#suave house records

[royaltyrules816]

Happy Birthday 8ball‼️🎧🎙🎤🎛🎚

[novacqnes]

a fool to want you // abby anderson

summary: abigail anderson’s a colossal pain in the ass with a roster full of a girls to match— unfortunately that only made you want her more.

**part 2**

warning: college!au, angsty, abby’s a player and very smug, smut; face-sitting, fingering, fem receiving, masturbation, top!abby

word count: 4.5k

pairing: abby anderson x fem reader

a/n: i wouldn’t be myself if i didn’t capitalize off my current abby obsession and write something

college is a fucking scam. 

and no, not entirely in the way of paying tuition fees although that sucked too. the so-called fraudulent part of the institution lay in the housing, the very room that cost you upwards of thousands of dollars. hard-earned cash brought into fruition via your blood sweat and tears. aka the kind of money that cost you a liver, and then some. now you weren’t expecting luxury— far from it. all you required was a serene, tranquil vicinity to unwind from the burdens of post-secondary life. which was fair because you’d paid for it, right? 

wrong. everything’s a fucking scam. 

clutching the cotton pillow to your ears, you slammed your fist against the drywall to no avail. dorm room walls were cheap and astoundingly thin, making way for even the slightest movements to travel over to your room. it was three o’clock in the morning. a time for most to catch up on sleep, maybe even cram for an exam if the situation called for it. unfortunately, you didn’t fit into either of those groups— and it wasn’t by choice.

your neighbors had a deep appreciation for cordiality, it extended well into the early hours of the morning. so much so that they’d taken it upon themselves to lull you to bed with obnoxiously loud music— and for the third time this week. the cycle persisted for hours. culminating in an endless repetition of parties and copious amounts of sex. completely obliterating the possibility of you obtaining any sleep, especially the night before homecoming.

“one of us should go over there,” you spat, turning towards your roommate on the opposite side of the room.

dina shrugged, “i tried last time you should do it. i think she has a thing for you.”

you weren’t entirely familiar with the person behind the parties but from what you’d heard her name was abby and she was an asshole— a suave sweet-talker, but an asshole nonetheless. with a particular inclination to flowers, more specifically leaving them at your door. according to dina, the mystery woman had weaseled her way into just about every girl’s pants on campus, with record numbers flowing from her room into the hall. the girl had wicked stamina and that was exclusively based on what could be heard through the paper-thin walls. despite this, the plan was straightforward— be as direct as possible without dropping your pants.

you knocked twice before the door swung open, a half-naked woman standing before it. reddish-pink hickeys littered her neck and chest, trophies she wore proudly. a blue lace bra was lazily strung around her chest along with a torn purple thong that hung just below her navel. the woman was practically exposed but held not an inkling of shame— if anything she appeared dignified despite being borderline nude.

“can you turn the fucking music down?” you shouted, clamping your hands over your ears.

the woman eyed you with a particular level of indifference, crossing her arms over her chest. a strong musk of what seemed to be vanilla, sweat, and weed crept into the hallway, clouding nearly all of your senses. the smell lingered in your nostrils, sending your mind into a tailspin as the noise persisted.

she rolled her eyes, turning back towards the dorm, “some girl’s here for you.” from inside emerged a tall woman, broad and especially muscular. her face and shoulders were decorated with dark brown freckles that spread down her back. she was the very definition of intimidation personified, in a gray tank top that clung to crevices of her body carving out a perfect outline. by the time you’d realized what you were doing, it was already too late. abby extended a hand to the top frame of the door as she leaned against it, smirking. 

stop gawking, stop gawking. 

“i’m abby.” everything about her screamed cocky— from her voice to her face, even her posture for heaven's sake. it should’ve bothered you. the way she looked at you, the slight glint in her eye that seemed to sharpen as she scanned down your body— studying each of every component like it was within her right. thus you expected the annoyance or at least some indication of it to creep in. rather you were met with an unfamiliar warmth, one that made you nervous and strangely giddy. that should’ve bothered you, yet it didn’t.

“i know who you are,” you stammered, “uh i sleep in the dorm next door and i have an early class tomorrow, can you just turn the—“

“y/n, right?” her eyes, clouded by lust fell to your lips as you shifted from one foot to the other. your name rolled off her tongue effortlessly, and a part of you wanted to hear it again— just as much as abby wanted to say it again. she got off on it, she adored having the upper hand even in the most minuscule conversations. she could see it in the way you inched closer to her without even noticing. it was a power that you weren’t even fully aware of. 

“yeah?” you held your breath as she ran her fingers along the rim of the door before dropping them at her sides. the silence was torturous, gnawing at you from the inside out. this is where the “asshole” reputation stemmed from. she was a tease in her natural element and unbeknownst to you it was worsened by your presence. 

she smirked, “i sit behind you in chem, you look even prettier from the front.”

asshole. 

incessant heat rose to your cheeks, consuming them as the rest of your face fell, victim. you felt like a stranger in your own body— it resembled a foreign vessel on the verge of collapse. you shouldn’t have felt this way. you couldn’t allow yourself to. abigail anderson was a conceited jerk who thought about nothing more than the hookups she could accumulate in a day. this is what she does— and you needed to believe it.

“didn’t notice you,” you shrugged, refusing to let her get the best of you. abby squinted her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. bulging green veins pressed along the surface of her skin as her muscles flexed. she liked challenges. at that moment it became about much more than just sleeping with you, she was practically infatuated. 

you see, abby loved women. she adored the way they felt, their curves writhing underneath her. the subtle cries that fell from their lips at the slightest yet most intoxicating touches. and especially the addictive warmth she got just by being around them. it earned her the reputation of a womanizer across campus and while she wouldn’t deny it— this time her motivations were different. she wanted to charm you, she wanted to tease you, leaving on you edge while simultaneously granting you everything you could ever ask for. calling it crush felt strange but there wasn’t any other word for it, she was whipped.

“you get my flowers?” 

you nodded, eyes darting toward the ground. images of purple lilacs crept into the corners of your vision. it was a reoccurring thing— each morning you awoke to a new bouquet splayed out in front of your door. there was no note, just a small card that read “to y/n, from abby,” and she’d been at it for weeks.

“good….we’ll keep the music down,” she offered you one last glance before retreating into the dorm. she lowered the speakers to a minimum continuing over to her bed. there she was awaited by a girl whose name she didn’t even know. not that it mattered much to her in the slightest. abby found her mind occupied by more pressing matters, all involving you. she couldn’t seem to shake the image of you in sheer pajamas from her memory. spurring it to do the complete opposite— latching on and burning its way to the forefront of her mind. 

she wrapped her hands along the ankles of the mystery woman, gently pulling her toward the edge of the bed. abby forced her eyes closed, allowing pictures of you to pervade them. her hands trailed down between the woman’s inner thighs, teasing them as she cried aloud. she curled her fingers along the woman’s entrance, snapping them upwards in an almost ritualistic manner. abby repeated this over and over again until she was convinced it was you. 

her chants grew fervently, “abby, abby, abby” traveling to the opposite side of the room where you slept. the noise was low at first and only noticeable to you. it began as a gentle whisper, prodding your ears before inevitably reaching your pussy. you didn’t want to succumb to it— secretly you adored the way it made you feel. the slight tingle that persisted with each chant. slowly you moved your hand to your navel, eyes darting over to a passed-out dina before proceeding. 

you closed your eyes, pushing your index finger below the hem of your shorts. beginning slowly you rubbed your clit in controlled, delicate circles, suppressing the grunts and moans brimming the surface of your tongue. filthy images of abby intruded your thoughts, taking center stage as the cries of another woman became fuel. gradually you sped up employing another finger in the process. fragmented white spots clouded the outskirts of your vision as you worked faster, pressing down on your poor clit with much more force. 

the woman’s chants become disheveled and scarce fizzling out as you chase your high, streams of pleasure ripping through your body. tears brimmed the corners of your eyes, you squeezed your legs together quickly breathing a sigh of relief. the realization was subtle initially, revealing the bits of truth you were reluctant to hear. however, one thing was for certain— the image of abby never once left you. 

“so how’d it go last night?” dina asked, her voice pulling you away from your thoughts. 

you snapped your head towards her, “what?” the two of you continued to class although your mind consistently found its way back to abby’s door. 

maybe she knew? oh god, she knew. 

technically you hadn’t done anything wrong but you couldn’t help but feel nervous. last night instilled you with a new, daring sense of bravery that you hadn’t experienced all semester. in your hands, you fiddled with the new bouquet— this time they were a collection of pink roses, all varying in color. you weren’t how long she’d keep it up but then again you weren’t complaining.

“last night with abby? they turned the music down so i’m guessing she must really have a thing for you.” her voice was drenched in all types of suggestive undertones, most of which you consciously chose to ignore. you despised yourself for feeling this way— there was nothing special about the way abby looked at you. she was the campus player and only a fool would be deceived into believing otherwise.

during chemistry you sat in your usual spot, secretly hoping abby would walk in. today you made more of an effort towards appearance, applying a bit more makeup than usual. wearing an even shorter outfit and dousing yourself in perfume. now that you knew abby was watching you wanted to impress her even if it was only for a short while. you rarely if ever sought attention from anyone in class but with her it was different. you wanted to stand out, vying for her attention amongst others. 

halfway through the lecture, abby strode in, blue eyes directly locking with yours. a slight smirk took shape on her lips as she made her way towards you, taking the seat right beside you. your heartbeat sped rapidly, hammering against your chest. she leaned back in her chair completely disregarding the professor. to be honest, abby hadn’t planned on coming to class, and she had no intentions of staying. 

she began, “y/n—“

“i have to focus.”

“i’ll be quick,” she leaned over closer, nearly brushing your thigh, “you got any plans for tonight?” shit— the thought of homecoming had completely slipped your mind. let alone what you planned to do. hanging out with dina was out of the question. and you preferred not to attend any fraternity party alone in addition to one of abby’s. you’d rather not spend most of the night watching her tongue your entire class for hours on end.

“i was thinking about having a party in our resident hall for homecoming, you wanna come? you can bring your friend—“

“i have a date,” you said louder than intended, it garnered a couple of stares from fellow peers and abby included. although this couldn’t have been further from the truth. yet it seemed better in hindsight. she fell silent for a moment, cerulean eyes peering through yours. for the first time, she was at a loss for words— and it was unusual for her. abby rarely had to chase, especially not against other people on campus but with you, she almost felt obligated to. somehow, someway it acknowledged the budding feelings that began to stir deep inside of her.

“if that falls through you know where to find me, promise i’ll make it worth your while— and if you do happen to show up, you should wear that perfume again, you smell really nice,” she whispered, the corners of her lips tugging up into a cocky grin. you expected her to leave right after although she made no attempts to. rather you felt her gaze settle on you, forcing the heat to buzz underneath your skin in response. everything about her demeanor was so arrogant and unbelievably hot. you hated admitting it you refused to. but you didn’t mind the attention, even more so you welcomed it. 

soon the class drew to a close and you were the first one out. the surface skin felt like it was on fire, overwhelmed by an unprecedented force. you couldn’t think straight. memories of abby and last night refused to let up occupying more space in your mind than usual. you’d gotten yourself off to the thought of her. yet the only thing you could focus on was the fact that she’d complimented you. still, you could feel it, her breath against your ear and the gentle brush of her skin against yours. it was small but impossible to forget.

as time inched by classes emptied with most students choosing their preferred method of celebration, except for you. your room was empty so you took advantage of the extra space by dressing yourself for the second time that day. you opted for a tight outfit one that revealed your assets without showing them outright. from the room over you could hear people begin to pile for abby’s party, queuing your exit. not before spraying yourself with perfume once more. 

you walked along campus with no real goal in sight. the sky was a captivating mixture of cobalt and rosè, a sight that left you in awe. the sun was slowly easing its way down, shielded by the fluffy white clouds littered across the expansion. it was utterly beautiful. high pitched sounds from nearby insects rang out into the void as more followed suit. you continued even further heavily immersed in the nature around you. and it communicated one thing. 

college was most definitely a scam, but this certainly wasn’t. 

in all your days of living on campus, you hadn’t noticed this. largely because you’d been so concerned with yourself to really explore and truly venture out of your comfort zone. in many facets, it reminded you of abby, and more specifically what you felt for her. honestly, you didn’t know what it was, or what to call it. you had these preconceived notions of her of who she was that you hadn’t even bothered to investigate yourself. thus it kept you in a bubble one in which you’d never be able to confront your desire for her.

upon realizing this you turned on your heel sharply, speeding back towards your residential hall. as you pushed past the doors you were gearing up to fight— homecoming parties were usually a battle zone. yet once you stepped foot inside it was completely silent— alarmingly so. you continued towards abby’s door searching for an indication of a party but there weren’t any traces of one person let alone dozens of people. 

you knocked on abby’s door once before it swung open. there was no party, no music or stray girls, and beer cups scattered across the room— just abby. a small grin spread across her lips as you stepped inside, the room was dimly lit by white candles. the sweet aroma of vanilla and cinnamon wafted in the air, reminiscent of your first encounter yet with a noticeable difference. you sat on the edge of her bed, purposely leaving a few feet between the two of you. the mattress dipped as abby took a seat on the opposite side, allowing for more tension to accumulate in the atmosphere.

she turned towards you, “where’s your date?”

“i don’t wanna talk about that,” you whispered. a warm giddy feeling aligned the pit of your stomach stirring nausea. but it was almost pleasant? abby affected you, one that you couldn’t quite describe. it was powerful and enticing enough to lead you back to her room and stay. it mimicked a fierce wave edging along a wet beach shore— you knew what was coming, nonetheless, you chose to remain. 

“why are you so far away?” her voice was light, bordering on insatiable. it took everything not to look her way, let alone even make eye contact. you pressed your legs together fighting to contain the desire that was slowly mounting itself inside you. abby could sense it but she wanted— no needed to ease it out of you.

“you make me nervous,” you admitted, biting down on your lip with enough force to draw blood. sheer hints of aluminum lingered on your tongue but a bloody lip couldn’t have been further from your concerns. the air was thick and the scent grew stronger as abby stirred beside you. she didn’t move any closer although you secretly wished she had. since the moment you’d laid eyes on her a part of you, although tamed longed to be near her. you wanted to feel her muscles against the surface of your skin, observing the way they contracted underneath her clothes, bearing the utmost strength and intensity. 

she chuckled, “is that what you came here to tell me?” 

you shook your head, silently picking at your cuticles. the pain was distracting but not enough to force the words from your mouth. it wasn’t a matter of knowing it— abby already knew it. she could smell the lust practically radiating off your skin but she wanted to hear you say it. it served as confirmation— the girl she’d wanted all along was in the very palm of her hand. 

your eyes flickered between hers, “you meant what you said earlier….making this worth my while?”

“come closer.” hesitantly you lifted yourself from the edge of the mattress, taking a seat just a mere inches away. you hadn’t been this close to her since earlier on, but even then it was never of this magnitude— never this sexually driven. 

“what do you think?” she whispered, cupping a hand over yours. slowly she ran her thumb over your skin, fulfilling only a portion of your desires. your eyes fell towards her lips before trailing back up to her eyes. a similar need lingered in her gaze but abby refrained from making the first move. which wasn’t a stance she took often. 

you slipped your hand out from under her grasp bringing them to her face. you pulled her in closer, capturing her lips in a heated kiss. abby’s hands traveled up your arms stopping at your elbows where she held them there, ushering you closer. 

breathless, you pulled away, “is this okay? am i doing this right?”

“you’re perfect y/n, keep going,” abby cooed. she scooped you up in her arms pushing you back on the bed. your tongue swirled over hers allowing a low moan to escape from your lips. abby pressed against you harder, bringing her hands further south where they slipped under your knees. her touch felt magical making it even easier for you to lose control of yourself. you reached for the hem of abby’s shirt pulling it over her head as you kissed down her neck. offering extra attention to the skin just above her shoulders. 

“fuck— i wanna taste you,” abby purred, sliding the lace panties down your legs. you pulled your dress up, offering her an ample view of your body. however she refused to rush, she wanted to prolong the experience turning her attention towards your chest. she cupped your tits in her hands, bringing them to her mouth. needing at one mound she latched onto the other, swirling her tongue around your nipple. she continued sucking fervently allowing her free hand to roam down your thigh. 

“yes, yes— just like that,” you cried digging your fingernails into the surface of abby’s skin. creating sharp crescents all along her bicep. she brushed her finger to your pussy watching as you shuddered away.

abby pressed a soft kiss to your cheek, “you gotta relax for me, alright?” you nodded, spreading your legs open further she began at your clit. going back and forth in slow torturous circles. you attempted to move your hips forward, desperate for more when abby pulled away, shaking her head. 

“be patient. i’ll take care of you, i promise.” the pleasure was practically overwhelming. you threw your head back as abby applied more pressure to your clit, slipping her index finger into your dripping pussy. wet squelching sounds pervaded the air around you the faster she went. curving her finger up to meet your spongy g-spot. her pace increased, revealing veins that traveled up the expanse of abby’s arm- however it didn’t deter her. 

“how’s that hm? better?” her tone was tauntingly low and addictive. moans spilled from your lips in response as you clutched onto her, near the verge of seeing stars. 

“c’mon baby, tell me.” this time she slipped in her middle finger, watching as it slid in effortlessly. instinctively you clenched around her yelping at the newfound contact. your entire body was set ablaze, engulfed in flames as abby worked bringing you to new heights. soon began to move along with her hand, desperately chasing your orgasm. 

“i’m so close— fuck— don’t stop, don’t stop please.” your voice became caught and your vision darkened, pitch-black shards clouding it. you buried your face in her neck as abby held you close. her arm pressing into the small of your back.

“i know it’s a lot, but you can trust me,” she whispered. you pulled away from her, hot tears brimming the corners of your eyes. you expected the sex but you hadn’t expected this. there was a certain level of vulnerability present between the two of you, it was both raw and completely unprecedented. before you even had a chance to comment on it, abby silenced you, pressing her lips to yours.

“i want you to sit on my face.”

“what?” you sputtered, unsure if you’d heard her correctly. however, abby’s face remained completely unchanged. she shot you a reassuring smile before laying flat on her back. huffing a quick breath you inched over to her, placing your legs on either side of her head. you lowered yourself on her mouth, moaning at the warm contact. abby wrapped her arms around both of your thighs, hungrily pressing you to her face. 

it was nearly impossible to move under her grasp. abby kept you bound to one place as she ran her tongue along your pussy. sloppily lapping your fluids that escaped into her mouth. she hummed at the taste, relentlessly flicking her tongue against your folds. a small knot began to develop at the pit of your stomach, growing and tightening with each movement. abby worked tirelessly against you, desperate to push to your last and final high. your moans grew louder and more ardent, replicating that of the mystery woman from earlier.

“abby, abby, abby,” you cried, doubling over as your legs gave out, surrendering completely to abby’s will. she continued lapping your fluids, sucking feverishly until you were a babbling mess— way past the point of oblivion. triggering the massive knot at the basis of your stomach. 

shakily you tumbled over on the opposite side of abby, out of breath and sweaty. when she joined you clear fluids coated the outskirts of her mouth and her chest was completely doused. with the last bit of strength you could fester you turned towards her placing a kiss on her mouth before pulling away. clear remnants of your orgasm still immobilizing you. 

“thank you,” she whispered, running her hand across your back, gently easing you into a slumber as you nuzzled into her. the gentle thump of abby’s heart lulling you.

you awoke to hushed whispers coming from the door. abby’s space beside you was empty. she stood by the door, her face beet red and contorted. across from her was a blonde woman, she looked utterly unfamiliar but she blended in perfectly with abby’s past hookups. she wore little to no clothes and her under eyes were decorated with red at the rims. indicating that she was most definitely high. 

“got your text abs, c’mon let’s get outta here,” she giggled, tugging on abby’s arm. 

“now isn’t a good time, you need to go.” her voice was alarmingly serious which was a rare sight. you did your best to remain silent, yet the nature of their conversations left a bad taste in your mouth. 

“why?” she sneered, pushing her way into the dorm, “is it because of her? she know you have a girlfriend?” 

girlfriend? girlfriend? 

“you hear that? i’m her girlfriend,” she shouted.

you could throw up. your head spun in circles, spurring nausea already building in your stomach. abby had a girlfriend? confusion laced with anger completely distorted your vision. yet you didn’t spare another moment. it was too late for explanations, now you were the fool.

you should’ve seen it coming. 

abby whipped back towards you stammering, “shit y/n— just let me explain.” 

it was too late. the girl wrapped an arm around abby’s waist planting a kiss to her cheek that only made you taste the bile. you needed to get out of there with whatever was left of your fragmented dignity. you pushed past abby and the blonde, ripping your arm from abby’s grasp when she tried to touch you. it no longer had that same effect— it was foreign. 

“y/n wait— hear me out please.” 

you tuned out abby’s voice storming into your room before slamming it shut. a sharp pang ricocheted throughout your body as you seethed, grappling with your emotions. you hated this. you hated the control she maintained over you, it was paralyzing. but what made it even more infuriating? all the more screwed up and deranged? you still wanted her. 

college is a fucking scam. 

[medlarmeadows]

i'm in love with you too, dumbass

cc!Charlie Slimecicle x fem!reader

Synopsis: Four times you hid your unrequited love for Charlie, and one time you discover the love is requited.

Warning(s): feelings, some tooth-rotting fluff, angst, kissing.

Word count: 4k

A/N: This is finally done! Sorry it took so long, it became much longer than I expected it to be. Will probably take a break from writing after this, because creative juices have kind of run out recently (part of the reason this took so long. Hope you enjoy it!

masterlist

1.

The chaos of conventions never failed to amaze you. Granted, it was your first time at one, but within the short period that you spent at the convention, you just felt equal parts amused and overwhelmed by everything.

Including Charlie.

It wasn’t that you couldn’t stand his presence – he was one of your best friends, of course you wanted to spend as much time with him – but if you had to swallow down the butterflies in your stomach one more time, you swore you were going to vomit them out.

As it turns out, going on an extended vacation with your best-friend-that-you-are-in-love-with-who-doesn’t-know-you’re-in-love-with-him-and-most-likely-will-not-return-the-feeling was not the best thing for your emotional and mental well-being.

To a certain extent, you were able to hide your feelings behind a camera, what with being his plus one (platonic) and camera woman (he was paying you in food, so who were you to say no?) for the convention. It was pretty rewarding too, watching him interact with fans and other creators.

You were happy seeing him be happy.

However, you were still spending hours on end with each other, so there were bound to be instances that threw you off.

“Hey, I haven’t said this yet, but you look really nice today,” Charlie told you as you were resting on some benches in a quieter part of the convention.

You nearly sputtered water out of your mouth.

“Thanks?” you replied, praying to God that your face hadn’t turned bright red. Panicking, you try for a banter:

“I mean, I look the same as always? Don’t tell me you think I look ugly on a daily basis.”

“For the record, I think you look pretty on a daily basis. You just look prettier today.”

He said it with the sincerest look on his face, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at you softly. So many words threatened to pour out of you in that moment, some suave retort on your tongue, some embarrassing confession behind gritted teeth. But all that came out was:

“You look great too.”

Charlie lets out a chuckle.

“You’re just saying that because I complimented you.”

“Well, was I not supposed to say anything? I don’t know how else I should’ve responded – ”

“How about just take the compliment, dumbass,” he huffs out, but you can hear the affection in his tone.

Affection that was 100% platonic, you tell yourself.

You’re saved from trying to come up with another response as another one of Charlie’s creator friends approaches, launching them into a discussion about something like therapy and a funny video idea.

Just like that, you were back behind the scenes, behind a camera, your pride and friendship protected for yet another day.

-

2.

When you had stepped out the house that day for a picnic, you weren’t expecting it to be so fucking cold.

It was freaking September! Why was it so windy?

You tried your best to pay attention to the story Ranboo and Moonzy were sharing, but half your focus was on not shivering whenever the wind blew through the park.

The other half was trying it’s best not to let your eyes linger on how the wind messed up Charlie’s hair just right.

“Can you pass me the strawberries?” asked Charlie.

It takes you a second to register that he was talking to you, and you give him a stiff nod, not really trusting your teeth not to chatter if you replied verbally. Your fingers seemed to also be stiff as you gripped the box of strawberries and handed it to him.

When he takes the box from you, your fingers brush just the slightest, sending a shiver down your spine that you wish you could blame on the wind.

“Thanks – Jesus, why are your hands so cold?” he exclaims.

In a second, Charlie’s put down the box of strawberries on the picnic mat and cupped your hands in his.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic.

“It’s really fuckin’ wimdy,” you blurt out.

It sends your friends into a fit of laughter, Ranboo and Moonzy’s story interrupted as they burst out in giggles over your comment. You’re chuckling along with them, but you’re also still really fucking cold.

“Here, take my sweater.”

PANIC.

“Wha – what, wait – ” The rat running the hamster wheel in your brain is sprinting as you try to salvage the situation. “Then you’ll be cold, idiot.”

If you wear Charlie’s sweater, you think you might combust.

But the stupid, handsome, kind, idiot only shrugs and begins to pull his sweater over his head, before holding it out to you. You stare at him dumbly for a second, still trying to come up with a way to reject the sweater.

“God, stop being stubborn and take it, I’ll be fine,” he sighs, brandishing his sweater at you like a weapon. “We both know I’m better at dealing with the cold than you are.”

He’s right, because every time you watch a movie with him, you’re usually hogging the blanket.

But that’s different from taking his sweater!

As the cogs in your brain keep turning, you hear another sigh from him before your vision goes dark. You yelp and start batting your hands as Charlie forces his sweater over your head.

“Charlie – you fucking – I can’t see – ”

“Just wear the stupid sweater, dumbass,” he chides as he gets your head through the collar. “Now, put your arms through the sleeves, or do I need to help you with that too like the baby you are?”

Your eyes widen and you look away from him in panic. As your gaze shifts away from Charlie, you unintentionally lock eyes with Moonzy, who gives you a knowing look.

(Why was she so perceptive.)

(Why did Charlie indirectly calling you baby make your neck uncomfortably warm.)

“Guys, this isn’t the Ranboo baby stream,” you mumble as you put your arms through the sleeves.

That sends your friends into another fit of laughter and signals Ranboo and Moonzy to continue the story. Now, with everyone’s attention back on the story, you privately settle into the warmth of Charlie’s sweater.

You try not to think about how long the sleeves are as you bury your cold hands in the fabric.

You try not to think about how much bigger the sweater is on you than on Charlie.

You try not to think about how you could smell his cologne on the sweater.

-

3.

You wouldn’t say that you were a very short person. You’d like to think that you were about average height. It wasn’t your fault that most of your friends were freakishly tall.

Including Charlie.

Whose house you were currently in.

And trying to get snacks from the top of his cabinets because of-fucking-course it had to be in the highest cabinet possible.

“I swear to God if I fall, I’m charging him for my medical bills,” you mutter under your breath as you drag a chair over to climb on to. But just as you were about to put both feet on the chair, Charlie walks into the kitchen.

“ – taking so long to get the snacks,” he says as he enters, pausing when he sees you about to hop onto the chair. He stares at you quizzically, head cocked to the side.

“Why do you look like you’re about to climb onto my cabinets?”

“Because you decided to discriminate against me and put the snacks in the highest shelf possible,” you huff, resuming your mission.

But as soon as you’re rising to your full height on the chair, you feel hands place themselves on your waist. You’re lifted off the chair easily and placed back onto the floor so swiftly you don’t manage a reaction in time.

You’re still staring at Charlie dumbfounded by the time he’s replaced you at the cabinet, chair nudged aside, and retrieved the snacks.

“You could’ve just asked me to come get them, dumbass.” Charlie turns around with an armful of chips.

You’re still trying to process what just happened. You point a finger at Charlie.

“Why’d you pick me up?”

He raises an eyebrow at you, amused.

“To stop you from falling off the chair?”

“But I would’ve been fine.”

“Or you could’ve fallen. Ever heard of being safer than sorry?”

You pinch the bridge of your nose, trying to clear the fog in your brain that has randomly spawned. Your cheeks were warming, you needed to get a grip.

You’re snapped out of your head when Charlie brushes past you, turning just slightly to send you a playful smirk.

“Let’s get back to watching the movie. Or you do also need to be carried over like a princess?”

“Shut the fuck up,” you snark back, annoyed at him and also yourself.

You’re grateful that he had turned back around with a chuckle, because you were pretty sure the tips of your ears were turning red based on how warm they were getting.

You spend the rest of the movie as far away from Charlie on the couch as possible. When he asks why you’re so far away (and to stop hogging the blanket), you kick at him and try to play it off as wanting to stretch your legs out.

It’s definitely not because you think your brain would shut down if you were any closer to Charlie.

-

4.

Clubbing was always a fun thing to do with friends, because no matter how many people were crowded around you, or how stinky the place was, it was always fun just jumping around and dancing with your friends.

Of course, it helped when all four of you had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

“Let’s dance!” Moonzy squeals, pulling you away from the group and towards some open space before you can object.

The two of you bounce around each other, showing off half-assed drunken movements of really cool dance moves (see: orange justice) and screaming the lyrics of the songs blasting through the speakers at each other.

You’re so engrossed in trying to dip Moonzy without dropping her you don’t notice Charlie come up to you until he’s right next to you, causing you to shriek.

“Jesus – Charlie!” you yell at him, smacking his shoulder for scaring you.

He rolls his eyes, nudging you with his elbow.

“Not my fault you were so caught up trying not to drop Moonzy. I just came over to see what the fuss was all about.”

Your tipsy brain latches on the implication that he was watching you and Moonzy. Your cheeks start to warm at the possibility that he was watching you.

“We were so close before you came over,” Moonzy says with an exaggerated sigh. “You ruined our moment.”

Charlie fakes offense, dramatically placing a hand on his chest.

“I sincerely apologise, fair maiden,” he says in a stupid medieval accent. “However can I make it up to you?”

Moonzy lets out a snort, shoving him playfully before stepping away, saying, “Forget it, I’m going to get us more drinks.”

She shoots you a mischievous look before leaving the two of you. Your brain catches up a second too late for you to retaliate.

Damn Moonzy and her stupid perceptiveness.

Turning towards Charlie, you feel slightly awkward now that your dance partner had left you. But it seems that Charlie didn’t feel the same as he quickly grabs your hands.

“Let me show you how to actually dip someone, dumbass,” he says with a smirk.

Your expression turns panicked for a split second, but you’re not able to object before he’s pulling you towards him sharply. One arm wraps around your waist securely and suddenly he’s dipping you low towards the ground.

You’re acutely aware of how close the two of you are, how snugly his arm fits around your body, and how you could spot the specks of brown in his blue eyes.

As he brings you back upright, your proximity to him remains the same. You let yourself get lost in his eyes for a few seconds, before you realise just how close your faces are.

Nervous, you reflexively wet your lips. Charlie’s eyes dipping from your eyes to your lips catches you off guard, causing your breath to catch in your lungs.

There are words dancing on the tip of Charlie’s tongue. Words you know would ruin you, and your friendship. Because it’s not going to mean anything to him, and it’s going to mean the world to you.

You know what he’s about to ask.

You’re not sure if you have it in you to say no.

It’s as though someone dumped an ice bucket on you as you become uncomfortably sober. You yank yourself away from Charlie, breathing heavily.

“I need to go,” you say breathlessly, eyes darting around for where Ranboo and Moonzy might be.

Charlie’s brows are furrowed, like he notices something was wrong, but he didn’t understand why you were reacting the way you did.

“I’ll take you home,” he says automatically.

“No!” you shriek before you can stop yourself.

The air between you two becomes tense. It doesn’t help that the DJ had changed the song to something slower, no noisy techno beats to diffuse the situation.

“Damn, if I was such a bad dance partner you could’ve just said so,” he jokes, but you can hear the bitterness in his tone.

“It’s not that,” you say immediately. Because it wasn’t his fault. It was never his fault.

How could it be his fault that you fell for your best friend?

“Then?” he questions. “What’s your deal?”

It’s sharp, accusatory, almost like a wounded animal. One hand is clenched and the other is fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

You know your best friend well enough to know that he’s hurt.

You know you’re fucking up your friendship in real time.

“I can’t tell you,” you choke out, cursing yourself internally because you know how flimsy that excuse was.

Charlie raises an eyebrow at you. You know he can see through your bullshit.

A moment passes between the two of you as he looks like he’s mulling over his thoughts. He runs a hand through his already messy hair, something like distress passing over his face.

You could just leave.

You don’t know why you’re waiting for his response.

“Fine,” he says slowly, grinding the word out like he’s forcing himself not to say what he actually wanted to. “But can you text the group when you’re home? Please?”

There’s concern in his eyes, even underneath all the hurt. Your heart drops like a stone because even though you were being a total asshole to him, Charlie was still looking out for your well-being.

“I will,” you promise.

You’re quick to book it out of the club after that. Not even bothering to find Ranboo and Moonzy, knowing that Charlie would eventually find his way to them and let them know what had happened.

That you had left in a hurry after being the worst friend ever.

All because of your goddamned feelings.

-

1.

You avoid Charlie for two weeks.

In fact, you avoid Ranboo and Moonzy too because the guilt of being a bad friend weighed down so heavily on you that you couldn’t bear to see your other friends.

It was isolating and caused you to spiral down a deep dark hole you didn’t know how to pull yourself out of.

You tell yourself you deserve it.

Over the course of the two weeks, you tried to formulate a way to apologise to your friends, particularly Charlie for being rude and running out on him. You spent nights muffling your frustrated yells into your pillow because you don’t know how to tell him that you were sorry without exposing your feelings for him.

Part of you wondered if you should just bite the bullet and confess.

But another part of you tells you that was stupid, and you go back to drafting apology after apology to salvage the mess you had caused.

It’s during one of those moments when you were lying on your bed deep in thought that your doorbell rang. Confused, you creep to the door to check who it was. You hadn’t ordered any food or delivery, and you weren’t expecting anyone to show up –

You spot messy brown hair and blue framed spectacles through the peephole. He’s looking down, but you recognise Charlie regardless.

Your blood runs cold.

Should you let him in? Were you even ready to face him again after you practically threw your friendship in his face? What would you even say?

Knocking on the door interrupted your thoughts. You were taking too long.

“Y/N?” called Charlie. “Please let me in. I just want to talk.”

I just want to talk. Maybe he was coming to demand an explanation. Maybe he wanted to tell you he was uncomfortable and that he didn’t want to be friends anymore. Maybe –

“I can hear you breathing on the other side of the door, I know you’re there,” he says.

You let out a heavy sigh. Your thoughts threatened to overwhelm you once more, but your hand moves before you register it. Suddenly, you’re opening the door and coming face to face with Charlie.

In the two weeks you had avoided him, it didn’t look like much had changed. He still looked healthy, save for slightly darker circles under his eyes.

Did you cause that?

The two of you stare at each other on opposite sides of the doorway. His eyes scan your face, as if gauging your reaction to him being there, before tilting his head as though asking to be let in.

Sheepishly, you step aside and allow him into your home.

The sound of the door closing is far too noisy for your nerves, making you flinch slightly as the two of you move to your living room.

Where you continue to stand in awkward silence.

Fuck, how could you have let your friendship come to this?

Charlie is the one to break the silence, placing a paper bag you hadn’t noticed him carrying on the coffee table.

“I brought your favourite pastries.”

You blink.

“Why?”

He sends you a shrug, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Thought I might butter you up before asking why you’ve been avoiding my texts and calls.”

There it was.

You worry your lip, hands fiddling with the hem of your sweater nervously. You turn your words over in your head, trying to come up with some semblance of a reason that wasn’t complete bullshit.

When Charlie realises that you’re probably not going to respond anytime soon, he sighs and continues:

“I came to apologise, too.”

That snaps you out of your thoughts. Your head snaps to look at him as you meet your gaze directly for the first time since the club.

“Why?” you ask, cringing when you realised that’s exactly what you had said a minute prior.

Charlie runs a hand through his hair, eyes closing briefly like he’s steeling himself.

“At the club,” he begins slowly, “I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry for that. I should’ve asked first, should’ve waited for you to respond to dancing together and being that close. I’m sorry – ”

“No, stop. Don’t apologise,” you interrupt him, eyes wide. His expression falls, and you think you see fear in his eyes.

So, you ramble on like a steam train running off track. Your words pour out of your mouth before you can filter them.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t make me uncomfortable – I mean, I was uncomfortable, but that was my own doing. None of it is your fault, I should be the one apologising for avoiding you and – and being a terrible friend.”

You pause to take a deep breath. Charlie’s mouth is hanging open slightly, and you can practically see the gears turning in his head.

You push on before you can stop yourself. Before your brain could tell you that this was a bad idea.

Because you know your next words could change everything.

“I’ve been a shit friend to you because I’m in love with you, Charlie.”

It feels like time stops for you, as you gauge his reaction. You hold your breath without realising and watch him carefully.

This was the moment he was going to tell you that he doesn’t feel the same. That he’s not comfortable being your friend anymore. That he doesn’t want to see you again. That he –

He laughs.

Not a full belly laugh, but a snort that leads to a chuckle. That crinkles the corners of his eyes and fills them with joy.

You feel a pang in your chest, and tears start to prick your eyes. Taking a step back from Charlie, you lower your gaze shamefully.

But then he’s striding up to you and lifting your head up to look at him with gentle fingers on your chin. Charlie’s other hand brushes down your arm to take your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together.

“Don’t apologise,” he says, eyes shining. “I’m in love with you too, dumbass.”

It’s your turn to have your mouth hanging open as you process his words.

“You’re what?” you ask dumbly.

He chuckles again, hand moving from your chin to hold your cheek. You can’t help but tilt slightly into his warmth, revelling in his affection.

“I’m. In. Love. With. You.”

He punctuates each word carefully, sincerely, like he’s making sure that they pierce through your confusion and straight into your heart.

And they do, because the weight lifts from your chest, and the corners of your mouth start to raise into a smile.

Because your best friend was in love with you too.

“Holy shit,” you breathe. “For how long?”

He hums as he thinks, thumb caressing the side of your face.

“Several months, now? Before we went to that convention in LA,” he admits.

“Me too, holy shit,” you breathe, letting out a small chuckle. “Were we just dumb this whole time?”

“Mm, no, I think that’s just you,” he teases, giving your nose a pinch.

You feel your cheeks warm at the action, but you manage to give a sarcastic, “Sure thing.”

Charlie let’s out a breathy laugh at your response, before his eyes turn serious again and he cups your face in both his hands.

“I’m in love with you,” he reiterates. “Can I please kiss you?”

You tell him yes without hesitation, your hands coming up to hold the back of his neck. Because finally you could let your feelings come through as transparent as glass.

He pulls you close and slots his mouth over yours, capturing you in a sincere kiss.

Time stands still again as you embrace. The two of you pour out months of frustration and unrequited feelings (that was really requited the whole time) into the kiss.

When the two of you pull apart, there’s joy shining in both of your eyes. The moment is sweet, before it’s broken by laughter as the two of you consider the stupidity of your situation again.

Charlie spends the rest of the day at your place, the two of you passing stories back and forth when you were hiding your feelings. And when your expression darkens a little as you remember that you have to apologise to Ranboo and Moonzy for avoiding them too, he kisses a little bit of the darkness away.

Finally, you no longer had to hide your feelings deep in your chest.

Finally, you could wear them on your sleeve, as the one you love held your hand.

The end.

[lov3m3darling]

Apple of my Eye (Obsessed!Wally Darling x Short!Reader) Pt. 2

Heyyy 😊 So I'm really glad a lot of you seem to like what I'm doing here. You're all very kind ❤️

I woke up feeling pretty good today so I figured I'd be at least a little productive and write another part ✨️ How long should this be?? I'm totally down to make this a long fic if ya'll would like that. I would still write oneshots and headcannons in between chapters of course ���

Idk, lemme know

!!!(TW: obsessive behaviors, eye imagery, slight blood/injury, mention of a kn*fe)!!!

💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙

Wally spent that evening thinking of nothing but you.

Your smile, your eyes, your laugh...

It was like his world finally had color again. He imagined the date vividly...bringing you flowers when he arrived at your door, showing you around town while you held his arm, picking a nice grassy spot in the shade for your picnic.

Would you dress up just for him? Would he hear your charming laugh when he made jokes? Could he...kiss you?

Wally covered his blushing face at the idea, and Home rolled their eyes, creaking mockingly.

Wally sat up from where he was laying across his chair.

"You don't understand, Home! (Y/n) is...they're so..."

He tried to describe you, but could only manage a happy, dreamy sigh. Suddenly, he heard a record player start up.

A love song.

"HOME!!" Wally exclaimed, his face now entirely red. Home knocked quietly, almost like a sly snicker. Wally sighed again.

"Oh, but...I could just imagine asking them to dance with me to a song like this. Wouldn't they look divine? ...Home, what on earth is wrong with me?"

The music stopped, and Home creaked.

"Lovesick? What are you talking about? I'm not sick, I feel fit as a fritter!"

Home's eyes rolled yet again, and the front door swung open with a squeak.

"You're right. Frank can explain it to me, I'm sure. He's very smart!"

With that, Wally set out towards Frank's house.

Meanwhile, you were in your own house, fussing over your clothing options. Clothes were strewn across your otherwise tidy bedroom as you dug through your closet and rejected nearly every article of clothing you owned.

But then, hanging at the very back, you spotted the miracle you were hoping for!

---------------------------------------------

(Option 1: a multicolored striped blazer and pants combo with a white dress shirt underneath and some red sneakers to keep it from being TOO dressy!)

(Option 2: a white, knee-length dress with multicolored polka-dots and a pair of red ballet flats. and for a cute little accessory, some red apple earrings!)

(...orrrrr any combo of the two! Up to you! Doesn't really matter, I just wanted to give some visuals here. Reminder: ya dress like a cartoon character because ya ARE one!)

---------------------------------------------

Oh, it was perfect! You'd been saving this outfit for a special occasion, and if a date wasn't the perfect situation, you didn't know what was!

You carefully hung it up for tomorrow, then made your way to the kitchen to pack the picnic basket.

As you sliced up an apple, you couldn't help but think about Wally. You'd only just met him that morning, and yet you already had a massive crush on the guy.

But who could blame you? There was just something so charming about him. And strangely suave, too. He seemed like the type of guy to bring you flowers and kiss your hand...a gentleman.

"Ow! Oh dear.."

Maybe cutting an apple wasn't the best time to be daydreaming...

"Tsk..."

You sighed, setting the knife down to go grab a bandage for the small cut on your finger.

But suddenly, there was a panicked knock on your door.

"Who in the world..?"

You settled for wrapping your finger in a tissue, and went to answer the door.

Wally stood, wide-eyed, on your stoop. He seemed worried.

"(Y-Y/n) I was walking by and heard you yelp!"

Your face felt a little hot. You didn't realize you'd been so loud...

"Oh, I'm sorry to worry you but I'm alright. I was slicing an apple for our picnic and...well...I suppose my mind was somewhere else. And silly me, I cut my finger a little..."

Wally's eyes shifted past you and looked at the knife on the counter, and his pupils grew and shrank again in a matter of just a second. You barely noticed.

"Thank goodness, I thought something terrible had happened. I don't know what I'd do if-...ah, would you like me to help you? I have bandages at Home.."

You were about to decline, when you realized something. You didn't have any of that stuff! You'd only just moved, after all.

So, you had to agree and let Wally lead you to his house.

Home's eyes fixed on you when they spotted you approaching with Wally. The door opened, but the squeak it made sounded like a question.

"(Y/n) is coming in for a moment so I can tend to the cut on their finger, if that's alright"

Home said nothing else, but the door remained open, so Wally nodded and brought you inside.

He had you sit on the couch while he retrieved a box of bandages and a cotton ball soaked in something that smelled like a hospital.

Carefully, he removed and threw away the tissue you'd wrapped around it, and looked it over. A tiny drop of blood trickled out and you winced, feeling like a little kid with a scraped knee again.

But Wally just smiled and brought your hand to his lips, gently licking away the drop as he gazed up at you lovingly. His pupils grew just a little, and you felt as if you would combust at any moment.

Wally chuckled and cleaned the cut with the cotton ball before wrapping a blue bandage around your finger and giving it a kiss.

"You've turned red, (y/n). Feeling alright~?"

"I-I don't...w-why did you...?"

He laughed.

"You're so silly, (y/n). It had to be wiped away, what was I supposed to do?"

You couldn't answer him. Your face was entirely too flushed and any nervous jumble of words your brain could think up just wouldn't come out no matter how hard you tried.

"Hey, I know! I'll sign your bandage. People do that with casts, I think! Barnaby says it helps the person feel better faster"

Suddenly, he was back to normal. Acting just as he did when you first met him.

Wally left the room for a moment and returned with a red crayon. He took your hand and gently wrote his name and a smiley face on the bandage before helping you up from the couch. He smiled at you.

"How's that? Does it feel better?"

"M-Much better. Thank you, Wally.."

You excused yourself so you could continue to get ready for tomorrow, and left, waving to Home as you went.

You shut the door to your own house and slid down it, finally being able to breathe and think.

What WAS that?! He licked your cut! Why?!

After a few deep breaths, you collected yourself and stood up, returning to the kitchen. You went to pick the knife back up, only to realize the blade had snapped off of the handle and was in several pieces...

"How did that happen..?" you wondered aloud. For some reason, looking at it gave you a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach and you hastily threw it away.

As you did, you glanced at the bandage on your finger again. You weren't sure where the thought came from, but his name written on it almost felt like a claim over you more than a nice gesture.

And...why were you strangely okay with that...?

💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙🍎💛🍎💙

Too much? 😅 That was a little intense, I know. But I promised yandere, and I keep my promises. Of course it's never gonna be a downright lemon 🍋 🚫 but who says it cant be just a liiiiiittle spicy? Just a dash of pepper, am I right?

Anyways, hope this was good 😊 more to come!

[emblemxeno]

Ideas for a Fire Emblem Game

Hi, I wanted to post my ideas for some things I'd include in a Fire Emblem game, because I never shared a creative thing of mine on here before.

I have outlines for Lore, General Plot, Themes, Chapters, Characters/Personal Skills, Classes/Unit Types, Weapons and Items, and one Other thing.

This is LONG. The longest blog post I ever made, so I'm putting everything under the cut. I don't really know if I wanna do anything more than this, since I've never written fanfic before, but maybe I'll be inspired to do so in the future if I feel like it.

Lore

---For lore inspiration, I drew from the Four Symbols in Chinese culture. I'm using their Japanese names because FE is a Japanese series.

---Backstory is that before life existed, there was emptiness. Then suddenly a flash of light that led to life. Unfortunately, one these lives was a Gold Demon Dragon (Kohryu) that threatened humanity. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, four divine beings defeated and drove off the Demon: Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu. They were celebrated across the continent, and before their passing, four countries formed and took their names in reverance. Over time, the four kingdoms began a cycle of going between feuding/warring with each other and peace time, eventually leading to each country evolving into their current forms with new cultures and aesthetics, with only the names of their deities and a shared faith remaining.

---The countries are the Genbu Kingdom, a snowy northern land famed for its knights and with Norse/Germanic aesthetics; the Suzaku Theocracy, a southern desert country home to the major religious establishments and Egyptian aesthetics; the Byakko Empire, a meritocratic temperate western land covered with forests and jungles with Yoruba inspirations; and the Seiryu Dynasty, a relatively isolationist island nation that's the capital of the arts, famed for war ships and dragon riders, and Japanese inspirations.

---Each country also has their own holy artifact, said to be the concentrated powers of their deities; Genbu's Black Tiara, Byakko's Pearl Bracelet, Seiryu's Jade Sigil, and Suzaku's Fire Emblem. These artifacts are responsible for maintaining magical balance, for advancing warriors to new levels of power, and granting mysterious cognitive powers, such as preserving historical records and premonitions of possible immediate futures.

General Plot

---Four main characters to parallel the Four Symbols. The primary main character is a jaded but compassionate young Dark Mage/Savant of mixed ancestry, who comes from a village on the Genbu border that houses families from different cultures and countries, which serves as thematic foil to the countries at large being at odds aside from annual conferences. Dark Mage is raised by his father, a retired Genbu knight. After displaying remarkable tactical and diplomatic skill in quelling a long time bandit group, the Dark Mage/Savant and his father are invited back to the Genbu capital to sit in on a conference between groups of country representatives.

---There he meets the other main characters, a suave Swordmaster/Hero from Suzaku, a melancholy Falcon Knight/Valkyrie from Byakko, and a brash Dancer/Kabuki from Seiryu. Genbu's royal family (including a generous prince), Byakko's imperial entourage (including the emperor himself), and Seiryu's dynasts (including a branch family chancellor) are in attendance, as well as the high bishop of Suzaku standing in for the holy family, the reason for this being a civil war happening within the theocracy and each side lead by heads of the holy family, a sister and brother.

---Unnerved and annoyed with the pomp and circumstance of the conference, Dark Mage exits the court in a fit, which both tenses and intrigues the important figures there. Under surprising circumstances, he and his father are employed by the high bishop to help end the civil war, with direct assistance from Genbu knights. The high bishop also gifts him the Fire Emblem, Suzaku's precious holy artifact.

---Dark Mage/Savant employs cold yet efficient tactics, weaponizing the power of words and rumors to minimize as much direct combat as possible by causing the rebel forces to crumble from within. Eventually the civil war is ended in Suzaku with much less bloodshed than expected, a feat that Dark Mage/Savant is celebrated for, especially by his Swordmaster/Hero compatriot, who takes a liking to him.

---However, everything is turned upside down upon returning to Genbu, where warfare and destruction runs rampant. In the chaos, the boy's father is seemingly killed by an unknown magic user. The boy's party escapes to the borderlands, where the other main characters (Swordmaster/Savant, Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, Dancer/Kabuki) meet him and relay what's happening: the prince of Genbu committed treason and slew his family with support of forces from Byakko's emperor and Seiryu's chancellor, all in a grand scheme to forcibly unite the continent under one banner once more.

---After regrouping, the main characters make a risky play to topple the Byakko Empire from within, with covert support from the now defending Suzaku Theocracy. Despite Byakko's renowned military might, its merit based society is fragile and on the verge of mutinous infighting due to the disparity of privilege and strength in its population. Fed up with her country's unforgiving and misguided way of governance, the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie personally takes command and leads the party to liberate her countrymen, in the name of fighting for the weak. Due to these surprise attacks and waning support from his people, the Emperor is killed in a last stand, and the Byakko Empire is now allied with Suzaku under the guide of the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie.

---Taking the next step to secure the alliance, the party heads to the border, but is locked into a battle between their forces and the combined might of the Genbu Prince and Seiryu Chancellor who were targeting a battalion lead by Suzaku's high bishop. Repelling the forces, the party take the high bishop into their protection, where they are also greeted by surprising guests: apparitions of the Four Divine Deities.

---Big lore drops happen. The high bishop explains that another player in this conflict is his would-be successor, a nihilist bishop who, through forbidden magic, gained the power of the ancient Gold Demon Dragon, Kohryu. The deities reveal that they didn't defeat Kohryu, but rather they are all facets of the Demon, having split off from each other upon bearing witness to humanity's beauty. This fact was lost to history over millennia and the ascent of the deities to a new plane, but after their passing, they left their powers encased in artifacts to support humanity's progress. However, this proved to be a double edged sword: were their powers to ever be reunited, it would spell the return of the Demon. Despite this, this also meant that the deities still had ties to the plane of humanity, and could descend back through a divine prophecy: "Bearers of our virtues, through our caller we may return, grant our gifts, and become one with the land beloved."

---Through a divine rite led by the high bishop, the four main characters are bestowed divine powers and weapons. Coming to terms with her country's misdeeds, the Dancer/Kabuki calls for the party to launch an offensive on the Seiryu Dynasty. Upon arrival to the island nation, the Dancer's/Kabuki's resolve serves as inspiration for disillusioned commoners and lower ranked nobles to rise against their home's ambitious chancellor.

---As the party fights further into Seiryu, it's revealed that Seiryu's dynastic family had been turned into puppet figures by the chancellor, who was blackmailing them with secrets of past crimes committed by the nation yet hidden from the public. Seiryu's chancellor, Genbu's prince, and Byakko's emperor all shared ideologies: they believed their continent has suffered disarray and tragedy due to being split apart, and humanity will stay weak and at war with each other unless forcibly united under a single banner. In a previous conference, they were all approached by the high bishop's successor/the nihilist bishop, who promised power and influence through religious dogma as tools to further all their ambitions.

---The chancellor and her loyalists are defeated, and the family dynasts freed. The family decides to divulge their secrets to the public: their ancestors once sought to use forbidden magic on their holy artifact and, by means of war, declare full independence from the rest of the continent and dissolve the legitimacy of the church, one of the few remaining unifiers that the continent had left. This was discovered by the high bishop at the time, and this plot was ended before it began. As punishment, the dynasty's secret was used by the church and the other countries as leverage to justify possible pre-emptive subjugation in case of future wars. This information was privy only to the leaders and other high ranked officials in each nation. Despite this being done under the guise of keeping the peace, this act ironically exacerbated tensions between the nations as well as the church, with more and more conflicts sprouting throughout centuries due to shifting power dynamics.

---The final piece of the puzzle falls into place. The high bishop's successor had lived a life of tragedy. He was orphaned at a young age by bandits in a Genbu village. The Genbu knights were warned about a rising bandit group terrorizing more and more villages, yet they did nothing to quell this problem until it was too late for many families. The future successor began wandering, rejecting his homeland of Genbu. When he was too weak to make a life in Byakko, and the decadence of Seiryu disgusted him, he turned to the church in Suzaku. There he finally found solace; that is, until the years of secrecy and backstabbing (as well as the origins of the Four Deities) was taught to him in preparation for his succession and responsibility. This was his breaking point, and he began a plot to erase humanity from the face of the earth. As a religious figurehead, he devised to use forbidden magic on the holy artifacts in order to combine them and bring back the Demon. He enthralled ambitious leaders of the nations, manufactured the Suzaku civil war through lies to draw eyes away from him as he came into contact with each artifact, and planned the grand war to afford him time to further complete the Demon's resurrection.

---To end this war, the party marches back to confront this nihilist bishop as well as Genbu's prince. A sideplot has been occurring alongside the main one ever since the party's first major attack on Byakko: a dangerous, ghostly horseman has been appearing in various battles, seemingly targeting the Dark Mage/Savant main character relentlessly. This turns out to be his father, corrupted by the nihilist bishop's attack back when Genbu was usurped. The father's mind became distorted; while he was supposed to be killed and brought back as a soldier under the influence of the Demon, his previous contact with Genbu's holy artifact (because he's a pre-promote) in combination with his strong willpower and love for his son led to him instead surviving and becoming a rogue, unpredictable force. While he would previously attempt to settle things peacefully or justly, now he would slaughter those who angered him (ironically, this happened to be to the detriment of the nihilist bishop, whose soldiers were often victim's of the father). However, his killer instinct and longing to see his son again became entangled with one another, leading to him attacking his blood. Before the party of heroes is able to advance on Genbu's capital, they take on the Dark Mage's/Savant's father one more time, and thanks to their newly bestowed divine powers and access to three of the artifacts, they are able to ward of his corruption and revive him.

---This, in turn, leads to the deities regaining more of their powers, as they themselves were born from the Demon. They take the father's corruption/darkness unto themselves and once again take physical forms to assist the party in their final battles. The party faces off against magically resurrected knights, court officials, and even the former king, queen, and princess, before finally meeting the prince, who has gone mad in combination from his actions during the war and his side's continuing losses. The party defeats him, and eventually confront the nihilist bishop. However, this is a trap! According to the forbidden rites, "To revive the Demon, a soul of emptiness must be freed from the shackles of flesh to serve as host." Killing the bishop brings back the Golden Demon Dragon, Kohryu. In a last stand the party throws all of their might at the Demon, but in order to destroy him for good, the Four Deities decide to use their very lives to do so. They ask their inheritors to make a world for all, where love can bloom freely, and light will always pierce the darkness.

---In the epilogue, each nation goes under reconstruction: the father of the Dark Mage/Savant is elected Knight Lord of Genbu's new kingdom; the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie recruits a roundtable of people from different walks of life to push Byakko into a direction of charity; the Dancer/Kabuki works with the dynasts to end the nation's isolationism and is on the verge of a cultural renaissance as a result; the heads of the Suzaku Theocracy and the high bishop tirelessly fund international reconstruction and provide sanctuary for war vicims, with the Swordmaster/Hero working as ambassador; the four main characters routinely meet up to journey together for days, even weeks at a time so as to maintain their bond and love for their homes.

Themes

----I intended the themes for this plot to be: rejection of destructive nihilism and misanthropy; rejection of both isolationism and forced unification, instead promoting mutual cross-cultural trust and companionship while still respecting each other's borders; the power of words and diplomacy, for good and bad; the idea of true strength comes from a foundation of wanting to help your fellow man despite differences, rather than one of everyone simply being under one banner (i.e. not having differences to possibly clash over at all).

Chapters

Here are what I outlined for chapters and character join times. I also have an idea for paralogues being accessed through memory events a la the memory prisms in FE Echoes, and completing them gives Bonus EXP, but I haven't thought far enough ahead as to what the paralogues would be.

Prologue-Page of History: M!Dark Mage/Savant, M!Sword Paladin, M!Fighter, MtF!Pegasus Knight

Chapter 1-Compassion: M!Myrmidon, M!Soldier, F!Archer

Chapter 2-Rare Opportunity: M!Mage, F!Priest

Chapter 3-Hall of Pride: F!Sword Armor, F!Lance Armor

Chapter 4-March to Suzaku: F!Axe Cavalier

Chapter 5-Desert Divide

Chapter 6-Faithful Clash

Chapter 7-The Ruthless Strategist: M!Thief, F!Hunter

Chapter 8-The Weight of Words: M!Fighter

Chapter 9-Vision of Love: M!Swordmaster/Hero

Chapter 10-Shattered: Lose M!Sword Paladin

Chapter 11-Tooth and Nail: F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, F!Kabuki

Chapter 12-A War For Whom?

Chapter 13-Braving The Forest: F!Dragon Master

Chapter 14-Duty to Protect: FtM!Lance Paladin, M!Sniper, M!Axe General

Chapter 15-Tiger’s Keep: M!Tamer

Chapter 16-Imbalance: F!Sorcerer

Chapter 17-Value of Strength

Chapter 18-Brink of Collapse: F!Sage

Chapter 19-The People’s Champion: F!Halberdier

Chapter 20-The Four Gods

Chapter 21-Turning the Tides: M!Saint, M!Dragon Lord

Chapter 22-The Jade Dynasty

Chapter 23-Betrayer’s Resolve: F!Trueblade, M!Druid

Chapter 24-Desperate Measures

Chapter 25-Sinking Below: F!Assassin, F!Falcon Knight

Chapter 26-Catharsis

Chapter 27-A Future’s Cost

Chapter 28-Welcome Home: Re-gain M!Sword Paladin/Great Knight

Chapter 29-Snowfall Memories

Chapter 30-For Our Children: M!Manakete, M!Phoenix, F!Beastkin, F!Guardian

Chapter 31-Court of Ice

Chapter 32-The Bloody Dais

Chapter 33-Emptiness

Finale-A World For All

Characters and Personal Skills

---I haven't come up with names for anyone besides the Four Deities lol. All I have are personal skills (which for the main characters change as they are granted divine powers at the end of Chapter 20, and the Dark Mage's father when he returns after being cured of his corruption). I made the Personal Skills powerful because I envisioned no other skills in this game, offensive or otherwise. Personal skills and equippable items are the name of the game in team building here.

M!Dark Mage/Savant: (Pre-Chapter 21) Understanding-Allies within 3 spaces recover 5 HP per turn/(Chapter 21 onward) Compassion’s Pulse-When this unit uses a healing/support staff, grants Def/Res +5 to target allies for 1 turn

M!Sword Paladin: (Prologue-Chapter 10) Doting Father-Enemies suffer Def/Res-5 for 1 turn after combat with this unit/(Chapter 28 onward) Stalwart Father-Str/Spd +5 if HP > 50%, Def/Res +5 if HP < 50%

M!Fighter: Stubborn Ox-Def/Res + X for the rest of the current map, with X = number of times this unit has taken damage (max = Def/Res +5)

MtF!Pegasus Knight: Unicorn Dame-Female allies within 2 spaces deal +3 damage and take -3 damage

M!Myrmidon: Like Water: Grants Spd +3 and Avo +15 when foe initiates combat

M!Soldier: Seeking Strength: Str + X for the rest of the current map, with X = number of enemies this unit has defeated (max = Str +5)

F!Archer: Hidden Vitriol-Damage dealt +5 when initiating combat

M!Mage: Young Elemental-Use ‘Adept’ Command to attack two foes within range at 50% damage each

F!Priest: Open Warmth-Allies within 4 spaces take -2 damage

F!Sword Armor: Brash Beauty-Unit can move 3 more spaces in the cardinal directions

F!Lance Armor: Sly Sister-If unit’s HP > 50%, grants Mov +2

F!Axe Cavalier: Idle Idol-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Dex +8 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

M!Thief: Plucky Spy-Unit is immune to poison, and gains Avo+20 when attacked by an offensive staff

F!Hunter: Seasoned Huntress-Deals X more damage during combat, with X = number of spaces this unit or enemy moved before combat began

M!Fighter: Atoning Brigand-Hit/Avo/Crit/Eva +20 during combat when adjacent to an ally

M!Swordmaster/Hero: (Pre-Chapter 21) Charm-Hit/Avo +10 to allies within 3 spaces/(Chapter 21 onward) Lover’s Visage-Hit/Avo +20 to all allies on the map

F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie: (Pre-Chapter 21) Solidarity-Crit/Eva +10 to allies within 3 spaces/(Chapter 21 onward) People’s Champion-Crit/Eva +20 to all allies on the map

F!Dancer/Kabuki: (Pre-Chapter 21) Performer-Use ‘Dance’ command to give an adjacent ally another action/(Chapter 21 onward) Divine Actress-Use ‘Dance’ command to give all adjacent allies another action

F!Dragon Master: Draco Madame-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Def+4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

FtM!Lance Paladin: Haughty Baron-Male allies within 2 spaces deal +3 damage and take -3 damage

M!Sniper: Smooth Operator-Use ‘Potent’ Command to add an extra strike at half damage during combat

M!Axe General: Thundering Giant-Use ‘Advance’ Command to move 1 space toward a foe that is 2 spaces away and attack with double weapon might

M!Tamer: Crafty Hermit-Grants Crit +30 when not adjacent to an ally

F!Sorcerer: Grand Enchantress-Using a healing or stat boosting item applies the effects to both unit and adjacent allies

F!Sage: Author of Spells-Deals X more damage during combat, with X = 2 * the number of tomes in unit’s inventory

F!Halberdier: Famed Officer-Grants Avo/Crit + X, with X = how many enemies are left on the current map

M!Saint: Heaven’s Caller-Staff range +5 and AoE +1

M!Dragon Lord: Draco Gallant-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Str +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

F!Trueblade: Passing A Legacy-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Spd +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

M!Druid: Font of Knowledge-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Mag/Res +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

F!Assassin: Earth Walker-Unit deals effective damage against all enemies at the cost of avoid rate being cut in half

F!Falcon Knight: Wings of Hope-Str/Spd/Def/Res+4 and Hit/Avo +10 when fighting a higher leveled enemy

M!Manakete: Azure Dragon-Mag/Dex +5 during combat to units within 3 spaces

M!Phoenix: Vermilion Bird-Spd +5 and Avoid +10 during combat to units within 3 spaces

F!Beastkin: White Tiger-Str +5 and Crit +10 during combat to units within 3 spaces

F!Guardian: Black Tortoise-Def/Res +5 during combat to units within 3 spaces

---Here are allegiances/nationalities as well, I made sure that each nation has an equal amount of characters in the party:

Genbu Kingdom, Winter, Norse: F!Genbu, M!Dark Mage/Savant, M!Sword Paladin, M!Fighter, M!Myrmidon, F!Sword Armor, F!Lance Armor, F!Axe Cavalier, F!Assassin

Suzaku Theocracy, Summer, Egyptian: M!Suzaku, M!Swordmaster/Hero, M!Soldier, F!Archer, F!Priest, M!Thief, F!Hunter, F!Sage, M!Saint

Byakko Empire, Autumn, Yoruba: F!Byakko, F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, MtF!Pegasus Knight, M!Fighter, M!Axe General, M!Tamer, F!Sorcerer, F!Halberdier, F!Falcon Knight

Seiryu Dynasty, Spring, Japanese: M!Seiryu, F!Dancer/Kabuki, M!Mage, F!Dragon Master, FtM!Lance Paladin, M!Sniper, M!Dragon Lord, F!Trueblade, M!Druid

Classes and Unit Types

-I brought back Radiant Dawns 3 tiers of classes, Engage's unit type systems, and the Trinity of Magic.

-The Weapon Triangle and Trinity of Magic each function like Engage's Break system, but the Weapon Triangle requires damage to be dealt to Break a foe, while the Trinity of Magic's version is called 'Seal' and doesn't require the foe to be damaged, only for a hit to be made; this is to possibly incentivize using magic against other magic users.

-There are no promotion items, as the holy artifacts are used to promote. Every character has a level ranging from 1 to 30. At level 10, units auto promote to tier 2 classes. At level 20, tier 2 units auto promote to tier 3.

Myrmidon (Sword) - Swordmaster (Sword) - Trueblade (Sword)/Hero (Sword, Axe)

Soldier (Lance) - Halberdier (Lance) - Sentinel (Lance)

Fighter (Axe) - Warrior (Axe, Bow) - Reaver (Axe, Bow)

Archer (Bow) - Sniper (Bow) - Marksman (Bow)

Thief (Knife) - Rogue (Knife) - Assassin (Knife)

Sword/Lance/Axe Armor (Sword/Lance/Axe) - Sword/Lance/Axe General (Two Weapons) - Marshall (Three Weapons)

Mage (Anima) - Sage (Anima, Staff) - Archsage (Anima, Staff)

Priest (Light, Staff) - Bishop (Light, Staff) - Saint (Light, Staff)

Dark Mage (Dark) - Sorcerer (Dark, Staff) - Druid (Dark, Staff)/Savant (Dark, Staff)

Sword/Lance/Axe Cavalier (Sword/Lance/Axe) - Sword/Lance/Axe Paladin (Two Weapons) - Great Knight (Three Weapons)

Hunter (Bow) - Tamer (Bow, Knife) - Fenrir (Bow, Knife)

Pegasus Knight (Lance) - Falcon Knight (Sword, Lance) - Seraph Knight (Sword, Lance)/Valkyrie (Sword, Lance)

Dragon Knight (Axe) - Dragon Master (Lance, Axe) - Dragon Lord (Lance, Axe)

Dancer (Knife) - Kabuki (Knife)

Guardian (Breath)

Manakete (Breath)

Beastkin (Strike)

Phoenix (Strike)

Prince (Lance) - Usurper (Lance)

Heiress (Anima) - Chancellor (Anima)

Emperor (Sword, Axe)

Demon (Breath)

The unit types below apply for the entire class lines

Backup: Myrmidon, Soldier, Fighter, Hero, Demon

Covert: Archer, Thief, Dancer

Armored: Sword/Lance/Axe Armor, Guardian, Emperor

Mystical: Mage, Priest, Dark Mage, Savant Manakete, Heiress

Cavalry: Sword/Lance/Axe Cavalier, Hunter, Beastkin, Prince

Flying: Pegasus Knight, Dragonknight, Valkyrie, Phoenix

-The Hero, Savant, Valkyrie, and Kabuki classes are tier 3 excluive promotions for the four main characters when they're blessed by the Four Deities. Guardian, Manakete, Phoenix, and Beastkin are the classes of the Four Deities. Prince/Usurper, Heiress/Chancellor, Emperor, and Demon are enemy exclusive classes.

-Pretty much all the classes are self explanatory as they return from previous FE games, but special mention to the Hunter/Tamer/Fenrir line. I combined the classic Hunter/Nomad class with Engage's Wolf Knight, just so I could have another class to work with.

Weapons and Items

---S Rank Weapons are named after gods/things in various mythologies, Prf Weapons were bestowed from the deities onto their champions

---5 slots for weapons, and 3 slots for items

Swords: Iron, Storm Sword (D), Steel, Armorslayer, Wyrmslayer, Killing Edge, Levin Sword (C), Silver, Tempest Blade, Wo Dao (B), Brave (A), Heimdall (S), Ivory Blade (Prf for Valkyrie)

Lances: Iron, Javelin (D), Steel, Ridersbane, Killer Lance, Flame Lance (C), Silver, Spear (B), Brave (A), Ogun (S)

Axes: Iron, Hand Axe (D), Steel, Hammer, Killer Axe, Hurricane Axe (C), Silver, Tomahawk (B), Brave (A), Hermóðr (S), Scarlet Cleaver (Prf for Hero)

Bows: Iron (D), Steel, Killer Bow, Longbow, Radiant Bow (C), Silver (B), Brave (A), Yemoja (S)

Knives: Iron (D), Steel, Killer Knife, Rune Dagger (C), Silver (B), Brave (A), Horus (S), Jade-Sea Fan (*)

Anima: Fire (D), Thunder (C), Blizzard, Bolting (B), Bolganone, Excalibur (A), Izanagi (S)

Light: Lightning (D), Shine (C), Divine, Purge (B), Aura, Nova (A), Isis (S), Golden Void (Prf for Corrupt Bishop)

Dark: Ruin (D), Nosferatu (C), Luna, Swarm (B), Goetia, Waste (A), Izanami (S), Ebon Verse (Prf for Savant)

Staves: Heal, Mend, Physic, Obstruct (D), Restore, Rewarp, Freeze, Silence (C), Recover, Warp, Rescue, Fracture (B), Fortify, Entrap (A), Osiris (S), Vegvisir (Prf for Savant)

Items - Useables: Vulnerary, Antitoxin, Elixir, Pure Water, Stat Tonics, Torch, Seraph Robe, Energy Drop, Spirit Dust, Secret Book, Speedwing, Dracoshield, Talisman, Goddess Icon, Arms Scroll

Items - Equipment: Renewal Ring, Speed Ring, Mystic Ring, Prayer Ring, Canto Ring, Paragon Ring, Weapon Brace, Full Guard, Chain Guard, Sword Band, Soldier Band, Fighter Band, Archer Band, Armor Band, Pegasus Band, Wyvern Band, Mage Band, Thief Band

Other

----In between chapters, you go back to a base a la the Tellius games. There you view/manage characters, sort inventory, shop and forge items (bringing back paint jobs for weapon forges cuz that's fucking cool), participate in limited number of activities to improve support and gain bonus exp (arena, walking together, managing stables, secure provisions, and eat together), view support conversations, and view base conversations and memory prisms, as well as past custscenes and music.

EDIT: ----Forgot to mention that the holy artifacts are the new rewind features, hence why I described them granting powers to view the immediate future. With each artifact obtained, you gain 5 more rewinds, but given how I planned the story, you'll have just 5 for a long time, then 10 after defeating the Byakko emperor, and 15 after defeating the Seiryu chancellor. I guess after defeating the Genbu prince, you'll then have 20, but there's only 2 chapters left after that... meh, guess it still works.

But there's still a mid-battle save feature like in Engage.

EDIT 2: Had to edit stuff out, like taking skill scrolls out of the useable items list, forgot to delete that when I decided not to include skills

[serpentinesheldonserpentine]

Otis Redding was born on this date in 1941

If you listen to the entire Monterey performance, Otis keeps marveling at the “Love Crowd”. Put yourself in the place of this then-26 year old soul master who is looking out at a collection of 25,000 dope addled barefoot white trustafarians whose shabby appearance must have confounded the suave and very cool Mr. Redding.

Redding was a dignified performer; here he seems intent on blowing the minds of the drugged out Ofay crowd and overplays his hand a bit. Make no mistake, Otis Redding was not a shuck and jive soul man, contemporary parodies ( Animal House, the Godawful Blues Brothers) to the contrary.

American Music is diminished by his early death. The loss of Redding and subsequent assassination of Martin Luther King destroyed the interracial spirit at Stax Records and wounded Memphis in ways that I believe that city has yet to recover from.

I’ll leave that to my musical better, @golftangohotel to assess.

[cake-apostate]

Astarion in Dracula

So people have noticed that in Dracula, Dracula comes across as suave and intimidating until you realize he does stuff like "I don't have any servants but I need to fake it, so I put on a fake beard and hat to pick up Mr. Harker, then I run back into my castle and change into new clothes," and, "I can control wolves, but there are no wild wolves in England anymore, so I run to a zoo and kidnap a wolf, then throw him through a window. The wolf placidly walks home the next day."

Now I'm imagining that something like this happens to future Astarion, and he's in a Dracula-esque plot where he is the vampire being hunted by a plucky band of normal people turned adventurers. While they're all like, "he is horrifying and must be a master strategist," he's being cringefail in the background.

My first caveat is that the plucky hunters should not be villainized, even if they are hunting (relatively) innocent Spawn!Astarion. They're not trying to kill him just because he's a vampire; even in the book, the hunters are after Dracula because he killed their friend and might kill others. They might be after our favorite vampy boi, but this isn't, "stupid vampire hunters harass innocent vampire for no good reason."

Depending on whether this is Spawn!Astarion or Ascended!Astarion, things might go differently.

Spawn

Centuries after the events of the game, after the end of Tav's natural lifespan, Astarion is still an adventurer, and has a house in Baldur's Gate. Maybe they did find a way to let him walk under the sun, or maybe they didn't.

But he's still immortal, and after a few centuries of staying in the same place for too long without visibly aging (he's still an elf, after all), he enlists the help of a solicitor to purchase a new house in Waterdeep and write up a will that allows his (totally real) son to inherit all his stuff. Things go okay for a while, but not-Jonathan Harker notices all kinds of weird stuff around him, such as the bottles of blood ("I'm a doctor, darling; it's a new kind of treatment called blood transfusion."), his lack of a reflection ("Trick mirror."), and possibly his red eyes and sunlight sensitivity ("It's the drow heritage, dear.").

Then after he finally moves to Waterdeep, some entirely normal serial killer shows up. And now not-Jonathan realizes that Mr. Astarion Ancunin was a vampire this whole time, and suspects that he's the one behind all the ghastly murders. Lots of paperwork ensues, and they discover both his life as a magistrate and his adventures during the games. If he can't walk in the sun, they conclude that he became a vampire after the events of the game because so many records mention that he was outside during the day, and lament how he was once a good man.

However, they never actually inform Astarion while they're hunting him that they think he's behind the murders. So he thinks they're after him for being a vampire, while they think that he's a gleeful murderer.

He could simply kill them all, but they're still innocent people who haven't actually done anything. He could also walk away, but he's not leaving behind all his stuff, godsdamnit! So he figures that the most fun would be to Scooby-Doo them out of Waterdeep.

Hilarity ensues. Everybody lives as well.

Ascended

For this one, Astarion is guilty, and probably was behind everything.

I admit I don't have much for this besides vibes, and those vibes are, "Ascended Astarion takes every possible opportunity to gloat that he's invincible." Not-Mina and not-Lucy are walking along the seaside one sunny morning, and they see him floating on an inner tube, wearing sunglasses and holding a tropical drink, shouting, "Come on in; the water's great!" Not-Seward and not-Van Helsing are at a medical conference and he's just there, waving at them. While they think they're safe in their houses, he breaks in and turns every bit of furniture upside down and write a note in the fanciest cursive saying, "Ahahahahaha! Mwahahahaha! Yrs. Astarion Ancunin."

Actual Dracula

I might actually make a fanfic for this.

So in this one, Astarion literally gets isekai'd into the plot of Dracula. Kinda. After Dracula finishes his correspondence with Jonathan Harker, Dracula vanishes and Astarion shows up in his castle. Some of the same story beats, but with different context.

I think Spawn Astarion would be funnier for this, because he'd be like, "damndamndamn, okay, deep breaths, I can work with this," while the Ascendant would try to take over Earth for real.

I also think that the best replacement for Dracula's 'brides' would be Sebastian. Sebastian might not be Astarion's spawn, but Astarion is partially responsible for him becoming one. I had also considered Tav as his spawn, or maybe the whole party, but the question of how they became spawn aside, they'd all be too sensible about this. This is Astarion's trainwreck.

Not all of Dracula's vampire weaknesses apply to dnd vampire spawn, and the ones that do might not work the same way. Turns out that holy symbols don't work on them at all, so none of the tricks with crucifixes and communion wafer would work ("I'm sorry, are you trying to murder me with crackers? *wry giggle* That's a first.") Dracula specifies garlic flowers while dnd goes for the more popular garlic bulbs, and the weakness to running water is "physically impeded from even using a bridge except at slack and flood of tide" in the book and "burns like acid but still possible to jump across" in dnd. Someone once pointed out that this is the first time Van Helsing ever dealt with a vampire, so he's throwing everything he can at Dracula without knowing for sure which things actually work.

The residents of the village around the castle notice that they aren't being bitten in the night, and that there are more dead wolves drained of blood. They still sit up at night with stakes in their hands, not unjustifiably. Astarion stays away, and hopes that their fear of the previous tenant is enough for them to not come charging in with stakes.

Jonathan showing up might be a complete surprise. Astarion and Sebastian have no idea what day it is, or how to read an Earth calendar, so even though they have Dracula's half of the correspondence, they think that he came and left, and Dracula with him. Jonathan thinks that Dracula forgot to pick him up from the pass, but his fear of not being good at his job led him to brave the woods the day after his appointment. During the day, of course.

Then Astarion is like, "Yes, I am Dracula," as he realizes that he can con his way into a ticket to a new city.

Jonathan talks to Astarion for hours about property law and suchlike because Astarion was a magistrate. Jonathan might ask more about his past, but Astarion deflects as much as possible.

From Jonathan's perspective, he's like, "Dracula is a fine fellow, so articulate and graceful," while Astarion is like, "Shit, he has to eat, doesn't he?!" and tries to make a halfway decent meal with Sebastian, both of them panicking.

"I do hope you enjoy wolf, it is a local delicacy."

"Really? Fascinating! None of the other villages I've stayed in served wolf!"

"It is a very local delicacy."

Would Astarion keep Jonathan hostage? I don't think he would unless Jonathan discovered his secret. But I can see that he would insist that Jonathan stay longer because he want to keep up the illusion of being a good host, and that includes driving him back to the last town... when he has no idea where that is. He could drive him to the village, if he wasn't sure that they wouldn't drive a stake through his heart right away. So while he keeps delaying, on the inside he's like, "Where are those damn maps?!"

I can see that Sebastian never learned to suppress his hunger. One night, Jonathan accidentally wanders into his side of the castle. Sebastian wants to just have a friendly chat, but his hunger wins out and he's about to bite him, so Astarion has to restrain him. Then Astarion feeds him a family of rabbits or something cute; he's not going to steal a baby.

Astarion and Sebastian won't board the Demeter, even if Dracula already has tickets. Stuck surrounded by running water with no animals to drink from? They'll just take the train, and then cross the English Channel on a midnight ferry or something. Not like they have the 'soil of your homeland' restriction. Of course, they're not paying for any of it; they're going to sneak aboard when nobody's looking.

Speaking of those boxes of dirt, Astarion is just happy to have a ton of property that someone else paid for, and is perplexed by the boxes. So he and Sebastian just use them to pot begonias or something.

Once the action shifts to England, the plot would change a lot more, since Astarion and Sebastian aren't actively malicious. I think they'd still end up in Whitby because Carfax Abbey might be the only decent home Dracula purchased; all the others were just cheap emergency safehouses to store his boxes of dirt.

Renfield can still sense when Astarion and Sebastian arrive, even though they're not the same kind of vampire. Astarion isn't above using him, and they both drink from him while Astarion promises to turn him one day. They never admit that they can't.

Speaking of turning, Lucy can't rise as a vampire either. I don't even know if they'd bite her to begin with; Astarion restricts himself to people they were going to kill anyways (and Tav). Lucy sleepwalking might be convenient for Dracula, who doesn't care if she wakes up halfway through or dies, but Astarion and Sebastian have more caution (and scruples).

But Lucy being bitten drives half the plot. Val Helsing only enters because Dr. Seward calls him in, the skeptics only believe in vampires once they see her rise from the grave, and everyone swears to avenge her death. If the vampires don't hurt Lucy, then the whole plot goes off the rails.

This brainworm has seized me and I am now thinking of a title. Astarion Annually? Count Astarion the Un-Dead?

[mitsuyaya]

[ even in the next life ] hayakawa aki

♡ contains: 561 words. heavy (?) angst, major character death, major spoilers (for anime watchers)

♡ summary: you love aki more than anything in this world; he taught you the beauty of waking up every day, but he didn't teach you how to wake up every single day without him

listen :) | triple treat masterlist

the love you had for aki is immeasurable, to the point that it's too unreal.

everytime his eyelashes flutter, his chest heaves, his lips curve into a small sweet smile—it becomes more and more difficult for you to breathe, for you to think normally.

aki moves with such grace and suave. his hands were rough, scarred from his every mission but everytime it touches your skin, it feels soft, feels heavenly. his muscles flex everytime he carries heavy things but he makes it look lightweight, as if it doesn't weigh anything at all.

his voice never fails to put you in a trance, gradually lulling you in a daze where the only people inside are the two of you. and when he has his arms wrapped around your waist, his chin resting into the space between your neck and shoulders—it makes you feel like the world exists solely for you and him.

you love aki an insane amount, even more than anything in this world, more than you or anyone can ever imagine.

it's not hard to love hayakawa aki, to love a man whose face resembles that of an angel, a man who could make anyone fall for him if he wanted to. to fall in love with a man whose personality could make anyone crave even a slightest amount of his attention.

you were lucky enough to have him, to have him by your side, to be able to touch such unreal figure. to have him whisper in your ear, confess his undying love—his love that he vows that'll never fade, that could last forever, even in his next life.

aki was your candle, someone who guides your feet amidst the darkness. someone who provides you warmth in your bleakest days. but as if the candle was blown, aki left you–with his cremated body in an urn, in this house you used to share.

this house that was used to be filled with mirth, intimacy and endless promises has morphed into a weary and melancholic prison. detaining you with the reality that the man you love so much is gone, dead.

“aki why did you leave me?” you cried loudly, holding his picture frame in your chest, it hurts so much. he promised, vowed to love you with all of his heart, to choose you and only you until the end, to stay by your side for all your life—but he's gone, he's never coming back.

“aki…please”

no matter how many prayers, no matter how many times you call his name he'll never hear them, it'll never come true. and you know that, you're perfectly aware of it, but you held on to that foolish thought that he might come back, that this was all a dream and by the time you wake up he'll kiss you, wipe your tears and tell you it's only a nightmare.

“...please come back”

it's painful; to steal a glance at his urn, to gaze at his photos, to listen to his audio recordings—it makes you squeeze your chest in agony, makes you cry and scream his name until your voice turns hoarse, till you could feel your body going numb.

and yet, even if your heart aches, shattered into a million pieces, even if you seem to lose yourself, it's still him—still aki you'd choose to love even in the next lifetime.

[mariacallous]

In April, an unassuming old building in New Delhi’s furniture market housed roughly 30 youngsters. Some were hunched over their laptops crunching data on Excel or analyzing a heat map, while others huddled to discuss strategy. These were engineering graduates, economists, political scientists, and others. There were office chairs, desks, and a couple of white boards.

The entire setup could easily have passed as a startup office, but it wasn’t. This was an election war room.

From there, Sapiens Research founder Rimjhim Gour’s team served as the brains of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. The party’s senior leadership had entrusted Gour with mobilizing 12.5 million female voters across India, and her team spent their days crunching historical polling trends, using data to pinpoint critical constituencies, browsing WhatsApp for real-time on-ground updates, and shaping electoral strategies to usher in BJP for a third consecutive term.

Gour’s team was successful: Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister on June 9 after the BJP formed the government through an alliance with 293 seats. India’s general elections happen once in five years, and in 2024, a record-breaking 642 million Indians voted. Of the total voters polled, 312 million were women. This was BJP’s grand experiment: The party wanted to micro-target and mobilize female voters, and hired people like Gour to make it happen—revealing, says Amogh Dhar Sharma, author of the forthcoming book The Backstage of Democracy: India’s Election Campaigns and the People Who Manage Them, “the hidden power of a new technocratic elite that has become critical for parties and politicians to fight elections and win votes in India.”

“In most places [in India], electorates who are registered but not voting are always women,” says Gour, who previously worked as a media strategist at Indian Political Action Committee, the legendary firm widely recognised for propelling Modi to victory in 2014. Dressed in an off-white salwar kameez, with a big pair of round glasses keeping her hair off her face, Gour is suave and confident, and fluently switches between English and Hindi. “That’s when it struck me that if we have to mobilize someone, it has to be women; they make up 50% of the electorate but still haven’t been tapped into completely in a systematic approach.”

Over the past decade, the Indian electioneering landscape has been overhauled by the advent of social media, data-driven insights, and political consultants. “I think the 2024 Indian general election confirms … the inordinate role of campaign professionals in Indian elections,” says Sharma. From call centers being used for “screening” party supporters, to WhatsApp for real-time updates, and a specialized app for reporting and documenting meetings, each tool served a unique purpose in this BJP campaign. “The speed at which these technologies are being embraced by parties and the growing emphasis on them is certainly unique,” says Sharma.

The BJP’s use of technology and social platforms has evolved as politics has, as they have gone from being niche tools to essential infrastructure. The BJP emerged as the highest spender on political ads on Meta platforms this election. If the 2019 election was characterized as the “WhatsApp Election” because of the excessive use of the messaging platform, the 2024 campaign was the “YouTube Election.” It marked an unprecedented use of YouTube influencers by BJP that featured softball questions with political candidates and paid promotions. While rival parties worked to catch up, the BJP still leads the pack with dedicated cyber troops for year-round content creation—and not just during elections.

And the BJP’s decision to hire a dedicated consultant to woo women votes seems like the next step in this broader evolution of using tech.

Historically, women voters lean towards progressive parties. But over the past decade, under Modi’s rule—characterized by what critics describe as creeping authoritarianism due to attacks on civil society, religious polarization, and cracking down on dissent—there has been a noticeable shift, with both the 2014 and 2019 elections recording higher female participation and increased support for the BJP amongst female voters. The BJP had been launching female-friendly welfare schemes including subsidized cooking gas cylinders and maternity leaves, for greater equality. As a result, in 2019, women’s poll participation exceeded men’s for the first time. This time it was about going a step ahead to remind a specific cohort of targeted women about Modi’s policies and nudge them to go out to vote.

Gour’s get-out-the-vote effort, which used a potpourri of apps, data analysts, and personal outreach by party workers, thus represented a convergence of two trends in an attempt to consolidate a women’s vote newly open to the BJP.

For Modi to return to power, BJP had to win 272 of the 534 parliamentary seats. Gour’s young team was focused on 235 seats, which they identified as “critical seats”—areas where the BJP has either won or lost by less than 10% margin of votes in the past. The goal was to identify women self-help groups, or SHGs, in those 235 critical voting areas, and then use BJP’s party workers, or karyakartas, to meet, motivate, and mobilize female voters.

India’s rural SHGs are collectives of 10 or more women who pool their money and support each other through savings; nearly 100 million women are part of SHGs. And women involved with SHGs are already more politically active.

“Often the hardest problem for political parties who want to engage with women and get women to participate in public life is to figure out how to get these women to participate in a political cause,” says Anirvan Chowdhury, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University who studies the BJP’s attempts to target female voters. “And in a context where politics is often seen as unsuitable for women, reframing politics as seva [selfless service] or using existing institutional frameworks like the SHG structure helps solve that problem.” Because of this sustained effort, there has been a pro-BJP tilt in women’s political preference in many northern states which have a strong history of support for Modi’s BJP, research shows.

For Gour’s Sapiens Research team, the challenge wasn’t merely to locate these self-help groups but to identify potential BJP supporters within these groups—a task that requires data analysis. Ujjawal Agrawal, the program manager at Sapiens Research, spearheaded the initiative of meticulously mapping voter and demographic information to phone numbers of women in “critical” SHGs. Agrawal then mustered the BJP’s in-house network of 20,000 call center operators—run by another Indian Political Action Committee alumnus Diggaj Mogra—to identify BJP sympathizers within the large SHG cohort.

The call centers did so by asking a few pointed questions. One key question was whether the woman would help mobilize 10 other women for the BJP. If she responded positively, she was deemed a supporter. If the SHG member’s response was no, then she would be categorized as a swing voter or non-supporter. For instance, in West Bengal, Agrawal said, 10% of women who were part of the SHG refused to mobilize voters for the BJP. (Interestingly, this approach bears some broad similarities to the Donald Trump campaign’s strategy for this year’s US election.)

Soni Bam is the sort of SHG mobilizer Gour’s team was looking for. She is from the Leparada district in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and her eight-member group, called Hiri Molo, is dedicated to making women independent by finding ways to earn and save. But since October 2023, she has been involved in the BJP’s election-related work: going door-to-door explaining women about the elections, and advocating BJP schemes that will help women. She also asks women to attend meetings organized by the BJP workers.

Gour’s team used the 20,000 callers from the BJP’s call center to do 300,000 “screening” calls a day to create the final target list. “We are the brain and call centers are basically your eyes [of political campaigns],” says Gour.

It has become commonplace in India for political parties to set up call centers in the weeks leading up to polling, says Sharma. “These call centers can provide a range of functions—encouraging citizens to update their voter ID card, reminding them of the party’s manifesto promises, gauging their intention to vote, and even soliciting their feedback on the ticket distribution or chief minister nomination process.” But what’s unique, says Sharma, about the BJP is the massive investment in an in-house network of 20,000 call center operations across 350 locations. No other party has a comparable infrastructure for electioneering.

BJP’s central leadership monitored the SHG meetings organized by party workers through the revolutionary SARAL app, which stands for Sangathan Reporting and Analysis. (Sangathan in Hindi means “organization.”) It’s the BJP’s “digital handheld office.” Nearly 4 million BJP party workers use the app monthly, where they can upload party activities and share images of events, and details of people they meet during campaigns. In the months leading up to elections, the BJP ran a campaign on the app called “Shakti Chaupal” to mobilize female voters. It was overseen by Gour’s team.

The tech-savvy team of data analysts at Sapiens’ office in Delhi would then aggregate the trends, and submit weekly or monthly reports on the extent of voter mobilization to party leaders. “If they send us those two photos on a WhatsApp number, it will be difficult for us to monitor,” Agrawal said. “We get clear, systematic data from SARAL.” In the three months leading up to May, an estimated 5000 meetings were conducted, and 5877 party workers helped Sapiens team in mobilization.

In late April, during the first phase of the election, where nearly one-fifth of all parliamentary seats were going to polls, witnessed poor voter turnout. The dip in voter turnout compared to elections in 2019, gripped Gour and the BJP with panic. Early doubts over BJP’s decisive victory surfaced online. Soon, the BJP machinery redoubled outreach activity and notched up demands on state-incharges to address voter apathy.

One crucial battlefield for the BJP was the Kendrapara constituency in the eastern state of Odisha, which has been ruled by the Biju Janata Dal, or BJD, for two decades. Gour’s team was responsible for mobilizing the SHGs in the area. When it came time to vote, Gour’s war room sprang into action. Her team began calling party workers every few hours for updates on the SHGs voting. After that, a round of bot calls were made to the SHG women, since the human call centers were at capacity. At the end of the day, an automated call went out to SHG women, asking if they mobilized, who they mobilized, and if they could share pictures and data.

This process was repeated in constituencies across the country, to great effect: By the end of the election, Gour says, they personally mobilized 12 million women voters.

Despite Gour’s best efforts, though—and positive feedback they received on WhatsApp, SARAL, and call centers—the BJP suffered huge losses in their Hindi-speaking heartland states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. From being the single largest party with 303 seats in 2019, Modi’s BJP was cut down to size with 240 seats, and formed the government by entering into a power-sharing agreement with smaller regional parties.

Consultants like Gour continue to claim the election as a win, with a caveat that while their work contributed to the vote share of the candidates, they were “not the only factor.” Other experts tell WIRED that there were likely additional reasons women came out to vote during this cycle, such as religious polarization and welfare programs such as free food or cash handouts. The ultimate lesson may be about the enduring power of traditional methods.

“No Indian politician,” says Sharma, “can as yet dispense with holding public rallies, road shows, or door-to-door canvassing, which create momentum both for ordinary voters and for party workers themselves.”

[kittysamzkewlz19]

‪Medusa Ex Makina‬

‪Chapter 4: Not an Instructor‬

‪Rated: M for Mature ‬

‪Warnings: None‬

‪Author’s Note: Ohoho, now we’re getting into some crazy shenanigans! The first arc is slowly coming to a close but the curtains rise on something bigger going on in the background.‬

From the morning she woke up on her new high end mattress, to eating the most extravagant breakfast, and to even getting ready in her very own private luxury bathroom, Makina felt like a fairytale princess. A very brutal, fairytale princess. She still couldn’t believe that she went from the world’s shittiest apartment, to living in a ginormous castle that was also home to the world’s most famous metal band in the universe! It was a dream come true for the rookie metal singer, and she didn’t want to wake up. It had been a whole week since she began living in Mordhaus and the first thing she wanted to do today was to check out that state of the art music room she was shown on the house tour. Makina remembered that the music room was close to one of the recording studios. The room itself had a satin red velvet carpet with the signature medieval theming on one of the walls, there was another vampiric looking sofa and sawblade coffee table near the back end of the room. There were various different instruments placed around, from hanging on display to larger instruments that took up more space. This room oozed with creativity that got the gears in her brain turning as inspiration struck. The one thing that caught Makina’s eye was the bright sunburst orange, limited edition, Gibson “Les Paul” piano. A beautiful Baldwin 243, aka a classically shaped upright piano. Pressing a G note, it showed that the piano was perfectly tuned and maintained. Makina giddily sat down and began to play a favorite song of hers. As she played, she began to sing along with her own accompaniment.

She hummed along to the instrumentals and lost herself to the melody and rhythm of the song. She was completely engulfed in her own fantasy of being on a large stage, the thousands of imaginary people watching and raising their phones’ flashlights to the sky like a sea of twinkling stars. A set of tiptoeing footsteps came way towards Makina as she began to sing the next part of the song. Makina’s eyes still shut, imagining the crowd cheering for her. Her piano playing became more intricate and elaborate as the mystery viewer gingerly opened the music room door wider. The onlooker watched on as she played with frantic precision and grace, slowly coming back down to the simple melody she was playing at the start. The figure walked closer to her, ever so slightly leaning against the piano’s body. Gently coming back down, playing the last few notes until she accidentally missed. Makina opened her eyes at the sour note and then was taken aback by the reveal of her secret spectator. “Nots bads fors a pianos players.” Skwisgaar smirked, “It ams nots the sames as playings guitars, but it ams stills verys talenteds-ka.” Makina’s face began to burn up. She didn’t know what to say to the suave swede, it was as if words of gratitude had completely been erased from her vocabulary and instead replaced with stuttering nonsense.

Deep down in the pits of her soul, Makina would have screamed like the rabid fangirl she was. To her this was cloud 9, the highest praise she was ever going to get for a long time. Skwisgaar was always her favorite member of Dethklok; not for his looks, his foreign european charm, or his supposed “raw sex appeal” that made everyone drool over him. No, she admired him for his passionate love for music. The way he talked about building custom guitars, his avid knowledge about song composition in interviews. Makina had always admired him for the skills that he possessed. And now he was complimenting her piano playing! Makina’s expression became dopey as she was completely deaf to the criticism coming from the slim man’s lips; she was far too distracted by his fervor to even care. “Ams yous listenings or watchings fairies dancings?” Makina was shaken back to reality by Skwisgaar’s annoyance. “S-sorry, I didn’t catch that last bit. Can you please repeat that?” Makina asked dumbfoundedly. Skwisgaar exasperatedly sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Oks, Ams goings to puts its in babies termkanologists. Yous gots a vibratos problems whens you do thems melotics singings. Thats ams whens yous makes yours voices sounds like you ams in an earths shakers. You ams puts too much ofs its ams in the last notes ins everys verses. You ams gots a goods voices buts stills lots of needings improverments.” And there it was, Makina finally got her wake up call.

She had a vibrato problem?! She supposed a death growling vocal set could only take her so far. ‘Wait, how come no one told me about my vibrato!?’ “Oh… damn…” those were the only words she managed to say before slouching further into her seat. Makina closed the piano, ashamed to even play anymore and leaned onto her elbows on the hard wooden cover. She was forever grateful that a musical genius like Skwisgaar would catch such an obvious problem. But boy, he placed a real shiner on her ego. “How do you suppose I fix it?” Makina questioned with dullness in her voice. “Simples fix, practice lots. Haves yous evers taken proper vocals lessons?” Makina tried to recall a time in her life where she had any form of formal training, then it dawned on her. “Well, I was in a children’s choir from pre-k to eighth grade. But that’s ‘cause I went to an all girls church school.”

“And there ams the trunks ofs thems problem. Choirs does nots shows your fullest range ofs singings, you ams playing matchings with others harmonies. Plus thems operatics mess with yous as a solo singers. So, you ams gots to retrains yous voices.” Makina’s eyes filled with a sudden burst of pluck, “If that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it!” she exclaimed with a fiery passion. Skwisgaar was taken aback by Makina’s sudden enthusiasm, he had never seen anyone determined after being harshly reprimanded. Makina was truly something else. “Skwisgaar, you should give me more pointers!”

”What, nos! That jobs shoulds bes for someones like maybes Pickle or more importantlys Nathans. Am’st he not yours mentors?” Skwisgaar questioned. “Yeah, but it’s good to get other people’s perspectives. Besides, Nathan keeps pushing back my apprenticeship.” Skwisgaar raised an eyebrow of concern at Makina’s nonchalant attitude. Back when he was mentoring Toki, there was a sense of urgency to advance his training. But since Makina wasn’t a part of Dethklok, he supposed that the circumstances were entirely different. Even still, the guitarist couldn’t stand to see Makina flounder without a sense of direction.

XxxX

Meanwhile in Nathan’s bedroom, the hulking vocalist was hunched over at his desk scribbling away in a notebook. He was discussing with Pickles more ideas for a new record. “What if you added that idea you had when we were in Costa Rica. You know, the one about underbites hooking onto flesh.” Pickles suggested as he laid on the singer’s bed. “Uh… oh the anglerfish thing! We did that already.”

”Oh fuck. Guess you’re really losing your touch.” Nathan placed his pen down and put his hand on his forehead. “Don’t say that, it’s just been a bit more… I don’t know. Is stressed the right word?” He said with frustration. Pickles sat up from the bed and crossed his legs, “Stressed? About what, the record?” Nathan shook his head, he didn’t have the right words to describe what was bothering him. Before he could give his drummer a response, Skwisgaar opened his door with Makina tucked away behind him. The slender musician roughly tugged Makina’s arm, dragging her into Nathan’s room and leading her towards the singer’s desk. Pickles turned to see the younger vocalist with an apprehensive look on their face. “Medusas, tells Nathan’s whats yous needs.” Skwisgaar pulled Makina’s arm a bit more. He gestured her to speak, she sighed. “Mr. Explosion, I… I need you to… I need you to give me proper vocal lessons during my apprenticeship. Um… now would be nice.” Makina sheepishly stated, she looked away with embarrassment. The bruise on her ego made itself known as she fiddled with the zipper on her hoodie, hiding her hands in the sleeves. Nathan looked up at Pickles and pointed at Makina. “This, this is my answer.” Nathan said with a drop of frustration in his tone. Pickles scratched his beard with a wide eyed expression, he somewhat comprehended Nathan’s emotions. The ginger dreaded man hopped off of Nathan’s bed and walked closer towards Makina and Skwisgaar. “You know what kiddo, how about I take over for Nathan as your mentor for today. Is that fine?” Pickles asked warmly, Makina hummed in agreement and Pickles led the raven haired lady out of the room with Skwisgaar following suit. She took a quick glance to see Nathan with a disappointed look on his face.

XxxX

“Alright so let me get this straight, you have a vibrato problem?” Makina silently nodded, “How is that possible? When you covered ‘Hatredcopter’ at Doom-opolis, I couldn’t hear any issues.”

”That’s because the song had more growling and it wasn’t as melotic. I want to be able to sing properly without having to overuse my voice with only death screams.” Pickles leaned into the music room’s couch arm and placed his hand over his mouth. “Whys don’ts yous shows Pickle.” Skwisgaar said as he leaned a bit into the piano, Makina gulped nervously and looked down at the ebony and ivory shine of the keys. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began playing the same song as before. Taking into consideration that Pickles and Skwisgaar were watching, her concentration began to falter a bit. Missing a few notes here and there and then finally before the end of the second verse, her voice cracked. Makina stopped playing and began to cough up the saliva that was caught in her windpipe. “Geez, You got more than a vibrato issue there.”

”Ja, you soundeds worsers that times.” Skwisgaar cringed. “I don’t know about that I mean, it was more… pitchy.” Pickles said as he walked towards the piano. “Sorry, just nerves. I can try again.” Makina began playing from the second verse onward, her heart felt as if it was twisting in knots as every beat made her chest tighter. Her hands shook as Makina attempted to calm down, and once more she missed another note. “I’m sorry… I just don’t think I can do this.”

”Oh come on Makina, you got this. Here, maybe just try another song?” Makina put her hands back in the sleeves of her hoodie, Skwisgaar noticed this and realized something. “Medusas, take offs yours jackets and toss it overs theres.” Skwisgaar commanded, he pointed back to the sofa. Without hesitation, Makina did as she was told and threw her hoodie to the side. The air in the music room was much colder than she had expected, shivers went down her spine as the crisp air conditioned room touched her skin. “Skwisgaar, how the hell is that going to help?”

“Justs watchs. Ok now, sings.” Makina closed her eyes, and began to play a different song.

As she sang, something strange began to happen. The lighting in the room began to darken, with her concentration deepened Makina’s voice began to echo. Her vocals became louder and louder, the melody of the piano began to swell. But somehow, they could hear more than just a piano playing. It was as if there was a whole orchestra accompanying Makina’s song. And it was here Pickles and Skwisgaar had seen something unreal, a greenish glow began to surround Makina. They could see a faint string of lights begin to form some sort of image, but it was far too blurry for them to comprehend. Skwisgaar’s eyes widened at the display he so inevitably caused. Meanwhile Pickles was far too stunned to utter a word. He just knew something about this felt so wrong and yet, this sight felt so oddly comforting to him. As if right on cue, Nathan walked in to see the familiar display of lights. Makina began to softly sing and the green aura began to die down a bit. But then with a burst of fortissimo, the aura became clear to them. Green floating metal chains began surrounding Makina as if she was in a tangled bird cage.

The music began to die down as she was playing the last few notes of the song. She didn’t even miss one and her singing was once again, in perfect pitch. “What the actual hell was that?!” Pickles shouted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Makina replied. “Oks so it ams nots a fluke, yous cans sings nots likes shits!”

”Forget about that Skwisgaar, did you hear the background music or those chains?! Makina what was that?!” Pickles exasperated, Nathan walked closer and placed a hand on the shorter man’s shoulders to calm him down. He then quietly looked at Makina, who was confused by the whole ordeal. “Makina, care to explain yourself?” Nathan questioned, Makina shook her head. “I honestly have no clue what you're all on about. I’m sorry.” Pickles and Nathan’s faces were painted with disappointment, leaving them with more questions than answers. “Medusas, I thinks yous needs more praticings stills. Don’ts overdos its.” Skwisgaar commented calmly. Nathan looked to the side in shame, he didn’t know how or what to say to his protege. He was just as completely lost as Makina was, she gave him a look of dread.

XxxX

That night, Nathan restlessly stared at the ceiling. He was the one to vouch for Makina to be her mentor, he was the one who took interest in her singing abilities, so why was it that now he couldn’t speak with her about starting her training? ‘Mentor’, a word he was sort of familiar with. While the concept was easy to grasp, the idea of what a mentor was supposed to do was incomprehensible to the death metal vocalist. Nathan remembered the look on Makina’s face earlier that day; an expression of confusion and anxiety. He felt as frozen as the day he first saw her perform. Nathan desperately tried to wrap his head around how to fill that mentor role. Only problem was that he really didn’t have a mentor when he was starting out, Nathan had no one to go off of. The long haired singer shifted his weight, laying down on the side of his left arm. His mind began to wander off as he finally drifted to sleep.

XxxX

Within the dream, Nathan was partially nude with only his underpants deep underwater. He was all too familiar with this setting, but something about it felt off. The whale prophet was nowhere to be seen and the oceanic waters seemed shallower than usual. The only logical explanation would be to swim upward to see what he could find. Upon swimming further up, he could clearly see a shoreline. It was unusual for him to be near the surface of the water, but then he saw her. The whale prophet breached the water and was floating next to him. Nathan swam closer to the whale and gently petted her, she clicked with affection. “It is good to see you daughter, I see you have found the egg.” The prophet whispered. “What do I do?” Nathan asked. The whale whistled and nudged the singer to the shore. “Find her before he does.” She said as a large wave washed Nathan closer to the shore. Landing on the hot warm sand, he could see in the distance Makina walking closer and closer to a cave. He wanted to get up and run to her, but was paralyzed on the beach like a fish flopping about. Nathan tried to call out to her, but his voice was suffocated by hoarse coughing. It was as if Nathan couldn’t breathe and desperately tried to reach out to her. But then…

XxxX

BANG! Nathan awoke to something very loud, large beads of sweat came pouring out of him like a waterfall. He hadn’t had a dream that visceral since the eve of the Metalocalypse. Nathan rolled out of bed to see what disturbed him from his slumber, he opened the door. “Who the fuck did that!?” Nathan shouted down the hall. No answer, then a few seconds later the sound of whimpers. He rubbed his eyes, grabbed a pair of slippers, and a flashlight. ‘Probably just Toki.’ Nathan thought to himself as he followed the sound to a few doors down the hallway. Instead of Toki’s room, the sound came from Makina’s. Nathan sighed and opened her room door to find her life sized coffin shelf toppled on top of her. Makina looked up with tears in her eyes, pouting as to not make it look like she was in pain. “S-sorry for waking you. I… I fell. Clumsy me.” Makina did her best to try and make herself smile but Nathan could see right through her pained expression. The vocalist quickly stood the shelf back up and offered a hand to his raven haired student. Makina grabbed it and pulled herself up, seeing the mess around her. Nathan quickly scanned Makina to see if she was bleeding, thankfully it was only one small thin cut under the bottom of her left jaw. Nathan put his hand on her face to inspect it further, “I’m fine, really.” Makina protested, she sniffled a little bit to hide her obvious crying. “We can get a klokateer to help clean this up.” Nathan suggested, “No no, I got it. Besides, most of this stuff is very valuable.” Makina replied as she wiped away some of her tears, she knelt down and began picking up some of her belongings.

Upon moving some books around, Nathan spotted a very familiar snow globe. He knelt down to examine it further. It was a miniature Mordhaus snowglobe; the same kind of snow globe they sold at concerts, the same kind of snow globe he had given to Toki when he left for Rock-a-Rooni Fantasy Camp, and now it was shattered on the ground with the glass and water scattered on the floor. “When did you get this?” Nathan asked as Makina grabbed some tissues from her personal bathroom. “Ah, uh… well, my friend Gerard got it for me. He wasn’t able to go to the concert that year but he did buy it from the online shop. It’s too bad that I gotta toss it.” Makina said wistfully. She knelt down and began wiping the water off of the brick tile floor. Gingerly she began sweeping the glass into hand and placing it into the wastebasket by her computer desk. Nathan watched on as Makina sniffled again, tears began to flow out from her eyes. “Why were you up?” Nathan attempted to ask softly, he did his best to not push too many questions on the poor vocalist. Makina stopped dead in her tracks. “I… uh, it’s stupid and embarrassing.” The singer looked to the side sheepishly, her tears kept drizzling out from her face. “I was, I was…” Makina looked back up at Nathan and saw how concerned he looked, Makina took a breath and then spoke. “I was trying to open the coffin cabinet but it got stuck. Then everything was about to fall so I went under to try and stop it but, I got noodles for arms, and I just ended up becoming a pillow for the shelf’s fall.”

‘She was right, it was stupid.’ Nathan thought to himself as he tried to keep his composure. “Why did you want to open the coffin?” Makina looked to her right and saw the thing she was looking for. She pointed to it and Nathan picked it up, it was a crimson stained leather bound journal. Curiously, Nathan opened it up. Makina’s face flushed bright pink. Inside there were scribbles about song ideas and little doodles too. He flipped through the pages and saw a note written in red ink.

“If only Dad, Rats, and that rockstar guy could see me now. I’m sure they’d be proud.

Note to self: fix vibrato. Do it for Nathan, make him not regret choosing me!”

Nathan’s heart sank, he realized Makina was pushing herself to the max in order to impress him. But when he read over the first part again, the word ‘Dad’ echoed in his mind. Maybe Makina was homesick. “You know, you could alway call your dad.” Nathan offered, gently handing back the journal to her. Makina limply grabbed it and let it fall to the floor, “My dad’s dead Mr. Explosion, he’s been dead since I was 10.”

”You could drop the formalities Medusa.” Nathan said bluntly, “No offense, I get that you’re wanting to give me respect and all, but it’s kind of fucking weird.” Makina couldn’t hold back anymore, she couldn’t compose herself any longer and began to sob. “I’m sorry I’m not as good or as brutal as you are. I’m trying really hard to live up to your standard and I fucked up again. Please don’t kick me out!” Nathan couldn’t believe what he was hearing, her anxieties were being poured out in front of him just like back at Doom-opolis. This time he knew what he needed to do. Nathan swiftly wrapped his arms around the crying singer, her muffled screams into his shoulder now wet with her salty tears. He rubbed her back, in an attempt to finally give the singer some form of comfort. Makina’s sobs were now nothing but hushed whimpers as Nathan kept holding her. Out of instinct, Makina hugged her mentor back gripping his pajama shirt by the waist. “Makina,” Nathan said in a fatherly tone, “You’re doing a good job. Stop beating yourself up over the small shit. And you will do better, I know it. I will start your training properly tomorrow, I promise. Ok?” Makina gave a small ‘Mmm-hmm.’ And with that Nathan released Makina from the hug. He ruffled her hair a bit before helping her clean a bit of the remaining mess. Makina crawled back into her bed, “Good night Mr- I mean, Nathan.” The singer gave a small smile back and bidded his pupil good night.

[wolfieloveswade]

Fun Random Rock N' Roll Facts: 06-01-2024:

+ Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo have been married since 1982(that's 42 years <3)

+ Axl Rose, Michael Jackson and Tom Petty are all from Lafayette, Indiana and all have talked about their immense hate for that "redneck town"

+ James Hetfield not only plays guitar and sings, he also can play the piano and has been playing it since he was 9 years old

+ Pete Townshend considers himself to be a Bisexual Catholic

+ it took Axl Rose 9 years to complete the album Chinese Democracy(1999-2008), he once told a rock journalist that "if I don't make this album the way that it's supposed to be and sound, I'm gonna die, you don't understand, I need it to be the greatest thing I've ever made"

+ Morrissey is one of the first Musicians/Rockstars to come out as Celibate(the lifestyle choice to abstain from sex)

+ Nikki Sixx wrote "shout at the devil" after having a nightmare that the devil was in his house

+ Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbaum was an anthem for members of the Christian Revival Movement of the early 1970s, they called themselves "Jesus Freaks", a lot of them were former hippies who wanted to get clean from drugs/drug abuse and with their new found Faith in God, they were able to, "Jesus Freaks" is still a term that some Christians use these days to describe themselves, whether or not they used to be hippie, I myself(Jimmy) would describe myself as a modern day "Jesus Freak", I've never had drug issues but I have had a hard upbringing/was lost in life before, but thanks to God Almighty, I am Saved and Redeemed

+ Michael Jackson suggested that the band Queen should release "Another Bites The Dust" as a single to promote their album "The Game" back in 1980, it became one of their biggest hits

+ Bryan Ferry said that early on in his career, the reason that he wore Glam/Eccentric Clothing was because he wanted to stand out and show others that it was okay to be different, he also said that the reason he changed his style from "Eccentric to Laid Back/Suave" was because he wanted to show that the older you get, you should also have the dignity to be classy

+ Like A Virgin was written by 2 men, Madonna heard the demo and wanted it to be "her song"

+ The term "Rock N' Roll" was coined by a radio DJ back in the early 1950s

+ Axl Rose's Sister Amy Bailey, is the head of the Guns N' Roses Fan Club

+ David Bowie and Marc Bolan were 2 of the first many Musicians/Rockstars to come out at Bisexual

+ Sid Vicious almost became a saxophone player before becoming the bassist for his best friend Johnny Rotten's band The Sex Pistols

+ Desmond Child, an openly Gay songwriter, helped the band Bon Jovi come up with their sound

+ Morrissey has been fighting for Animal Rights since 1985

+ Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica is also an Animal Lover/Vegetarian and has been a Vegetarian since 1986

+ Paul McCartney gifted Freddie Mercury with a piano, that same piano he played Hey Jude on, Freddie played Bohemian Rhapsody on it

+ both Nick Cave and Mark Lanegan, who were both raised Agnostic, both later on in life became religious, Nick Cave considers himself to be Omnistic, Mark Lanegan considered himself to be a Born Again Christian

+ Pat Boone, a 1950s Singer who considers himself to be openly Christian, is good friends with Ozzy Osbourne, their friendship in the 1980s shocked people because Pat was seen as "The Angel" whereas Ozzy was seen as "the devil", despite this, both Boone and Osbourne believe in Christ, Boone considers himself to be a Christian, Osbourne considers himself to be Anglican(a Christian that is a member of the Church of England)

+ Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads was inspired by Alice Cooper

+ Joan Jett had to start her own record label with her band The Black Hearts because no one wanted to sign them at the time, they kept turning her and her band down, one bastard executive said to her "come back when you're dressed like a lady!"

+ Tina Turner taught Mick Jagger how to dance

+ Let It Be by The Beatles has a double meaning, it's about putting your Faith in Mother Mary during times of crisis as well as a tribute to Paul McCartney's own mother who was also synchronistically named Mary

+ During the 1980s, the Glam Metal Scene which took place on the Sunset Strip, in Los Angeles, California, a lot of Rock Bands would play at the same nightclubs where Drag Shows would happen, because of this, a lot of Musicians and Drag Queens would share make-up and dressing rooms and even some clothing

+ Manchester, England is the birthplace of the MADchester Music Scene of the 1980s and so on, many bands including Joy Division, The Smiths, Oasis and others came from and were formed in Manchester

+ Ian Curtis was trying to imitate Frank Sinatra's voice while recording Love Will Tear Us Apart

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

The Dating Game [Part Three]

Fandom: Harry Potter [Marauders Era]

Pairing: Sirius Black x Original Female Character, James Potter x Original Female Character, James Potter x Lily Evans

Characters: James Potter, Sirius Black, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Dorcas Meadow, Original Female Character, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, Sabrina Lovegood

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3461

Summary: James and Sabrina decide to play the dating game.

Tags/Warnings: Fake Dating, Fake Couple, Kissing, Jealousy, Quidditch, Arguing, Angst, Fluff, Sabrina's outfit inspo

Notes: finally done!

PART ONE // PART TWO // PART THREE

Though James had assured Sabrina not to worry about Sirius he couldn’t help but fret as time drew on without an appearance from his best mate. He didn’t return to the dormitory until well after curfew and when he did he rushed in, climbing into his bed without a word or chance for James to bob his head out of the curtains to check on him. 

Not that he knew what he was going to say. So far his and Sabrina’s little ploy had not garnered the attention either of them wanted but now it was as if they were all playing a game of chicken, the train speeding towards them until one of them gave up the ghost and jumped out the way. That was why James made a resolution, if neither Sirius nor Lily had admitted anything by the end of the week he and Sabrina would have to knock this whole debacle on the head. Not that he got a chance to lay this decision on her though as he had to spend the following morning preparing for the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match. As he walked into the great hall he was met with a sea of red and gold from banners and flags to each house member's jumpers and scarves.  Even Sabrina had opted to adorn her house colours, though he doubted she’d be watching most of the game. 

She offered him a smile as he sat down, and a cheery ‘good luck’ though she looked about as happy as he felt, the worry from last night still on his mind. Sirius didn’t appear until the end of breakfast, only scarfing down a piece of toast before he rose, already in his quidditch uniform, and headed to the door forcing James to finish up quickly so that they could walk down together. And despite neither of them speaking, other than to Peter who had hurried along to head down to the pitch with them though he’d be in the spectator stands, they managed to cinch a win. It was a tough game, with the Ravenclaw beaters intent on scuppering James solely though that was no surprise given how spectacularly he’d played. And he wasn’t too proud to admit that without his best friend he might not have been on such good form because even though he was barely speaking to him Sirius was still there blocking every player and bludger that came for his best pal. 

Sabrina had watched the entire thing, nerves bubbling in her stomach as she watched the boys fly about like ants far above them. She’d fretted all night about Sirius, about the look on his face when he’d seen her kissing James. It looked wounded. 

She hadn’t been sure about the reciprocation of his feelings before which was why she’d thought simply baiting him would work. But she should’ve known. Outside of the suave, debonair, painstakingly handsome teen was a sweet, sensitive man who cared deeply even if he pretended he didn’t. That was one of the things she adored in the first place. She’d bashed him for not being honest when she was just as guilty. So as Gryffindor claimed victory over the Ravenclaw she decided she’d end it, once the celebrations were done. 

And of course Gryffindor went all out on the celebrations. After an outpouring of cheering and merriment on the pitch the students had been shepherded back to their common room, the Gryffindor’s wild with excitement, which was only amped as they found the common room now transformed for a party. Gold and red banners hung from the ceiling, music blared from a record player and food and drink gathered on every free table. There was a lot of recapping, a lot of congratulating from various students who came up to James beaming with house pride, and a lot of drinking which had Sabrina feeling merry even if she was thankful not to be noticed, the attention on her ‘beau’. Even Sirius had consented to cheering up, unable to shake the infectious joy of his team mates, though he stayed by the record player, using the role of DJ as means of avoiding his friends. That being said he had hugged James fiercely as they hit the ground of the pitch, congratulating one another before they were swept up in the crowd.

He was standing there now, beer in hand, chatting to Remus though admittedly he wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation, offering indifferent words or grunts where needed. Instead his eyes kept flicking to where James was sitting on the sofa, his mop of dark hair visible above the back of the couch where he was relaxed, a blonde sitting to his left, her head dangerously close to his friend as she kept leaning in to speak. With every glance his smile chipped away.  Fortunately his attention was diverted as a very merry seventh year drifted over to him, throwing his arms around his shoulders as he said, ‘you’re on the music right?’

‘Yeah,’ Sirius said, fighting the urge to shrug him off.

‘Taking requests?’ he asked, ‘it’s gettin’ a bit morbid in here.’

‘Go on then,’ Sirius said, hoping that would shirk him off.

‘Whack on We Are The Champions,’ he said, before strutting off back to his friends gathered in the corner watching them with anticipation. Sirius rolled his eyes but moved to flick through his stack of LPs anyway until he found the one he wanted, waving off the grumble of the crowd as the music died before being reignited again. 

It was a slow melodic build that was harshened by the seventh year and his friends who immediately jumped in on the chorus as they realised their request had been heard. Soon enough every student in the room was joining in, revelling in their victory as they called out.

 We are the champions  We are the champions  No time for losers  'Cause we are the champions of the World.

James was singing from his seat, his hand in Sabrina’s as the whole couch swayed to the music until they were suddenly pulled up by Marlene and Mary to dance beside the fireplace, huddled in a group of people. James was smiling so hard his cheeks were hurting until Mary smacked him on the arm and said, ‘you should make a speech!’

He glanced at her, finding her brown eyes wide and glinting as the idea set in. He knew it was just a drunken idea but that meant it was something she wouldn't let go of and apparently neither would others as Marlene said, ‘yeah go on Potter!’

‘Nah,’ James laughed, ‘I’m too sozzled for that.’

‘C’mon James,’ Peter encouraged from his other side.

‘Honestly I don’t know what to say,’ James said.

‘Since when do you opt out of a chance to gloat?’ Lily said scathingly from where she was still sitting, legs crossed over one another as she held her glass in hand, staring at it intently as an excuse not to look up.

James swallowed thickly and didn’t reply, his usual repertoire with her feeling empty and awkward now instead of the natural quipping it normally was.

‘Oh go on mate!’ Peter said, nudging his arm, ‘you’re the bloody reason we won.’

‘Yeah Potter!’ Mary said before calling the crowd to attention as she yelled, ‘speech!’

‘Guys,’ Sabrina said, seeing the discomfort in his eyes as all eyes turned to him, some muttering to others to get them to be quiet. James shook his head, waving her off as he knew there was no point fighting his friends.

‘Alright then,’ he said, clearing his throat and grabbing his half-empty bottle as he thought about what to say.

‘Shut it everyone!’ Mary decreed before gesturing that he had the floor. Sabrina slipped her hand into his free one and squoze it reassuringly, receiving a smile in return.

‘Well first I wanna congratulate the whole team for being on top form today,’ James said, looking around at the sea of happy faces. Sirius was standing at the back, watching him with a stony expression that separated him from the pack. Again James’ excitement dimmed but nevertheless he pressed on, unable to keep his adoring fans waiting, ‘without you lot we wouldn’t have won.’

‘Well you helped a bit,’ Peter mused, earning a laugh from everyone that made him beam with pride.

‘Yeah but it’s a team effort,’ James replied, gesturing to the wider crowd with his drink as he added, ‘same with you lot in the stands. Without you there wouldn’t be a reason to try as hard as we do.’

‘Not even to make sure Slytherin doesn’t win the cup?’ someone heckled from somewhere in the room.

‘Well I suppose that’s incentive in itself. Either way we still managed it so thanks and lets have some fun eh? Cheers,’ James said, raising his bottle as a chorus of replies rang out.

‘And let's get thoroughly rat-arsed,’ Mary shouted, earning a louder cheer as she pushed into the room, Marlene trailing behind her as they went for more drinks.

It was a move that knocked Sabrina into James, forcing him to grab onto her so that she wasn’t pulled along or spilled her own drink. She could feel his own bottle in his hand, nestled by her waist, her arm on his bicep as he’d steadied her. She smiled at him and to his disappointment he felt nothing. Nothing more than platonic happiness and looking at him Sabrina felt the same.

‘Well done,’ she said.

‘Thanks,’ James said, leaning further in so that she could hear him over the din of the next song on the record, ‘can’t believe they made me make a speech.’

‘Well at least if this quidditch thing doesn’t work out we know a public speaking career could be on the cards,’ she teased.

‘Oh yeah, next minister for magic I am,’ James grinned. Sabrina smiled back before she sighed. They were having fun but there was no point putting off the inevitable and so she said, ‘James look-’

But James wasn’t listening, he was too busy looking over her shoulder at where Lily had just slammed her drink down onto the coffee table and strode off, shoving through throngs of disgruntled students as she headed for the door. Sabrina whipped her head around and watched her go and before James could stop her she was heading out the portrait hole too, not slowing down as he called her name.

Sabrina had to give it to the girl she was fast. So quick that had she not followed her when she did she wouldn’t have seen the way she turned heading towards the courtyard. Given it was still spring and the night had drawn ever so close the air outside was cold and Lily’s shirt did nothing to protect her from the chill of it. She didn’t even know why she was out here; it wasn’t as if there was anywhere to sit down and she was liable to get cold quickly if she didn’t go back inside. All she knew was that she could no longer sit there watching Sabrina and James cosy up to one another. It made her insides spin and the room much to hot for her liking. That was why she had headed in the direction of a breeze, hoping the cool would clear her head. And it was working well until she heard her name called and turned to find Sabrina standing on the steps of the courtyard, Jamse a few steps behind him and Sirius coming into view just behind him. James glanced at his friend as he appeared but said nothing watching Sabrina and Lily instead.

‘What do you want?’ Lily said, folding her arms across her chest and holding her head high. Sabrina came a touch closer. In her Mary Janes they were almost the same height, looking at each other eye to eye as she stepped onto the cobbled stone of the courtyard.

‘Are you okay?’ Sabrina asked softly.

‘Fine,’ Lily said, glancing at James and tightening her jaw as she felt the sharp sting of tears in her eyes.

‘Are you sure? You run off pretty quickly,’ Sabrina reasoned.

‘Well sorry if I don’t want to watch you snog Potter’s face off,’ Lily said snarkily. At that Sabrina bristled, the original purpose of the prank blaring loud and clear. She had the floor now to just tell the truth and she couldn’t do it, more to the point she was angry at her because of it which was starting to get under her skin as she said, ‘well you were asking me to the other day. Why’s today any different?’

‘Why him?’ Lily shot back, taking Sabrina off guard.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘Out of all the people you could’ve picked to date you picked him,’ Lily said, sounding more upset than she intended, ‘why?’

‘Why not?’ Sabrina replied, ‘James is a good guy.’

‘Did you only just realise that? Because you could have anyone in the school and you picked him after years of being friends with him and no attraction and then boom one day you picked him!’ Lily said angrily.

‘So?’ Sabrina said.

‘It’s weird!’ Lily shouted. James and Sirius were watching on awkwardly now. It was getting more heated and though he couldn’t see Sabrina’s face he could see Lily's and she was getting more upset by the second. He was going to intervene, try and distract some attention to help them both calm down but Sirius put his hand on his arm, stopping him from moving forward. He wanted to hear this explanation.

‘Why do you care?’ Sabrina said, feeling the acceptance coming if she could just push that bit more, ‘I thought you didn't like him.’

‘Of course I bloody do!’ Lily shouted, ‘why do you think-‘

‘I know,’ Sabrina said, cutting her ranting short as her mouth fell agape though she recovered quick enough to say, ‘what?’

‘I know you like him,’ Sabrina said offering her a sympathetic smile, ‘I’ve known all along I was just hoping this would make you realise you did too. Instead of leading him on for the sake of it.’

‘I wasn’t leading him on!’ Lily protested, blushing as Sabrina raised an eyebrow, ‘besides how could you mess with me like that!’

‘It got you to admit the truth didn’t it,’ Sabrina reasoned. Lily sighed.

‘That’s not the…you shouldn’t have done that,’ Lily said sadly.

‘If it makes you feel any better it wasn’t meant to be like this. It was supposed to be a laugh,’ Sabrina said, moving forward to hug her friend loosely, ‘you were just a little more stubborn than planned. I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay,’ Lily said, smiling sadly though she found her eyes trailing over to James who was far enough away he could no longer hear what either of them were saying as evidenced by the panicked look on his face.

‘Maybe now you can stop dancing around the fact that you actually like one another,’ Sabrina said softly, ‘he really likes you Lily.’

‘I really like him too,’ she said, gnawing on her lip nervously.

‘If it makes you feel any better he’s not as big of a prat as he makes out,’ Sabrina quipped.

‘I heard that,’ James said from somewhere close behind them. She didn’t turn but pulled her hand away from Lily to offer him the finger, giggling with Lily before she said, ‘maybe you two should go and talk about it somewhere?’

‘Good idea,’ Lily said, hugging her friend tightly before letting her go and heading up the steps into the castle before they disappeared from view.

Sirius had been watching the whole thing, trying to wrap his head around the entire charade. He barely paid attention to his friends as they left, James offering him an apologetic smile before he disappeared. He was too focused on Sabrina, on the feelings that churned in his stomach at the sight of her. Before this whole thing had started he hadn't been sure he liked her. She was a friend, a good one and considering he and the opposite sex were rarely just friends he wasn’t sure he wanted to meander into that territory and risk mucking things up for something that might be nothing. But seeing her with James had ruined him, sent him almost as mad as it had Lily though he couldn’t quite bring himself to have the same outburst.

If he was a different man, one not raised in expectation and propriety he would’ve rushed to her, told her how relieved he was that she wasn’t dating James and how it was him he wanted her to be with if she would Just let him. If he rid himself of all modesty and decorum he would’ve hit James the moment he saw them together just as he had wanted to. But no, he couldn’t do that.

In fact as she turned round, her face growing surprised as she realised he was there, he couldn’t find anything more to say than, ‘you two aren’t dating.’

‘Nope,’ Sabrina said, coming closer to him.

‘Why lie?’ he asked.

‘It made Lily see sense didn’t it?’ she shrugged. Sirius stood up off the wall he’d been leaning against and advanced towards her until they were feet apart. He wanted to believe that it was just a prank, a joke and nothing more, but he was scared. Scared that in his failure to pursue her properly he'd lost her to someone even if it was supposed to be a sham.

‘Yeah but what if she hadn't got upset. You would've been hurting her and not even know,’ Sirius said, hoping she’d say something that would make him feel better about the hurt in his own chest.

‘I wasn’t going to marry him,’ Sabrina said aggravatedly, ‘we would've fake split up.’

‘And if you fell for each other,’ he challenged, moving closer as if he could spot the lies in her gorgeous blue eyes.

‘Not a chance,’ she said.

‘That kiss looked pretty real to me,’ he challenged.

‘That was only because you were teasing us,’ Sabrina said.

‘Yeah right,’ Sirius scoffed.

‘It’s true,’ she said, earnestly placing her hand on his bicep. Even through his jumper her touch felt like lava, igniting his body on fire in a way that terrified him so he pulled away, trying to push his feelings down or find a way that he wouldn’t have to be honest with her, ‘yeah, I guess. I mean you don’t want to date anyone right? Should've known it was fake.’

 ‘I do want to date. I thought me going out with James would prove that,’ she said, stopping him in his tracks and making him look back at her. His grey gaze was heavy on her face now, making her shift awkwardly as she held her elbow, as if her arm across he could hold her together. That was like music to his ears and yet he was reluctant.

‘Why do you say no to everyone who asks you then?’ he asked puzzled, though her words were music to his ears.

‘Because I don’t want to date them,’ she said, she could feel him being reeled in now, dancing around the topic like James and Lily would. So she needed to be brave. If he couldn’t be honest she’d have to be.

‘But you want to date someone?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ she said, moving towards him so that there was barely a foot between them, her big blue eyes staring at him as she said, ‘someone who gets very irritable about me dating his best friend. Someone who was very intent on watching everyone who asks me out. Someone who doesn’t realise the reason I’m oblivious to that is because I’m too busy ogling him.’

‘What if you and this person don’t work out?’ Sirius asked quietly, his heart singing but his head very much worrying, ‘I mean what if he’s never dated a friend before.’

‘Well then if it doesn’t work out we go back to being friends,’ Sabrina said, moving to wrap her arms around his waist. Sirius sighed, ‘you make it sound so easy.’

‘Oh it's not. I'm no fan of the dating game, believe me,’ she said, leaning in, ‘but sometimes it's worth it for the right person.’

‘Yeah?’ he asked, his hand brushing past her cheek as he moved a lock of golden hair over her shoulder.

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘so c’mon.’

‘What?’ Sirius asked.

‘Are you going to show if you’re a better kisser than Potter or not?’ she smiled.

And with that Sirius black made the final move of the game. 

Sirius Black Tags

@caitlin1996 @imthebadguyyy

[unikittybigbrightworldau]

Citizens of Swan Lake

Let’s twirl on over into Swan Lake next!

Angela is Swanna’s mom and a ballet instructor. She has taught the dance to many students over the years. She’s easygoing and helpful, plus very elegant. Swanna goes to visit her at her studio whenever she can. Christopher, Swanna’s dad, is an expert trumpeter who has played the music for lots of dance productions. Like Swanna, he is quite stylish and experiments with his clothes. There are three things he often wears to represent his family: a bow tie for Swanna (that she made herself), a belt with zig zags on it for Ziggy, and dancing shoes for Angela. He’s quite the go-getter; he puts his all into everything. He and Angela met when they were out running errands.

Ziggy is Swanna’s little brother, and he’s a lot younger than her. His name comes from cygnets. Because he’s a young swan, his feathers are grayer than Swanna’s. He has a huge amount of energy in him. Wherever he is, he’ll zip around the place like a zig zag. He listens to music at full blast. He comes to stay with Swanna from time to time, but he zips around and digs in her stuff a lot, so she has trouble containing him.

Philson Philson, who's commonly called Phil, is an expert on emotions and feelings, as people say. As intelligent and straightforward as he is, though, he doesn't call himself that. He's very knowledgeable about the emotional states of people and how their feelings change. He has trouble wording his sentences every so often. Phil is friends with Dr. Fox's dad, Benton. They met when they started working as ice harvesters, traveling to Ice Cream Land to cut ice and dig up ice cream.

Marmotter, who goes by Armot, is a marmoset/otter hybrid who was friends with Phil in college. Phil majored in emotional psychology while Armot majored in statistics. He currently lives with Phil in his house, and he gets pretty antsy whenever Phil has guests over. He's easily frightened and doesn't do well in crowds, or other spaces where there are many people. Phil is the only person he's seen talking to most of the time.

Lila Fox-Beryl is one of Dr. Fox's cousins. She's a fox/gemstone hybrid who lives by herself. She's got her own sense of style, always trying to pick clothes that match her sparkly crystal half. She has a good memory and helps others remember things. To help people remember their dreams when they wake up in the morning, Lila invented the Sleeper Theater. It's a bed that records your dreams and lets you watch them on a screen.

Odetta Swan is the prime minister of Swan Lake, and she leads the land in her own right. She is known to be one of its most poised people. She has worked for the government of Swan Lake for years. She lives in a huge mansion with the other ministers, or as they're called, her sister swans. She has rather simple tastes, as shown by her everyday clothes, and she's very nonchalant. Siegfried is Odetta's husband who lives with all the lady swans. He's charming and suave, plus very polite, but he's also just as frivolous as she is.

Fiona is a perceptive swan girl who lives near the river harbor. She's always able to tell whenever visitors are sailing in from the river that leads out of Swan Lake. Edmund is her brother. He's full of determination and resolve, but he's easily grossed out. (I should note that in Swan Lake, it's considered proper for everyone to wear clothes.)

[burlveneer-music]

Borja Flames - Nuevo Medievo

He has three brains, a thousand lives, past or parallel, and his name is Borja Flames. Spanish, Parisian, Burgundian, cosmonaut, we don’t know anymore. His head is that of a pope, a king, a lion, a faun or a melancholic centaur. He is well dressed, with pot holes and beard : Merovingian. We knew him in June and Jim of which he was the southern face (the northern hemisphere being Marion Cousin), a duo recently transfigured under the name of Catalina Matorral, real electronic pastoral. We saw him reshuffle his cards for the first time in 2016 with Nacer Blanco, the first album under his name, whose tipsy clocks, totems like the Tower of Pisa and bony madrigals evoked Moondog, Robert Wyatt and the Postman Cheval, one inside the other, helter-skelter. After which Rojo Vivo (2018) a blend of pale house and tenebrous preachings made us fear and pleasure and dance. Nuevo Medievo which appears today (Les disques du Festival Permanent / Murailles Music) is even more beautiful, more striking. From the very beginning, sung on tiptoe, the silvery voice with robotic effects on a synthetic bedside rug spiked with cymbals makes us feel bareheaded in a vast cabinet of stars, we are captivated. There are laser beams, oracle lyrics with vocoder. Paul Loiseau, the Morse drummer, makes the kitchen set sound like an orchestra of stoned calculators, then Borja Flames accelerates the record’s pulse with the diction of a fed-up TV news anchor before a jungle background until Marion Cousin and Rachel Langlais make everything capsize, she of saturnian vocalization, she of a strangely regulated synth. Then on, the hits fall here, there, everywhere, real ones, a shower of asteroids. Negro Negro is suave, mysterious, moving, as surprising as a kiss we no longer expect. We would gladly listen to her only but then comes Magnetismo making us giddy with joy. Then Marioneta, dry and airy as a Sign O’The Times period Prince, which one could dance to endlessly, even alone, head tucked under arm. Nuevo Medievo moves this way throughout, stiff and groovy, cerebral but exploding with dreamy tumors. Powerfully entertaining, filled with odd rhythms, computer choirs, keyboards that slide and are slippery. Nuevo Medievo is a bit reminiscent of the synth-wave scene and 80s Iberian post-punk. It also evokes lo-fi versions of Franco Battiato‘s panoramic SF hits from the album No Time No Space (far away worlds, sound research, fat refrains), Arthur Russel disco, or even Porque te vas, yes yes, Sade, Motown B-sides played at the IRCAM one evening of blunt slackness, Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrel in a full-on slow dance under the anachronistic neon lights of a chicha bar or Blade Runner rushes with the Miami Vice original soundtrack. If Nuevo Medievo, like all of music loving cannibal Borja Flames’ records, summons a certain number of other artists, it does so to organize unexpected meetings between them, and to dissect each one in a scientific, erotic, amorous and gastronomic impulse before freeing himself from them and drawing in all the diagonals of authentically unheard features. Throw him a party. Txt : Sing Sing Translation : Cathérine Hershey Music & Lyrics by Borja Flames. Produced and arranged by Borja Flames with the collaboration of Marion Cousin, Paul Loiseau and Rachel Langlais. Recorded in Lucy-sur-Cure, Cinq-Mars La Pile and Saint-Aubin du Cormier. Mix by Manuel Duval at Grange Cavale. Mastering by Harris Newman at Grey Market. Personnel : Rachel Langlais (synths, vocals), Marion Cousin (synths, vocals, percussions), Paul Loiseau (percussions, vocals, synths), Borja Flames (vocals, guitar, synths, percussions, programming, samples).

[dirtysouthrap]

Piece of Mind is the debut studio album by American rapper Tela, from Memphis, TN. It was released on November 5, 1996 through Suave House/Relativity Records. Production was handled by Tela himself with DJ Slice T, Jazze Pha, T-Mix and Insane Wayne. It features guest appearances from 8Ball & MJG, Crime Boss, South Circle and NOLA. The album peaked at number 70 on the Billboard 200 and number 17 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Its lead single, "Sho Nuff", peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.

sources : ktt2.com, wikipedia

[cyarskaren52]

Shout out to the rappers from Memphis Tennessee

One of the greatest duos in Hip-Hop shook up the rap scene with their thunderous 1993 Suave House Records debut, Comin Out Hard, confirming what underground Memphis rap fans already knew – they were destined for something greater. 

Balancing one another stylistically, with Ball’s vivid storytelling and MJG’s fast, lyrical wordplay, Eightball & MJG have always been top-level emcees with a great sense of musicality. In the early and mid-90s, they were the franchise act for Suave House Records, the most dominant label in the South alongside Rap-A-Lot Records, shaping their sound alongside talented in-house producer (and fellow Mempis native), T-Mix. But Eightball & MJG influence extends well beyond the South, evidenced when they eventually connected for short stints on Diddy’s Bad Boy South label and T.I. 's Atlanta-based imprint, Grand Hustle. 

In the decades since their commanding debut, the Orange Mound vets have remained the same — gifted lyricists with a natural ear for music and an uncanny presence on the mic. Top-level emcees with a lengthy discography that backs up their talent, Eightball & MJG are one of the greatest, quietly influential duos in rap history. 

#26

"SHO NUFF" - TELA FEAT. EIGHTBALL & MJG [BONUS SONG]

Our BONUS SONG pick is a celebrated classic guest spot! Suave House was on fire when these Memphis rap superstars teamed up for this strip club classic.

#25

“RUNNIN' OUT OF BUD” FEAT. KILLER MIKE 

Killer Mike hooked up with his rap heroes on this track from 2007’s RIDIN' HIGH, and shows out on the chilled-out, sampled production from Gorilla Tek. 

#24

"DON'T FLEX"

A club favorite, “Don’t Flex” from their 1999 album IN OUR LIFETIME, VOL. 1 is Ball & G comfortable in their pimped-out element.

#23

"FOREVER" FEAT. LLOYD

R&B crooner Lloyd delivers smooth vocals on the hook, making this a quiet standout on their 2004 effort, LIVING LEGENDS. 

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#22

“PLAYAS NIGHT OUT”

Ball & G were one of the groups that were on the forefront of connecting the dots between the west and south, and “Playas Night Out”  from their second album, ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, is one of the early prime examples. 

#21

"TOP OF THE WORLD"

The title track from their third project is a mid-album banger produced by T-Mix. It ties together the themes of the project while allowing both rappers to shine lyrically.

#20

“NOBODY BUT ME” 

MJG goes off on the last verse of this track from 1999’s IN OUR LIFETIME, VOL. 1, making a case for why he’s one of the most talented rappers to ever do it, recognized or not.

#19

"FOR REAL"

While their first two records established their dominant presence, their third album, ON TOP OF THE WORLD, established Ball & G as top-tier emcees, and over lush T-Mix production, they prove the point on this album highlight. 

#18

“THROW YOUR HANDS UP” FEAT. OUTKAST 

“You wouldn't understand if you stood under it/It’s like the longer I talk to you, the dumber that I get…” So goes Andre 3000’s exceptional verse on the song that finally paired two of the best duos in rap music together. Featured on IN OUR LIFETIME, VOL. 1, “Throw Your Hands Up” was a much anticipated, fun collaboration.

#17

"ALL IN MY MIND"

It isn’t the most popular song on the album but “All In My Mind” is a straight rap-fest, as Suave House labelmates,  South Circle (Thorough and Mr. Mike), engage in a lyrical shoot out over a groove-heavy dark T-Mix beat, trying to outrap the Orange Mound duo. It’s close but Ball squeezes out the victory: “I see 1, 2 shots, 7 cops just to take 8 Ball, 9 witnesses report all the shit they recalled…” 

#16

“PIMP IN MY OWN RHYME"

This wouldn't win a lot of Twitter fans today. Straight Memphis rap shit. T-Mix's production is classic Suave House on this popular favorite from 1995s ON TOP OF THE WORLD.

#15

"DAYLIGHT"

Ball & G have always been great at offering homegrown wisdom and painting vivid life pictures. So is the case on the mellow “Daylight” a favorite from IN MY LIFETIME, VOL. 1.

#14

"THINGZ"

Ball & G return to their roots on this mid-tempo, nostalgic groove from their fifth album, 2000s SPACE AGE 4 EVA.

#13

"COMIN' OUT HARD"

Just as the title indicates, 8Ball & MJG burst onto the scene after years of underground success in their hometown of Memphis with their 1993 debut COMIN' OUT HARD. This track did two major things — declared them as standout emcees and offered a glimpse into Houston-based Suave House Records’ talent pool. 

#12

"PAID DUES"

On IN MY LIFETIME, VOL. 1, Ball & G continue their connection with the Dungeon Family. The album was recorded at the freshly minted Dungeon in Atlanta, and producer Mr. DJ contributed a couple of tracks to the project, including this one, which also features soulful vocals from Cee-Lo.

#11

“9 MILLIMETA BOYS”

Ball & G were young and hungry over classic Memphis-style production.

#10

"PIMPS"

Featured on their 1993 debut, this song is brash and offensive, but it nevertheless stands an early favorite from the duo, showcasing their command for the mic and production talent as they offer completely unfiltered verses. The production cleverly samples “Love T.K.O” and you can hear sprinkles of its influence if you listen hard enough.

#9

“FRIEND OR FOE” FEAT. E-40, MAC MALL, AND BIG MIKE 

One of the best posse cuts of the 90s came in 1995 on Ball & G’s classic third album, ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Bay Area stars Mac Mall and E-40 show up to deliver highly-quotable verses about friendships gone sour, and New Orleans lyricist Big Mike takes the song up a notch with his sing-songy church-ready appearance over T-Mix’s production. But Ball and G steal the show after the hook, particularly MJG with his rapidfire closing verse, which remains one of his best of all-time.

#8

“ARMED ROBBERY” 

Another fan favorite from their early offerings, “Armed Robbery” is vintage Ball &G, going crazy on the self-produced track from their debut that features a killer flip of the "Mission: Impossible" theme. 

#7

"TAKE A PICTURE"

Over slow-rolling, piano-heavy production from veteran Houston producer Cory Mo, Ball & G show pound for pound, they’re still above average musicians, who can command the mic and direct song, decades after they first emerged on the scene. 

#6

"PIMP HARD"

Ball & G always have had an underrated chemistry with superproducer Jazze Pha. That combination yielded some of their most polished hits, including this classic from 2000s SPACE AGE 4 EVA.

#5

"MR. BIG"

Early on Ball established himself as an above average emcee, as is the case on this track from the 1993 album COMIN' OUT HARD.

#4

“LAY IT DOWN” FEAT. THOROUGH AND CRIME BOSS

“Lay It Down” is an early career classic from Ball & G with a feature from Suave House labelmates, Through and Crime Boss. Featured on their sophomore album, ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, the self-produced track remains a standout.

#3

"CANDY"

One of 8Ball & MJG’s most recognizable songs came in 1997 courtesy of their feature on the Suave House compilation, ALBUM OF THE YEAR. The pair offer relaxed, confident verses over the classic Cameo sample. 

#2

"YOU DON'T WANT DRAMA"

After establishing their legacy as one of the most important cultivators of southern rap, Ball & G were looking to expand their sound and impact just as Diddy was looking to tap into Hip-Hop’s newly minted goldmine — Southern Hip-Hop. Diddy already had deep roots in Atlanta and had long been a fan and collaborator with the duo, so the connection made sense, and together they created one of the best songs in the duo's long discography. 

#1

“SPACE AGE PIMPIN’”

One of the most immediately recognizable songs in their lengthy catalog, “Space Age Pimpin’” plays like something you’d hear in the midnight love hour — an explicit version of course. Featured on their third album, ON TOP OF THE WORLD, Ball and G are in tip-top form as they finesse a love interest with smooth, pimped out lyrics over a grinding R&B beat.

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