#Had to resist the urge to put little peach stickers on it

[vibeamphibian]

I made mks staff a good while ago

Got the stuff mom checked the size of the top pieces with the wood by RIPPING THE NAG BY JUST SHOVING IT IN I had to buy it come on, it did fit tho

the glaze kept bubbling but I think that's bc my dad gave me a roller to do so, but I just got it off repainted some of the patches and re drew the clouds with a darker color because I'd thought it'd look better.

In my opinion it did :D (looks way better irl pls I'm begging you to believe me)

The paint had to keep stacking bc it was thin on wood then dry then reapply then dry. Then I ran out, my little sister had more tho. It wasn't as glittery but hey it was yellow! That's good enough 4 me

*In reality nothing happened to be of note worthy but it did take time to fix everything that didn't go according 2 plan, aka took like 2 weeks with everything.

[sugiwa]

small dreams

It took one 27 second long video for Keigo to fall in love

The video looped through every news cycle, and each reaction varied from outright derision to almost mythical awe emerging. On YouTube, it was viral in fifty-three different countries and Starburst—a name derived from a candy company that the pro-hero was fond of—jokingly tweeted that she was more famous than All-Might.

And she might have been thanks to the reporter that not only caught her decking the father of a girl she just saved but also recorded the subsequent twenty-seven seconds it took for three police officers to pull her off him and pull her away. The peace sign Y/N threw up as the police led her into a car probably didn’t help, nor did the live stream of her twenty-four hours in a holding cell while they investigated her claim of the man’s abuse and finally released her.

Though there were news outlets that tried to pin Starburst down as a hero on the edge of villainy, her public reputation hadn’t taken any damage. It was hard, after all, to claim that she did the wrong thing when they heard the girl’s testimony and pulled her medical records. But, Starburst—or L/N Y/N—still faced punishment from the Hero Public Safety Commission despite all this.

Attacking an unarmed civilian was apparently a big no-no—even if he was an abusive asshole. She was spared having her license revoked until she retested the simple principle that she had refrained from using her quirk. Her sentence was lessened to a month-long suspension with a strict patrol schedule in some city near Tokyo.

Y/N could work with it. She could put up with the Commission’s inane chatter for the sake of her job, but she drew the line at issuing an apology. It took three hours to wiggle her way out of a press conference to address the event. By the time her meeting with the Commission and sentencing was done, Y/N retweeted the initial video with the caption: Totally worth it.

Keigo was slightly in love with Starburst. Maybe it was the way she strolled into the Hero Public Safety Commission building fresh out of handcuffs and bluntly told them that she wasn’t apologizing and would rather become a vigilante than listen to ten more minutes of them debating the future of her career.

Or maybe it was the video which he’d seen a hundred times over, where she looked like a hero. The kind he’d always dreamed of as a kid, the kind who swooped in and beat the bad guy and then offered you stickers and candy and told you everything would be alright because it was exactly what she’d done for that little girl.

Either way, L/N Y/N was a hero who deserved a little rest, which was why he was currently tailing her patrol route and taking care of the problems before she could move. Her quirk was right out of a comic book too. The golden energy that left her capable of issuing an instant KO.

“Will you leave me alone?” she snapped, finally turning around to glare at him. She had a warm face, not made for anger which was probably why the glare fell away a moment later, replaced by a smile. “I appreciate the help, but I’m not offering any fanservice in exchange.”

“Who said I was a fan?” His wings flapped, feathers flying back toward him.

“You regularly stalk girls mid-air? That sort of thing does not fly with me.” Y/N laughed, nose scrunching at her own joke. “Get it…cause we both fly….”

He smiled innocently, “Thought of that all on your own?”

Y/N groaned, twisting her earring, “Just because I didn’t go to a fancy-ass hero school like Wet Jeanist and Flameo Hotman doesn’t mean I’m dumb.”

Slight insulted by the nickname she gave his favorite hero, he asked, “Flameo Hotman? You mean Endeavor-san?”

“Ohhh, that’s a man-crush voice.” Her eyes tightened with mischief, “I’m gonna have to dip since I got a hot date with my credit card. See you later, Chicken Little.”

He watched her go in slight awe because Y/N really was as crazy as the stories said. Starburst was a hero that had a bit of a cult following. She wasn’t high enough in the rankings to be wildly popular the way he was—up until she went viral, that was. A graduate of Ketsubutsu who went on to attend college before actually becoming a hero, she was on a watch list with the Hero Public Safety Commission.

Apparently, non-conformity was an issue…who knew.

A rain of confetti fell over Keigo’s head, brightly colored and all covered in specks of glitter. He inhaled deeply, turning to see Starburst’s grinning face as she eagerly clapped. Endeavor, like always whenever he was forced to be in Starburst’s proximity, turned around and stalked down the hall. Her confetti burned in his wake. Y/N’s voice followed him, offering an empty congratulations to the hero.

“How’s my precious senpai doing?” she asked, turning her attention to him.

“You really know how to annoy him, huh?” asked Keigo staring at the empty hall. If you gave Y/N too much attention, she ran with it. “What’s the deal?”

Y/N shrugged, rolling her shoulders confidently, “Some people are not equipped to handle true talent.”

“Yeah, right,” snorted Keigo.

“I may or may not have drunkenly confessed that I had no idea who he was to a bunch of reporters during last week.” Y/N made a rude gesture with her hand. “I mean, if you’re not Number One, then do you really matter?”

“Harsh,” he ruffled his wings, freeing the last of her glitter confetti and letting it rain on the ground. “You all good with the Commission now?”

“All thanks to you! I owe you one, you know that?”

“Nah,” Keigo waved her off, resisting the urge to laugh as she made her bright eyes as wide as possible. “It was pretty brave of you. Plus, I think anyone would have done the same thing.”

Three months out of trouble, Y/N once again made headlines for ‘accidentally’ dropping a child trafficker off a building. She caught him before he hit the ground, but apparently, the authorities deemed the emotional damage a little extreme.

“They probably would have been a bit smarter about it, though.”

“Well, don’t worry, no one expects you to be the brains.”

Y/N pouted. “True.”

Keigo laughed. “What are you doing here anyway? You’re not in the top ten.”

“Is bullying the new rage these days?” Her pout grew, arms crossing over her chest, “Everyone’s got something snippy to say to me. Where’s Rumi when I need her?”

“Gonna hide behind her?”

“Fuck yeah.” Y/N nodded emphatically as she reached into her pocket for a pack of gum. She offered him a piece. “Let’s see how your chicken wings stand against her legs.”

Keigo looked at the gum and then her. The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them, “Wanna get something to eat?”

Her smile looked like the sun, “Thought you’d never ask.”

“So, what’s the deal with you and Dragonbreath?” asked Y/N, sprawling across his couch. It was the third time this week she was here. He should tell her to leave, but the words die in his throat in his mouth every time he tried.

There’s too much risk. Dabi’s listening in on everything he does these days, and he doesn’t want her anywhere near them. Not when he’s aware of what they’re planning. Not when he knows how Y/N would react.

She was rough and improper in everything she does, but there’s no one brighter or better when it came to genuine goodness.

Keigo dodged the question with his own. “Endeavor again?”

“Ran into him last week and got yelled at for ten minutes for getting in his way. The guy was in my path, and I’m the one getting yelled at? Next time, I’m drop-kicking him off his skyscraper.” She kicked her leg in the air, reminding him that she was scarcely dressed.

Was this what having a girlfriend like? Constantly jumping between fondness and horniness? He wasn’t complaining.

He heard this threat a million times. “Still mad about the fact that he has one?”

“I’m a simple country girl. I’d be happy with a peach orchard and some chickens.”

“Come here,” he crooked his finger at her. Y/N got up instantly, crossing the room toward the balcony where he stood. Her hands wrapped around his waist, slipping under his shirt, across his skin, over his chest. Too much and too little at the same time.

“You’ll get cold out here,” she murmured. He could sink in the warmth she offered.

“It’s nice seeing the world so still.”

A noise left her throat, wet and worried, “Hawks, whatever it is, whatever they’re making you do, I’ll be here. I promise.”

People joked about Y/N being dumb—he did it too often to count, but she saw more than most people did when it mattered.

“Why’d you become a hero?”

“Saved a cute boy once, and he gave me a kiss,” she said. He’d heard that story before. She offered it in every interview, never expanding on what boy or how she saved him. It was also a glaring lie.

He didn’t push her. He lied about too many things to count.

Keigo took her face between his hands—the urge to kiss that tiny speck by her eyes thrummed through him. It would take a thousand-thousand years for him to forget her face. Y/N turned, her lips skimming his palm, cold and warm at once.

He loved her because she was Y/N. Because in her, he could love himself and not grow cold from it. Because the numbness he’d always known leaked out in place of affection. He loved her boundlessly—above, below, and across—unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.

It was with her that he was Takami Keigo and not the current Number Two.

His hand cupped her neck, fingers tangling in the curls of her hair. Her lips opened under his. A trail of fire burst across his lips, and for a moment, he only knew the sweetness of her mouth. He drank her in, each breath, each hushed sound leaving her throat.

He would do what they asked and make the choices no one else could.

It was worth the world he dreamed of.

[mellowrat21]

Rough Changes.

AU where the bullying Sal recieves from Travis, his school crush, gets so hard to him, it almost kills him, so he decides to close some cycles and get the hell out of the situation. Cw: mention of self harm, bullying, graphic violence, strong vocabulary, polyamorous relationships, mild (really really mild) implied sex scene(?, heavily loaded with angst. Fandom: Sally Face Words: 4800 Hope you enjoy it!

The first time Sally went out around Nockfell he used to wear a beanie to hide his bright, long, electric blue hair and wore discrete clothes, but as the time went by and he started hanging out with Larry, Ash and Todd, his confidence slowly started going higher and higher until he started going to school with his signature hairstyle, some hairpins and his favorite clothes, he was a cis guy, and he was bisexual, but who cared, everyone who saw him thought he was a girl and probably a lesbian since he hung out with Ashley so much. And he didn’t give a flying fuck about it, he wouldn’t make an effort to change his voice to make it sound “more feminine” or go to the women’s restroom because he didn’t feel the need to, he was a guy, period. Some people didn’t seem to agree and thought he was a trans guy or something, which was terribly stupid and Sal and his friends would always mock the people that harassed him on the streets “you will never be a real woman, you tranny!” or “no matter how many chemicals are in your body, you will always be a girl!”, people never knew if he was a girl or a boy, and that amused him a lot. But then, when they got to the middle of 8th grade, a new kid was introduced to his class, he was a tall, brown boy with shiny blonde hair, he had what appeared to be a bruise on his left eye but Sal thought it was rude to stare, so he lowered his head, wondering if it was a bruise or a birthmark. The kid got to sit beside him, they didn’t talk at all, if not just the common “hi” from when a new kid gets introduced to the class and you’re the one sitting next to them. Dear diary: Today in class there was a new kid, he is cute, I wanna be his friend and maybe share drawings or stickers or even Pokémon cards, what if he collects them too? I could find the ones I don’t have and he could benefit from mine too. He’s my age, his name is Travis. I think he’s religious, so not cool, religion is boring, I always sleep in religion class. I’m gonna ask him if he wants to sit with me at lunch, he might be lonely since he’s a new boy at school, I wanna be his first friend, I could even introduce him to the group!

Alright, gotta sleep, Sal out.

**

The alarm clock was buzzing, letting Sal know it was time to get out of bed and ready for a heavy Tuesday of school, he hated Tuesdays, no band club, no art classes, nothing, just geometry, math and a lot of history, Spanish and English, oh, and religion too. He got up and went to take a quick shower, it was cold and he didn’t really like turning the heater on, it was too noisy for being 6:40 in the morning the time he showered for school. When he got out of the shower, he put on his underwear and with a towel around his hair he sat on the sink to take care of his reddish scars, that day they were way more tender than usual, it stung and even hurt in some places the q-tip touched with the lotion. He sighed, getting back down from the sink and finding a meowing Gizmo on his bed, who stretched as soon as he saw his owner, asking him to pet him and rub his belly. “Aw hi little guy! Did you get some good sleep?” Sally asked in a tiny voice, thoroughly shaking Gizmo’s big belly, he earned a purry meow from him, who got up and walked out of the room to get food. Sal let out a breathy giggle and started going through his closet, thinking what he should wear; he found a white skirt he thought was really cute, tried it on but found out it was way too short and it showed the scars on his thighs, he didn’t want any more visits to the school counselor for self-harm even though his scars were a combination of cuts made by him and scratches made by Gizmo. He decided to stop thinking so much and just grabbed a pair or ripped black skinny jeans with patches and chains Larry had gifted him for his 15th birthday and a pastel blue gloomy bear t-shirt to go with it, by the time he tied his usual blue converse he thought of grabbing a hoodie, so he grabbed a red zip-up hoodie and threw it on before he went to get some breakfast, some peach slices and Greek yogurt did the job and after a little bit of him styling his hair with his dryer and iron, he went to brush his teeth, he grabbed his bag after putting his prosthetic on and headed out. On the way he found Larry, with whom he went to the bus stop while chatting a little bit. “hey Lar, did you see the new kid?” Sal asked, eager to hear the answer, he was so interested in him, he was excited to know him. “uh yeah, that Travis boy? He’s chill, why? Larry said, munching on a chocolate chip cookie that might be his breakfast, he had his hair tied back in a messy bun which showed he didn’t shower, and those bruise-like bags under his eyes made clear he didn’t sleep either. “huh? What do you mean chill, did you talk to him?” Sal’s eyelids perked up, surprised by his friend talking about his interesting future new friend. “oh hell no, he’s religious, I would never get near a religious guy, they’re scary with all their crazy ‘god loves you’ shit” Larry shivered jokingly, earning an annoyed sigh from Sal, who playfully punched his friend’s shoulder. “he can’t be that bad bro, he’s 14, he probably just uses the cross necklace because his dad makes him.” Sal tried to shrug it off, then the bus came and they got on. While looking for a seat, Sal spotted a blonde head, and when he got closer, low and behold, it was Travis. He was talking to another blue haired kid that attended their school, but they suddenly locked eye contact and Sal smiled to him, only to remember he couldn’t see it, so he shakingly waved until Larry softly pushed him to sit behind Travis and the other boy that was there. “come on dude, you’re gonna fall if you stay there!” Larry tugged on his hoodie, which made him sigh and sit next to his friend, his face red as a cherry and the blush spreading to his ears. That was so embarrassing… “woah woah dude are you okay? Do you have like a fever or something? Your face is hot as fuck and your so re- AH DUDE NOT COOL!!” Larry said worried, getting elbowed on the stomach by his flustered friend who was literally shaking on his seat. “i-I am- I’m okay it’s j-ju-just I-… fuuuuck” Sal stammered out, not being able to form a sentence from how hard he was shaking, then he hear a gasp from the

seat in front of him. “what? Are you- are you a boy?” a flustered, weirded out Travis was looking at him, he looked disgusted and scared. “uh m-me? I- I… yes, I’m a boy…” Sal stuttered again, scared, the first words they exchanged and they were not at all the ones he expected. “what the- ugh, boys don’t wear skirts, you shouldn’t wear that kind of attires, it’s ungodly.” The disgust in Travis’ face was growing with every word and Sal was literally at the verge of tears from how scared he was, even though he had picked a gender neutral looking outfit he got a bad comment, from the boy he wanted to be friends with. Sal tried to talk but the words were stuck in his mouth, when a sudden movement startled him to the point he yelped. “yo, clothes don’t have gender. Go fuck with someone else smartass.” Larry had jerked up from his sit, completely angered and with a threatening stand. Travis got scared himself and he just turned around mumbling something under his breath. Sal was silently crying, little sobs slipped from under the mask his day didn’t start well at all and he had heard what the boy in front of him had mumbled.

He called him a faggot.

His day went on horribly, boring classes, all of them where he sat next to the boy who he had a little crush on, it was all wrong, all he wanted to do was go home and curl up in a ball to cry, and cry and cry. Before lunch started, he got up rather quickly, Travis used the opportunity to trip him and he fell over, he scratched both his knees and it wanted to make him cry again, and it did, he just ran to the restrooms and locked himself in a stall, hugging his legs and silently crying again, what a shit day, he just wanted it to end already. The urge was suddenly unbearable, he needed to get himself off of that situation, he reached to his hoodie pockets and pulled out a little envelope that contained a stainless steel blade he hadn’t used in a while. He then pulled his sleeves up and angrily started making multiple deep cuts in every dimension, that made him sob and gasp, and when he was done, he was just a mess of blood and tears, he reached for the toilet paper and luckily for him, there was, so he quickly put it on the wounds and made some pressure until the blood was almost gone, he pulled the sleeves back down and sighed, he wasn’t relieved, but he wasn’t around Travis so he was good for a while. Then he remembered his next class was religion, fuck no, he was going to the principle to ask him to call his dad, he needed to go home, he couldn’t resist any more time with Travis let alone it being in religion class, fucking religion class, that was the last thing he wanted to happen to him. After he decided he was calling his dad to go home, he got off the toilet and opened up the stall door slowly as to not find any “unwanted guests”. Once he double-checked and triple-checked he was able to get out of there an run to the principal’s office, only to blink and open his eyes back up at a hospital room, surrounded by Larry, Ashley, Todd, Todd’s boyfriend (he didn’t remember his name) and his dad, all looking both worried and relieved. “oh my god, he’s awake!” Ashley almost yelled, rushing to hold his friends hand. “huh…? Wha- what am I doing here?” Sal asked, looking around, noticing his arms were uncovered, showing his fresh cuts and the catheter where the liquids where flowing. “uh, you passed out and Larry found you completely splattered on the ground, your hoodie was soaked in blood so he told us and we rushed you to the hospital. It seemed like you lost a lot of blood, Sally, what’s wrong?” Todd talked, looking concerned. “Salvatore, please tell me you’re not going to start cutting yourself again, I already signed a document to refuse your admission to the mental hospital, I know you don’t wanna go back there and I don’t want you to go either, that place only drugs you and prevents you from everything…” Henry spoke, worry and sadness gushing out of his mouth while he talked. Tears started falling down Sal’s eyes, he was mortified, and now he was in the fucking hospital, he was sure this was a nightmare, he needed to wake up, he needed to fucking- “SAL, WAKE UP!!” Larry said, worried and scared, it had been a day since Sal got out of the hospital and he stopped going to school for a while, Larry was taking care of him every day after school to make sure he was eating and cleaning himself, he was worried his best friend would kill himself if he spent too many time alone and he wasn’t risking losing another loved one. Never again. Sal jerked awake, all startled by his friend’s yelling. “what do you want Larry…” annoyed by his sudden awakening, Sal rolls over on the bed and starts falling back asleep. “I brought you some pancakes and chocolate milk… I know you like them…” Larry sighed out, he was sad to see his best friend like that, he hated it, he fucking hated whatever was going on with him to make him that depressed. Sal sat up and started eating bit by bit, the bandages on his arms were getting loose and a bit gooey, so after Sal finished eating, Larry carried him piggyback to the bathroom to clean him up.

That was only the beginning of the worst four years of his life, days of never ending bullying, depressive episodes, fights, detentions, panic attacks and breakdowns.

**

Last break of their last year of school was nearing in, that was the last day of school before break and they’d be back for a month and a half more of school and everything would be over. Sal was excited because he was going on a field trip with the squad, not knowing those plans were going to be completely crushed by goody two-shoes blonde fuck Travis, who had woke up that last day of school and chose complete violence. That day was living hell for Sal, he never stopped mocking him and calling him names, but Sal just pretended to ignore him, until… “Hey freak, you faceless faggot motherfucker, did your mommy do your hair for you? It looks shitty! Oh wait, no she didn’t. why, you ask? OH YEAH, BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD, SHE MUST BE CRINGING AND CRYING IN HER GRAVE BECAUSE SHE’S ASHAMED OF YOU, ABOMINATION, UNGODLY MONSTER” Travis was following him around, tugging at his hair and pushing his head around, until Sal snapped. He didn’t say anything, just a hit, square in the nose, a loud crack and a scream followed, Sal just kept hitting and hitting until Larry had to physically drag him away, he was frozen, scared, absolutely terrified of himself, of what he did. Luckily it was finally break time and he got to dip out of there, he locked himself at home and ravaged the tree on his backyard, then when he was tired of it, he decided to go back inside and look at himself in the mirror, he then found himself staring down to a pair of scissors on his nightstand. His breath became shaky and anxious, he didn’t want to do it, he made him do it, it was all his fault, all his fault, he fucking did it. “LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, TRAVIS FUCKING PHELPS!” he cried out, yelling and shaking after he looked at himself back in the mirror, his pretty blue long locks were completely gone, leaving him with a mess of hair, he didn’t want it anymore, he didn’t want to look like a girl, he didn’t want to be bullied anymore, he didn’t deserve it. “I am a man, I was born a man, I will die a man, and if I am a man I will fucking behave like one. Did you fucking hear me, Phelps!? IM GONNA BE WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE, A FUCKING GUY, NOT THE UNGODLY FAGGOT YOU ALWAYS SAW ON ME!! ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE YOU GLAD?! FUCK YOU! YOU MADE ME LIKE THIS! ME! THE ONE WHO ALWAYS THOUGHT FONDLY OF YOU, THE ONE THAT THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST SCARED OF ME! The one who… the one… the one who fucking liked you…” Sally couldn’t speak anymore, he was shaking, sobbing and crying out loud on the bathroom floor, just to stare back up and find Larry and Ashley looking down at him, both crying, completely worried and scared of what they were looking at. Larry picked him up as he drifted away, passing out from all the crying. They let him sleep, he was sleeping soundly as the other two were slowly falling asleep by his sides. When he woke up he found them sleeping there, he woke them up too since he had an enormous headache and needed some assistance. “Lar… b-bring me some medicine please my head hurts like hell…” He went to grab onto his locks and all he found was a nest of tangled up short hair, he found himself scared but then remembered what happened before he went out and tears started gushing out of his eyes. “fuck, I really did it, I cut my fucking hair.” Sal unbelievably laughed, a melancholic laugh. Larry got up and Ash stayed there, hugging him softly. “don’t worry, blue, I’ll take you to a salon after you take your medicine and we’ll get that mess fixed, alright?” Ash held his hand, reassuringly squishing it softly. Sal nodded then looked up when he saw Larry pop out of the doorframe holding a pill and a glass of water which he gave him to drink. “So dude… after you get the haircut… do you wanna go get some food and maybe get high at the abandoned house down the hill? I know Ash is out of this because she has to babysit her brother but we can go if you want.” Larry asks rather shyly, trying not to give Sal any strong emotions. “I’ll take the food offer, but no weed for me today, this headache will get fucking worse if I even get near the stuff” Larry nodded, joining the hug

after Sal had swallowed the pill, closing his eyes at the pleasuring hug. After the pill kicked in and Sal was no longer in pain, the three young adults went to the hair salon to get Sal a haircut, then the other two sat back reading awfully boring magazines. Mid haircut, Sal asked the stylist to dye his hair black, he wanted to change himself completely, never look back at himself how he used to be. They finished washing his hair and he went to show his friends who looked completely dumbfounded by the new look, so dumbfounded Sal started to worry. “guys? What is it? Do-does it look bad? Do I change it or-“ he was cut off by a wave of NO’s from both of them, they were both in love with what they saw before them, they rushed to hug him and cradle him, Larry cried, because he loved him, he loved every single piece of his existence and now he looked so different, not happier, but completely different, he was proud of him, of his baby, not blue anymore.

**

The road trip never happened, but they stayed together at Sal’s house the whole break since Henry was away for a business trip that meant a lot of money coming to them afterwards. The three spent the break like a little family, they tried doing all sorts of things, like cooking, hiking, stargazing, burning all Sal’s “feminine” stuff as a symbolic sacrifice (even if Ashley wanted to keep the makeup and some stockings he had) and well, other kind of stuff between the three of them. The day they had go back to school went… not so badly. The squad had agreed not to talk to Sal a lot at school so people thought he was just absent or something, and it worked out until some person started to suspect. “hey, you, uh… Salvatore?” Travis approached the guy shyly, tapping his shoulder. “yeah?” Sal tried to lower his voice to confuse the oblivious blonde even more. “well I wanted to talk to you about something, in private, so… do you mind going with me to the school’s auditorium? I promise it’ll not take long.” Travis stepped a little further from him as to not scare him. “uh yeah sure, why not.” He nodded and followed behind, not too closely, while he texted his partners about it, he was shaking, scared and stressed about what might happen there. Porcelain doll: school auditorium, quick, heading there with Travis, apparently he wants to talk about something.

Ashey<3: oooo someone is getting confessed to!!!

Lar-Bear: be there in 3 minutes, dragging Ash with me if something happens.

Porcelain doll: nice, thanks babe.

Ashey<3: no worries boo ~

Lar-Bear: we love you, Torey.

Sal sighed in relief knowing his boyfriend and girlfriend were going to be around if something bad happened, so he ruffled his hair and jogged a bit, trying to keep up the pace. When they got there, Travis pushed the big doors to the entrance, the dim lighted room was scary enough with the theatre people in it, let alone it being completely empty, except for Ash and Larry who were hiding in the console room.

Travis cleared his throat, he was… nervous? Maybe Sal was imagining it, there’s no way that motherfucker was nervous.

“so… what did you wanna talk about?” Sal spit out rather venomously, stressed and annoyed by Travis’ presence.

“I promise it wouldn’t take long so it won’t. Salvatore Fisher, Sally Face, I wanted to tell you I’m absolutely sorry for what I did to you, all those years of suffering because of my fear of… of… uh… of…” Travis was struggling to take it out, he was disgusted by his own words though he knew he had to say it somehow. “of liking another man, of liking you, Sal… I was taking it all out on you and you didn’t deserve it, I’m working on myself, on becoming a better person for you, because I know how much damage I caused you on the outside, but on the inside, I know I left you a wound that is rotting and I will never know how deep it is.”

“Bro. You waited four years. Four fucking whole years to apologize for something you did to me every day nonstop, the words, the names, the hits, the hair pulling, all of that, and now you’re just telling me that you’re sorry? What do you expect? That I fall on your arms, begging you to hold me and forgiving you right away? Fuck no. Totally not. I will never forget what you did to me, and you know what? Fuck you. You’re the fucking faggot, you’re the one that deserves to get your shit rocked every single day of the rest of your fucking existence. You’re the sissy, little blondie piss baby, what’re you gonna do, huh? Cry out to daddy for him to save you? Only sissies cry, Travis, man the fuck up and piss your pants anywhere else but near me.” Sal gushed every word that came out of his mouth so naturally it was like he had rehearsed that speech a thousand times. He pushed him, making him trip over his feet and fall to the ground before he left, fuming, at the verge of tears, and before he closed the doors of the auditorium he yelled “FUCK YOU TRAVIS PHELPS, EVEN IF I STILL LOVED YOU, I WOULD NEVER TOUCH YOUR FILTHY FLESH IN MY MISERABLE LIFE, Y’KNOW!?” and with that said, he slammed the door behind him, actually hearing rushed footsteps from the other side. Todd and Larry were waiting for him outside but Sal ignored them, he was too busy wiping the tears off of his face as his legs gave in and let him sit on the floor, resting his back against a stack of lockers nearby. Travis barged out of the auditorium, tears desperately streaming down his face, yelling out for Sal. “SAL PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I LOVE YOU WITH MY LIFE AND IM SORRY I HURT YOU SO MUCH PLEASE JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE I PROMISE I’LL BE BETTER!!” Travis was full on begging, he needed him so bad but Todd and Larry stopped him, Larry had hit him square in the face while on the floor Todd kicked him on the side, completely angered to see how poor Sally was crying too, with Ashley by his side hugging him and comforting him, they would never let Travis get near Sal, ever again. Since the principal actually knew Sal and Travis situation, he didn’t end up expelling anyone and didn’t give them detention, Travis, Todd and Larry were given a warning and Ash was congratulated because of how good of a job she did comforting Sally while he was having his panic attack. Finally they got to go home and do their homework and onto the next day.

**

Finally, the school year, graduation and prom had been completely over, and Ash, Sal and Larry were moving out of Nockfell to live together in the city since Larry had gotten a job and Sal was planning to start university with Ash, they were both planning on enrolling in art school even though Sal wasn’t too excited about it since he wasn’t as good at art as Larry and Ashley were, but they both always reminded him that he doesn’t need to be good, he needs to be passionate. That way he would finally get better.

The news of the moving got to Travis, so, as a goodbye present, he left a letter and some candy for Sal in his letterbox, promising him and himself that they would never cross each other ever again. Sal thought it was a cute gesture, maybe in another life they would’ve been together, but in this one, they just peacefully drifted away after all the suffering they felt throughout the years. He went in to smoke some weed, he took the letter with him and read it out loud, he cried a little while, and after that he just burned the letter and went back into the empty house. Ash greeted him with a soft kiss on the lips and smiled. “The moving crew called, they’ll be here in ten minutes. Lar is upstairs saying his last goodbyes to the house.” Ash kissed his forehead and let him go with a playful spank on his butt, making both of them giggle. When Sal went up he found Larry crying, he softly approached him and sat beside him, hugging him tightly.

“hi doll, sorry you get to see me like this, I got nostalgic and I was thinking of how glad my mom would be to know that I found a job, that I have a beautiful loving relationship and that I’m moving out with them, with the beautiful people I love.” Larry sobbed onto Sally’s chest and he howled as soon as the words left Larry’s mouth.

“I’m sure little old Lisa is really fucking proud of you, of me and of Ashey, like, we’re both successful young adults and we’re taking off, we’re living our lives just like Lisa, my dad and Ashley’s wanted, so never doubt it, they’re all pretty proud of you, bear.” Sally reassured him with a big smile, Larry kissed him softly then pulled out with a huge smile.

“good god Torey, I love you so fucking much.” They ended up cuddling on the beanbag they didn’t pack, it was big enough to fit three people there, so they were comfortable, kissing and cuddling there. They started getting heated up and kissing more aggressively. Rough kissing and hickeys, until Ashley interrupted them.

“I knew I was hearing my little porcelain doll moaning, why am I not invited again?” They all laughed and pulled her onto the beanbag, but then again there was another interruption, the doorbell rang, the moving crew was there, they started loading the stuff to the moving truck and the other stuff inside Larry’s truck, then took off, they were leaving, finally leaving that damn town, the memories, the suffering, off to a new life, a better life where they had love to give and receive, wealth and success, so they weren’t sad. Obviously they were nostalgic, but never sad.

They finally got to the new house, it was big and pretty, the furniture looked perfect and the bedroom was cozy and welcoming. They were so tired that day, they just slept through the whole night and the next half of the day.

There their life started, their new life, where the worries were different and the old problems were nowhere to be seen, and they were happy, they were completely free. Free, loved and happy, just how they deserved.

[rfsak2]

Cactus, Part VI

I hope you like this! If you are leave me a like so I know people are reading and enjoying this! Thanks so much guys!!

Cactus, Part VI Summary: They had expected this after all. Harry/Jamie Warnings: Not really

It wasn’t, strictly speaking, unusual to see paparazzi outside of a recording studio in LA. Usually Jamie could just skirt the crowd and make it to her Jeep without too much of a fuss. It was only really inconvenient when they blocked the parking lot.

So when Jamie saw the accumulating vultures, she sighed, said a prayer for the poor sap they were waiting for, slipped her sunglasses on against the hot LA sun and tried to plan the best way around them.

She pushed the door open and cheated to the left, making for the parking lot with unhurried, ultimately unworried steps.

After all they weren’t there for her.

“Hey!”

She kept walking. Maybe someone got wind of the newest teeny-bopper working in the studio. Sometimes said teeny-bopper’s media team was astute enough to start the buzz early.

“Hey!”

“Are you Jamie Schwartz?”

She almost stopped, but something in her told her to keep walking, to pretend like she hadn’t heard them.

A hand grabbed her arm and she spun with the jumpiness that living in LA ingrained in you. “What?”

“Are you Jamie Schwartz?”

That same intuitive voice, who was beginning to sound like Harry, told her to say ‘no,’ so she shrugged, feeling conspicuously nonchalant. “No.”

The pap didn’t seem too impressed with her and bought the lie with ease.

“Shit! Did she leave already?”

She shrugged again. “You sure she works at Columbia?”

The man shrugged helplessly.

Then she turned and left, forcing herself to be calm, to resist the urge to peel out of the parking lot like a mad woman. She stowed her guitar safely away in the back seat and calmly walked around the car.

She backed out, slowly and calmly, thanking the powers that be that she had never let her mom put a monogram sticker on her car. As she shifted into drive, she waved cheerily at the paps who were still waiting and left, driving to the restaurant where Harry and the tour band were going to be getting dinner before going to rehearsal.

She pulled in next to Harry’s Range Rover and peeked around her car as she was getting out, making sure that she hadn’t been followed.

Satisfied that her little cloak and dagger game had worked, she smiled and made her way into the restaurant.

She set her sunglasses on her head and smiled at the hostess. “Hey, I’m with a party-“

“Mr. Styles told us to expect you, Ms. Schwartz. This way, ma’am.”

She nodded and followed the girl through the restaurant to a private, back dining room where the whole band and the roadies were waiting on her.

“Sorry, I’m late.” She popped Mitch lightly on the back of the head and dropped a kiss on Harry’s hair.

“It’s fine, love. How was the studio? I went ahead and ordered for you.” Harry grinned and reached over to pull out her seat.

“Perfect.” She hung her purse on her seat and scooted the chair under the table, accepting Harry’s chaste kiss. “Studio was fine.” She smiled. “The girl’s got talent. Be interested to see how it turns out.”

Clara smiled and sipped at her water. “What are you working on?”

“Columbia wanted me to help write some guitar parts for a new talent’s demo. I delivered them today.” She smiled at the waiter when she set a cocktail in front of her. “Now I am free and clear for the tour!”

She waited until the food got there to lean over to Harry. “So… I had my first experience with the paparazzi today.”

Harry stiffened. “What?”

She smiled. “They were waiting for me outside of the studio, but I don’t think they really recognized me. One of them asked if I was Jamie Schwartz.”

“What did you say?”

She shrugged. “No.”

He grinned. “And they bought it?”

“Yep. I kept expecting one of them to follow me but the didn’t.” She laughed.

“Well done you.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Just started and already trollin’ the media.”

She kissed his cheek.

**

She nodded at Mitch. “Kiwi is yours and Carolina. I’ve got Woman and Only Angel.”

Mitch nodded, scribbling some notes on a piece of paper. You wanna split the covers?”

“Yeah, that’s good. Do you have a preference?”

“I’ll take The Chain and Stockholm.”

She grinned. “We’ll have to fight over The Chain. That leaves me with That’s What Makes You Beautiful and Just a Little Bit of Your Heart.” She looked over a copy of the setlist and filled in names next to each song. “Sign of the Times? Should we just switch off? It’s the finale after all.”

Mitch smiled. “Whoever doesn’t do The Chain gets Sign of the Times.”

“Oh! Yeah that works. I’ll take Ever Since New York and Two Ghosts. Then, if you’re cool with it, take Sweet Creature and Meet Me in the Hallway and I’ll take From the Dining Table since you’ll probably end up doing Kiwi at least twice a night. Sound Good?” Mitch nodded and she scribbled it in, smiling as she felt Harry sidle up behind her. He set her mug in front of her, having been cleaned of the remnants of the three cups of tea she had drinking over the course of the rehearsal. “Hello, dear. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He chuckled and reached under her arm to turn the setlist so he could read it. “Your handwriting is ‘orrible.”

“You’re dismissed, Mr. Styles, thank you.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, laughing. “I love that yeh decided to wait to like a day before the first show to decide this.”

Mitch grinned. “We waited to finalize it, but this is what we’ve been doing anyway.”

“Does it meet with your approval, boss man?”

He nodded. “If that’s what yeh two want, then that’s fine with me.”

“Then it is finalized. The instruments are packed, The equipment is stowed, the setlist is finalized, the wardrobe is packed…” She turned and slid her arms around Harry’s waist. “Seems like we’re ready to go.”

He grinned, reaching out to pull Mitch into the hug as well. “It’s happening! We’re goin’ on tour!”

He laid a smacking kiss on Mitch’s temple and leant down to kiss her. “Thank yeh both. This wouldn’t be happenin’ without yeh.”

She grinned up at him, arms tight around his waist. “Nah, it would, Haz, it would. It just wouldn’t sound as good.”

Mitch chuckled and high-fived her. “Jamie-Wamie for the win!”

Harry laughed. “Whatever the case may be, thank yeh. I love yeh both.”

They both hugged him, the three of them rocking each other gently back and forth.

“Shall we then?” She yawned, still leaning against Harry. “I need some sleep if you want me to wake up well at that ungodly time in the morning.” She put her papers in her purse and swung it over her shoulder.

Harry shook his head. “Love, I know yeh. There is no waking up well.” He pulled her against his side and together they started their way to the front of the practice venue.

“Ain’t that the truth. You’re like a living fairy tale, Jamie-Wamie.”

She frowned. “How so?”

“Evil, angry little monster in the morning and-”

“A beautiful, princess in the morning and the whole rest of the day!” Harry beamed.

Mitch made a face. “I wasn’t going to go that far. I was thinking ‘passably tolerable human being’.”

She mimicked his face. “Look here, Bitchy-Mitchy, you’re no peach either. They should make you into a bloody Snickers commercial.”

“Bite me, Jamie.”

“Children.” Harry made a placating gesture. “I’m gonna make you a get-along shirt.”

“Yes, Dad.” Mitch pushed the door open, with a grin, and waved. “Anyways, I’ll see you in the morning, lovebirds.”

“See ya.” She stuck her tongue out at Mitch and went to follow him out of the door.

Harry grinned, hand low on her back. “Did you want me to wake you up early enough that you have enough time to wake up? Or would you rather I just let you sleep on the plane?”

Hand on the door, she turned back to Harry. “I’ll have you know that I’m an ad-” She pushed open the door and gaped, letting it close again. “Harry?”

“Shit.” He paused and looked back, motioning for one of his security guards. “Love, yer stayin’ at mine tonight?”

She nodded and watched as yet more people rushed the doors, shouting for Harry.

Harry grabbed her hand gently and turned her toward him. “Would it be okay with yeh if I have one of my guys drive yer car to mine? Yeh can ride with me. I don’t want yeh driving through all this alone. Feel better if yer in me car wi’ me.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” She dug her keys out and passed them to the closest guard. “Be careful with my baby.”

The security guard grinned and nodded. “Will do, ma’am.”

Harry kissed her hair. “We knew it was going to happen eventually.”

She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss she was sure they were photographing on the other side of the glass. “Yeah, we did.” She smiled. “It’ll be okay. We can handle this.”

He nodded and pushed open the door, his other hand squeezing hers. He glanced back at her. “I love yeh, monster.”

“I love you too, baby.” She threaded their fingers together. “Let’s do this shit.”

**

“Who is Jamie Schwartz?”

She paused and looked up at Harry who was frowning, eyebrows down over his eyes as he passed another shirt over to Lou.

“‘Scuse me, Lou.”

Lou nodded and followed Harry and Jamie as they made their way into the living area of their suite.

The tv had been set to the local news, now a grainy paparazzi picture of her, complete with sunglasses and a jacket she hadn’t worn for at least six months, dominated the screen.

“Back in July, at the London premiere of Dunkirk, Harry Styles, singer and former One Direction heartthrob, revealed that he had a girlfriend, rather cryptically referring to her simply as ‘My Girlfriend,’ despite repeated questions from the Press. Last week it was revealed that the mystery blonde woman seen at the premiere, was the same woman who’d been gracing the stage as one of the guitarists in the singer’s band. The question now is: Who is Jamie Schwartz, how’d she meet Hazza and how long have they been dating?”

The picture faded out and the camera panned over a small panel of entertainment news ‘correspondents’. A blonde woman smiled at the camera. “Here’s what we know: Jamie Schwartz is an twenty-two-year-old studio guitarist with Columbia records from San Antonio, Texas. Her work has been featured in the works of artists as varied as Daft Punk and Willie Nelson to John Legend and John Mayer. She is also the lead guitarist of a indie country-rock band called Spike and Devil and one of two harmonic guitarists in Styles’ tour band.”

Another ‘correspondent’ smiled. “That’s rather impressive.”

The original woman smiled and nodded. “I agree. She is rumoured to be rather well-known amongst the music industry in LA and Nashville and is apparently an in-demand talent.”

“This isn’t too bad…”

Harry sat and pulled Jamie into his lap. “Let’s wait til the end, love. These things have a tendency to get a bit out of control.”

“She is listed among the writers on Styles’ new self-titled album, apparently co-writing guitar parts with Mitchell Rowland. Since we know that most of the album was written in Jamaica, we can assume that the couple met there. We know that despite playing guitar at every one of Styles’ promotional performances in the Spring, no one seemed to put two and two together when she was photographed at dinner and kissing the singer in June.”

One of the panel members, a brunette woman, laughed. “Who dropped that ball, am I right? Like how do you miss that a curlyheaded, tattooed blonde woman seems to be everywhere that Harry Styles is especially when there are pictures of Harry effin’ Styles kissing a curlyheaded, tattooed blonde woman. Someone done messed up.”

Harry grinned against her shoulder. “I did always wonder how they didn’t figure that out.”

“They weren’t there to look at us, they were there to look at you.” She kissed his forehead. “That they didn’t notice me means I was doin’ my job and not distracting anyone from you.”

“We also know that she is going to be a media troll. Watch this video, taken last week in LA by paparazzi:

‘Are you Jamie Schwartz?’ ‘No.’ ‘Shit! Did she leave already?’ ‘You sure she works for Columbia?’

Harry laughed against her shoulder as the brunette on the show hit the table in front of her. “I don’t blame Harry for wanting to date this girl. I want to date her. That was the living embodiment of that ‘deal with it’ meme.”

“When confronted by the same paparazzi and asked why she lied, she apparently shrugged and said ‘Do you blame me?’ What we don’t know is how long the couple have been dating. They very easily could’ve started dating in Jamaica, which would mean that they are nearing their first anniversary, or at any time since. They were, of course, seen getting cozy in a Tex-Mex restaurant in LA in June, good on Haz for embracing his lady-love’s culture. Any thoughts?”

The man on the panel, the only who hadn’t spoken yet, decided to give his opinion, a vaguely sour look on his face. “I just don’t get it. He could have anyone he wanted. He’s dated models and probably had sex with some of the most attractive women on the planet and he’s dating edgy alt-Taylor Swift?”

The brunette frowned. “What are you? An idiot?”

Harry nodded. “Yes, he is.”

“Oh I’m sorry! Short, fat alt-Taylor.” The man shrugged. “She must be good in bed.”

“Why does anyone want to spend their time talking about this shit?” She turned to face Harry. “Who wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, ‘I think it’s a good day to opine on the lives of people I’ve never met and then sit and criticize them? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t even know.” He kissed her softly. “Don’t listen to it. Yer beautiful and I love yeh…” He tried for a grin, trying to cheer her up, make her smile. “Yeh are good in bed, I won’t argue with that but that’s not why I’m with yeh and I know yeh know that.”

She kissed his forehead. “I know, baby. I love you, too. I’m just a bit shocked, is all. I expected something like this but...fuck.” She leaned against him, her chin against his hair. “I hate that you had to go through all of this alone.”

“Alone, love?”

She nodded. “I have you, so this is unpleasant but I have you and I can handle it. I just can’t imagine.”

“Yeh are a fantastic human being.” Harry kissed her. “I am so in love with yeh. Truly. I’m sorry he’s a dickhead, love.”

“It’s not your fault. I want to find that man and punch him.”

“I want to help yeh.”

**

“So it begins,” she whispered to Mitch as she checked her connections and made sure her pedals were in easy reach.

Mitch chuckled, doing the same, and then grinned at her. “Nervous?”

She shrugged. “I don’t want anything to distract from this. I’m worried that all this shit about our relationship will.. will- I don’t want people to come here expecting some sort of relationship side-show. I want them to be here because they love Harry and they love his music. I don’t want to be a distraction or for it to seem like this relationship is some media plow on either of our parts.”

Mitch reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “No one who really knows either of you or has ever been in the same room with you two, can possibly think that. It doesn’t make sense. You two are some of the most genuine people I have ever met and anyone can see how much you love each other. It won’t be a distraction. There will be some fans who bring that stuff in here but he has an established fanbase and they were coming whether he was in a relationship or not. Just do good work and it’ll be fine.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Mitch. Love ya.”

“How many times have you said that exact same sentence to me?” Mitch shrugged. “‘Just do good work and it’ll be fine.’ ‘Don’t worry, Mitchy-moo, just do good work.’ ‘You can do it. Just do good work.’ I’m just reminding you of your own advice, Jamie-Wamie. Also love ya too.”

She smiled and got set, eyes on Harry’s back as he took his spot on the stage. This is really happening.

Harry turned and blew her a kiss and she caught it before returning it. “I’d say break a leg but you’d take it seriously and you’ve got eighty-something tour dates to keep.”

He laughed, hand over his mic. He mouthed ‘I love you’ and she mouthed it back.

He turned and counted off quietly. They started Ever Since New York and the lights lit him up against the screen and they could hear the crowd go wild. She smiled against the riot of emotion and pride and sheer love she had for the man at the microphone. The screen fell and the crowd exploded.

They performed the first few songs and then Harry took a break to chat with his fans. Her and Mitch shuffled around, changing guitars.

“What is #TeamHarmie?”

She ignored it, grabbing a hollow body electric for Sweet Creature while Mitch picked up his electric.

“Monster!”

She turned suddenly, staring at Harry confused, and leaned into her mic. “Yes, baby?”

The crowd aww’d and she blushed, having forgotten what exactly was happening.

Harry smiled, still at his mic. “What do yeh think Team Harmie is?”

She shrugged, adjusting her guitar on her shoulder. “Dunno. What is it?”

“Harmie is our couple name apparently.” He grinned. “And Team Harmie are the people who ship us, I think it’s called.”

She chuckled. “Okay. I dig it.”

He grinned. “I love that. I also want to put forward #TeamJarry, because of equality, and #TeamShoeObsession, because she’s as bad as me and don’t let her lie to yeh.”

Part V Part VII

[darkshreaders]

a random stupid story “super mario 64″ how original of a name anyways enjoy this cringey story

I always liked Super Mario 64 when I was a kid. I remember playing it at my aunt's house all the time. Well, one day a pop-up appeared out of nowhere as I was watching gameplay footage on YouTube. I was a little startled, and was about to close the window, until I realized that it was a website showing of a mint condition copy of Super Mario 64 for sale. There was a picture and everything. I usually don't trust these things, but the feeling of nostalgia overpowered me, and I wanted to buy it.

The whole business was peculiar, seeing as how the owner of the game wanted the buyer to send an envelope containing $10 to and address on the site, instead of using something like PayPal. What made things even more strange was that when I tried to gain access to the website (I wrote down the URL) after encountering... problems with the game, the page was nowhere to be found.

A few days after the $10 was mailed, I got a package containing the new copy of the game. The first thing I noticed when I opened the small box was that the "official sticker" with Mario flying in the air was apparently peeled off or something. In its place was a piece of duct tape with "Mario" crudely written on it in permanent marker. I felt a little ripped-off, but as long as the game worked, I didn't care.

I got out my Nintendo 64 and put the cartridge in. The screen turned on with the familiar Mario face that you could stretch and twist aimlessly. I remembered laughing all the time at the results as a kid and decided to mess around for old times sake. I moved the cursor over to Mario's ear and pulled it to elven proportions. I was going to do the same to the other ear, when the TV suddenly produced loud static. Mario's whole head started deforming and twisting in ways that I didn't even know were possible for the model. Random sound effects from the game started playing along with the static. As all this was occurring, I could hear a faint voice whispering in Japanese. The voice was stammering and whimpering.

I immediately shut off the game and tried again. I didn't bother with the Mario head this time. Just selected a new file and started playing.

When I selected the file, the game skipped the opening monologue by Peach and the courtyard outside. Mario was just placed right inside the castle. Creepier still, Bowser didn't say anything either. I tried to ignore it and played anyway. However I also noticed that there was no music. Just dead silence. There weren't even any Toads around to talk to. The only door I could enter was the Bob-omb Battlefield. The other doors wouldn't even respond to my button commands.

The portrait to Bob-omb Battlefield wasn't the usual picture. It was just a stark white canvas. I was still trying to convince myself that these were just minor glitches, and that they wouldn't effect the gameplay at all. Once I entered the portrait, the image suddenly went from a blank canvas to the Lethal Lava Land painting. You know, that slightly unsettling image of the flame with the evil smile? Yeah, that's when I started getting really suspicious.

The mission select menu came up, and yet another weird detail was present. Instead of "Big Bob-omb on the Summit", the mission was called "TURN BACK". I have no idea what drove me to press A, but I did.

The level seemed normal. Everything was how I remembered it. I thought I could finally enjoy my favorite childhood game. But then I saw him. Luigi. I was absolutely shocked. He was never in this game. His model wasn't even a Mario palette swap. He looked like a completely original model. Luigi just stood there until I tried to approach him. He started running at unexpected speeds. I followed suit and went through the level. Strange things happened as I pursued him. Each time I picked up a coin, the enemies and music would get slower, and the scenery would look darker in color and more morbid. It kept gradually getting worse until I collected a 5th coin. Then, the music just stopped. The enemies laid down on the ground like they were dead. I was seriously freaked out, but I kept chasing Luigi.

I went up the hill. No cannon balls rolled down trying to knock me over. I really wasn't surprised at this point. Luigi was always just out of my sight as I ran. Once I reached the summit, I saw yet another object out of place. A small cottage was all that was seen on the top of the hill. Luigi was nowhere to be found. The cottage was certainly odd-looking for a Mario game. It was old, plain, and broken down. Regardless of my fears at that moment, I had Mario enter the cottage.

As soon as the door closed. A disturbing picture of a hanged Luigi immediately popped up along with a very frightening scare chord. It sounded like a violin screech accompanied by loud piano banging. Mario fell to his knees and sobbed for roughly 5 minutes, then the screen irised-out.

I returned to the castle. Mario just slumped out of the painting. The image switched from the Lethal Lava Land portrait to the image of Luigi hanging himself. The room was different this time. It was now a small hallway. Toads with blank expressions and white robes lined the sides of the hallway. There was another painting at the opposite end that just completely and utterly scared me. It was a picture of my family It wasn't even a photo from the time Super Mario 64 was released. It was a very, very recent photo. I remembered posing for it last weekend.

I reached for the on/off switch on the N64. There was no way I was going to play this anymore. However, when I flipped the switch, the game was still on. I flipped it back and forth, but to no avail. I tried unplugging the whole system, but it never left the screen. I was even still able to control Mario. I couldn't just leave it on forever... so I kept playing. I went to the photo of my family, and jumped in. Only one mission was available, of course. This one was called "Run, Don't Walk". I selected the mission. 'Let's-a-go'...

The level started in a flooded hallway with platforms floating on the water. Mario landed on one of these, and the camera turned to show what was behind. A silent black void was slowly approaching Mario. It didn't look like anything. It didn't even look like finished graphics. Just a giant, blocky, black blob. I started jumping from platform to platform. With no goal in sight, I kept running, the darkness slowly but surely gaining speed. This kept going on for what felt like hours. I was really doubting there would ever be an end. Mario was just going in circles. Finally, the black blob/void/thing caught up with Mario, and enveloped him in darkness. He didn't scream or resist at all. It just consumed him.

Mario fell out of the painting and back into the castle. I lost one of my 3 lives. The room was different now. Some of the Toads were gone, and the painting looked different. My family and I were in the same positions, but our bodies were partially decomposed. It looked too real to be Photo-shopped. It looked more like someone just took our dead bodies and posed them.

Regardless, I jumped into the painting again. Mario was in a small room. There was still only one mission available. It was called "I'm right here." spelled just like that. I selected the mission and prepared for the worst. Mario landed in a small, dark room. There no visible way out. The room was empty except for a piano in the corner. I knew what that meant. I was stuck in there with the Mad Piano. I approached it and it started chasing me as always. There was no way to damage it, so I had no choice but to let Mario take damage.

When he lost all his health, the usual death animation didn't happen. Mario just got mauled by the piano. He fell as his blood and guts spilled on the floor, and the camera panned to a top down view of his corpse. A distorted version of the merry-go-round music from Big Boo's Haunt played as the screen slowly transitioned from the in-game shot to a photo-realistic sketch of Mario's dead body in the same view as the shot. It was very unsettling. I was crying softly as I gazed upon the image. I lost another life.

The photo of my family was shown again. We were even more rotten then before. The view zoomed into the painting, like I was warping again. I was greeted with a shot of Peach's castle from the outside. The castle was crumbling in ruin. The fields were on fire. The sky was pitch black. Bowser's laugh played on a loop in the background as children mockingly chanted, "You couldn't save her!" This went on for a long time, until, a close-up of Peach's face accompanied by an extremely loud screech interrupted the loop without notice. Peach's mouth was wide open as if she was screaming, and her eyes were empty, black holes.

Suddenly, I was back in the hallway as Mario was once again ejected out of the painting. Now all of the Toads were gone, and me and my family looked positively repulsive. Maggots were wriggling around in holes in our flesh. Guts were spilling out of our bodies. My dad's eyeball was hanging loose from its socket. It was too much to bear, but something still urged me to trudge on. I jumped into the painting, with only one life remaining.

This time, there was no name for the mission. Just a blank space where the title would be. I selected the mission, and Mario landed on a very small island in the middle of the ocean. There was a solitary sign. It only read "DIVE." I did just as it said and entered the water.

The ocean was dark and empty. There were no fish. I wasn't even able to see anything in the water besides Mario. I swam downwards. I kept going for quite some time, yet Mario never ran out of breath. I counted roughly 10 minutes of swimming until I decided to go back up. Just as I turned Mario around, it came. A huge, and I mean huge Unagi the Eel came out of nowhere and swallowed Mario whole. I was dumbfounded. It went by so fast I wasn't even sure what I saw. The Game Over screen didn't show up. All that happened was a fade-out.

The photo of my family and I was shown again. We were plain skeletons now. Once again, it looked very real. I couldn't move the camera at all. It just stayed focused on the picture. I shut off the game and turned it on again. I chose my file, but it just went to the skeleton photo of my family. I tried this about three more times before giving up. I desperately wanted to stop, but some force kept me from walking away. I decided to select the only other saved file. The camera once again focused on the skeleton picture, but this time they were in a different position. As if they were a different family.