couldn’t apologize.

She still hadn’t apologized when his first day at her school came around. They had been avoiding each other for a few days now, but their mother had insisted they hold hands on the walk there and her brother’s palm was decidedly sweaty. He was nervous. She ought to say something, but she tried to ignore that urge by listening to the conversation between their two close friends, Mark and William, who were a little further ahead.

Even that was fairly boring, she realized, pouting a little. All they talked about were the new students who were arriving today. Will was going on about how he was going to prank the younger ones mercilessly and Mark was just nodding incessantly as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. From there Celine simply tuned Will out and watched Mark, wishing that he was the one holding her hand instead of Damien.

As soon as the school was in sight, Celine withdrew her fingers from his and Damien met her eyes, swallowing hard. It was a rather tentative faceoff.

“I—I don’t know where the front office is,” he ventured.

That was the first thing he said to her in three days? For reasons beyond her understanding, Celine felt another wave of old anger at that. “It’s at the front, obviously,” she huffed, making a vague gesture toward the doors and then moving in the direction Mark and Will had gone. “I need to go or I’ll be late.”

“Celine, wait!” Damien burst out, clutching at her arm. “I—I just—I thought you were going to stay a little longer.”

“I can’t,” she shot back, whisking her arm out of his reach. “And you shouldn’t either or we’ll both be late and get in trouble.” As she strode away, she didn’t see Damien shuffle a few steps after her and didn’t hear his mumbled plea:

“But I don’t know where my first class is…”

***

The day passed well for Celine, all things considered, and she did her best to enjoy it, despite the voice in the back of her head insisting that she had been too harsh with Damien (again) and ought to make up with him already.

Around midafternoon, when the students were let outside for a break, she couldn’t help but look around for him. It wasn’t long before she saw him branching off from the rest of his class, with a group of five or six following close behind. It looked like he had made some new friends in his class, which meant he must be faring pretty well, right?

“Celine!” Will called, recapturing her attention. “Do you want a turn on the swing?” Grinning widely, he bobbed a brief bow next to the open seat and added, “I can push you!”

“No, I will!” Mark countered, nudging the indignant Will aside with his shoulder and gesturing invitingly for Celine to hurry over. That she did, biting her lip against her excitement and hoping that the hair framing her cheeks would hide her blush. Judging by the way Mark smiled and winked when she reached him, she wasn’t fooling him.

She couldn’t help but giggle breathlessly as she perched on the swing, tucking the folds of her skirt between her knees, but she stilled almost instantly as he put his warm hands on her shoulders to give her some momentum.

“You ready?” he asked, his voice close to her ear.

“Of course,” she assured him, wishing she didn’t sound so shy. With those words and a firm push from Mark, she was off, soaring up toward the branches and squealing gleefully. William leaned against the tree from which the swing was suspended, folding his arms over his chest and watching the two of them laugh. He didn’t join in, but he did stay and when Celine glanced over at him, he smiled for her.

Swinging with Mark at her back and Will at her side, Celine could say she was genuinely happy  and content for the first time today! Why couldn’t it be like this more often? Though they were easily the best of friends, they didn’t get to spend very much time together apart from school. Will was often away on explorations with his parents and Mark, while he lived close, wasn’t allowed to visit often. His parents wanted him to spend more time thinking about his future and what he was meant to make of it. Moments like these, however, made everything worth it.

A high-pitched noise from across the grounds broke through her reverie, sending her quite literally back to earth. Mark caught hold of the swing as it came down and Celine glanced over her shoulder at him curiously. Pushing himself off the tree, William strode a few feet away from them, peering off into the distance at the growing commotion.

“By the stars, is that Damien?” he asked with a start.

No sooner had he asked did he receive his answer; Damien streaked away from the group of five or six classmates he was with, tugging violently at his knotted tie with one hand and scrubbing his face with the other. No, it was more than that, Celine realized as she lunged to her feet. He was shielding his left eye.

“Damien!” she hollered, moving to intercept him. He sped up incrementally as she got closer but she had a long reach and caught ahold of his arm easily, pulling him to a halt. “What was that about? What happened?”

“Nothing,” he answered hurriedly, barely looking at her as he tried to duck away from her hands.

“Let me see,” she ordered, not to be turned away. As soon as she pried his fingers away from his eye, she spotted the telltale redness of a bruise forming on his cheekbone. Her grip on his wrist tightened as she took a sharp breath. “What’s this? They hit you? I thought you were making friends!”

Perhaps he thought she was being accusatory because as soon as he heard that, he pulled further against her and protested, “It’s nothing, Celine. They were just playing around—It was an accident—” The rest of his words were lost in an alarmed gasp as he threw himself sideways, narrowly dodging a rock that whizzed past.

As soon as it clattered to the ground, Will picked it up, moving closer to grip Damien’s shoulder with his free hand as he growled, “That’s not playing.”

“Damien! Are you ready to learn the rest of your lesson?!” one of his classmates called tauntingly as he scooped up another rock. A few others in the group followed suit and Celine could feel Damien practically vibrating with nervous tension.

“What lesson would that be?” Mark barked back, already doubling his fists on behalf of their friend.

The supposed leader of the group seemed surprised at Mark’s interjection but spread his arms out expectantly. “He thought he could join our class without paying his dues! We tried to talk to him and he wouldn’t talk back! What’s it to you? We just need to get it into his stupid head that he can’t be one of us if he’s not going to talk!”

“Excuse me, what did you say about my brother?” Celine spat, steering Damien back toward Mark and Will and surging forward in one motion. She drew herself up, staring at them with deadly, narrowed concentration. “I asked you a question.”

If Mark speaking up had surprised them, hearing it from a girl was even more irregular. The boy eventually recovered himself. “He’s stupid,” he repeated shamelessly, readjusting his hold on the rock, “and we need to teach him a lesson!”

“Is that so?! Well, here’s your lesson!” Snatching the hefty stone out of William’s hand, Celine reeled and launched it back at them. Before it even made impact she was picking up another, another, and another, hurling each of them with more force than the last. Even as the group started ducking and scattering for cover, she kept coming, shouting disjointedly between her pitches, “No one—calls my brother—stupid!”

It was only when they were sprinting toward the doors of the school that Celine registered Damien’s voice, hoarse with panic.

“—’s enough! Enough! Celine, stop!”

When she turned, the first thing she saw was the shocked expression on her little brother’s face, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty about it this time. She glanced at their friends. Mark looked grimly impressed by her display, and Will? To Celine’s mild amusement, he looked like he might be in love.

“I don’t think they’re going to hurt you again,” Celine said simply as she returned to them.

“Cel…” Damien began, sputtering slightly as he struggled for words.

“You don’t need to listen to anything they say, Dam,” Celine assured him, taking his hands between her own and squeezing firmly. “But you do need to know this: no matter how angry I may be with you, I'm not going to just stand by and let someone hurt you. No matter who they are. Alright?”

Damien hesitated, letting these words sink in. It was as close to an apology as he was likely to get with her fired up like this. With a small nod and a returning squeeze, he echoed softly, “Alright.”

[ultronnie]

pls tell me about Kris I need to hear about him for my health

OOOOH FRIEND

I CAN SERIOUSLY TALK ABOUT KRIS FOR H O U R S

WELL

HERE WE GO.

gonna get in DEEP here, my dude. kris is very important to me for like 9426946 reasons.

Full Name: Kris Dawson. Nothing too special. The name Kris stuck when I was first writing him about a year ago. I dunno what it is about the name but it sticks with his character. Last name came from my dude Shane Dawson. I love Shane to death. He’s had a big impact on a lot of stuff for me the past few years so yeah.

Gender and Sexuality: Male and he’s bi.

Pronouns: He/him.

Ethnicity/Species: Tiny lil’ cat boy! AHHHHHHH!!

Birthplace and Birthdate: He’s an October baby! Ah! On the 7th. We share a birthday. Birthplace was a hospital coz duh lol.

Guilty Pleasures: So quick thing here that’s important to note: Kris is very much me. The thoughts, the voice, the actions. He’s me. Like I said about Andy, I’ve put some of my insecurities and issues on him. But Kris has it all, dude. As I live my life now, I try to establish what happens within his world, even if it’s not exactly like my life.

Now that that’s outta the way:

So in terms of guilty pleasures, Kris is really, really, really passionate about the fact that Born This Way by Lady Gaga is one of the best albums ever made. He won’t play it for you right away, though. If it comes on the shuffle, he goes, “Oh, what??? Lady Gaga??? On my shuffle? HUUUUH??”

Although not as serious, Kris loves the musical Rent. It’s the only musical he likes and he doesn’t mind admitting it even though he hates most other musicals.

Phobias: Kris doesn’t have any straight up fears, kinda like Andy. He’s more terrified of living life alone. Not like losing people, but ending up alone at the end of it all. He wants a companion in someone but he doesn’t think he’s fit for anyone at all.

Kris doesn’t want to disappoint the people he does have in his life. He has a consistent idea that everyone, including his best friend of 17 years, secretly hates his guts and wants him to rot in a garbage dump somewhere. He’s very insecure about himself, even when he comes off as a confident little shit with a smart remark every chance he gets.

What They Would Be Famous For: I’m not sure. Kris and I are figuring that out currently, if that makes sense. It’s hard to find your place in the world, really, and Kris is a pretty basic guy. He doesn’t have any extraordinary talents or anything.

What They Would Get Arrested For: For being Andy’s accomplice. That’s it. That’s the crime. Not sure if this will actually happen in the story buuuut there’s always a chance for some OTP crimes, right?

OC You Ship Them With: OOOOOH BOY

So there’s another part of my life that is VERY sad that sorta revolves around this. It’d give away a bit but there was always another character before Andy who I knew needed to go with Kris. It just worked. See, every character in this story is a representation of me in some way and also an important person in my life. I won’t say much more coz I think I don’t wanna get in too deep about it, but I’ll say that it’s really hard to know you can’t have something.

So Andy. That’s where Andy comes in.

You know this story. But on Kris’s end, he just really thinks Andy’s great. The thing that got him going about that idiot fox was the high pitched metal screaming he did when Damien (ANOTHER CHARACTER AHH) dragged him to his band’s show. Kris just really loves the dude. He thinks the world of him even if he doesn’t agree with Andy’s more serious crimes like public intoxication or a public disturbance.

But Andy also understands the bad things in Kris’s head.

See, I have these weird bouts that come about once a month where everything is bad. The mania of reality runs dry and everything seems very slow. I get inexplicably angry at everything and nothing makes me stop unless I sit alone in my room or something. But Andy helps Kris through these episodes. He’s a good guy. Kris appreciates that.

And again, these two are just the best to draw together. I’ve only come up with a few things and they’re not too great buuuut I’ll very likely commission some stuff of them together.

Stupid Andy. Stole my heart so fucking fast that I’m trying to get him drawn by someone else after he’s been a character FOR TWO WEEKS.

Also, for added feels about these two, I always listen to the Last of the Real Ones by Fall Out Boy with them in mind. Makes me wanna cry, tbh. I love these two that much.

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: I mean, I dunno. Kris doesn’t really do much to anyone else that could make someone wanna murder him. He’s probably the most well-liked person in Re-Hash, tbh.

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Older horror movies are great in Kris’s eyes, and he really likes comic book media. He grew up on Marvel and some DC. He thinks Watchmen is one of the best things ever written. He’s also pretty keen on 1984 for some reason.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: He thinks about 98% of horror movies nowadays are shit. He loved It, though. It was great! (Seriously, It was great.) Also, historical fiction is B O R I N G most of the times. Also musicals. He thinks most of em are cheesy.

Talents and/or Powers: I think Kris is probably good at whatever I’m good at. I think I write pretty decently and I draw well. Not that he does those things all the time, but he is good at them. 

Why Someone Might Love Them: I think that most people like me for my views on things. I’m cynical but in a way that’s funny. Like I don’t say shit like, “I hate *whatever* coz it sucks.” I’ll say “I hate *whatever* coz it is literally the same thing as shitting in a bucket and setting it on fire.” Kris has a very creative way of talking about things that makes people laugh.

Also, Kris is keen on playing his music really loud when he drives and he goes hard. Everyone thinks it’s funny and Andy is like, ‘wow, my boyfriend can’t hold a tune but he’s cute so IT’S FINE’.

He’s also very genuine. He doesn’t really like the shallow games people play with other people. It just ends up in hurt. He’s straightforward and honest. It’s why Andy sees him in such a good light despite all the tragedy Kris has had.

Why Someone Might Hate Them: I don’t really know. I think maybe he thinks people don’t like him for his attitude that people seem to love and that in turn makes him push some people away. He doesn’t mean to of course. I don’t think anyone really could outright hate him unless he really wronged someone in the past, honestly.

Anything’s possible, though.

How They Change: Like I said, as my life goes on, Kris’s does too. So really, I dunno what’s gonna happen. But whatever happens to me will happen to Kris in one way or another.

Why You Love Them: I was going through a pretty rough time about January of 2016. I think that was when I first wrote him as a character and started to really figure some personal shit out. Like, just writing little drabbles about him helped me kinda figure out that I’m bisexual as shit. It just happened. I had to come to terms with it and he helped me figure it out.

I put a lot of work into him even if he’s just a tiny brown cat with the same music taste as me and a lot of cooler clothes. I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve written/made that I REALLY hold closer than this little idiot. Sounds dumb, but I’m in a weird place right now. He’s getting me through some shit even now. He’s a means to cope for me. I just love him to death. Everything about him. Design, personality, story. It’s all so good to me.

Woo. Gettin’ emo. AHHH--

tl;dr - Kris Dawson is the best boy in the world. 11/10. No character ever means more to me.

[theseventhhex]

Haunt the Woods Interview

Haunt the Woods

Haunt the Woods are an exciting contemporary Folk band from the shires of Cornwall and the Rame Peninsula. The band have a new and unique sound incorporating an eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary folk influences, with beautiful melodies and spellbinding guitar. The unique and chilling vocals combined with 4 part vocal harmonies make the heartfelt and emotional lyrics extremely powerful. In addition, their live show really captures the energy and essence of the band’s love and passion for music and the true meticulous nature of their compositions… We talk to Alex Skinner about Cornish shire imagery, performing live and YouTube binging…

TSH: In the lead up to the line ‘The Line’, how did you feel about your songwriting evolving and the direction that you had in mind?

Alex: We don’t really put a huge amount of thought into the initial songwriting, it is very organic and although the lyrics are purely based upon personal experience, other than this initial inspiration, the songs just kind of write themselves if that makes any sense? We are more of a catalyst for the song rather than consciously sitting down and saying “right, today we are going to write a song and its going to be this structure and this long with this many verses and a solo here” – it doesn’t really work like that for us. However, we really feel our songwriting has progressed though on this record, I think our process has developed and Jon will take an initial idea to Phoenix and they will work on it together before we all jam it together and write our parts.

TSH: Does the band still gravitate to being inspired by the Cornish shire imagery?

Alex: It is pretty hard not to be inspired by your surroundings when growing up in such a beautiful part of the world! We have all lived here for the vast majority of our lives, and it’s definitely had an influence on our music and the imagery within and sound of our music. Its probably had a big effect on our personalities too – we’re all pretty chilled out!

TSH: What’s the studio dynamic like when you guys are crafting new music?

Alex: When we are in the studio, we have a laugh and we play around when the time is right, but we are all very focused and professional because we all want to get the absolute best sound for each track that we can. We often have a few beers in the evening and end up jamming new tunes and listening to music, and you can normally find Jon in the live room at some ridiculously early hour of the morning with a bottle of wine writing songs at the piano! All in all, the studio is one of our favourite places to be, and we have a very good dynamic when we work together!

TSH: Furthermore, with ‘Helter Skelter’, which part(s) required most focus as this track came together?

Alex: We record mostly live, and then do a few overdubs afterwards, so once we had the bare bones, which was the live take of the track, everything was already starting to come together. In ‘Helter Skelter’ Phoenix’s guitar is pretty complex at times but as well as this it really defines the sound of the track as well as Olly’s top work on the drums. Both the guitar and drums really make this track what it is so the most time was probably spent on these elements, making sure that the drums sounded huge and that Phoenix was achieving what he wanted with his guitar tone.

TSH: What does a track like ‘Lakehouse’ signify to you personally?

Alex: Too much to say really, sorry for this lame answer but no coherent words could possibly express what this song signifies. We would rather people hear the sounds and the lyrics and draw their own conclusions about what the songs mean to them individually and how it relates to their lives!

TSH: Is there a specific musical period/sound that inspires you?

Alex: I think we are all inspired by loads of different types of music rather than one particular sound or period of music. We all love Pink Floyd, and the psychedelic prog movement of the 60’s, but then on a musical level we are inspired by loads of other artists like Dry the River, Damien Rice, This Will Destroy You, Ben Howard, Half Moon Run, Jeff Buckley, there’s too many to name! On a social level we are massively inspired by artists like Bob Marley and The Beatles because of the social impact they had with their music. And then there’s Olly, who listens to Psychedelic, hand drum and woodwind based Middle Eastern electronic music!

TSH: Was there anything that you read, watched or heard the crept its way into your production for this EP?

Alex: In terms of artistic influences, I’m sure we all have influences that have crept into the songs without us realising. East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Asylum by Patrick Mcgrath are both amazing novels and Jonathan was reading these around the time we were doing the EP, so perhaps this literature crept in somewhere. We were also really fascinated by the terrible situations in North Korea and how the world is continually striving for peace but never finding it. This definitely informed the stock footage video that we put together for ‘Beautiful Catastrophe’.

TSH: How much are you looking forward to performing in a cave in Cornwall in May?

Alex: It is going to be rad, the most special gig we have done to date, and it’s almost sold out which is crazy! Playing to a packed cave full of people is going to be ace and we can’t wait, hopefully the audience will notice a step up in our set too, we have been working on loads of new tunes and we will be playing the tracks from our EP too.

TSH: What qualities do you bear in mind mostly with the band’s live offerings?

Alex: Our live show is the one area that we consciously put a huge amount of thought into. We are really pleased with how its progressed over the last couple of years, but we are a long way away from feeling it has reached what we are aiming for. We are really interested in the sound being as interesting and hard hitting as possible, and using visuals/videos in the background while we are playing to engage people and explore alternative/interesting meanings and depictions to the song. We always have the audience in mind when considering all of the aspects of our live show; we want it to be an interesting and engaging experience for them that they will really enjoy.

TSH: What brings about most happiness and laughter during your touring drives and travels?

Alex: Olly – our drummer! He is the biggest wind-up merchant you could ever meet, and Jonathan is the easiest person to wind-up in the world, so this can provide hours of entertainment for everyone. We love visiting different places, so we always try to spend as much time as we can walking around the cities that we go to and visiting all of the local city centres – it’s a big, fascinating world when you’re 4 Cornish hippies.

TSH: What gets heavy rotation on your YouTube binge watches?

Alex: It’s always changing really! Phoenix loves Pink Floyd, This Will Destroy You, Tesseract, Guthrie Govan, Low Roar and too many to name! He is also well into watching episodes of South Park! Anything Jeff Buckley, Nirvana, Bob Marley, John Mayer, John Lennon is always a definitely yes and we have recently discovered Alice Phoebe Lou who is an incredible artist. Jonathan seems to watch a lot of documentaries about the tragedy of North Korea at the moment for some reason and is also into old Charlie Chaplin movies! Alex is really into HMR, Alabama Shakes, The Paper Kites, Banfi, Fleet Foxes, Iron and Wine, Half Moon Run and he also regularly watches YouTube to learn how to do his super technical sound man things, he’s a bit of a genius when it comes to that kind of stuff. Olly is always showing us the most insane hand drumming, and silly parody songs too – which sounds funny but can get really annoying when you’re on tour. Olly is also really good at reading “The Lord of The Rings” in the style of the online audiobook – sounds crazy but he’s seriously good at it, especially all the voices.

TSH: What kind of diversity and variety do you look to embrace as Haunt the Woods progresses further?

Alex: We all feel we are only scratching the surface of our potential/ambitions as individual musicians and as a band, so we are really excited to see what future experiments result in. We will just continue experimenting and working hard to make music we love playing! We want to explore all areas of music, and don’t see ourselves as a band who is exclusively one genre. We are Haunt the Woods, and that Haunt the Woods will always mean 4 friends, having fun playing music together, that is purely about expression and raw emotion.

Haunt the Woods - “Beautiful Catastrophe”

The Line