#oooooh it was all a dreaaaaam

[sailing-through-hawkins]

once upon a dream

✧ written for 'charm' ✧ word count: 548 ✧ rated: T ✧ cw: none ✧ tags: fairytale au (kinda), knight eddie, evil prince steve ✧ @steddiemicrofic ⁠( ≧∀≦)ゞ✧

"You - saved me."

The fallen prince stares up at Eddie in wonder and confusion, complacent in his arms. His clothes were shredded, the golden crown that used to lay upon his head now in the fiery depths of the chasm behind them, the one he was nearly pushed into by his own soldiers. The sword he wielded against Eddie's blade lies forgotten on the ground.

"Why would you -"

"Should I have left you to the flames," Eddie cuts in with the quirk of his brow, gently pushing the prince back on his feet. "As your loyal guards did?"

The prince blushes, shakes his head, the evil spark in his eye replaced with awe as he looks to Eddie. His hands are still pressed against Eddie's chest. "But I hurt so many people. You should have vanquished me, why..."

"I am not like you, prince. I do not abandon those in need of my aid." Eddie declares, stepping away, watching as the prince nearly stumbles into following him, held back by his own wince.

"It's just Steve now," he says quietly, eyes cast down in shame.

With a sigh, Eddie reaches under his chin, tilting his head up so that they may face each other. The prince - Steve's - mouth is quivering, lips glossy as he licks them nervously. Eddie looks into those hazel eyes with only a hint of disdain. "Do you regret it?"

"Of course," Steve says breathily, staring back at Eddie reverently. "I'd do anything to make up for it."

"Then you deserve a chance to try." Eddie rests his fingers against the hollow of Steve's collarbone for a moment, before gliding them up to his jaw. "Do better by the people, do right by your guilt."

"Please," Steve grasps his wrist, longing coating every syllable he spoke. "Will you help me?"

"Help you?"

"Help me be better," the prince, royal no longer, begs, hands so warm that Eddie could feel it through his armor. "Let me be better for you."

Eddie hums, tilting his head at the flushed skin of the man in front of him, the man he has spent so long fighting back against. The man who was, perhaps, lonelier than he thought of a wretched-king-to-be.

"Well," he murmurs, stroking his thumb at the skin just under Steve's eye, watching as he sighs, watching as his eyes flutter shut. "Who am I to abandon a cry for help?"

"My hero," Steve murmurs as his eyes open, gazing at Eddie sweetly. He presses in closer, their breaths mingling. "My own prince charming."

They make it back to the kingdom, back to the castle, and Steve is already pushing him into the throne, shyly straddling his thighs, setting a new crown upon his head. Eddie smiles up at him, watching as he gasps when Eddie glides a hand down his spine, whining when he squeezes -

"Shit!"

Eddie falls out of bed, groaning. The image of Steve fucking Harrington on his lap burns itself into his brain. "God damn it. Fuck.”

"Ed?"

"'M fine, Wayne!" he hollers back, knocking his forehead back onto the floor as the whisper of "Let me be better for you" drips through his ears, fuck.

How the fuck is he supposed to have a normal day now?

[klarolinedrabbles]

what are some of your fav gendrya fics or just fics in general??

OOOOOH WELL WHERE DO I BEGIN, there’s so many ya’ll. Alright *cracks knuckles* let’s do this. 

Street Rats, is *chefs kiss*, I love that one. 

I’ve got a couple saved that are all in the same ballpark, that ballpark being ‘uhh I’m pregnant, so here I am’ or heading to Storm’s End post 8x06 and i love those tbh. (x), (x), (x)

The uncle-verse of one-shots, LOVE, LOVE LOVE. Read Uncle, here.

Exhale is a favorite of mine, I adore it. 

love, war, and a few things in between; an iconic masterpiece, the hogwarts au of dreaaaaams

this comedic but smutty piece, and The King and the Master of War a work of art by the same author; obsessivewriter the hbic of my soul, tbh. Her current wip is also PHEWWW, so good.

The Fury, aka AN EPIC IN-PROGRESS FIC THAT I’LL RECOMMEND FOREVER. It’s a fic that has me Stressed though, I’ve deadass stared into space thinking about the Podrick cliffhanger, fam. It keeps me up at night. 

The Lost Prince, I am livingggg for this fic. I’m writing a Prince Gendry AU myself and this one is so wonderful and creative, it keeps me inspired, truth be told, I loveee it. 

Let me switch over to modern au now; 

Convincing Arya, so funny, it’s basically each Stark asking a favor of her that winds up with her meeting Gendry and hitting it off, amazing. 

Everybody Talks; CAN I GET A FAKE DATING AMEEEEEN

Or Are We Dancers; talented, amazing, incredible

The Return of the Pop Princess Arya Stark; omg I love this one, ya’ll, it’s so good

let’s gooo bodyguard AU’s, WE LOVE TO SEE IT, Chivalry Fell On Its Sword and Serve and Protect

omg I have tons more but I’ve been writing forever, lmfsksks

[improbablecarny]

The Best Good Parts of The Mystery of Time

As according to me

Knock knock, 2013! Who’s there? It’s Tobias Sammet with a fresh delivery of Avantasia, this time in the form of the spooky gothic tale that begins here. We’ve got old faces, we’ve got new faces, and we’ve got clock faces, so let’s get ready to face what lays at the heart of The Mystery of Time!

Storyline: On a cold winter night in a sleepy little village, a young scientist named Aaron Blackwell happens upon a nightmarish scene: spectral figures and the poor old victim at their center. After rescuing the Antiquarian, Aaron is gifted with a broken old mantlepiece clock, and becomes the center of a mysterious Nobleman’s plan to re-align the world’s seemingly fractured timeline.

Quick Notes:

This album utilizes a real orchestra in numerous songs.

The special edition came with a purely instrumental version of the album, which was pretty cool.

The storyline in this one hit the happy medium between The Metal Opera and The Wicked Trilogy: there still aren’t interludes or spoken parts, and the songs all stand on their own out of context, but there is a more obvious degree of dialogue between the characters. There’s a couple characters who aren’t real people but most of them are. The special edition also came with Aaron’s journal entries, which makes it much easier to follow the plot.

Relistening to TMOT and its sequel, I have to say these albums do some CRAZY cool sound design shit. Listen closely... can you find all the time/machinery motifs?

Come unravel the mystery... by listening to the album for free, officially, on Youtube! (Or Spotify)

Spectres

We all know how I feel about The Seven Angels, but I have to say that in terms of introducing the story, building the setting and setting the mood, Spectres may just be my favourite introductory song.

The dramatic 3/4 intro... it BEGS for choreography

Very strong first verse!

VERY strong second verse - again, where are the dancers at? There’s this languid, macabre sense to the pace of this song that makes it SO easy to visualize

“DANCE IN THE GLOOM / DANCE IN THE GLOOM! EVERY MOVE’S A STEP TO YOUR TOMB!” Chills! Chills! Chills!

Bring in the dancing ghosts!

The bassline before...

HARPSICHORD SOLO!

“Wiiiide open MIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii-iiinds”

The drum strikes at the end of the chorus but especially at the end of the song sound like fireworks and it does things to me.

The Watchmaker’s Dream

That time signature... of course I love it

The bright and forward-marching pace in the intro... *dreamy sighs*

The chugging of the guitars as you dip into the first verse? Divine.

“oooooh NOOOOOoooooo”

THE WATCHMAKER’S DREAM!

(The Watchmaker himself doesn’t show up until Ghostlights but Boy Howdy it’s worth the wait)

“SIMPLIFY SIMPLICITY” GOOD entrance

Arjen Lucassen guitar solo immediately followed by an insane Ferdy Doernberg organ solo... thank you for my life

Biff Byford outro lines... “for ALL the world TO see...” 

Black Orchid

The intro... is sexy. That orchestration tho

The piano backing the first verse

“NO TIME FOR DREEAMIIIING”

Joe Lynn Turner’s entrance... “As above / so below!”

THE FINAL HOUR... WHEN NEVER AND NOW.. BECOME.. ONE!

“Everybody’s craving”... that beat

The unforgettable “bllLAAACK OOOOoooRCHIIIiiiiiIID... strAAAANGE and bEEEAUTIFUUUuuul”

Where Clock Hands Freeze

The orchestration takes the intro again but in a much more lighthearted, rousing melody

Which quickly becomes...

the MICHAEL KISKE POWER METAL NUMBER YEAH

The prechorus rolling back the beat with the strings and piano... ahh

“There’s no time to lose... no chance to refuse....”

“....aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

The only disappointment here is still that Tobi doesn’t also go “aaaaaaaaaaaaaa” at the end of his verse

“Through your dark swamp / I walk on deductive conclusion” oh Aaron... you’ve got a big storm coming

 (literally... we’ll get there)

Sleepwalking

This one was used in the promo for an airing of The Titanic on a German tv station so that’s fun

Cloudy is cool I miss her

It’s the heavier-pop duet of the album and it’s extremely good

The second verse when the momentum really picks up... mwah

Savior in the Clockwork

This is the first whopper of the album at nearly 11 minutes, and for good reason

The orchestration again gets a chance to shine in the intro - listen to those soundscapes and soak it all in!

NAH NAH NAAAAAAAAH... NAH NAH NAAAAAAAAH

CHOIR!

“I envision how you lie awake and agonize” time to groove

“Oh every MOMENT everyBODY’S gonna THINK ALIKE!”

“Mind by mind / check the pace for all mankind” time to REALLY groove

When Tobi said “Am I half-asleep or half-unconscious... half a-dream?” I felt it in my soul

This is another one with a live arrangement that fucking rules if you can find it

“Do I dream?” GROOVE TIME AGAIN

Slow down and tap that cymbal baby

“Journey to the first sun... to the BLACK WOOOMB OF SPAAAAACE”

“FATHER PRIMAL SPAAAAAAAAACE”

“WOHOHH YEAAAAHAAH”

Are you STILL GROOVIN’?

The whole back and forth starting “I’ve seen the ocean swallow the ancient harmony”

Then again at “At crack of dawn...”

“RAISE YOUR MIIIIIIND” hi again Michi

When they switch and he takes the melody and then Tobi does the background choir embellishments 

That last chorus run! The POWER

Invoke the Machine

The sailing guitars in the intro... *chef’s kiss*

Introducing Ronnie Atkins! I’ve gushed about his performance as the Nobleman before and I’ll do it again!

The second verse is a primo example of what I mean with him - “these dreams that you hummed to yourself once / how far will you reach out to make them come true? Will you turn around and shirk from duty... ” A kind benefactor who may be just who you need to find answers...

“Ō̸̡̫̟̗̬̞̯̭̯͙͓̲͇̪̈́͝R̵̛̯͍̲̐ ̷͎̤̹̬̼̉̿̀́̋̕͜͠͠F̵̛͎̫̾̀͒̂͌̇̅̑̐̅̔O̵̱̟͉̾̀Ṛ̴̢̨͍̳̟̼̞̉͆̆͑́̀̅́͊̔͠C̴̢̧͓͖̝͍̭͖̯̻̯̤͈̞̓͊̀̿̓́̍̽̋̽͠Ë̷̡̮͙̒̓̿͑́̕ ̴̡̠̦͕̯̖̺̪̻̺̗̃̌́̽̑ͅͅT̷̛͉̮̲̦̭̜̭̝̝͙̭͖̗̉͋̈́͘͜͜H̶͚̖̩̪͕͌̀͘Ẻ̷̤̯̤̯̒́̑͌͘̚ͅ ̶̧̢͍̣̭͚̰̥̟̉͋̔̋͌̔̓̔̓̕͘P̶̛̮͈͗̍̿̃̎͑̃̀̀̓̾͝Ă̸̗̙͇̯̘͇̹͔̫̫͎̞̾́̒͐̊̅̕͠C̴̢͉̖̳̱͍͚̭̤̖̖̙̫͜͠Ę̴̝̦͇͈̯̬͍̖͗̃̏̃̒̔̿”

Oh haha, ok, so THAT’S definitely the bad guy

“As my glance wanders to... the far off land in the sky”

“Oh, hissing and SCREEAMIN’ - almost ALIII-III-IIIIiiive!”

IN THE NIIIIIGHT - can you hear that in the chorus? It’s happening: Meatloafification. (To transform, over time, into American rock musician Meat Loaf)

The instrumental when they actually invoke the machine... more chefs kisses

The journal entry for this one states that the Nobleman “literally exploded” into a monologue, which still tickles me

What’s Left of Me

It’s Eric Martin, baby! Despite being on a whopping 3 studio songs his involvement in the tour lineup and bluesy, hearty voice have cemented him as an integral part of the Avantasia experience for me.

The string intro... the vocal intro... the duet...

When I first saw the name of this song in the tracklist pre-release I went “oh, this song will end me”

I was right

Dweller in a Dream

“OH OHHHHHHHHHHHWHOAAAAHH”

“Memories / Of good intentions ghosting me“ Time to groove again!

“God if you’re out there / why do you make ME SPIN YOUR WHEEL?”

CHOIR CHORUS

These lyrics are wild

“Are you for real now or just a dweller in my dream?”

DO YOU HEAR ME / DWELLER IN A DREAM!

“Ooooooh.... why would your god-given will come off the track?”

“COME OFF THE TRACK?”

“DWELLER IN A DREAAAAAM”

The Great Mystery

The closer to this album is another great Bob Catley megasong, and I regularly sing the entire thing in the shower.

CARRY THE FLAME TO ACCELERAAAATE THE EVOLUTION OF AN AAAAAGE

The dramatic instrumentals behind “don’t be afraid / just look around!”

DON’T QUESTION WHAT YOUR EYES CAN’T SEEEEE

It’s extremely hard for me to just not quote the entire passage that begins at “I see a cold moon rise above those empty streets”

...AND AS YOU MARVEL AT THE ARTWORK IN YOUR HANDS / RICH IN DETAIL / SO FRAIL AND BEAUTIFUL

AND YOU FORGET THE RULES THE ELDERS ALWAYS MADE UP FOR YOU

TO SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME

OH!

Both passages that begin with “I see tears shed over days...”

... and answers you DID FIND

To dare what YOU WOULD FIND INSIIIIIIDE

THE LAST CHORUS

“OOOOH IS IT REALLY NOT A DREAM?”

“THE GREAT MYSTERY”

“AAAAAAAAH”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH” 

waaaaaah  😭

BONUS TRACK: THE CROSS AND YOU

To my knowledge it has nothing to do with the TMOT story. It sounds a lot like a lost Edguy song more than anything.

It has a hard rock edge that sets it apart significantly from the more symphonic songs on the album

“Allllll... the ways...”

I do dig the theatrical tone at “The cautionary voice that shatters your brain”

It’s the end of the album, but the story doesn’t end there! We’ve got a world of revelations ahead of us in the next leg of the story... and you can make time for that, right?

Cast List:

Tobias Sammet as Aaron Blackwell Michael Kiske as The Antiquarian Ronnie Atkins as The Nobleman Eric Martin as The Beggar Cloudy Yang as She Bob Catley as Epiphany Joe Lynn Turner as Reason Biff Byford as Science