#and the drama itself still lingering me while also brought back memories of the past incidents

[aidenknow]

Gonna say something before I get busy

With the situation going on with me with allegations such as inappropriate behavior with minors, stalking, harassment etc while also have involvement with the MoA group and Cashew, I have to say something about it especially since it seems like I’m the main problem to it. Though I cannot say much of it at the moment due to the complexity of the drama itself while also have to deal with IRL stuff like university

The main reason why I blocked the callout accounts was for the sake of my mental health and stopping myself from making myself paranoid and bothered going back and forth looking at what I had done, despite it was stopped a few months ago. Wherever you are, yes I am aware of what I had done, just that it really drained me a lot to process this. Most of the decisions were done with advices from others. Talked to my close friends and taking with someone and their advices on the things I dealt with lately. It takes a while for me to calm myself down to a stable state especially when things going on right now is busy for me. When this post is done, that is when I have calmed myself, though there are things in my head that still lingers in me.

Anything involved with Cashew was me fawning over her, mainly because I dont want to hurt her feelings. I was clueless on what is going on other than comforting Cashew, despite the things I comforted her ends up feeding the hate towards her victim. When Cashew said that we (me and the people in the MoA group) manipulated and enabled her, I was furious by it while she also provided screenshots of the MoA creators tracing the art from other artists (note that they only traced the poses, while also had a different understanding what tracing were in their definition) despite the fact it was from months ago. Plus, the issue regarding the “traced” art was brought up before to me by Fortress. Fortress did not brought the issue up directly to the MoA creators but instead at other people who are newly acquainted with them, one of which was me. I felt violated and I was shaken by it because its not something I was not supposed to deal with. People say they wanted to settle in DMs. If so, why are you settle with someone who is not responsible with that particular issues? Why did you bring up about the tracing issues as if its a big deal if the MoA creators already stop doing it since February?

The fact that someone attempted to call the police on me is too far, in my opinion. Thankfully it never happened since I lived from a different country. But even when they did called on me, that would’ve considered as doxxing. They probably aren’t aware that the country I live in is really lgbtphobic which could’ve got me into physical punishments and my family is pretty conservative. Additionally, I would’ve been discarded from uni if they tried to attempt it which make it difficult. Though, it is more likely it would not work since my country have laws that are possibly different to the laws in the US, and most of the situation happens online and not IRL.

To those who stayed, I am grateful for it and I wanted to thank to those who reassured me due to the situation going on while being at my side. Though I apologize if those issues I shared regarding the situation I dealt with bothered you, along with those people who also got into the mess similar to me. For the people who stayed neutral with the situation, I’m glad that people make the decision to analyze the situation going on and pointed out certain points that does not add up, or when something is missing.

I’ll be only lurking here liking and reblogging some art here. Art stuff will be posted less frequently and it’s mostly going to be doodles and possibly some art stuff I did for uni. Social interaction will be only done within my remaining online friends (mainly those from the MoA group and people who were in the server(s) I’m formerly in) on Discord, unless I decided to reconnect with the people I rarely talked to. Adding on, I’ll also be interacting with my IRL friends on Twitter and Instagram since those are the only social medias that they are active roaming around the most and I wanted to (re)connect with them esp since I’m in uni now.

I’m planning to do a response to the Cashew doc if I have time, since I already talked to the writer of the doc and it was already settled on the decisions before the acc itself deactivated, but the doc itself is still up. Once I made the response, I will also share the post my friend made regarding it too

Anyways, I’ll see you around.

[kpurereactions]

Love Shot

CHAPTER 1

A/N: Hello lovelies, Ive been working on this piece for quite a while now and im finally ready to post it. This was inspired by one of my favorite fics of all time, Good Girl, but given my own little twist. I hope you all love Love Shot as much as I do.

Pairing: Exo x Reader

Rating: Drama, Angst, Smut, Fluff

WARNINGS: Language, Eventual Violence, Lots of Smut Later on

Chapter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

I let a smile touch my lips before taking a deep breath in, nodding once at the crisp evening air before turning to lock the door of my new combined studio and apartment. It was the first day where fall really felt like fall. The scent of rain lingered under the dense clouds and the sun was already halfway gone.  I had moved back to Seoul only three months ago after being gone for only a little under a year. I had originally came to Seoul to get my masters in painting and painting theory,  though I quickly gained enough local fame and connections that no one could quite understand why I left. So I came back.

I stood on the side of the road, my arm outstretched as I wait for a cab. My closest friend from school in the city was opening his gallery tonight and from the posts on my snapchat I could tell a lot of old classmates were already there. Song Mino was the first friend I made when I first moved here. He was talented and refused to fit into the art box the professor tried to force all his students into, as if art should be something someone else tells you to do. It should be your own thing. We had that in common. My style is simplistic. Aesthetic. Easy to look at, but the more you look the more you see behind the top layer. We both strived to challenge the viewer, and because of that we grew really close in our attempt to stick it to the man.

The first show is always the biggest event of an artist's career, and knowing I was seconds away from Mino’s brought another smile to my face as excitement seemed to run through my toes. I couldn't believe how hard he had been working, despite him refusing to let me see anything he had made to showcase.

The gallery itself was breathtaking, I couldn't help but note the obviously more ‘manly’ stain he had chosen for the wooden columns that broke the continuous glass of the front of the gallery. I was the one who helped him make his mind up. I took it in as it was its own work of art before I even walked up the short staircase to the front doors. The tall white walls were similar to my own space, but his had matching wooden floors and walls that were scattered around the room that broke your vision from seeing everything at once. I gave myself another smile as I noticed familiar faces of old classmates and Professors.

It didn't surprise me when I first walked in that I was being asked about the past year and how I’ve been. I was hard to miss, not just because I stood taller than a majority of the women in the room. The constant questioning reminded me why I chose to fail at reaching out when I got back. I made a point to keep trying to catch eye contact with Mino, who only seemed to mask the chuckle from escaping his lips, choosing to leave me to struggle with the boring repetition of the conversations I was having. I finally found the opportunity to excuse myself and all but power walk over to Mino, pretending not to see anyone else I recognized.

“American style!” He said excitedly, pulling me into a hug.

“Don't you ever leave me to the wolves like that again” I whispered in his ear before pulling back. “Mino this is awesome, I’ve only seen a few pieces but im so proud of you!” I said covering up my mild threat before hugging him tightly again. He chuckled with bright eyes before giving my arms a squeeze.  His eyes widened as he remembered the man standing next to him.

“Y/n, this is Junmyeon. He is a curator who graduated a few years before us. I've been telling him about your work.” He said as my attention moved to the slick haired man.

“You were talking about me at your own opening?” I said reaching for his hand to shake it.

“I actually asked specifically about you.” Junmyeon said with a soft smile that slowly grew.

“Oh, wow.” I tried to get out past the sound of my heart fluttering at his radiant smile. “Its very nice to meet you then.”

I was informed that Junmyeon was planning on stopping by my studio in the next few days, which brought on a new wave a nerves I've never experienced before. It wasn't until Mino placed his hand on my back to excuse the two of us could I finally breathe.

“Jesus, why is he so intimidating?” I said looking back over my shoulder as he dipped his chin to take a sip of his drink.

“If you think he’s intimidating your crazy” Mino said, leading me over to the first piece he wanted to show me.

“Did he asked to buy any of your work?” I asked before he could change the topic.

“All of it.” Mino said with a big smile.

“All of it?!”

“Yes. He’ll probably buy a lot of your stuff too. It’s more his style anyways.”

“Oh my god.” I said shaking my head.

I let Mino take control of the conversation as he began to explain the clay molded figure in front of us. I spent the rest of my time there following Mino around, while sipping on my wine and listening to him talk. Even though, as much as I was paying attention, it was hard to get your mind off of Junmyeon.

“Promise me you wont sell this one. I know you promised everything but see if this one could be an exception. I want to buy it.” I said pointing at a tall, organic figure of a woman. The memory of when Mino had made it flooded back as it was my first time to ever pose for another artist.

“Ill ask.” he said smiling before taking my hand and leading me to the next piece.

I tried to stay as late as I could. Mino was off somewhere talking art leaving me once again to be interrogated by my former classmates who all seemed to be very smug about the fact that I had yet to have an opening. It didn't matter what valid excuse I would give, they only cared that it hasn't happened yet. Thankfully I must have looked as uncomfortable as I felt since a hand wrapped around my arm to pull me back. I was just about to thank Mino for coming back and saving me when I turned to face Junmyeon.

“You didn't look too excited about that.” He said looking back over to the three girls who were all staring with confused and almost jealous looks in their eyes.

“Good to know it was obvious.” I said taking a sip of wine. Just as I was about to say something else Mino walked up.

“I think I'm going to head out. I have a pick up early in the morning.” I said, trying not to make it sound like I was at my ropes end with the girls who had added whispering to their staring. I smiled and quickly kissed Mino’s cheek softly before turning to Junmyeon and shaking his hand again, trying to do so without having to hear a protest from Mino.

The air outside sobered me up a little, and because of how nice it was outside I couldn't help but smile and start to walk down the sidewalk. Mino’s studio wasn't that far from mine, just a few blocks down and a horseshoe turn away, so I placed my hands in my coat pocket and began to walk. I let my eyes wander from the fashion that was passing me to the way the lights reflected off the puddles left from the rain that morning. Just as I was really starting to enjoy my walk the sky opened again, soft raindrops falling from the sky.

I sighed, of course this would happen. Clocking where I was I dipped into an alley, deciding the fastest way to get out of the rain in my heels would be to cut through the alleyways. Usually this idea was fine. I would maybe run into one or two strangers, but they were usually restaurant owners who were taking the trash out or sweeping their areas so the sound of voices deeper in the alley didn't really bother me.

“Kai come on! Oh my god no.” I heard a man laugh deeper into the darkness of the alley. But as I got closer to my studios back door I realized the figure I could hardly make out at first were men. Multiple men. Usually this wouldn't bother me but as I got closer the feeling of fear in the pit of my stomach started to deepen and deepen.

I took a deep breath when I started to pass them, my heart beating a million miles a minute while trying to keep a poker face to seem unphased so they wouldn't pay me any mind. Until they did.

“Hey wait!” I heard one of them call. I quicken my step slightly. Not to show I was scared, but just incase. “Wait, where are you going? I’ll walk you home.”

I looked up to see a half lit face walking backwards in front of me. I squinted slightly to try to get my eyes to adjust to what was under the ball cap he wore, but there was no use.

‘Shit’ I thought. I was staring too long. I looked away and quickened my step again.

“Oh come on! At least tell me your name!” He shouted after he stopped, his voice now behind me.

I was able to breathe again once my key was in my door, officially sure he stopped following me. But still the shape of the man's mouth was enough to stay in my brain as I flicked the lights to my gallery on and made my way upstairs to my bed.

___

“Mino I swear they were so scary.” I said pushing my denim painting shirt up past my elbows before wrapping my hands around the coffee cup that sat in front of me.

“I just don't understand why you didnt call a cab when you left.” He said sitting back in his chair, obviously taking it out on himself for not seeing me off safely.

“I just wanted to walk. I didn't plan on going through the alley.” I grumbled. I hated when Mino tried to school me. He was only a few months older than I was, and although I knew here it meant something different, he also knew that where I’m from it didn't.

“Do you at least remember what they looked like?” He asked, noticing my mood change.

“Um.. kind of. There were like five or six of them, but I only got a good look at one of them. He was a little taller than you, pillow lips… he was wearing a hat so I really didn't get a good look at his eyes. But he had to have been an athlete of some sort.” I said, my words getting quieter as I realized I would have had nothing to go off of if something bad had happened.

The coffee date ended with Mino once again scolding me, which I knew I deserved, but there was only so much I could take without pouting all the way home. I couldn't help thinking about the man in the hat. Why he was there in the alley with his friends. Why did he follow me, but then give up so easily? It's not like his friends were calling him back. If he was going to bother me in the first place, why give up? The more I thought about what had happened the more I worked myself up. They probably saw me unlock my door. What if they showed up in my studio? What if they came back with more people?

I half thought about texting Mino, but knew there was no point. He would be more worried about it than I was and he had better things to do then baby sit me in my own home. So instead, the moment I got inside I turned my windows down, making sure no one could see inside my studio incase they were passing to see if I was there. It was weird, though, this new set fear was enough to put me into overdrive. My inspiration hit me in my face and I couldn't pull a fresh canvas out fast enough to get the blurred images of last night down.

———

Music played loudly as I was lost in my own world. A galaxy of light and dark colors swirled and blended into one another across my canvas creating the confusing, but exciting pattern that seemed to get better with every stroke.

I was pulled out of my own head when the sound of someone's voice yelling over the music made me look up. I smiled to see Junmyeon and two other men trailing him into the room.

“Oh! One second please!” I said trying to press pause with the clean part of my palm. “Sorry, I didn't realize how loud that had gotten.” I said wiping my hand on my shirt before shaking Junmyeons hand.

“Its fine, good to see your working so hard because I brought with me two potential buyers.” He said gesturing to the two men on his left. “This is Byun Baekhyun and Kim Jongin.” He said.

I smiled shaking Baekhyun's hand, but the moment I met Jongin's eyes I felt my body stiffened slightly. He was familiar. Almost to familiar. I forced the feeling to be shaken off though, there was no reason why he would have possibly been brought into my studio if he had been hiding out in the alleyway behind the building the night before. Or at least I had hoped. But there was something about the way he smiled at me that made me feel like he knew it too. That he had seen me the night prior too.

I tried hard not to think about it. If Junmyeon was there, I was safe and if he was the man he probably wouldn't try to do anything with two other people there to witness. I turned my attention back to Junmyeon who asked if he could look through my paintings.

“Oh of course. And the racks on this back wall have more in it. I rotate them so the ones that are up are only there because they have a similar theme.” I said before trying to smile as normal as possible and turning back to my easel.

My drive was gone. I was too busy focusing on Jongin, who stood there supporting his chin in his hand as he listens to Junmyeon explain why he liked a certain piece. I took this opportunity to text Mino. Now if any would be a good time to alert him.

Mino, I think the guy from last night in the hat is in my studio with Junmyeon. I don't know what to do.

“Y/n, were looking to fill a room. Do you have any others with these same earthy tones?” Junmyeon said, pulling my attention away from my phone.

“Oh, yes. There over here.” I said smiling, slipping my phone into my back pocket before leading the men over to the opposite wall. I walked them through my color schemes, explaining to them the way I had everything organized just incase they changed their mind on a color or style they wanted. I was surprised Junmyeon and Baekhyun were able to distract me from the thoughts swirling in my head for the rest of the time they were there, but it helped that Jongin stayed behind us, obviously not trying to chime in.

“Y/n, thank you once again for taking us in on such short notice. We will take the one on the wall and the two that have been stored if they are not already spoken for.”  

“Of course, Ill wrap them for you so they’re ready to be taken.” I said turning to make a mental note as to which ones it was.

“Thank you again. We will be in touch.” He said, bowing his head slightly before taking my hand in a soft, yet firm hand shake.

“Thank you.” Baekhyun said sweetly as he took my hand next.

“Good to see you again. I hope to see you in the future as well” Jongin said with a small wink before taking my hand and giving it a firm shake.

The moment his hand touched mine my heart dropped. There couldn't be a way that was really him. The moment the door closed I reached for my phone again only to see Mino hadn't responded. It didn't stop me from quickly typing out another message, though.

It was him. It had to be him. Why else would he tell me it was good to see me again before winking if it wasn't him?

I looked up to see their backs bending one by one to get into the large black vehicle they came in, and once I was sure the door to the vehicle was closed and they weren't looking I quickly walked forward and locked the door again before backing up to my easel where I desperately tried to finish my work before deciding to just give up.

I couldn't focus. Not while finishing, not while making myself dinner, and not while I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep. I rolled to my side and reached for my phone. 3:00am. I sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of my bed, taking my blanket with me and wrapping it tightly around my shoulders. I made your way up to the railing of my room slowly which allowed me look down onto my gallery. I wrapped the blanket closer over my shoulders before letting my elbows rest on the railing so I was more comfortably looking out the window. I smiled to myself finally feeling calm again. I loved how quiet the streets were at night. How all the colors of the lights around seemed to mix together on the rained on asphalt that laid below them.

It felt calm. But as my eyes were scanning I couldn't help but see two figures standing across the street. I squinted my eyes to try to catch a reflection of who the people were only to realize it was Jongin and Junmyeon. I stared at the two in shock as they talked across the road. They seemed to be laughing. I tried to calm myself down, telling myself they were probably just out getting drinks and just so happened to be standing across the street from my apartment. But then I remembered what the time was. I couldn't stop myself from panicking, and just as I was about to turn to hide myself, my eyes met with Jongin’s.

I didn't know it was possible for my heart to drop even further into my stomach as he gave me a devilish grin and wink. I scrambled back to my bedside table where I quickly reached for the remote that controls my space, knocking it off the table before I was able to press the button that made my windows go solid.  

Chapter 2

[ngame989]

SVTFOE 4A Prediction/Analysis Master Post

So we just had the first two episodes come out, and overall I enjoyed them. There’s been a lot of mixed reactions to the details, from myself included, so let’s dive in a bit. Apologies for when this becomes a giant wall of text in the back half, I'm not digging through promos for images.

Butterfly Follies

In the first episode, 98% of it is focused on Star feeling like shit because Moon is missing and nothing she does to try and find her works, and other people keep telling her she is screwing it up. Yeah, many of us thought this theme of “Star screwing up” would extend a bit more concretely to stuff with Marco and Tom, and it was present but only a tiny bit as a reminder. Her interaction with Tom was basically just a reminder that the situation from after Booth Buddies hadn’t budged - Star still was barely paying attention to him, Tom was still not really a companion to her at all, it just isn’t working, but they haven’t talked about it yet.

Tomstar has always had the candy coating of a romantic relationship (nicknames, handholding, occasional smooching, gossip and drama, etc) with virtually nothing underneath. We see this over and over - Demoncism has a genuine emotional connection between them in that moment, but once their relationship starts up again, it takes until Is Another Mystery for even a hint of true, genuine support between them, and it still doesn’t extend to either of them considering the other as a life companion at all. Most of it is going through the motions for both of them. When everyone’s lives were on the line, Tom stepped up, but this doesn’t immediately make him Marco 2 - the issues that existed before, the lack of commitment and drive between them (still candy-coated by nicknames and whatnot) is as present as ever, and arguably more so, now that Star has the events of the end of S3 dwelling somewhere in the recesses of her mind. Plus we get a moment of Tom checking in with Marco about Star’s comment, showing once again that Marco is the one Tom actually turns to for genuine support.

Contrast that with Starco in these episodes. Yes, it’s not magically perfect, there’s still lots of stuff to resolve and many people (myself included) have felt that it was a bit “off” (more on that soon). But there’s still a genuine sense of progression, where Marco is comfortable being close with Star again, being emotional support, even if he doesn’t always know how to help.

As predicted, Eclipsa’s style of ruling has mostly been “make disliking monsters entirely illegal because that’s Equality™” and it’s not working out so well for true social change. I expect this to be a major plot point moving forward.

Honestly, I dunno what all to make of the details of Glossy’s lines here. Considering the situation with Toffee was pretty explicitly Glossaryck’s intentional method of teaching Star how to do things her own way, this definitely isn’t literal. Maybe he’s playing 4D chess, and Star questioning whether Glossaryck was misleading her is all part of how he leads her. There’s a... nonzero chance, I suppose, that there is some more direct connection here and trying to fix past mistakes (since time travel is brought up very shortly) but I’d be incredibly shocked and largely appalled if that’s where things actually head.

(Skipping around on photos a bit here to just get the point across)

So let’s talk about this for a moment, shall we? I’ve seen a lot of talk about this photo and how it’s really sketchy that Star apparently knew it was from the future the whole time, given its past importance in Starcrushed. Granted, we don’t know exactly how it’s going to pay off yet, but I’ll take a strong educated guess - it’s basically a gag because the writers thought it would be fun. A relevant gag and kind of an asspull, yes, but still just a gag. Yes, the photo is now factually from the future and will be relevant again in that capacity, but I’m entirely convinced that the point of it wasn’t to intentionally retcon something about Starcrushed or anything like that - a meaningful photo of Star and Marco was used in Season 2 to generically remind her of their “good times” and their relationship as a whole, and that same photo was used here as a promise of happiness to come, and the primary purpose of the photo in each case is how it was written for that case.

I know it’s not a satisfying explanation, but it is entirely consistent with this show to have details occur that are largely arbitrary and inconsistent, and there’s a consistency to that inconsistency. Adult Marco is another example, Janna implying Kelly maybe had feelings for Marco in Stump Day is another, any time Star yeeted a high school student into some pit of horrors is another. All of these are situations where, if you examine them thoroughly as a whole and consider all the possible implications, they get kind of sketchy really fast. Yes, it is frustrating at times, but I think you just have to roll with it - Marco has memories of a 30 year old when the boarders want to make a cool reference before Marco does a bunch of fancy weapon tricks, but it never affects his normal existence unless it’s needed for a joke/reference. Janna says something that implies complicated romance drama incoming when the boarders want girly banter to accompany dudes fighting, but it doesn’t go anywhere beyond that. Star has a body count on Earth but she’s not a wanted criminal, probably. The consistency here is that if the show kind of glosses over some sort of possible implication and plays it off for a gag, then that’s what you should take it as.

Again, I don’t know exactly how this will pay itself off, but I have an incredibly strong suspicion that the answer to “what were the boarders thinking when they did this??? It screws up a core moment in Starcrushed!!!” is that they weren’t thinking about that. COULD they actually do something more in-depth with the time travel aspect? I guess, but “throwing organic core moments of character/relationship growth under the bus for the sake of wacky over-the-top plot” sounds like the opposite of this show. I’ll cover more about how I think this might actually work later.

A lot of people said Star and Marco felt like acquaintances this episode, and not best friends. I understand where they’re coming from - there weren’t all kinds of hugs and affection flying around, their talks were awkward. But this honestly makes a lot of sense for where we’re at now. We’re completely over the hump where they they're hesitant to even think of themselves as best buddies, where they’re struggling with their feelings just to spend time with the other. Marco is back to making all attempts to be her close friend and companion and support, Star is comfortable around him... but, there’s still some lingering “OK we moved forward from here, what now?” We saw in Divide that a simple hug between them brought out strong feelings for both of them. I think a lot of the awkwardness remaining could be attributed to the strong sour mood of the situation overall, but part of it could also be a subconscious “OK, Marco confessing his feelings made things better, and we’re OK being close, but...” lingering, waiting to be addressed. And given pancake and cereal clips, it will be soon.

Escape from the Pie Folk

I have less to say about this episode, it was fairly straightforward, honestly. It was 22 minutes of adventure and fights while trying to find and steal away Moon - lot of really fun and well-executed humor, it definitely was a strong showing for pretty much all the parts of the show besides “focus on the relationship growth of Star and Marco”.

More Marco trying to be constantly supportive, but still maybe having a bit of lingering tension in the how.

And sweet family moments.

Overall, a very isolated situation, honestly. The actions and interactions of the characters were put in a very specific, very focused situation where “finding Moon” overrode anything else, and didn’t allow for much other special elements to shine through. I liked the episodes, but some part of me was disappointed that most developments besides Moon were put on pause for the premiere. Still, resolving this in its entirety straight away sets up for some pretty strong coverage of the rest...

INTERMISSION

Let’s take a moment to talk about compartmentalization and the rules of TV pacing. I love Star vs the Forces of Evil, and I’m sure many of you do, even if its infuriating and painful at times. A lot of times. But I definitely think the show is special and does things differently than many others, to an extent. And that extent is key - I like to think of it as content vs structure. Content-wise, it is rather different from what you might expect (especially with character/relationship development). Characters come first, always, and there isn’t a sense of outside drama pushing characters around like ragdolls, changing their relationships and emotions in ways that they aren’t already naturally primed to at that moment. Romance isn’t handled as a drama-fest love triangle, with Star and Jackie or Tom and Marco directly vying for the affection of their love interest, nor do those love triangles ever damage the development of the main dynamic, Starco. Basically every shift in Star and Marco’s relationship, the ebbs and flows of it, can be entirely explained by just the two of them. Yes, seeing the other be romantic with someone else was a partial catalyst to individual moments of growth, but by and large Star and Marco themselves have been their own biggest obstacles, their own insecurities and missteps guiding the path of Starco 1000x more than Jarco or Tomstar or plot.

However, this doesn’t mean the show is magically free of the confines of episodic story pacing, and that’s where people often find faults in it. Many, including myself, went into the premiere thinking/hoping that it would include some relationship payoff, or skip some steps and just have Tom and Star break it off right away. And while anyone is free to disagree with the general concept of the premiere being entirely focused on Moon and plot setup, it’s completely logical for the show to take its development in concrete, compartmentalized chunks. An episode dedicating itself to a theme, to a concrete piece of plot, is likely going to focus on that. And this can be nuanced - I don’t think it was wrong of people to think that Follies could have had a theme of “Star confronted with her screwups” in a broader way that included multiple aspects of that, but it doubled down on Moon and it’s totally understandable that she didn’t take time during her hunt to figure out her feelings, etc. Still, it included reminders of the current situation, and we’ll see those pay off very soon. It’s not so reasonable to expect the show to bend over backwards to steamroll through Starco development right away, but it’s also unreasonable to expect no chunks of development at all, or for them to stop randomly. 

More specifically, the way the episodic structure handles these chunks is to follow up underlying buildup with inevitable realizations. It’s very, very rare for an episode that confronts a character with a specific question (e.g. “How do I feel about my Earth life” - Marco in Sophomore Slump, or “How do I feel about Marco” - Star in Starcrushed) to actually have the emotional development required to understand it occur within that episode. Star isn’t confronted with her crush on Marco until it’s developed enough to be ready to burst out. Marco isn’t confronted with his priorities in life until he’s experience enough of a bold, adventurous life with Star that his heart has already decided, and in both cases it’s a matter of a climactic wake-up call to what’s already there. On that note, onto predictions.

Moon Remembers

Well, I dunno much specific to say about this. Seems like this will be the episode dedicated to trying to get Moon her memory back - we have scenes from the promos of them riding warnicorns and Eclipsa playing guitar with her, maybe just trying to jog it. Could lead to some type of plot revelation (”I remember something big I saw in the Realm of Magic!” etc) but who knows. Seems likely that it’s entirely plot/Moon-focused, maybe with some more tie-ins to magic lore.

Swim Suit

This is a big one. So from the synopsis, we know that this is when Star and Marco attempt to have their beach day (which we now know is a celebration of things being “back to normal”, with Moon being back) but get interrupted by Eclipsa. I don’t know specifics of it, but in general, I think this is going to be the episode where Star truly settles in to an understanding of how she feels.

Quick tangent about the photo and how I think it’ll be used: in Follies, it was primarily encouragement for finding her mom. It’s still definitely interesting, and intentional, that the particular reminder of future happiness is a time with Marco, but it wasn’t relevant immediately - I think it will be used that way moving forward. Basically like this - “I kept this photo as encouragement to think positively and know I’d find my Mom. We found Mom, so now I can be happy like in the photo. It feels really good being happy with Marco like I am in the photo. Huh, I wonder why it is that my ideal of happiness is having fun with Marco...” Clearly the underlying feelings are already there, this is just bringing them to the forefront, actually giving Star a chance to reflect on how her heart feels after recent weeks/months and big events. As for specifics, I think they won’t actually take the photo here. They’ll try to have a beach day, get interrupted, and throughout the course of Eclipsa shenanigans, the episodic plot will tie in towards thinking about her feelings, with the end result being a “well, we didn’t achieve Beach Happiness™, but it was still nice.” We already know that an Earth beach is in episode 16, so maybe the photo comes full circle then (and at that point, they’re completely together already, and the photo is spontaneous). Or maybe I’m wrong, but who knows, this is a level of specificity I can’t predict with any confidence.

Also note here that, provided animation studio order stays consistent as expected, the cereal/pancake/babysitting Meteora scenes aren’t actually from Swim Suit, so who knows where those end up.

Overall, my general expectations for this episode are to set the stage for Starco developments, to start the ball rolling on payoff from last season and to start characters recognizing those changes and truly moving forward. Of course Tomstar is likely not going away officially until Lake House Fever, so I don’t exactly expect Star and Marco to talk about their feelings in depth here, but it’ll still be an important episode for Starco regardless.

Ransomgram

Alright, let’s just make something clear here. Yes, we already know Star is going to be fawning over adult Marco’s hot bod here, and very likely before breaking up with Tom. I know a lot of people are gonna find that sketchy, and I don’t entirely disagree, but adult Marco (and Star thirsting after hot dudes in general) has always been a gag never treated with any real serious weight. Both Jarco and Tomstar overall, but especially Tomstar, never really ever are treated with any true weight in the story. Like, yes, it’s acknowledged that Marco and Star kissing while she’s dating Tom are bad, but none of the moments of Marco abandoning Jackie to be with Star, or Star ignoring Tom to be with Marco, or Tom being a really unhelpful/unsupportive boyfriend, are ever treated with any real gravity. In the real world, perhaps these would be frowned upon much more even in weaker relationships, but in the show, “Star and Tom are dating” is taken as a given in the background, and none of the actions that characters take are really ever truly treated seriously as hurtful. So yes, on some level it’s weird and questionable that Star will be drooling over Marco (again) while STILL not talking to Tom, but Compartmentalization™ and the general lack of concern for treating the possible implications of situations like this seriously add up to explain it. Feel however you want about it, but this is how I expect it to work, because it’s how it’s worked in the past.

MHC is gonna come back here, and there might be a connection to the monster side of the plot, figuring out where the old guard fits in with the new regime and how politics are moving forward. Also, as far as Starco goes, I think this will be a sort of emotional payoff to Swim Suit. Not that anything tangible will result within the episode, but showing the differences in how Star acts around Marco when she’s actually admitting to herself that she loves him. Just like how Marco Jr., for instance, showed a very clear and different Starco interaction than 3A episodes, as a result of the concrete development moments in Deep Dive. Or how their interactions in Divide were very clearly the result of changes in Booth Buddies. So on and so forth.

All of this, then, leads into...

Lake House Fever

So this is where Tomstar finally rots. We have all-but-confirmation from animation studios, hints in the title, and background/SFX “leaks” that this is where the Tom and Star clips in the promos are from. So how exactly might this work? I can’t even say for sure, but I think it’s going to follow the usual trend of Tomstar episodes and basically be a vehicle for Tom development. Let’s face it, Star basically got nothing out of Tomstar besides a general passive armor against having to contemplate heartbreak/feelings since Tom filled the checkbox of “romance” in her life. She initially at least did truly fulfill the role of “normal teenage girlfriend” by spending time with him, dates, etc, but that started to wane after Lava Lake Beach and kept doing so more and more, and it’s now basically at the point of Tomstar being a couple in name only, with 0 effort between either of them put into actually... being anything. 

Let’s compare to Sophomore Slump for a minute, shall we? So in that episode, we had Marco who had undergone a ton of previous developments in how much he cared about adventure and a greater purpose in life and Star, and his heart had already basically made up its mind (Scent of a Hoodie’s ending and wearing the cape in Rest in Pudding, as clear signs of this). Sophomore Slump was the direct reality check, the final piece of the puzzle slotting into place, at least with regards to specifically “where he’d rather be” (even if the why still needed a bit more). So we could say, in effect, that Marco had fully developed everything underneath to answer the question of what mattered more to him, the old safe kid Marco’s ideal Earth life, or the new Marco’s life, and the breakup was simply everything that was already there clicking into place - he moves to Mewni immediately afterwards.

So how does this fit into Lake House Fever? I think the positioning of the episode is going to revolve around Star’s “growth” from it to work like Marco’s. In the Jarco case, the breakup wasn’t about Starco specifically, but Marco’s overall goals and focuses in life (Star was a part of that too, of course). It’s fairly clear that the Tomstar breakup will be different - the tension in their relationship is FAR more directly related to Starco itself (and also a much greater overall dysfunction within Tomstar compared to Jarco). It’s not a case of “this is a perfectly working relationship but it’ll eventually have issues, so let’s end it before we both become miserable”, it’s “this relationship isn’t working at all right now, for multiple reasons, among which are that Star prioritizes/loves someone else, but also general incompatibilities between them for committed companionship”. 

I think on Star’s end of things, we’re going to enter the episode with her knowing, very close to the surface if not on the surface already, that she has feelings for Marco and they need to talk, but will just have the one last hesitation holding her back. Not a “I genuinely don’t know who I like/whether I want to keep going longterm with Tom”, but a “this overall situation needs resolved and I just don’t know exactly how to handle it”. From the very limited info we have from the title/promo (no synopsis yet), it seems like Star might be helping Tom with something - he kind of looked ill in the promos. Regardless, I still sort of predict a semi-arbitrary episodic plot leads them to meet up in the episode. Give em a reason to interact that isn’t directly related to awkward and complex feelings, and let the handling of those naturally evolve from there. 

So as for Tom, I think the bulk of the change in this episode will be on his end. I think he’s going to sort of have an attitude not too dissimilar to Star - knowing they should talk at some point, but not really knowing how. I think the bulk of the episode’s plot, whatever it may be, will lead up towards Tom getting the wakeup call that it 100% won’t work and that he needs to pull the trigger on it. It would give Tom a really solid moment to follow up on some of his initial moments in Season 3, would give him some critical agency when he honestly hasn’t had much of it for a while (Starco developments just kind of happen around him, although of course his general lack of presence in Star’s life contributes to this as well - Star’s a fairly absentee girlfriend, but Tom’s no angel either). Getting over that initial hump of awkwardness would still accomplish things for both of them, but Tom being the one to first make the leap of faith into starting the uncomfortable conversation would fit best imo.

As for afterwards, much like how I said Jarco was the final puzzle piece for Marco decisively figuring out his priorities, I think this will be the same for Star’s feelings. She’ll be aware, nearly-consciously, that she has feelings for Marco ahead of time, but will just be stuck on inaction, not being confident enough to take a bold step forward on her own. So I think the breakup for Star’s feelings will do what the breakup did for Marco’s sense of accomplishment - the final domino will not only help her realize that she has feelings for Marco, but prime her to actually act on them.

Now if this breakup occurred earlier, I’d say it could have a major impact on Star’s own growth and understanding, and it still could, but I don’t think it’ll be so likely. There are certainly situations where the breakup would serve as a shakeup for her to consider her feelings, which would then take some more time afterwards to solidify, but I can’t help but assume that’s what the purpose of multiple Starco episodes beforehand is. The situation is too much of a powderkeg for Star to have any downtime with either of them that doesn’t start turning the gears in her brain. Anyway, that’s all for this.

Eps 5-7

Yada Yada Berries/Down by the River

The Ponyhead Show!/Surviving the Spiderbites

Out of Business/Kelly’s World

These, I have no clue on specifics, to be honest. There’s an RDK Ludo episode coming up, so that would be part of episode 5 most likely. Second half of that seems like a River episode contender, but who knows. The first half of episode 6 is some type of variety show involving Eclipsa in part - this may be part of the plot of Eclipsa trying to find her place as Queen. Spiderbites is a possible contender for the babysitting Meteora clip, the first half of episode 7 is Quest Buy with the Ocrams, and Kelly’s World is something with Marco and Kelly. We’ll circle back to these, but let’s look at broader strokes first.

Curse of the Blood Moon

I’m entirely confident that by the end of this episode (at the latest) Starco will be 100% canon, ready to move forward into Season 4 as a couple, romantic uncertainties behind them. It’s the only possible next “big” step in their development, one that was set up very directly in Booth Buddies with the idea that things were different now and they could no longer ignore their friendship meaning more than friendship. I’m sure it will be tied in to Starco relationship progress, but as I’ve said many times before, it’s entirely out of the realm of how this show handles development as a whole to actually prioritize plot over characters and obstruct character development with plot. The “Curse”, whatever it may be, could very well be activated by Starco itself, but it’s entirely out of line with everything the show has ever done with characterization to actually claim plot is “forcing” feelings, capisce?

Now how could this be accomplished? Well, given the pacing of the show in general, concrete chunks of development along the way seem most likely. And Star and Marco acknowledging the stronger nature of their relationship and stepping over the edge towards mutual romance, to me, seems like a different piece of the puzzle than something so strong as becoming 100% canon forever. After all, Bonbon for Jarco still had a Naysaya before it, a setup with clear and direct Jarco moments nudging it over the edge of romantic before going the whole way. Similarly, Tomstar had Demoncism before they officially confirmed they were a couple a few episodes later. 

Curse is definitely going to be a big episode, but I don’t see it being very likely that we entire the episode with the entire prospect of Star and Marco talking about their feelings still completely looming over them. Another major reason I have to believe this, which is in some ways related to the above point, is that the show doesn’t overly fetishize romance. It’s all-too-common in media, especially family-friendly/kid media with romance, to warp the whole concept and make the “confession + big kiss + happily ever after” one monolithic moment at the very end, as the pinnacle of romance, often going so far as to delay natural developments and put roadblocks of misunderstanding in the way to keep the pair apart until both could have this moment. SVTFOE, on the other hand, historically hasn’t done this. It has always, thus far, recognized the ebbs and flows and slower progression of natural relationships, with steps in between “I guess we might like each other” to “yup we’re 100% dating”. So I can’t guarantee anything about the specific pacing along the way, but I’d wager that Starco has already crossed the threshold into mutual romance before Curse begins.

I have genuinely no idea what the plot will be here overall. We have a shot from the promo which is a newly animated version of the Blood Moon Waltz... flashback? Recreating the event? Time travel? I hope not the last one, but I have no clue.

So circling back around, we have the cereal, pancake, and babysitting Meteora scenes which (as far as I can tell, assuming animation studio order holds) are unaccounted for. There’s... I suppose a nonzero chance for a huge curveball, with some of them being Lake House Fever? Star wears the new S4 outfit in cereal/pancake as well as then, and they’re all Sugarcube. Another option I’d been considering was for Surviving the Spiderbites to be their attempt to spend time together, either resulting in feelingstalk or being the result of feelingstalk and tiptoeing into romance, with the cereal/pancake scenes being about trying to have a good “date” but getting interrupted... which is now the plot of Swim Suit, so I don’t know. Quest Buy has always, historically, involved heavy Starco importance, so perhaps that episode is a leadin to Curse on that front. Note that either everyone actually thinking Kelly’s World (and their baking scene in Ponyhead Show) is actually implying more love triangles is wrong, or the writers officially gave up and we can all go home.

As a note, I’m of course not really making any bold claims of confidence in the minutiae of these predictions: there’s so many options for curveballs that I can’t say anything for sure! But I think, in a general sense, the path of Starco buildup towards and through Curse is a sure thing, one way or another, because there’s basically nothing else meaningful that could happen!

Hope you enjoyed the read, and stay tuned for any new updates we get on future episodes.

[stained-carmine]

‘Come on, it’ll be fun!’

‘W-well, I’m not so sure...’

‘Trust me!’

...

‘Admittedly, I’m a little scared...but, if you’re by my side, then I don’t need to be afraid.’

‘Something like that...being a part of it? It’s like we’re pioneers in a new chapter of history...isn’t that exciting?’

‘As long as you’re here with me, holding my hand, I have the courage to face anything.’

“...ey”

‘Today’s the day! Are you ready to change the world?’

‘I-I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous...my heart won’t stop pounding...I’m afraid it might burst...but...I’m also excited, it’s so overwhelming...’

“Hey...”

‘Wait...Something doesn’t feel right...What’s going—’

‘AAAAAAAAH—’

‘It hurts...It hurts so much...I don’t want to die...! I’m scared! Where are you? I can’t...see you...anymore......Where are you...?! Please...don’t leave me....Don’t let me die here...Please...!’

‘BLAIRE!’

“Hey!”

A sudden touch brought you back to the present, and away from the nightmares of your past. You looked up to the individual who had shaken you from your trance. Before you stood the bartender, gazing at you with concern.

“Are you alright there?”

You stared at him blankly for a moment, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, then it dawned on you that he has asked you a question.

“Ah....N-no, I’m fine.“ You responded sheepishly.

The bartender frowned at you, unconvinced, but let out a sigh as he shook his head. “If you say so...” And with that he sauntered off, seeing to the needs of the other patrons.

As the man walked away, you lowered your gaze to the glass of whiskey you’d been nursing for the past hour or so. The ice cubes had all but melted away by now, leaving you with a mix of alcohol and water. It’s not as if you had your heart set on drinking the whole thing, but it was a little disheartening nonetheless.

Letting out a soft sigh, you pushed the glass aside. You thoughts wandered back to earlier that day, when you had told told Marcel you were leaving. Of course, he objected to it, saying you hadn’t full healed yet and that he could do more to help you recover—to help return you to your former self—at least physically.

You glanced down to your right arm, which was resting on the bar. The right side of your body had suffered quite a bit of damage from the fire, with scars extending from your neck, all the way to your ankles. While Marcel had told you that with skin grafts, you would be able to reduce the amount of scar tissue that covered your body, letting you return to the way you looked before, you weren’t ready for that. You weren’t ready to let go of the past, to forget what happened, to move on from your loss...

It was then that you heard something that caught your attention. The television in the corner of the room, anchored to the ceiling, had been set to a new broadcast since you entered the bar. It had mostly been local news, recent events and crimes, nothing of interest to you really—until now that is.

“It’s been six months since the tragedy that claimed the lives of over a hundred people in Hycasal, yet authorities are still no closer to finding the perpetrator.” On the screen were the remnants of a burned building, half collapsed in on itself, like someone had detonated a bomb in the building. “The man responsible for the disaster is Shin Kiromura, age 25, the former head of research and development at Alistarias Pharmaceuticals.” A photo of a man is brought up on the screen as the newscaster gives a verbal description of his appearance. A hateful glare replaces your sorrowful visage as you lay eyes upon that man, clenching your teeth as you scowled at his likeness. “He was conducting research into the effects of a drug his team was developing. Kiromura failed to report the possible dangers of a compound used in the creation of the drug to his supervisors, ignoring the risks and possible dangers this could pose to human health. With government funding, a clinical trial was carried out late summer of last year under the Caristalian Military’s watch. During clinical testing, an explosion occurred at the military facility located on the edge of Hycasal, causing a fire to break out in the lab. All 30 participants in the clinical trial died during the explosion along with 10 researchers who were in the lab monitoring the vitals of the participants. During the evacuation, the structural integrity of the building became compromised and the building collapsed, killing 73 more people, 16 of which were first responders. Eye witness reports from a survivor state that Kiromura fled the scene with the remainder of the highly volatile compound used in the manufacturing process of the drug. Authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and began a manhunt following the disaster, but have been unable to locate him.”

The screen displayed a series of shots, focusing on the building and the surrounding area, one of which caught your eye. At the main entrance to the building, a memorial had been erected in order to honor all the lives lost that day. You bit your lip slightly as you felt a twinge of pain in your heart. So many dead...and all for what? Some scientist’s hubris? A man who thought himself above the risks? Who didn’t care about how his choices would affect others? And to think that the police hadn’t caught him. For such a man to be free, to go unpunished for his heinous crimes, to still be out there with that reactive material, allowing him to create yet another tragedy if he so desired. It was infuriating.

“Kiromura is wanted for 113 counts of second degree murder, criminal negligence, and terrorism. This man is believed to be highly dangerous, and in possession of high explosives. If you see this man, contact authorities immediately, do not approach him. If you have any information regarding this man’s whereabouts, please contact—”

“Terrible, isn’t it?”

You flinched at the sudden voice coming from behind you, causing you to spin around swiftly. A man had sat down next to you at the bar, waving the bartender over to order his drink. You eyed the man with suspicion, ready to fight back should he have malicious intent, but he just gave you a friendly smile in return. “You seemed really focused on that broadcast, did you lose someone in that disaster?” He asked, raising the beer he had ordered to his lips.

You were hesitant to answer him. You didn’t know this man, you couldn’t tell if he had ulterior motives behind this idle conversation. Giving him another once over with your eyes, you didn’t see anything that would indicate he was armed. He also didn’t look like an officer, either of the police force or the military. Everything about him seemed ordinary, from the clothes he wore, to the way he carried himself. With a lingering doubt in your mind, you opened your mouth to answer him.

“...Yeah, yeah I did...” You replied, turning your gaze from him and lowering your head.

“Sorry to hear that...” The man’s smile faded, replaced with a concerned frown. “Can’t believe they haven’t caught the guy yet. You figure finding one man would be easy when his face is on every news station in the country.” The stranger took another swig from his glass before turning towards you. “You know, I heard that the military are offering a reward for his capture. Those meatheads and gun nuts can’t stand to have their pride sullied. Way I figure, they think if they can catch the guy, they can earn back the trust of the people. Like we could ever trust that shady general after that though. The military was supposed to be overseeing that trial right? How could they have missed that psycho hiding right under their noses?”

You had to mentally reel yourself in to stop yourself from snapping back at the man. Keeping a calm facade, you responded. “Is that so? How much are they offering?”

The man shrugged, downing the rest of what was in his glass before calling the bartender over for a refill. “Mm, not sure myself. Only heard about it from a friend you see. Don’t even know if it’s true.” Thanking the bartender, he raised the glass to his lips before pausing. “Though if it is, they’re awfully desperate. You’d figure they’d start by interrogating all the survivors first before offering rewards to the public.”

“They probably did already. Usually that’s the first thing they do in an investigation. Question witnesses, bring in the people that knew the culprit.” You had to catch yourself so as to not give away your former occupation. “...Or at least that’s what they do in police dramas.” If they hadn’t caught that man by now, interrogations probably turned up no leads. You felt your heart sink a bit. If you were going to go through with this plan of yours, that would have been your first course of action. You scowled slightly from beneath your hood, you might need to rethink your plan at this rate.

“My cousin’s friend was employed at the facility, and was in the building that day.” The voice came from across the bar, from the bartender who seemed to have overheard our conversation. After serving up some mixed drinks to a group a friends who had come into the bar to celebrate, the bartender wandered back over to the two of us. “Said the guy had been in a coma ever since.” Noticing the drink I had sat aside with no intention of finishing, the bartender took the glass and poured it out, washing and rinsing the glass out for a future customer to use. “Just the other day I heard the guy had just woke up for the first time in six months. My cousin was ecstatic. He was actually going to go visit him today actually.”

A spark lit up in your mind as this opportunity presented itself. “That’s great. Will your cousin be coming here to celebrate after?”

The bartender laughed in response. “You kidding me? He wouldn’t be caught dead in here. Too shabby of a place for him. If anything, he’d probably hit up one of the bars in the city.”

“Ah, your cousin is one of those guys. Too good for a small place like this. Needs one of those fancy restaurants where you buy a whole bottle of wine to go with your meal.”

“Well, I can’t deny that but still...” The bartender frowned at the man who had just finished his second beer, and was now demanding a third, garnering an eye roll from the man behind the counter. With a sigh he took the man’s glass and began to pour him another. “What about you? Did you want another drink?”

“Ah no, I’ve spent long enough sitting here, it’s about time I left. I have things to take care of.” You said, rising from you seat and waving the notion off.

“Is that right? Well, take care then. Thanks for the patronage.” The bartender said as he handed the man his third beer.

With a nod and a slight wave, you departed, making your way out of the building. One outside, the friendly smile you were wearing vanished, replaced by a stern frown.

With resolve in your heart, you stepped forward, away from all that tied you to this small town to the east of Hycasal. Taking what would be the first steps in a long journey, you pressed on, with goal in mind and a drive in your soul.

That broadcast, there was something off about it. The details didn’t add up. Memories of brief interactions with that man, with Shin Kiromura, flashed in your mind. He had seemed like a rather hopeful individual to you...so why would he suddenly sabotage his own experiment? It didn’t make sense.

You wanted answers—no, you needed them. If there was any hope of you being able to move forward, to accept the death of your dear friend and overcome the tragedy that befell you that day, you had to know why it all happened.

That was another thing the news had wrong, that no participants had survived that catastrophe. No, there was one participant that did survive.

You.

The burns that marred your flesh, the haunting memories of that day, and that feeling you had felt in the moments before the blast. All proof that you were there. That you survived. Against all the odds, you, and only you, had made it out of that room alive.

Out of the fires of hell you rose. Determined to get answers. And if one thing was for sure.

You weren’t going to stop until you found them.

[songof-hope]

Mattie and the Myths (ch7)

So a bit of a delay on this chapter but hopefully it makes up for the past couple chapters.  Mattie likes the changes she sees when she returns from holiday but a mysterious man puts everyone back on edge.

Can be read on FF.net

There was an odd tension that had began to build itself up with the months that had passed. There was something off between Lucien and Jean and for the first time, Mattie thought she would be relieved when she went on summer holiday. The air in the room stiffened a bit after Jean had brought a date home. Nothing came from it, with the exception of bickering words between her and Lucien. Mattie hadn't seen him come around in a while and when she asked Jean about it she just brushed it off as nothing important, telling her he wouldn't be coming around anymore. She frowned at the touch of sadness in Jean's eyes and gave her hand a squeeze but left it at that.

Mattie had recently taken to reminding Lucien of important dates and warning him of his mood in attempt to ease some of the tension, which had minor success. "You need to be very nice to her." "Maybe adding a thank you or a touch of appreciation around the house would be nice." "Next week is Jean's birthday." Lucien was slowly learning to be more considerate when it came to how he directly affected Jean but she was still not safe from his indirect effects. The ones that left Jean constantly defending Lucien and even her own standing. Mattie knew what was being said, she heard the whispers that were spread around town.

Personal issues aside, and there seemed to be many, tensions were also caused from knowing there was still a poacher on the rise. A person out there who's goal in life was to do the exact opposite of what they did at the Center. Finding two creatures mutilated and knowing there was nothing anyone could do about it seemed to dampen everyone's spirits. That and the threat it posed to their lives as well. After all, a criminal doesn't get away with something like this for this long because he or she is kind.

So yes, Mattie was thrilled to be out on holiday. Away from the tensions and drama of her secret world. That being said, she still adored the letters she and Jean wrote back and forth. Her son, Jack, had come to visit after a stint in jail and although Mattie would have liked to meet him, Jean said he probably wouldn't be coming around. That she would love to have him close to her but he was off with his friends, travelling. Jean's careful script wavered a bit on those sentences and Mattie wondered what that meant. On a lighter note, her oldest, Christopher, was being stationed in Adelaide and she was thrilled to have him closer. Jean claimed she and Lucien were getting on much better lately when Mattie had inquired but Mattie thought she would believe that when she saw it for herself. The final thing they had discussed (in secret of course) was the status of the poacher who was still on the rise. Mattie worried for them while she was away. Worried for the creatures who dwelled in the wild, away from the safety of the Center. She couldn't fathom how someone could do something so evil. The horrors Mattie saw when she snuck into Dr. Harvey's exam room were burned into her mind. Creatures lying lifeless, missing beaks and fur. She still felt the threat of tears swell when she thought about it.

P.S. Lucien and Charlie send their love.

Upon Mattie's return, she had noticed a bit of camaraderie between Lucien and Jean. The uncomfortable tension was eased and replaced by something else entirely but Mattie couldn't put her finger on it. She asked Charlie about it. She knew he would tell her, of course, after he told her it was none of their business. He told her about Jack's visit, how awful the tension was and how broken Jean seemed, how she and Lucien seemed to form a common understanding after Jack left. He noticed them communicating better in the Center as well after a few cases, like they shared something they hadn't before. Mattie was relieved. She didn't like seeing them at odds, pretending that they weren't for her sake. She did try her best to hide her beaming smile every time she saw a touch that lingered a bit too long or heard comments offered to one another in a conspiratorial tone.

She had been so relieved at the changes within the Blake residence that she almost forgot about the trouble that surrounded them. Almost.

Playing in the garden with Saphira one day had caused that air of uncertainty to arise once again. Saphira had been flaunting her art of camouflage, vanishing into the air, her purring and constant brushing reassuring Mattie that she was still there. Lucien watched them fondly from the window within the house. A man had walked up the path to the Blake residence and gave Mattie a nod as he passed. He had a bandage wrapped around the arm he was holding to his chest. Mattie would have wondered at the identity of this strange man she had never crossed paths with if she had not had a more concerning situation at her side.

Beside her, Saphira was letting out a low growl and Mattie could feel the air shift as the wildcat paced in front of her. As soon as the man's back had turned Mattie suddenly felt as though she was being pushed. She was being pushed. Saphira was pushing he her into the secret entrance of the Center with much force, her tail constantly wrapping around Mattie in a possessive manner. She hadn't even looked up to see Lucien disappear from the window with an apprehensive look on his face.

Feeling a bit shell shocked from the sudden shift in mood, Mattie allowed Saphira to lead her back to her habitat, sitting with her, listening to the sounds from upstairs. She couldn't make out any words but she heard murmurs and footsteps. The initial tone was Jean's, most likely welcoming the man into the surgery, then came Lucien's. Even without words she recognized that tone, the one that was incredibly pleasant and incredibly fake, the one he used around high society folks whose company he didn't truly enjoy. Something was wrong and she didn't know what. She thought it would be best if she stayed down in the Center until the man left, Saphira still needed comfort and to feel as though she was protecting Mattie anyway.

It was well after the strange man had left that Mattie had awoken to fingers gently brushing the hair away from her face. She knew it was Jean, she always had a gentle way about her when it came to Mattie. The serenity that easily flowed was suddenly drained away as the memories from earlier flooded back. When had she fallen asleep? What time was it? How could she have fallen asleep when she had something important to tell him?

"Where's Lucien? I need to tell him something. It's important." She sputtered, jolting upright, adrenaline threatening to fill her veins. She couldn't fight the feeling that something was off.

"Lucien's out for a bit, said he needed to check on something for a case. I'm sure he'll be back soon, he's been out for a while."

"No, that man. I need to tell him. Saphira, she knew him. He needs to know." She gasped in short sentences, trying to ground herself with the feeling of Jean's steadying hands on her shoulders as she wavered from getting up too quickly.

"Darling, I need you to breathe for me okay? Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

Doing as she was told, Mattie took a shaky breath and recounted her story of what had happened earlier to Jean and watched as the understanding formed in her eyes.

"He knows." She breathed, more to herself then to Mattie.

Without breaking her gentle guise, the panic threatening to break through, Jean guided Mattie upstairs and immediately went to the phone.

"Yes, Matthew, it's Jean. It's about Lucien. I think he's in danger."

Mattie listened as Jean recounted the story to the Superintendent, filling in the blanks as to what Mattie missed upstairs as well as any information she had on the man. She tried to stay calm but it was proving to a challenge. She heard Jean sound somewhat desperate when she implored them to find Lucien before hanging up and settling into the chair next to Mattie.

Nearly two hours had passed since Jean had called with Mattie's revelation. Mattie tried to focus on the soothing motions of Jean's thumb running over the back of her hand as it sat below hers on the table. Their tea was long gone and their nerves now truly had time to settle in. Mattie was fighting off sleep, her head beginning to droop a bit lower, and she could tell Jean was about to persuade her to go to bed by the way her hand shifted to brush through Mattie's hair. She had just opened her mouth to tell her so when a shrill ring of the phone broke the silence, sending them both rigid as Jean quickly rose to answer.

"Oh Matthew, I was just about to call you to check in, I -," Mattie heard the air leave Jean's lungs as she froze. "Is he? Okay. Y-yes, we'll meet you at the hospital then."

Mattie felt her stomach drop as Jean turned to her, eye's reflecting the same emotions as Mattie's although hiding them better.

What had Lucien gotten himself into?

[fandomverseofanthony]

The Vampyre Of Time And Memory

Hey guys, it’s me. I. bet. you. thought. that. I. waaaaaaaas. DEAD!

Whaaaaaaat? TWO references to Queen’s of the Stone Age? (Hint: Druncle’s lyrics are not of my creation, but a song of QotSA)

Jumping back into the massive fandomverse of Fallout, I wrote a story featuring @ohmdo‘s Druncle and @vectober‘s V! (Also mention of @spacialkiwi‘s Trish and @commonwealth-hugs‘s Abby!) Enjoy!

              The gentle feeling of warmth. A familiar caress of the cheek. Hazy memories of a better time, long since passed...

Waking from a deep slumber, Anthony was disappointed to find that he was all alone, laying within a heap of scrap metal. A single ray of light pierced through the smog, beaming down on him. Raising a hand in front of his face, he tried his best to keep himself from being blinded.

              Anthony’s mind felt scrambled, unsure of how he got into his current position. He could only assume that the feeling was similar to a hangover. Letting out a long groan as he shifted uncomfortably in place, he combed through his memories, looking for anything that might provide some insight. His concentration, however, was broken by the arrival of a stranger, their head eclipsing the sun. Straining to focus, his vision corrected itself just in time to see that the person standing over him was pointing the barrel of their pistol directly at him.

              “Funny… I don’t remember scheduling a wake-up call.” Anthony quipped, subtly scanning the area for something to defend himself with, just in case.

              It wasn’t his first time being held at gunpoint, nor would it likely be the last. Anthony’s bad luck usually put him into unfortunate situations such as this, rarely able to talk his way out of them, but it never stopped him from trying. Experience taught him that not everyone in the wasteland was a crazed psychopath.

              The figure stood there, stoic, dressed from head to toe in black, including the mask that was keeping their identity a mystery. Their attire reminded him of the Crimson Dragoons, from the Anchorage Reclamation simulation, but far less gaudy. They were fairly tall, with the tactical clothing clinging to their toned, muscular build. He also noticed that his “Peacemaker” gauss rifle was slung over their shoulder. Whoever they were, it was clear that they were either the remnant of a well-trained group of operatives, or really good at looking the part.

               “Who are you? How do you get here?” the stranger questioned. Their voice was deep, yet smooth, not at all what Anthony was expecting.

               “Where exactly is ‘here’?” Anthony noted, single brow raised, hoping that the person would be friendly enough to provide an answer.

                Despite the stranger’s mask obscuring their expression, Anthony was certain that they were frowning beneath it. Pulling the hammer of the pistol back, they held it closer to Anthony, finger hovering over the trigger. “I’m not fond of repeating myself. Answer the question, or I’ll have to waste a perfectly good bullet. You’ll be stuck bleeding out slowly and painfully…” they insisted, a tinge of annoyance in their voice.

                Keeping his composure, Anthony complied with the individual’s request. “My name is Anthony, and I honestly have no idea how I got here.”

                The stranger hesitated, leaving Anthony feeling slightly uneasy. The silence was almost unbearable, waiting to see whether they would believe him, or if he was soon to be left in an unmarked grave. The person cautiously holstered their pistol, while Anthony let out a heavy sigh of relief in response. Pulling him out of the heap, he took a moment to observe his surroundings. Below the hill was a makeshift gathering of houses, barricades, and crude defenses. It was the lighthouse that stood behind him that gave the location. Kingsport.

                Anthony remembered visiting Kingsport in the past, but it was nothing like its current state. He wondered exactly how long he had been out for, and why he still couldn’t remember much before waking up in that heap. His last memory was in Goodneighbor, assisting Trish with some routine repairs. Anything after that was fractured, at best.

                Taking a moment to brush himself off, his attention returned to the stranger. Reaching out, he attempted to shake their hand, having a few questions of his own. “Now that we’re all nice and civil, how long has Kingsport been like this? Last time I was here, there was nothing but abandoned buildings, left over from before the war. Now this place seems to be flourishing, I can only assume thanks to you…” he paused, trying to get a name out of them.

                The person firmly shook Anthony’s hand. “Druncle.”

                “…Druncle?” Anthony’s brow raised once again, as a slight smirk formed, wondering if it was a nickname of some kind.

                They nodded. “M-hm.” The two laughed.

                Druncle held out Anthony’s rifle, “I believe this belongs to you.”

                As the weapon exchanged hands, Anthony paused. Giving a warm smile, it was as if he was reunited with an old friend. “Yeah, this has gotten me out of a lot of trouble. Saved a lot of lives too.”

                Druncle placed a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “Let me give you the tour.”

                Anthony remained in Kingsport, helping wherever his talents could best be put to use. Druncle and Anthony didn’t speak much with one another at first, but something about Druncle made Anthony feel that they were kindred spirits. Every now and then they would share a drink, learning a little more about one another, sharing exploits of action, adventure, horror, drama, and the truly bizarre. Druncle typically favored a small glass of Scotch, while Anthony stuck with his usual bottle of Nuka Cola.

               Despite the sense of accomplishment Anthony felt from helping out, and the joy from making new friends, something didn’t feel right. He felt hollow, incomplete, as if a major part of him was missing, yet he had no clue what was causing it. Night after night, he found it harder to sleep. It was slowly taking its toll.

               One particular night, Anthony wandered towards the lighthouse, drawn by a haunting melody drifting through the night, telling a story of love and loss. Rounding the building, Anthony was surprised to see Druncle sitting at the top of the lighthouse, on the ledge, solemnly strumming a worn wooden guitar, while overlooking the sea.

               “Where O where have you been my love? Where O where can you be? It’s been so long, since the moon has gone. O what a wreck you’ve made me. Are you there over the ocean? Are you there, up in the sky? Until the return of my love, this lullaby…” Druncle gently placed the guitar to his side, sensing Anthony’s presence.

               Sitting down next to Druncle, Anthony queried, “Can’t sleep either, huh?”

               It wasn’t the real question that he wanted to ask. His curiosity clawing at the back of his mind, insisting that he know more about the song, but Anthony knew better than to pry into someone else’s business.

                Druncle lowered his head, finding it difficult to hide his heavy heart.

                Anthony shifted his focus away from Druncle, choosing to peer beyond the horizon as he continued. “Don’t worry, I get it. You don’t have to answer. We’ve both seen a lot, been through a lot, and it’s a hefty burden to bear…” Leaning back, he looked up at what used to be the sky, now nothing more than lingering fallout. “…sometimes I just ask myself why I always seem to survive, while those around me tend to die. Is it because my continued existence is some sort of punishment? Am I paying for something I’ve done or should have done?”

                Anthony didn’t expect a response from Druncle. Who truly knew the answer to his question? Even just being able to get such feelings off of his chest, sharing his thoughts with someone who knows what it feels like, brought him some semblance of peace.

                Druncle placed a comforting hand on Anthony’s shoulder. Rising to their feet, guitar in hand, they offered, “You ever think that... you’re here because there’s some great purpose out there for you? Waiting and all that?” They couldn’t help but let out a drained chuckle, as Anthony waved them off. “Yeah, me neither.”

                Patting Anthony’s shoulder, Druncle slowly stepped away, turning back just long enough to finish, “You can’t save everyone… guilt doesn’t change that fact. You’ll get lost in the dark feeling it. Trust me…”

                As Druncle disappeared into the lighthouse, Anthony felt a chill run down his spine, putting him on edge. Jumping up, he nervously looked all around him, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched. Quickly making his way down the lighthouse stairs, he almost slammed into a well-dressed women, on his way out of the door.

                “Ah, so this is where you’ve been hiding…” the woman scoffed.

The woman’s hair was as sleek and black as a raven, peaking out of what looked like a summer hat, both it and her dress matching in shade, with only a hint of purple throughout. Her skin was a pale bronze, with dark eyes that felt as if they were piercing his very soul.

                Before Anthony could even open his mouth to speak, she interjected, “I’ve no time for games, and any questions you may have for me will all be answered with this…” she held out an ornate rose, made out of various kinds of metal.

                Anthony was hesitant at first, this encounter definitely falling under the ‘truly bizarre’ category, but something about the woman seemed oddly familiar. Against his better judgement, he felt as if he could trust her. The moment his fingers made contact with the rose, it felt as if the last puzzle piece finally clicked into place.

               The flood of memories, of events that once were, but now were nothing more than a bad dream, rushed through his mind. Anthony nearly lost his balance, as the onslaught sent him reeling backwards. Horrific visions of Goodneighbor in ruins, those closest to him either dead or experiencing great pain and suffering. Anthony’s eyes welled up with tears as he was forced to relive every agonizing moment. Among all of the darkness, one beacon of light managed to shine through. Alaelys.

              Anthony carefully peeled back the petals of the rose, finding a wedding ring inside. The ring he made for the love of his life, the one person he was willing to go to any lengths to be with and keep safe. He made the ring, and the rose that it was encased in, in hopes of asking for her hand in marriage. It was on that day that he planned on proposing to Alaelys. It was that day that Elder Maxson loyalists ambushed Goodneighbor, laying waste to the town, getting revenge for the death of their leader.

               In the aftermath, a sharp dressed man appeared before Anthony, black vest, slacks, and dress shoes to match his slicked-back hair, a stark contrast to his warm skin and crimson red dress shirt. A devilish individual that Anthony had run into time and time again, offering to fix everything. All it would cost him was that which he holds most dear, Alaelys.

               The gentleman referred to himself as Guile, insisting that all he would do was rewrite reality, ensuring that Anthony and Alaelys would never have met, while also ensuring that several painful events and deaths never come to pass. To make things easier, he would even make sure that Anthony would not remember the deal, and what was lost.

               Anthony asked for a moment to decide. For once Guile was willing to wait, sure that this time he would get his way. Vanishing into thin air, Guile’s laughter still echoed in his absence. Anthony called out a letter, no, a name. V.

               A woman stepped out from the shadows of Goodneighbor, the same woman that handed Anthony the rose. Anthony knew her, through his friend Abby. He knew that she hated Guile, or more accurately what Guile is, what she is. They were beings not of this world, of great and terrible power, and that’s exactly what he needed at that time.

              Anthony pleaded for V to help him make things right, outsmarting Guile in the process. So many lives would be saved, and V gets to revel in the fact that Guile was tricked by a mere mortal. The very thought of it caused her lips to curl into an inhuman smile. She agreed to help Anthony out, taking the flower as part of the plan, but only because he was a close friend of Abby’s and for the humiliation that would be inflicted upon her nemesis.

              Snapping back to the present, Anthony wiped the tears from his eyes. V was taken by surprise by Anthony’s sudden embrace, squeezing her tight. “Th-Thank you…” he stammered, almost at a loss for words.

              V wasn’t sure how to respond. The only other person to ever have hugged her, and lived, was Abby, and she knew Abby would not be pleased if she killed Anthony. Instead, she stroked his hair, as if he was a pet, before lightly forcing them apart. V nodded, blinking out of existence as she stepped back. Looking back down at the rose, Anthony knew there was only one more thing left to do…

              The following morning, Druncle was going through the usual routine of patrolling Kingsport, but felt as if something was missing. They were surprised to find that Anthony was nowhere to be found. Arriving at the lighthouse, there was a bottle of Scotch with a note pinned to it.

Hey Druncle, I’m sorry that I left without saying goodbye, but every second counts. I guess you were right about having a greater purpose. Maybe we all have one, and it just takes being at the right place at the right time to realize that. I appreciate your hospitality, your wisdom, and most of all, your friendship. Oh, and not shooting me in the face, the first time we met… Yeah… This won’t be the last time we see each other, as once I reach this journey’s end, I’ll have one hell of a story to share with you, over a drink. So, as a token of my gratitude, I left this bottle of Scotch, that I purchased off of a caravan not too far from town. It cost a pretty cap, but hey, you’re worth it. Enjoy, my friend.

                                                        Until we meet again,                                                                      Anthony