#it was too weird putting the clown wig on him so i had him holding it probs taking it off

[p-ogman]

Even if Father Garcia didn't have to use the clown costume on John, he can still put it to use-

idk i like the lineart :3

[mizunetzu]

Can you do Daichi x male reader where Daichi asks his boyfriend to come over to meet his team and he forgets and goes home so Daichi give him a call and is like "where you at?" "I cant come I look like a clown." "I bet you dont look that bad." "No you dont get it im in full drag." So his boyfriend comes to the gym in full drag, booby and butt pads, and monster heels, and when he walked in it's like Kags that recognizes him as his drag name.

LMAOOJSKE DRAG QUEEN READEKRNRNF

——————

Daichi x reader - DRAG QUEEN?!

⚠️warnings - drag queen, college first year reader x high school 3rd year (if that’s even a warning skdjd)

Pronouns- male, he/him

——————

Daichi said it on impulse, really.

“Do you guys...wanna meet my boyfriend?”

Everyone in the gym stopped. They were in middle of a practice match between themselves, and just when Yamaguchi was about to serve, he choked on air and missed the ball completely. The ball flew in the air, before landing somewhere near his feet.

Everyone stared at Daichi with a variety of expressions. Some shocked, some looking at him like he ‘said I’m gonna chop my dick off,’ and some who didn’t even care. (Tsukishima, obviously.) Ukai had to call timeout, since no one could focus after what Daichi blurted out.

Suga chuckled awkwardly, slinging a towel over his shoulders. “So uh, ahaha, your um...gay...?” His voice progressively died down into a whisper.

“Yeah. Is...that’s a problem?”

“No! No! I fully support y-“

“AND YOU CHOSE NOW TO TELL US? DUDE, WE COULD’VE LIKE, THROWN YOU A COMING-OUT PARTY!” Tanaka shook his captaincy the shoulders, while Noya squirted water into his mouth with his squeeze bottle.

“Well I don’t really mind, I’m already out, I was just asking if you wanted to meet him.”

“DO WE?! OF COURSE WE DO! DOES HE PLAY VOLLEYBALL?! DO YOU THINK HE COULD JOIN THE TEAM?!” Hinata jumped up and down, slowly inching is way towards Daichi with an awestruck look on his face. He’s rather surprised Hinata isn’t more shocked.

“Yeah. Uh-no, sorry. He doesn’t play.” Daichi chuckled, patting an excited looking hinata on the head. “I don’t think he has work tomorrow, so tomorrow’s really the only time he can come to practice.”

“Work?” Asahi looked up from the towel he was using to wipe off his sweat. “How old is he? Is he a third year?”

“He’s a first year in college. Actually-I think he goes to the college in Sendai.”

Asahi exhaled. It would’ve been weird if someone as young as a highschooler were to already be working, when the could be enjoying their time in classes or clubs. “Where does he work?”

Flashbacks of all the drag shows and money being thrown around a stage whipped across Daichis mind like a slap to the face. He’s sure the team wouldn’t mind, especially because they already don’t mind him having a boyfriend, but he isn’t sure if (Y/n) was ok with him telling his team he was a...y’know.

“...I’m not sure?”

————

“Oh-hello Daikkun! How was practice today?” (Y/n) opened the passenger seat to his door, waiting for him to step inside. Sometimes he liked to pick him up from school before he had to get in makeup for a night show. That didn’t stop him from doing a little bit of eyeliner, though.

“It was nice. I told them they could meet you soon. The team.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, you don’t have any shows tomorrow, right? I kind of told them tomorrow.” Daichi scrubbed at the back of his neck, while (y/n) started up his car. “I know you’ve wanted to meet them.”

“You bet your ass! Well-I mean I have a show at like 2 am but that doesn’t matter. What time can I come? Are they nice? Didn’t you say there was one who was really short but could jump as high as me in stilettos?”

“Oi-! Focus on the road!”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m just excited. Anyways! Can you come to my show tonight? I’ll sneak you in.”

“Every time I go to one of your drag shows I get scared someone will kick me out since I’m 17.”

“Dude, have you seen yourself?!” (Y/n) gestures over to Daichi, putting emphasis on his thigh-region. “You’re big and muscly enough to at least pass as 18. It’s just a one year difference, when’s your birthday again?”

“I can’t believe you forgot, I’m hurt.” Daichi chuckled, fiddling with his backpack straps on his lap. “Besides, doesn’t your show run kind of late today? I don’t get to choose when to take my classes like you, (L/n). And I have morning practice, so I need to sleep.”

“You’re no fun, Daikkun.”

“Yeah, yeah, My house is over there.”

————

(Y/n) scrolled through his phone for the nth time that day. Fanning himself dramatically, he huffed and buried his face into his pillow. There was nothing to do today, and since he took morning classes, that left him with the rest of the afternoon to ponder, before working at night.

Was there something to do today? Was he forgetting something? He felt like he was, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

He glanced guilty at a tube of light pink lip gloss tossed haphazardly on his desk. A light bulb went off in his head.

Hastily throwing his covers off his body, (y/n) dragged himself over to his closet, grabbing the lip gloss in the process. He shuffled through hangers of clothes, finally pulling out a girls uniform he bought from when he was in high school. He never wore it to school, choosing to wear the boys uniform, but he thought it’d be nice to have when he was feeling fruity.

Slipping on the skirt and cardigan, he walked over to his desk mirror. He unscrewed the wand from the tube of lip gloss, tentatively applying it generously to his lips. He shrugged. He figured he could do some more makeup. It’s not like he’s busy today, right?

Carefully winging the tip of his eyeliner, he took a step back and admired himself in the mirror. He looked cute, yeah, but cute wasn’t really his style. It screamed ‘cute femboy’ rather than his usual ‘sexy ass drag queen dominatrix who could step on you with their sharp ass knife heels’

Damn. He was really about to go all out, huh? Time to bring out the butt pads and fake boobs.

————

Sighing contently in front of the mirror, (y/n) did a little spin, puffing out the length of his dress. Damn, he was hot. And with his impossibly high monster heels? Take me now.

(Y/n) was in the midst of taking a couple cute selfies in front of his full length mirror, when his screen went grey and a caller ID appeared.

‘Incoming call - Daikkun!! <3’

(Y/n) smiled unconsciously and clicked the bright green button with his thumb. He brought his phone to his ear and twirled a piece of his faux wig with his finger.

“Hi Daikkun! Did you need something, cutie?”

“Are you still coming over?” Daichis voice was hushed, and the slam of volleyballs rang though his speaker.

“Uh-what for?”

“To meet my team? Where are you?”

Fuck.

(Y/n) paled as he eyed himself in the mirror. He couldn’t show up looking like that. And it was too much to take off before Daichis practice ended. This was the only time he had to meet this team Daichi had always been talking about, and he’d completely forgot.

“...I can’t, I look like a clown.” (Y/n’s) voice came out a hoarse, nervous-chuckly whisper. He could taste the expensive red lipstick sitting on his lips.

“I’m sure you don’t look that bad.”

“Dude no, you don’t understand.” (Y/n) picked at the hem of his dress, the silicone boobs suddenly squeezing his chest a bit too tightly. “I’m in full drag.”

A silence rang out from both sides of the line. Daichi awkwardly chuckled.

“Ahaha uh-didn’t you say you didn’t have work today?”

“No! No I-I don’t have work til like-later later but like-I got bored and I forgot I was gonna meet your team today...sorry-“

“Well I’m sure they won’t mind if you show up in drag. I mean-they seemed pretty ok with knowing we’re a thing so...?”

(Y/n) gulped.

“...I guess I’ll see you in ten minutes then.”

—————

“Good work everyone!”

Ukai dismissed the players, leaving them to start rolling up the net and cleaning up the gym. Sugawara jogged up to the captain, dragging his mop lazily behind him.

“You said your boyfriend was gonna come today, right? Where is he?”

“Uh,” Daichi checked his wrist, before realizing he didn’t have a watch and fished out his phone. “He should be here any minute now-“

Just in time, the doors to the gym creaked open. Daichi smiled, leaving Suga to trail behind him curiously. He reached for the door handle, giving it a firm pull.

In stepped a boy with a long synthetic wig on, and heels that made him tower over Daichi easily. The sharp platforms of his heels clicked with each step he took, jewelry and accessories also bobbing up and down. And not to mention the ‘bobbling’ the silicone boobs made. Jeez, even if they were fake, they did still jiggle a hell of a lot.

(Y/n) bent down daintily, pressing a kiss onto Daichi’s cheek. Lipstick smeared on his sweaty cheek, leaving a dark imprint on the side of his face. (Y/n) seemed to finally take notice of all the astonished stares directed at him.

Should he A, stand beside his boyfriend awkwardly and pick at the loose thread of his dress or B, put on his confident drag persona and play it off?

He chose B.

(Y/n) smirked and leaned on on of his feet, placing a hand on his hip. “What? Like what you see, boys? I’m afraid I’m already taken, though.”

Fuck. Fuck fuck. Fuck. Even with the confident display, (y/n) couldn’t help but stay somewhat behind Daichi, trying to shrink behind his 10 inch heels.

Immediately, a bald guy and a kid with a bleached strip on the front of his head erupted into excitement.

“Yo! Sick dress, dude!”

The atmosphere lightened up tremendously. (Y/n) let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Well thank you, Mr. Bleach strip.”

The bald one, who introduced himself as ‘Tanaka’, slapped Daichi on the back. “Dude! What’s with all the surprises?! You tell us you have a boyfriend but you didn’t tell us he was a drag queen?!”

“I-to be honest I didn’t know he was in drag today-I didn’t know he had work.”

The closet door opened, with Hinata and Kageyama walking out from placing the net inside. Hinata gasped excitedly, while Kageyama froze. Hinata practically bolted towards the unknown person wearing heels and jumped up to his height. (Y/n) choked on air. This kid practically flew at him.

“Wow! Are you one of those ‘drag queens’ I see on tv sometimes?! Cool! That’s so cool! I-“

“ARE YOU QUIMCHI?!”

Hinatas throat closed up, along with (y/n) after hearing his stage name being called out so...dramatically. The boy continued.

“...F-FROM THAT ONE INTERVIEW THEY DID ON THAT ONE CLUB ON THE LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH SHIN’ICHI HATORI?!”

Kageyamas booming voice rang through the gym as he pointed at (y/n) with wide eyes. Everyone’s gaze went from (y/n) to Kageyama, who was frozen in place. Even (y/n) was a tad bit confused.

The club he worked at recently had a special done on TV, and (y/n) was only in the background. He didn’t know how this...boy recognized him from that, or why he was even watching the drag special on that show in the first place.

“...yeah...yeah I am,” (y/n) smiled awkwardly and a boy with blond hair and glasses chuckled from somewhere in the gym.

The boy, with another guy with dark-green hair, walked out from the storage closet aswell. “Who knew the king was into that kind of stuff? Drag queens? No disrespect, ma’am-sir.”

Kageyama seemed to unfreeze just to glare at Tsukishima with a flushed face. “I-IM NOT! MY STUPID SISTERS JUST A BIG FAN, IS ALL!“

Kageyama turned to (y/n), and marched scarily fast towards him. He stopped abruptly and bowed his head so far it made (y/n) take a step back.

“M-MAY I HAVE AN AUTOGRAPH FOR MY SISTER?! AN-AND MAYBE A PHOTO TOO?!” Kageyama stiffly held his arms to his sides as he kept his head down. Small chuckles and snorts sounded from all around the gym, (y/n) even joining in and patting the black haired boys head.

“Sure thing, doll.”

————

“Your team was nicer than I thought.”

Daichi looked up questionably, fastening his seatbelt. (Y/n) started up his car. “What do you mean, nicer?”

“Well-I thought they were gonna be a bunch of meatheads banging their heads together. They’re actually more interesting than I thought they were going to be. Especially that Kageyama guy.”

Daichi smiled contently. “I’m glad you like them, then.”

A comfortable silence breezed by them, the only sounds audible being the hum of the car engine and the soft tapping of Daichis nails against the armrest. Daichi stole a glance at (y/n). His wig was discarded, placed neatly on the backseat with the wig cap and hairpins resting underneath it, and his hair was slightly damp and messy due to being constricted. His lipstick was a bit smeared from when he kissed him on the cheek, and droplets of sweat gathered near his hairline.

Daichi set his fingers lightly on the spot where the lipstick mark sat, caressing it softly so the lipstick wouldn’t smear more that it already has. He exhaled softly and shifted his gaze back down. He wouldn’t mind if he came to his practice again.

“...so wanna come to my show tonight, Daikkun?”

“It’s at 2am, no.”

—————

Extra:

Kageyama: miwa.

Kageyama: MIWA.

Miwa sighed and checked her phone, sliently scolding her brother for bothering her. She stretched and rubbed her eyes. She swore, if Tobio wanted a ride home from practice...

Miwa: mm

Kageyama: -photo sent-

Miwa: DUDE

Miwa: AJDJSKDKF

Miwa: HOW THE FUCK

Miwa: TELL ME YOU GOT QUIMCHIS AUTOGRAPH DJFJDJE

Kageyama: -photo sent-

Kageyama: I DID. I GOT ONE FOR U AND ONE FOR ME

Kageyama: HE WAS SO TALL TOO

Kageyama: LIKE HE WAS A HALF FOOT TALLER THAN ME EVEN WITHOUT THE HEELS

Miwa: WHY WAS HE AT UR PRACTICE WHSHD

Kageyama: apparently he’s dating my captain

Miwa: WHAT RHE FUCKCIDNEBRJ

——————

[organic-guacamole]

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

[calypsoff]

Eighty Eight.

It’s been a weird feeling to be having Robyn’ family in the home but not Robyn, she is being extremely stubborn. To say the least, she picked up Rylee from the home and then didn’t stay either. To say that she wanted her family here she isn’t coming here, and on top of that. The very night she left early she went to the club even though she said she is thinking, how can you think when you’re in the club, it makes no sense. She left Rylee behind and went to the club with Mel, she has been very off now. I think she is angry with me; I feel she is anyways. I think she is angry with me that I told Monica, because Monica did mention that she wasn’t happy at all that she knew and was saying that she will speak to me, but she hasn’t really, besides sending me a picture of Rylee with a wig on, that is it but today is the day, taking Robyn to the Getty museum. I have spent so much money on making it up to Robyn that I will not be doing this again, never again. Shit is expensive as hell, but I am going to push through, and I am going to continue to try and get Robyn to break down but it’s so hard, she is being very hard. I didn’t think Rihanna would be so different to Robyn, I know Monica says she is just her daughter, but Rihanna is very much out there, I have fucked up big time. Even though I exposed Drake for what he is, niggas were clowning me about it and TJ said why didn’t I listen to Robyn when she said, I feel like a dickhead, but I will get my wife back, I will, and I know I will. I think I just need to keep getting at Robyn, see if I didn’t have my leg in this cast I would be at the club harassing her, she knows I would be too.

Majesty is watching TV but goes out of her way to sit on my cast, I don’t know why but she does “you annoying uncle again, since she can walk she be doing the most” Noella sat down, I laughed shaking my head “she reminds me of what my daughter will be like, she keeps touching it. I think she is intrigued by it, you know” Majesty does not care and continued to remain on my cast “big day today for you” I breathed out, rolling my eyes as I did “I don’t know, Robyn is being hard headed. Please tell me it’s not just me?” looking over at Noella “she is” she admitted “I think she is acting out; Robyn went through that when things were going wrong with her father. She was so upset, and she went very within herself, very dark, angry. Auntie said that she spoke to her on why she isn’t coming, she is busy but then Monica said she is angry that her mother told her off about things, that her mother is taking sides, but my cousin needs to relax. I hope you can get that out of her” I knew it, I knew she would be upset about her mother “I hope” I mumbled “I have hurt her a lot Noella, she trusted me so much, she said that Rylee is lucky to have me as a father and I let her down with that, I haven’t been around for her, I know that has hurt her. I think she is seeing me as a bad person, it’s me” I am to blame in this.

If I could, I would be pacing around in this room because I am nervous about today, this cast is annoying my life too because I can’t wear what I want, I have to wear something nice because I know my wife will look bomb as hell “Christopher, are you in there” hearing the light knocks on the door, Monica is knocking on the bedroom door “erm yeah, come in!” I spat, I mean I am just sat on the bed waiting for the moment I see Robyn, I am trying to gather myself right now “sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt but you weren’t coming down, are you ok?” she asked “also have you ate? My daughter is stubborn, but she said can I make sure you are fed” I chuckled “erm yeah I have thank you” smiling at my mother in law being so sweet “I wanted to ask when was the last time this home was cleaned?” that reminds me “erm, like about three months? I never changed the sheets since, I don’t want you to do it for me but yeah, since Robyn left” Monica nodded her head “I can tell, you need to get a cleaner to come but I didn’t come for that reason, I wanted to say my daughter is being hard right now but don’t stop” she said “I am not going too, I made the mistake. This is my fault, if I didn’t see a glimmer of hope I would stop but I know she wants me, she is being hard headed but I know she just wants me to be sorry, I will get her back” I am optimistic with her hard ass “good, I just want some peace. I prayed for you both, but if you need help then let me know” Monica turned away, I need to get a cleaner to come actually.

Mel is shouting me to come out, I am here trying to find something to wear for this thing. I don’t know what it is, Chris hasn’t really said what it is, but it’s something. I am guessing a meal, I am sure it will be a meal or something, but I don’t know what to wear “I am here” lifting my sweatpants up a little as I made my way out “take your time, you have people here for you” I haven’t asked for anyone to come so who the hell is this “who?” I said as I got to the living room “oh hi?” why is Mel and Mylah here “we have been summoned to come” furrowing my eyebrows “by who?” I know it’s not me “your husband” letting out an oh “no way? Did he really? How is this man here just booking my people” staring at Mel, she just shrugged “when there is a way Robyn” she has a point “How?” I asked either of them “well what happened was he messaged me on Instagram, I think he also messaged Mel on there too, he said that Robyn has somewhere to go, and I need you to do her makeup” this saves me from doing it actually “he said it’s a little date, there will be things there. He really didn’t give much away but here we are” my smile grew “I am glad actually; I didn’t know what to wear so this saves me so much time, if you want to come to my bedroom I guess” I am just annoyed actually, more at my mom then anything, she just wants me to make an effort and that I shouldn’t have left the home, it is wrong, so I haven’t been home. She said the home is a mess, that isn’t my problem because I am not there either.

Mel got me in a little cute Dior denim dress, I mean I haven no idea if it will fit the event but to me this looks nice as hell. Imagine if he is matching again, I am going to fall out laughing because he does this a lot “am I date ready?” I twirled in the living room “you are, you look hard faced though. Good luck to him” I gasped “don’t be rude, do I?” Mylah nodded her head “you seem like you are in deep thought most of the time, like you want to smile and be happy and speak to people but your mind is elsewhere, your mind is whatever is upsetting you right now. So it’s making you look hard faced” she has a point “I have a lot on my mind that is all, I don’t know what it will bring today. I don’t know what will be said, I don’t know what will happen so I am just having a hard time concentrating you see, but Rylee” I pointed at Mel “are you ok with her, or shall I say to my mom you will drop her off with her?” Mel might have other things going on “I think Ry Ry knows me more then auntie, she may get more upset being with her so I will keep her, I will love spending time with her” that is good, so I don’t need worry about Rylee “take a breather, enjoy yourself and just speak on everything” Mel said, nodding my head taking in a deep breath.

Chris called me an SUV too, he is making sure I really come to this. I love that he is doing the most too, he is making sure I am dressed too with inviting my stylist. I do wonder what the fuck he got going on at a damn museum, like I am wondering what he got going on right now. The driver opened the door for me, I smiled lightly at him as I got out of the SUV. Chris and his damn leg, trying to not smile too much “wearing a shirt now” I pointed out, Chris smiled putting his head down “well I had to look good, you look beautiful” he looked up at me “you really do, I am just glad you came actually” he laughed “I was doubting that you was because there has been a lot going on with us so I was just doubting it so I am glad you’re here” leaning in and wrapping my arm around his neck “well I wouldn’t not come, I like surprises and you know that. I am sad for you though, your leg” I stood back from him “yeah, it’s been a real pain for me but we good. We can still do what we need to do can’t we?” nodding my head agreeing “of course” I breathed out “shall we go in?” he said “yeah, I will go in first. Hold the door for you” stepping ahead of him so I can hold the door open for him, I have to take care of him now “thanks” pushing the door open and holding it open for him “don’t be, if you weren’t like this then I would have made you done it all” which is true.

The double doors opened on their own actually, Chris and I just stood here, and they just opened “oh my god” placing my hands over my mouth, hearing the violin started playing Diamonds just like on our wedding day. The room is filled with flowers upon flowers “happy anniversary, I know it’s late, but I had to do it” I am emotional, I can’t even. The room is beautifully filled with flowers and roses “shall we go in” this looks just beautiful and the song, walking inside slowly. It’s like we are entering an enchanted place, it’s just beautiful “two doves, oh my god” I pointed staring at the two doves just on a branch “they so beautiful” turning myself around looking around every inch of the room, how did he even do this “the erm, the number of red roses here in this room is the same amount we have been married, every rose represents every day we have been married” Chris said, and I am even more of a wreck. I am trying not to cry but I think I will be failing at this soon, slowly walking further in. It’s just the music and the whole set up “butterflies!?” I spat, he is has really gone out of way “I wanted it to be authentic, you know” one just flew by me “this is so fairytale Chris, oh my god” looking up at the ceiling, it’s just pure beauty “I think you need to be my creative director” Chris laughed out, I wasn’t even joking “oh wow, Dennis is here” I laughed, of course he is here “so we can have the memories” he is right, we do need it.

The violinist did amazing “just bought me flashbacks to the best day” smiling at her as she shyed away “thank you” I said to the waiter “now wait a minute” I pointed, Chris laughed “my life wouldn’t be worth living if I didn’t” Chris laughed, this is so sad of me, but I know my waiters “Giorgio Baldi, I swear I could cry right now, wow. Am I predictable or something, like you are just hitting it every time, I am over the moon” the waiter laughed and finished pouring the wine “thank you” I smiled saying “my pleasure” he walked off “so have I done good?” pressing my lips into a hard thin line and then nodding my head “I am over the moon” I have to admit, it’s just so beautiful “good, I am happy you said that because not going to lie but when I was thinking on what to do, I kind of got stuck thinking on what to do so yeah, I am happy you are feeling that way. I know we have a lot to speak on and I want to be the one to start first, but we shall eat first and then I can speak on things, but I didn’t think you would come. Just because you have been off with me, and you have been going out more too” I chuckled “yeah, I uhm. I just didn’t want my mother to know in a way, not in a bad way but she clouds my mind, parents” I laughed “yeah, my dad is the same to be honest so I understand but I wanted to be truthful to her, because she would have come to the home and then be like where is my daughter” I get where he is coming from.

This whole setting is beautiful, with the violin and the whole things. It’s beautiful “look at that” turning my phone to Chris, a butterfly flew onto my plate. It was so random, it’s just there at the side “that is dope” bringing my phone back, I am going to post it on my story. It’s so pretty and it’s not moving “how is your album coming along? I mean since I haven’t been around you have been working hard on it?” locking my phone and placing it at the side of me “great, I must say this whole situation gave me so much fuel and inspiration. The music is based off your shit” Chris groaned out “my god” he said “yeah, it’s funny because the producers are like what the fuck happened but the album is kind of done, I just need to do a few more songs but thank you for the inspiration” Chris rolled his eyes “I am not sure if that is a good things but I am glad that you have had that inspiration to sing about what happened, I am kind of scared now to hear it. Just because I know the meaning behind it, my fault” he doesn’t even understand how much inspiration I got from this “I can’t wait for you to hear it, I think you are going to hate it or love it.

I can tell Chris has a lot on his mind, I know my husband. He is preparing in his mind, he shouldn’t feel like that he should just flow with it and say it “thank you” I broke the silence between us “thank you for this, the whole meal and the whole set up. This is what I wanted for my anniversary” Chris grinned “so you coming home now? I am joking” he sat back in his chair “I am finding it really hard right now, like not in a bad way but just to explain how much I fucked up. I am so dumb, imagine doing that to anyone let alone Rihanna but I am sorry, I will forever be sorry for this because I let you down in a big way, something I said I wouldn’t do but I did, I am so sorry Robyn. I was so lost in the glamour of Drake and his lifestyle, I was so lost in the fame, the fun that I put that as a priority and left you behind, when he called I was gone, I did think he was a friend and when you told me that, I saw that as you just breaking that up for me, like a threat. I know niggas see you as a lot, meaning sexy and whatever, I know there is a lot of men that would take my place, I know they will and I know I could lose you, there is always someone there and that is because they find you sexy. I know it, I see it constantly and you’re with me so it’s like what the fuck, but you are. And when you mentioned about Drake, it triggered it. I just got uptight, I always know you are better than me no matter what you say, so you saying that I just thought she wants to break something good for me, a friend. I didn’t think he was like that. And it looks so bad because I did choose him over my own wife, I look like a clown, I am a clown. And my mouth, it just runs. When I am in the moment I can never stop, and I don’t ever think either. It’s never ok to disrespect you the way I have, I wouldn’t let a nigga do that to my own daughter but here I was doing it to my wife, missing out on things. I am stupid but then the whole shit with Rocky, I was already like that. But now I think, it was all planned. Everything, he did it all on purpose but then it exposed that you are still messaging him, and I didn’t know, I looked stupid” his voice broke “I am sorry Robyn, I am really sorry. I just miss you so much, I miss you in the home, it doesn’t feel right at all. I just want you to know how much I feel bad about everything, I treated you like shit really badly and you still were there for me in a way, but I don’t deserve you” Chris wiped his eyes.

I don’t like him crying “don’t cry” shifting in the seat “I tested you and I pushed you, taunting you about not being Rihanna, I don’t like it. I bought that out of you, you didn’t want too but you did it because I pushed you to it” nodding my head “I honestly can admit that I don’t treat you any less, what you are feeling and thinking is your own insecurity and you need to let it go, I married you Chris and you need to remember that. I didn’t want anyone else because I love you, you’re my first love but I cannot take the attitude and I won’t stay at a place where I am being treated like shit. I will take fault in the way I said it to you and the way it came out, I didn’t see Drake as a threat, but he was entering my family, he started to cause issues in my home. I kept it away because it meant nothing to me Chris, it didn’t but then he was entering my home and causing those issues, so I had to say it but not in the right manner. I was angry with you because Rakim is just harmless and you started that mess, it was not needed. Yes I have his number still because it’s nothing sexual, it’s just a friend. I have a lot of male industry friends and my mother doesn’t agree but it’s there, it happens, and I don’t know where we go from here if you can’t accept that” I want it to be out in the open “you have your female assistants, I don’t care. You don’t hear me piping up unless it’s Seiko but that is life, females will be around, and males will be too but that is down to you” he can’t always be like this either “but you didn’t say anything about texting him Robyn, it’s stupid for me to not know this. He mentioned it to me and laughed, made me look like a joke” Chris said “you was both making jibes at each other, we could go back and forth on this forever. The industry I am in there will be men and you, you can’t be like this. I am married to you, I love you. How much else you want me to do Chris? If we are being real then let’s be real on this, can you take it? I can’t just stop talking to every man, my mother expects me to just what, text you straight away that a man is there? Then you just don’t trust me, like this can’t go on right?” I can’t continue this when he feels that I am above him and that every man is out to fuck me.

[artificialqueens]

Maybe You're My Enemy (Diamond Chaney) - Ortega

a/n: hey, hi, hello! welcome to the first canon compliant thing i have written since 2017, i am *~ petrified! ~* . i had to write something to fix these two though after the events of episode 8 because i just love them dearly (and the fact in the subsequent episode Lawrence just dropped in the fact they’d shared a bed didn’t help this at all). thank you so much to @purecamp for reading it over and reassuring me it’s not a heap of shit (so if it turns out that it is then just blame her xo). also the song it’s set to is enemy by Charli XCX in case u want to get the immersive vibes!

fic summary: On one side of Scotland, Lawrence disappears from social media. On the other, Ellie reflects.

***

They say, “Keep your friends close”

But you’re closer, I love when you’re here

I’m so far away sometimes, I’m distant, yeah

The sky is grey. The clouds are grey. The stagnant water of the quay is grey, and so’s the metal rail that Ellie’s holding on to as he narrows his eyes, tries to stop the wind from hitting them and making him tear up.

As if the wind would be the only reason.

He brings his gaze into focus on the HMS Unicorn, sat in the water in front of him like some massive whale that’s been planted in a bathtub. It’s a fucking ugly ship; a glorified tugboat on steroids with a big bowsprit sticking out at the front all out of place, but he likes the little bust of the once-white unicorn that sticks out from under it. Ellie remembers getting brought here for a school trip in Primary 3, pointing to the unicorn all excited and getting laughed at by the boys in his class that he knew were going to grow up to be the ones that gave the teachers lip and got suspended in high school.

He remembers that Bryce made up the fact that one of the boys had “said the f word” in the gift shop later that day, just so Ellie could have the satisfaction of watching them get screamed at by their teacher. Ellie still fucking loves him for that.

Ellie thinks the unicorn is out of place in all this grey. He remembers the time he did his unicorn mix when he opened for Willam, how nervous he’d been and messaging Lawrence about it and getting a “this you coming out to me as a furry?” in return which made him laugh and forget why he’d even been nervous in the first place. He can’t help the smile the memory brings to his face even if he wants to.

And he wants to.

Lawrence always could make him smile, get a laugh from him even when he didn’t feel like it. He remembers with a blow to his heart what Lawrence had said on the show- “you’re not terribly funny? Like you don’t have…zinger-y punchlines?” - and how Tia had laughed and Ellie had wanted so much to bite back but didn’t.

Because he always could draw a laugh out of Lawrence. Granted he was usually laughing at him rather than with him, but Ellie could still put a smile on his face by acting dumb, saying things that Lawrence would subsequently repeat in a screech of disbelief that would always make Ellie laugh harder anyway. He’d always self-impose ridiculous dares on himself in front of him: in Hive, “here, what if I did the entire shot rainbow?”, in Nandos, “d’you think I could do the wing roulette by myself?”, in Glasgow on the Subway on the way to a gig, “dare me to get off at Ibrox and I’ll go to the Louden Tavern dressed like this?”. Ellie had been used to being the class clown for Lawrence, the jester for the queen.

Or maybe just a fool.

Ellie’s always hated the colour grey.

You might help me, intimacy

I’ll admit, I’m scared

Maybe, maybe you can reach me, yeah

His surroundings turn to silver as he shoves his hands in his pockets, heads towards the V&A museum that’s still glinting despite the lack of sunlight. He’s stopped by two teenage girls that are polite and shy and squeaky-voiced as they ask for a photo- he supposes that’s what he gets when he goes out wearing the pink and purple fur coat with the hearts on it. Ellie forces a smile and thanks them for supporting him and they tell him he’s their favourite in return.

After they walk away he thinks they must have been lying, but then he feels the frown etch itself onto his face as he shakes his head. The self-doubt is a hangover from filming that he needs to shake off.

He squints at the museum as he walks past, fleetingly thinks about going in and looking at some of the old fashion to cheer him up. A’whora’s promised to go with him when he’s eventually allowed to come up to visit, and Ellie snorts at the idea of the fashion queen of the London scene in Dundee. The thought of A’whora’s reaction to the Wellgate shopping centre- the Credit Union, the B&M, the Jobcentre Plus- puts the first smile on his face he’s had in days.

Lawrence had gone round the museum with him too, when Ellie had dropped him off at the train station the day after a gig and they’d been killing time. It had been weird to just dick about like that together the first few times. Weird the fact there was no makeup, glue and wigs, no alcohol or gay anthems to yell over. Just two boys walking around a museum together. Like a date.

Ellie makes a face before he even realises. Not this.

The first time they did all of it together was weird. Just like everything Lawrence had written. Nandos, cinema, staying at his. That last one especially. Ellie can still remember the way he’d stared up at the bumpy ceiling from his position on Lawrence’s couch in the pitch dark, street lamps from outside casting shadows through the blinds. The room was too cold and the blanket was too small and he hadn’t slept a wink but he’d still do it all over again.

The first time they’d both lain on Lawrence’s bed the morning after the night before, cracking up at Scottish You Laugh You Lose compilations on Youtube and Ellie being unable to help the tears that streamed down his face at Lawrence imitating “big shoe, big shoeeee!”. The way they’d been close and the way their arms had touched and the way Ellie had felt ridiculous for the way his heart was hammering. Just a friend.

The first time they’d found each other under the dark lights of CCs when they’d both been through in Edinburgh to support Alice by chance. The way Ellie’s heart had lit up like a firework when he saw him. The way they’d laced their fingers together without even having to ask permission first, the way everything just seemed to be as simple as tequila rose shots and pink lights and leaning against the wall as they smoked outside.

The way everything else had just happened so easily.

Ellie squeezes his eyes shut before he can realise what he’s doing. The memories have forced their way in, kicked down a door in his head that he’d been sure he’d bolted shut.

He needs to change the locks.

Maybe you’re my enemy

Now I’ve finally let you come a little close to me,

Maybe you’re my enemy

You’re the only one who knows the way I’m really feelin’

Ellie is in the same Stitch onesie he’s been shrugging on since the last episode aired. It stinks. He’s joked to A'whora that he can probably smell him through the phone, and A'whora’s asked if he just sweats out Mango Loco Monster. Ellie makes some joke about wringing out his clothes into a pint glass if he did, which makes A'whora retch on camera.

He’s glad they made up at least. They didn’t have too much of a choice, to be fair. Apart from the way they get on so well, their bond and their friendship, A'whora’s the only other one who knows what it’s like to be in Ellie’s situation.

Except A'whora never stabbed Tayce in the back.

“You should talk to him,” A'whora insists, bringing the whole sorry situation up in a pause where Ellie must have looked as if he was about to make a vodka bleach mixer.

Ellie looks pointedly back at him through the screen. “I’ve been telling you to talk to Tayce for months.”

He watches A'whora pull an awkward face and he’s satisfied he’s hit a nerve. “That’s different though. You and Lawrence don’t live together.”

“Yeah. Least I wasn’t stupid enough to move in with someone I fancied, how’s that going for you?”

A'whora splutters a laugh that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. Ellie feels guilty all over again. He feels like that’s his default these days. “Sorry, chick, I shouldn’t have-”

“No, I mean. It’s fine. Just have to act as if I’m not in love with the bitch every time I’m around her, it’s not hard,” A'whora deadpans.

Ellie frowns. “You know Tayce feels the same. Everyone knows it.”

“No I don’t,” A'whora says instantly back to him, shaking his head and dissolving momentarily into pixels. “Besides, even if she did, like…it’s easier if she didn’t, y'know? All this…publicity, every move getting analysed. It’s easier to just…not.”

Ellie narrows his eyes. “You’re doing a smashing job making the case for me and Lawrence.”

“You know what I mean! You don’t get people asking where Lawrence is in every live you do. You don’t get people going through the show fucking…frame by frame and then editing every time you breathe around each other together and setting it to a bloody Little Mix song.”

Ellie bursts out laughing and starts singing Black Magic down the phone to him, which makes A'whora look pointedly at him before clearly being unable to hold it for long and instead laughing with him.

Both their laughter dies down and Ellie watches as A'whora smiles sadly, sincerely. “He’s worth the risk, Els.”

“Oh my God, prison. Who the fuck are you, Nicholas Sparks?”

The reference flies over A'whora's head and Ellie starts explaining the plot of the A Walk to Remember, steering the conversation out of the waters it had become marooned in, the captain of his very own HMS Unicorn.

He feels more like he’s aboard the Titanic with every message that goes unread.

Now it’s really clear to me

You could do a little damage, you could cut me deeper

“It didn’t get you a badge though, was it worth it?”

Ellie’s asked himself that every day since the episode aired. Since he made the decision, pretty much. Financially? Yes it was. It’s pretty well-known at this point in the grand scheme of Drag Race that with each week you’re on the likelihood of securing more bookings is increased, and now with his slot at Drag Fest he feels as if he’s hit the jackpot.

Everything else? Not so much.

Ellie still feels his stomach drop if he thinks enough about that untucked, which he does all the time. Too much, in fact. The aggression in Lawrence’s voice which Ellie knew all too well was a manifestation of hurt on so many levels. The way Lawrence chose the conflict that Ellie wished he could have avoided. The way Lawrence left his feelings bare while Ellie couldn’t trust himself to do the same in case he said something he might regret.

The fact Lawrence had thought Ellie had set him up to fail was maybe what hurt the most, though. Ellie had wanted to ask him how he thought he’d be able to do that after everything they’d been through together. He’d tried to tell him he didn’t think it was possible for him to fail at something he shines at. He’d wanted to grab Lawrence’s pink fucking headpiece and bash him over the head with it until he realised that he’s Lawrence fucking Chaney, he is the Scottish drag queen. Lawrence is the one who will say something at a gig one week and it’ll be common drag parlance across the country by the next. Lawrence is the one getting booked by the BBC Social to make educational videos. Lawrence is the one on posters across Glasgow, for fuck’s sake.

Ellie might not have been thinking about the worst case scenario in that moment, but only because he genuinely didn’t think there could be one.

After all, he’d had his opportunity to sabotage Lawrence. Ellie remembers the first day when the producers had wanted to set up the Scottish queen rivalry, asked for something shady they could use as a soundbite. The way he’d sought out Lawrence on a smoke break and told him about the situation and reassured him that he hadn’t given them anything, and the way Lawrence had just smiled back at him, softly and genuinely, and told Ellie he’d done the same. The way they’d minutely linked pinkies together before breaking them and walking back inside as if they’d barely shared so much as a glance, neither of them wanting to draw any suspicion their way.

And he could’ve been harsher in that untucked if he’d wanted. Could’ve said how for someone that was meant to care so much about friendship and sisterhood, Lawrence had been doing a great job shitting on him from a great height about his lack of challenge wins and his run on the show.  

But he didn’t, because…well. He knows why.

Because the knowledge that he’d hurt Lawrence and lost his trust had done more damage than any joke Lawrence made at his expense could ever do.

Ellie goes live on the Tuesday afternoon. A comment on the chat reads, “are u A’whora and Lawrence still friends???”

“Yeah, me and A’whora are still friends!” Ellie bats the comment away with a fake smile.

He’ll blame his lack of comprehension skills if he’s asked about it.

I feel guilty, I feel nervous, I feel certain now

Maybe, maybe you can reach me

He doesn’t know what possesses him to do it.

Maybe it’s when he wakes up on Friday and Lawrence’s Twitter isn’t loading. Maybe it’s when he reads the other Scottish girls condemning the fans, the word fatphobia leaping out, grabbing Ellie’s heart and wrenching it tight.

Surely not this?

Ellie searches Twitter and what he finds makes him feel ill. He doesn’t know what he had expected- he’d known the frantic tweet urging the fans to be kind that he’d typed out before he went to sleep hadn’t exactly been going to create world peace overnight- but he hadn’t expected any of this. Everyone loves Lawrence, surely.

Although perhaps he’s just talking from experience.

Maybe it’s when he shoots Lawrence a message that goes unopened. In all honesty Ellie doesn’t blame him. A flimsy sentiment about hoping he’s okay that clocks in at under 250 characters isn’t going to cut it, and he’s grateful when Bimini, with all their empathy and ability to read a situation as clear as day, texts him and tells him that Lawrence has replied to them and he’s…well, he’s managing.

Maybe it’s when Ellie goes live with A’whora and he manages to mention Lawrence entirely too many times. A cry for attention or an old habit that’s dying hard? He can’t tell. Perhaps it’s both.

It’s definitely got something to do with the Facebook post.

Whatever it is, Ellie finds himself stuffing any old random items of clothing in a backpack and hoping it makes an outfit, shoving the spare key into the soil of the plant pot outside his front door and texting Anne to tell her where it is in case…fuck knows, the flat goes on fire while he’s away or something. He looks up the train times as he’s on his way to the station; a terrible decision, really, as when he’s still fifteen minutes away he discovers there’s one in ten. Somehow he manages to make it to the station with just a minute to spare and his heart lifts to find that the ticket barriers are open, so he dashes through them and hurtles onto the train that’s waiting at the platform. He catches his breath as he slumps into a table seat, having to take his mask off for a couple of seconds just so he can breathe properly. The way his heart is going at the rate the train’s about to isn’t helping.

The chimes of the train announcement cut through his attempts at slowing his heart down, and the little robotic woman’s voice confirms that his ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment decision is actually happening.

“This is Dundee. This train is for Glasgow Queen Street.”

Because this is all so last minute, but he needs to see Lawrence. He’s apologised probably ten times by now but he knows he needs to make it eleven. He knows (he hopes) that Lawrence needs that eleventh time too. He knows that Lawrence needs Ellie’s persistence, knows that it’s all just an attempt at self-preservation. Lawrence’s attempts at shutting Ellie out are just inviting him to bring a battering ram. At least, he hopes. But like A’whora had said…he’s worth the risk.

The train starts moving, and even if he wanted to back out now he couldn’t.

So cold at the surface, I’m scared of nothin’

Underneath, I’m nervous

Can you reach me?  

Ellie waits for the subway at Buchanan Street and his glazed-over eyes focus on a massive poster of Lawrence on the platform opposite. He briefly considers throwing himself under the next train.

The journey down had passed somehow in the blink of an eye and also agonisingly slowly. Too much time to sit and stare out of the window but not enough time to figure out what he’s going to say. He still doesn’t know. He’d said it all those months ago, he’s said it through texts and DMs. This time feels different, though. This time is different. This time there’s no cameras or runners or pink tables, or distance between them or tension at the fact nothing had aired yet.

It’s going to be the pair of them and Lawrence’s flat. Just like it’s been so many times before.

Ellie thinks he’ll probably just open his mouth, say whatever gets there first and hope it hits the right notes; a terrible decision arrived upon as a result of the lack of any other option. His mind is a messed up ball of television static, a knotted yarn of white noise that he can’t find the end of. He feels as if it’s made of the noise the train makes as it screams into the station, metal on metal and the low whoosh of the wind through the tunnel and the rickety shaking of the doors as they slide open and people stream off.

He picks up his bag and sinks down into the horrifically patterned upholstery of the seats, settling himself in for the journey. The little metal tin can of a train doesn’t take long to fire through the seven stops before Govan and with each one that passes Ellie can feel his nerves spiking and his mouth growing dry.

What if Lawrence isn’t even in? What if it’s all got too much and he’s gone back to Helensburgh for the foreseeable? Ellie could get a train up there, he supposes; he’s already on this side of the country, although he doesn’t know if Lawrence would appreciate the gesture or call the police on him.

Ellie concludes it would be worth it anyway.

He emerges from the Subway and the grey seems to hit him all over again, seeping into his clothes and forcing him to fight through the sadness that hits him like a wave. There’s a little beam of sunshine fighting to escape the clouds though, and Ellie hopes it’s some form of pathetic fallacy. Or whatever that one about the weather matching your feelings was. Fucked if he ever paid attention in Nat 5 English.

The streets of red brick tenements feel like pens of hostility as he passes windows that serve as frames for Union Jacks and Red Hand of Ulster flags. Even being raised in a Christian household doesn’t equip him to identify with this form of religion; where the disciples are football players and the gods are flags and the hymns are about killing Catholics. Ellie has always worried about Lawrence living here, told him as much, but he’s always been met with a bark of a laugh back and some comment about how he’s only saying that because he’s lived such a sheltered little life in Dundee and wouldn’t last five minutes trying to inhabit Glasgow and all its cheerful sectarianism. Lawrence has always had a very blythe attitude to the whole thing, and Ellie remembers when he’d held his hand on the way back from the Subway in full drag after a gig like it was nothing, the way some dick in an orange and blue scarf had shouted at them from across the street and Lawrence had just yelled back with an “awrite, babes?” as if he had a death wish.

Which is what makes this whole thing so grim. The Lawrence who drunkenly and sarcastically greets bigots at three in the morning from across the street doesn’t marry up with the Lawrence that’s holed up in his flat in the face of negativity. Ellie supposes that one homophobic Rangers fan is one homophobic Rangers fan, but Twitter can seem like the whole world’s population, and if Lawrence thinks the world hates him just because he’s reacted to something that was Ellie’s fault…

He feels his gut wrench.

Ellie turns into Lawrence’s street and feels ill. He could always go home. Turn and walk back to the Subway, train back to Queen Street, back to Dundee, back to the flat. Like nothing had ever happened. Like he hadn’t even consciously made the decision, like it was all a dream.

He sleepwalks to Lawrence’s close door anyway, just like he knew he would.

His hand shakes as he presses the buzzer too hard, and the panic rises in his throat as the seconds pass agonisingly slowly. When there’s a crackle from the intercom, he freezes in fear.

“Hello?”

It’s Kiko’s voice. Of course his flatmate had to be the one to answer, drag out the humiliation of the whole thing. Ellie can hear the shake to his voice as he replies.

“Hey, it’s Ellie.”

“…Ellie?”

He chooses to ignore the disbelief, acts as if it’s normal for him to have travelled across the country to turn up on Lawrence’s doorstep in the middle of a pandemic when there’s a travel ban in place. He’s considering this essential travel anyway.

“Is Lawrence in at all?”

Kiko, for her part, seems to pick up on the way the whole visit is masquerading as routine. In the split second before she replies, Ellie finds himself holding his breath. He steels himself, prepares for a “no, he’s actually…”, to send him back to Dundee like a crumpled sheet of paper tossed into a bin.

So Ellie feels like his throat’s going to close up when Kiko replies down the intercom. “Yeah, two secs. I’ll buzz you up.”

The dread settles in his gut like a weight as the buzzer rings out into the street, harsh and loud and doing nothing for Ellie’s derailed train of thought. He pushes on the door, takes his first step into the close and the echo seems to hit him deep in his chest. He finds himself wishing Lawrence lives four up but he’s only on the first floor, and as Ellie puts his foot on the first step of the staircase he keeps his eyes trained on the stairs because he knows the moment he looks up he’s going to see somebody standing there holding the door open and even though he’s had hours to prepare himself, weeks even, he’s not ready for that in the slightest.

And when he finally brings his gaze onto the front door with four steps to go, he’s not ready for the way the sight of Lawrence almost knocks him straight back down again. He’s slumped against the doorframe and has very clearly not slept- since when, Ellie couldn’t guess. A black hoodie is swamping him and a pair of navy sweatpants are doing the same, making him seem smaller than he already is. The sight of his hair up in that tiny bun hurts Ellie’s heart because it makes him want to smile, reminds him of the Lawrence he’d dick about in the workroom and the smoking area and the hotel corridors with before it all went so wrong. His arms are folded and he’s looking at the tiles on the landing floor until Ellie reaches the doorway, shifts awkwardly.

“Hi.”

Lawrence doesn’t quite meet his eyes. It’s a minute detail that hurts Ellie more than he would have expected. He doesn’t reply for a second, then seems to relent. “Hey.”

Another pause. The atmosphere makes Ellie wish he’d worn a thicker jacket.

“You’re not meant to be here, you know. Wee Nicky’s probably had snipers trained on you since you got off the train,” Lawrence says, delivering the quip with a bitter, barbed edge that makes Ellie think it’s less of a joke and more wishful thinking.

“Wouldn’t be any less than I deserve, I’m sure,” Ellie smiles sadly, unable to make it meet his eyes. Lawrence’s expression remains unimpressed.

“So why are you here, then,” he not so much as demands an answer but disinterestedly inquires. Ellie bites his bottom lip before he replies, as if he’s forcing himself to make sure his words are perfect.

“I just came down because…well, I wanted to see how you were. I know the past week must have been shit for you.”

Lawrence raises his eyebrows, his eyes growing wide as if to really drive home to Ellie how much of an understatement he already knows he’s made. “Yeah.”

Ellie sighs, wanting desperately to get the next part right. “And I felt like I needed to say I’m sorry. Y’know, in front of you.”

“You said sorry back when we filmed. We’re over it, it’s fine,” Lawrence says flatly, conveying that everything is not fine.

“It’s not fine, though. I wouldn’t have come down if it was fine. Things haven’t been fine since that day, and like…I miss you, Lawrence, I don’t want to lose you as a friend, or as a sister, or as…” Ellie stumbles, looking to the floor as he tries to articulate the other facet of their relationship. “…whatever else we are. Whatever else we were. I’m sorry for fucking everything up.”

There’s a silence in which the pair of them freeze and hold their breath. Time could very well be standing still for all Ellie knows. He immediately regrets bringing up all of…that. He should’ve kept it to friendship, shouldn’t have added anything on. Before he can overthink any more or begin to backtrack, a small sigh from Lawrence makes him look up.

“I thought you hated me,” he says. His voice is small and the words are unexpected. There’s so much Ellie could say in response. He settles on a joke.

“No, I think you’re a cunt. There’s a difference,” Ellie smiles tightly, the joke tentative. The snort it gets from Lawrence makes his smile grow without him being able to help it. “Was that a good one? Thought I was the unfunniest person on the planet?”

“We weren’t talking about your Bake Off improv,” Lawrence raises his eyebrows as he smirks, and Ellie fakes a wounded laugh.

“Shady cow.”

“I’m sorry,” Lawrence says out of nowhere, his smile gone all of a sudden.

Ellie tries to drag the joke out a little longer, hold onto the sparks they’ve just created. “Nah, it was shit, you’re right.”

“No, Ellie…” Lawrence shakes his head, worrying his lip between his teeth a little. “I am sorry.”

Ellie feels the panic wash over him when he clocks the glisten in his eyes. “It’s fine, girl.”

“It’s not fine. I was a dick to you so many times, no fuckin’ wonder I thought you’d set me up. I would too if I had somebody talking down to me like I did to you,” Lawrence says gravely. His gaze is fixed on his floor and just as Ellie is about to speak he catches sight of two tears that fall onto the red carpet, the darkness akin to blood. His horror grows as Lawrence finally snaps his head up, tears shining in his eyes as he sighs helplessly in a shaky voice. “You’re amazing, Ellie, you’re such a talent, and…fuck, I missed you.”

His words mean more to him that Ellie had expected them to. He doesn’t want to let that show, though, because that’s too much, that means too much for the situation just now and he can deal with that realisation at a later date. For now, Ellie points at him in mock-accusation. “Hey listen, I’m the one that got the train down to come and make a big speech to you and say sorry. Buy your own damn train ticket for that.”

Lawrence’s voice is thick with tears as he lets out a short laugh. “Sorry.”

“Wee bitch. Always have to make everything about you,” Ellie rolls his eyes, getting another teary laugh out of Lawrence and raising his hopes that maybe they’ll be okay.

And then the banks break and Lawrence makes a little choked-up noise, a sob that’s not fully a sob. His eyes meet Ellie’s and they’re full of so much sadness and regret that just looking at them creates a crack in Ellie’s heart, one that matches the crack in Lawrence’s voice as he speaks again.

“This has all been shit to do without you.”

Ellie doesn’t think before opening his arms out, shaking his head affectionately. “Don’t be silly. C’mere.”

When Lawrence immediately opens out his own and they meet each other in the middle and hug tightly, Ellie feels like a balloon that’s been let go and is floating up to the sky.

The clouds aren’t grey.

The way they’re holding each other brings back too many memories. Seeing each other at gigs and feeling butterflies take hold of his stomach. Coming off stage after a number and conveying his pride in him without even having to say a word. Saying goodbye at train stations with disappointment lodging itself in his heart. All the nostalgia makes Ellie want to cry, but he can’t start now. Instead, he breaths a shaky sigh, shakes his head before he speaks.

“You’ve always had me, okay? You’ve always got me. We’ve said sorry now, that’s the end of it. Periodt,” Ellie murmurs against his shoulder, adding on his trademark at the end. The laugh he gets muffled against his chest in return makes him feel lighter.

“I’ve not showered. I definitely stink. You don’t have to keep hugging me, you know.”

“You don’t. I want to,” Ellie says back. He means it.

It’s Lawrence that slides out of the hug first but he’s still standing close as he quickly wipes away his tears, looks Ellie up and down with a smirk on his face. “So where’s your Travelodge, hen?”

Ellie’s sheepish when he makes eye contact with him again, shrugs one strap of the rucksack off before replying. “You know damn well I’ve not booked anywhere.”

“Fuckin’ hell. Right, come on,” Lawrence shakes his head affectionately, stepping back into his hallway and letting Ellie finally cross the threshold to drop his bag like an anchor in the flat. It’s the physical manifestation of the burden finally being lifted off of him, the guilt and the regret melting away in favour of the flutter of his heart and a few small sparks that he wants to put in resin. “I get to choose the film later as reparations. Don’t trust you since you made us watch Cat In The Hat.”

Ellie gives a shocked gasp, genuinely offended. “It’s good!”

“Is it fuck. In fact, just for that I’m going to make you sit through something sci-fi and geeky and you’re gonna hate it,” Lawrence smiles with genuine glee, and Ellie can’t even bring himself to be mad about it. As the pair of them walk through to the living room, Lawrence jumps onto the sofa and fixes Ellie with a look that is clearly meant to be serious but that simultaneously Lawrence can’t commit to and Ellie can’t believe. “You’re sleeping here tonight, by the way.”

Ellie raises his eyebrows as he fakes his agreement, going along with the charade Lawrence is beginning. They both know they’ll end up curled up together on the sofa with neither of them having an explanation for how it’s happened, but at the same time knowing they don’t have to explain themselves. They know that Ellie will end up falling asleep slumped against Lawrence and that he’ll have to gently shake him awake, that he’ll wordlessly offer Ellie a hand to drag him off the couch with and that they’ll go through to Lawrence’s room like always. They know that they’ll wake up tangled together like the sheets and that Ellie will be there for him, that he’ll help Lawrence piece himself back together and they’ll go back to the start. Well, maybe not the start. Perhaps somewhere better.

Ellie keeps his friends close, but Lawrence is something a little bit more. Something a little bit closer.

Baby, you’re my enemy.

[kitty0boy]

Y’all know what time it is. I know it’s past April fools day but I’ll be damned if I don’t write some for it. And knowing my sleep deprived Marichat obsessed ass, you know it’s gonna be Marichat.

—————————————

It was April fools day, and everyone knew it was Chat Noir’s favourite. Well they didn’t know for sure but he seemed to be out and about more than usual every year on April first. And nobody was complaining. His practical jokes were always light hearted and fun, purrhaps if he did this everyday, no one would be akumatized. The streets where each prank took place was filled with laughter and excitement at seeing the hero in person. He was happier too, seeing everyone smile and hearing them laugh was his favourite part of the day.

Unfurrtuately Adrien was scheduled to have a photo shoot that same day, and in an act of rebellion, decided to prank his father by hiding from him all day and occasionally he detransformed and took pictures of himself in different locations before retransforming and taking off again. He would scroll through the comments on each post and he his school friends cheering him on. He just hoped that Gabriel didn’t punish him too harshly for this, then again he wouldn’t let that stop him from living normally. What was he gonna do anyway, take his miraculous? If a super villain whose been hunting it down for 4 years can’t take it, there’s no way his father could.

For his final act of the day he had something special planned. It had been set up, waiting for them all day. He just had to go pick her up in the most Foolish way possible. And what’s more foolish than a clown costume? Nothing, the answer is nothing. So dawning the oversized shoes, the baggy polka dot pants, the large white collar, and the red wig. He set off to François DuPont Highschool.

She was at the front entrance, talking to Alya. Neither of them were wearing their usual outfits though and their hair was soaked. Kim had mentioned something about water balloon so he’d just assumed that was the cause. Instead Marinette wore a cute dark brown button up sundress with a pastel green dress shirt underneath. Accompanied by some simple platform boots. Her wet hair fell into light curls that brushed her shoulders when she laughed. He guessed that she’d caught word of Kim’s endeavours and brought a change of clothes, or maybe she brought them just in case.

Puffing up his chest and holding his head high, he waddled over in his giant red shoes that squeaked with each step. Did he almost trip and fall, yes a few times. Did he adopt a wider stance as a result, yes, yes he did. By the time he’d gotten to Marinette he was the same height as her while he scuttled like a crab behind her. Alya had taken notice a long time ago and struggled to stifle her laugh, she knew he wanted it to be a surprise and oh boy was it. He pulled a little horn out of his pocket, the ones with the rubber ball end that you have to squeeze to get the sound out. He pinched it and she flew into the air and nearly tripped on his shoes but he caught her before she could hit the ground. Alya burst out laughing, nearly falling to the ground. “Oh my god,” she said between cackles. “That was amazing.” Marinette started laughing too, “Chat you scared me.” She giggled. Step one complete, onto step two.

He took a few steps back, each squeak of his shoes making the girls laugh louder. It took Marinette a minute to compose herself when she turned to face him. He took a pink rose out of his belt and held it out to Marinette in a bow. A few gasps were heard from the top of the staircase as more students came out only to witness a cat clown giving a pretty girl a rose. She took it carefully and inspected it from a distance before deciding that there was nothing tricky about it. He pointed to it and she spun it around in her hands a few times before finding what he wanted her to find. Written on the outside petals was a message for her, only two words. “Brace yourself?” She read aloud before he slung her over his shoulder (ensuring that she skirt was covering her of course) and ran off with her. The red wig flying off his head. In their journey he spotted a very angry Lila Rossi, what a lovely bonus.

“Chat! Hey put me down!” Marinette laughed over his shoulder. Before they really got moving she’d propped herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck so that she wasn’t completely slung over his shoulder. Which he was glad for, he didn’t want her to get dizzy, just wanted to take her on a fun run across the roof tops of Paris. Of course there was a destination though, and it was waiting just across the street. In one final leap, they’d arrived at Le Pont des Art with its many lockets reflecting the sunlight. Reached up and grabbed her waist with both hands before lowering her to the ground.

“And what are we doing here?” She asked crossing her arms. “I thought we could go for a little, catwalk. See that we can find in the lockets.” He pointed. ‘Please take the hint’ he thought, and thankfully she did. “What did you hide here kitty?” She teased before turning towards the fence. “You’ll see, but if you want to find it, I’d suggest looking in the section.” He gestured to a square section of locks while she turned to look through them. Occasionally she would hold one that had familiar names on them. Exclaiming, “Hey I know them! They live across the street.” or something along those lines. Until her eyes fell on the lock he was waiting for. It was the only one that was unlocked on the bridge. “Maman et Papa’s lock.” She said. She tentatively cradled the lock in her hands before running her thumb across the initials engrave into it. “Hey wait, why isn’t it locked?” In her realization she turned around and glared at Chat, he was in the middle of taking off the baggy pants and he froze, holding his hands up in surrender. “They said it was ok, you know since they’re taking all the locks off anyways.” She didn’t seem convinced. “They asked if we could take it back home to them and besides, I only broken the lock mechanism.” Her gaze softened and she unhooked to lock from the fence. Keeping her eyes fixed on it, she walked over to Chat and sat beside him on the bench. “How did you find it? There’s hundreds of locks on the bridge.” “Simple, they showed me.” He explained. “They still knew where it was?” She asked, he wasn’t sure how they remembered either honestly, but “I have a feeling that, they put it on the fence on a special day. Maybe they even came back to see it a few times.” She let out a small gasp beside him as she rubbed her finger along the back of the metal. She turned it over only to find a small “MDC” craved on the back. “I guess we know when the put it on the fence then.” He couldn’t see her face, but he felt her smiling, and when she turned her head towards him, the purest light danced in her eyes. He smiled at her and he smiled back.

“Now then, I do have a lock if you want to use it.” He stated as he rummaged in his pocket. “Wait really?” She perked up, looking around to the hand in his pocket, watching as her pulled out a silver locket with an engraved design of vines swirling around the edge. “Oh wow Chat it’s beautiful.” She said reaching out for it, but before she could grab it he pulled his hand back out of her reach. “Ah ah purrincess, you can’t look at anymore than this until Hawkmoth is defeated.” He told her. “Oh? And why is that?” He put the lock back into his pocket before crossing his arms. “Because it has my real first initial on it.” He stated simply. “Chat! Your superhero name would have been fine.” She lightly smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “Yeah but I wanted it to be more official, you know?” Her face turned pink, very reminiscent of her bedroom walls. “Official as in, what I think it is?” He laughed, was she really embarrassed about that? “Well not all the people that come here put locks on are a couple Marinette,” Chat turned to look out at the sun. “I’ve seen a mother a son come to put a lock on here once. They were laughing to themselves. The mom put the lock on while her kid twisted the key to lock it, then she picked him up and he threw it in the seine.” He smiled. “Do, do you know which one it was?” He looked down at Marinette, she looked so cute when she was curious. He took her hand and walked with her a little ways across before stopping and grabbing a locket in his hand. “G, E, and A Agreste. Chat I know them! That’s Adrien and his parents! Oh do you think Adrien would want his locket too?” He blinked, he hadn’t thought about it. Did he want to keep the locket? What would his father do if he found out he had it. He clearly wasn’t over Emilie, despite it being year 4 of her disappearance. “I don’t know Marinette, he might? Why don’t you try giving it to him at school tomorrow.” ‘That way I can decide if I want it or not’ he thought. “Oh but what if he thinks I’m weird, or a stalker?” He looked at her and half smirked half laughed “Why would that make him think you were a stalker?” She crossed her arms and pouted “Well me just happening to find his locket on a bridge that no one else knows about might seem a little stalkerish.” He laughed “Ok first of all, I don’t think ‘stalkerish’ is a word. Second, I don’t think he would think that of you. I mean, you’ve found a bunch of locks today. Plus, I do have fans and they happen to be amazing photographers.” She perked up, “What? Who? Where?” “Uh behind you?” He used his finger to turn her head towards a little boy with a Polaroid camera. He blushed as a picture came out the top. Marinette approached him. “Did you want a photo with Chat? I can take the picture.” He nodded and Marinette held out her hand. After giving her the camera, he walked over to Chat and he was lifted onto the hero’s shoulders. There was a little click before the picture came up. The boy hopped down and shook the picture until the image of him and Chat smiling brightly came through the plastic.

“Hey big guy,” Chat turned to him, “Mind if me and this lovely lady get a photo together while your here?” He kid nodded before holding up the camera. Getting a request from a superhero seemed to have made him so excited that he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Marinette and Chat stepped back to get in frame and without giving her a warning, he scooped her up bridal style causing her to laugh. “Big smiles for the camera princess.” And click, the picture was taken. The boy shook the picture proudly, jumping up and down. So a quiet boy, he sure did have a lot of energy. Out of nowhere a woman came running towards the three and bent down to him. She spoke to him using sign language. ‘Oh shit was this kid deaf, had he understood a word I had said?’ The boy seemed to sense Chat’s confusion. “D-d-ont worry-y. I-I-I un-n-nderstood-d.” He said through a stammer. ‘Oh I see, some people just have an easier time speaking in ASL.’ “Oh sweet, and don’t worry,” he cut himself off, he then signed “I know sign language too.” The boy did a cute little wiggle of excitement before he hoped onto his mother’s shoulders. She stood and signed “Thank you for taking care of my son, he’s a big fan of yours.” He signed back “It was no problem, we had a little photoshoot together. Look.” He held out the pictures to her. She smiled before taking the ones of him and her son, and walking away with the big guys waving at them.

“So kitty,” Marinette piped up, “there was a rolled up paper in the lock.” He turned to her and crossed his arms. “And what does the lock say?” “I think it wants us to go to the Louvre.” She stated. “Well then purrincess,” He said, holding out his hand. “Close your eyes and hold on tight, ok?” He instructed before she was scooped up in his arms and carried towards their next destination.

This is not the end of the story! I still have more I want to write on it. But for one, It’s 3:37 am and I need my beauty sleep and two, this is already longer than what I normally write so I will be writing a second “chapter” soon. I’ll try to have it out by like, Wednesday. I’ll even figure out how to add a link to it. So stay tuned!

[askmyboys]

Circus Mafia

Here’s my latest characters that I am EXTREMELY proud of, god tho it was h e l l trying to finish making them bc i forgot like,, two of them in the process and had to go back- Uhh I guess bc it’s a mafia there’s mentions of death/violence but that’s about it!

I’ll put a keep reading on it just bc its kinda a lengthy post so yeye

| Names: Wallace Gallagher, Chester York, Dewey Bullock, Eric Fletcher, Grant Davenport, and Henry Barton

| Nicknames/Titles: Wally/Gear (The Ringmaster), He hates it but Yorky is a nickname (The Magician), Dew/Dewdrop (The Juggler), Eri/Fletch (The Acrobat), Dave (The Tightrope Walker/The Trapeze Artist), and finally Hen/Bart (The Clown/The Strongman)

| Genders: Wallace goes by He/It, Chester goes by He/Him, Dewey goes by all pronouns, Eric goes by He/They, Grant goes by He/They/It, and Henry also just goes by He/Him

| Ages: Unknown (I am NOT doing all the math that’d probs be involved with these dudes fuck that)

| Heights: Wallace is 6’7”, Chester is 5’9”, Dewey is 5’6”, Eric is 5’3”. Grant is 6ft, and finally Henry is 5’8”

| Hair Colors: Wallace has long stringy hair he usually keeps in a ponytail (his hair is a bubblegum pink color), Chester’s hair is a Cobalt Blue color (his hair is usually in a man bun), Dewey’s hair is a Tiger Orange color (his hair is a curly undercut), Eric’s hair is Black and it’s a short quiff, Grant’s hair is a Dark Brown and slicked back, and finally Henry’s hair is a Tortilla Brown color (His hairstyle is a Pushed Back Long one)

| Eye Colors: Wallace’s eyes are a light pastel pink color (he’s got a slash over his right eye but he seems to still be able to see out of it), Chester’s eyes are a Gunmetal Blue color, Dewey’s eyes are a light pastel green, Eric’s eyes are a hazel color, Grant’s eyes are Dark Brown, and Henry’s eyes are a dull gray color.

| Skin Colors/Body Types: Wallace is tall and lanky as hell p much and he’s pretty pale, Chester’s kinda average p much and he’s more so tan, same goes for Grant actually except he looks a bit more muscular than Chester does, Dewey and Eric are kinda pale as well (Eric being a bit more paler than Dewey) and both of them are chubby, and finally Henry who looks a bit stronger than even Grant (nothing TOO weird ofc) is also pale.

| Appearances: Oh god here we go… Wallace is first up- He’s got the typical Ringmaster outfit EXCEPT his is Pink and White instead of the typical red/black/white you see, even down to his boots are pink (his boots btw kinda go up his legs and they have a heeled part on em), he wears pink leather gloves and has a pink top hat as well! He also has a handlebar mustache (he dyed it to match his hair, got a bit of Wilford Energy dont he? Lmao) he also has a lot of scars on his body (Their most prominent scars are: Wallace’s is over his eye and a bullet wound that got WAY too close to his heart, Chester’s scarring is around his neck, his chest and ESPECIALLY his back area, the neck looks like a few cuts but nothing deep enough to be fatal, the chest has some deeper scarring and longer ones, and his back looked like it was caused by a whip

Dewey’s scars are a bit all over the place nothing prominent there, Eric’s scars are the same just sporadic and all over the place but he has a few similar markings to Chester’s on his back (not AS many tho), Grant doesn’t have as many scars surprisingly just a few here and there but they don’t look too serious, and finally Henry has prominent scars over his belly, his back, and his legs they look like a mixture of potentially fatal had they not been looked at and non-fatal)

Chester’s outfit is a white suit vest that has dark blue stripes going down it, he wears a dark blue collared shirt underneath the suit vest and he also has a long black cloak (it has a hood on it but he only puts it on in certain situations), he has dark blue pants that match and he seems to wear combat boots that match said outfit, he also has some silk gloves that match as well, he wears a blue quartz crystal around his neck and he has a circle beard, he also has dark blue claw nails that also has little star designs over them. (he also has a dark blue bow tie!)

Dewey’s outfit is a mint green suit vest with a white collared shirt underneath it, he also has a mint green bow tie and he wears white pants as well and some sneakers with mint green stripes going across them, he wears mint green rose earrings (it was a gift that Chester gave to Eric so the boy could give it to Dewey) and he’s cherished them ever since, he also wears gloves to match (it helps him out when juggling bc ouchie hard items hurt when they smack directly onto his bare hands) he doesn’t have a beard at all he babyfaced.

Eric’s outfit is white collared shirt with dark brown suspenders that are attached to the same colored pants, he also wears a dark brown flat cap (when he’s not performing or doing his job n such) he also has a dark brown bow tie he wears as well and his he wears dark brown sneakers as well he’s also babyfaced like Dewey is, he has a dark brown necklace with the same colored pendant on the end, it isn’t heart shaped but its round and definitely looks like a locket of some kind (he never wears it during performances in fear it’d get lost but he keeps it locked up in a secret box in his room, it was a gift from Dewey)

Grant’s outfit is a black suit jacket with a red collared shirt underneath it, he also has black pants to match said outfit and he has black and red oxford shoes and he also wears a black fedora (he looks more like the leader than Wally does tbh, then again him, Chester, and Henry ALWAYS get mistaken for the boss) he also has a long black tie he wears with the outfit btw! He has a Van Dyke type beard he also wears some rings on his fingers too hence why he looks SO much like the boss.

And finally… Henry’s outfit is well, it took a LOT of convincing but he actually wears a rainbow themed clown outfit, it's MUCH softer lighter colors (p much pastels) At first he 100% hated it but then every time an enemy came around… They laughed at him and ALWAYS underestimated him, it was always hilarious to kick their ass in said outfit, Wallace also told him just imagine his enemies having to explain to someone/their boss that they got their ass kicked by the clown! The CLOWN of all people! And Henry won’t deny, that idea grew on him so he eventually accepted it (the only thing he refused to wear really was the wig that was t o o much) and finally he has a short boxed beard!

| Personalities: Wallace is… EXTREMELY eccentric and unpredictable, there’s no true way to tell how he’s feeling or what mood he’s going to be in, he seems to bounce from mood to mood, feeling to feeling, emotion to emotion! Although it’s VERY rare to see him actually upset or angry (...Keep in mind, I said very rare, but it’s not… an IMPOSSIBLE scenario) he’s usually pretty cheerful, friendly, kind, and caring as can be! He’s a friend to those who won’t backstab him or betray him but a terrifying force to be reckoned with if you double cross him… He’s in a silly goofy mood a lot, but really, if I’m being honest, there definitely seems like there’s something… Unhinged there… Like something is not all together with him, but oh well! No time to unpack anything! If you need a helping hand he’s there to help! Just don’t double cross him and you won’t die! Don’t let his friendly and cute demeanor fool you, if he doesn’t send one of the others after you, then he’ll deal with you himself and honestly? He’s the WORST one to come after you… MUCH worse than the others.

Chester is cocky, confident, and arrogant at times- He’s EXTREMELY prideful in himself and k n o w s he’s all that and MUCH more~ He seems like he only cares for himself and thinks he’s the star and center of everything but oh no… He holds great admiration and respect for Wallace, he adores Dewey and Eric and helps them out a lot, he’s even overprotective of them actually- you mess with them you evoke papa bear and he WILL stomp you to death with his boots- He constantly pesters Grant and Henry, teasing them a LOT here and there, he makes it a game to mess with them as much as he can, heck he loves messing with his actual victims too, he loves to play the mind games and he’s much more sadistic and cruel than you see him with the other members of the circus, if it’s like someone who’s made friends with the others? ...Well he’ll be more tolerable but oh that won’t stop him from scaring them a little here and there but he won’t actually hurt them, it’s more so just him having fun.

Dewey is a sweet, kind, and loving soul- he looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly! But looks can always be deceiving you know… If he ABSOLUTELY needs to he will hurt or kill someone, if he’s ordered too he will do so- He’s actually mostly shy and anxious even around the other members of the circus but he trusts them a LOT more than anyone else, and he looks up to Wallace and Eric, speaking of Eric, he likes Eric a HELLA lot- he trusts them the MOST out of everyone here and you’ll find Dewey spends a lot more time with Eric than anyone else and he seems so much more open with the other, seems like he lets loose a lot more… And another thing to note, toward enemies he doesn’t torment or anything he just injures or kills them as quickly as possible so he’s a LOT more merciful than someone like Wallace or Chester or some of the others would be.

Eric is another sweet, kind, and loving soul- Also looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly but he can and would if he was told too- He doesn’t LIKE hurting or killing folks though at all, he considers himself much more cowardly than Dewey since Dewey seems like he can do it without any issues beforehand… Eric looks up to Dew a LOT just like the other looks up to him, Eric also looks up to Grant a lot as well even though he can be pretty intimidating to approach, he’s got a LOT more anxiety than Dewey seems to have and he doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in himself, he thinks he’s cowardly and sometimes it feels like he legit doesn’t even fit in here, why is such a coward like him in with a literal mafia?

He can barely kill/hurt anyone without almost breaking down p much (Wallace kinda knows this so he REALLY tries not to call upon Eric too much, not until they can sort out those issues, or well t r y too anyways)

Grant is hella cold, snarky, and honestly hot headed easily the MOST intimidating looking and speaking one outta the bunch, he hardly ever has a smile on his face and he’s mostly grumpy- hims a n g y lmao, he’s WAY more respectful when around Wallace however seeing as he’s the boss ...Grant is a bit jealous honestly and sometimes he maybe even wishes he could be leader but 1: He k n o w s better and 2: That’d make him extremely ungrateful for all Wally’s done for the others, Grant is surprisingly MUCH more warmer n kinder toward Eric, or well he tries to be but gosh that poor boy just seems so intimidated by him… He feels bad for Eric honestly, wishes the boy had a bit more confidence in himself, Grant tries to help him out but any time he approaches Eric the other seems to get pretty afraid, so he tries to be patient and wait for Eric to come to him, he respects Dewey for helping Eric out and he sees how happy the two are when together, it's a good thing… If anyone could help that boy out, it’s gotta be Dewey.

And finally… Henry, he’s pretty sarcastic, a bit cold and a bit hot headed, not, AS MUCH as Grant but still it does lead them into a lot of physical and verbal altercations with each other even then (They try not to do it around Dewey/Eric solely bc they dont wanna scare em, but also not around Wallace bc they really don’t wanna get in trouble or on his bad side…) Henry along with Grant do share solidarity with one thing! And that is their p u r e hatred for Chester! That’s one thing they have in common at least… He’s WAY more hot headed toward Chester but dear god who isn’t at this point? Toward enemies n such it’s like he’s a completely different man, he takes his jobs/tasks VERY seriously and he’s WAY more calm and collected- more so than Grant could ever be (I’ll just go ahead ALL the boys respect and or look up to Wallace in some way, he practically saved them tbh) I suppose another thing Henry shares in common with Grant and probs everyone at this point is he wishes Eric had more confidence in himself…

| Side Facts: Usually, whether it be by an injured one or even the dead bodies, an item is usually left behind as a warning- For Wallace it’s a bunch of lashings from his bullwhip (I wanna clarify, the ones with lash looking scars, Wallace would NEVER EVER hit them, he’d NEVER fucking hurt any of them which is why if one of the ones with similar scars are around, before he even d a r e s pull out the whip, he tells them to go on back to the tent, he doesn’t want them to see or hear that sound)

Chester MOSTLY leaves red roses behind (since that’s what people throw onto his stage when he’s finished performing), but he’ll leave VARIOUS other kinds of flowers as well (you’ll notice he’s very particular with each flower he leaves behind)

Dewey leaves behind whatever item he had been juggling (for example: a bowling pin, orange, balls, etc)

Even tho Eric isn’t called upon too often for his sake, he actually doesn’t leave anything behind.

Grant leaves nothing behind whatsoever, what he did to the victim alone is WARNING enough.

Henry leaves behind clown noses (he literally puts clown noses on the victims) and if he’s feeling generous enough he leaves some sarcastic little messages behind or just straight up taunting ones.

While they ARE a mafia, like I’ve said the circus part also plays a big role! They DO perform! Their circus moves from place to place, it never does stay in one spot and a BIG thing Wallace wants noted- they don’t include animals in their acts, they’d never put any kind of animal through that sorta stress and are HIGHKEY against Circuses that do use animals bc most times the animals are whipped and abused, so Wallace says none of that here!

They have had some rowdy rude customers like all businesses or events do ...But you know… They aren’t like most either, those customers were mm… I’d say when Wallace offered to have their complaint taken up, let’s just say those so called customers were never seen or heard from again (keep in mind, those weren’t valid complaints, it was basically karen type people so oofy)

Chester has once lured a victim backstage and he has a house of mirrors type situation, he once lured them back and slowly watched them struggle to try and get out of there, sometimes appearing on the mirrors to give them a fright, he’s probably driven some people to insanity with this tbh also, Chester made Wallace a necklace with an Obsidian pendant, Wallace cherishes this and thanks to Chester he knows the crystal symbolizes protection n stuff so that made him cherish it even more.

Their Circus, the tent, etc- I’ll be 100% honest with you, the fucking tent itself is pretty inhuman and fuckin unrealistic, like- SO many fucking things fit under that tent- its almost cartoonish how it works! The tent itself holds literally all their respective areas, from Chester’s stage right down to the area where the trapeze and tightrope acts are performed!

One thing I didn’t mention- Wallace seems to have two sets of fangs (I will say, he’s- he’s not a toon btw I mean, I won’t say if Wally is fully human or not but still) both top and bottom, Chester has cat-like fangs, Dewey/Eric don’t have fangs at all, Grant has some razor sharp teeth, and Henry just has normal lookin’ teeth.

One more thing! I already covered their pronouns up there so here’s their sexualities! Wallace is Pansexual, Chester is Bisexual, Dewey is Panromantic and Asexual, Eric is Gay and Asexual, Grant is more so Questioning rn as is Henry.

[lordxgrinnyxboy]

rewatching tgm, wifi being useless edition 2/?

every time i hear puppet!Dea say “when a story is raw and real” i see Mr. Gordon Ramsey memes, they just scroll across my vision and there’s nothing i can do to stop it u-u

ngl im kinda in love with Mojo Puppeteer

the foot shimmy during this scene, like right as Ursus gets up off the floor Gwyn/Mr. Maskell does this little ankle squirm. u-u

foreaaaaaaaaaarmmmmssssss

love how mr maskell doesn't emote w/his face while puppeteering but ms. brisson's just facially so into this performance and honestly so's ms. onitiri

also love all the different bits of ribbon and such puppet!Dea’s hair is made of. several different textures in there

kay but the way he makes the prince puppet kinda bounce in place as he sings “only those three words could ever free me from the curse” it just makes it look like the prince is kindof adorably excited about this

im just now realizing that one part of the puppet is supposed to be the prince’s mouth and not his chin or something.

Dea’s soft “oh” when their hands touch

foreaaaaaarmsssss

Gwynlit always looks so shook as they step back from each other after the aging up sequence like he’s full dear-in-headlights (i know it’s ‘deer’ in headlights but he is Dear to Me so)

and really so is Dea for a second there

oh god her look of alarm  changes to a smile the second Gwyn starts singing. i need a minute.

i love these two so much

the harmony will never not end my life why is it so powerful

idk what they put in this song but every single time my aroace self is like “shfjshfsj play this at my wedding” and then i have to be like “wait.”

Dea’s adorable and i hope she knows how adorable she is

im cry they’re so cute they’re so cute i love these two

Quake is on it about letting ppl know entertainment’s cancelled due to the king dying Quake is ready Quake loves her job so much

oh so  the barrels are just there for Dirry-Moir and Osric to have somewhere to sit while Ursus tells the story okay

wait how quick did dude just throw on his Clarence costume and climb in the coffin that was. super duper fast

he’s literally offscreen for 24 seconds and managed to

holy cats how does he do it

wait also mojo tho. mojo had to put on his priest costume

wait also Osric and Dirry-Moir had to put on their Lord attire

and they say movies are supposed to be magic

just continuing to absolutely love every character played by ms. obianyo

love how they just. have trombones. 10/10

i mean i guess the costume changes aren’t super complicated like throw on a robe and a wig but STILL within 24 seconds? i think it’s impressive

oh hey jojo-as-a-random-lord is also here

ohhhhh is that why Jojo’s costume is Like That then? to make it easier to switch characters real fast? but no actually???

the hats on the lords tho. we’ve got Fish Lord, Bunny Lord,,, maybe some kind of Bird or Chicken Lord...

so it’s a Pig’s Foot that killed Clarence and the name of the holy relic translates to like, “pig’s flower” ...thematic....dots.......

oop there’s Only a Clown

ngl i kinda love Archbishop Kupsak. a weird dude.

would love to know why Angelica thought she needed to ‘make a law’ regarding traitors being brought to justice. just curious about her thought-process. heck she could probably have her own musical.

WAIT MS OBIANYO PLAYS THE TROMBONE. SICK.

wait hey, hey. hey. petition for ms. obianyo to play a FATE.

oh god it’s my least favorite scene

skip? no...but? no u-u

jojo apologize to the trash clown

scene too stressful

genuinely have no thoughts, head completely empty

CART SCENE CART SCENE CART SCENE

is that a bowl and spoon on th-

separate post separate post gentlefolks of the jury i

jaw twitch

okay but Dea gets this Look when Gwyn asks Ursus “who did this to me” she looks a little Surprised

does not react however to “who carved me into this freak”

the hand flex as Gwyn walks away from Ursus after Ursus Won’t Let Him Talk

oh Osric you absolute delight

beauty and the beast ii destroys me every time gwyn’s just steadily wilting but trying to hold on but he can’t and Dea’s so supportive

would love to know what Ursus’ take on all this would’ve been if he hadn’t been involved. like would he still be hell-bent on not letting Gwyn remember or would he have been more chill about letting Gwyn make that decision for himself

like on the one hand i can see why Ursus would think that maybe Gwyn would be better off not remembering, but also making him forget clearly didn’t actually help him suffer any less, it just gave him a different kind of suffering. He’s wrung-out tormented and Ursus can’t/won’t help him because of the potential repercussions of Gwyn learning the truth. which do include some Worst Timeline options for how that could go but. also include a few Gwyn’s Able To Move On And Live Well, With Or Without Ursus options so.

idk i just feel like after a certain point of seeing how Gwyn’s basically falling apart over all this Ursus really should’ve considered having that difficult Discussion bc that boy was Not getting better on Ursus’ Plan A

also the whole dismissively invalidating ur kid’s struggle is not a good look Ursus

i love him and absolutely believe he is definitely Trying His Best but he’s #Problematic_Dad for sure

that bit where Ursus notices Josiana as if for the first time and does that little bow to her oh my goodness XD

also him just trying so hard to keep it together in the lead-up to Born Broken. debating whether Ursus sticking his head through the curtain is the funniest part of this show. probably not but it’s real close

Dea’s so pretty and i love her outfit u-u

and her blue makeup

and her lovely lovely eyes like wow she’s Perfect

this girl is in her element and im fully convinced that in the version of events where Gwyn and Dea stay on as Lord and Lady Dea does some addressing of parliament or whatever, has speaking engagements, she’s all kinds of involved.

there’s tears in Ursus’ eyes during this bit and i don’t agree w/him but i do feel bad for him. he does want to do right by these kids but he’s just...it’s not working out for him because he can’t have it both ways.

i mean genuinely tho Ursus is so desperate to forget/bury/escape/move on from the past but in adopting Gwyn and trying to be a family and a fresh start for him...that shut down any chance of that actually happening.

no but fr Ursus’ face when Dea says “it doesn’t keep us safe, Father, it turns us against you” which is like. probably the exact thing he’s afraid of happening if they ever learn the truth.

*strums lyre* it’s a sad tale, it’s a tragedy!

Musical Ursus is fully a good dude who did one Stupid Thing and spent the rest of his life trying to control the damage only to make it Worse and then he died and i’m so! 😭

at the end of the second 30minutes but im keep going

Dea and Gwyn are holding hands so intently im feeling feelings about

harmonyyyyyyyy

ngl though i wonder if given Ursus’ “dear god, you pick your moments” and “who did what to you” if maybe this is something that’s just been festering and hasn’t been verbally brought up until the show’s events

“What do you want?! BLOOD?!” i mean u did script him as saying he wants to kill a man

“I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know” i mean technically that’s true bc technically Gwyn does know, he just doesn’t remember, which is pretty much the same as not knowing but ayyyyyyyyyy

would love to know what Ursus thought was coming when Gwyn said “I can only tell them what I know I am” like

wait no but “I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know” being followed by “I can only tell them what I know I am” idk how to say but oh heck oh heck oh heck heck oh no.

but yeah Ursus’ little glances at Gwyn and then the Turn as Gwyn starts to sing. i just wonder what Ursus is thinking just then

ohhhhhhhhh wait a minute now. stars stripped from the sky. the play on the lyrics from within Ursus’ show. the conversation they just had. is Freak Show (partially?) a vaguepost at Ursus 👀

no but the Wiggle before that next to last “watch me smile” tho

needs the backbend 🍹

hello Puppet Helmet Thing. i’ve developed a fondness for you, you unexplained and kind of weird yet near-infinitely interpretable element of the show.

and cutting here for length uwu

[bulbpix]

If You Just Listened- Part 10

A/N- Sorry for the delay, here’s the new chapter! I think I might even have 11 up later today!

You brushed the sweat off your forehead as you continued to wipe down the table. You pressed the towel down into the polished wood, your mind not entirely focused on your current task.

You thought about Arthur. You thought about his face when you declined his offer. He didn't frown, he didn't scowl, he just... stared at you. He stared at you for a little longer than anyone else would, just like he did when you first spoke to him.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." He blinked a few times when you said that. The flutter of his eyelashes told you all you needed to know - he was confused, and more than a little hurt. His eyebrows flicked upwards for a moment, it couldn't have been more than half a second before they slowly began to lower again. He was embarrassed, and surprised?  Was he expecting you to say yes? Were you giving him the wrong impression?

"Oh." You could tell at that point that he just wanted to leave.

Your hand instinctively went to your chest at that memory, clutching your blouse in your fingers. Would things be different between you two now? You certainly hoped not.

"Jesus, are you power-wiping those tables or something?"

Owen stood against the kitchen doorway, holding a few dirty plates. You looked at him, then down at the table you were cleaning. You hadn't even realized how hard you'd been wiping them down, leaving them sparkling like diamonds.

"Guess I'm stronger than I thought," you chuckled.

"Well save your strength," he responded. "You might need it on your way home."

You raised your eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Owen scoffed, before taking a remote off the bar counter and switching on one of the TV's. "Check this out."

He flipped to a news channel, showing live feed of a protest in front of Wayne Hall.

"They're getting worse and worse," he sighed. "You haven't heard anything about them?"

You shook your head, your eyes stuck on the screen. "I mean when I moved here I heard there was some controversy about the new Mayor. But, I didn't know it got this bad..."

He walked over to you, handing you something wrapped in a napkin. "Here, you might need this more than me. Being a girl and everything, I mean."

You gave him a puzzled expression as you took the item from his hand. It was small, but it was heavy. "What is it?"

"Open it."

You squinted at him before turning to the object again. You carefully unfolded the napkin, sharply inhaling once it was revealed to you:

It was a practically new, shining pocket knife.

You quickly wrapped it up in the napkin again, baffled that Owen would even think of giving it to you.

"What... Owen I don't even know how to use one of these. And this looks new, I can't just take this from you."

Owen rolled his eyes, heading back to the kitchen. "Just take it, you never know when you might need it."

After leaving Pogo's, you quickly learned why Owen wanted you to have the knife.

Seconds after stepping out the door, a man wearing a ski mask ran past you, shoving you roughly into a wall as he went. You grunted as your back hit the bricks, shocked by the unexpected contact.

What the...

You looked in the direction he ran, where a large group of people were beginning to gather around something. You squinted at the soon-to-be mob, realizing the object they were surrounding was a limo.

Your curiosity definitely did not outweigh your caution. Not wanting to be involved in any sort of scuffle, you tucked your hands in your pockets and hurried home, holding the switchblade tightly. Arthur wasn't here to walk you home tonight.

Your back stiffened.

Arthur...

You walked so quickly that night that you hadn't even noticed that you were already at your apartment. You were nervous as you stepped inside the building, worried that you would run into him. Cautiously, you looked side to side as you approached your mailbox...

Coast is clear.

You would have to speak to him eventually. You knew that. But God, it was going to be incredibly awkward.

You sucked your teeth, shaking your head as you stepped in the elevator. That was no way to think about the situation. You were an adult now, and adults have open conversations discussing their emotions. Avoiding him would be immature and childish.

I'll just call him when I get inside. I'll call him, and we can talk about things. He probably understands. He probably wants to talk right now too.

You stepped out of the elevator, looking down at your jacket pocket and rummaging through it for your keys.

He's probably thinking the same thing right now. We'll just sit down with some tea and lay it all out on the table. I don't even know why I'm freaking out. By tomorrow, everything will be back to normal-

"JESUS CHRIST!"

You dropped your keys on the floor, startled by what you had found.

A beaten, bloody, disheveled Arthur was there, his head pressed against your door. His breathing was slow and strained, his eyes focused on the floor beneath him. He didn't look up at your exclamation. He didn't even flinch.

You snatched your keys off the ground, rushing to his side.

"Arthur. Arthur are you alright? What happened?"

He didn't respond. You looked at his clothes - They were filthy. His entire outfit was covered with dirt, ripped and torn in different spots. His wig was gone, his clown makeup slightly smeared and red spots spattered on his vest.

Why would Arthur's own blood be spattered on him?

"Arthur? Can you hear me?"

Your lips pressed tightly against his. He closed his eyes, letting himself become lost in your embrace. You pulled away suddenly, looking up at him with tears in your eyes. "Oh, my poor Arthur..." Your soft hand cupped his cheek. He placed his hand over yours, sighing with relief that you were finally home. He needed you so badly. "I didn't mean what I said earlier, I want you Arthur. I was just so scared of my own feelings that I didn't know what to say. I'm so sorry, I-" Arthur shushed you, smiling as he placed a small kiss on your forehead. "There's no need to apologize."

You placed your hand on his back, looking up at his face. Still no response.

Your palms were trembling with anxiety as you opened your apartment entrance. What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he speaking? You didn't know what to do, you had never been in a situation like this before. You were panicking. What if Arthur was really hurt? Was he about to die? Was he going to die with you as the only witness to his death? Would it look like you murdered Arthur? Would you go to jail? Was he going to be okay?

You looked him up and down again. He wasn't bleeding from anywhere besides his nose, and there were no bullet or stab wounds on him. Thank God.

But what if nothing happened to him? What if he did something? Why was there blood spattered on him? It didn't make any sense if it was his blood...

Unless it wasn't his.

You ran to the bathroom, tearing apart the contents of your sink's cabinet. You took the first-aid kit into your shaking hands, practically hyperventilating by the time you reached Arthur again.

"Arthur, I'm gonna take you inside and we're gonna call the police, okay? You need to go to a hospital-"

"No."

He raised his head, but his eyes still didn't reach yours. They remained on the ground, locked on to something that wasn't there.

You were stunned.

"Are... Are you sure? At least let me take care of this..."

You took an alcohol swab from the kit, trying to steady your hand as you reached for a red lump on his cheek.

He put his hand up before you could touch his face, calmly pushing your hand to the side.

"Can I sleep here tonight?"

You were completely bewildered by his behavior. What exactly happened to him?

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, of course."

Arthur sighed, nodding in thanks. You stepped to the side as he walked in, watching as he collapsed on your sofa. Your eyes never left him. You took off your shoes and coat, your fingers carefully sliding the knife out of your coat pocket and holding it behind you.

You stepped into your bathroom, trying to calm yourself down as you changed into your pajamas. Something was wrong with Arthur. Very wrong. He wasn't behaving like himself at all. Whatever happened, you knew you weren't going to find out tonight. You took a deep breath. There was no point in worrying about it now. The important thing was that Arthur was safe.

But were you?

You slowly opened your bathroom door, the blade hidden in the waistband of your sweatpants. You looked at the run-down clown on your couch. He was curled up into a fetal position, his back facing you.

You quietly backed away from him, your gaze trained on his rising and falling ribcage as you slid into your bed.

"I would be careful with that guy if I was you. What if he's a little... you know. Crazy."

Lucy's words rang in your mind. You clutched the blade tightly in your grip, holding it closely to your chest.

"What, Arthur? No, he's a little weird but he's harmless."

You hoped you were right.

[cowboyguts-moved]

how would your ocs get into the halloween spirit ?

wow what a great question (: 

sooo Lewis my baby always needs help with halloween especially around the time that he’s new in mystic overhang which is the fictional town part of our ocs live in. he needs help because he isn’t accustomed to the ways of halloween! he’s never celebrated it before he was 18 because of the very conservative and abusive way he grew up in his commune… so chris, his boyfriend will take him to stores to look at decorations and thrift shops for costumes and explain something about halloween that he hasn’t already gone over and lewis is really excited about it because dressing up for no fucking reason sounds weird and like it could be made up almost but he’s easily swayed into believing stuff because he’s a liiittle gullible, and he tends to go along with what other people want to do because he has trouble thinking for himself. so chris will suggest costumes until lewis likes the sound of one (he goes as frankenstein’s monster the first year he’s in the town in 1989 even though he doesn’t know what frankenstein is (: HFJBSFDJ it’s a simple costume and he loves the thought of being painted green and having cute pants with patches on them. and his hair at that point is already really short and PURPLE so (:) basically what he does the first few years is follow chris’ lead in costumes, decorating, candy buying, and going to parties and mistakenly drinking spiked punch!!! there’s also an annual mystic overhang halloween festival they go to that some people mysteriously disappear at (: that’s cause their town has a lot of dark secrets and happenings and something Peculiar is going on within it ha ha…. 

let’s see. church’s favorite holiday is halloween!! he’s a very morbid dude and he’s obsessed with the occult and aliens. i think he has specific music that reminds him of halloween from his childhood that he always plays… he loves music and i have a whole playlist for him (for chris, lewis and mikael as well) so he locks himself in his room at the trailer he and his brother live in and he blares it while he eats a hotpocket and stares at his ceiling that’s crossed with banners and streamers for halloween and theres a big ceiling light shining down on his face but he’s sleepy and content and the weather coming in from the small open window is cold and pushing the decorations around. he probably has books that get him in the mood too and he’s an avid reader, anything from bigger college books to Goosebumps really he just loves to absorb that stuff. church is a fly by the seat of his pants kinda boy, his plans are made On halloween night. he’s pretty cool and people like him and he gets invited or welcome to everything and it’s likely cause he smokes weed there HHHSDFHJ and that always gets you friends at those things. church is very dedicated to halloween though its important to him that it feels right and he follows his own traditions and some from being a kid. the right foods, the right decorations, music, books, pumpkin carving, summoning spirits in the living room and the like. after a few years he doesn’t put energy into much because he’s a generally SUPER depressed person and very cynical and angry but i think he always tries at least a little with halloween. uhh when tristan drew him in a halloween costume months ago he was a clown (: big surprise that i wanted him to be that

tan the man ie tanner works at a haunted house on halloween and amiyah, his gf does his makeup. he works there with other hockey players, his friends and does it all through mid september to halloween, i think he kinda has to? because he’s in hockey… but he loves it. he looks all bloody and decayed and carries a fake axe and he has overalls on its very cute (: but he’s very cold. i think in general tanner loves halloween especially how it revolves around the stuff he loves like d&d, lord of the rings, other nerd shit because there’s halloween themed stuff and editions of things etc that he’s apart of. and he also likes witch craft because his mom does and i feel like they have SUPER weird halloween traditions his mom makes them do but tanner secretly loves, i can’t even think of any right now except maybe salt circles where they all (him and his siblings) sit and hold hands and make mixtures for the pagan god and goddess. but there’s many others and he’s done them since he was a damn Baby so he loves it. 

tristan answered for his boys and girl (:

Chris:

okokokok so fuckhole chris has lived in mystic overhang for his entire life so he’s always been aware of the strange happenings in the town and he Loves it. he’s always loved spooky things like that, so when halloween comes around it’s important to him not only to celebrate it but to Feel it and Experience it within the creepy town that they already live in. he obviously spends it with lewis, and he helps lewis find what he wants to wear and be and i think thats his favorite part. but when it’s His turn, he really gets into it and he goes full out whether its dressing up in drag and being a naughty nurse with his puffed out curly wig and ruby red lipstick and the prettiest red pumps….. or even if it’s just a simple grey shimmer dress that cuts off at his mid thighs and shows his asscheeks a little because hes a whore and he likes that with little pink lace undies underneath so that he can flash lewis his grade a tuck job from across the room. he loves to decorate, too, i think. he likes to listen to certain records that remind him of october as well, dancing to them in his basement with lewis. and he loves to go to the parades with lewis too and the parties just to get drunk off his ass on bad beer and kisses ( the chocolate, too (: )

mikael:

HAHA okay now mikael, chris and lewis’ friend….. likes to get high. he loves to get high on halloween and dress up as serial killers! like jason and freddy and michael meyers. he likes to scare kylo a lot, and especially ben because ben gets so tense and spooked on halloween night which mikael thinks is FUCKING hilarious (kylo nd ben are their other friends we love them). he enjoys halloween, but i don’t think it’s his favorite holiday. he does visit church during, though, (church and him have a thing (; ) and i think he’s the one who always invites him out because he wants to go places with him during the cold candy filled night and smoke weed and eat kitkat bars under a bridge that has three homeless dudes playing flapjack under it. he enjoys seeing everyone’s costumes, i think because it reminds him of his foster home and when he’d gaze at all of his foster siblings in their own costumes ranging from princesses and angels to zombies and mad scientists and everyone had smiles on their young faces. 

amiyah:

amiyah LOVES to go all out for halloween, starting october 1st. she decorates her house and ignores the protests from her father, spiderwebs in the kitchen archway and pumpkin baskets full of candy on every surface that a hand can get to. she loves to take her brother out trick or treating on halloween, too. tanner joins her (and i think they did this even before they dated) and they all three go door to door and get candy. amiyah usually dresses up as some mythological or medieval thing, like elf princesses and witchy warlocks. shes also kind of a nerd when it comes to those things, but she’s much more quiet about it than tanner is. her and her brother watch a lot of scary movies together, too, to get into spirit. i think each year they have strict guidelines retaining to the movies they watch so that they HAVE to watch one each night of October or else it ruins the tradition.  criminal, their pet raccoon, will join them in their endeavor obviously. sometimes amiyah dresses him up too, no matter how many times he’ll try to hiss and bite at her (:

[mc-amps]

The Wacky Adventures of Seven McDonald

Here it is~ My fic for @mysmehalloweenzine They’re having their leftovers sale rn, so be sure to check it out if you missed your chance to preorder. https://mysmehalloweenzine.storenvy.com/ It’s totally worth the purchase ;)

My fic was also illustrated by the amazing @nanashiart​ I’m seriously blessed that she agreed to collab. Her illustrations really did bring my fic to life <3

Pairing: 707xMC

Rating: Everyone

Warnings: Spoops and elixir +_+

“Are you sure this is okay?”

Seven’s heart jumped at her whisper. He talked to her on the phone many times before, and yet, without the static filtering her voice, everything was different. The CCTV’s low quality, grainy veil was lifted, and there she was: flesh, blood, and soft warmth walking beside him through the dark and decrepit hallway.

“What do you mean? It’s a haunted house! It’s made to walk in and explore.” So why was Seven’s heart beating so fast? It wasn’t the rotting wood and peeling wallpaper along with the bevy of spider webs dangling above that put him on edge. It wasn’t the dust dancing in the ghoulish glow cast from several lanterns or the gloomy symphony of cicadas and crickets seeping in through the broken windows either. Not even the way the house groaned in agony with every footstep was the culprit.

It started when he picked her up from the apartment. For obvious reasons, he had been nominated to escort the lovely party coordinator to the RFA’s night of Halloween fun and spooks. Spooks indeed. From the moment she answered the door, his stomach twisted itself in knots.

Was his brain malfunctioning?

“Or is there haunted house etiquette I’m not aware of?” He put his hands on his hips in a dramatic stance.

“Don’t you think it’s weird there was no one to let us in? You walked in on your own.” She huffed and folded her arms with a pout. The gesture was arguably unbefitting of her princess costume, yet the frilly dress and tiara was perfect for the lovable Princess of the RFA.

Seven shrugged. “Didn’t Jumin pick out this place? He probably wanted something authentic and spoopy. OooOOOOooo~” He wiggled his yellow, gloved fingers to emphasize the spoop factor.

“. . .we could’ve waited for the others.“ Her lips twitched as she muffled a chuckle.  

“What?” Seven asked with a suspicious grin.  

“You! I can’t take you seriously when you’re dressed like that!” She burst into a fit of giggles. “Why Ronald McDonald of all things?”

Seven guffawed. Her laughter was too contagious. “Cause I wanted to see everyone’s reaction! You think anyone’s scared of clowns? My bet is Zen~” He adjusted his curly, red wig and tugged at his bright, yellow jumpsuit.

“Zen!?” She wheezed.

“Yep. He hates cats, so why not clowns too~?” Seven bared his teeth. “Grrrr~ Fast food clown!” The white paint on his face, red lips and nose, minus the glasses made him look completely different. The RFA wouldn’t know what hit them. “Oh! Oh! Let’s hide and scare ‘em!”

“Alright. I’ll bet you five candies Zen won’t get scared.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Holding back laughter, they decided to hide in a bedroom. A musty, revolting odor permeated the air. Dusty debris littered the floor and bed, along with fake blood spattered everywhere, most notably on the tattered curtains.

But there was something nostalgic. . .

Seven shook those thoughts away as the two huddled near a dust coated table. A picture frame sat on top of the grime. It held a photo of a woman. Her lips were curved into a coy smile and her eyes glittered. The part that stood out the most was her long, wavy hair. Oddly, she looked similar to the princess next to him.

He was about to point that out, but stopped short when he realized how close she stood, practically pressing against him. He shifted awkwardly, but then flinched and threw his arms around the princess when something slammed, causing her to shriek.

“Whoa! A-are you okay?” His face heated when he realized she clung to him for dear life.

“Was that the door?” She gasped and let go. “Do you think that’s them?”

“Maybe,” Seven whispered, reluctantly scooting back. “Let’s wait and see.”

And wait they did.

And wait.

And wait.

But nothing happened. “Are they even here?” She murmured.

Seven was starting to wonder why everything was so quiet. Yoosung should have been screaming, while Jaehee would have been constantly checking on Zen.

“Do you want to text them?” He asked.

“Well, my phone’s been acting up, so I don’t know if there’s something wrong with it, and since someone forgot their hoodie.” She cutely huffed. “We can’t use his phone!”

“Hey. . .!” Seven tried to keep his voice down. “This is the first time I’ve been without my lucky hoodie in. . .in. . years!” He put a hand to his heart and let out an agonized sigh. He kept everything in those oversized pockets. “You should still try texting.”

“I guess.” She grabbed her phone, but froze at the sound of a deep groan.

“Why have you returnnnnned?” The lights waned and flickered with every rasping syllable.

The spooks were starting? Seven’s face lit up. Was there a hidden sound system projecting the voice?

A girlish yelp snapped him from his thoughts. “Did you grab me!?”

“Wha-? No!” Seven lifted his hands as proof.

“You’re kidding. . .” Her face paled. “S-something grabbed me! Ugh!” She shimmied past him and stormed out of the room. “I’m done with this stupid creepy house! I’m waiting for the others!” Her voice echoed along with her stomping footsteps.

“Wait!” Seven followed after, scrambling not to trip over his giant red shoes.

She rushed to the front door and yanked the handles, but it wouldn’t open. “I-it’s stuck!”

“Let me.” Seven tried, causing them to shake and rattle, but the door still wouldn’t budge. With a frustrated grunt, he kicked the wood, but still nothing. Chills ran down his spine. This wasn’t right at all.

“I-I’m calling Jumin.” She shakily tapped her phone, and Seven moved closer to hear. The monotone call tone accompanied by her frantic breathing made for a nauseating combination. Seven held his breath, until a click sounded.

“Yes, this is Jumin Han speaking.”

Never in his life had he been happier to hear that deep, robotic voice.

“J-Jumin!” She gasped, voice wavering. “ Where are you guys?”

“I could ask the same question. We just finished purchasing everyone’s admission.”

“What are you talking about!? There were no tickets or anything and now we’re stuck in here!” She replied almost hysterically.

There was a pause and static. “I don’t quite understand. Security would not have let you two in without tickets. You and Luciel are-?”

“Trapped in this crazy house!” Between her frantic words, a static white noise grew louder, overpowering Jumin’s voice.

“Where- ou- ry-“

“Jumin? Are you still there? Jumin!” She nearly sobbed.

The static-filled garble morphed into a cackle. “Sorry, Princess, but the RFA won’t be able to help you this time~” A new voice interrupted with a menacing snicker.

Seven snatched up the phone. “Hey! Who the heck are you, and how do you know about the RFA?”

“Turn around and maybe you’ll find out~” He said before hanging up.

Dread filled Seven as he looked back. A figure stepped out of the shadows, slender and clad in black. His bleached hair glowed in the moonlight like a halo, yet his green eyes were wide and demonic. A mask covered his nose and mouth, but the folds revealed a manic smile underneath. Perhaps the most striking part was the chainsaw he held. With a high pitched cackle, he revved it up.

“If you want all of your limbs intact, you’d both better come with me. Without fighting.”

They had to surrender. The man shut off the chainsaw, but carried it as he led them into a empty room with a couple chairs and a bookshelf on the far wall. He ordered them to sit.

“Did you like my surprise?” Edgy chainsaw man grabbed some rope. “You should have seen your faces~” He cooed, before cracking up. “It was great!” He started with the princess, tying her torso to the chair. “You probably had no idea I hacked your GPS, right?” He moved on to her hands, holding her wrists together before tying them. “I was hoping to get you alone, but no matter.” His hands moved with gentle and skillful care, but Seven hated the way they lingered on her waist and brushed against her skin. The man soon finished and his eyes narrowed into something dangerous as he approached Seven.

“I won’t let you stop me from taking her to Paradise, clown boy.”

Seven held his knuckles together as the rope tightened around him in hopes of being able to get loose later. Anything to make up for his failure in protecting the princess.

“You’re the one who talked in that spooky voice and locked the door?” She snapped, legs shaking.

“Huh?” Their edgy captor tilted his head to the side. “Spooky voice?”

“Yeah,” Seven said. “You were like ooooOOOoo. . .Why did you returnnn or something like thaaaaat. . .”

The man raised an eyebrow before scowling. “You’re both trying to distract me. I’m not stupid, so stop belittling me!” he hissed before digging in his pocket. In an instant, his anger switched to unhinged glee when he pulled out a piece of candy wrapped in black foil. “Trick or treat, Princess~” He unwrapped it, revealing dark chocolate coated with teal frosting. “Now be a good girl and say ‘ahh~’” He cooed, however his eyes glinted with mischief as he leaned closer and pinched the chocolate between his long fingers.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned her head away. The man didn’t give up and pushed the chocolate against her mouth. “Nnf!” She whimpered as her lips formed a thin line.

“Hmm…” The edgy man cocked his head. “Don’t be scared. Once you eat this, you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.”

Seven’s stomach churned.

“Here. We can share~” The man pulled down his mask, revealing a wide smirk. With a snicker, he popped the chocolate in his mouth, holding it between his teeth. He then set a hand on the chair’s arms and the other grabbed her face.

“Hey!” Seven’s blood boiled. “Don’t touch her!”

A muffled snicker escaped the edgy man as he dug his fingers into her cheeks, forcing her mouth open. The corners of his lips twitched into a victorious smirk, and his eyes shut as he leaned in, bringing the chocolate to her mouth.

Nononono! With a panicked grunt, Seven wiggled and jerked, ignoring the burn of the rough braids.

“S-seh-ehn-!” she cried as the gap between her mouth and the chocolate shrank.

Seven’s struggled more as the rope loosened. A smoke bomb could distract the man, then Seven’s knife would cut the remaining ropes. His wrist ripped free! Fueled by adrenaline, he dug into his pocket and flung out-

Candy.

Just like his phone, all of his other trinkets were in his hoodie pockets.

The colorful array of sweets bounced off man’s tattooed shoulder, causing him to pause.. His eyes widened with awe, and the teal chocolate fell from his mouth just as everything went black.

“You dare taunt me with these two mennnnn?” That same voice from before wailed as a blue fireball appeared, casting a ghostly glow.

The princess screamed when her chair tipped backwards and scraped across the floor.

“No!” Seven clawed at the remaining ropes, but to avail. He was useless.

The chair slammed backwards into the bookcase and her legs flailed upwards. “H-h-help mee-ee-eee!” Her shriek came out bumpy as the bookshelf spun, pushing her to the other side with a loud slam.

“Give her back! ” Edgy chainsaw man chased after her, but crashed into the bookcase. “She’s mine!” He pounded and kicked at the wood, causing several books to fall.

The fireball vanished, leaving them shrouded in inky darkness. Seven squinted as his eyes adjusted to the blackness. The edgy man fell to his knees, fingers gripping his hair. Shallow, frantic breaths filled the air.

“Are you. . .afraid of the dark?” Seven whispered.

“No!” The man snapped. Stray strands of moonlight illuminated his pale face. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. . .Sav. . .ior. . .” He babbled to himself.

“H-hey.” Seven cleared his throat. “Uh. If you untie me, then we can save her together.”

The man pulled his mask back on before narrowing his eyes. “And why shouldn’t I kill you, clown boy?”

“B-because,” Seven blurted the first thing that came to mind. “You can have all my candy. They’re all limited edition and rare. Don’t ask where I got them!” He was rambling, but needed to survive. For her sake.

The man eyed the candies on the floor. “. . .Fine.”

Chainsaw man cut Seven’s ropes and the two inspected the bookshelf. It was clearly a trapdoor they couldn’t activate. Did it only work with ghosts? “What about your chainsaw?” Seven asked.

“Good thinking, clown boy!” The man’s eyes glowed with violent glee, and with a cheerful snicker, he grabbed his chainsaw and shoved Seven out of the way before revving it. His laughter erupted into manic cackles as he cut into the wood. A cloud of sawdust filled the air while a hole formed and grew. “You messed with the wrong people, ghost!” He kicked  down the rest of the wood, revealing a large room with a fireplace. There the captured princess sat, still tied to the chair, but safe.

A frustrated growl came from a willowy shadow bathed in a blue glow. The ghost. “It wasn’t enough for you to leave me for dead, but now you taunt me with these mennn?” He pointed a bony finger at Seven and the chainsaw man. “Perhaps once you suffer and die like I did, I’ll able to move on to the after lifffffe.” A humorless chuckled rumbled as he snapped his fingers. The fireplace erupted to life with an inferno of blue fire.

She gasped and flailed against the ropes when her chair scooted backwards. “No! Please!” Her scream was almost as high pitched as the scape of the chair against the wood.

“No!” Seven barreled past chainsaw man and tackled  the chair away from the blazing fires. Pain shot up his knee upon landing, but he didn’t care. “Are you okay!?”

Her chest heaved and her face glistened with sweat, but she smiled and nodded.

Seven’s insides tingled with a fuzzy warmth. “It’s okay now,” he whispered. “You’re safe.” He brushed away a strand of hair from her face, but the buzz of the chainsaw interrupted him. With a wild cackle, chainsaw man swung at the ghost, but  stumbled and cursed when the weapon went through the ethereal being.

“I’ve had enough of thisss!” Smoke oozed from the ghost. “If these men will interfere, then so be it!” Several floating fireballs appeared throughout the room, causing the temperature to spike and the air to distort with heat. “I’ll burn down this entire place, taking all of you with me!”

“Please don’t!” Her eyes filled with tears. “This isn’t the answer! But. . . if you want, hurt me instead, not Seven and this other guy. They did nothing wrong!”

Seven’s lungs constricted. Why was she sacrificing herself? She was so kind hearted. Not someone who would abandon anyone.

Not someone like him.

“You’ve got the wrong person!” He shouted. “Your lover left you? That wasn’t her. She’d never do that! From the moment I first met her, she’s been nothing but sweet and caring. She listens to our problems and puts up with a lot of crap like chatrooms at three in the morning! I know without a doubt she’d never abandon or betray anyone!”

Her eyes grew watery as her expression softened. “Please believe me, I’m not who you think I am, but. . .I’m so sorry that happened. No one deserves to go through the pain you did. I-I wish I could help you. . .!” Her voice cracked and her lips quivered.

There was a pause and Seven was sure they were all going to die, but then the flames dwindled one by one. “I see,” the ghost’s voice softened. “Revenge may not be the answer. It’s strange.” He lifted a hand to his chest. “I feel. . .warm? Is this what moving on feels like? I wish I had met someone like you instead of that woman. Perhaps my life would have been much longer and happier.”

Seven’s heart flip flopped.

“Thank. . .you. . .” The ghost faded, leaving the three of them in the dark silence

Not wasting another moment, Seven untied her, before helping her stand. His cheeks burst into flame when she hugged him tightly.

“Thank you so much for saving me!”

Seven returned the embrace. Why was it so hot in here? Slowly, his shoulders relaxed and he squeezed her tighter. “I-I don’t know what I would have done if something happened.”

“Seven,” she whispered as she pulled back.

He got lost in her eyes as their magnetic force tugged him closer. What was this feeling? Was this…? His lips parted and he closed his eyes.

Wailing sirens broke the spell.

Edgy chainsaw man cursed under his breath and shoved his hands into his candy filled pockets. “This is my cue to leave,” he stomped towards the nearest window. However, before he climbed out, he turned and burst into hysterical laughter. “I’ll come back and visit you soon, Princess~”

Seven joined in on the laughter. This edgy dude had a hilarious laugh. “Hey! I hope you visit me too! I’ll have more candy for you- Oh! And Honey Buddha Chips. You’ve gotta try those!”

The man jolted, then shrugged. “I guess you’d make a good Believer too, Clown Boy.” With that, he jumped out of the window as blue and red flashing lights filled the dark room.

“Guess, the cavalry came,” Seven chuckled.

She grinned and nodded. “The real question is if Jumin was the one who sent them. Wanna change our bet to that?”

“No way! I still wanna scare Zen-gwuh!” Seven sputtered in shock when she took his hand and tugged him towards the door with a sweet giggle. His pulse pounded in his ears louder than the sirens and for a split second, he thought he might faint.

“Happy Halloween, Seven~”

A/N: This was really fun to write. Honestly, it had been a lot longer, but I had to cut out several thousand words in order to fit the zine's wordcount;;; Still, I think tightening it was for the better. I also couldn't resist adding Unknown. From the moment I applied to the zine, i knew I wanted to write something with Unknown and a haunted house +_+ The elixir chocolate scene was sjfkdsjfkdsfj yum +_+

Anyways, am I the only one that remembers those old Ronald McDonald cartoons? The 90's ones? That's where I got the title from. Does anyone remember the haunted house episode? Good times lol (Seriously. Let me know if you remember it, because nobody in the zine server did sjflksfjdsjfds)

[moviestorian]

Live at the Odeon Liveblog

I’ve done the Rainbow reblog, now it’s time for Queen’s Live at the Odeon Hammersmith (1975)! Heck yes, enjoy the liveblog notes.^^

- First of all: imagine spending your Christmas with Queen. Like, THE AUDACITY. God, I wish that were me

- It kinda starts off like the Rainbow flashbacks - I see a little silhouette of a man - thankfully this time the audience is enthusiastic - Roger should never have dyed his hair - Roger's breaking the dress code, everyone else is dressed all or mostly white - it looks like Brian is doing his yoga with the Red Special - Deaky is gorgeous, that waistcoat and trousers! - damn ROGER O.O - Freddie is SO NICE - oh hi Ogre Battle again... I have the Rainbow flashbacks again - even the lighting is pretty much the same - slay those high notes Froger! - Brian either's having a lot of fun or has to go to the restroom, he's moving around so much - Brian's faces are kinda funny sometimes - ok watching this while I'm having migraine was probably not the smartest idea...the flashing lights and fake explosions are killing me - the toast! - HAhaHA - Freddie singing White Queen when holding a glass of champagne... so random but I love it - I really like observing Freddie's expressions when he's singing this song...how he closes his eyes... truly, he's feeling it - vocally I think I liked the Rainbow version a tiny bit more, though - same for the guitar solo - Freddie, you seriously thought you were an average pianist? THE NERVE AHDJFFJF - I like that we get to see the audience - BOHEMIan RHAPSODY!!! The ballad part! My mum would be delighted - This one's better than the Live Aid version, tbh (in my humble opinion) - or maybe not...idk anymore - that damn guitar solo! MY LOVE - that transition to Killer Queen was so smooth - we didn't get the triangle Deaky... I'm OUTRAGED - the way the songs transition into another ones represent how my brain works and it keeps having multiple Queen songs stuck in my head - Roger's raspy voice...KILL ME ALREADY MAN - Roger banged the gong and the audience cheered. SAME - yess bring back that Leroy Brown! - the editor got a bit crazy at Brighton Rock - the chemistry between Freddie and Brian...extraordinary - now everyone's trying to distract Roger - STOP making shots that last literally ONE SECOND - Brian, I want this shirt, please kindly hand it to me - the beer drums strike again! - the guitar solo was so long so that Freddie could change? - interactions! yay! - we've already established how much I love Keep Yourself Alive...no point in repeating myself here - I live for this drum solo, seriously - Freddie, what are those sounds supposed to be??? - "my beauties" I MELT - "All day long" Deaky's back! - John's skills..and they're finally showing him properly! - ITLOTG Reprise... You can see that Freddie's already exhausted...but he still nails it and puts all his energy into this song. I admire him so much - whaaaat's going on XDDD - the dolls and balloons wtf XD - Roger's soft speaking voice...and his clown wig - the most cursed, blessed and weird combo - wow they're all so nicely dressed! Freddie's kimono wins tho - not a massive fan of the rock and roll part... It's okay but a bit mehh - I love how Freddie and Roger are dressed like it's 32 degrees...meanwhile Brian's wearing a SCARF - Deaky's trousers...I want - lmao at the lady hugging that baloon (?)doll - BUBBLES - at least the audience is having fun and way better than the one at the Rainbow - wow I realized that those young people at he audience must be older than my parents now... WOW - Deaky...you're doing amazing sweetie - CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP - It was cool! <3 I think I slightly preferred the Rainbow concert, but this one had by far the more superior audience and the members of the band seemed more joyful, too - which adds many bonus points! But on the other hand maybe I shouldn’t go and watch it so shortly after the 1974 performance, because the two are fairly similar and also because I was feeling very sickly and my migraine was still not completely gone. I’d definitely rewatch, though!

NEXT TIME: LIVE MONTREAAAAL 1981!!!!

[dilfhakyeon-moved]

thoughts on each nct unit

oh thats a good one... ok this got so fucking long IM SORRY

nct 127 - i love them a lot they're obv my main fandom and as individuals they're breathtaking just like all of nct but... the line distribution is always terribly unbalanced with mark and taeyong eating up the entire song every single title track. moreover i definitely have a problem with taeyong's voice ( though that's not only in nct 127 ) and it really sucks because in baby don't stop he had sung lines and his voice was perfectly fine - they're obsessed with making him a rapper and they shouldn't ? he's a great vocalist, sm should acknowledge that more often. i get wanting more rappers but like if you're gonna have a rapper idk make it one of the boys who barely get lines like sicheng or yuta lol, even jaehyun is more of a vocalist than a rapper so making him a rapper is weird... johnny's right there anyway he needs lines too and i think he is supposed to be a rapper so. i really wrote a lot just for taeyong i'm sorry skshsjsb just a bit annoyed his actual skills get overlooked by sm even though he's nct's poster boy with mark.

we need ot10 back together soon but honestly having sicheng in both nct 127 and wayv was... a terrible move. very different units, both very busy bc they're focused on different marketing when it comes to who they want to reach, sicheng will have to sacrifice more than one nct 127 or wayv comeback to be with the other group that's promoting at the time like we saw with superhuman, wakey wakey, while he was with wayv for regular and take off ( even tho he got no real lines in regular... clowns sm ). it's just a shame sm can't even stick to their actual units and give them proper managing. also nctzens need to realise taeil & doyoung aren't the only vocalists, jaehyun is amazing and in fact so is jungwoo ? nobody ever talks about his vocals but he is... great hello ? i'm gonna waste so much time on hyuck rn so hold on.

the way sm won't acknowledge hyuck's vocal prowesses also bothers me. he's been improving a LOT and if your focus is on hitting high notes this boy can hit crazy high notes just like taeil, sm just won't give him the lines bc they're milking taeil's voice and that's all they use him for ( which i hate... i love taeil so much when will sm treat his artists right lol !!! ). he's also a great dancer but i think people forgot he was great because of his hiatus and like ok but he's been back for months haha. one last thing... let the members collab w/ artists who aren't jason derulo please n thank yooou.

now... to stop criticising sm's management for now... nct 127 is a great subunit. the members have real chemistry and work off one another very well, the unit remains diverse and the songs are PHENOMENAL. i don't care what anyone says about cherry bomb or firetruck it's just that people have bad taste i won't hear it. the visuals are always amazing, except johnny's wig in wakey wakey but that's in the past... i like the differences we see from cb to cb and yet it remains true to nct 127. you know which subunit you're listening to even with the contrasts and that's Cool, yeehaw ! i think i can shut up abt 127 now lmao.

wayv - TRANSCENDENT. seven members, not too few nor too many, the line distribution isn't too bad for once ( except regular but that's just how regular is i GUESS, also ten is definitely being favoured ), the main dancers get to show their abilities ( though i'd have enjoyed more centre time for sicheng in take off bc... that was really ten's song in all aspects lmao ), i don't know about the other wayv rappers' singing abilities but chill rapper lucas was a good pick. i'll say yangyang and hendery aren't too bad either ! xiaojun's vocals make a man dreamy ( i am a man ), kun... should get more lines hehe of course he should i love his voice and he just doesn't get enough yet. like i said they really favoured ten with their actual debut, looking forward to see how they handle the line distribution in the future. the management must be a bit different given wayv isn't only sm from what i understood ? it's a bit too soon for me to properly have an opinion on wayv aside from what i said about sicheng earlier and well, the line distribution and centre time overall. ten is my wayv bias but like, the others should still get some attention, they're not idols just to look pretty in the background lol.

nct dream - as individuals i LOVE them of COURSE i do... but this subunit's concept is a bit clanky to me. the whole graduating thing leaves a bitter taste in my mouth especially considering mark just graduated which means the 00 liners will graduate this year... all four of them... and hyuck hasn't even made a cb with dream yet. they'll probably introduce new members in the upcoming months but watching it unfold makes me worry about an nct dream with just chenle and jisung, now i'd love a song with both of them but maybe not as nct dream lol. thankfully they also hope they'll be able to have nct u songs as og nct dream which is what i was definitely hopeful for so it might happen, not yet but maybe some day.

sm made nct dream but everyone including nct dream got SO attached to the og unit it just feels like it can't work, especially since it's been three years and no new members have been introduced yet. it's been og nct dream up until december 2018, there had been no changes, sm just... handled this bad once again ? lmao. idk how to explain it but that sums it up ? aside from that i have nothing to say about the line distribution and all, i think it's handled pretty well on dream's side... even though the only dream content we've gotten this year was dnyl akshdjh. i love it of course but like it's not an actual dream cb so it's a bit... yeah.

and now the one we can all agree on,

NCT U THE BITCH

this unit has SO MUCH potential. it could be used SO WELL if the management wasn't done by sm. we could get the best bg content sm could put out without shinee and ot9 exo but we are let down TIME and TIME again. i won't even develop on that because i know everyone thinks the same so i don't have to do the maths for you skhsjsdjdhdj, this just gets me so Mad i hate sm's management so much. it's like they think that bc they've got the best artists out of the big 3 and so they can just do whatever they want and it'll pass but i can't STAND THIS holy fuck bring back f(x) you fuckin uglies stop clowning rv let suju disband at LAST do SOMETHING RIGHT

tl;dr the boys good sm bad

[epickendall]

The Summer of Del'goxoth part 14

Two days later it is Summerween in Gravity Falls, and the town is at full swing as the town has Halloween decreation at homes, business, and other buildings. Kids, teens, adults, and elderly were dress in customs ranging from monsters to superheroes to fairy tales characters, and already people are pulling pranks on this night. In Danny home, Danny is in his room changing into his custom as he dresses as a Vampire Danny wore red gothic glasses, grey makeup, another blonde wig with some grey streaks in it, a black top hat, Black velvet coat has attached bat-style cape, grey vest, black Faux leather boot, and black pants. Danny looked at himself the bedroom mirror see how he looked in his custom.

"I look pretty good in this custom," Danny thought, and he turns to Cujo who was asleep in the middle of Danny bed "what you think boy?"

Cujo wakes from his sleep and looks at Danny and barks happily.

"Glad you like it I was a bit worry for a moment that I almost looked dress up as Vlad,"

Cujo growls at the name Vlad.

"Don't worry Cujo that fruit loop is far from earth to hurt anyone no more,"

Danny pets Cujo who became happy again. Danny grabs his phone and a shiny ruby cane as he about to leave his bedroom Danny turns to Cujo "stay here boy unless I need to okay,"

The dog barks and get's back to his sleep, Danny goes downstairs to see Washington filling a large bowl of candy, but Washington is in a sour mood.

"What wrong Washington not into the Summerween?" said Danny

"No, I'm not Danny I have to buy tons of candy for a holiday that suppose to be in October instead of in the Summer then I have to give candy to a bunch of kids I don't know,"

"Lighten up Washington there might be a hot single mom for you when you give candy out,"

"Don't get my hopes kid. Anyway, what are you doing for tonight,"

"Wendy and I are going to see this movie that a couple of people are playing on a projector in the Circle park,"

"Hm, so this a date then?"

Danny blushes "no we are just hanging out that all Washington,"

"Sure it is Danny just tell me when you two have a private moment," Washington laughs, and Danny as checks are deep red.

Then the doorbell ring Washington goes to with carrying the bowl full of candy in one hand Washington opens the door and see who on the other side.

"Danny Wendy is here," said Washington

Danny goes to the front door to see Wendy in here werewolf custom Wendy wore a bloody black shoes, a black, and orange flannel shirt and tight black pants that both looked torn, Wendy had orange fur around her custom, and she wore orange werewolf ears and tail she looked like a person turning into a werewolf.

"Woah, Wendy your costume looked great," said Danny

"So does your Danny but I don't we can be friends seeing how Vampires and Werewolves don't like each other," said Wendy

"But I think can make a friendship out of it put aside the hatred of two species do you agree,"

"I agree with that,"

"See you later, Washington," Danny and Wendy leave Danny home.

"Danny, you better get back here before one!" Washington shouted as he sees a group of ten-year-old girl dress Disney princess custom "here comes the little devils," Washington said to himself

Danny and Wendy go to Circle park to watch a movie called "Supervamp" the film is about a vampire dress in a superhero outfit killing his bullies from high school after the movie was Danny and Wendy got nothing else to do for the night.

"So what else you want to do Danny?" said Wendy

"I don't know Wendy how about we go trick and treating?" said Danny

"Nah we're too old for that," then Wendy phone buzzed she pulls out to find a text message, and she smiles, "I think I found something we can do,"

"That would be?"

"A got a text message about a party that is happening at this guy Marcus house from Pacifica we should definitely go,"

"I'll go, it would be nice to go to a party with everyone not coming up to me for every second of a party,"

"To Marcus house,"

Danny and Wendy go to Marcus house, which is a tan two-story house the party is raging on with the music blasting out from every corner of the house. Wendy and Danny walk into the house to see teenagers their age still dress in customs as well the party had strobe lights, a bucket full of candy, a two cooler filled with soft drinks and beer, and DJ set in the living room. Danny and Wendy get into the party they dance to the music, eating candy from the bowl, watch two jocks dress in gladiator customs play beer pong, and play Mortal Kombat upstairs in the game room. Later at the party, Wendy had to go outside of the party to talk to a friend on the phone and Danny sits on couch drinking sprite then he sees Pacifica dress up as the wicked witch from the west with the black witch clothes and green makeup on her face and hands she sits down next to Danny.

"Hey River enjoying the party?" said Pacifica

"Yes, I am this is the best party I have been to in a while,"

"That's good since not every town does Halloween twice a year,"

"Yeah, you guys love Halloween that much to do it twice a year,"

"Well, we do live in this weird little town,"

"Weird and awesome at the same time,"

Pacifica laughs at Danny last comment "River I gotta ask you since your a guy,"

"Shoot,"

"How do guys act when they like a girl,"

"Pacifica do you have a crush on someone?" Danny could tell Pacifica blush even under the green makeup

"Don't tell anyone River but yes I do like this dork how come visit Gravity falls in the summer I'm trying to tell him that I like-like him I wonder if he likes me back,"

Pacifica reminds Danny how Sam feels about Danny back where they were fourteen so Danny uses it to tell Pacifica "if the guy tries to impress you or could not stop thinking about you without blushing then he likes you, Pacifica,"

Pacifica smile bright "thanks for the advice River,"

"No problem Pacifica,"

At the backyard, Wendy is talking to an old friend on the phone whom she wishes was she and her twin brother was here to hang out with Danny.

"Mable hows you and Dipper road trip?" said Wendy

"It's wild! Wendy, we had to outrun crazy bikers, our dad rode a bull, Dipper learned to play the bass, I beat a Germany guy at foosball to get our car back and our mom knockout a bear with a cricket bat,"

"Heh, it seems you guys always run into a new adventure everywhere you guys go,"

"Must be in our DNA anyway enough about me what you Wendy how is it going in Gravity falls,"

"It's going great actual meant this cool guy his name is River,"

"Really! What is he like?"

"He's fun to hang out with he funny and.."

"It sounds like in love with him Wendy," Mable interrupts

Wendy blushes "No I'm not Mable we are just friends,"

"It does not sound like it to me, Wendy... Oh crap! I gotta go, Wendy, my dad is freaking out about something about the car, and also I can't wait to see your new boyfriend," Mable hangs up.

"Oh boy just wait until they find out that River is actual Danny Fenton/Phantom when he gets out of Witness protection," Wendy thought then suddenly feel worried about Danny leaving Gravity falls "why do I feel that way if Danny leaves?"

"Hey, Wendy,"

Wendy turns around to see Danny holding a cola for her Danny's hands the soda to Wendy.

"What's on your mind, Wendy?"

"It's just that well" Wendy sits down on the back step "I wondering if we could still be friends if you leave Gravity falls after your done with Witness protection,"

"Of course we still friend Wendy,"

"Really what about all your ghost business back in Amity park?"

"I can find a way to come here and hang out with you if it wasn't for you Wendy I would be totally bored and alone here,"

Wendy smile "I hope we can still be friends after the summer,"

Danny ghost sense comes out of nowhere; Logan comes out of the ground he snatches Wendy from the doorstep and flies her in the air Danny quickly turn into his ghost form and then become invisible and chase after Logan.

In the air, Wendy struggles to get out of Logan grip "let go of me you ugly ghost,"

"Ugly I'm Logan Hall I was voted sexy men two years running,"

"I don't care put me down," Wendy hits him in the head not affecting him.

"Settle down I'll let go once I take down that ghost boy," Logan looked behind him to see an invisible Danny "and speaking of which,"

Down below at the Mystery Shack Stan was about to scare a bunch kids in a clown mask when he looks up to see Wendy trying to get out Logan grip "Bro we got emergency," Said Stan going back inside

Danny and Logan fly all over in the sky Danny almost grabbed Wendy from Logan before Logan shot a bright light blinding Danny as he only grabbed a torn fabric from Wendy costume then Logan sucker punch Danny. After Danny could see again, he lost Logan and Wendy,"

"Shit how I am going to find them now," Danny looked at the torn fabric and came up with an idea.

Later down the ground in the forest, Danny has the Fenton thermos with one hand, and the other is Cujo on a leash.

Danny bends down and holds the fabric up to Cujo nose "okay boy help me find Wendy," Cujo sniffs the material he runs to the scent of Wendy Danny hold the leash tightly "Hang on Wendy we're coming,"

[ilovehatembj]

Man Up Part 3

Hey y’all! Sorry it took this long for this part! But I’m here, that counts right? I didn’t proofread cause I’m lazy. This one is short cause I just wanted to post something, also if you want to be untagged lmk, I tagged everyone from previous parts.

Pairing: OBJ x BLACK Reader

Warnings: Cussing, a SAD attempt at SMUT

*Saturday Morning*

You woke up to a text from Odell…….

“I have a car in LA so you don’t have to pick me up. I’ll be on my way to you as soon as I land”

That was was 2 ½ hours ago so you didn’t have much time till you’d be getting that “Otw” text, luckily you didn’t have much to do except for getting dressed. You opt to wear something simple, white crop top with gray biker shorts. You throw your hair up in a messy bun and wait for him to get to your place.

*45 Minutes later*

You get up and pause Netflix when you hear you’re buzzer. “Who is it?” “Excuse me Miss, I’m looking for a young lady with a big booty, average height,and nice smile and she might be wearing a wig, her hair is kinda hit or miss, did I mention the big booty?” “Maybe you should be looking somewhere else if all she has to offer is a big booty” you say into the speaker. “Did I mention she had sparkling brown eyes ?” “Really Odell?” You buzz him in and wait outside your door for him to get off the elevator and after a few minutes you see him walking towards you down the hallway. “You pack light for a weekend in LA” “Don’t judge, I’m a simple man” “A simple man with Gucci luggage and a Rolex, makes sense” You go in for a hug, but he goes in for a kiss and picks you up by the back of your knees in the process. He walks you two into your place still carrying you AND his bag, (why didn’t you snatch a strong nigga before?). You come up for air and ask “You want a tour first?” “Right after I take a tour of something else” “Word? Its like that?, he grinned “Word” And with that y’all right back into another decadent kiss breathing into his mouth the directions to your room.

Once he made it he threw you on the bed and he yanked your shorts off while you threw your shirt across the room. He dived straight for your clit. He started taking long and slow licks then he just started digging in like it was his last meal. “O-oh, fuck Odell, please do-don’t stop” “You like that baby” “Fuck yes, I’m about to c-cum” Once you felt your core tighten he put two fingers inside of you, him curving his fingers inside of you and the sound of your wetness brought you even closer. “Ooh fuck baby just like that” “Cum for me darling” and just like that you came undone, but you rode out your orgasm on his face and fingers, he licked every drop of you up. He made his way up to you beard glistening with your juices and you couldn’t help but grab him in for the deepest kiss you’ve ever given. He sat up and threw his shirt off and kicked his sweats and boxers off. “You ready?” “Yes” He slowly inched himself inside of you, giving you time to get adjusted to his, after he was all the way in he pulled out then he slammed himself back into you at full throttle speed. “Ohhh shit, fuck” “You feel so good babygirl, fuck”. He kept his steady tempo and speed while rolling his eyes to the back of his head. “Where you at babygirl?” “Shit! I-I’m close” “I’m ready when you are” your tightened yourself around him and his thrusts started getting sloppy. He brought his head down for a kiss and you released on his dick. “Shit baby I’m bout to cum, where you want it?” “In my throat” You pushed him off of you and positioned yourself in front of his dick and start spitting and licking on it. You put all of him in you mouth and started going up and down, turning your hands to him on a beat “Oh shit Y/N!” He grabs the back of your head and starts face fucking you and after his 5th thrust you feel his warm seed slide to the back of your throat. “Damn girl, you nice like that?” “You just seen it didn’t you?”. You both laugh and chit-chat for literally 2 minutes before you fall asleep. Odell just looks down at you smiling, “You don’t even know how special you are, unbelievable” he falls asleep right after you.

You wake up and see that its 7PM. You follow the sounds and smells coming from your kitchen. “I know this man is not burning up my kitchen”, you whisper to yourself, but you walk in on just the opposite. “Hey baby. I hope you don’t mind but I figured you’d be hungry and I didn’t know what you’d want so um… yeah, this the outcome” “Is that...baked salmon?!” “Yes ma’am, and asparagus and rice too. Here sit down” He pulled chair out for you and sat a plate in front of you. “Taste it. I hope you like it.” “Oh my goodness. Damn. This is really good. I’m impressed.” “I told you me impressing you didn’t stop at some damn flowers.” “You know Beckham. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. At this point I’m beyond impressed. People who’ve known me for years couldn’t pulled this small gesture off.” “Maybe you’re giving me too much credit.” he picks up a piece of you food, “And maybe you need to start getting rid of some of those people in your life” “I already started” you say with a smirk on your face. You just so happen to glance at your coffee table in your living room and see flowers that you didn’t recognize. “I didn’t realize you brought flowers with you.” “I didn’t, I thought you already had those before I got here.” “Oh yeah, I forgot, they got delivered earlier this morning, I must’ve forgotten to put them in a vase”. But you knew those flowers weren’t there when Odell got there. You’d let it slide for the weekend, but you had an idea of how they got there.

The rest of the night was chill. Y’all ate, had each other for dessert, watched movies, and had each other for a late night snack, becoming more delicious everytime.

The two of you woke and made breakfast together, well he did most of the cooking, you helped though, he called you his “Boo chef”. Yes, he’s hella corny. After that y’all decided to grab lunch and come back and get ready for dinner with your friend Chanel and his teammate Sterling at Nobu.

Once you got to the restaurant you spotted Chanel and Sterling. You headed over there praying to Black Jesus that it wouldn’t be awkward after you had to decline Chanel’s invite to their wedding. Money calls. “Hey Y/N! I haven’t seen you since Coachella last year!” “I know! I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the wedding! But I hope you guys liked my gift!” “Oh my God! Yes, yours was my favorite and I understand! Don’t sweat it, just make sure you’re at the baby shower!” “Uh, I hi to you too Chanel. I don’t know if you remember, but I was the best man at your wedding.” “Ugh, I hi Odell. So jealous” “Hey Y/N. And my condolences to you for dealing with this clown.” You all laughed and after the conversation flowed for awhile Chanel asked, “So how did you two get together? Odell how did you snag her? I prefer her much much more to your exes” Odell held his down laughing in shame, “Y’all don’t laugh, but I slid in her dm’s” “What?! You do realize you could’ve just asked me for her number”. “That would’ve helped after being left on read for a week” he said side eyeing you. “Listen, I get wild dm’s ALL the time. The verification check mark doesn’t mean you get a reply. I just so happened to stumble on yours and you weren’t being weird in the dm’s so here we are.” The whole table busted out laughing.

After dinner you and Odell headed back to your place because he had an early flight to catch back to NY.

It’s the morning and you woke up to Odell in the shower. You were highkey mad that he had to leave, this weekend was the first time in forever you’ve felt any kind of companionship. It was refreshing.

As Odell was walking towards your front door he stopped and turned around, “Listen, I know we haven’t been doing this for anytime at all really but two things. One, Are you free next weekend? If you are could you maybe think about coming to place? I don’t think I can take too much time away from you now. I’m hooked. Two, are you going to the BET awards this year? I feel like a kid asking you to the Blackest prom ever but I have an extra ticket.” Kissing him between sentences, “Yes. I. Can. Be in NY next weekend. Andddd. I’ll be. On the carpet interviewing people, so yes and no to that one. By the way that would’ve been a shitty promposal.”

*********

I didn’t realize Odell was nominated for a BET award until after I had the idea for them to show up together, but I’ve said too much already.

@melanisticroyalty @laketaj24 @royallyprincesslilly @theunsweetenedtruth @leahnicole1219 @eriksbabymama @sweettea-and-honeybutter @Ljstraightnochaser @amethyst1993 @daytimeheroicsonly @uhlxis @drsunshine97 @supernovaah @muse-of-mbaku @zuzuspanda @chefjessypooh @purple-apricots @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @cockyboysandsugarism @destinio1 @siriuslycollins @dreadedphilosphy @texasbama @blackmisfitsunite @cool-pen-name @madamslayyy @slimmiyagi @blackchickfics @omg-blackqueen @blue-ishx @maliadestiny @yourstrulyylauren @poeticallymindlesshippy

[the-magnus-archives-archiver]

Strange Music

Case: 0051701

Name: Leanne Denikin Subject: An antique calliope organ she possessed briefly in August 2004 Date: January 17th, 2005 Recorded by: Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London

Let me be clear: I'm not scared of clowns. I don't find them funny, either. Just a bit baffling, really. I've never understood why people would find grown men in stupid make-up and wigs funny. Or scary. It's the same with the dolls. People talk about their cold dead eyes, but they don't seem to have any problem with statues. I suppose now I've got good reason to be scared of both. I just want you to understand, I wasn't seeing things out of fear. This happened.

It didn't come as a surprise when my grandfather died last August. I'd been living with him for almost two years at his home in Bootle, looking after him through his illness. My mother was having her own difficulties at the time and my good-for-nothing father wanted nothing to do with any of it, so looking after my grandpa came down to me. It wasn't so bad, really. My grandpa was a strange man at times. He'd been a carnie for most of his life, working with travelling circuses and freak shows all over Europe, and was something of a recluse in his later years. He could also swear a blue streak a mile wide. Get him behind the keys of a piano, though, and I don't know anyone who could play as beautifully as he could. Like I say, it wasn't a surprise when he finally died, but I still found it difficult. As you may have guessed, I don't have a great relationship with my parents and have always had some problems making friends, so... when he went it hit me hard.

I didn't go out that week. Or the next. I saw Joshua, my... partner, I suppose you'd have called him, but aside from that, I didn't see anybody between grandpa's death and the funeral. It was just me, Josh and my mother. Grandpa had never been a churchgoer, but my mother had a lot of faith, so paid for a Methodist funeral, such as it was. It was a hot, muggy day, and I remember wondering whether the stinging in my eyes was from the tears or the sweat. As it turned out, grandpa had left me his house. It didn't really sink in for a while – the house had been the most home I'd had for so long that I'd always felt it was mine in some ways.

Going through my grandpa's old papers and possessions was harder than I had expected. It was only reading some of his own letters that I discovered his birth name was Nikolai – he'd always just gone by Nick. Eventually I sorted through everything. I had a small box of memories I wanted to keep, but... I just wasn't up throwing the rest away yet. I decided to store them in the loft. I knew the house had one, although I had never been inside. It had always been locked. It wasn't a mystery or anything, just that my grandpa hadn't needed to get anything from up there while I was living with him. At least, I thought so.

It was only then I realised I had never been inside it. More annoyingly, I quickly discovered that none of the keys I'd been given for the place were for the padlock. No luck searching for it around the rest of the house, either. In the end I had to cut the lock off with a pair of bolt cutters I found in the garage.

There was also a ladder in the garage, so getting up through the small, square hole wasn't a problem. I realised then that I didn't have a torch, and it was very dark. Despite it being the middle of summer, the loft was cool, almost cold. I considered heading back down to get a torch and a jacket, but as I reached out my hand, it brushed against something which felt like a pull-cord. I gave it a tug, and a small, weak bulb came to life, and I saw what was inside.

When I had first remembered about the loft, I'd been annoyed. I thought there'd be so much more stuff up there, days more sorting to go through. But when I turned on the light, I saw that it was almost completely empty. The only things there were an old steamer trunk, a small stool and a bright red calliope organ. The ceiling was higher than I expected as well. I could stand at my full height without stooping. I walked slowly towards the old steam organ. It was bright red and in excellent condition except for a thick layer of dust. There was a small brass plaque simply reading “The Calliaphone”. The brass pipes that stuck out from the top still shone faintly under the dust, and I noticed that there was writing, carved onto the cover of the keyboard. It read: “Be still, for there is strange music”.

I went to the steamer trunk next, and was surprised to find it unlocked. Opening it released a cloud of dust and I coughed a few times before I got the heavy lid up. Inside were dolls. Lots of them. They looked old, with ragged, limp cloth bodies topped with oversized round heads and large, painted eyes that stared up from their shadowed trunk. The hair on each was intricate and woollen, and while they certainly weren't the sort of dolls a ventriloquist would use, the heads had similar mouths, wooden blocks that would have opened and closed to simulate speech. At least, they should have had. Almost all of them had had their jaw block roughly torn off, leaving nothing but jagged splinters between their cheeks.

There were 23 dolls I counted in total, and only one of them still had its jaw intact. It was the oldest looking by far, and was a small clown doll. Its threadbare body was white and purple polka-dot, with three pompoms down the front and a ruff just below the head. It had no woollen hair left, but instead had a tall, pointed white cap on top. Its face was painted a pure white, and its eyes were shut, with black lines drawn across them. The only colour was a splash of red across the hinged jaw. A smile.

Like I said, I'm not scared of clowns and I'm not scared of dolls. The thing was ugly though. I was kind of relieved, actually, to have found some of my grandpa's old things that I would have no problem throwing away. Or maybe selling. They were definitely antiques, so they might have been worth something. In any case, I put the nasty-looking clown doll back in the box and closed the lid. I definitely closed the lid.

I went back over to the calliope. There was—

[Sasha: I thought it was pronounced “Ka-lee-o-pee?”

John: Sasha? You're... back early – I thought you were trying to get hold of those police reports for the Harold Silvana case?

Sasha: Tried and succeeded. They were actually quite helpful.

John: Oh... well. Good work.

Sasha: So, do we know if it's pronounced “Ka-lee-o-pee” or “Kuh-ly-o-pee”?

John: I have also heard it said as “Ka-lee-ope”.

Sasha: Seriously? By who?

John: Americans.

Sasha: Ah.

John: As far as I can tell there isn't a “correct” pronunciation. But they were originally named after the Greek muse Calliope, so...

Sasha:  Are people going to understand that it’s from Greek mythology?

John: If they're working for the Magnus Institute, then I would hope so.

Sasha: I’ve just heard it more often as “ka-lee-o-pee”.

...

John: Statement continues.]

I went back to the calliope. There was no lock on the lid, or any switch that I could see on the outside. I opened it, and the keys inside shone as though they had just been polished. Now, at the time I didn't know how a calliope worked. I just thought it was like a weird pipe piano. I didn't know that there needed to be a blower working for the thing to play, and even if I had I wouldn't have known where to find one or how to use it. By rights, when I sat in front of it and pressed the first key down, nothing should have happened. The four tall rows of brass whistles should have remained silent. Instead, there came a loud, howling tone from one of the pipes and I almost fell off my seat in surprise. I remember once, hearing the sound of a steam organ could be heard from over a mile away, and when that shrill whistle sounded I could believe it.

I started to play a tune. My grandpa had had a piano once. It had broken years before and he'd never had the money to replace it, but he had taught me the basics. There was one tune that, when I was a child, I always insisted he play to me. He never told me its name, if it even had one. I always used to just call “Faster Faster”, by way of a description. A cheery, upbeat circus melody that started out almost unbearably slow and gathered in tempo, getting faster and faster until my grandpa's fingers were a blur. He always indulged me when I asked him to play it, and now I played it for him. The wailing whistles were almost deafening in that cramped space. I knew I'd probably be hearing from the neighbours about it, but I didn't care. I just played.

The tune got faster, more frantic, and I felt something building inside me. It was like final closure for the loss of my grandpa was just out of reach, and if I got faster, if I played with enough speed I could catch it. But my finger slipped and the music abruptly became a discordant cacophony. I never was as good as Grandpa Nick. I sat there in silence for a minute. When I turned to leave, though, I saw that the old steamer trunk was open, and the clown doll lay on top of the pile. Even though its painted eyes were still shut, I felt like it was looking at me. Its smile seemed slightly wider than before. I shut the trunk and climbed down the ladder.

I didn't really think about the weird things in the loft over the next week or so. I had too much else to do. It was only when Josh was next round, and asked me why the small hole into the attic was open, that I remembered. I told him I had something cool to show him, and got the ladder out. He was suitably impressed by the calliope, but freaked out a bit over the dolls. I didn't realise he was scared of them. He made me shut the steamer trunk almost as soon as he saw them, and kept looking over to make sure it was closed. I decided not to tell him about the first time it had popped open.

He asked if I could play anything on the ancient steam organ, and so I sat down and began to play my grandpa's old circus tune. Again I began to pick up speed, to play faster and faster as the whistles began to shriek. I felt a hand touch mine firmly, abruptly stopping the music. Josh stood there, shaking slightly, his face deathly pale. On impulse I looked over to the chest of dolls, but the lid was firmly shut. I asked him what was wrong and he said he didn't know. He just wanted to leave. Now. So we did. Climbed back down out of the loft, and I lowered the wooden trapdoor behind us.

The next few weeks were... unpleasant. I don't want to go into detail. Let's just say I discovered that Josh was just another asshole after all. Our relationship was already going through a rocky patch. It didn't help that in those last weeks he became moody, short-tempered, constantly on edge. When I finally found out that he had... It doesn't matter. We broke up. It left me pretty much destroyed, coming so soon after my grandpa's death. I just tuned everything out again.

Eventually, it was tripping over a box that did it. One of the ones I'd put all my grandpa's stuff into, and never actually got round to putting in the loft. I decided to just get it over with. I guess I hoped a tidier house would give me more space to think. So for the third time, I got out that ladder and climbed into the loft. If didn't take as long to store all the boxes as I'd thought, and within an hour I was done. I had been so intent on packing away all my memories that I hadn't even looked at the old steamer trunk. As I went to climb down I glanced over, and I froze.

The lid was open again, and the clown doll was on top. It wasn't looking at me this time. Instead, it seemed to be facing a doll I hadn't seen before. This one still had its jaw as well, and I swear it looked just like Josh. Same tatty brown jacket, same old jeans. Its black, woollen hair even did that flicky thing he always spent so long getting right. It was lying against the side of the box, and I swear it looked like the clown was reaching for it. I slammed the box lid down and got the hell out of there. I bought a padlock the next day.

Now, I've brought a copy of the police report I gave, because you have to believe me that I did not play that calliope again. I had nothing to do with what happened to Josh. I came home from the cinema about a week later to find that my grandpa— my house had been broken into. Here, it's all in the report on the burglary I gave to the police. The front door lock was shattered and it swung gently to and fro.

At first I ran into my living room, my bedroom, but nothing had been taken. The electronics, my jewellery, it was untouched. I felt my stomach drop as I realised and ran towards the loft. Sure enough, it was open, the padlock torn from its hook. The calliope and the steamer trunk were gone.

They questioned my neighbours about it. None of them had seen anything except for Mrs. Harlow next door, who said she noticed two people taking out pieces of red sheet metal and brass pipes. She didn't remember any details, just said that they “looked legitimate” and she thought I was having some things moved. The police never found them.

I just need you to believe that. To know I didn't play the thing again. It wasn't my fault, what happened to Josh. God knows I hated him enough back then, but... I could never called anything like that upon him. Not like that. I don't suppose you need me to tell you how they found him. Four days later, dead in his room. His throat was crushed. And his jaw was torn clean off. The police never found it.

I wouldn't have thought of it, really. Wouldn't have... put it all together even then. Not if it hadn't been for the fact that, in the last days of our relationship, Josh had broken down. He told me that he still heard that calliope music. Far off, when he was alone. And it had been getting gradually closer. I mean, they say you can hear one from almost a mile away.

Archivist Notes: 

While I have what I would consider to be some natural reservations about a tale of murderous clown dolls, there are a few things that make me more inclined than usual to believe this statement. Firstly, as Ms. Denikin mentioned, she did provide a copy of the official police report into the burglary, which includes testimony from one Irene Harlow that appears to confirm Ms. Denikin did possess both a steamer trunk and calliope organ, so those at least existed. The death of Joshua Drury is also at least as mysterious as she made it sound. In addition to his jaw being torn clean off his skull, residual evidence indicates that his throat was crushed with some sort of rope, apparently woven out of thick wool. There was no evidence of a struggle or of forced entry, no DNA evidence of anyone in the room aside from himself. No-one was ever arrested for the crime.

When discussing this case, Tim said it reminded him of some articles he'd read on travelling circuses in Russia and Poland during the early 20th century. On a whim, I hunted down a few of the volumes he mentioned in the Institute's library, and sure enough on page 43 of Gregory Petry's Freaks and Followers: Circuses in the 1940s, I found a reproduction of an old black-and-white photograph. It shows a small group of carnival workers: a contortionist, a fire-eater, two strong-men, a ringmaster and a organist sitting behind a calliope. The photograph is labelled as being from 1948 and taken in Minsk, Russia. Only the ringmaster and organist are named: Gregor Osinov and Nikolai Denikin. The name of the troupe was Цирк другого [[Tsirk druh-grova]] – the Circus of the Other. The name rings a bell, but I can't find any other reference to it. 

Ms. Denikin emigrated to South-East Asia two years ago, so was unavailable for any follow-up, but I'm sure there must be more on this somewhere in the Archives. Because I know for a fact that sitting in the Magnus Institute's Artefact Storage, is a bright red Calliaphone steam organ. When I asked Elias, he just told me that the record of its acquisition was “probably in the archive somewhere” and no-one else knows anything beyond the fact that it was acquired somewhere in 2007. The keyboard cover is firmly locked, and scratched into the surface are the words: “Be still, for there is strange music”.

Source: Official Transcript and Podcast (MAG 24 Strange Music)