#it haunts me at random intervals

[tyanis]

"Leon comes out dressed like a fruit. Like, an actual fruit. Not a homosexual. Although, he is in fact gay." - the only thing I remember from a fanfic I read like 22 years ago.

[wispurring-moss]

i'm glad ppl seem to be enjoying the guardian homosexuAngel post as much as my brain was while making it xD

[flightyquinn]

hey, minecraft tumblr, can we talk about something for a second?

this is what "horror mods" in minecraft look like right now. some long-limged oogabooga creature, usually black and with a big mouth, that chases you down while flailing and does a bunch of damage.

and yeah, i know that there are differences in mechanics between them, but in the end it still comes down to "you see an oogabooga in the distance, and then it chases you"

i'm not saying that this can't be scary. i'm just saying that it's getting a little oversaturated at this point, and there's other kinds of horror than just being chased by a model from spirit halloween's big & tall

if you want to stand out, you need to bring some new spooks

let me give you an example from a mod i've thought up, but probably won't end up making

i call it "The Innocent"

The Innocent looks like a baby villager with black eyes and a tattered robe in the nitwit colors. that's it. it doesn't even chase the player normally. in fact, it doesn't even move except to turn and face the player if they look at it. and that's where the fun begins...

The Innocent naturally spawns in uninhabited biomes, far away from both villagers and illagers. if the player looks at it for more than a second (so, long enough to be actually looking at it, and not just mousing past without noticing) it "bonds" to that player. once bonded to a player, it will keep appearing near them at random intervals, never under solid blocks (so not in caves or your house), spawning out of line of sight, watching them. it can and will watch through windows.

whenever it watches the player, The Innocent is also judging them. if the player kills living mobs, hits villagers, tramples crops, or other "bad" actions, this lowers an invisible karma score, while trading, building golems, breeding animals, and other "good" actions raise it.

if the player attacks The Innocent, it disappears in a puff of smoke, and this naturally lowers their karma a lot.

as The Innocent becomes more displeased, and it will over time become more displeased, bad things start to happen.

the sounds of crying, and eventually screaming children can sometimes be heard in the distance

baby zombie spawns become more common

nearby plants may turn to dead bushes when the player sleeps

paintings may change to others of the same size

rain and lightning become more frequent

zombies detect the player from farther away

etc...

if the player's karma is too low, then The Innocent may even turn into a (still black eyed) Drowned version of itself and attack. it's actually weaker than a regular baby zombie, though just as fast, so killing it isn't too hard. however, killing it doesn't make it stop, it just lowers your karma more, whereas dying to it is a Very Good Act. after all, you deserve it

but if killing it doesn't work, how does one get rid of The Innocent, i hear you ask. well, that's simple, after a certain number of encounters, every time you have a positive gain in karma by the time it disappears - that it to say, your karma at the end of the encounter is higher than it was at the start - there is a chance that The Innocent will be satisfied, meaning it will stop being bonded to you, and won't come back. there's just a couple of catches.

the number of encounters before it can be satisfied is random.

the player won't always be aware of when an encounter is happening.

"neutral" encounters - ones with no net change in karma - don't count towards the number.

the player doesn't get any direct indication of when The Innocent has stopped haunting them

[nafohcnis]

i hope u know that ive been repeating ‘trying to self inplode’ to myself at random intervals ALL DAY ever since i saw your post. complete with a mental image of jd. it’s haunting me

HELPPFHRUG its so fun drawing him like this... he 2 seconds away from a heart attack .

[myloveismineallmine]

part 2!

honestly I have a lot ground to cover in terms of songs used for Carmy and Claire. Some are kind of sad. Some are really fucking funny. This one is kinda both.

We'll start with the first song we hear playing with Carmy and Claire: Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

The actual lyrics have little to do with what's going on in the scene, Claire and Carmen are conversing over most of the lyrics. It's not until the third verse that the volume increases and the lyrics become audible. But I'm still gonna talk about the first half of the song, because why not?

"I don't know why you're mean to me When I call on the telephone And I don't know what you mean to me But I want to turn you on, turn you up, figure you out I wanna take you on ..."

Okay, so this first verse is very Claire coded right off the bat. But I do think this song is actually more about Carmy's feelings, and really I can just about guarantee you it is because this song plays twice in the show. R.E.M. songs also have a tendency to play in scenes with Carmen specifically.

"These words, "You will be mine" These words, "You will be mine", all the time

The fool might be my middle name But I'd be foolish not to say I'm going to make whatever it takes Bring you up, call you down, sign your name, secret love Make it rhyme, take you in, and make you mine

These words, "You will be mine" These words, "You will be mine," all the time, oh

I tripped and fell, did I fall What I want to feel, I want to feel it now"

Do not lose hope, fellow sydcarmys. These lyrics are deceptively romantic. But yes, this is what is playing during the conversation w/ Carm and Claire. What is of more interest is the verse that we do finally hear:

"And now with love come strange currencies And here is my appeal I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance A word, a signal, a nod, a little breath Just to fool myself, to catch myself, to make it real, real"

So the show actually cuts to credits after "And here is my appeal." The rest of the song does play to the end, though.

Interesting that the one verse we hear is the one that just completely invalidates the romantic message of the song.

Like. I could end the post right here, folks.

But I will expand further-- this song, to me, is about Carmy trying to convince himself that he loves Claire.

"These words, "You will be mine" These words, they haunt me, hunt me down, catch in my throat, make me pray Say, love's confined, oh"

This is the final verse of the song. The words "catch in my throat." Probably because... he doesn't actually mean them. This is also foreshadowing that he feels confined in love with Claire.

R.E.M. has plenty of love songs. So the fact they used one where the message of the song is repeating the words "I love you" in an attempt to convince yourself/others you're in love is.....curious.

This song is also used a second time in the show, but in a very different context, so I wanted to touch on that too:

A distorted version of Strange Currencies plays as Carmen has a panic attack in the alley.

The first flashback we see is actually his intimate moment with Claire.

The next flashback cuts are all footage of Claire; drawings of her, old photos, and beauty shots. There is finally a flashback of Mikey talking about Claire mixed in, followed by more shots of Claire. After that, more shots of his family with Claire mixed in at random intervals. Throughout all of this, Strange Currencies plays with the audio distorted and words reversed. Until...

Strange Currencies begins to play as normal when the flashback of Sydney plays. Specifically the lyrics "These words, You will be mine, These words, You will be mine, All the time."

In the middle of this verse, after a shot of Carmy calming down, we immediately cut to Syd.

Then, on her: "The fool may be my middle name, But I'd be foolish, not to say."

After this lyric, the song fades out and we cut to a scene with Carm and Sugar.

I think there's a difference in the one audible verse during the Carm+Claire scene being one invalidating the romantic tone of the song, and the one that pays with Carm+Syd cutting off before the cracks in the romantic message of the song become apparent.

But I'm still not entirely convinced this song is really meant to be read as a true romantic one. Which is actually fine, since so far in my research I've already found a good amount of actual romantic songs used for Syd and Carmy anyway? This whole song just has very strong red herring vibes to me.

I'll be continuing these song analysis posts, and hopefully more frequently after I'm done with finals. Let me know your thoughts on this one.

[tozettastone]

Sometimes, when I'm like, "Oh no, 99+ notes, what am I being yelled at for?" in the morning, my coworker asks me if I've gone viral and I do not have the heart to tell her that "going viral," simply isn't like... a thing... on tumblr dot com.

Social media virulence is a function of a time-delimited, algorithmically mediated system in which a post accrues a large number of shares over a short time. It's a metaphor that links the spread of a post to the spread of a virulent illness through a body of people... or, instead, to the passage of an acute viral illness through your own helpless body.

One's tumblr posts do not "go viral." They may get more or less notes at different times, but the waves of post popularity have little to do with time or algorithm. They reoccur at seemingly random intervals and your activity page takes weeks to recover.

At best, popular tumblr posts are better described as chronic and episodic.

At worst, they're haunting.

[carionto]

"Trisha's Log, Day... I don't dare keep up anymore..."

Part 1 2 3 4 5

(Haespar: It's day two. Trisha: Stop ruining my vibe, you're still dead. Haespar: Yes, and I'm haunting you. With facts. Trisha: *hisses*)

"IT HAS BEEN AN INDETERMINABLE NUMBER OF DAYS since I began this expedition, now turned struggle for survival. I've lost Emily and am actively searching for her, but having not had a bite to eat in weeks and running low on water, I don't know if I'll succeed. To whoever finds this-" (Emily: I got the remote power module. And some snacks, here. Haespar: Ooh, melon flavored, my favorite. Thank you very much, Emily. Trisha: *already chowing down on some cheese sticks* Dankss Ehmilhy, yhour da bhest. *gulp* Where was I? Haespar: Starving despair and loneliness. Trisha: Right! Emily, you're currently gone, so just be your usual self and the audience won't know.)

"If you've found this log, I am dead. I died while carrying out my vital mission and searching for my lovely assistant, but failed catastrophically. Unless you're listening to this from a library archive, in which case I totally succeeded and became an awesome legend!"

Trisha continues to detail all of her future exploits and galaxy spanning quest for vengeance, love, mystery, and cake.

Meanwhile:

Haespar: Alright, adjust the telemetry of this unit to the one Valencio cooked up yesterday, and that should hook the biological scanners back up to the bridge. Emily: Done. Haespar: Excellent. *taps his datapad* Ira, bio scans are up on our end, confirm? Ira: Yup, all green. Reading you three down there nice and clean. Trisha's a bit heated up. Monologuing? Haespar: About her imminent demise after years aboard this derelict. Ira: *chuckles* Alright, good to know. While you're there, check on the tertiary power splitter two floors down, the main one up here is acting up a little. Haespar: Will do. Hmm? What's wrong, Emily? Emily: It's flickering between 27 and 28. Haespar: What? Emily: The number of lifesigns aboard.

Trisha: WHOA WHOA WHOA!!! Legit mystery time! *gently into the recorder* (Pause on seducing one of the heads of the three headed corrupt banker to blackmail him for trade secrets only to learn the evil tech startup was a Illuminati cabal all along) Let me see, where is this mystery life dot.

Haespar: It's jumping all over, is there a pattern yet, Emily? Emily: Need to log more data, but doesn't feel like it.

Trisha: It is popping up for a few seconds and disappears for about four times as long though. Hey, isn't that kinda like how you'd do a radio connection attempt? Brute force every frequency range. Oh wait, but then you'd just do all at the same time. Hacking maybe? Trying to get into a specific system without tripping any alarms?

Emily *into her comms unit*: Ira, please send an all frequency ping at these intervals towards us.

Ira: Alright, *shouting* Valencio, give Emily these pings. *normal again* Should be sorted in a tick, what's that about anyway?

Haespar: The lifesign readings are being weird, showing a 28th at regular intervals in random locations. Could be one of the system we haven't checked yet is acting funny and somehow interfering wi- Emily: Wait. It stopped flickering. A 28th. On the bridge. *To comms* Ira?

Ira: Uhh, yeah. I'm looking at him.

???: Hello, my name is Professor Iorvan Hal'Ahmat Garaamhan. Thank you for answering my call.

Continue->

[cagneyblooms]

Next Game Up! Rhyme time, Needle Rhymes!

Another crashbox OC from me... Lolll... Couldn't help myself. I wanted to design a monsterish girlie and she just spouted from there you know? Her name is Yarnkins Crochette!

So from what you can tell, she hosts a rhyming game called Needle-Rhymes! It takes place in her boutique which is entirely made out of cotton and felt, in her game she is sent a doll to fix in her boutique, and your task is to help her find the items needed to fix the doll via using words that rhyme with the specific object needed. The doll varies through each episode, from a baby doll to a fashion doll to a teddy bear, she knows how to fix them all. At the end of the episode she proudly displays the fixed doll on her shelf, then proceeding to go off screen to work on her next project, whatever that may be.. the format of this game is like the coraline intro, with the beldam fixing the doll.

Her personality is very.. Odd, to say the least. She can't blink or change her expression, her motto is "You're never fully dressed without a smile!", something she takes to the extreme. She's very eccentric, too eccentric for her own good which leads to her having trouble communicating with others and leaving them straight up creeped out by her, She talks to others as if they are the dolls that she works on, which doesn't help with how disturbed the other hosts feel by her presence alone. She's very unaware of how strange and unusual she can be, which leads to her not quite understanding why the hosts give her uncomfortable reactions when she interacts with them.

In the show, she'd be made using puppeteering a doll around! She'd be made w an actual pin potato while her gloves and hat r made of wool, her bow a pair of scissors, and her pigtails actual measuring tapes! Just a few examples.

Now for some facts !

- Despite her.. abnormal behavior, she is actually dating someone! And that someone is Eddie Bull, he ended up being fascinated by the dolls she fixes and they started a bond from there.

- She's the absolute tallest out of all the hosts, which doesn't help with her creepy reputation.

- Her friends are Colora Contour (OC by my friend @art-tea-chill !!) and the Haunted House Party host! Besides that.. everyone else just feels uneasy around her minus eddie.

- She can crawl on the walls if she so chooses, she tends to pops in during random intervals.

- If you removed her button eye, a bunch of foam would just pour out.

- When she moves she makes a slight clinging sound because of her pin feet.

- She'd be opened with the Train Game Loader and Metal Game Loader!

- She'd appear as a rare character in S1, but appear significantly more in S2.

- Her voice claim would be Topsy from the Raggedy Ann Movie, but specifically when she says "What Truth?" During the No Girls Toy Song

- She has little mice followers that help her with fixing the dolls, they hand her the supplies after you find it with the right rhymes. She calls them her "Buttoneers"

- Because she has no bones, she's very flexible. She can stretch her limbs to whatever lengths she desires and put herself through harm that'll ultimately not hurt due to her lack of bones

- She makes hand puppets out of the hosts and makes little absurd, downright bizarre and unintentionally disturbing stories with them to entertain them (sometimes, it's when they're feeling down and feels like she wants to help.) But doesn't quite understand why they look so terrified after it's done. She just thinks she's doing a nice favour is all!

[thunderblessedhero]

———

[Attached: A live video feed. Or… snippets of one? The footage will fizzle out at random intervals, but during the stream’s rolling you manage to catch a few key moments.

In the first scene, you see August, carefully navigating their way down a dark corridor. Sheets of frost crawl up the sides of the cave walls around them, and you can see the young trainer shivering rather violently the further they press on, rubbing the sides of their arms to keep warm…

“Have… to keep moving…” They mutter to themself, voice wavering, right before the screen goes black.

•

A few minutes pass before the feed returns. Gizmo is pointing the camera over August’s shoulder, who now appears to be standing in the middle of a giant, frozen cavern. Spikes and pillars of ice are scattered throughout the room around them, and you notice their breaths coming out in white puffs. But the most eye-catching thing are the pair of imposing figures standing before them…

There’s an elderly man, with lank, pale green hair that sticks up in an unusual way, and a red lens over his right eye. He wears a long black cloak with a large collar concealing the bottom half of his face, the flowing fabric decorated with strange eye-like patterns. In his right hand, he wields a cane, with the logo of Team Plasma displayed on it.

Behind him stands… a Pokémon? A dragon type, you immediately assume. Its size and anatomy bring to mind the two legendary dragons of Unova, but whatever this creature is, it certainly isn’t either of them. Jagged armor of ice coat its scaly gray hide, and its two pale yellow eyes shine ominously like torchlight through the darkness. You can hear the beast’s rumbling inhales and exhales, flakes of snow dispersing from its nostrils whenever it breathes out.

The man, who you immediately jump to assume is its trainer, smirks towards August. He takes a relaxed step forward, cane clicking against the ground as his eyes to be analyzing the person before him.

“So, you decided to follow me after all?” he muses, raising a brow. “Well, allow me to formally welcome you to the Giant Chasm, young trainer- or should I say ex-trainer?”

August visibly tenses at that, but doesn’t say a thing as the man continues to monologue. “This sacred place is where Kyurem once fell to after the separation of the Original Dragon- and where its power resonates strongest. Here, it will easily be able to turn your precious Unova into a frozen wasteland!”

With a tap of his cane to the stone ground, the dragon- Kyurem, he called it- bellows in response, its shrill roar causing the cave floor to tremble violently below August’s feet. They gasp as they stumble a little, but hold their ground and balance themselves before shooting the cloaked man a steely glare.

“Why are you doing this, Ghetsis?” They cry out furiously. “You want Unova all to yourself, you want everyone to bend to your will- but why? Why go to such drastic lengths? This won’t give you the power to fix anything!”

Ghetsis simply scoffs at the child’s attempt at a retort, waving his hand dismissively. “Young one, you don’t seem to understand- the power part is all I care about. You think I still hold the ideals of the old Team Plasma; separating humans and Pokémon for the sake of a better world? I thought you would’ve understood by now that it was all just a ruse to sway the people over to my side,” His expression hardens, as he firmly slams the bottom of his cane back down. “Pokémon mean nothing to me, people mean nothing to me- if corrupting their hearts and using their sense of morality against them won’t work, then I will simply make them bow to me using brute force!”

August just growls under their breath, feeling their composure slipping as they reach for a Pokéball from their belt. Seeing this, the corners of Ghetsis’ mouth curl into a twisted grin.

“I have a memory that continues to haunt me,” he goes on calmly, ignoring August’s threatening stance. “Just one.”

He strolls over to the other side of Kyurem, tapping his finger pensively against the top of his cane as he casts a melancholy gaze towards the cave wall, brows furrowing as he appears to reminisce upon something. “That unpleasant look in your eyes reminds me of it,” he acknowledges August with an irritated side glare. “Burning with as much fiery conviction as that little nuisance from two years ago.”

“But,” his voice switches to a mockingly pleasant tone, as he turns and spreads his arms out to the sides. “All that aside, allow me to bestow upon a gift, to show my respect for making it this far. You’ve proved to be quite the thorn in Team Plasma’s side- even besting the Shadow Triad and Colress.”

His expression then morphs into a cold, unforgiving scowl. “I shall freeze you solid right here and now, so you may watch my glorious ascent! And then, you will suffer a fate far worse than the one I orchestrated for that pathetic excuse of a hero!”

With a snap of his fingers, he barks the command. “Kyurem! Glaciate!”

Before August can have a chance to react, the dragon obeys, inhaling in a sharp breath and standing to its full height. A pale white glow emits from its armor of frost, as what can only be described as a blizzard begins to swirl around the room in a ring of frigid winds. Slowly, levitating spears of ice begin to take shape, whirring around rapidly and circling in on August from all sides, preventing them from running. Once they reach full size, the blades begin to withdraw back, thrumming with Kyurem’s raw power as they prepare to land the finishing blow…

In a heartbeat, the icy spears spring forwards and hone in on August- and all they can do is crouch to the ground, throw their arms up over their head, and pray for a miracle.

“FUSION BOLT!”

You barely register the familiar voice that cries out from somewhere offscreen, before Kyurem’s attack is abruptly intercepted by a crackling, electric blue light. Gizmo gets knocked back by the blast, and yet again, the footage cuts to static.

•

The feed returns after a bit of a longer period of silence this time. The camera wobbles as Gizmo weakly lifts itself back up, but as it rises from the ground and steadies you can see something past the grains of dust covering the camera.

August was knocked onto their back, but seems relatively unharmed. In front of them… there’s a familiar figure. Green hair swaying behind him, you watch as N stands before his friend’s attacker. At his side… is none other than his old companion, the legendary dragon of ideals- Zekrom.

The awe-inspiring sight of the divine creature in the flesh is almost enough to distract you from the sound of N’s voice ringing out through the cavern. “I understand now why Zekrom had been acting strange, vanishing for a whole month,” he states. “She knew Kyurem was suffering- at your hands, no less.”

“Suffering?” Ghetsis chuckles condescendingly, completely unfazed. “For the freak who’s supposed to understand the hearts of Pokémon, you’ve clearly had a misread on Kyurem’s.” He gestures dramatically to the frozen beast at his side. “I have given Kyurem purpose! Forgotten for centuries, left to rot beneath the ice by its other halves- if anything, you should be thanking me! Now it shall have the honor of assisting me in paving a way to a glorious new world!”

Zekrom snarls at that, to which Kyurem retorts with an indignant snuff. From the way the dragons glare at each other, you can see a long festering bitterness behind each of their eyes, telling an unspoken tale of history between them. You can only imagine what it is…

N looks between the two dragons, biting his lip as he turns to face the man before him once more. “So you’ve twisted its heart and its pain to make it do your own bidding…” he growls. “…Just as you did with me. And countless others. Here I had hoped you had changed, but unfortunately I can’t say I’m very surprised.”

He sucks in a deep breath, before stepping forward. “I will not allow selfish humans to make Pokémon suffer,” he declares. “Unova- it isn’t perfect, but I like it here. It’s the place that taught me to live as a human…” His hand slides up to grip the black and white stone hanging from his necklace, as he casts a momentary glance back at August. “…and made me notice the harmony of people and Pokémon living alongside one another. And I will do everything in my power to protect that harmony- especially from the likes of you.”

Ghetsis falls silent, watching N with this unreadable frown plastered upon his face. But then, it cracks into a grin, before a dark chuckle escapes Ghetsis as he claps his hands together.

“Good, good,” he says. “That was a moving expression of your determination! It seems the education I provided you in order to make you king wasn’t a complete waste!”

“But I still haven’t forgotten that even after everything I had done for you, all the kindness I extended you-” Ghetsis glowers, slamming his staff again. “Took you in, raised you, cared for you, taught you everything you know- you still had the gall to selfishly turn on Team Plasma and thwart my plans! I was supposed to use your abilities to rule Unova!”

Then, he closes his eyes, relaxes himself, and straightens up. “But, I will forgive you for all of that as well- for you have bestowed upon me the final piece needed in order to carry out my mission-”

“Zekrom, which you were kind enough to bring me,” he gestures to the giant black dragon at N’s side. “Is the key to unlocking Kyurem’s true potential! You’ve saved me quite the trouble. I was originally counting on the arrival of her counterpart, but the goddess of Ideals will work just as well.”

He then raises a hand from his cloak, tapping his chin. “Well, actually, that’s not entirely true- you were a bit of a plan B. I had a feeling you’d come after us after we fired those ice missiles into Opelucid City- and of course, displayed to everyone the demise of that little hero of Truth you hold oh so dearly…”

N grits his teeth, and Ghetsis smiles, knowing he’s struck a nerve. “You will not get away for what you did to them,” the young man seethes. “Your plan- it will never work. It’s an ugly formula.”

Brushing off his threat, Ghetsis simply continues. “Oh, but I assure you, it will!” He switches his cane to his other hand so he can reach for something inside the pocket of his cloak. From it, he pulls out a triangular device- it resembles a syringe, of sorts, with a color pallet resembling Kyurem’s. “With the help of these- the DNA Splicers! Watch and learn!”

He turns to Kyurem, and promptly stabs the device into the beast’s shoulder. Kyurem hisses and recoils in pain- its eyes and the yellow horn jutting out between its ice helmet beginning to thrum with energy.

Cracks dance across the ice trapping its wing-like appendages, before they completely shatter- allowing pink, sharp-ended tendrils to burst forth from the dragons’ body. They loom menacingly in the air above Kyurem for a beat longer, before suddenly lunging themselves at Zekrom like whips.

Realizing they were coming for his partner, N whirls and cries out to the Legendary. “ZEKROM!”

With a shriek of terror, Zekrom launches into the skies, twirling around wildly to narrowly avoid the tendrils as they grab for her. She moves with incredible speed, managing to outlast them for a good while, but the pursuit is cut short sooner than you had hoped- Kyurem is faster, and the tendrils expand out to entangle Zekrom within their grasp. As they tighten their hold on her, she roars helplessly as they begin to pull against her and drag her back to the ground.

The tendrils almost seem to drain her energy like a leech, leaving her no choice but to let herself plummet from the air. In her descent, her body is encased in a blue light- and in seconds, she’s retreated into the form of a round, black stone that soon clatters pitifully to the floor.

N stiffens in shock at the sight of his mighty companion being brought to defeat, just like that. “Z-Zekrom…”

“Kyurem!” Ghetsis shouts another order, pointing his staff in the direction of Zekrom’s slumbering form. “Absorb the Dark Stone, now!”

Stomping forwards, Kyurem extends out its clawed wings and seems to draw the stone towards it with a stream of swirling pink light, like some sort of magnetic pulse. The orb hovers over Kyurem’s head, and the creature almost appears to take in an inhale of relief, like it had been awaiting this moment.

The Dark Stone begins to shrink in size, its power getting vacuumed through the swirls of energy attaching it to Kyurem. The icy beast closes its eyes, as a white crackles of electricity begin to shoot up from the ground around it…

•

The feed flickers out again, but not for as long this time.

When it cuts back in, you can see Kyurem- or… Zekrom…? It looks like Kyurem, but it’s gained many of the electric deity’s traits. The strange and somewhat terrifying amalgamation of the two dragons stands tall and menacingly beside Ghetsis, breathing in and out heavily, puffs of steam swirling out from its nostrils. Veins of blue energy stretch out from its ice-plated shoulders, connecting to several slots along its bulky, unnaturally twisted tail.

N is stunned speechless. He stands there, hand trembling as he beholds the monstrosity his legendary companion had been absorbed into. August hesitantly rises to their feet behind him, eyes bulged with shock.

Amused by their reactions, Ghetsis snickers darkly. “Do you understand now, N?” he says patronizingly. “If you had simply become king, none of this would have had to happen. No one would’ve had to die. Unova would’ve remained beautiful…”

It’s clear that the man’s words have their intended effect- N’s eyes trail to the ground, as he clenches his fist and grits his teeth. You can practically see the gears turning behind his eyes, trying to think of anything he can do, anything he can say back- but nothing comes out.

“And now, I shall rule over with an iron fist,” Ghetsis continues, that ever present twisted grin still on his face as he rises his cane up triumphantly. “-all because you were too weak hearted to rise up into the role I wasted decades preparing you for.”

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

The shout that echoes throughout the chasm causes N to look up, his mouth falling open when he raises his head to see none other than August- standing firmly between him and the merged Kyurem, a Pokéball clutched in hand.

“You don’t get to talk to him like that,” August hisses, and you can’t help but notice something about them has changed… Their voice almost sounded deeper, carrying an ethereal echo to it, exuding power and determination. There was an unnatural, crystal blue glow illuminating their dark brown eyes, swirling in wisps of light like the flow of water.

“Oh?” Ghetsis cocks a brow at them, not very amused by their attempt at intimidation. “So it would seem there’s more to you than just an impudent, nosy child from some nowhere town. Well then…” He clasps his hands together, a challenging smirk appearing on his features. “I was just planning on freezing you two solid where you stood, but now my interest is piqued. If you’re so bold as to continue standing against a force as unstoppable as my Kyurem, then I’ll give you a fighting chance- face down Kyurem, alone!”

N takes in a sharp breath, tensing up in fear, before turning to August and quickly shaking his head. “August, don’t.” he pleaded. “This isn’t your fight-”

“Yes, it is,” August replied firmly, without even looking back at him. They grip the Pokéball in their hand tighter, their stance unwavering as they address Ghetsis once more. “I accept your challenge, Ghetsis.”

Kyurem’s trainer is silent for a moment, eyes calm and calculating as he stares August down, as if he’s trying to read them for any hidden fear beneath their steely gaze. Then, his sinister grin returns, and he takes a step back- making a sweeping gesture with his arm towards the open space that would act as their battlefield. “Very well,” he snickers. “Be my guest. I for one can’t wait to see all that fighting spirit dwindle from your eyes as Kyurem mercilessly crushes each of your pathetic Pokémon!”

August didn’t bother to give a retort back- they just remained silent as they stepped forwards, unshaken in the shadow of their glowering, godly opponent. Out came their first Pokémon- A Samurott, the jagged point on its armored head glistening in the dim light pouring in through the cavern. August threw out the first command- and just like that, the battle began.

“RAZOR SHELL!”

Samurott lunges forward with one of it sword-shaped shells drawn, slashing at Kyurem’s neck. The tip of the blade drags across the dragon’s black and gray scales, but to the Water-type starter’s shock- barely even leave a scratch.

In response, Kyurem simply swatted the otter Pokémon away with its heavy, ice-covered arm, and August grit their teeth as they watched their starter tumble across the ground. Thankfully, Samurott landed on its feet- but not long before Kyurem let loose a blast of raw, draconic energy that it’d have to scramble away to avoid.

This battle with seemingly impossible odds raged on for what felt like well over an hour- with August switching out frequently between Pokémon every two turns or so to try and avoid any knockouts. That strategy wouldn’t be effective forever, though- it only lead to Kyurem getting more annoyed; and more viscous with its retaliations.

One by one, each of August’s team began to succumb to exhaustion. “SHIVER!” They cried out as their Beartic was brought to his knees with a pained grunt, having just endured a brutal Slash attack, before keeling over onto his side in defeat.

Growling under their breath, August recalled him to his Pokéball- clicking it back onto their belt before sending in their trusty Samurott once more. They took a moment to examine Kyurem’s condition- it was growing tired, and even suffering from a burn their Darmanitan had inflicted earlier on in the fight, but it looked capable of holding out a bit longer. Much longer than their Samurott- who looked like he was standing on his last leg, even using one of his swords to support his weight.

The outcome of this match wasn’t likely going to end in August’s favor- that much was certain. Seeing this, N ran forwards, grabbing the teen’s shoulder to try and urge them to back down now while they still could.

“August, it’s not worth it,” he begged. “That thing is too powerful! We have to run- NOW!”

“No!” August almost screamed back, yanking their arm away. To N’s surprise, he was greeted by the sight of tears beginning to pour down from their eyes when they whirled around to face him. “I was useless back in Opelucid City- I’m not letting the same thing happen again now! We might not even get another chance to stop him!”

“Listen to the freak, child,” Ghetsis taunted from across the battlefield. “Victory is already within my grasp! Turn back now, and maybe you’ll live long enough to see me rise to the top!”

Clenching their fist, August turned back to Ghetsis and Kyurem defiantly. Just as they were to about to dish out another order to their Samurott, however, they stopped upon noticing the blue tubes protruding from the legendary dragon’s back start to pulsate with light once more. Rearing its head back, Kyurem let out a bellowing screech as it took a deep inhale of frosty air, slowly building up a giant chunk of glowing ice between its maw. At the same time, sparks began crackling in the back of its throat, imbuing the icicle with electrical energy.

It was- without a doubt- building up to be a devastating strike. One that might just cause the whole room to collapse. Without hesitation, N firmly grabbed August’s arm and yanked them away, ignoring their protests while reaching for the camera and snatching Gizmo out of the air. Everything becomes an unintelligible blur, and all you can hear are footsteps pounding against stone and N’s frantic panting as he makes a run for it.

There’s a rumble, and you catch a flash of red heat whoosh past in all the chaos… Everything begins to shake violently as an explosion goes off in the background, and you hear N and August yelp as they tumble forwards. Gizmo lets out a series of distressed beeps as he rolls across the ground, cracks spreading across his screen. For a moment, your heart drops, thinking they weren’t able to escape the blow…

…But then, Gizmo looks up. N is crumpled on the ground, having thrown himself over August to protect them. With a groan, he manages to sit up, and beholds the figure waiting behind him…

His jaw drops open at the sight of brilliant, flowing white feathers, aglow with wispy, orange flames. The radiant being who’d come to his rescue rises to its full height, craning its long neck back as it lets out an ethereal scream towards the heavens…

You hear N whisper its name under his breath. “Reshiram…”

And on its back, you catch a glimpse of a figure with pink hair.]

———

[lycankeyy]

The way Cyclops says "lol" and "bitch" in this song haunts me at random intervals. I can hear him in my Brain he is Making Fun of Me

[boygiwrites]

Living the Vida Loca  P.4

• Jesse Pinkman & Reader. (Platonic)

(Here’s part one.)     (Here’s part two.) (Here’s part three.) (Here’s part five.) (Here’s the epilogue.)

• (Find this story on Ao3.)

Summary — A short story about how a young teenaged girl gets wrapped up in Jesse's life.

Notes — We've had a Jesse chapter, a Walt chapter, a Saul chapter, and now I give you a bit of a Mike chapter.

.

The point of no return.

One evening, while you're walking your neighbour's dog, two men try to kill you.

They leave you with a black eye, a purple cheek, and a red lip, crying next to a dumpster.

All you can think about is how you let the dog run away into the night.

You shuffle to the nearest bus stop, bleeding, and call out Gizmo's name the whole way.

You huddle on the metal bench.

When you find yourself staring at your contacts list, you hesitate.

The white phone light illuminates your wet face.

Jesse has tried to call you fourteen times in the last five minutes.

His unanswered text messages haunt your phone like little ghosts.

Where r u???

come home rigjt now

man i'm sorry ok

come home

i made toast n eggs for dinner

scrambled

pls

ill make waffles if u want

we can watxh tinkerbell

or whatevr

i wont be mad pls just come home

dinners getting cold

please

hello??

A five minute gap.

Get ur ass back in this fking house rn i'm not plauing

Your thumb hovers over the call button.

One last message from Jesse; ur in so much trouble. come home.

You don't even realise you've called Jimmy until his sleepy voice picks up on the other line.

The emergency room is weirdly busy at this hour. For some reason, you imagined it slowing down sometimes.

In the lobby, wearing eye bags but looking more awake than ever, Jimmy calls Walt while he rubs your back.

Then, Walt must call Jesse.

Then, Jesse tries calling you.

A single text appears after you don't pick up; im on my way baby ok

Jimmy walks you through everything that's going to happen once the police arrive, in an attempt to make it all a little less scary.

The nurses stitch up your cheek.

They give you a lollipop that you don't eat.

When two officers come in with tiny notepads and big badges to talk about the assault, Jimmy does all the talking.

All you have to do is nod at random intervals to confirm he's got the story right.

Which he does.

( When you first gave him a detailed recount, he went pale and lost his words. You've never seen him like that before. )

For the sake of yours, Jesse's, Walt's and Jimmy's safety, you agree to leave out the part where the two men claimed Gus Fring's associate sent them.

( Jimmy, who's Gus Fring? )

( Don't ask, sweetie, okay? We'll sort it out. Let me go grab some more tissues. )

The fact they were willing to put police eyes on them for this made you cry harder.

When you're released, you see Jesse waiting for you both on a curb in the parking lot, jittering like crazy.

He runs up to you and hugs you like it's his last chance.

He says he's sorry.

Sorry for everything.

He's sorry for being a shitty dad-brother, he's sorry for yelling, and fighting, and slamming doors on late nights.

He's sorry for coming home at midnight, not saying a word, and then leaving before breakfast.

He's sorry for not killing Derrick when he had the chance; sorry for not doing it sooner.

He's sorry for dragging you into this.

He's sorry for not being there.

And he's sorry that, out of everyone back at that skatepark, you ended up with him.

You hug Jesse back.

Jimmy coughs wetly and tells you guys to break it up, I'm getting misty-eyed over here.

They take you to a 24-hour diner.

It's 11PM.

You cuddle into Jesse's side and eat a big, pink, puffy Krispy Kreme donut.

He wipes away your tears.

Then, Walter finally shows up, apologizing for taking so long. He's out of breath and he has a revolver in his pants line.

He orders a lemon curd donut with cookie crumble on top and eats it with a quaint smile on his face.

Jimmy asks him if he's just happy to be here, or if that's a fucking loaded magnum under his jacket.

Walt explains that he may or may not have taken a midnight stroll.

It may or may not have taken place in a particular neighbourhood.

He may or may not have...

Well, let's not get into all that jazz right now.

He uses a napkin to wipe a speckle of blood off his palm, and stuffs it in his breast pocket.

Jim and Walt talk about a man named Mike, while you and Jesse make paper swans together.

Walt hugs you for the first time ever when you all go your separate ways at 11:46PM.

Jesse lets you know that it's okay if you want to go home with Jimmy tonight.

You called him first, after all.

Jesse tugs on his beanie.

He does that when he's anxious.

You sniff and tell him shakily; No, you idiot. I'm going home with you.

Jimmy hugs you, pats you on the back, and tells you to come over any time you want.

He also promises you that if this goes to court, he's going to have those guys locked up for so long that their grandchildren will be serving life sentences in orange jumpsuits.

He hands you back the lollipop.

You fall asleep in the back of Jesse's car on the way home.

He puts his hoodie over you.

The radio is quiet.

It's cold tonight.

When you wake up sometime around 3AM, you're tucked into Jesse's bed and he's snoring next to you on top of the blankets.

Out of everyone at that skatepark, you're glad it was him.

The aftermath.

Here are all the reasons it does not, in fact, go to court.

The first man turns up missing on the news.

His name is Rico Perez, and you recognise his black goatee and marble-y eyes.

Jesse changes the channel quickly.

Eat your cereal, baby.

You get the feeling that Rico Perez is fizzing away in a Costco bucket somewhere.

That same day, Jesse and Walt install alarms and locks all over your house.

For about a week, you stay home from school.

Jesse calls you baby a lot more now, and sings you to sleep most nights.

He's conscious of not making any loud noises around you.

He keeps a gun on him, even if he's just frying bacon.

He plays videogames with you in your bed, and draws with you, and plays frisbee in the driveway.

He rents DVD upon DVD to watch on his laptop with you.

( They're all Tinkerbell. )

( You've both seen them like a hundred times. )

It feels like you're in witness protection.

The week goes slow.

The second man turns up dead on the news.

His name is Kennedy Adams, and you recognise his wonky teeth and bloated gums.

Jesse lets you watch this time, because Kennedy was the one that did most the damage.

There's a live video of his body bag being zipped up.

Jesse punches the air and shouts, yes bitch, like he's watching the Superbowl.

He has a very long phone call that night.

The aftermath of the aftermath.

Mike Ehrmantraut says you remind him of his granddaughter.

He's got two heavy eyes, a life's worth of scars all over his hands, and the patience of a Saint.

While the two men's deaths were pending, Mike had watched your house from 4PM to 7AM, every day, with a gun in the glovebox.

Apparently, it was him who killed the second guy.

Before one of his shifts, Mike skewered his neck on a police-standard bullet and then paid some shady officers to take the credit for it.

He sounded very bored when he told you the story.

Suffice to say, he fulfilled his duty.

The morning after his last shift watching your house, you find a little teddy bear with a pink bow on the welcome mat.

The note attached reads;

In the hopes you sleep a little easier.

You do.

The night light is still permanent.

Sudden noises still reduce you to hysterics in Jesse's arms.

You'll never visit that neighbourhood again.

Instead of sitting with the other kids, you spend breaks in Walt's classroom while he eats his chicken salad.

You avoid the alley next to Jimmy's building, and instead take up graffitiing his whiteboard with his dried-up markers.

Jesse holds your hand out in public all the time, now, and he bunks with you every night.

His texts don't go unanswered, and they look more like this, now;

miss u 2 see u l8er :)

im at walmart u want ramen??

call me ok we'll do the 4 7 8 breathing thing

yo that looks dope u like picasso n shit

mondays kicking the shiz out my ass

home in 10 :)

u having a good day bby?

yo com downstairs im puting mario cart on 

love u

You don't dog-walk anymore.

You don't sing randomly in the kitchen.

You don't talk.

But you sleep a little easier.

When Gizmo is found by an old lady five miles from home, you sleep even better.

When Gus Fring turns up dead on the TV one month later, you sleep like a god damn baby.

.

End Notes  — I couldn't find a suitable place to squeeze this in, so I just implied it, but Walter killed Rico right before showing up at the diner. I imagine he wrapped him in a tarp or something and locked him in his trunk, ate his donut, and then he and Jesse liquified him the next day. Fun times!

[sleep-can-wait]

My Gift To You ~ College AU Part 3

Aru hated to admit it, but they were lost. She and Aiden stood in front of a dilapidated building, peering into the open doorway and eye-balling the spiders that were scuttling across the walls and floor.

Backtracking to how they got there, their friend group, who called themselves the Potatoes for no apparent reason other than 'Brynne said so', went to the annual carnival that was hosted every year in Atlanta.

It had everything from flash mobs to rides to junk food. Naturally, Aru dragged them all there, fighting tooth and nail to haul their stupid butts to the damn place. Aiden was the only one who easily agreed to come.

While walking parallel to thousands of stalls and treading the dirt-packed road, the couple had gotten distracted. Aiden started taking photos of everything and Aru stared in awe at the ginormous fuzzy panda that was hanging on a nail in one of the prize booths. When she snapped out of it, she realized everyone was gone.

She had quickly tugged on Aiden's elbow and told them their predicament.

"I'm afraid we have just been abandoned by our so-called 'friends'."

They both decided to wander around, trying to find the others in spots the Potatoes would most likely be at. But perhaps they had gotten carried away again, because moments later they halted at the door of the haunted house that was at the edge of where the festival was held.

Also, she and Aiden were holding hands again when she was fairly certain they weren't before.

And that is how they got up to this point. Aru looked thoughtfully at the house, then at Aiden. He saw it and tried to back away but couldn't because of the fact that they were still holding hands, and apparently, he didn't want to let go.

".... I'm afraid to ask, but what?" She grinned.

"I have an idea."

"Oh no." He groaned.

"You haven't even heard it!" Aru protested.

"Please, since when are your ideas good-?." She clamped her hand over his mouth, muffling the rest of his sentence.

"Just hear me out. What if we go through the haunted house and whoever screams first loses and has to give the winner a gift? It can be anything, as long as it's nice and the other will like it."

"But-"

"Chicken?"

"Never." Aiden huffed. "Alright let's do this. Prepare to lose, idiot."

Aru smirked. "You wish, nerd." They signed their names on the clipboard hanging near the entrance and entered the dark hall.

To say the least, it was really hard. Eerie music floated through the corridors, and there were six of them. At random intervals, realistic monsters would pop out.

The actors who were playing them stood awkwardly, however, when neither victim looked terrified, before walking away. Then they both would continue as if nothing happened, but that was a lie. Aiden was shaking slightly and Aru was gritting her teeth.

In the third part, things really started to get scary. They got chased by murderers, Bloody Mary, the government, you name it. The duo were just leaving the fifth hall when one of them finally screamed.

They had just escaped Pennywise and Aru was full-on shaking by then. She despised clowns with every inch of her body. Both of them were running at top speed, glancing back every two seconds to make sure they weren't being followed. Aiden was not looking too good, but was much better off than her.

Why couldn't he have the clown phobia? Aru thought grouchily, glaring at his stupid, beautiful face.

Pennywise was still a bit in the distance so both of them didn't expect it when a corpse hanging from a noose dropped down from the ceiling. Aru stuffed her fist into her mouth and bit down hard. But Aiden wasn't fast enough.

He screamed and jerked away, instantly falling down. Distantly Aru thought how unfair it was that his voice still sounded pretty even while shrieking at the top of his lungs.

Once the dead body was pulled back through the ceiling tile, Aru helped Aiden up. He sighed.

"I suppose you win."

"Yeah," She smirked at having another victory over him. "Let's finally get out of here."

Once again, they were standing in a daze outside of the haunted house, but this time they were facing the other way.

"Um, could you close your eyes?" Aiden looked a bit nervous, fidgeting with Shadowfax's strap. Aru gazed around and spotted a weeping willow with fairy lights dangling from each branch, deciding that was the perfect place to finally rest her legs.

She walked over and sat down, with her back pressed against the tree's trunk, before reciting something Hira had taught her.

"I think this tree is very appropriate, you know?" Aru grinned. "It means mourning and loss. And you are right now grieving over having lost to me!" Aiden's mouth twisted into what he tried to play off as a grimace, but was definitely a pout.

He quickly covered Aru's eyes with his palms, probably to hide his sulking. "No peaking, and I am not!." She laughed, but shrugged her shoulders in agreement, closing her eyes.

She heard the sound of his footsteps fade and waited in the leftover silence. She hadn't realized how lonely it was when he wasn't by her side, hand ready to hold hers.

To use up the time placed in her hands, Aru amused herself by blowing away the leaves that landed on her face and shaking out the ones that fell on her hair.

She also didn't notice how tired she was until her butt hit the ground and was tiring quickly. She had just started to doze off when she heard someone whisper her name.

"Shah?" Before Aru could jump up, firm hands held her steady on the ground. "It's me, don't open them yet." She crossed her arms but uncrossed them as Aiden entwined their hands together.

"What took you so long?" He went silent for a moment.

"Would you believe that I am terrible at aiming?"

"What-?" A warm hand cupped her cheek, dislodging a few leaves in her hair, his other softly squeezing their already clasped hands. Lips pressed against her own gently. The scent of clean laundry and cooking spices wrapped around her.

Aiden Acharya was kissing her.

It was only for a second, but it seemed much longer. Her eyes flew open as he pulled away.

"Was that-" He breathed out. "Was that okay?" Aru probably looked just as stunned as him but couldn't stop a smile nonetheless.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was great." They both hesitated, before connecting and pressing against each other again, Aiden going back to his original position.

Aru panicked, unsure what to do with her free hand this time, but instinct took over and she slipped it into his hair, tangling in his soft curls. They didn't break apart as fast this time.

After pulling away, they just sat under the willow tree together, not really saying anything. Their hands were still woven together and resting on Aiden's leg. Aru wasn't sure about him, but that was her first kiss.

Lame, she knew, but it was just that she had never really liked anyone romantically before and even questioned herself if she was aro-spec. That all changed when she met Aiden and suddenly she was a high schooler in love. And they had only started dating a couple of weeks ago.

After a few minutes of trying hard not to randomly smile out of nowhere, Aru nudged Aiden and broke the silence.

"What were you saying before? About the aim thing."

"Oh," He looked flustered. "I didn't want to take any chances with the kiss, so just in case you hated it or felt uncomfortable, I was going to use the prize I won at the Ring Toss booth to apologize or bribe you into forgetting it ever happened."

"Where is it now?"

Aiden went behind the tree and came out with a giant stuffed animal. The panda she had been eyeing before they got lost. Aru's eyes lit up and Aiden sighed.

"I'm guessing I won't be able to keep this then?"

"Nope!" She said cheerfully, before adding, "But we can share."

"I'll take what I can get."

"Next time, I'll win you a prize Wifey." Aiden scoffed.

"No way!"

"Who's gonna stop me?"

"Then I'll win you more prizes than you can win for me."

"Are you challenging me?"

"I don't know am I?"

"Are you?"

"Yes, and I believe I will absolutely leave you in the dust."

"You wish."

"Prepare to be overwhelmed with tons of stuffed animals, Shah."

"I'll overwhelm you first." Both of them jogged off, Aru gatekeeping the panda the entire time, and played as many games as they could before being found and dragged away by the rest of the Potatoes.

Bonus: Aiden finally won and shoved all his stuffed animals at Aru with a well-deserved smirk on his face. Aru did the same but was still kinda grumpy about losing.

-----

I'm sleep-deprived, but here is this! Tell me what you guys thought of the kiss and I always accept constructive criticism :) My next oneshot will be on Mindy but I have no idea what to do so I'm begging you guys to please give me suggestions for them.

Hope you enjoyed! Going to sleep now.

[breelandwalker]

Fun Spooky Things I'm Doing In October:

Watching at least three scary movies per week (one I've seen before and two I haven't)

Listening to podcasts and audio courses about spooky history and horror movies (recs on request)

Shamelessly leaning into my penchant for monster romance books ("You mean paranormal-....?" DID I STUTTER?)

Making my annual batch of pumpkin bread

Stealthily adding Halloween decorations to my office space

Planning the office Halloween party

Going to as many haunted attractions as I can stomach

Attending a LARP event that promises to be a monster mash

Making the annual home decor shopping trips

Greeting the crows every morning on my way in to work

Wearing all my favorite witchy garb at the slightest provocation

Vending at a local witch market

Planning the annual warding ceremony

Breaking out the fall-scented candles

Cackling to myself at random intervals

Cleaning my home office (trust me, it's scary in there)

[mydarlingdearestdead]

Family Traditions

1.5k words, very much a Halloween short story. Tw: suicide, blood, murder, death, loss/grief. Enjoy

“Crestfallen.” Eva supplied. She smiled widely, undoubtedly proud of the expansive vocabulary she’d picked up from countless hours left unsupervised in her parent’s library.

“Yes, my darling,” Her father replied, his eager gaze lingered on her a moment. “I would certainly say as much.” Their subject was a man, mid-forties with frightened blue eyes. He squirmed against Father’s muscled arms, not quite enough to be any real resistance. Eva could just about chalk it up to discomfort if she thought about it.

His lips moved around the makeshift gag in his mouth, a spare length of cloth. He was trying to speak to her, futilely by all means. Eva almost laughed at this attempt, afterall he was being honoured, no punishment to speak of. She offered him a grin in response and he, surprisingly, fought against Father’s hold with renewed vigour. The look of terror that flitted across his sharp features would haunt her for years upon years.

A shadowed figure danced at the edges of Eva’s vision before long.

“Arden,” She said sharply, “Stop lurking in my peripheral.”

Just like that her brother’s slim silhouette wordlessly slunk out of the shadows and to her side.

Eventually, Eva huffed, “Do get on with it, would you?” Her tone left no room for any assumption of it being a request. The man’s squirming abruptly ceased. The fire’s light offered a dim view, a single tear as it trailed its way down his cheek. The father brandished his body as if a shield, drawing a blade skilfully across the man’s throat.

Mother’s voice rang in her ears, a ghost of a memory.

Get back. The blood will spray and there will be more of it than you’ll expect.

Her voice was soft, sweet but jittery, stopping and starting erratically at random intervals. At this moment, she was tying an intricate pattern into Eva’s hair, finishing with a red ribbon, blood-red, rather ironically. Where our story begins, she had no longer any use for a ribbon in her hair, it was far too short, but the advice- Now that was useful.

This warning, apparently, hadn’t graced Arden’s ears, though Eva could entertain no reason in seven planes why not. While she turned and ran back, toward the ever-changed foliage that served at their scene on this night, Arden stood as though he’d suffered an unfortunate run-in with Medusa,

As the limp body fell lifelessly to the grass, Eva’s father charged for his son, thankfully leaving the silver blade at his back.

He fell to his knees before Arden, taking him by the shoulders and jostling the boy. There wasn’t a hit of reaction from Arden, only silence. A boy devoid of emotion.

Eva’s mind could only find this peculiar- once she’d first seen the event even a conscious mind and moral principles couldn’t halt the smile creeping onto her face- even if she was missing one of her front teeth at the time.

Arden opened his mouth, then closed it again. His face and clothes had taken on a new polka-dot pattern which no stain remover could possibly redeem. Still, he didn’t look horrified, or joyous as Eva had expected, just impassive.

Their father exhaled a heavy breath, then let his son go.

“Evaline.” He called on her, “Take your brother back to the house. Tell your mother what happened.”

Eva understood the potential severity of this incident then. Father only used her full name when things were dire, when she needed to obey him. So, she did what she was told, ruining a perfectly good pair of white boots in the process. On the walk, short as it was, she took it upon herself to berate Arden:

“Do you have any idea what Mother will do when she sees how you’ve ruined that shirt? She’ll have a fit! It was one of your proper ones!”

“Why didn’t you back away? Frankly, you don’t need a warning. It’s sense.”

“Arden! Are you even listening to me? You better not need therapy… actually, no, try and explain this to a therapist. Just make sure it’s recorded for me to watch at my leisure.”

Once more, her brother was expressionless. Eva doubted he was even hearing her. On a grander scale, he’d been lucky, no blood in his eyes or mouth. He would have been luckier if he had stepped back with her, of course, but there was no use on dwelling on that. What’s past is past.

The siblings made haste for home, where upon arrival, Mother carried Arden off to the sitting room with the concerned look only even sported by mothers, leaving Eva behind in the foyer. She whispered as many comments as her underdeveloped mind could muster before sauntering off to her bedroom.

The girl bided her time, listening. She heard her father come home, heavy footsteps muffled by the thick carpet, and her mother go to bed, the ruffle of satin sheets, and her father follow suit, the crackle of static from an old TV. There wasn’t a stir from Arden’s room, it remained silent and unlit. Finally, hall light clicked itself off and everything was plunged into the merciless dark. Eva’s favourite place.

Eva, being of a certain resourcefulness you don’t often see in children of her age, clambered out of bed, torch in hand, and wandered toward the kitchen.

Out of nothing more than habit, she stopped to check the cat, a tabby she swore was older than her mother, leisurely lying by the heater. She checked his pulse first, as he had always lain awfully still. Then the memory hit her. Their cat died seven months ago.

Taxidermy really can do wonderful things, provided it’s given a chance.

Her own stupidity struck her. Even her sorry excuse for a brother had ceased making that mistake. Perhaps it was this day, the shock and the embarrassment finally getting to her.

As she passed, Eva noticed a number of syringes sat on the kitchen island. She swiped her arm across the mass, knocking the objects harmlessly into the bin. Her mother needn't have waited till they were gone, her husband did the same thing in his ‘workspace’ - also known as the garage - every other night. Not that Eva was trying to stop it, not at all. The syringes were already empty, and her mother already had that pleasant look on her face, like she’d been in a world of her own for many hours and just made it back in time for tea.

She took for herself a carton of strawberries, as well as a large glass of milk from the refrigerator.

The floorboards creaked beneath her weight as she ventured back to the sanctuary of her bedroom. Once at the landing between her and Arden’s rooms, Eva took notice of a thin slit under her brother’s door. Evidenced only be the manner by which light poured from it onto the darkened space.

Eva sighed, taking on the responsible role she often played, she placed the strawberries and milk on the floor, moving cautiously as she opened the door to Arden’s bedroom and slipped in through the gap.

Eva cursed, taking on the responsible role she often played. She slipped the strawberries and milk into her own darkened room before, moving cautiously, taking it upon herself to put Arden to bed.

She opened his door a crack, so the pouring light couldn’t alert any adults by spilling out past her, and slipped in.

Sure enough, every light was on- the desk lamp, ceiling light, bedside lamp and even an LED display he’d gotten for his last birthday. It glowed acid green with the words And Remember: Watch Your Mirror. She never understood the reference, but Arden was ecstatic, tackling their mother and hugging her fiercely.

On the far wall, Eva noticed, something blocked the light- a figure’s shadow. She almost laughed at first, pondering the ludicrous reasoning Arden would give to why he was standing stalk-still and ominous in the middle of his room. Then she noticed the angle of which he stood. His shadow was simply too long… to tall. Arden was smaller than her standing, he always had been unless-

Arden wasn’t standing at all.

Eva spun around before she could really consider the choice. She stumbled back against the wall, the little food in her stomach threatening to make a reappearance. The sight before her- Arden, her brother, six inches off the ground, held stuff by a thick rope coiled around his neck like a snake.

She screamed, the hopeless wail of someone who had learned just how unfair the world could be.

Eva screamed until her mother’s shape had embraced her and her father’s shadow was cast over them both, his muscled body blocking the horrific scene.

And she screamed some more.

Until her throat was raw and her lips were chapped. Her eyes were dry, no tears left when finally, finally her vocal cords gave out.

Death had always followed her. Eva would even say she had grown accustomed to its presence, like a comforting pet. But this was a different kind of loss. This was someone who counted on her. Someone she failed.

[possom-in-a-trashcan]

Dude

When I get annoyed at ppl that get freaked out by being "haunted" in like movies n stuff

And I say "dude I would just chill with that freaky looking ghost" or like "nah idc bout any creepy noises you really want to watch me? Das BORING"

I'm not just bluffing

Bc to be so fr with you

I get all those symptoms all the time

Like rn

There's been a radio crackling going on and off for random intervals for like the past two days and all I've done about it is stop what I'm doing a couple times and listen to it for five second

Idk what radio bc my radio is not plugged in it’s just sitting sweetly on my counter.

But idk man I haven’t even investigated where it’s coming from because I can’t be bothered

Hear a multitude of voices calling for help the second I turn the water on? Idk man I'm just washing my hair

That's just normal right?

Hear people walking around in the floor above you except the floor above is a unaccessible attic?

People walking around when no one's home?

I don't wanna get up man.

[futilefangirl]

Hello! I just saw your post asking other Ryan Gosling fans about their thoughts on his movies. It was a few months ago so I don’t know if you’re still interested; if not, please don’t waste your time on this, but if you are, this is my favorite, least favorite(s), and unpopular gem.

Favorite: La La Land. I CANNOT with how good this movie is, and I usually HATE musicals and romances. Put those two things together and you get…a super freakin good movie that made me cry and listen to the soundtrack no less than thirty times??? I’m sure you’ve heard other people sing it’s praises before, but genuinely, this movie is a work of art.

Least Favorite(s): for this one, it’s complicated because I have two - one that was so unbelievably boring that I had to quit after thirty minutes, and one that has a few redeeming qualities but a horrible message. Let’s start with the boring one:

Song to Song - there was so much overlapping narration it was like a documentary of some obscure history figure nobody cares about rather than a movie. People were doing the Devil’s Tango at random intervals and I don’t know why.

Crazy Stupid Love: okay so I know this one is on the more popular side, so if you or anyone else reading this disagrees, I kinda get it and please don’t attack me. The redeeming qualities are as followed: at some points, it’s really funny. Put Ryan Gosling and the guy from the office together and you’re gonna have good humor. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling do it again! While I don’t like their relationship as much as their one in La La Land, it’s still pretty nice. Okay, now into the main reason I don’t like it: the romance message is that if you try, embarrass, and harass the person you love enough, they will eventually love you back. No.

My Unpopular Favorite: Stay (2005). Good Lord do I love this movie, and I get why some people don’t like it, but I do. It has heavy suicidal themes, so watch out, and is confusing at times, but it deals with emotions so well and the transitions between scenes are creative and smooth as crap. Ending is super sad too, like, a characters last words haunt me to this day.

Honorable mentions are: Remember the Titans (RG had a minor role but it handles racial issues perfectly and is also the best football movie ever, and that’s not controversial), Barbie (introduced me to Goose, so forever thankful), and The Nice Guys (Goose NEEDS to do more comedy films because he [and costar Russel Crowe] are absolutely hilarious in this).

Thanks for listening to me rant!

Thanks for sharing!! but im sorry did you say barbie introduced you to ryan???????????????????????? i didnt know this could be a thing, still i am very happy for you and you seem to have been catching up quite quickly! i re-watched crazy stupid love recently and actually got quite a kick out of it, but people could say the same about noah and allies relationship in notebook and i will simply not be hearing any of that The Notebook was my introduction to his work and let me tell you it certainly changed my life aha i couldnt imagine my teenage years without him, johnny, leo or emile hirsch

i really think movies just hit differently at different times in our lives for different reasons, if i was originally dissapointed by any of his work i would just not give it another shot but its been years and years since ive seen some of them and am certainly ready to re watch