#that the two iconic trios have a partner in the other

[niluffa]

୨୧ “ 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 ! ”

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 : five times satoru has said your name with different kinds of emotions, and one time he said your name softly.

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 : fluff, friends to lovers, angst, smut, s2 spoilers, sub!satoru, dom!fem!reader, riding, praise, dacryphilia (lots of crying), handjob, two orgasms, creampie, small aftercare

𝐖. 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 8,0k

𝐀𝐔𝐓. 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 : this took a ridiculous amount of time, and i’m still not satisfied with it !! :(

you gulped at the “welcome to jujutsu high” sign standing tall at the entrance of the school you were transferred to just a few days ago. apparently, it was due to your ‘ability to see curses’—mind you, what the hell was a curse anyway?

sure, some strange creatures always kept peeking out from behind the buildings whenever you were on your way to school or back, but you always thought you were just a bit insane. or at least, that’s what your parents, who couldn’t see curses, always told you.

years of therapy that you didn’t even need were hopeless to shut down your worries, and you sometimes wonder if you were just as out of your mind as everybody, even your friends think.

“aliens? cut that crap out, [name]!” they would laugh at you.

the information you have spilled to your therapist somehow reached yaga, the principal of the school you were walking through at the very moment, who wasted no time to reach out to you, happy to explain every one of your questions.

well, he wasn’t exactly happy to realize yet another bright teenager like you will spend years of torture and the burden of being a sorcerer, building up friendships just to watch them drop dead one by one—only to end up like them.

he didn’t tell you that because he knew you were already aware of the amount of pain you would go through once you accepted your position as a student at jujutsu high.

but it was worth a try, right?

you were currently following the principal. he told you to just stay quiet and let him introduce you to your new classmates and future mission partners.

the door into the classroom was slammed open by yaga, and his cold and stoic face matched his deep voice that echoed through the room, “good morning─”

“good morning, sensei!” a white-haired male yells from his seat, his grin spreading from one ear to another. your jaw dropped when you took a good look at him.

he was drop-dead gorgeous.

the iconic glasses he always used to wear were abandoned on his desk to reveal his vibrant blue eyes that could kill by the way they lit up the whole room—which was lowkey a bit creepy. nevertheless, the shade of the blue was just so hypnotic that you couldn’t look away.

the boy’s six eyes immediately get triggered under your stare, and he wastes no time to let his dramatic side out.

“sensei—” the male begins, taking a big inhale, and your face already cringes when you realize his plan is nothing else but to yell at the top of his lungs, “she’s staring!”

the classroom falls dead silent, and you watch the other male with a bun slap the back of the white-haired’s head. the girl next to them sat unbothered, her lips pursing at the awkward silence.

“satoru . . .” yaga warns him, making the boy flinch and shrink back to his seat with a wobbly but embarrassed smile that shows how much he’s prepared for the whole hour of scolding from the principal later.

the older man sighs, “this is your new classmate, [name].”

you stand in front of the board in silence as yaga begins to explain some things that are not related to you—instead, you pay attention to the gazes of the trio you just learned to recognize as your classmates.

a brunette girl on your right, closest to the window. a guy with a bun who was sitting in the middle. and, of course, a white-haired guy closest to the door. maybe that is why your eyes landed on him the second you stepped in.

from what you could tell, the black-haired male held zero judgment towards you by the way he offered you a friendly smile that made his eyes curl into the shape of a crescent moon. he looked kind, and you smiled back.

the girl was questionable at first. she looked up and down at you, and for a second, you were afraid her face would do the twist of disgust, and she would roll her eyes as most of the girls in your school did—but she didn’t. instead, she offered you the same smile the boy on her right did.

the white-haired male—satoru, as yaga mentioned—was a bit different. his reaction was rather interesting. aside from yelling at the top of his lungs that you were staring at him, he did exactly what you expected from the girl on the left.

“[name]?” satoru huffs in annoyance. he stared at you with a pout, his face twisting. but it wasn’t a judgmental twist that would make you burst out in tears and run away from the room—even when you didn’t say a single word, and your voice was still unknown to him.

“i don’t like her,” satoru huffs proudly. the attention he was expecting was far away from reality than he would like to admit. angry look from yaga, an annoyed look from his two other classmates, and a sad look from you.

maybe this was a sign for him to never speak again.

“suguru,” satoru whispered harshly, nudging his elbow into the boy’s side, who was already sending him an ‘are you serious’ look, “back me up!”

suguru clicked his tongue, “raise your hand if you care.”

the silence that fell right after suguru’s words was so damn awkward that even you couldn’t help but feel bad for the amount of embarrassment satoru must have felt after not a single person in the room raised their hand. his head hung low in shame, the sound of his forehead slamming against the desk only making others roll their eyes.

“i apologize for satoru’s behavior, [name]. please, feel free to take a seat.” yaga says, but immediately finds the issue of why you never sat down—the only available spot was right next to satoru. yaga clears his throat.

“suguru? shoko? please,” the principal didn’t have to repeat himself twice for the two of them to nod and switch their seats so that you could be as far as possible from satoru and his bratty personality.

the rest of the class period was quiet, but you could feel satoru’s gaze on you almost every five minutes—just about every time yaga turned his back to all four of you to write something on the board. so as soon as the teacher lifted the piece of chalk to write something, satoru had his head snapped in your direction.

“ignore him,” shoko whispered since even though satoru wasn’t looking at her, his gaze was so easy to pick up that even yaga, who had turned around for a while, knew what was going on behind his back.

after what felt like forever, the class came to an end—that couldn’t be said the same for satoru’s non-stopping stare that went on and on for the past hour without breaking. but once you found the courage to make eye contact with him, he was a long time gone.

you sigh in defeat and wonder if maybe next time you will be able to talk to satoru normally without him him having the need of digging blades into you with his stare.

“hey,” shoko spoke, “can i get your number?”

the weekend followed. you questioned why you had to be transferred to the school on friday and why they just couldn’t let you stay home for the weekend and then show you the school—but who are you to wander into yaga’s office and complain.

when shoko texted you just some location of a random street without telling you any context or clues, anxiety began to rise within your body. funny how a simple “meet us there” was able to shake you up so much.

no, they won’t kidnap you and beat you until death just because satoru was too picky with his choices of making new friends—you had to insure yourself.

“hey, you came!” shoko cheers as soon as you come into her vision, and you tell yourself that it wasn’t so bad, you were just overthinking again. a special habit you had for the longest time, “i’m glad you did.”

suguru nods with that same kind smile and adds, “we were afraid you wouldn’t show up.”

you smiled at their words, genuinely grateful you won’t spend all your sorcerer years as a punching bag for some mean kids who were raised without any sort of manners.

there were two other people, both male. the blonde one introduced himself quietly but with a hint of respect while the brunette one just shook your hand, looking like he was about to burst from having too much energy.

“we’ll go check the movie seats. wait here, okay?” shoko waved, and you nodded, soon enough finding yourself a nice empty bench while the other four entered the movie theater.

the streets were quiet, and you had to admit that it was quite relaxing. not until you heard heavy footsteps and a very familiar voice rushing right in your direction. you cursed under your breath.

“nooo! they went inside already?!” satoru dramatically collapses right next to you, the plastic bag that he was holding landing right on top of your lap. fortunately, none of the things ended up broken.

after satoru was done with his fake sobbing and whining about how he “checked the time multiple times” and “how dare they go inside without him”, he took the bag from your lap to his to open it.

“i’m sorry. about uh,” satoru clears his throat, “yesterday.”

for a second, you froze. apology from satoru gojo himself? oh, you were so flattered you could yell it out from the rooftops. but truth be told, you weren’t affected by his yesterday act at all. maybe that has something to do with your “people’s people” personality.

“oh, no, no!” you wave it off. satoru hears your voice for the first time, and he’s shocked about how sweet and gentle it sounds, “it’s okay, really─”

“no, i’m serious,” satoru cuts you off before you have the chance to rant about how truly you didn’t care and that sometimes, first impressions just don’t go as many people would like them to be, and that’s okay.

“i brought you this as an apology. i hope you like sweets as much as i do!” the sorcerer shoots you the same grin he did yesterday when greeting yaga. “please accept it. it was the last piece.”

satoru hands you a plastic box of edamame and cream kikufuku—a small tag hung from the side of it, and the price that was supposed to be on it was harshly ripped apart so you were unable to tell how much he spent.

you hummed, “thank you, gojo—”

“satoru. please, call me satoru.”

“okay, satoru.” you smile, feeling happy with the whole situation. at first, he was an asshole who looked like he wanted to throw you out of the classroom just because you were breathing, and now, he spent god-knowing how much yen just to buy you an apology gift.

“hey, the movie is starting—oh, satoru!” suguru’s smile got wider at the sight of his best friend and you sitting next to each other, satoru’s favorite kikufuku flavor on your lap.

satoru, immediately after hearing suguru’s voice, grinned and jumped up from his seat. you came running right after them, tightly holding the sweet dessert the white-haired boy had bought you close to your chest as if it was the most precious and important thing in the whole world.

the movie was, in your opinion, boring. supposedly, it was a famous summer horror that your classmates, along with haibara and nanami, wanted to see for the longest time.

the plot wasn’t even that bad, and it had the potential to be interesting if it wasn’t for the poor choice of actors in the movie. the budget was low too, and it showed. so the only thing you really could do was stare at the poor attempts of what was supposed to be a jumpscare.

“oh, man . . .” satoru groaned from beside you and gave in to the impulse thought of spreading his long, aching limbs everywhere they could fit—because he was the strongest, who was gonna stop him when his spreading arms would block their vision of the threader screen?

“this movie is boring!” the sorcerer was now spread all over his seat, your seat, and also you. the boy takes good notice of how you didn’t even look at him when his legs landed right on your lap and how you continued to stare at the screen with a blank expression.

satoru decided to push his luck to spread out even more than he already was. but this time, his head took the place of his legs—right on your lap. finally, you did look down at the recognition of something shaped like a head, and you smiled when you saw the white-haired boy grin up and you.

what you didn’t expect was when satoru’s thumb rose to flick his own forehead multiple times, mentioning for you to kiss the spot he had touched just now. and you listened. bending down a bit, your hand removed all the bangs his hand wasn’t able to scoop, and your lips contacted the skin of his forehead.

“didn’t know you would fall so easily, [name]!” satoru says teasingly, followed by a genuine chuckle. his toothy grin shoved appearance again, and you bit down your lip so as not to burst out laughing and ruin the movie experience for the other people.

a quit flash of a camera, “cut it out, lovebirds,” shoko had to lean over to whisper from her seat so that the guy, who was already glaring at her for taking a picture in the threader, wouldn’t bash her out.

“get a room, you two!” suguru chuckled from the other side and watched both of your faces catch an adorable shade of pink that would be hard to get rid of once the same thing might happen later.

because satoru is definitely getting another kiss from you.

“ew! look how ugly that is!” riko squeaked out of disgust, pointing at a strange-looking creature that desperately tried to bury itself back in the sand before another wave of ocean water arrived and filled the hole again.

the worm-like creature kept digging even after many failed attempts to disappear from the hungry seagulls who kept circling above the four of you for the past half hour.

“ew!” your boyfriend yelled, voice high-pitched when he burst out laughing at the poor animal trying, but failing, to borrow itself away from the flying predators, “don’t worry, princess!” he jumps in from of you, “i will protect you from that gut-wrenching alien!”

“it’s a sea cucumber,” you deadpan, watching suguru and riko chuckle at satoru’s reaction—which was giving you a long face before letting his head fall in defeat, close to throwing a tantrum, “help it, satoru.”

“you’re no fun!” the boy huffs but listens to you anyway. his colossal hands dug deep into the sand, and once reaching a good size, satoru stared at you in silence.

“what?” you question.

“come put the thing into the hole.” satoru gulps, wondering if you’re playing about being clueless about what he wants you to do, or if you’re dead serious.

“why?” you question again.

“it was your idea!” satoru yells. his voice held nervousness and more cracks than the strongest would like to admit.

“don’t tell me you’re scared.” you tease, earning a chuckle from suguru who leaned over your ear to whisper, “oh, he definitely is.”

satoru gasped, “no way!”

“just admit it, i won’t laugh—” you get cut off, needing to bite your lip in order not to burst out laughing because the strongest is afraid of a little sea cucumber.

“you’re already laughing!” the white-haired boy protests, pointing at you with one of his long and slim fingers that he didn’t dare to wrap around the animal.

you roll your eyes at the sorcerer and decide to put the situation into your own hands. so easily, you pick up the marine creature and put it into the hole that your boyfriend has dug. he, immediately, throws the leftover sand back at the sea cucumber right before another wave could come.

“i don’t want to see that alien near me ever again!” satoru made a fake gagging noise, holding you by your shoulder so that you won’t have the audacity to run away and find yet another sea cucumber—and maybe even chase him with it.

the sun began to set soon enough. the seagulls were gone, no longer praying on the poor sea cucumber. riko was wet from being thrown into the ocean water by satoru, and you and suguru spent a lot of time building a perfect sand castle. in secret, suguru would peek around, making sure all four of you were safe, and nobody was here to take the star plasma vessel away.

“we should go back,” suguru suggested, dusting his hands to get rid of the leftover sand he used to build a sandcastle. you nod at his words, turning around to call out for the two other idiots who are still in the water, “satoru! riko!” you yell, catching both of their attention.

satoru stuck out his tongue at the young girl before using his long legs to reach out to you and pick you up without effort. “you look ridiculous!” you squeaked. the leftover sunscreen that didn’t sink into his skin was decorating his cheeks and nose, making him look paler than he already was.

“back we go!” satoru yells, rushing past his best friend to be the first one to reach the hotel—with you still in his arms, looking like a princess the way he was holding you.

by the time satoru sets you down, you’re already in your hotel room. exhausted, you collapse on the bed, “i’m going to take a shower,” you mumbled into the sheets before you picked yourself up and grabbed your towel.

“alright, princess!” satoru grins from behind you, sending you a small wave before you disappear into the bathroom of your hotel. the sorcerer could finally let his grin drop, the same exhausted collapse on the bed following his mind.

but he couldn’t. he had to stay up for the sake of riko. even if it meant another sleepless night would have to haunt the already tired sorcerer. he was the strongest, after all. one night without sleeping won’t kill him.

“satoru?” you call out, confused. the room was empty by the time you stepped out of the shower—no sight of your boyfriend. your footsteps were quiet as you moved down the hall, only to find satoru sitting in the lobby alone.

you kneel in front of him, “you should sleep.”

“can’t,” satoru hums, “too dangerous.”

you sigh at his words. the whole star plasma vessel thing was fucked up and already made your head ache. and the fact you had to watch your boyfriend’s eyebags grow by each day wasn’t helping.

“don’t worry about me, [name],” satoru assured you as if reading your mind, voice visibly tired as he spoke.

“i’ll still worry about you,” you begin, placing a soft peck on his lips, “but i’ll let it go. just . . . don’t exhaust yourself too much, okay?” you blink up at him, and for the last time this long night, he shot you his iconic toothy grin.

you waved at him, ready to turn around and leave—as you were grateful he was sacrificing his own sleep hours so that you could have yours. not until you heard his sweet voice.

“don’t forget to dream about me!”

the first thing in the morning was your boyfriend clinging to your arm, asking: “did you dream about me?” with a pout and puppy eyes that begged you to play along and say—

“yeah,” you ruffle his hair, “i did, ‘toru.”

satoru does a girlish gasp, covering his open mouth with both of his hands like a high-school girl—partly mocking sweet riko, who was eyeing him from the other side of the public plane.

your boyfriend stuck out his tongue, earning a smack from suguru, “cut it out, satoru.”

satoru’s reaction was a huff and dramatic snap of his head towards your direction. you, too busy looking out of the window, didn’t notice his glare. offended by your “not on purpose” ignorance, satoru let out an even louder, and more dramatic huff.

“do you need something, satoru?” you ask, finally tearing your eyes from the amazing view you got from up here.

“your attention?” satoru grins, and once hearing your heavy sigh, he knew he won. spreading himself all over the place, his head landed on your lap just like it did the first time in the threader. the memory almost brought tears—

“hey!” suguru yells, eye-widened, “get your feet off me!”

you lean forward to take a better look, almost bursting out laughing. in order for satoru to place his head on your lap and fit into his seat at the same time, his long legs spread all over his best friend’s lap. poor suguru, of course, didn’t appreciate that kind of behavior.

“deal with it,” satoru mouths, fixing his glasses by using his middle finger to push it further up his nose—flipping off his best friend in his favorite way. suguru stared back at him in disbelief, shaking his head with squinted eyes.

satoru didn’t take his legs off suguru for the rest of the flight, and the other male had to just suck it up and let you and your boyfriend have a romantic moment. but suguru would lie if he said he wasn’t irritated by satoru’s smug grin when you massaged his scalp.

the strongest didn’t have to watch his buddy’s angry stare ever since he drifted off, leaving satoru and you alone for a few hours.

“princess?” satoru spoke, and even when he likes to bother his best friend any chance he gets, his tone is quiet, not to disturb his sleep. you hum, and he continues, “i love you.”

your eyebrows furrowed, “i love you too . . . is everything okay?” you ask just in case, not expecting him to say something so casual with such a strange expression.

for a second, satoru freezes. your eyes were so soft while you waited patiently for his answer, not rushing him and expecting an answer right away just like everybody else in his life did. he was the strongest, right? what took him so long to answer such a simple question?

“everything’s fine,” satoru assured you, but you didn’t fail to notice the desperate squeeze he gave your hand. your hand sent a squeeze back, and the boy relaxed back into your lap, nodding, “promise.”

“take a nap, okay?” you suggest. the flight will last longer than all of you thought it did, and a little taste of sleep did sound nice—satoru thought it through and nodded.

satisfied by his choice of answer, you shifted yourself a bit lower to give the sorcerer more room to fully relax. he was grateful that you didn’t want him to wake up with an aching neck and burning spine.

and trust me, he did thank you by the time all of you woke up and stepped out of the plane. but now, as you walked up the many stairs of the jujutsu high, your legs ached for just a quick break.

“so─many─stairs!” you huff and take a step up with every pause, earning a shit-eating grin from your boyfriend who was able to walk up multiple stairs at once without even breaking a sweat.

“we’re almost inside the jujutsu high’s barrier,” suguru says out loud, and you wish you could just tell him that the fact he just mentioned didn’t help your aching legs or your tired brain that was overthinking all flight after satoru fell asleep.

speaking of satoru—he kept grinning all the way upstairs, never once leaving your side. as if he wanted to watch you suffer with each step.

“i could always carry you, you know?” satoru’s annoying grin got wider, if that’s even possible, as he was eager to watch your reaction. you, of course, turned him down.

the second you pass the last stair, you bend over to catch your hands on your knees. the way you gulped and gasped for air made suguru laugh as he praised everyone for making it to the top.

your eyes rolled back in “pleasure” when the jujutsu high barrier’s cold air made contact with your sweaty skin, and you sighed in relief. the only thing you needed right now was a cold shower.

the comforting feeling left as fast as it came when a warm liquid splashed your cheeks. horrified, your eyes shifted to your left to find the source—only the find your boyfriend with a sword pierced through his torso.

“satoru!” a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the whole jujutsu high campus called out his name, and suguru wasted no time to rush to you, who were already running to your boyfriend.

suguru’s curse was quick to send the attacker away, but when you reached out to help satoru, his palm stopped you right away. “i’m fine,” he smiled, acting like his uniform was not completely soaked in blood.

you were still in shock, unable to choke out anything “just ‘cause your boyfriend was fucking stabbed in front of you and his blood was on your face.” satoru felt bad for the scene he caused—even suguru and riko were worried.

“[name],” satoru said sternly, one hand cupping your cheek to fully ground you into listening to his words. which were, according to him, very important, “you and suguru, take riko and flee. i’ll finish him off.”

you wanted to slap satoru—scream and yell at him for how insane he must have to be to just tell you to leave him all by himself while you, suguru, and riko ran to safety. but then again, he was the strongest. who were you to argue with someone like him in a situation like this?

so you nodded, took riko by her arm, and together with the other sorcerer that was already waiting for your lead, you ran. there was only one thing you could do—believe in him.

“believe in the strongest,” you have told yourself, having enough faith in satoru to let him fight someone who was able to trick his infinity and land a perfect stab that made the time itself pause, letting everybody process that fact.

satoru would laugh, “a perfect stab? he wasn’t even able to hit my fetal organs!” you could already imagine the cocky grin he would shoot you just to make you feel less worried.

but now, the strongest has been announced dead.

the moment those words reached your brain, you were already thrown to the ground with a gun pointing at your motionless body. you could pick yourself up and continue the fight—but what was life without satoru, the only thing that made your life as a sorcerer not so miserable?

your face was still covered in satoru’s blood, which was now dried up. even while finding the motivation to raise your hand and clean your skin, the blood was simply too hard and stuck to your face.

your cheek lay against the cold concrete as you didn't have the energy to get up from the position the man had thrown you into. now, you were basically forced to watch suguru’s curses destroy the temple in the hope of killing whoever started this.

but is this what you really wanted? was this something that satoru would wish you to do? lay down and hear suguru’s screams whenever he got slashed across the chest, or even slammed into the hard walls of the buildings?

maybe you did consider yourself useless, but against the man who killed satoru gojo himself, everybody was—even suguru. but the difference is that he didn’t give up. hearing his best friend die stung, and so did the death of riko when he watched a bullet fly straight into her brain and watch her drop dead right in front of him. but suguru dusted himself off and kept fighting.

but by the time you somehow managed your shaky arms to support your weight to sit up, the man was gone—and so was riko’s body. you were useless to protect the girl and fight against the enemy.

the least you could do was limp all the way to suguru and help him reach shoko in time. you already lost one fucking important person in your life and you were sure as hell not gonna lose another one. so you ignored the burning feeling in your legs and dragged the male to shoko.

during suguru’s treatment, you stayed quiet. the cold wall that pressed against your back triggered every one of your nerves—if that was even possible, considering the fact that your whole body had been shut down the moment you received the news about satoru—but you were too weak to even pull away.

“[name],” yaga’s voice shook you out of your thoughts, disoriented eyes weakly lifting to meet his, “satoru’s alive.”

star religious group facilities—you never ran so fast in your life like you did right now. from one place to another, you cursed yourself for the members who have built some many of these places, as if one wasn’t enough.

“slow down!” suguru yelled. you didn’t listen, jumping off one of his curses to reach another building where you were supposed to meet satoru. so far, it was no good, and both of you were unable to spot the familiar white hair you grew to love.

the door was harshly torn open, and you were ready to let out a disappointing whine at the lack of people in the room. the thought was far from reality.

a bright room filled with hundreds of people, all dressed in white. the clapping sound of their palms directly hitting against each other made your ears ring. even suguru, who was peeking out from behind you, began to worry at your reaction.

the room went quiet when your eyes landed on the tall man walking right towards you. people didn’t stop clapping, and suguru’s mouth moved but no words came out.

there he was─the strongest, alive.

“you’re late, suguru, [name] . . .” satoru’s tone had caught you off guard. he sounded so emotionless, and his stare was blank, not a single ounce of his personality showing. the light in his eyes died too, making you choke up a sob you didn’t dare to release.

there was no need to cry. satoru was right in front of you, alive. his heart was beating, and every fetal wound he had back then was gone.

“should we kill these guys? the way i feel right now, i doubt i’d feel anything about it,” satoru asks. you froze, blinking.

the strongest was far away from being fine. later that day, all three of you returned home with a new kind of trauma that would haunt you for the rest of your life. but that was the life of a sorcerer. helping the weak and taking all the burden on yourself so that others don’t have to.

satoru was a bit shook up, only capable of creating a small form of sentences—a good start. but in the morning, he’ll be the same sunshine as he always is. that was all you could think about as you dragged your soap-covered hands up and down satoru’s back, watching all the blood fall by your feet and drench somewhere into the sewers.

shoko had already cleaned you up, but when satoru was already fast asleep in the comfort of his bed, you stayed up all night to dig your fingers into your skin in the hope of getting rid of the feeling of satoru’s blood on your face.

something like this will never happen again—you swear.

“great. now you need to add—” whatever came out of the woman’s mouth next was just blurred-out words—good for nothing sentences as you stared at the burnt pancakes with horror in your eyes.

months passed since the star plasma vessel accident, and you have grown more comfortable. satoru has been doing better too, not affected by the past events anymore.

now, you stood in the middle of the jujutsu high dorm’s kitchen. the food you have been currently working on has been burned into near ashes, making you question your cooking skills.

soon enough, you grew tired of the smell and decided to clean up so the other students wouldn’t have to work in a mess you created by your poor attempt at the evening snack.

you left the window open just in case your nose got too used to the smell, and the others would have different experiences with the terrible smell—avoiding scolding from yaga, who would never allow you to cook again. even if it meant for you to starve.

but when you returned to your dorm room, your moment of peace and quiet didn’t last as long as you wanted it to be. a small and almost shy knock came from the direction of the wooden door. too curious to ignore the person and throw yourself on the soft cushions of your bed, you rushed to answer whoever was waiting outside.

you were shocked to make eye contact with satoru, whose teary eyes and irregular breathing hinted to you he was on the verge of a panic attack—your thoughts were confirmed when a heart-breaking sob left escaped his mouth.

“h-he left . . .” satoru whispered, lips trembling. before you were given the chance to ask something, you watched him gasp for air with a pained expression, “he fucking left me!”

you stood frozen—who left? you don’t recall any news from yaga that was more recent than a few weeks ago. through the months of being a sorcerer, you never experienced the loss of someone who would decide to leave the school.

perhaps you misunderstood, and satoru was hinting at some random friend of his that he had never mentioned before. maybe they passed away, leaving your boyfriend shaking and in tears as he knocked on your door. but even then, whose absence could affect him this much?

“suguru!” satoru sobs as if he had taken your confused face as a hint for him to explain. unfortunately, his brain was mush at the moment, and the only thing he wanted to think about was getting rid of all the sadness—with your help.

“suguru? what do you—satoru, don’t . . .” you slurred out when you felt his hand weakly tug at your pants, and you immediately knew what his intentions were. you couldn’t allow him to trust you with removing his sadness, not when it involved a still unknown situation with suguru.

“p-please! please, please, please!” satoru sobs, even louder than his first try was. obviously, he wanted you to pity him and give in to drown him in the pleasure he needed so badly.

you shook your head, sternly stating: “satoru, no.” but his loud cries never died down—in fact, they only increased at your rejection. he just wanted for you to let him escape reality, so why did you keep saying no?

satoru fully broke down, hugging your waist from his kneeling position as if his life depended on it. “n-need you, please. just this once . . .” the puppy eyes he had given you was something he used only to really convince you to do something. but even then, he never used it in a serious situation like this.

“not right now, satoru,” you slowly lift him up, forcing small steps out of him before he collapses on your bed, “you’re in pain right now, you don’t realize what you’re saying. by the time you sober up, you’ll regret what you’ve asked for . . .”

the strongest shook his head and kept clinging to you like a baby koala, too afraid to face the reality of the world. what you were saying was true, and satoru’s actions weren’t as healthy as they sounded—but why did it hurt this much?

“b-but—” satoru gasps at the lack of oxygen in his lungs when he tries to confront you about whatever is happening right now but fails to do so, sobbing with frustration, “just this once . . . all i’m asking for—please!”

you weren’t sure for how long you could keep up with your rejecting act—you wanted to take away all of his problems and satisfy all his fantasies that currently fogged up his mind, so when he blinked up to you with those pretty long white lashes, you gave in with a sigh. “just this once, ‘toru.”

you gently laid him down, using pillows and blankets to make a spot comfortable enough to let him fully sink into the moment. satoru, carefully picking, chose a safeword in case the moment wasn’t as dreamy as he expected it to be.

everything was fine. satoru gave you his consent multiple times to the point he thought you were planning to edge him the whole night—tears appeared in his eyes again.

the first kiss of the night was gentle, mostly just helping to distract satoru when your hand traveled all the way down in order to wrap around his graciously pretty cock. you coo at his whimpers, “i know, i know.”

satoru moaned the second you gave him a few testing pumps, looking out for any sight of discomfort or pain.

“more,” the white-haired boy whispers when he decides the stimulation of a few “testing” pumps isn’t enough, and he wants the full experience that you were willing to give him. so carefully, your wrist moved faster.

everything was spinning. getting so much movement on his poor virgin cock from something else that wasn’t his own hand when he jerked off was a different feeling—a new kind of feeling that satoru began to like more and more.

when you increased the speed to keep the pleasure going, your thumb accidentally brushed over his tip. you mentally slapped yourself, noting to be careful next time. but satoru didn’t seem to mind. not when his back arched off the bed with a loud mewl escaping his lips.

“oh, you liked that?” you cooed at him and repeated the same process of rolling your finger over his tip. satoru’s reaction was the same, just slightly more intense with the way his cock shamelessly released an impressive amount of pre-cum.

satoru kept liking all the interactions you had with his cock so far, so the level of enjoyment didn’t decrease once your hand moved faster with the help of the sparse liquid.

the rest of his shaft became wet and slippery, basically letting you just guide your fingers to the tip before letting them fall down to the base. somehow, the movements seemed to trigger something inside the sorcerer when a fucked-out giggle left his throat.

“s-so good—it’s so good!” satoru hiccups between his words, mainly babbling to himself. and truth be told, he didn’t really care if you thought his behavior was weird. fortunately for him, you weren’t one to judge, not in a moment like this, and you kept going.

your hand shifted in different ways, looking out for places that were more sensitive than others in a way satoru could not describe. the male took an immense liking to the area near his tip, or even the tip itself—you noted and kept stimulating the same spot that made his eyes roll.

“c-close!” satoru’s tone was almost shy as he spoke. the familiar burning feeling inside his stomach rose at a rapid speed. he began to squirm underneath you of the sudden pleasure that harshly flexed his tummy, “g-gonna cum!”

“mhm,” you were quick to coo at him with small kisses all over his face. but your innocent touches failed to distract satoru’s attention from your brutal strokes of his cock that were successful to send him over the edge.

“c-cumming!” satoru’s voice was high-pitched before his orgasm washed over his body for the first time of the night. when his release landed all over his tummy, you hummed a praising sound that left the sorcerer trembling. but it was not enough. satoru wanted more.

you checked up on him, making sure he was alright after such an intense orgasm that looked almost painful in a way you couldn’t describe. oh, if only you knew how much pleasure he was in—you would have kept going without a question or pause.

“are you okay, sweet boy?” your gentle voice made satoru feel like he was floating somewhere in heaven. somewhere far away from all the pain and the burden of the world he had to carry as the strongest. especially after failing to protect so many people in his life.

satoru choked on his own sob, and his face was quick to twist from extraordinary pain at the memory from earlier. you still didn’t know what was happening because if you did, suguru would have ended up with a few broken bones for hurting his best friend in such a cruel way.

but you didn’t know, not yet. so you held satoru close to your chest in an attempt to soothe his cries. you’ve already told yourself the session was over when the male shook in your arms from the mix of his orgasm and whatever happened between his and suguru.

but to your surprise, satoru didn’t take this as the end. no, he craved—“o-one more . . . please!” he whimpered against your chest with teary eyes tightly shut. he didn’t want you to see him like this. not when he was so vulnerable.

something about the way satoru kept clinging to you as if you were to disappear made your eyes soften. the sorcerer was so close to escaping the misery that you couldn’t just decline now. with a sigh, you nodded.

satoru expected another handjob—that’s why he kept his eyes shut and let you shift positions so that you could get the work done easier. but when he felt something warm lowering itself on his cock, he gasped.

“shhh,” you whisper, cradling his head back to the original position on your chest before satoru can do it himself. if he knew that knocking at your door with tears in his eyes would lead to you riding him, he would have much sooner.

the moment you were adjusted to his size, your hips began to rock themselves against his. you moved slowly, carefully dragging whimper after whimper from the boy underneath you, who was currently staring at you with blown-out eyes.

you were a goddess to satoru—you had to be. the way you gently caressed his hair, the way you prepped small kisses on his face, the way you moved slowly so that satoru could preserve every roll of your hips.

right now, he wasn’t the “god” who shifted the balance of the world due to his birth. in this situation, you were.

satoru broke down crying, but what he admired the most about you was that you didn’t stop. long ago, he told you to keep going, that he’s okay because he wants this. and you listened to him, not daring to pause your movements.

the boy whispered something, but it was faint. you weren’t able to pick up a single word he tried to say, feeling bad for not being able to respond to him—solid proof that you’re listening. but satoru was too deep into this, and thanks to his constant babbling, you were able to hear his thoughts.

“d-don’t leave . . .” satoru whispered, a bit louder than last time. it was still uncharacteristically quiet for somebody like him, but you were lucky for this position to give you better access in order to hear him.

satoru sobbed this time, fingers digging into every inch of your skin that he could reach. at this point, he was basically dragging you down with him, and you weren’t even allowed to rise yourself anymore to properly ride him.

the strongest, for the first time in his life, was terrified. he was too shaken from the events earlier, and the thought of you following the same path as suguru made him shake in terror. he couldn’t let you leave, not now.

“p-please don’t leave!” satoru wailed, “n-not you! anyone but you! i-i can’t—” his sobs continued on, and on for quite a while, and your hands ended up cupping his tear-stained red cheeks.

“i’m not leaving. you know i won’t . . .” you whisper. one of satoru’s hands flew to yours, weakly interlocking his pinky with yours.

satoru sniffed, “promise?” he could only choke out much, his throat raw from the previous breakdown—not like he cared either way, he was just too tired to try to get his voice to work normally. you nodded, “promise.”

that’s all it took to make satoru’s grip on your skin loose. he no longer held onto your shoulder with a death grip like you were to get up and leave, no. he allowed you to move after you made your promise of not leaving him.

satoru had to choke up another sob when your hand moved to catch his, bringing it up to your lips. you took your time with the kisses, making sure to leave no place untouched.

his knuckles were white from the grip he had on the sheets, or maybe even your skin earlier. you weren’t sure which one was it, since both of them were pretty brutal and made the skin over his bones look paler than usual.

when your lips moved to his palm, you noticed a fresh open cut. the wound held a shape of thin lines that looked almost way too familiar to his fingernails. you took a mental note to ask about it later—once he’s mentally ready.

you placed the last kiss on the nail on his middle finger that held an unhealthy color due to being squeezed for too long. whatever happened with him and suguru, if satoru thought about using that technique, it must have been serious.

satoru was too deep in his thoughts by the time your hips started to move again. the feeling of your slow movements made his eyes roll back to the back of his skull. he thought you being rough with him would be the best option for his brain to shut down—but once tasting the gentleness from your slow pace, satoru chose a winner.

“you’re doing so good, pretty boy. keep breathing through your nose,” you praise him, knowing it will catch his full attention before taking the opportunity to remind him to breathe properly, not wanting his sobbing mess to catch another near panic attack.

satoru blinks up at you through those long, white eyelashes that are soaked and stuck together with his tears. his blue eyes look majestic—they always do, but now, they are just so pretty and glossy from the salty liquid on his waterline.

every time your hips rose before slamming down, the tears threatened to escape. whatever it was rolling down his red cheeks or falling on his thighs, satoru struggled to keep them stay in place.

“i-i tried to stop him—” you carefully listened to his words as he did his best to speak through his heavy breathing of his incoming orgasm, “i really did! b-but he—oh god!” his words were cut where you sped up the pace.

“you did well,” you whisper, being gentle as ever when placing a soft kiss near his ear. “i don’t really know what happened between the two of you,” you admit, ignoring satoru’s high-pitched noises as he began to claw at your skin when his tummy begins to flex again.

“but i know you did a fucking good job,” you finish, and he does too. satoru screams into your shoulder that had been marked with his well-kept nails, sobbing along his release. you kept stroking his hair, feeling his cum fill you up.

the milky ring appears soon enough, and your hips finally come to a stop. satoru didn’t complain this time, letting you coo at him and whisper sweet nothing’s into his ear. telling him what a “good boy” he was, and how he “took it so well”

he didn’t feel so miserable now. the memory of suguru’s back turned to him as he walked out of his life will never leave his mind. it will never not haunt him everywhere he goes—the burning feeling inside his chest will forever stay.

but somehow, he couldn’t think about it when your gentle touches were pulling him to cloud nine. the way your hand caressed his thighs while the other one dragged the wet towel to clean up the mess you two made while his head was gently placed upon your pillow gave him butterflies.

the lipgloss he always wore was dried out now, making the skin feel weird and wobbly. but satoru found the strength to tear his lips apart and say what he wanted you to know.

“[name] . . .” satoru whispered softly, “thank you.”

[yourlocaltrashcan657]

Ball in Sina

WARNING: mild spice scene at the end.

“A gathering in Mitras?” Levi asked as he grabbed his tea cup. “No chance.”

“When you’re from a place like the Underground, you don’t really get opportunities like this.” Y/N said. “It’s still a no though, Erwin.”

“There’ll be a great impact if both of you arrive. Humanity’s Strongest Soldiers arriving at a fancy party of higher ups will be good for the Survey Corps.” Erwin explained.

“It’s a fancy gathering, we have no interest in these things.” Levi muttered as he looked at his twin sister.

”Most of its going to be those Unicorn Pricks and that one Drunk Garrison guy.” Y/N said. “Unless we’ve been invited we’re not going.”

Just as Y/N said that, Erwin pulled out a letter from his right pocket and opened it up. Clearing his throat he began to read out a section of the fancy handwriting on the paper.

“You are allowed to bring one guest with you, whether it be a friend, partner or an acquaintance.” Erwin quoted before looking at the duo.

”That means only one of us is going.” Y/N said before leaning against the wall behind her.

”Hange also received an invitation, not so sure why..” Erwin explained, mumbling the last bit. “Hange already decided to take one of you so that all four of us can come.”

”Can’t Mike go with you?” Levi asked as he sipped on his tea.

”He’s busy with paperwork and so is Nanaba, and Gelgar, along with all of the other Captains…” Erwin mumbled. Suddenly Hange bursted into the room with the same letter in her hands.

”GOOD AFTERNOON! Hello Erwin, Y/N and Levi!” Hange happily said as she waved the letter in her hands.

”Good afternoon Hange.” Erwin formally greeted whereas the two Ackerman siblings stayed sat down, silently.

”Has Erwin told you about the invitation?” Hange asked happily.

”Yes, he has Hange.” Y/N answered causing Hange to grin mischievously. “Now we’ll just have to choose partners, but honestly I don’t care who I’ll end up with.”

”I’ll go with Levi!” Hange happily said as she turned towards him. “Hey Levi did you know-“

”No. Shut up.” Levi quickly said, shutting Hange from blabbering.

”That means you and me Y/N.” Erwin said. “It’ll be a party in Mitras so we’ll have to be formal. The party will take place next week on Sunday, a carriage will arrive at roughly 5 o’clock so we should arrive in half an hour. Any questions?”

”Just one. How did Hange get an invitation but Humanity’s Strongest Soldiers didn’t?” Y/N asked.

”I.. do not know that.” Erwin said as the trio looked at Hange, awaiting for an answer.

”Why’re you looking at me for?! I didn’t think I’d get invited to Mitras either, okay?!” Hange exclaimed.

As the week went by, eventually the time came for when the four higher ups would travel together for the party. Erwin wore a dark royal blue suit with a red tie. Levi wore his iconic black suit and stood beside Erwin in his office.

”Do you know when Y/N or Hange will be coming.?” Erwin asked as he checked the time awkwardly.

”No.” Levi bluntly said.

Suddenly the door opened and revealed the two scouts, dressed in their formal attire. Hange had worn a suit as well, claiming the suit looked to fabulous and had to be shown off. Y/N wore a black dress which flowed nicely as she walked towards them. (You can decide what it looks like)

”I-is everyone ready?” Erwin said as he quickly looked away from Y/N.

”Let’s get going already.” Levi said as he got up and saw the fancy carriage outside of the building. “The carriage is here too.”

Quickly rushing out of the building and into the carriage, they sat down and set off to Mitras. The journey was long so Erwin began to talk with Levi about upcoming expeditions whilst Hange mentioned her Titan experiments and theories to Y/N. Soon, the carriage arrived in Wall Sina, right in front of the very building in which the grand hall was located.

Stepping out the carriages, Erwin helped Y/N out like the gentleman he was before offering his arm for her to hold onto, in which she accepted.

”You look quite stunning today.” Erwin whispered in her ear as they walked slowly.

”Thanks you, you look rather… nice.” Y/N mumbled as she walked beside him. Walking into the hall, to the side was a large table in which expensive food was laid out along with sweet dishes and other grand things. There were multiple round tables which could fit up to 8 people and in the middle of the hall was nothing for it was space for guests to dance with one another, whilst a band played music in the corner of the hall.

”When you said it was fancy.. I didn’t expect this Erwin.” Y/N confessed as her hands fell to her sides.

”This is Wall Sina I guess. Even I didn’t expect it to be this luxurious.” Erwin said as he looked around before meeting eyes with Nile.

”Oh great, the thin moustache bastard..” Levi muttered under his breath.

”You’ve met him before?” Hange asked quietly for once. “You must know how much of a pain he is then.”

“I have but Y/N hasn’t, he’s a real dick alright.” Levi mumbled before turning away. “Shit, he’s coming towards us.”

”Erwin, good to see you.” Nile said as he reached out to shake Erwin’s hands. “Glad you could make it.”

”Happy to be here, Nile.” Erwin replied as he shook his hand. “Who’d you bring with you?”

”Oh just a cadet from the Military.. I see Captain Levi is with you.” Nile said as he frowned at Levi glaring at him.

”Actually he’s Hanges partner for tonight. Tonight I brought along Y/N, she’s Levi’s sister.” Erwin said as he placed an arm on he back.

”Good Afternoon.” Y/N said as she looked towards Nile and reached out to shake his hand. Blush evidently spread across Nile’s face once he saw Y/N but quickly took her hand and kissed the knuckles of her soft hands. Disgusted, Y/N slowly pulled her hand back and wiped it against the back of her dress. Erwin’s calmer look was much more annoyed as he stared at Nile, wondering what he was doing.

”We haven’t met before as it seems.” Nile said as he smiled at Y/N. “It’s nice to meet you Y/N. If you hadn’t heard already, I’m the Commander of the Military Police.”

”Nice to meet you too, we’ll see you later I suppose.” Y/N said as she looked at Erwin who simply smiled at her and looked towards Nile.

”We better take our seat now, shall we?” Erwin asked before Nile interrupted.

”Why don’t you sit with us? It’s best if there’s no empty seats at a table instead of there being multiple.” Nile said as he pointed to his table.

”Fine.” Erwin replied, still keeping his composure. The four walked towards the table and sat in the seats. Somehow, Nile ended up next to Y/N whilst Erwin stayed on her other side.

”Y/N, let’s swap places.” Levi said as he tried helping her out of the situation.

”It’s fine like this.” Erwin and Nile both said at the same time, causing them to look at each other. After a long speech, made by Darius Zachary, everyone began to chatter amongst themselves. Nile’s partner soon arrived, a disgusting smell lingering on him.

”Where'd you go?” Nile asked

”I went for a smoke. Besides, I only missed out on some boring old speech.” He said before sitting down beside Nile. “Who are these folks?”

”These are members of the Survey Corps. You remember Captain Levi and Commander Erwin, don’t you?” Nile asked. “This is Felix, he’s my partner for tonight.”

”Y-yeah yeah. Nice to see you all again..” Felix muttered as he looked away from Levi’s death stare and towards Y/N. “I haven’t seen you before. Who might a dazzling lady like you be?”

”Y/N Ackerman.” Y/N bluntly said, not reaching out to shake his hand. Watching Felix, he leaned back on his chair and smirked towards her before sipping on his wine. Much to his dismay, Erwin stared at the Military Police member before sipping on his water.

“Oi Felix, don’t you think it’s early to be drinking?” Nile asked quietly. “You already had a cigarette.”

”Relax, just trying to impress the lady.” Felix whispered into Miles ear before getting up along with everyone else and heading towards the large tables of food. Grabbing a plate, Y/N placed small portions of recognisable food and sat back down at the table. Looking up, Nile had sat in his seat whilst Felix had rushed to Erwin’s seat, moving it closer to Y/N.

”Say, Y/N-“ Felix began to say.

”That’s Erwin’s seat, so could you please move off it. Also you reek of cigarettes and onions.” Y/N said as Erwin arrived to the table.

”H-huh..?” Felix mumbled before getting up and moving back to his seat and slumping in his chair. Erwin quickly sat down beside Y/N, not caring to adjust his chair back to its regular position whilst Levi and Hange sat down together.

”So Y/N, why’d you choose the Survey Corps?” Nile asked as he cut his steak and chewed it down.

”I’m not so sure, but if I had to guess it was probably because it was my only option and also because Levi chose it too.” Y/N answered as she picked up her glass of water.

”Y’know, the Military Police has a few spaces for talented soldiers like you.” Nile replied as he smiled towards Y/N.

”Thank you for the offer but I kindly decline.” Y/N quickly said.

”Both of Humanity’s Strongest Soldiers are apart of Survey Corps which means a lot to us, Nile.” Erwin said as he smiled at him.

”I suppose so, still, the offer still stands. If you do end up moving branches, you could work beside me and some of the fellow Captains-“ Nile began to say.

”Hey Nile, how’s Marie?” Erwin interrupted.

”Marie.? She’s alright I suppose.” Nile answered. “Why’d you ask now?”

“She was one of my old acquaintances, besides am I not meant to ask about one’s wife’s condition?” Erwin asked.

”You’re married?” Y/N asked as she looked at Nile’s hand to see a silver ring. “Good for you.”

“For how long if you don’t mind me asking? Five, six years now if I had to guess.” Erwin said.

”R-right.” Nile mumbled embarrassed.

”And how’s your daughter? Heard she’s turning four soon.” Erwin admitted. “If we can, Y/N and I will drop by and see you all. You know how Hange and Levi can be so it’ll be us two.”

”N-no no it’s alright.” Nile said as he sipped on his wine. “You don’t have to visit, you must be uhm busy..”

”Erwin, what’re you doing?” Y/N whispered into his ear as she glanced back at Nile, who was looking away from them.

”Excuse us, just for one moment.” Erwin requested before grabbing ahold of Y/N’s hand and dragging her out of the hall.

”Erwin. Erwin. Erwin! What are you doing?” Y/N asked as Erwin ignored her and dragged her back to the carriage, making sure no one was around.

“Get in, we’re leaving. I’ll tell Hange to come with Levi whilst I pardon Darius for our sudden leave.” Erwin explained.

”Why are we leaving so early though? This was your idea and your suddenly switching up.” Y/N said as she stared at him and crossed her arms.

“You feel uncomfortable don’t you?” Erwin mumbled as he grabbed her chin and tilted it up. “I can tell.”

”Let’s just get going then..” Y/N muttered as she quickly rushed into the carriage. Soon, the trio arrived and sat in the carriage, riding off to the Survey Corps Headquarters. Upon arriving there, Y/N and Levi walked down the hallway together, trying not to wake up any soldiers.

”Y’know, if it wasn’t a special event that Erwin wanted to attend, I would’ve left right after making sure Nile got a taste of those filthy hands of his.” Levi whispered.

”He was revolting.” Y/N simply said before getting stopped by Erwin.

“I need to discuss something with you Y/N.” Erwin said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Letting Levi walk off, Y/N walked beside Erwin towards his office, Erwin’s hand sliding down to her lower back.

.

.

.

“Do you know how jealous I was huh?” Erwin panted as he rested his nose in Y/N’s neck.

”E-Erwin. I didn’t-“ Y/N began to say.

”Say it again. Say my name again Y/N.” Erwin demanded as his nose moved away from her neck, and his lips were attached instead. “That’s an order.”

”Erwin.” Y/N gasped. Erwin’s hand kept Y/N’s thighs tightly wrapped around his waist as he kept her against the wall in his office.

”Who would’ve thought that Humanity’s Strongest Soldier would be so submissive, hm? Acting all tough but when daddy kisses you a dozen times, you get all weak.” Erwin mumbled before sucking on Y/N’s neck.

”I’m sorry Erwin. I really am.!” Y/N mumbled as she looked at him.

”Let’s get to bed, shall we?” Erwin asked.

[mcyt-trios]

PROPAGANDA:

Architechs:

they're just. incredibly fucking stupid when they're together. it's like they lose every single skill they've ever had once they see each other. there's not a single interaction without giggling and you can tell they're genuinely having a great time which leads to AMAZING VIBES.

made SAHARA, played gold together in skirts, awesome dynamic, iconic, fought side by side, fought each other.

They are sososososo iconic. They were the best of buds during S6 and S7, they did so many shenanigans oh my gosh!!!!!! They are besties (S6-S7 is where you can see it the clearest, but also Iskall helped them cover up the Perimeter with Grian and Mumbo and a lot of other hermits, that has to count for something) They are business partners (Sahara, //which they made actual IRL merch for as well//) They perpetuated a running gag throughout the entirety of S7 (“get good lol” “I Got Good!” “OK LOL” “Get Gorgeous LOL” “FOR THE LOLS” <- all excerpts -the first one from their video titles) They fought on the same side of the Prank War together (Team-G, with Molebo Gumbo as a double agent against Team STAR) A ‘harmless’ curse of binding dragon head prank by Grian on Iskall caused the formation of the Dragon Bros. So many shenanigans. Hermit Challenges is the tip of the iceberg. I love them so much, they are my comfort trio PLEASE THEY ARE SO INCREDIBLY ICONIC LET THEM WIN. *cough* I mean, I am extremely and utterly normal about them :D

Campfire Crew:

CAMPFIRE CREW THE ABSOLUTE GUYS OF ALL TIME. CAMPFIRE CREW THE PINNACLE OF ACCIDENTAL FORESHADOWING THE TOP TIER OF "IT'S NOT THAT DEEP BUT IT COULD BE" WATCH AS LOYALTY EATS THEM FROM THE INSIDE OUT IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO END THIS WAY YOU SAY FINAL THREE AND YOU COME OUT WITH THE FINAL THREE. there is literally SO MUCH i could say about campfire crew and absolutely none of it would be enough. death games are prime material for interactions of all time and the campfire crew is absolutely knocking it out of the park. they lose their first lives planning around each other. they live in the same house (they live in different houses). they're scheming against each other. they're working with each other. they're two people who have FOUR KILLS EACH and one hapless innocent man. they're three people who swore a pact over a campfire and despite everything ended up holding to that pact. every time they play rock paper scissors, someone dies. the innocent, in death, turns them against each other, despite this not being how the game works. they reveal their roles to each other and it has this entire sense of inevitability -- of everyone having ALREADY KNOWN what was going to happen. it doesn't matter that two of them are going to kill everyone else on the server. you get that "innocent's" loyalty and you have him for life. paranoia is nothing next to a need for blood and connection. i have a normal amount of emotions over "i swear my loyalty / i offer my fealty / uhhhhhhhh same." do not @ me

[nikaizkool]

crushing on you hcs

dtk, autotune duo, chuckle trio

dream

very flirty around you, making suggestive jokes and kissing your palm whenever. just like taking your hand and kissing your palm. very clingy, you guys were on call for 5 hours? he dosent want you to leave.

George

very casual around you, no hints other than him giving you subtle glances. He’d wrap his arm around your shoulder if you guys sat next to eachother in any situation. Anytime anywhere, at the movies, at a restaurant. Dosent matter he just loves the physical touch with you

Sapnap

Very cocky when ever he sees you, calling you his partner around people who don’t know him to well. Placing kisses on your hands and laying his head down on your thighs. Placing his hands on your thighs and on your waist when people are around.

Karl

He’d be the sweetest man alive giggling, taking you on picnics, movie “dates” and taking you out to dinner, basically treating you as his partner. But that’s his love language.

Quackity

Very clingy and protective around you, clinging to you like there’s no tomorrow, he’d be very flirty and like UwU around you. He’d be so giggly with a smile around you. He’d probably call you nicknames and it’d be adorable. His hands would never leave yours, or you in general. Wether it be a hand on your hip, waist, hand, shoulders, or thighs, he’d always have his hands somewhere on you.

Wilbur

Very giggly, he has his iconic stretched out smile. He’d flirt with you, but it’d be very subtle, like “your very pretty today Y/n.” And sometimes he’d run up to you pick you up then spin you around, then hugging you like there’s no tomorrow, saying stuff like “oh y/n, my dearest y/n”. He’d let you rest your head on his chest while you sit in his lap, even if it’s uncomfortable for him.

Schlatt

He needs physical touch. He just does. Holding your hand, or your waist in habit when you two are talking to someone. He’d buy you anything you could ever want, he’d even try to make you some gifts, they were sloppy but, who are you to judge? He’d have his smug face when kissing your hand, literally smiling so wide it’s unsettling.

Ted

He’s similar to Schlatt but not similar enough for there actions to be the same. He’d be so nice with you, cuddling you if you sat next him, pressing a kiss to your forehead. He’d be so giggly with you, poking fun at you. Literally buys you so many snacks.

Charlie

He’d be serious but still his silly self. Cuddling you even when your standing up. He’d have his hands on your waist, and his face buried in your neck, resting on your shoulder. Buying silly little gadgets for you. Like little toys. He’d eventually get comfortable enough to kiss your hand. He’d be so giggly after it to 😭😭

[castleaudios]

CastleAudios FAQ!

Commonly asked questions about the channel and its characters

⚜️I want to listen to the channel but I don't know where to start?

I always recommend starting with Beth's playlist, then Claire, Genevieve, Rachelle, Celine then anyone else that catches your eye! Of course, if you want to hear everybody in order so you get the whole plot, check out my Glenwood playlist!

⚜️All your audios are labeled F4A, will you ever make F4M/F4F content?

I want my content to be enjoyed by any and everyone! Making F4A content is the easiest way for me to do that.

⚜️The trauma... The drama... The conflict... Why must you do this?

What good is a story without conflict? I do promise that I'm not just some angst train, I'll always strive to balance out the bad with the good. I'm a sucker for happy endings!

⚜️Who is CW?

CW (Or Camille W. as she is credited in my video descriptions) is my partner and the visual director for the channel! Almost all the character icons were created by her and she frequently does mini channel takeovers in order to share lore and (affectionately) bully me. We've also begun sharing her live reactions to my audios, so you can enjoy some content from her on the channel at well!

⚜️A lot of your listener characters have more than one name, why?

Listeners usually have about two names, one for their romantic partners and the name that others call or refer to them by

Claire's listener: Ranger / Hotshot

Beth's listener: Seer / Beautiful

Genevieve's listener: Knight / Sweetheart

Abby and Rose's shared listener: Open Wielder / Bud / Dear

Rachelle's listener: Mage / Doll

⚜️What does __Insert Listener Character__ look like/dress like/do/ and what's their backstory?

Unless specifically referenced to in the audios for the sake of plot, any information about any listener character is strictly up to your interpretation! I love hearing what you guys think for each of the listeners and all your theories so I wouldn't want to hinder that with one "right" interpretation. I won't be answering any submissions along the lines of this question.

⚜️I've seen you on Twitter/Tumblr/Tik Tok and now I'm scared to post...

Don't be! I made these social media pages so that I could interact and engage with my audience, so please don't be worried if I see your posts about the channel! I love all of it, truly. And don't worry, I wouldn't have come onto the internet if I wasn't fully prepared for what might be waiting there. (I know you have drafts. Post them, cowards (with love))

⚜️Can I make fanart/fanfiction/fanedits of your channel?

I'm gonna be honest, I cried when I first got this question. YES!! Please make whatever you like and please share it with me! You are all so creative and wonderful, I want to see your work! If you make any content that is inspired by my work or make anything within the Glenwood universe, I only ask that you credit me in the description.

⚜️Will Celine get her own listener/romantic route?

Celine will not be getting her own listener. She pops up sporadically in other character's playlists as well as the mega episodes where all the characters are bunched up into one audio. She will be interacting with multiple characters and listeners so she'll never be away for too long. She is a married woman and has a loving wife, so there won't be any romancing on Celine's part. That being said, she has two hands, so go wild.

⚜️Where is Glenwood located?

Glenwood is located on the Southern East coast. Not too specific, since I don’t wanna base it off of any real towns!

⚜️I've noticed hints to Abby/Rose/Wielder becoming a canon poly couple, is this true or should I not get my hopes up?

It is canon that the Library Trio will be endgame, we just need to be patient while we get there!

⚜️What is the Endax Chronicles?

The Endax Chronicles will be a prequel series to Glenwood starting in March 2023! It takes place nearly 600 years in the past and will deal with the war between Vampires and Blood Mages. It will be more of a High Fantasy series compared to Glenwood's contemporary style. We've been given hints to this conflict in Rachelle and Celine's audios, but this will reveal the truth.

⚜️Do I need to listen to Endax Chronicles to understand Glenwood or vice versa?

Nope! You can listen to one without needing the other, they should be able to be enjoyed separately.

⚜️Exactly how big do shifters get in their wolf form?

They're considerably bigger than normal wolves, thought not exactly as big as horses. When a shifter is fully transformed, they stand at about the same height as an average person. Certainly not something you want to be on the biting end of, but just about the best cuddle buddy you would ask for.

⚜️Will we ever get Claire/Celine or any other pairing aside from the endgame couples?

Unfortunately not in the canon storyline! But who knows? Some non-canon audios could always be a possibility!

⚜️Will you ever make merch?

Honestly, we haven't seriously considered making merch for the channel since we're still pretty new to the whole content creation business, but if that's something people would want, we can make it a reality!

⚜️Where else can I get your content?

As of right now, I am only on YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, and Tik Tok with various degrees of activity on each platform. However, later this year we will be launching the CastleAudios Discord server as well as a Patreon!

[xjulixred45x]

MEGUMI FUSHIGURO/NOBARA KUSIGAKI/YUJI ITADORI X PAS!READER

request:

Do you do jujutsu kaisen requests? Because I want to do one of the main trio with a partner who is a highly sensitive person (also known as PAS) who basically feels their emotions multiplied by 3, who cries a lot, is somewhat (sometimes very) critical, and who is usually shy I hope you don't mind me making these kinds of requests.

Of course (this is going to be something short, sorry about that, the partials have me rotten). and thanks EwE

Gender: Headcanons

Reader: female

Warnings: none.

Yuji Itadori

Definitely the most understanding of the trio.

He will be especially understanding if you are not a Sorcerer or something similar, understand that many (all) things in that world are quite disturbing and overwhelm you, so he will never judge you about it. It becomes your perfect shoulder to cry on in any case.

He'll also be very hesitant to tell you about Sukuna if that's the case, I mean, the world of curses is already terrifying, but Sukuna…it's a whole new level. If you happen to see any of the extra mouths, he'd panic, but since you accept it, he's more willing to talk about it (also ends up being a big step in their relationship).

Even if you're a Sorcerer and have experience with curses, it doesn't really seem out of place for you to be so sensitive, I mean, they're 15-17 years old, you're the only one who acts your age in their eyes instead of like a machine kill. And guess what? IT'S ALRIGHT!!

When you get critical, he has fun, he takes it with humor. Sure, he won't make you mad on purpose, but he definitely finds it adorable (it's like the equivalent of a baby getting mad to him).

As for shyness, this man LIVES FOR IT, whether it's saying nice things on purpose that he knows will get you a reaction, surprise hugs, small details, anything to make you red as a beetroot. It is rejuvenating in every aspect.

You two are like the Energyless Gf and Golden Retiever Bf dynamic.

Megumi Fushiguro

Megumi tries to be patient, and while it's a bad thing with emotions, she definitely never invalidates you for being overwhelmed by your emotions (especially if you're not a Shaman like I said above).

In the above case, he will be VERY careful with the curses near your area, either having fun not going to certain areas (the haunted ones for example) or eliminating the curses directly, he is a bit paranoid, you know why.

If you're a Shaman and have experience with curses, they'll find your fear a little silly considering what they've seen, but he don't judge you at all, again, in this job it seems like every day is a different nightmare, it's hard to get used to.

He can definitely relate to your critical side, he's seen as a "Killjoy" himself, so he'll happily (if for a valid reason) side with you if you're in one of these moments, even more so if you side with him side.

The shyness amuses him, but not in a "bully" way, more of a "it's too adorable I can't-" way to say the least. If emotions overwhelm you too much, he can bring out the demon dogs to comfort you (Headcanon spent, I know, BUT I LOVE IT).

Dynamics of both quite calm, with the difference that one is a cinnamon roll and the other could kill you--

Nobara Kusigaki

lesbian icon

how did i say

Nobara is between the best and the worst person to be with if you're too sensitive, more than anything because of her rather fierce nature on the outside, at first she would be very happy to meet another cute girl, but at the same time I think she would be the one who would have the most trouble understanding your difficulties.

Be careful, it does not mean that he does not like you. Not at all! It just needs more context than the other two.

If you are a non-Shaman she will definitely bury the situation better and she will be so protective of you, either putting seals on your house to prevent curses or ending them herself, even teaching you some ways to defend yourself from them.

Now, if you're a Shaman, he's definitely going to make fun of your way a little lovingly, he doesn't understand it, but he knows it's valid (curses are ugly and horrible after all), he's patient, not as much as Yujii but it is.

She finds it very funny when you get critical. She can't help it! Just the fact that you can make something to criticize out of ABSOLUTELY everything is hilarious to her sometimes.

Your shyness is a very big plus point, they balance each other out very well. She tries to get you to come out of your shell (without being invasive) and you try to make her think more before acting.

Shopping dates! please stop him from killing Yuji if he drops something!

Dynamics of a girlfriend with a lot of energy and a girlfriend who is too calm.

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

so um….with round 3 soon upon us i would like to offer some more uknighted dream infodumps/propaganda…..😇

id also like to remind everyone that YOU DON’T HAVE TO DATE EVERYONE IN A POLYAM RELATIONSHIP FOR IT TO STILL BE POLYAM…..i’ve seen a lot of people shut down uknighted dream usually because “cass is a lesbian” or bc “cass and eugene hate each other”

and like i guess the second one i understand because disney barely markets the show at all, a lot of people probably only saw the first bit of the show and didn’t see cass and eugene’s dynamic develop on screen (they had a LOT of conflict at the beginning of the show but eventually were shown to have a genuine friendship underneath the banter) but the first one just makes me sad like…..I HEADCANON HER AS A LESBIAN TOO!!! she can still be a lesbian!!!! rapunzel can date both cass and eugene without them dating each other……

and i know a lot of people who DO ship them as a triad and honestly i adore that too i just love the three of them in general but i usually portray them as a poly-v and that’s totally fine too!!! i know it can be a bit jarring to see a character you don’t expect or don’t feel fits in a polycule but you gotta remember there’s context….there are tons of different possibilities and there’s no reason for us to apply monogamous rules to a relationship where the entire POINT is to have a healthy loving relationship without conforming to monogamy!!!!

people jumping to this basic assumption is honestly the reason i feel uknighted dream is still as underrated as it is because it drives a lot of people away and its really unfortunate because they genuinely have so much good chemistry as a trio </3

i couldn’t even fit these into the first meme i made but this is one of the most iconic parallels. i just. look at the way they look at her yall. rapunzel has TWO HANDS.

theres also the way rapunzel sits in between two empty thrones on either side of her in the “happily ever after” reprise. and what’s probably one of my favorite group hug scenes.

the campfire scene parallel? the first meeting parallel when rapunzel lost her memory? gay. gay as HELL bro.

i’m just saying ok. society if rapunzel was allowed to marry both cass and eugene.

i hate when ppl act like polyam is exclusivity throuples where everyone is dating each other. theres a term called metamour literally used to describe 2 ppl in a polyam relationship who are dating the same person but not dating each other!! my friend called it partner in law once which i find funny so i call it that

anyway this is v good propaganda i kinda wanna watch it now tbh

[jupitcrs]

comic wrap up — august ‘24

this is something new that i’m doing!! i want to start engaging more with others who read comics and putting my thoughts out there.

i’ve been reading comics for a while but i didn’t really do a lot of research when i started so my taste is incredibly sporadic (sorry in advance)

— young justice volume 1: gemworld

i was dying for some conner kent content because i was hyperfixating so bad on him. he was very cutie in this, and of course, him as a farmer was also very cutie.

i was a big fan of the art in this comic, the colors were stunning and the characters looked great.

i enjoyed seeing stephanie brown, even if briefly! her and tim are so cute together. this was my first young justice comic, so i was introduced to some really great characters through this (cassie sandsmark!!!)

also, enjoy this timkon moment

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

— batman: under the red hood

i watched the animated film for this like a year ago? jensen ackles voicing jason todd started my love for the character, what can i say.

the relationship between jason and bruce is so interesting to me. jason’s intense, raw emotion combined with bruce’s moral code oh i was eating up the angst like a four course meal.

i would highly recommend this one to the jason todd lovers out there!

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— batman, volume 6: bride or burglar?

i jumped back into this run after not reading it for a while, but i needed a bruce fix.

i enjoyed the little snapshots of batcat moments, and selina stealing her own wedding dress is iconic. but, mostly, i loved the side characters that appeared in this. wonder woman looks hot as hell, and harley and ivy had a sweet relationship moment.

it’s nothing special, but it passed the time

☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— fantastic four volume 2: mr. and mrs. grimm

deadpool and wolverine launched me back into my johnny storm obsession eek

this was a cute overview of ben and alicia's relationship, and i liked seeing their origin in the comics. there were also some cute moments between sue and ben and also johnny and ben (i loved the bachelor party issue, johnny and ben's little heart-to heart was so precious).

the main thing i will say is that i am not a fan of reed richards. it may just be this version of him and i'm sure he's better in other comics, but i just don't like him in this. i'm happy to accept recommendations for adaptations in which he's less annoying, i do really want to like him.

☆ ☆ ☆ .5

— jessica jones: alias, volume 1

i was planned to really love this, i am a big fan of the jessica jones show, so i was hoping for something dark and gritty, but it wasn't as dark as i was expecting it to me (this is also probably just a me thing, not a geniune critique of the comic)

there were a lot of aspects of this that i loved. i'm now obsessed with the carol danvers and jessica jones friendship and i need more of it!! jessica is also a fun narrator, i just really love her character.

i definitely want to continue to this series at some point.

☆☆☆☆

— batman: wayne family adventures volume 3

i like to read these to pass the time when i have a minute or two to spare. these little one-shots always have me kicking my feet and giggling.

there were some really cute pairings that i loved in these. ivy and cassandra and stephanie were so such a cute trio. i also really loved the episode about tim and damian's relationship.

if you're a batfamily fan these are a must-read they are so precious!!

☆☆☆☆

bonus: manga!

— attack on titan: junior high volume 1

my feelings on this manga is the same as wayne family adventures. it's cute little moments of the attack on titan characters. it's nice to see them being happy for once.

i always giggle a bit whenever i read this too, especially the way it pokes fun at eren (he's my favorite character i'm allowed to giggle when they make fun of him!!)

also, eren and armin being each other's folk dance partners...absolutely love it

☆☆☆.5

[s10127470]

The New Kingdom Hearts Trios AU: Part 1

This is a little AU I've had in my mind for a long ass time.

We all know of the iconic trio of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

But a few years ago, I thought to myself.....what if all the other KH-original characters gotten their own trios consisting of themselves and two other Disney characters?

And since I haven't seen anyone else do something like this before, I basically went....

Anyway, here's two that I came up with

The Keyblade Master Trio (Riku, Mickey, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit):

Their dynamic would be pretty complicated....to say the least.

I'd imagine that in the Kingdom Hearts, Oswald would not only be Mickey's older brother, but also a Keyblade Master.

Not only that, but our of the three, he would be the strongest, due to him to being the oldest and most experienced.

I'd imagine that Mickey and Oswald used to be very close, but they probably had a falling out a long time ago over......I don't know, light and dark?

(Yeah, I haven't exactly thought his backstory all the way out)

As you would probably expect, Mickey and Oswald are constantly at each other's throats due to their less than stellar history, with Riku acting as the peacekeeper between them.

Oswald himself has the ability to manipulate both light and darkness, making him something of a Ying-yang of Mickey and Riku, and wields two Keyblades.

Their team attacks include.....

.Double Duel (between Riku and Mickey)

.Reassemble Riot (an attack between Riku and Oswald, where the latter disassembles his arms, with a Keyblade in each hand, one coated in darkness, one coated in light, and sends them flying towards surrounding enemies. Riku does the same thing as well, except for the whole arm removal thing)

.True End (the attack between all three of them).

The Princess Trio (Kairi, Ariel and Jasmine):

Kairi and Ariel immediately became friends when they first met and are now partners in mischief. As for Jasmine, while she does like to have fun, she serve as the voice of reason for the trio and often has to keep an eye on Kairi and Ariel, making sure they don't do anything stupid.

Ariel fights with a magical trident that once belong to her late mother Athena, allowing her cast powerful elemental spells including Watera, Thundara, Aerora and Blizzara.

Jasmine fights with her acrobatic skills, martial arts, and a long wooden staff.

Their team attacks include....

.Mermaid Whirlpool (the attack between Kairi and Ariel, where the two combine their magic to unleash a massive whirlpool on enemies).

.Spiral Staff (the attack between Kairi and Jasmine, where the former wraps her legs around the end of the latter's staff while holding out her Keyblade, which is then followed by Jasmine spinning her staff around).

.Princess Power (the attack between the entire trio, where they all jump into the air and raise their respective weapons to form a giant heart of light, which then rains upon on enemies).

That's all for right now! This was a short post, but that's because I'm planning to explore this idea by specific groups for each post.

You know: one post for the Sea Salt Trio, one post for the Wayfinder Trio, etc.

This one was more or less dedicated to the Destiny Islands Trio, minus Sora for obvious reasons.

Let me know what you guys think! And if you have any ideas for a trio involving the other KH-original characters, let me know!

[wil-is-done]

Leftovers

Summary: Another world-altering event, another group of children left to pick up the pieces. One girl, in particular, might still play host to a malevolent entity. The MK and the Psychonauts send in Raz and Lili to investigate.

Word Count: 2.077

-

Raz always finds the droning thrum of the Psychonauts’ jets to be oddly therapeutic, but maybe that’s simply a symptom of cabin fever speaking, caused by spending far too much time of his life sitting in one. But, until someone invents instant teleportation or portal tech that doesn’t involve horrific mutilations, the jets are the only reasonable option. 

“What was that about mutilations?” 

Raz shrugs at his partner, seated beside him. “Eh, nothing. Just mind ramblings.”

Lili stares for a moment more, before her eyes return to the windshield ahead.

Just in time for the jet to descend below the clouds and an iconic sign rises into view. A tad scorched and bent, but still easily recognizable. 

“Kinda wild that we’re globetrotting agents, and I’m pretty sure I’ve only been to L.A., like, five times,” Raz says.

“It’s the Mecca of entertainment, not of apocalyptic horror.”

Raz breathes a chuckle. “One more way Hollywood lies to us.” 

Lili wills the jet to bank left – a nearby parking lot looks just empty enough to park an aircraft on.

“Still think it’s complete bull how the gang shunted this onto us.” Raz stretches his legs, get the blood flowing again.

“Suck it up.” A flick of the wrist, and the jet rights itself above the lot, drawing dozens of eyes. “We had no choice. The mess over on the other Coast is… substantial.” 

“Dipper got to pick.” Raz hops to his feet, bouncing on his heels. “I wanted the train.”

“And instead, you got the frog brain.” Even as she starts lowering the jet, Lili smirks up at him. “Life on this bitch of an Earth.”

Raz leaves the cockpit, but not before replying with a wry smile, “Weird, wild bitch of an Earth.” 

-

“You two need something?”

The blonde one – Sasha – speaks first, after an age of the trio silently gawking at Raz and Lili’s approach. 

“Miss Boonchuy, Miss Waybright, Miss Wu. Hello,” Lili greets, because she gets to go first, like they planned. “I am Agent Lili Zanotto, this is Agent Raz Aquato. We are with the Psychonauts.”

“Sup,” Raz adds.

Lili exhales through her polite smile.

Eight years. You’ve been an agent for eight years, Raz.

Raz’s smile curls wider.

And I still got it.

“You know us?” Another asks – Anne. She steps as if to shield her friends, born from instinct. 

Lili maintains the cordial air. “Hard not to. You were responsible for some pretty incredible things.”

The spark shines in their eyes nearly all at once. A familiar look for a familiar feeling. The realization that when your world is turned upside down, you can’t ever really turn it rightside up. Have they reached acceptance? Probably not.

One of the girls at the back – Marcy, the person of interest here – seems especially spooked. Whispers of fleeing plague her surface thoughts. Might be time to step in.

“Also, we met. Hi again.” Raz waves at Anne. 

Anne blinks, glances at her friends, then back at Raz. “We did?”

“Yep. Spent most of the time deeply apologizing for the stuff that X guy did. Sorry about that, again,” Raz says, adding a cringe. Then, for some humor. “I’m also the dingus who got his ass swatted out of the sky.”

“Oh dang, that’s you.” Anne’s jaw drops. “You’re still alive?”

“Eh. Been through worse.” 

“Cool. Heartfelt reunion. Boutta bawl my eyes out.” Sasha’s turn to step in front of her friends, gaze narrowed and cold. “Now what do you government stooges want?”

Looks to be on the same wavelength as Lili. Raz nearly giggled.

“We are here because of your friend, Marcy.” Lili chooses her words carefully, clinically. “She was… cerebrally compromised, wasn’t she?”

Silence creeps out from the tree shades and overtakes this corner of the park. Anne and Sasha look towards each other, eyes lost, before both turn to the stone-faced Marcy.

“Was,” Marcy speaks, finally. “It’s gone now.”

“And we’re with you on that. We are sure it is,” Lili says. “We just want to make sure. A hundred percent sure. As Psychonauts, we can help you with that.”

Marcy’s tone is slow. “Help how?”

“We have a special device that allows us to enter a person’s mind. With your permission, we can easily hop in directly and have a look around. Nice and simple.”

Marcy is quiet, but not at all calm. Even without skimming her surface thoughts, Raz can tell.

“You want… to be let in?” Her voice drops lower and lower, like the shoreline receding before a tsunami. “You think, after what I’ve been through, I’ll ever let the door open again?!”

“Miss Wu, I promise the process is-”

The wave rushes back in full force. Marcy spins and runs off. Anne and Sasha don’t waste a second to follow her. Lili, cut off with her mouth agape, exhales a growl.

“You’re bad at teenage-girling.”

“Sorry I had to kill the girl to become the agent,” Lili retorts. “Where’s a Norman when you need one?”

“Norman’s better, but I’m not sure how effective he’d be to three teenage girls.”

“Good point.” Lili slides open her phone. “Where’s a Mabel when you need one?”

-

Not how Anne thought her day would go, but it never does ever since her thirteenth birthday. They caught up to Marcy at the edge of the park, faking a neutral face and steady hands. Anne wanted to push, but that scar is too raw, too fresh, for all three of them, so she zipped her lips for now. It’s almost lunchtime anyway, and she already promised earlier the day’s special at Thai Go. 

“Alright, girls, mind cleanse,” Sasha says as she drops their plates on the table, sitting opposite Anne. “The past hour? We don’t see it. Never happened.”  

Marcy, next to Sasha, is clutching her head, eyes closed. “Trying here, trust me.”

Still, something nags at the base of Anne’s memory. “But don’t those two look familiar, though?” she wonders aloud. “Feels like a pair of faces we’ve all seen before.”

“Pair of feces, more like. Eyoo!” 

“Sash, serious. It’s right there, tip of my tongue, just need to brain harder…” Anne clenches her eyes shut, massaging her temples, trying to squeeze some good brain juice to spit out the name she needs. And it works. “The Mystery Kids!” 

The name jolts her friends to attention. It’s a current that connects to the memory, connects to breaking newsreels, bold article headlines, and viral clips. Anne can see in their eyes, they recognize the name.

“Gotta be them! Those folks who legit saved the world a bunch of times.” Anne reaches across to grasp Marcy’s shoulders. “Marce, if they think something’s up-”

Marcy shrugs off her hands. “So what? We saved two at the same time, and no one gave us a degree or a certificate or anything. We’re still in middle school, they look like they’re in college. What qualifications do they have?” She hugs herself, suddenly so small. “For one last time, let’s just do what Sasha says, forget about it all, and just have lunch with- you!”

Mid-step, midway through Thai Go’s front door, a pair of Psychonaut agents pause. The goggled one points at himself. “Us?”

Sasha shoots out from her seat, spoon and fork on each hand like her old swords. “Case you didn’t know, stalking’s a crime.” She twirls the utensils, falling into a practised stance. “Or are you the types that think you’re above silly things like laws?”

“This is a restaurant. It’s lunchtime.”

“There are over 30.800 restaurants in Los Angeles. To have both our groups choose the same one is a statistical improbability!” Marcy rises and points at the agents like that fruity attorney. “You have a likely cause and intent. Now begone, government goggle-man!” 

The man shrugs. “Sure, fine, the Boonchuys own the place, so we went here. Not a bad bet, yeah?”

“Ha! An admission!” Marcy slams a fist on the table.

“See you on the judge’s stand, stooges! When we win this case!”

“Alright, you two, chill.” Anne stands up, putting herself between her friends and the agents. She maintains a passive expression, eyeing the agents. “Mister Aquato and Miss Zanotto, right?”

“Oh, ew, let’s not pull out the big Ms, yeah? We’re, like, five years older than you.” He lounges back, arms behind his head. “Just Raz and Lili is fine.” 

Anne has to admit, how disarming this Raz is, it’s nice. “How sure are you that Marcy has… Core leftovers in the brain?”

“Percentage-wise, zero,” Raz answers. “We’re not sure of anything. This is not a treatment, it’s a check-up. It’s going to your local GP twice a year.” 

“Or, perhaps, therapy,” his partner, Lili, adds. “More direct than a conventional session, and by no means a replacement, but achieves roughly the same result.”

“Yeah, advanced therapy. Think of it that way, if it makes you feel better, Marcy.”

The direct name mention makes Marcy bristle, but at least she sits down.

“And like I was saying, the process is completely harmless.” Lili steeples her fingers together. “In addition, you will be in there, with us, the entire time. Everything we do, you’ll be aware of it.” 

Anne watches her friends, closely. Sasha moves as if sheathing the utensils, eyes cast on her shoes. Marcy inhales a calming breath, cheeks tinted a smidge darker, tangling her fingers together.

“That’s… reassuring, right, girls?” Anne asks.

Marcy can’t quite lift her eyes. “Maybe my reaction earlier was a bit… premature.” 

“You’re touchy about being prodded in the noggin’. That’s perfectly sensible,” Raz says.

“Plus, let’s not kid ourselves,” Sasha sighs with a joyless smile, “not going to therapy is how this all went to shit in the first place.”

“Still your decision to make, Marcy,” Raz says.

Marcy closes her eyes, thinking for a moment more. “Can Anne and Sasha come with?”

“Of course, Miss Wu.” Lili nods, razor thin smile on her lips. “First, we might want to move to a more private place?”

“My place is closest,” Anne offers. “That good with everyone?”

A general nod or agreeing noise comes from everyone.

“Gotcha. I’ll tell my folks. But first,” Anne flips a menu into her hand, offering it to the agents, “basil and squid special?”

-

“Side note,” Raz grins, “government goggle-man? Definitely going into my business card.”

“It will not.”

“Will to.” 

“I outrank you.”

Raz chuckles, conceding.

After ‘accidentally’ running into the girls proved to be a smashing success, the lunch they shared afterwards smoothed out any remaining significant bumps between them. Anne, in particular, took on the lion’s share of convincing her friends. She’s got a certain aptitude and her particular experience really shines through in moments where it’s needed.

Next time they have seats open, Raz is definitely slotting her in as a candidate.

The short stroll to Anne’s house was lovely. Anne volunteered her room to be where the ‘advanced therapy’ takes place. Marcy is made to lie down on Anne’s bed with both her friends flanking her, holding her hands.

Lili stands next to Raz, holding the specialized Psycho-Portal with its underage safeguard removed, modified specifically for this extraordinary circumstance, and which will be promptly incinerated after the procedure is completed. Raz clasps his gloved hands together.

“Ready?”

Marcy breathes in, and out. “I’m all in.”

“Before we begin, Marcy,” Raz starts, “Some things you need to know, just in case we do discover… leftovers.” 

She swallows the growing lump in her throat, listening close.

“When we’re in there, we can help you, support you, be a solid bedrock for you to lean on. You can count on us.” Raz offers his best reassuring smile. “But, ultimately, the results of this, whether we succeed or not, it’s up to you. You have to want it. Sometimes, wanting to win is the hardest thing.”

For a moment, her eyes flicker with doubt.

“She’s got this,” Sasha says, her hold on Marcy’s hand strengthening. 

“Yeah. She’s been through the hardest thing. We all did.” Anne holds their joined hands close to her chest, the grip soft yet firm.

Just like that, the doubt is snuffed out.

Marcy closes her eyes. Lili places the Psycho-Portal on her forehead, then steps back.

The agents share one last, brief glance.

Might be bad in there.

Please. Nothing’s as bad as my not-grandma.

Lili concedes.

The Psycho-Portal opens. Light spills out, filling Raz’s vision. The hard part of his job begins. 

-

This fic was commissioned by @rarsonic, who wanted to see Marcy be investigated by the Psychonauts, and the MK by extension, over potentially having some Core leftovers in the brain. Super sorry for the long delay. Been a hot minute since I wrote for any of these characters, and I was for sure rusty getting back into it. Still, here’s hoping you all can still enjoy it.

If any of y’all are interested in commissioning me, it’s still open, folks! Details are on the pinned post.

[ozrockbitway]

Hey hey hey! Back at it again to ask if Vale has any lore or connections with any canon characters? You know, besides Grim XD (Of course if you have more to talk about involving Grim than I'd love to hear about it!!!)

sldkfjsdlkj my initial reaction to this question lol I have some THOTS but nothing to in depth?? I just think of haha fun times with Shroud bros mostly-

but!! I will throw some sick lore down for ya!

Vale & Grim

I like to think at some point they kinda become in sync with each other?? Like just over little things!! They'll both tilt their heads at the same time, if Grim does the cat thing to paw at his ears you can catch Vale scratching their head...its a lil cute and Ace probably makes fun of them for it lol

To appease the great Grim, Vale occasionally writes little things for him! They jot down like mini epic tales for the cat to re-read. He gets really defensive over them.

Grim would probably be spoiled by Vale if he did better in classes!! The first time they get a failing grade, Vale is ready to eat his tuna right in front of him (and they don't even like tuna!!). they don't do it ofc but man. Grim plz. do your work!!

I mentioned this in the bday post, but since Grim doesn't have an actual birthday, Vale tells him they'll share theirs! The cat immediately starts asking for gifts from everyone else lol he's too impatient to wait a whole year for gifts.

Heartslabyul & Vale

Ace and Deuce are their homies! Ace tends to be a little more harsh with them though, he just wants Vale to be...not a pushover. He messes with them a lot though. Vale just puts their trust in him so they'll fall for stuff, especially if it's related to Twisted Wonderland lore/history/whatever. (ie. Ace: Did you know chickens here can lay golden eggs? Vale & Deuce: :0c Ace: ...I'm joking it's just a fairytale. Vale & Deuce: 😔) Vale likes his magic tricks!! They'll clap for him whenever he does something even if it's a simple coin trick.

Deuce would go to Vale for studying! tbh he's pretty surprised how good they are in classes?? like damn you're not even from here and your grades are so good?? Deuce initiates the study sessions and Vale ends up leading them at this point. THEY ALSO BOND OVER EGGS!! At some point Vale mentions "fake eggs" to him (like that stuff you use to make scrambled eggs really quick instead of using a real egg) and they just bond over how bad that is. Only real eggs in this house!!

Originally, Vale is in possession of the braincell when with these two but now I'm feeling like they might lose it too lol. They really just go with the flow tbh. They won't skip class or do anything TOO dangerous or stupid, but if they're all like...outside and see a sleeping Floyd and Ace is like "I dare you to poke him", Vale would be against it because why would you do that??? After the trio bickers for a bit they end up going to go and do it.

I think that Riddle might enjoy Vale's company?? At least they're a good study partner. Like Deuce, he's pretty impressed at your grades and how hard they try to learn what they can despite not having magic. Vale would probably ask him a lot of questions about the Queen of Hearts and his home in general. He knows a lot and they can definitely take his word over Ace's for true Twisted Wonderland facts.

I don't have much with Trey or Cater unfortunately. I'd just think Vale always does this ✌️ in Cater's pictures because they don't know what else to do. That's now their staple thing. Iconic.

Savanaclaw & Vale

100% would be like a second Ruggie to Leona if they were around the dorm more. Leona wants something? aye aye captain! He might not take too much advantage of them like he does with Ruggie, but it's not bad having a second helper around. Honestly, he's just kinda waiting for Vale to bark back at him. Kinda like how Ace wants them to have a backbone except not as blunt.

Would also get dragged into helping Ruggie out with whatever he has in mind. He knows he can go to Vale and ask for help and they won't ask for anything in return. But I think he'd be willing to give them something for helping.

Don't have much with Jack rip. I just think Vale can go to him for more heavy lifting jobs. If they have to do anything for Crowley, Jack would be like the first to volunteer to help?? If it's a two man job at least. Vale would listen to him talk about his cacti though. Also wants to touch his tail but they know better.

Octavinelle & Vale

If Vale is ever in need of cash, it's time to go to Octavinelle. Or if they're down a member/short staffed I think Azul would call on them for the assistance. Such a benevolent soul knows they need some money (and food) and he needs help at the lounge. It's a win-win, no? Vale is usually kept to waiting tables or greeting guests.

Azul thinks Vale would be a good fit in his dorm. Not because having this magicless human could be of benefit to him, but because they follow the Sea Witch's benevolence. Yes, Azul is the MOST benevolent person in school, but Vale? Always kind. They answer wishes in a different kind of way. So, he's curious about them. Offers a place in the dorm (and a uniform) constantly. Vale thinks he's pretty cool though and is amazed at what he can do. They want to see his true form again and probably wrote about it at some point. I joked at some point about Vale using Azul as a muse for a novel but it might just be true...shh don't tell him.

Vale tells Jade...too much lol. But can you blame them when Jade offers to lend an ear? He is the reason/inspiration for them starting their book club after all. So there's some solidarity in them being the only members of their clubs. They are also unofficial members of each others clubs at some point?? Basically "if you go to my club meeting I'll go to yours". Also Vale would probably fall for his crocodile tears and help him out if he ever needs it. (Ace screaming in the bg)

Vale cannot escape Floyd. If Floyd wants them then...welp that's it. They can't say no to him and it doesn't help that they're passive about being busy or something. They're the only person to keep up with Floyd's whims so that's why he keeps going back to them. "If you dont wana do something with me, then Shrimpy will!" Anyway forced friendship! He's also the one insisting to take Vale swimming after learning they know how to.

Also Octavinelle folks are the first to find out about Vale's surname being Crowley 😂 At some point Azul needs their full name written down and yeah the contract doesn't need to be magical but he knows that just putting "Vale" down doesn't seal the deal. So...haha...funny last name. Floyd mcfrickin loses it over learning this. Jade does to but at least he hides his laughter.

Scarabia & Vale

Not too much here wah! They just struggle being around Kalim because oh god no he wants to party and how do you say no to constant parties when he looks so happy?! If Vale is stuck with him I feel like they'd tell them commoner things and he'd be like super amazed at it.

Vale turns to Jamil whenever they need an escape. Jamil...does his best but man. Kalim. Please. We busy!!

Pomefiore & Vale

Vale doesn't hang around Pomefiore too often, mostly due to Vil being a busy person. They didn't have much of an opinion of him at first, but they're surprised at how hardworking he is?? And yeah he isn't the nicest person but you know celeb gossip and how celebrities are assholes? They were expecting that from him and surprised that's not really the case. Vale starts watching Vil's movies with Ortho and is becomes a low-key fan later on. Vil probably likes going to Vale because on multiple times they seem to have forgotten who Neige is but not him. That's a win, queen!! Unfortunately, I don't think Vale can last around Vil for too long. He wants perfection and Vale doesn't think they can do everything he says rip

At some point I wanted Vale to go ask Rook to learn about archery from him?? So they can have some kinda self defense in this magic filled world. Still unsure if I'm following through on that (it's either this or go to the eels to learn self-defense and get REKT in the process). Other than that I think Vale would read his poetry?? Mans is so eloquent that they read his stuff and has to reread it again. Good prose and all but not their kinda thing.

Can't think of too much with Epel aside from them asking about apple carving?? Maybe use some for inspiration...Vale is also willing to hide Epel in Ramshackle to get away from Vil. Does it ever work? No. Do they keep doing this? Yes.

Ignihyde & Vale

Ace & Deuce may be the homies, but Ortho was the first!! It starts with Vale being kinda shook that theres a robot/android here in school. It's super sci-fi and they think Ortho is amazing! To others it might look like they're trying to butter him up or something but they're just interested in Ortho. What does he like to do and all that stuff. They're also willing to play games with him when no one else wants to (if Ignihyde boys won't play with him then Vale will!!). While Vale is a pushover, if they're going to stand up for anyone it's going to be Ortho!! Ace is proud of them somewhere...

And Vale's friendship with Ortho is what leads to meeting Idia! Ortho, very early on, makes the connection that Vale is interested in games and anime too. Now it's just getting them to meet. tbh Ortho can hype up Idia and Vale will believe him 100%. It's not like Ortho lies about his brother, he is super smart and he made him too! So yeah Vale believes him.

Idia and Vale are a bit...awkward at first. Their first impression still kinda sticks out (meeting over trying to get a manga and p sure Idia wasn't the kindest there). But once they can make a connection on games and whatnot it's all smooth sailing from there. Sort of. Vale would be interested in this world's stories and they could go off about theirs too. Compare anime and video games. They listen to him go off and can keep up with his lingo (most of the time). Idia doesn't trust them at first, too kind and nice, but lmao he likes having someone who can keep up with him...

Haha tag team duo of Vale & Ortho trying to get Idia out of his room. tbh Vale is fine vibing in there with him but like...cat cafes, Idia!! video game/anime themed cafes!! That's probably how they manage to get him out at first.

Shroud bros are also the first to find out the link between Vale & Grim. It really comes out in ch.6. There's one note that shows something coming from Vale when Grim is active. It also doesn't help that Vale can pinpoint exactly which room Grim is in without the bros telling them. little things that give it away!

Diasmonia & Vale

Vale finding out Malleus is also part of the solo member of a club 🤝. Would find books on gargoyles just to show him tbh. Invites him to hang out for their club meeting even if he's not a member. He can be an unofficial one too!! They're down to be an unofficial member of his. Vale is pretty chill with Malleus. Even after learning who he is, they just vibe with him. Nothing changes. The only thing that does is Vale like holy moly dragon!!! They also know Malleus likes being outside and walking around at night but they always ask if he wants to come into Ramshackle too. He usually declines cuz he likes the 'magic' the night air brings when with them.

For the other three...I think Lilia just likes to jumpscare Vale lol. It's so easy and fun to spook them, so he has his fun messing with them. He might be like Ace and trick them into believing things but at the same time no?? It sounds like a trick but it's true so?? Just no one believes Lilia bcuz he's so cryptic.

Vale isn't around Silver and Sebek too often. Vale thinks Silver has a calming aura but they get worried when he falls asleep. They end up getting yelled at by Sebek too often. It doesn't help that they spend time with Malleus more than he does. They think his devotion to Malleus is neat though! They regret telling him that...

[softguarnere]

Hey! It’s my first time doing one of these… but can I get a ship request thing?

I’ll avoid putting astronomy signs etc because I don’t believe in that mumbo jumbo bullsnap.

I come from a background that has…trauma. Sexual and physical. It took a lot to overcome but here I am. I’m proud of myself for it and learning to be a stronger, more resilient person. However… emotions… negative, grief etc… I have a hard time dealing with. To the point I just accept that it is what it is and keep focusing on what I’m doing. It’s not the healthiest way to deal with it. It’s been acknowledged but it’s also been greatly ignored XD

I’d like to say I’m bubbly and fun… but only in the right company. I choose my circle very carefully and it takes a lot to trust someone.

I’m not really a party person. I like the quiet. I like quiet company.

This makes me sound horrible… but I am a nice person. I just care from a distance and tend to look after peolle in a round about way that isn’t a direct embrace with a ‘You okay?’ It’s more… I can see them struggling so I’ll just appoint myself as their protector and just be by their side, helping.

Um… yeah? I hope that helps? It probably doesn’t because I’m so awkward at this and didn’t realise how vulnerable it is to be like ‘This is who I am’ on the Internet.

You don’t have to answer this ask if you don’t want to. That’s totally okay.

But if you did, it’d be the best thing ever that’s happened this year and it’ll be the one thing I take from 2022 and into 2023

Hello dear! Of course you can get a ship - I hope it makes the end of '22 and the start of '23 a little easier 😘

I ship you with . . .

Dick Winters!

I just feel like y'all would click so well

You both care so deeply for others, and I feel that would mean that you look after each other really well

The rest of Easy would appreciate the two of you so much. You notice when someone is a little off because you're so observant, and Dick can take charge by checking in with them and making sure they're okay

But who takes care of the caretakers?

Y'all watch out for each other, making sure you have everything you need, and it just feels really nice for both of you to be seen

Especially when you try to ignore your emotions - while that may sometimes seem like the easiest way to deal with them, Dick would be so helpful in making sure that he's there if you want to talk, as well as helping you develop healthy coping mechanisms

I think another reason that y'all would work well together is that you're more open depending on the company you're with

Lol everyone thinks you're both super professional, and Nixon is like "have you ever seen them outside of work 😶?"

You, Nixon, and Dick would honestly be such an iconic trio - y'all would have so much fun whenever you're not in a professional setting and can just hang out and be, ya know?

But there's definitely a reason that Nixon is your friend and not your partner

Dick also likes the quiet. He's gotta recharge those social batteries, so he's thankful that the two of you can just hang out without really talking or needing to do anything to enjoy each other's company

He does love it when he can just wrap you up in his arms though 🥺 It's very soft, and he would enjoy you holding him, too

Thanks for the request, and I hope you like this! 💕🕊️

[tryalittlejoytomorrow]

Get To Know Me: Friendships

tagged by the lovely @winterlovesong1 thank you!! 💜

rules: name at least five platonic relationships you love, each from a different fandom.

1) The Crows (aka My Crows) / Six of Crows & Sab

It's the found family of it all for me, but mostly the fact that every relationship within that group is iconic af. Don't get me started about Kaz and Nina being the absolute best worsties. Don't talk to me about Jesper and Inej. Wylan and Matthias being the newbies judging the crows until they realize these are the best companions they could ever hope for. Inej and Nina and all their small rescues. Matthias begrudgingly learning to respect and admire Kaz. Jesper and Nina. Wylan worrying about Inej and deciding to stay until they get her back. Kaz and Jesper being brothers. I love all of my crows and I love how much they all love one another. They are simply perfect, I'll take no criticism about this

2) Lucy/George/Lockwood / Lockwood & Co

Ding ding ding, found family my beloved strikes again. What's better than living with your partner and technically your boss and risking your life with them every day? Nothing, that's what. I simply adore trios in general and it's such a delicate balance to write, but this trio is perfect. Each of them believes themselves to be the normal one bringing balance to the other two and I adore that because they each bring something very specific to the table: Lucy, with her emotional maturity and intelligence; Lockwood and his bravery and skillful leadership; George with his cleverness and his humor. They're best friends and they're a family and George will be best man at their wedding and godfather to their daughter and still their friendship will never waver.

3) Alex Stern & Pamela Dawes / Ninth House

My girls!!! My beautiful badass baby girls. If Ninth House made me love them, then Hell Bent made me go 'this is my ride or die favorite friendship'. Literally Dawes is Sunshine and Alex Midnight Rain and I love them. The love is so potent!!! They think they're opposites at first but truly they're both made of steel.

4) The Bus Kids: fitzskimmons / Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

God, I miss my tiny babies!!! I just adore these three together but also the duos within the trio. Inseparable fitzsimmons even without the romantic aspect, fresh out of the Academy, one brain, one heart; Jemma and Skye ("I already have one sister and her name is Jemma Simmons"), Fitz and Daisy when she feels like her entire world is falling apart and he's the one reminding her that who she is is perfect and doesn't need fixing. My most special children.

5) Weller & Patterson / Blindspot

I just love the big brother/little sister vibe between these two. It's another example of found family, no surprise there, but I think that out of all the relationships, this is the one that stuck the most with me over the years. It's the little things: how much he believes in her, how small she looks in his arms, how fierce and feral she is to defend him. Guess I'm gonna have to rewatch the whole show now and get back in that spiral.

tagging @flythesail @sunshineandsciencebabies @katherineebishop

[sheetmusiclibrarypdf]

Carla Bley: The Top 25 icons in Jazz history

Carla Bley: The Top 25 pearls in Jazz historyCarla Bley: a life in MusicSubscribe & download the best scores and sheet music transcriptions from our Library.Carla Bley Big Band - Festival de Jazz de Paris 1988Track ListPersonnelBrowse in the Library:

Carla Bley: The Top 25 pearls in Jazz history

One of the finest and most productive of all female jazz instrumentalists, bandleaders and composers is Carla Bley. From her sprawling jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill to her arrangements for Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, and from her Big Carla Bley Band to her trio with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bassist Steve Swallow, she has made her mark on all sizes of composition and ensemble. This ten-piece band toured in the 1980s and catches her iconoclastic reworking of gospel and big band jazz.

Carla Bley: a life in Music

Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg, May 11, 1936) is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, John Scofield and her ex-husband Paul Bley. Every jazz fan knows the name of Carla Bley, but her relentless productivity and constant reinvention can make it difficult to grasp her contribution to music. I began listening to her in high school when I was enamored with the pianist Paul Bley, whose seminal nineteen-sixties LPs were filled with Carla Bley compositions. (The two were married.) My small home-town library also had a copy of “The Carla Bley Band: European Tour 1977,” a superb disk of rowdy horn soloists carousing through instantly memorable Bley compositions and arrangements. Some pieces change you forever. The deadly serious yet hilarious “Spangled Banner Minor and Other Patriotic Songs,” from that 1977 recording, celebrates and defaces several nationalistic themes, beginning with the American national anthem recast as Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata. From the first notes onward, I was never quite the same again. The novelist and musician Wesley Stace has a similar story: “Aged sixteen, and full only of rock and pop music, I came upon Carla Bley by chance through a Pink Floyd solo project, Nick Mason’s ‘Fictitious Sports,’ which I only bought because the vocals were by my favorite singer, Robert Wyatt, once of Soft Machine. It’s a Carla Bley album in all but name: her songs embellished with brilliant and witty arrangements. I wanted to hear more. ‘Social Studies’ (also from 1981) thus became the first jazz album I ever bought, opening up a whole world I knew nothing about. ‘Utviklingssang’ is perfect, all gorgeous melody and abstraction, no words required. She’s everything I want from instrumental music.”

In the last half decade, many of Bley’s remaining peers from the early years have died: Paul Bley, Charlie Haden, Roswell Rudd, Ornette Coleman, Paul Motian. At eighty-two, Bley is still composing and practicing the piano every day. But it also felt like it was high time to rent a car, visit a hero, and try to get a few stories on the official record. Bley and her partner, the celebrated bassist Steve Swallow (and another living link to the revolutionary years of jazz) live in an upstate compound tucked away near Willow, New York. When I drove up, Bley and Swallow were just coming back from their daily walk through the woodland. Their lawn boasts an old oak tree and a massive chain-link dinosaur made by Steve Heller at Fabulous Furniture, in nearby Boiceville. The home offers enough room for two powerful artists and their personal libraries, not to mention striking paintings by Dorothée Mariano and Bill Beckman. Bley’s upstairs study is stocked with hundreds of her scores and an upright piano, on which she played me her latest opus, a sour ballad a bit in the Monk tradition, with just enough unusual crinkling in the corners to prevent it from being too square. When we sat down to talk, Bley proved to be witty and surreal, just like her music. (Swallow is the house barista and fact checker.) Bley’s early development as an independent spirit is well documented in the excellent 2011 book “Carla Bley,” by Amy C. Beal. I began a little further along, and asked her about Count Basie in the late nineteen-fifties. “Count Basie was playing at Birdland, Basin Street, and the Jazz Gallery when I was working as a cigarette girl,” she said. “I got to hear him more than anyone else, and it was an education.” Basie is still her favorite pianist: “He’s the final arbiter of how to play two notes. The distance and volume between two notes is always perfect.” At the end of the decade, her husband, an associate of Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, and Sonny Rollins, wanted to play more as a trio pianist but lacked material. One day Paul Bley came to Carla and said, “I need six tunes by tomorrow night.” There’s an obvious thread of European classical music in early Bley compositions, and this fit perfectly with the sixties jazz avant-garde. Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” is closer to a Mahler dirge than to Duke Ellington; Charles Mingus gave a deconstructed blues composition the European-style catalogue number “Folk Forms No. 1.” Many of Bley’s own pieces from that era have atonal gestures and abstract titles like “Ictus” and “Syndrome.” Among the many musicians listening carefully was Keith Jarrett, who told me that Paul Bley was, “Sort of like Ahmad with certain kinds of drugs.” Ahmad Jamal’s biggest hit was the D-major dance “Poinciana,” a bland old standard given immortality by Jamal’s rich jazz harmony and the drummer Vernel Fournier’s fresh take on a New Orleans second-line beat. Paul Bley’s recordings of Carla’s famous melody “Ida Lupino” have a G-major dance with a new kind of surreal perspective. When comparing “Poinciana” and “Ida Lupino” back to back, Jarrett’s comment—“certain kinds of drugs”—makes sense. However, while Ahmad Jamal had to use plenty of imagination when rescoring “Poinciana,” Paul Bley just needed to get the paper from his wife and read it down: Bley’s piano score of “Ida Lupino,” with inner voices and canonic echoes, is complete. Like many jazzers, I first heard of the film-noir icon Ida Lupino thanks to Bley’s indelible theme. I finally got to ask her about the title. “I just saw a few movies she did, and I thought she was sort of stripped and basic,” Bley said. “She didn’t have all the sex appeal that a female star should have. She was sort of serious. Maybe I felt a bond with her for that reason. I wanted to be serious. It wasn’t anything to do with her being the first female director. I learned that later.” Another significant early Bley work is “Jesus Maria,” first recorded by Jimmy Giuffre with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow for Verve, in 1961. Among the listeners inspired by this trio was Manfred Eicher, who reissued these recordings for ECM, in 1990. The reissue leads off with the rather classical “Jesus Maria,” where the pretty notes seem to suspend in the air, suggesting the famous “ECM sound” several years before the label was founded. I asked Eicher about Bley’s early compositions and he said, “There are so many of them, each as well crafted as pieces by Satie or Mompou—or Thelonious Monk for that matter. Carla belongs in that tradition of radical originality.” Bley was a radical, but she also sought structure. She told me about the early-sixties avant-garde: “In free playing, everybody played as loud as they could and as fast as they could and as high as they could. I liked them, but there was also what Max Gordon said about a bunch of guys screaming their heads off: ‘Call the pound.’ I think the music needed a setting. Just as it was, I thought free jazz needed work.” A key turned in the lock when Bley heard the roiling, church-inspired experimental tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler, who she says was, “Maudlin! Maudlin in the most wonderful way. He gave me license to play something that was really corny and love it.” Another watershed was “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by the Beatles, a suite of songs that form a bigger picture. “An artist friend of mine came over one day with this album,” Bley told me. “He said, ‘Jazz is dead. All the artists are listening to this. We don’t listen to jazz anymore. This is it.’ ”

Subscribe & download the best scores and sheet music transcriptions from our Library.

Carla Bley Big Band - Festival de Jazz de Paris 1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQUHXCEflK0 Track List 00:00:09​ - Song of the eternal waiting of canute 00:10:24​ - The girl who cried champagne - I 00:18:05​ - The girl who cried champagne - II 00:21:50​ - The girl who cried champagne - III 00:29:29​ - Real life hits 00:40:53​ - Fleur carnivore 00:52:48​ - Lo ultimo 01:00:51​ - end credits Personnel Carla Bley - piano Christof Lauer - saxophone-soprano Wolfgang Puschnig - saxophone-alto Andy Sheppard - saxophone-tenor Roberto Ottini - saxophone-baryton Lew Soloff - trompette Jens Winter - trompette Gary Valente - trombone Frank Lacy - cor Bob Stewart - tuba Daniel Beaussier - oboe, flute Karen Mantler - orgue Steve Swallow - bass Buddy Williams - batterie Don Alias - percussions Read the full article

[whatsonmedia]

INDIKA FESTIVAL IS BACK: Line-up announced for this Autumn!

The INDIKA Festival is once again returning for its annual festival this year, 2023, happening this Autumn for a near fortnight duration, from 1st - 12th November, featuring a 12-day celebration of Indian music, dance, arts and culture! Here's further details of the event itself as well as the line-up; Headlining the festival will be none other than legendary percussionist, producer and composer Talvin Singh OBE. A giant and pioneer of British-Asian music, Singh's multi-decade spanning career has seen him collaborate with and write for the likes of Sun Ra, the late Ustad Sultan Khan, Madonna, Yoko Ono and more. Having worked as Björk's percussionist and artistic director in 1993, Singh garnered critical acclaim for himself in 1999, winning the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album OK. Singh's unique synthesis of electronic music and Eastern aesthetic is often referred to as Asian Underground. Talvin will be joined by an incredible ensemble of musicians, as he exclusively shares material from his highly anticipated and long-awaited new album at The Tung Auditorium on 5th November. - -  The city of Liverpool and its multitude of iconic venues will play host to the festival, with an expanded and eclectic programme of events, featuring contemporary Indian music, dance, visual arts, films, poetry, talks and participatory activities taking place across the city.  From seasoned professionals, to brand new collaborations formed especially for INDIKA 2023, the first wave of artists announced to perform at the festival in November include maestros of the Sitar and the Tabla, Shakir Khan & Shahbaz Hussain. Plus, making their UK debut, will be rising stars The Sarod Sisters, set to perform alongside Milap artist-in-residence Kousic Sen. A person playing a sitar Description automatically generated Shakir Khan Returning to Liverpool after 15 years will be the illustrious vocalist and composer Swati Natekar in her performance of Raag Rang. Also on the lineup will be The MMR Trio - featuring Olivia Moore on violin, Giuliano Modarelli on guitar, and Gurdain Rayatt on Tabla. Created especially for Indika 2023, a performance from the Indika Collective will feature a brand new collaboration between an incredibly talented group of diverse Indian folk and classical artists. For fans of Indian dance, world renowned artist Harinie Jeevitha will perform ‘VARADARĀJAM UPĀSMAHĒ’ at the Unity Theatre. A week later, Payal Ramchandani and an ensemble of artists will take to the stage of The Capstone Theatre for a mystical performance of 'The Forest Dream'. Suitable for all the family, and just in time for half-term, there'll also be a double billing of theatrical dance production Sita's Magical Forest. A group of people performing on a stage Description automatically generated Sita's Magical Forest Whilst the music and dance of India will take center-stage throughout the festival, The Reader at Calderstones Park will play host to a variety of literary and mindfulness events, with dedicated family-friendly activities suitable for all ages to enjoy. Throughout the festival, there'll be 'Shared Reading' sessions, where participants are invited to discover and discuss Indian literature in group sittings. There'll also be an early-morning yoga session, with live Indian music followed by chai, in the beautiful surroundings of The Reader's Mansion House, amidst the backdrop of the magnificent Calderstones Park. For younger audiences, 'The Diwali Story' will take place at The Storybarn on 11th November. Providing festival-goers with a treat for the senses, Indian Street Food geniuses Bundobust will join as one of the official food and drink partners for Indika 2023. They'll co-host two exclusive events; an extra-special Indian DJ night on 4th November, and a Diwali Celebration for all to enjoy on 12th November. And, for the first time ever, the festival will extend its reach beyond the City Centre and expand into the wider City Region, giving an even bigger audience the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by Indian arts and culture. There's plenty more artists yet to be revealed, with more exciting announcements being made over the coming weeks. A person in a garment dancing on a stage Description automatically generated PARAMA PADAM - - Indika showcases the best of contemporary Indian arts and culture, boasting an electrifying programme that celebrates the subcontinent's rich heritage. From the alluring rhythms, colours and stories of India, to the delicious flavours of its cuisine, the festival offers an immersive, holistic experience that will leave audiences captivated. INDIKA Festival is open to all; whether you're an Indian music and dance aficionado, or eager to experience new art forms, there's something for everyone to explore and enjoy. - -  “We’re delighted to support Indika which is a fantastic, family-friendly celebration of the rich cultural heritage of India. It’s a vital part of Liverpool’s cultural offer, spotlighting contemporary Indian music, dance, visual arts, film and poetry and in doing so, encouraging people of all backgrounds to get involved and have a greater understanding and appreciation of our vibrant Indian community.” Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle - -  A person sitting in the woods holding a violin Description automatically generated Olivia Moore - -  ANNOUNCED SO FAR... Shakir Khan & Shahbaz Hussain 1st November, 7pm The Music Room Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hope Street, L1 9BP BUY TICKETS - £15/12  Shakir Khan and Shahbaz Hussain will be kicking off the festival proceedings with a mesmerizing performance featuring two staples of Indian classical music; the Sitar and the Tabla. Khan’s exquisite sense of melody and rhythm, coupled with his alluring stage presence, will leave audiences captivated, whilst Shahbaz is widely regarded as one of the finest Tabla artists in the country with a reputation for exceptional skill and artistry. - - Sarod Sisters & Kousic Sen 2nd November, 7pm The Music Room Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hope Street, L1 9BP  BUY TICKETS - £15/12 On November 2nd, audiences will experience an enchanting world of music with the Sarod Sisters, Dr Troilee Dutta and Moisilee Dutta! The rising stars will make their UK debut, enthralling audiences with their exceptional talent and artistry. The sarod, with its unique sound and intricate design, has inspired countless musicians and music-lovers alike. Joining the sisters on stage will be renowned Tabla maestro - and Milap artist-in-residence - Kousic Sen.  - - Sita's Magical Forest  2nd November, 11am and 2pm  Unity Theatre 1 Hope Place, L1 9BG TICKETS TBC - £5 The Ramayana, an epic celebrated across Asia, tells the trials and triumphs of Rama and Sita. In the story, the couple are exiled into the woods, encountering enchanted creatures along the way. In this children’s production by Apsaras Arts, Sita recounts her adventures with the animals of the magical forest through storytelling and dance. A perfect half-term outing!  - -  PARAMA PADAM by Mohanapriyan Thavarajah 2nd November, 7:30pm  Unity Theatre 1 Hope Place, L1 9BG BUY TICKETS - £8 Parama Padam was created by the followers of the Vaishnavite faith, with the dual-purpose of entertainment and teaching the moral values of human life. The production takes the form of a game board, with squares represented by Snakes and Ladders. The ladders in the game represent good virtues, while the snakes bring you down to a cycle of re-births. The game - which originated in India during the 10th century, was later popularised by the British as "Snakes and Ladders". - - VARADARĀJAM UPĀSMAHĒ by Harinie Jeevitha 3rd November, 7pm Unity Theatre 1 Hope Place, L1 9BG BUY TICKETS - £8 ‘VARADARĀJAM UPĀSMAHĒ’ is a solo thematic presentation based on the 'Brahmotsavam' (the grand, ten-day annual temple festival) of Varadaraja Swamy temple situated in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. This production - by Harinie Jeevitha - has been woven in the solo format from the perspective of a devotee who has immense devotion and love for the Lord—the giver of infinite boons. Stringing together works of stalwart Indian poets and musical compositions of saint-poets in Sanskrit, Tamil & Telugu, 'Varadarājam Upāsmahē' is an attempt to encapsulate the different festivities of the auspicious Brahmotsavam temple celebration. - - Talvin Singh 5th November, 7:30pm The Tung Auditorium Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, 60 Oxford Street, L7 3NY JUST ANNOUNCED - TICKETS COMING SOON Percussionist, producer and composer, Talvin Singh, is renowned for establishing the bridge between Indian and electronic music. Drawing inspiration from the classical Indian arts, he has managed to sculpt a unique sonic landscape. He has taken the Tabla to the cutting edge, with the most unimaginable sonic creations, which has ultimately helped him to demystify Indian classical music, and therefore inspire a whole new generation of musicians and producers of contemporary music in India and the South Asian diaspora worldwide. Singh’s influence has also spanned the visual arts, dance and film. - - Swati Natekar 8th November, 7pm The Music Room Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hope Street, L1 9BP  BUY TICKETS - £15/12 In her performance of Raag Rang, Swati Natekar will present an unforgettable evening of Bollywood classics, Indian Ragas, Ghazals and Contemproary Music. An illustrious and highly accomplished singer and composer, Swati will return to Liverpool after 15 years joined by a collective of the UK’s most talented musicians. - - The Moore, Modarelli & Rayatt Trio 8th November, 1pm The Tung Auditorium Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, 60 Oxford Street, L7 3NY BUY TICKETS - FREE Featuring Olivia Moore on violin, Giuliano Modarelli on guitar, and Gurdain Rayatt on Tabla, The Moore, Modarelli and Rayatt trio have crafted a breathtaking sound that flawlessly blends Jazz with the rich and vibrant tones of Indian music. The trio - born out of the Covid lockdown - have a repertoire that consists primarily of original compositions, that fuse together the soulful rhythms of Indian music with the improvisational spirit of Jazz; infusing hints of other World Music to create a sound that is entirely their own. - -  Milap X Mellowtone - Vedanth Bharadwaj, SJ Downes & Richie Vegas 9th November, 7:30pm Downstairs at the Everyman 5 - 11 Hope Street, L1 9BH BUY TICKETS - £11 This unique collaboration between Vedanth Bharadwaj (India) and SJ Downes (UK) will explore Eastern and Western musical styles, in a cross-cultural interplay that draws from diverse musical heritages, and transcends borders to offer an enchanting listening experience.  - - The Forest Dream / Payal Ramchandani and ensemble 10th November, 7pm The Capstone Theatre Liverpool Hope University, 17 Shaw Street, L6 1HP BUY TICKETS - £10/8 Audiences will embark on a mesmerising journey through 'The Forest Dream', a breathtaking fusion of dance styles in an immersive, powerful exploration of our planet's climatic crisis. This intergenerational masterpiece speaks volumes, via a harmonious fusion of Carnatic music, Western soundscapes, and the seamless integration of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and contemporary dance forms. - - Indika Collective  11th November, 7pm The Tung Auditorium Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, 60 Oxford Street, L7 3NY BUY TICKETS - £10/8 Created especially for Indika 2023, this festival band is a brilliant new collaboration between a group of diverse artists across a range of instruments. The performance features new arrangements of folk and traditional repertoire, telling stories of love and loss with songs that speak directly to the heart and soul of India’s diverse cultural heritage and its people.  The collective will feature Vedanth Bharadwaj on guitar and vocals, Bindumalini and Muthusirpi Narathar on vocals, Sayee Rakshith on violin, Kousic Sen on Tabla and Janarthan Sivarupan on percussion. - - Please note this line-up is correct as of 4th September. More announcements will be made in the following weeks. A group of people standing together Description automatically generated The Forest Dream Read the full article

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'In addition to the chaos of the strikes, Hollywood is facing a moment of reckoning after some of the costliest franchise installments in history were washed out to sea at the 2023 summer box office, while such original fare as Barbie and Oppenheimer created a surprise cultural tsunami.

A box office aficionado would have to go back years, if not decades, to find another summer where two of the five top-grossing movies in North America were fresh and original nonfranchise tentpoles. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie tops the 2023 season with a current domestic haul north of $600 million and more than $1.38 billion worldwide...

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, from Universal, has earned more than $300 million domestically and north of $850 million globally to rank as the filmmaker’s biggest film behind the two Dark Knight superhero pics, among other honors. Then there’s Sound of Freedom, the indie movie about child trafficking that’s earned $182 million domestically after Utah-based Angel Studios tapped into its faith-based conservative audience.

Thanks in large part to the trio of very different films, summer domestic revenue has crossed $4 billion for the first time since the pandemic, according to Comscore. Final numbers are still being tallied, but revenue looks to clock in at $4.087 billion by the close of Labor Day weekend, a gain of 19 percent over 2022’s $3.434 billion and narrowing the gap from 2019’s $4.348 billion to 6 percent. “Without Barbie and Oppenheimer, we would be having a very different conversation. It would have been a rather mundane summer,” says Wall Street analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners. Adds Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian, “Disruption comes in many forms, and the audience has spoken by their presence and absence for the movies released this summer.”

Hollywood has reason to be rattled by the Barbenheimer phenomenon, which challenges the notion that established franchises rule above all else. “Has it changed the internal dialogue? You bet,” says one top studio executive. “I’ve been in at least three meetings where we’ve talked about how we need to look for something special. It’s scary because you have to make sure your convictions and instincts are right. It’s all about creating a critical mass. That was never the case before.”...

While Barbie is based on an iconic IP, no one in Hollywood — including within Warners — knew whether Gerwig’s irreverent, feminist take would sync with audiences. And Oppenheimer, well, it’s a three-hour biographical drama. “It’s a great sign that audiences coming out of the pandemic are eager to come out and see original titles that captivate their imagination. We’ve all been discussing getting adult audiences back after the pandemic. Wow, did we ever just do that to an amazing degree,” says Universal president of domestic distribution Jim Orr of Oppenheimer‘s stunning results...

In late June, Cruise played the role of theatrical ambassador once again when urging moviegoers to support Oppenheimer and Barbie. (He likely never anticipated what was to follow).

One production executive says no amount of marketing money can replace what happens when a movie breaks out socially, as evidenced by Barbie and Oppenheimer. “It’s like catching lightning in a bottle,” he says...

Summer Scorecard: What Worked...

Oppenheimer No one could have foreseen that this three-hour biopic would become Christopher Nolan’s biggest film in more than 50 overseas markets when factoring in current exchange rates and excluding unreleased territories. (It’s No. 3 in North America, behind the final two Dark Knight films. “Oppenheimer has been phenomenally strong overseas. And what’s particularly interesting is that it’s the biggest Nolan film of all time in more than 50 territories, representing a cross section of different cultures and tastes in upmarket and downmarket territories alike,” says Universal president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg...'