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theonlygamergost · 4 years

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A tattoo for a lost bet - Fd!au (1/3)

This fanfiction is based on the Family Dynamic au made by @antarctic-bay if you would like to know more, go check them out!!!

Also please bear in mind that the things written in this might not be canon!

This fic was corrected by the lovely @im-default

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Techno and Skeppy bet on stupid things, and sometimes their bets can have very severe consequence if lost.

If you want to, look at what Minetra’s desing of Techno tattoo

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Tw! Betting, swearing. Btw, this is very long

Next part --->

Enjoy~

Childhood friends usually have that one thing they used to do or say when they were young, maybe even a habit they caught together and never got rid of. Techno and Skeppy used to bet on the stupidest things when they were young… Well, they still do bet on the stupidest things, but there is a difference from when they were young: they have some money now.

It was very normal for them to bet a couple of dollars on the stupidest things.

“My bus is going to arrive earlier than yours” Bet

“I’ll finish my homework before you” Bet

“I’m betting that you can’t finish your burger before I do” You’re on.

And these are just some examples, they really betted on everything, and Techno won half of them.

That’s why Skeppy stopped betting too much money when playing with him, literally half of Techno’s income was his won bets against him.

That’s why Techno barely stepped down from a bet coming from Skeppy, he was so confident that he also would bet the stupidest things to gain some dollars.

They didn’t bet only money though, they bet other things like objects or small things they had to do if they lost.

And honestly, Techno was so confident he could win a 1v1 in Minecraft against Skeppy, even though if he lost, he had to get a tattoo.

He hadn’t played in a few days due to all-nighters for last-minute tests, but Skeppy was worse than him anyway, it would have been fine… Right?

“You should get something edgy... like a skull!”

“I hate you”

Skeppy laughed as they stood in the waiting room of a tattoo place in town, Techno had lost the bet, and now, he had to get a tattoo.

“Look, you’re lucky I didn’t specify what tattoo you had to get” Techno took off his glasses and allowed his head to fall into his hands, “I know, if it was for you I’d have a dick tattooed on my forehead” Skeppy laughed again, Techno just exhaled in exasperation, out of all of the times he had to lose a bet, why this one?

The customer before them got up and entered what they guessed was the studio, Techno tensed up a little bit

“Do you already have an idea of what you’re getting? I’m pretty good at suggestions” He announced proudly placing his hands on his hips, gaining a death stare from Techno. “You are the last person I’d ask for a suggestion” Skeppy whispered “Ouch” before both of them smiled.

“To answer your question, yes, I do have something in mind”

I mean… after passing an entire night up, looking at tattoo ideas, he had an idea of what he could get, he just couldn’t find a photo or a drawing of what he wanted.

“By the way… “ Skeppy slipped his phone out of his hoodie, “... did you tell Phil about this?”

He froze

Skeppy noticed

“Don’t tell me… “ The boy with the light blue hoodie didn’t finish the question, scared of the answer.

Techno sighed…

and nodded.

“OH MY GOD TECHNO!!!” Skeppy bounced out of his seat, “ I THOUGHT YOU TOLD PHIL ABOUT THIS!!!” Techno gestured at him to be quiet, Skeppy sat back down.

“Phil would have never agreed to this! I had to do this without telling anyone” The customer and the Tattooist came out of the studio, “Plus, I’m doing this somewhere I can hide it pretty easily” he reassured, but mostly himself.

“Dude, you sound like you’re getting it on your butt” Techno pushed him lightly in response.

As the customer left, the tattoo artist came up to them and asked who of the two were here to get tattooed, Techno took a deep breath and got up.

No turning back now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I applied a layer of petroleum jelly and put on a bandage, you’ll have to keep it for about twenty-four hours” Techno carefully listened to the tattooist after stepping out of the studio, “To avoid getting an infection, wash it with an antimicrobial soap and water, you can find it in any store, I recommend patting it dry instead of scratching it, put vaseline on it and keep it moisturized,” Skeppy was comfortably sitting on the couch, half-listening to what they were saying.

“For how long do I have to do this? Techno gently placed a hand on his left shoulder, “It’s a pretty big tattoo so...about four weeks” Skeppy’s eyes widened, p-pretty big? Four weeks? What in the hell did Techno get?

“Remember to do the whole process two times a day and don’t expose it to the sun, if you ever have any questions or insecurities, come see me kid, no worries.” Techno politely thanked him and gestured at Skeppy to follow him out, oh boy did Skeppy have questions for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“THERE WAS NO NEED TO GET IT THAT BIG!!!” Skeppy freaked out when Techno had told him the tattoo went from his left shoulder all the way to his elbow, he could have just gotten a letter or a dot and it would have been fine for him.

“To be honest, I was thinking of getting it smaller, but then the tattooer showed me a design he drew and… “ Rubbing the back of his head, he explained to Skeppy what happened in the studio while he was deciding what to get tattooed. Skeppy calmed down hearing his friend happy about the choice he had made, hoping that he wasn’t going to regret it later.

“By the way… can I see it? Now you’ve made me curious!” Techno shook his head and Skeppy frowned in disappointment.

“I can’t show it right now, the bandages are on it and I can’t take them off for a day, maybe tomorrow at school” Techno smiled subtly, he will never admit this but he couldn’t wait to show Skeppy his tattoo.

Making their way to the bus stop, they shared earbuds to listen to some music, right now they were using Techno’s phone meaning that Monstercat was playing it their ears, specifically, “Call me” by Subtact.

But the music was just a background to fill in an eventual moment of silence, they had been talking since they left the coffee shop and the tattoo argument never left the conversation.

“Would you ever get a tattoo Skeppy?” Techno asked curiously, walking side by side with his best friend, his hands were casually placed in his hoodie’s pockets.

The brown-haired boy had his hands behind his head in a very anime-like pose, “Maybe, I think it would be way smaller than yours though” the sky over the city was grey, the sun’s light was barely able to pass through the immense stretch of clouds, summer was ending and school had already started.

The two young boys arrived at the bus stop and kept chatting until their ride home arrived, Techno’s bus arrived first so they waved their goodbye’s and went their own way.

While looking outside of the window, he started thinking about how to avoid any possible questions about the bandages in the bathroom that his brothers could find.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He opened the front door to find two brothers playing cards on the coffee table, both of them too absorbed in the game to greet him.

“What are you guys doing?” Techno passed next to them to go leave his bag into his room, “Waiting for you to get home, dinner is ready and Phil won’t be coming home until later” Wilbur spoke up, eyes fixed on his cards, “Don’t disappear Technoblade, I just need to heat the food and we can eat” Techno nodded and entered his room, opening his backpack to grab out the bandages and soap he bought before parting ways with Skeppy, he knew there was vaseline somewhere in the bathroom and Will had a moisturizing cream he never admits he has and uses, there was no point in buying them since they were at home already, he could just borrow them.

After taking his shoes off and slipping in his slippers, he exited his room to sit at the counter to eat with Wilbur and Tommy, placing his glasses by his plate and rubbing his tired eyes before taking his first bite.

There were about two or three minutes of silence before anyone started talking.

“Tubbo said that he, Nikki and Eret are planning on a movie night next Saturday, they invited us” Tommy broke the silence, the Berry siblings loved doing movie nights, they had a small projector which served as a monitor and a big ass couch where them plus the Pandel could all fit if squished a bit, reason why they usually invited them.

“I already said I’m going, you guys coming too?” He looked at his older brothers, but his gaze fixed on Techno’s left shoulder… was it just an impression or…?

“I don’t have anything to do so, yeah I’m down” Wilbur replied after taking a sip of water, “You Techno?”

Now both of their gazes were on the pink-haired brother, who was currently munching on a vegetable. “Yeah sure,” he shrugged it off, “Have you asked Phil yet?”

Tommy’s eyes were still fixed on Techno’s left shoulder, “No… I was thinking of…asking him when he came- Techno wh-why is your left shoulder bigger than usual?”

He almost choked on his salad.

“What are you- Oh… yeah, you’re right” Wilbur also looked at his shoulder, welp, fuck.

“I… uh…” Techno almost stuttered, he had forgotten how vigil and attentive to details Tommy could be… what could he tell them…

Saying that he got in a fight was the worst idea ever, knowing his brothers they would have asked him the name, grade and address of who did this to him, so that idea was out of the question.

Eh, just deny it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” he took another fork of his salad, trying to play it cool, “But I swear it looks-”

“Maybe it’s this hoodie” he quickly interrupted him, he had to get the attention somewhere else, fast.

“This hoodie is pretty fluffy and I didn’t use it for the entirety of summer so… “ He trailed off, leaving Tommy very suspicious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day at school wasn’t too different from others, the only “unnatural” thing he had to do was go get a violin and carry it from one side of high school to the other, thank god he usually carried stuff mostly on his right shoulder.

Speaking of carrying, he had to carry his backpack on only his right shoulder, a thing he despised and never did, but placing any type of weight on the new freshly-made tattoo stung a little bit, hopefully in a couple of days he could go back to using both shoulders normally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Bandages… vaseline… the soap is already in the bathroom… “ It had passed twenty-four hours from when he got the tattoo, it was time for him to change the bandage, and to do so, he wanted to be a hundred per cent sure he had everything he needed before going to the bathroom.

He grabbed all of the necessary things and peaked into the living room, Wilbur was in his room and Tommy wasn’t home yet so he took a deep breath and silently DASHED to the bathroom.

First thing first.

Lock. The. Door.

He wasn’t about to get walked in on by one of his brothers, so he locked the door and took another deep breath, he was now partially safe.

Underneath his hoodie, he had changed after arriving home into his only tank top, aka Wilbur got gifted one but he didn’t like it, so much that when doing laundry he had placed it in the stack of Techno’s clothes, so now it was his.

He didn’t want to do the whole operation shirtless so I guess the tank top was pretty convenient.

Stripping out of his hoodie, he looked at the bandages wrapped around his arm and the deep bags under his eyes: if someone else looked at him, they would think he was part of a gang or something.

Carefully peeling off the bandages, he realized that the skin around the tattoo was pretty red, the bits that were getting exposed to the air felt hot, it was going to be a big problem if he had gotten an infection.

As the last part came off, Techno looked once again in the mirror, the beautiful floral tattoo that he had seen drawn on paper by the tattooist look way better on skin, his skin.

Techno was afraid of regretting his decision, getting a tattoo this big from a day to another was careless of him, but god it looked pretty, he loved it.

Realizing that he was smiling at his own reflection, he shook it off and got back into a more concentrated state.

As the tattooist said, with a glass, he poured over the black ink cold water, his shoulders loosened up at the welcome sensation of chill washing over him.

He took the soap he bought and started making slow and soft circular motions, pressing as little as he could-

The sound of the handle trying to open the door made him jump, oh no no no, please…

“What do you want?” he recomposed himself and spoke with his usual unbothered voice, “Did you lock the bathroom Techno?! Why the fuck would you do that?!”, a high voice came from the other side of the door, Tommy must have arrived home from practice and he usually takes a shower right after entering the apartment so…

“It’s called privacy Tommy, plus I just got out of the shower, and no, I’m not rushing, I’m taking my sweet time” A loud groan could be heard right before footsteps walking away, Techno sighed, close one.

He continued taking care of his tattoo with extreme caution, washing away the soap, applying the vaseline, and wrapping it back up again. He threw everything in his drawer ( who usually only had the gel he occasionally used and his trusted comb), put on the hoodie again and shouted at Tommy that the bathroom was free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that, he went straight back into his room to work on the unusually low number of homework, unfortunately, it was French, so it didn’t matter how much stuff he had to do, it was going to take a long time either way.

He finished around the time that Phil got home, the older brother had the habit of greeting every brother one by one, so when a “Hello Technomate~” arrived from the slightly open door, Techno smiled and replied with the least dead-inside voice he could make: “Welcome back home Phil”

He was about to close his textbook as Phil’s voice in the distance asked him a question he wasn’t expecting.

“Hey Techno… Why do you have bandages in your drawer?”

Time stopped and Techno froze, a shiver shot up his spine. Why did Phil open his bathroom drawer?

“Uh… Well… Tommy sometimes comes home with cuts and bruises so I bought bandages in case he ever needs them” It wasn’t a lie, Techno would always patch up Tommy if he got hurt when his protect-the-weak vigilante moves failed him and he got some bruises, his voice was a little shaky but he was so far away from Phil that he probably didn’t notice.

“Huh… That’s… awfully empathic of you… “

Techno stood completely still for a couple more seconds waiting for him to find the antimicrobial soap and the vaseline, but it never happened.

He exhaled after taking off his glasses, throwing himself on the bed, turning to face the ceiling.

He didn’t regret getting this tattoo, but for how long could he keep it hidden from his brothers? For how long would he be able to lie to his brother?

Only time could tell.

#technoblade #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #ph1lza #the eret #nihachu #tubbolive #my writing #my fanfiction #fanfiction #writing #fd!au #fd au #mcyt #mcyt fanfiction

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lena-in-a-red-dress · 3 years

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High Strung AU Part 2

As they work on the competition piece, Kara and Lena grow closer. They kiss over a brainstorming session, when Kara dances out an idea, and Lena looks at her like she could drink her in for ages. That night, Lena confesses that the reason she couldn’t go to the police about her violin is because her visa has long expired, and drawing any attention to herself could end in her deportation to a country she doesn’t feel is home anymore.

“If we win the competition, you could enroll in NCCA,” Kara murmurs with swollen lips. “You would qualify for a student visa. You could stay.”

“With you? I’m counting on it.”

Kara stays over the night she walks in on Lena playing a song that sounds like an ocean put to music. It’s deep, and old, and speaks to something in Kara that she can’t name. That night, lying in bed with their legs tangled together, Lena confesses that she doesn’t want to play anyone else’s song for the competition. She wants to play her own. A song for Kara.

Lena accepts the loaner violin, and together she and Kara start to work on their program. Kara takes on the choreography, even charming Lena’s street-dancing upstairs neighbors into joining their cast. But the music-- the music is all Lena. Lena pours herself into it, and Kara feels the love in every note, each beat a smile, a kiss, a heart.

She falls deep, but she falls wholeheartedly, knowing that Lena is falling right alongside her.

The day of the competition, Lena is on her way to the theater when she notices a dark sedan following her. She ducks into an alley, and for a moment she thinks she’s lost them but just as she exits on the other side a car with sirens screeches to a stop in front of her.

“You Lena Luthor?” a man with a badge asks. “We need to have a chat.”

At the precinct, they immediately hone in on her immigration status, but all Lena can think about is the minutes ticking by as the competition’s go-time inches closer and closer. Meanwhile Kara and the other dancers are all sweating in the dressing room, wondering where the fuck Lena could be. Their performance hinges entirely on Lena-- without her, they have to withdraw-- but all Kara can think about is that something awful must have happened. Lena would never leave them hanging like this, something must have happened....

“Look, Lena,” the gentleman across the desk from Lena says, leaning forward intently. “I’m not interested in your status today.”

“Then why am I here? I kind of have somewhere to be, so--”

“We need information. About your father, Lionel.”

Lena’s face lifts with surprise, then falls in resignation. Mirroring her interrogator’s posture, Lena leans forward as well.

“I will tell you absolutely anything you want to know, tomorrow. Tonight, there’s somewhere I have to be.”

Backstage, Kara and the dancers are all at places, giving Lena until the very last moment. When the stage manager signals their cue and still no Lena, Kara’s heart falls. But then a flicker of motion at the edge of her vision makes her freeze. There she is: Lena-- sweating and breathing hard, Lena is here. Kara launches into her arms with a quiet laugh, and Lena nearly crushes her in the hug that follows.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I’m late, I’ll explain everything later--”

“Here,” Kara says, placing a familiar shape into Lena’s hands.

Lena stares at it in confusion, then in shock. “My mother’s violin.” Her throat locks up with emotion. “How did you...”

“The pawn shop called. Someone brought it in, and I picked it up on the way here. I thought-- no, I knew you shouldn’t be playing with anything else tonight.”

Lena’s eyes fill with tears. “Thank you,” she whispers. “Truly.”

Kara nods with a smile, giving her one last kiss. “Let’s do this.”

Their performance is choreographed to be a story-- their story. The story of peace, a home lost, then regained in the form of new family. Kara dances her heart out to Lena’s music, and as she moves she feels her body unlike she ever has before. She feels every movement more keenly, every step as powerful as the storm Lena’s music creates. Integrating her ballet with the street dancers’ contemporary style, the fusion meshes with the techno beat of Lena’s composition seamlessly, embodying it’s swirling energy with grace and style.

And as she dances, Kara remains aware of Lena, catching glimpses of her when she passes. Glimpses of Lena, standing in the spotlight with her mother’s violin, hair and body swaying with the force of her playing, eyes closed as her fingers find the notes with unerring precision. She’s never been more beautiful, never more magnetic, than in this moment, and Kara feels a tug low in her stomach.

It takes all of her restraint to keep from kissing Lena right there on the stage, even as they’re taking their bows after the music ends. It’s all she can do to wait until they’re in the wings, pressed in among the sweaty bodies of the other giddy dancers, before she loops her arms around Lena’s neck and kisses her soundly.

“That was... amazing.”

Lena nods, still stunned from the thunderous applause and the high of performing. “Yeah. Kinda different from my subway platform, huh?”

In that moment, Kara hopes that, even if they don’t win, the dean of admissions had seen Lena’s performance, and realized that Lena belonged with them.

“All groups to the stage, please!”

Kara and Lena funnel out onto the stage with the others, hand in hand, to stand alongside Mike and his own dance group. Kara had heard the music through the loudspeakers back stage while waiting and worrying for Lena, and while it had been technically flawless, it had been stiff as well. Without heart.

If nothing else, Kara knows their own group has heart.

“And tonight’s winner is... Lena Luthor, and her dance partner, Kara Danvers!”

The stage and the audience erupts into cheers. Kara turns to Lena, laughing gleefully, to find her girlfriend staring, stunned. “We won!” Kara throws her arms around Lena. “We won!”

The embrace shakes Lena from her shock, lifting her arms to wrap around Kara’s waist.

“We did it.”

We.

Kara pulls back, beaming. “Yeah. We did.”

Then she kisses Lena, and the rest of the world falls away.

The following year, NCCA’s brightest dancing star returns to school hand in hand with its newest leather-wearing violinist rockstar.

#high strung au #supercorp #part 2 #the competition

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crystalirises · 3 years

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The Love of Fools

I smile... knowing I have never read Romeo and Juliet and have no plans to read Romeo and Juliet.

Listen. I know it's a tragedy and all, but it still has focus on the romance and I just don't like reading romantic stories. They're not my cup of tea. Because of this, the one I wrote may not be Romeo and Juliet in particular... it has some elements of it, but it's not a Romeo and Juliet AU. I tried.

...Also I changed my username... yay XD

TW: Major Character Death, War, Blood, Violence, Double Suicide, and Talk of Suicide

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886223/chapters/81467140

Fundy closed the heavy oaken doors behind him, breathing in the fresh night air, the collar of his suit biting into the skin of his neck. His sensitive ears picked up the soft lull of violin music within the ballroom, their family��s guests lost in a world of waltz and merriment. He picked at his collar, loosening it to give him but a quick moment to breath. Amongst the festivities, he could faintly hear his father’s low whispers. Fundy shook his head, making his way towards the railing of the balcony, decorated with tulips. “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”

“I don’t know who Romeo is, but I’m quite the Dream, don’t you think?” He tried not to giggle the moment he caught a glimpse of a red rose floating above the banister. His fingers curled around the stem, flincing the moment he touched an uncut thorn. Blood coated the green, dripping before landing against a white porcelain mask. Dream’s masked face appeared, hands grasping the vines that grew around the rails before finally climbing over the balcony. Fundy concealed his bleeding finger, not wishing to worry Dream. It was a rare moment for them both, after all. Dream moved the mask so that it was resting on those blonde curls that shone like the finest gold, green eyes that seem to hold the vast and lush forest stared at Fundy with such love that he couldn’t help but lean forward, pressing a soft kiss to his lover’s lips. “I missed you.”

“As do I.” They parted, their kiss lingering in the air. It was quick, a moment to last until their next meeting. It was all they could afford, that short time when the world melted away. When Fundy was not the Crown Prince of L’Manburg and Dream was not the leader of the Essempian Rebellion. For that brief moment, they were both two star-crossed lovers, longing for the other with all their heart and soul. Dream reached for his hand, lacing them together before they turned to look out into the night sky. Fundy rested his head against Dream’s shoulder, relaxing in the warmth of his love. Dream’s eyes twinkled with starlight, the stars shining against the green. If Dream held the silver of the moon in his eyes, Fundy held the gold of sunlight. It was a strange characteristic for them to share. Dream with his hair of gold, and Fundy with his fiery red hair that had streaks of silver. They were both the sun and moon. “How bold of you to show tonight.”

“And miss an opportunity to see you? Might as well take a dagger to my heart.” He refrained from rolling his eyes, it would be unbecoming, even if he was free to act as himself around Dream. He looked down at their entwined hands, a smile crossing his face. Dream followed his gaze, chuckling before rubbing Fundy’s knuckles with his thumb. He could see that there was a new scar on the back of Dream’s hand, gained from the many battles that he’s no doubt found himself in. In a better world, Fundy would have preferred that his heart had chosen a man who wouldn’t scare him so. However, what world would that be? And why would Fundy ever give up the man he actually loves? “You, on the other hand, should be inside… with all the fancy folk.”

“You’re right, I can’t imagine the interesting topics I’m missing by being with you. All that talk of politics, proposals, and marriages. You’re right, I should head inside.” Fundy winked, slowly slipping his hand from Dream’s hold. The man pouted, reaching for his hand again before pulling him back. He giggled, leaning against Dream’s chest. His free hand had caught itself on Dream’s chest, right above his heart. Beneath his fingertips, he could hear his love’s heart, its steady beat making him quite dizzy with the thought that they were here. That they were alive. He took their intertwined hands, pressing a kiss to the scar on Dream’s hand. “They have nothing to say that could ever pique my interest. You… Well, you’re very interesting. So… mysterious. So…”

“Entertaining?” His nose scrunch up at the word, Dream chuckling at his sudden glare. If he wanted entertainment, Fundy would have sought out any of his three uncles. Uncle Tubbo was fun to be around, for they both shared an interest in redstone and animals. Uncle Tommy was argumentative, but he made for great conversation. Uncle Techno was filled with stories of his own and with knowledge of the myths, there was no moment where he felt bored to be around his uncle. Dream was not entertainment. Fundy had no proper word to describe him yet, but he’d find one. He just knew that Dream made him feel like he wasn’t who his father and everyone else expected him to be. “I know. I know. You don’t see me as another trinket to amuse yourself with. Still, to be with me is to incite danger. What would your father say if he ever found out—”

“He would be too furious to say anything. You would have pushed him beyond words, beyond reason. I dare say, he’d have your head if he were to ever find out. And… perhaps, I may never see the light of day again.” That may be an exaggeration, but with his father, Fundy could never know how he might react. To argue with him was to be like punching a great oaken tree. It would hurt, and it would be nearly impossible to get through. Ever since his father became the king, he’s been under a lot of stress. Fundy couldn’t fault him, after all, he loved his father. Yet he would like to go a day without his father intruding upon his privacy to ensure that Fundy wasn’t climbing a tree or scamming someone out of their money. Both were very unbecoming for a Crown Prince. Dream winced beside him, and Fundy had to wonder why he still remained by his side. “You know, many a suitor have left me in favor of their lives. Why are you so different?”

“Now, I do value my life and would rather not be brutally murdered by Wilbur.” For a moment, Dream glanced down at his hand, and Fundy knew it was no ordinary soldier that had wounded him. Fundy pressed another kiss against the scar, wishing that he had been born with the gift of a healer. But that was not what fate dealt him. He was an inventor. Like how Dream was a leader. It was what they were given in, it was their life’s destiny. Yet, destiny had allowed them to meet despite all odds. Or perhaps - and it was odd to think of, but he’d thought it through ever since he met Dream - that destiny was what they made it to be. “But I love you more than life or death.”

“Don’t be so careless, death and life are not matters that should be taken lightly.” Fundy was taught to be careful with his words, a talent he’d used to trick people, much to his father’s disappointment. Death and life were ideas that one did not trifle with in such a calm and joking manner. It was no secret that his grandfather had somehow gained favor with the Goddess of Death, and Fundy would not wish to disrespect his grandmother, wherever she may be. However, it would be a lie to say that his heart didn’t skip a beat at Dream’s declaration. His rebel always knew how to make him blush. He shouldn’t be happy with his lover’s words. What good were they when everything was stacked against them? Regardless of life or death, they were not meant to be. “You don’t mean that. What we have, it cannot go on forever. We cannot possibly be—”

“Then hear my proposal.” Dream squeezed his hand, reaching to hold both his hands in his own. Fundy held his breath, his head heavy with euphoria and trepidation. There was a genuine gleam in Dream’s eye, one that made Fundy wish to either retreat inside or pull Dream into a kiss to cut him off. He liked what they had. He wasn’t sure he could handle any change that was about to come. “Run away with me. Far from your family’s expectations, away from the coming war.”

“You would abandon your people and you ask me to abandon mine?” His breath caught in his throat. What was one to say to such a proposal? What could he say that wouldn’t somehow damage any of his relationships or hurt anyone in the end? What should he say? Fundy lowered his gaze, sweat dripping down the sides of his neck. His destiny hung in what he was to say. He thought of both outcomes. If he were to run, perhaps he and Dream could move far away where no one would ever find them. Yet would his father let them live in peace? Would he not hunt them down? Would he not be breaking his father’s heart if he were to run without so much as a goodbye? If he were to stay, he’d incite Dream’s hate. Then, he’d lose his only love. He may never see Dream again if he were to refuse. Fundy trembled, “Dream, you know I can’t just—”

“Little champion?” They both froze, a knock at the door sending both of them into a momentary panic. The door creaked open, but Fundy quickly lunged towards it, slamming against it with a thud. He could sense his father’s surprise and concern, the door moving against his hold. Dream strayed towards the shadow, hiding behind Fundy. He tried not to giggle as Dream’s breath tickled the back of his neck. He couldn’t be caught dead with a suitor, much less Dream. His father’s fingers appeared within his vision, the man pushing even more against Fundy. “Fundy, what’s wrong? You know you shouldn’t be alone. We live in quite a dangerous time, my son.”

“I know. I was just… taking in a bit of fresh air.” He leaned against the door, putting all of his weight while Dream tried to help him fix his collar. Dream’s nimble fingers grazed against his skin, causing him to shiver at how cold Dream’s hands really were. He felt the door jolt behind him. “I’ll be inside in a minute. Just… just wait! Dad, wait! I’ll be in a minute! Just wait!”

Dream rolled his eyes, a cheeky grin appearing on his face. He adjusted his mask, but not before pressing a kiss against Fundy’s lips. It was enough of a distraction for him to stop guarding the door. His father burst through the door, but by that time, Dream had long since disappeared.

Fundy could only stare at his father, the man confused as to why his son seemed so flustered.

---

Perhaps this was destiny. Fundy chuckled, nearly choking on his breath. The dusty blue sky was above them, the sun high on the sky. He could feel Dream beside him, their hands intertwined with one another’s while they listened to the war wage on around them. It had been a mistake to exile Dream, not because he loved him, but because Fundy knew Dream’s friends and family wouldn’t take it lightly. The independence war had come and gone, with a bit of convincing from his side, the Essempy had been granted independence. Then Tommy had gone and incited a bit of a feud with Sapnap, needless to say, he’d nearly lost an uncle that day. His family couldn’t handle the outrage and slander that had caused, so Dream had to bear the punishment. He hadn’t seen his lover in years, and yet now here they were, right about to fall into Death’s kind embrace.

“You are a fool.” Fundy swallowed, the poison he had ingested had begun to burn his throat. His body was a shivering mess, his skin cold to the touch despite the heat that was spreading throughout him. Dream laid by his side, blood flowing from his stomach. He could see the dagger nearby, his lover’s blood still on it. If he’d known that Dream would follow him to death, he would have chosen to run away with him all those years ago. He caught Dream’s smile, a piece of the broken porcelain mask laid near his lover’s head. He wasn’t sure where the mask had gone. “You have your life. You have your future. Why would you willingly chase after me?”

“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part." Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes, their vows echoing in his mind. It had been a quick wedding, one that may never be honored by the gods, but what mattered was that they had vowed to be with one another no matter what may come. Dream moved closer, his face turning pale with each second that passed. Fundy forced himself to move, his heart growing heavier and heavier, threatening to stop at any moment. They didn’t stop moving until they were face to face, their eyes staring into the other’s, their entwined hands laid in between them. He wished he could move closer, but his strength had forsaken him. Dream pressed a kiss against his hand. “But I love you more than life or death. So, I shall follow you.”

“You absolute fool.” Fundy laughed despite the pain, closing his eyes against the tears that fell past his cheeks. He pulled at their hands, resting his head against them. He had wondered for many nights when he’d see Dream again, when he’d be able to hold him in his arms. He hadn’t known that it’d only be in the precipice of death that they’d meet again. Perhaps, Fundy was the fool. He’d taken the poison first, Dream had merely followed with the blade. If he had known that Dream would come for him, then he wouldn’t have given himself into despair. He’d led them to their death. “I’m sorry. You deserve to live, if not for yourself then for me. I’m sorry.”

“These past few years have been torture. My loneliness and despair consumed me, but it was the thought of you that kept me alive.” Dream shook his head, his eyes misting over with tears. Fundy felt the injustice of it all. Their only crime had been love, must death be the punishment? If only they could hold onto each other for just a little longer. But as is their fate, they could only ever have the small moments. “You will not abandon me on this cruel earth. I shall go with you.”

“Then together we shall go.” They were both fools. Fundy was a fool for giving up too easily, and Dream was a fool to follow him in his mistake. His mind was beginning to numb, his breath getting harder to catch. Dream’s eyes had shut close, his brow creased in pain. There was nothing to be done to save them now. They’ll die here, together. “I… I know what you are to me now.”

“I’m not your entertainment? Here I thought I impressed you enough to amuse you for the rest of your days.” Dream weakly laughed, the afternoon sun glinting off his dull blonde hair. Fundy wished he could see his lover’s eyes once more, but the moment had passed, he must be content with staring at Dream’s face instead. He’d memorize it, burn it into his memory that even death wouldn’t be able to make him forget his love. He’d hold on, even if he was reborn into a new world, into a new life. He never wanted to forget. “What am I to you…? What was I to you?”

“You are the blue sky. You are the fleeting light of day. You are the stars of the night.” Fundy giggled despite himself, despite the darkness that was beginning to crawl into his fading vision. He heard Dream’s hitched breath in his ear. It wouldn’t be long now. “You are freedom.”

He closed his eyes, content to feel Dream’s hand in his. It was strange, to think that they may have never met if Fundy hadn’t turned at the right moment. It had been another ball, his father too occupied with one of the guests to monitor where Fundy wandered off to. He had been having a conversation with one of the many other nobles, when a glint in the corner caught his eye. Fundy had glanced over, surprised to find a lime blur disappearing into the crowd. No one would be caught dead in such a bright color. Fundy had followed, then he met the love of his life.

He could hear his grandmother’s voice in his ear now. He’d met her two times in his short life, those moments brief and soothing, but now he could feel a bit of fear. Dream squeezed his hand, and Fundy took a breath. He wasn’t alone. With his sensitive ears, he could hear the faint approach of footsteps, his father’s low whispers through the explosions. He could hear a few of Dream’s friends as well. His heart ached for them. Dream and Fundy never said their farewells.

Fundy choked back a sob.

He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to say goodbye.

He didn’t want to die and forget.

Fundy forced a smile to his face, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Dream whispered, “Then may we meet again in the next life, and fall in love all over again.”

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Clarification: In this world, L'Manburg is the country that rules over the land, and the Essempy is the one that is the rebelling country. Unlike L'Manburg, however, instead of the whole Pogtopia Arc, it just skipped straight ahead to the New L'Manburg Arc in which they have a new country but someone is getting exiled because someone got pissed.

Yeah, Dream was exiled (because Romeo was exiled) and I know Juliet devised the whole poison-coma thing because she didn't want to marry Paris but I didn't know how to put such a concept in this. So, instead, Fundy was devastated that he may never see Dream again and with the waging war with the Essempy, he just decided to commit suicide. Dream comes back during said war, finds Fundy and realizes that Fundy drank a poison that cannot be cured (shhh I know Minecraft mechanics don't work like that but shush). So he also commits suicide by stabbing himself with a dagger.

... yeah...

(Also yes I know the deaths are reversed cause Romeo was the one who drank the poison and Juliet was the one who stabbed herself with the dagger. I just felt the need to reverse the death because Fundy actually drank poison to kill himself. So... yeah...)

This is not for the faint of heart.

#fundy #dreamwastaken dsmp #wilbur soot #fundywastaken #dream smp fanfiction #dsmp #romeo and juliet au #sort of

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kalesorbet · 3 years

Text

Techno's Violin

uhhhh hey my name's kale and i wrote this (inspo creds to ray daymaretwt on twitter)

The voices like the violin.

Techno doesn’t remember where he learned to play, who taught him, hell he doesn’t even know where the instrument came from.

What he does know is that playing the violin is… relaxing. When he plays he gets brief moments of uninterrupted peace, moments where the voices aren’t silent but for once they all collectively, unanimously agree on a single note and nothing else (it’s e, sometimes he wishes they’d pick a different one so he can branch out into more songs but he makes do.)

The voices like the way he tunes the instrument, he rests it lightly on his shoulder. Uses his left hand to turn the pegs and his right hand to run the bow across the strings. They like the chords he makes with the open strings to double check his pitches. They hate the way he cleans the strings, the Bad Sound it makes when he cleans the rosin from the strings isn’t pleasant for Anyone involved. They love the way he puts rosin on the bow. It’s repetitive and the horse hair reminds them of Carl.

Not many people on the server know about this hobby. Phil, obviously, knows (because there isn’t much that Phil doesn’t know about him) and loves when he plays.

After Wilbur died, Techno spent hours playing. He claims it was to make sure Phil could still hear after the incessant ringing of the explosions echoed in his ears for hours on end. He didn’t stop until Phil was asleep.

He’s shy, is the biggest reason. Performing isn’t easy on its own. String crossing, shifting, timing the vibrato just right, open versus closed notes, and god forbid he play a wrong note

(one time he played a B flat instead of a natural B and chat sang technoFLAT for eight weeks following. Needless to say now he checks the key signature Every. Single. Time.)

Ranboo found out when he came back from a totem trip. Techno didn’t even hear him approach the house looking for Phil to distribute the extras while he assumed Techno was asleep.

Ranboo didn’t knock. Phil had apparently given him a spare key and told him to drop in whenever. He stood in stunned silence as he watched Techno play for a few minutes before the voices noticed his presence and sent blaring alarms and sirens across Techno’s mind

(leaving a killer headache for a few hours after)

Techno doesn’t own sheet music (there are only so many songs that can harmonize with e the entire time, he knows them by heart). While he may start shy, he certainly doesn’t stay that way for long. Having the music memorized means he can close his eyes. His small gold glasses rest on his nose and his eyes flutter shut gently, you almost can’t tell they’re closed at all.

He leans into the music, swaying with the notes and leaning into the crescendos. His shoulders tense for the runs of sixteenth notes and relax with the lighter, softer melodies that follow. His eyebrows furrow together when he’s concentrating particularly hard.

And he’s completely vulnerable. He’s not listening to anything but the music so he can’t hear anyone approach, his eyes are closed in his melodic trance so he couldn’t see anyone if he wanted to, and the voices aren’t particularly paying attention to the outside world either so they can’t warn him in a timely manner if anything were to happen.

The only time he’s ever felt this kind of peace in his life before is when he fights. The voices in their chorus of blood and the rhythmic dance he does with the enemy mirrors their harmony and his rhythm in time with his music.

The arc of his bow matches that of his blade at the climax of the fight song. He moves his feet in 3/4 time, dancing the deadliest waltz he knows (some of the voices know the songs, and play for him in his carnage).

One day Niki will discover his talent, speaking softly of “healthy coping mechanisms” and “baking” and he’ll nod along, cheeks pink with the flush of being caught.

One day he’ll play along to sparring sessions and find new melodies in Phil’s deadly but graceful movements.

One day he’ll start playing and Niki will start singing along, a song he’s never heard before but now won’t ever forget.

One day he’ll finish playing and look out the window to see Ranboo sitting on the roof of his house, clapping softly.

One day he will realize that the voices are not the only ones that love him his music.

#my first writing thing!!#dream smp #dsmp #technoblade #c!wilbur #c!ranboo #c!philza #c!niki #i need validation someone validate me

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innittowinit · 4 years

Text

SBI headcanons awooga

Some headcanons and things for my sbi fd! Abandoned amusement park fic lol

Here's the link if you haven't read it btw

SBI last name is Reid, DT last name is Jackson btw lmao, i probably won't mention it much though unless it's like Mrs Reid for the sbi mom y'know

This has Tommy, Techno, Wilbur and Phil included; lmk if a dt post would be a good idea too

Tommy

The youngest brother, he’s seven lmao what a child

Even though he’s the youngest, he’s also the most confrontational and will gladly ‘fight’ anyone who talks bad about his brothers

He can’t fight

He’s very tall for his age but is also extremely light since he’s always running around

Phil tries to get him to try new foods a lot but Tommy’s a really picky eater

...Tantrums.. Every time he doesn’t get his way

This lead to his brothers spoiling him quite a bit, he’s still sweet enough though since Phil has had many stern conversations with him about being nice to people

Has a toy music boy, with collectable discs

Wilbur got his first disc for him, it’s his most prised possession

Every time he does all of his chores (which are really just small things like clean up after himself and keep his room tidy) someone, whether its his Mum, Wilbur or someone else, gets him a new disc

Techno got him ‘Pig step’ for his seventh birthday and he listens to it every night before bed

One time he snuck downstairs while Techno and Wilbur were having a sleepover and watched the horror movie they were watching without them realising it. Techno and Wil were the ones to get into trouble since Tommy wouldn’t sleep for a week afterwards.

Techno had to read him a story every night until he stopped thinking he was going to be eaten by a demon in the middle of the night

Drinks way too much caffeine for a kid, someone take this boys coke away

He’s got a habit of biting his nails, which has left him with some pretty crooked teeth, which will probably need to be fixed with braces when he’s older.

It’s also gross because he climbs so much there’s almost always dirt under his nails

Hasn’t really grasped the whole concept of not saying everything he thinks yet

Oh my god someone shut this boy up

He still believes in Santa and The easter bunny too

One time Techno told him Oogie Boogie from the nightmare before christmas was real and he cried

He talks a lot in school because he finds it boring but he’s also very good at maths and English for his age

Wilbur

Middle child, Wil is 13. Techno’s twin

He’s pretty insecure about his music even though he’s been playing his whole life

That’s why he likes being able to practice in L’manburg, there’s no pressure to be perfect when he’s alone with his brothers

Super extroverted and confident in everything else though, Since Techno can’t talk to most people, he usually tries to speak for both of them

After realising that Techno didn’t really like it when he said ‘Techno thinks’ a lot, back in primary school, he adapted to trying to speak for what Techno wants without making Techno’s issues obvious

They tell people who need to know, but for people they’ll only talk to a few times they usually just get away with Wilbur acting super obnoxious and loud so it seems like Techno just doesn’t have room to talk, rather than that he can't

It’s easier than getting into it since they don’t feel like most people will understand

has separation Anxiety, when he’s not with his brother he doesn’t relax/ feel safe at all. If it happens at school he won't do his work at all/ Will probably just leave the room and try to find Techno

Everyone kinda knows this and they try to suit things around it without saying it outright

He’s kinda embarrassed, he likes to think he’s the one protecting Techno but really they need each other the same amount

Techno gets this though, He doesn’t mind if wilbur has a bit of a saviour complex, he’ll play along if it makes him happy

They’re working on it with their Therapist though so don’t worry, he won't grow up to be an ass

Interests (besides music) include:

Watching obscure documentaries

Disney movies, favourite is peter pan

Skating

He and Techno got Picked on in primary school for being so close, he learnt kickboxing so he could defend himself if things ever got physical. Luckily they didn’t but he still knows how to kickbox so watch out

Almost always turning in homework late, he’s good at talking his way out of Detentions though.

And when he cant talk his way out, Techno finds a way to get detention too

He’s VERY protective of his younger brother(s(he was born first so he likes to insist that Techno is his little brother))

That’s good for the most part but he can be a little overbearing sometimes, he’s got detention many many times for cussing out people who so much as looked at Techno wrong

When he’s feeling guilty he mumbles a lot

Techno

Middle child, 13. Wilbur’s twin

Has selective Mutism, completely fine talking to Wilbur, Only talks to Tommy and Phil if Wil is there too but other than that he’s completely fine talking to them as well. He speaks to his parents but not as openly as he does with his brothers, with them its usually very quiet, one word sentences

Like Wilbur, separation Anxiety also, It’s not as bad as Wilbur’s is though, Wil just makes him comfortable enough to talk with his brothers, he can deal with being without Wilbur but he absolutely doesn’t want to

He can be a bit arrogant and possessive of his brothers at times, he’s a bit scared of them leaving him because he can be so difficult so he has a tendency to be cold to any new people they bring home

Interests include: Pvp games, ancient china, farming

He was hyper-fixated on a cartoon when he was younger and now he has multiple cosplays from it that he’ll probably never wear again

His hair is LONG and pink, they never figured out why it grew so fast or why it was pink but it is lmao

When he was born his parents were terrified, they thought he had some kind of rare condition that was going to hurt him but the doctors eventually came to the conclusion that he just had healthy hair that grew fast and the pinkness was due to an abnormality in the melanin in his system or something idk fellas im failing science pls pretend this part makes sense

Being silent with long pink hair as a kid, he got picked on a lot. There were many instances where he just pushed kids over or hit them because they were being mean

Since he’s the quiet one, teachers usually trust him a lot so he and wilbur used to skip class a lot, back when they got picked on, by saying they had to help another teacher do something

In an attempt to get him to be more social, his parents signed him up for violin lessons aged 8, he really liked his teacher and had even managed to speak a little to her over the past 4 years he took lessons

Spaces out a lot

He watches a lot of conspiracy theory videos but he doesn’t actually believe any of them, he just finds them interesting

One time he convinced Tommy they were living in a simulation and Tommy hit a kid to see if his hand would pass through

He’s spoken a few words to squidkid too since they’re childhood friends and he’s very comfortable with him. Ironically all he seems to say to him is ‘bozo’ to tease the other for saying it so often, instead of literally any other insult

Phil

Oldest brother, 16

Cares about his brothers so so so so so much like he will do anything to keep them happy and safe

One time he missed an exam because Tommy was sick and he wanted to take him to the doctor before anything else

Tommy was fine btw, just one of those bugs you get when you're little

Their parents are pretty distant so Phil has been pretty much raising them since he was little, he doesn’t mind though

Their parents aren’t bad people or anything, they just get called out a lot for work and can’t be at home a whole bunch, it’s a big part of the reason why Techno never got comfortable talking a lot around them

He works at a Nearby florist to get extra cash to buy his brothers things when his parents arent home

When their mum is home, he brings her flower arrangements home from work because he is sweet <3

He’s really into mythology and Folklore as well as drawing, when he was younger he had multiple sketchbooks filled up with different creatures that he had drawn

When he, techno and wilbur were all little, he used to play a game with them where they’d describe a monster off the tops of their heads and he’d draw it for them

Techno and Wilbur loved this and always put up Phil’s drawings on their bedroom walls

When he was 13 he used to write angsty poetry, He told wilbur about it one day and that's when wilbur first started adding lyrics to his songs

He can be pretty gullible, he likes to believe that people mean good no matter how hard it might be to see it that way

He can hold grudges for a pretty long time, he’s quick to forgive when it’s himself that’s been hurt but it’s very very hard to get on his good side again if you hurt his brothers

Watches Alien theories with techno, unlike techno he actually believes in them

Has the ‘i believe in aliens’ poster

When they were little, he used to grow strawberry plants with techno and Wilbur, this is what prompted techno to start growing other vegetables in their garden himself

#sleepyblr #sleepy bois inc #sbi #fanfic #mcyt #mineblr

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shepard-ram · 3 years

Note

Part 2 of Echo’s Madoka AU

-This is just gonna be me explaining my reasoning behind why I assigned some people certain roles.

-Also this is important but in this AU everyone is around the age of 16-17 because it makes things easier. Okay? Okay!

🚫TW/CW for death, violence, angst, also Spoiler for Madoka Magica🚫

-Anyways I put reader as Madoka because yeah...no reason other than they the protag. Just saying it now, Reader doesn’t become a magical girl until the very end of the AU.

-Tommy is Sayaka because I feel like making you all suffer with Tommy angst. That’s not the only reason but I gotta explain more actual character stuff. In the show Sayaka is best friends with two girls, Madoka and Hitomi. Sayaka wants to become a magical girl for two reasons. Reason one, one of the first magical girls she meets is Mami, and Sayaka looks up to Mami. The second reason is that she wants to use her wish Kyubey will grant to heal her crush, Kyosuke. Kyosuke used to play the violin but he permanently damaged his hands so he can no longer play. After Mami dies Sayaka decides to use her wish to heal Kyosuke and becomes a magical girl. Sayaka gains a rival named Sakura and they almost kill each other on several occasions. Sayaka’s friend Hitomi confesses to Kyosuke that she likes him and he accepts her feelings. The despair this causes Sayaka causes her to turn into a witch.

-So, in this case scenario the reader, Tommy, and Tubbo are all good friends. Tubbo likes to play the piano in this AU so after he permanently damaged his hands he becomes depressed that he can no longer play. Tommy uses his wish to heal Tubbo’s hands so he can play again. Tommy is happy to see Tubbo happy until Tubbo starts slowly leaving him behind and making new friends. Specifically with this new transfer student named Ranboo. Tommy already had to go through the grief of losing Wilbur, having to deal with Techno, and finding out the truth of the soul gems, this was seemingly the final straw. He felt all alone after Tubbo left and almost regrets wishing for his hands to be fixed. His soul gem breaks and he becomes a witch.

-Wilbur is Mami because they are both good with their words, they think things through, they are wise, brave, and strong. Mami in the show saves Sayaka and Madoka then they become friends. Kyubey and Mami think that the two girls have potential to become strong magical girls. Mami is seen as the perfect magical girl in almost everyone’s eyes. She fights for justice and the people of the city.

-This is where I think Wilbur’s character in the AU would be slightly different. At one point in time Wilbur did believe in those things. At one point he fought for the benefit of the people. That was until he had a major falling out with a close friend of his. His friend had very different beliefs to his on how they should be taking down the witches. One of the biggest reasons why magical users fight witches is for the grief seeds used to keep their soul gems clean. A witch that has killed more people is more likely to drop a grief seed. Wilbur’s friend thought it was better to let the witches kill a few people before hunting them down. Wilbur didn’t agree with that and they fought. Neither sides won the fight and they split up. After the whole situation Wilbur kind of stopped caring about justice and fighting for the people. He grew tired of it all, that was until he met the Reader and Tommy. He could tell they both had a lot of potential and he could use them to make his job easier. The whole fighting for justice thing was something he was on you really saying to make himself look better in front of the pair. He honestly didn’t care about the two of them that much...at first. He found himself getting happy when he got to spend time with them. Sure Tommy was hella annoying but he enjoyed having him around. Wilbur had fun teaching them about what it meant to be a magic user. Reader confesses that they see Wilbur as a real hero and they want to be like him. Wilbur breaks and confesses that this whole time he hasn’t been honest about really caring about justice. He was just fighting because it was the only thing keeping him alive. He fought because at this point he had no other choice. But now he feels like he actually wants to try and fight for justice with the reader and Tommy by his side. He wants to change for the better and his sudden urge of motivation drives him to be reckless and that’s what leads to his end.

-Techno is Kyoko because they are both strong, powerful, they can be kinda rude, and maybe a bit selfish, but they have soft sides to them.

-In the AU the friend Wilbur had a falling out with was Techno. After their fight Techno leaves to a different city to hunt for witches somewhere where he wouldn’t be bothered. He only came back to the main city after hearing Wilbur kicked the bucket. He felt a little sad but acted like it didn’t affect him. He was so confident that he would be able to easily control the area until Tommy showed up. Tommy had the same idealism as Wilbur. Fight for the people, not for yourself. Techno tried to kill off Tommy after their first encounter but it failed. Afterwards he would often taunt Tommy and even threatened to kill Tubbo at one point. Tommy got pissed at Techno so they fought on a bridge over a highway. The reader and Karl interrupted though and it caused Tommy’s soul gem to fall onto a moving truck. This is when they all find out about half the truth of soul gems. (Soul gems can only be a certain distance away from the users body for else the body will die. They can be brought back though if the soul gem is still intact)Techno feels bad for what he did when looking back on it. When he looks at Tommy he sees Wilbur but he also sees a old version of him. Someone who made their wish for someone else and it backfired. Techno tries to reach out to Tommy but it fails. After Tommy becomes a witch he goes into denial asking for the reader to help him turn Tommy back to a human even though it’s not possible. The reader almost dies until Karl saves them. Techno ends up killing Tommy’s witch by sacrificing himself to let Karl and Reader escape. Techno knew he could have escaped too but he rather die with Tommy then let him be alone.

-Karl is Homura because time magic go brr.

-Homura is seen as a cold, mysterious person but in reality she’s not. She’s seen so much suffering and so much pain that it made her act the way she does. Who was it that was suffering? It was Madoka. Homura was weak and alone till she met Madoka. Madoka brought color and hope into her life when she saved her from a witch. Madoka always said she was her friend. Then a terrible witch named walpurgisnacht appeared and destroyed the entire city. While protecting Homura, Madoka died. Homura blamed herself for what happened and wished to be able to go back in time to protect Madoka. Her wish was granted and she was given time magic. In countless timelines she watched Madoka die but she continued. She repeated the same time of events again and again. She eventually found out the truth behind the soul gems and Kyubey’s existence and so she made it her goal to prevent Madoka from ever becoming a magical girl and to kill walpurgisnacht.

-In this AU Karl grows very attached to the reader. They were the first person who showed interest in his hobbies and encouraged him to be himself. He never felt that loved until then. Then in the blink of an eye it was all gone, you were gone. He watched as you sacrificed yourself for himself for him as screamed and begged for you not to go. He only had one wish to protect you from this fate. He didn’t care how many times it took he was determined to create a timeline where you could live happily with your friends and family. He would do anything to keep you safe even if it meant it made you hate him at the end of it all. Your the only friend he has in this god forsaken world and he won’t let you go so easily.

And that’s all I got. If anyone wants to add onto this AU or write about it then feel free too just credit me for the idea :p (also sorry if my writing is bad I don’t really write stuff like this)

GOD DAMN THIS IS GOOD-

Again not exactly my thing but,,,,, the emotional drag you can feel on all the characters is just- You can really get a sense of just how cruel and grueling life is for them

#ask #echo anon #tw. death #c: tommy #c: wilbur #c: techno #c: karl #c: tubbo

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #451

“taste the waste of their god’s grace & spit your hate upon your young”

Who are you subscribed to on YouTube? A shitload of people. Do you like to go to the farmer's market? Yeah, sure. What will (or was) the color of your wedding dress be? Probably black. What's your favorite melon? I don't really like melons, actually. What was the name of the last pet of yours that died? Teddy. :( When was the last time you wished the day would just get over with? Literally every day. Seriously. It's funny, I dread fighting to sleep at night, but I also just want it to be time to sleep so time will pass. My life is just so fucking boring that I just... wait for something exciting to happen. Name one person you've never had a fight with: Tez. What are you currently listening to? "Sex Metal Barbie" by In This Moment. What would you rather have: cat or dog? I prefer cats. Who is your least favorite person in real life? Probably my sister's husband. Do you ever watch anybody's live stream of... anything, really? I'll sometimes watch live let's plays. Does your house have security cameras? No. If you go grey as you age, would you dye your hair or let it be? I'll be dyeing it. What was the last establishment you stopped going to due to bad service? What happened? I'm not sure. What soundtrack do you listen to the most? Silent Hill 2's, definitely. Was there a family secret you weren’t told about until you were an adult? I don't know if it's really a secret, but I didn't know until this year that my dad did some really dangerous drugs before us kids were born. Do you have an opinion most people you meet seem to disagree with you? Yes. What’s something you like to have many options to choose from? Food, ha ha. Feels great to have a full kitchen after a grocery trip. What’s the strangest decorative object you own? Nothing "strange" to me. What’s a thing you couldn’t imagine doing with your life right now? One biggie is having a baby. I just... could not imagine. My life would plummet. What’s been your proudest moment? Graduating in the top percentile in my high school graduating class. What’s the filthiest non-pornographic movie you’ve seen? Omfg, Sausage Party. That movie was so gross. Do you know anyone who doesn't seem to be fond of animals? Thankfully, no. I don't even think I could befriend someone who doesn't like animals. Are you planning any outings or trips anytime soon? Whereabouts? No. Do you know anyone who has a phobia of a certain animal? Yeah, like me with whale sharks. Is there a particular brand of technology/electronics that you prefer? Not really, no. Is there a singer whose voice gives you goosebumps/chills? Amy Lee's. And is there a singer whose voice you simply can't stand? Yeah, such as Bob Dylan. Are there any authors that are particularly dominant on your bookshelf? Tui T. Sutherland, but only because I read their series Wings of Fire. Have you seen any photographs or videos that made you smile today? I'm sure on Facebook at some point. Which item in your fridge are you most looking forward to consuming? Does the freezer count? If so, this Healthy Choice grilled chicken pesto bowl I have in there. I am like addicted to them. Has anyone you know got into a new relationship lately? I don't know. If you menstruate, do you experience much PMS prior to it? It varies month-to-month. Have you ever had a tattoo covered up or added to? I had my Markiplier tattoo essentially redone by a better artist. I also plan on getting my "ohana" tat covered, as well as my "how rare and beautiful it is to even exist" one (I adore the quote, but it's not an original design, which I don't like having anymore), and I want to move and redesign my "perfectly flawed" one because I want a bigger tattoo in its location. Can you remember the last time you had a sudden change of mind? Yeah; I'm pretty sure I like-like my friend Girt now, something I was never entirely sure about. When was the last time you did something on a whim? *shrug* Were you raised by both of your parents? If not, then who raised you? Well, I guess both, but Dad didn't do a lot of the teaching part about life and stuff. Have you ever began a relationship with someone you knew for less than a week? No. Has one of your friends ever tried to ‘hook you up?’ Yes. Colleen tried that with me and Girt and only succeeded in making us very uncomfortable. She said something I wanted to slap her for that I won't repeat. What is your card game of choice? Magic: The Gathering. What is your favourite books series? I think my favorite series of all time was the Shiloh trilogy. I adored both the books and movies. Do you prefer landmarks or street names when being given directions? You'd better give me landmarks, ha ha. Do you read the prologues in the beginnings of books? Of course. What was your favourite gym class moment? There're such things as GOOD gym memories in school? Do you think that ocean boardwalks are fun? Yes. Do you dread when people ask you to sign their yearbooks? No, I always thought it was very flattering that they even wanted mine. Do you have a favourite Scooby-Doo movie? The Phantom Virus one. I had the video game as a kid, too. Could never beat the damn thing. Do you think it’s cute when toddlers try to run away and fall down? No? I don't like seeing children - or anyone - fall. Do you enjoy listening to your grandparents tell stories of their past? So, this really only happened once, and it was coincidentally the day I learned of her pancreatic cancer, but before Mom told me. I had an assignment to interview someone of an older generation about how various sources of media affected their lives, like the development of TV and such, and she really got into it. It was very interesting to learn about. Do you have a crush on someone? I guess I do idfk. If so... what does his/her name begin with? "D." What attracts you to them? More than anything, the fact he's been there for me without fail. Both single and when I was with Jason and he was interested in me, he's just... been there and has made an effort since high school to be in my life in one way or another. Do they know that you like them? Not anymore, no. We dated for a few months, but I broke up with him because he felt more like my brother, so I would assume he doesn't think I do. Maybe he still is family to me. I really don't know what I feel. If they don't know, why didn't you tell them? I might at some point, idk. We just haven't talked in a while. Name two people that you miss: Jason and Megan. Have you ever seen Titanic? When I was in the hospital, yes. Everyone was crying, lmao. Have you ever swam with dolphins? No, but I would. When was the last time you had a stomachache? Now. Mother Nature finally visited me after three whole fucking months and is v angry. What's going to bed early for you? Like 7:00. Do you want to have a big family in the future? Of pets! Human kids ain't for me. What was the last thing you did that gave you a rush? Hell if I know. Favorite Nicholas Cage movie? Ghost Rider. Have you had your Covid vaccine yet? Which one, if you have? Yes. I got Moderna. If you've had your vaccine, did you experience any side effects? I did on my second dosage. I was OUT of it the day afterwards, but then I was fine. What's the next item of clothing that you intend to buy for yourself? I need new bras badly. What Facebook groups have you found the most helpful? It's called "Not Just A Pet Rock (Python regius)" and is a group for advanced ball python husbandry. It is very informative, but I will say there is a SHITLOAD of very rude elitists. Do you like your butt? Why or why not? NO because it's a PANCAKE and I want CAKE. Have you ever personally been a victim of homophobia? I personally think so. When Sara visited and we were trying to go to my older sister's so she especially could meet her, Ash entirely ignored Mom's messages. I know her homophobic husband well enough to nearly be able to guarantee he didn't want us coming over because the kids "don't need to see that." Ash kinda does what Nick says, so... you know. Do you think you’d be happier if you had a pet? I know I'm happier with pets. Who was the last person you went on a date with? Sara. Were you ever hospitalized as a little kid? No. What’s your favorite way to curl your hair? It's too short to do that. At what age did you start swearing? However old I was in 7th grade. What is something you physically can’t do? Clean up vomit lkdsjal;sdkjfa;lkwd. I can't clean up my pet's or even my own. I literally can't. My mom has to. What do like better, apples or oranges? Apples. I don't like oranges. Around the holidays, do you hope for snow? Yes!!! What are your top two favorite bands? Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica. How many people do you 100% trust? Like two. Maybe. Do you care what others think about you? Way too much. Has anyone ever called you a bitch? My grandmother has. Did you watch Teletubbies when you were younger? Omg yes, I was obsessed. Do you have any licenses other than your driver's license? I don't even have that. Could you live the rest of your life without eating meat? No. Not because I don't want to, because I do, but I would have an extreme protein deficit if I did that. Besides meat, I don't like enough protein-rich foods. Have you ever had a rolling backpack? Yes. Did you make any money today? I haven't made any money in a very, very long time. I'm only ever paid when someone hires me to take pictures for them. What was the highest place you've ever jumped from? I don't know. Definitely not very high. Have you ever gone swimming in a river? Yes. What was the last souvenir someone got you? I have zero clue. Do you have a favorite remix of a song? Hm. Perhaps this techno-y remix of "Psychosocial" by Slipknot. I don't know for sure, though. What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument? Either the violin or piano. Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies? Nope. Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar/etc.)? Probably clouded leopards aesthetics, but I think lions overall. If you had $500,000, what would you do with it? Pay off school debt as well as help Mom with various financial issues, buy new glasses, buy Mom and I a new house and car, get Venus a great tank with all the optimal supplies, get LOADS of tattoos, donate to various charities, adopt a few specific pets, travel to Yellowstone, get laser hair removal on my legs and teeth whitening... There are a lot of possibilities. Did the last person you touched lips with have a kid? Just scaly ones. :') "First loves are never really over." Is this true for you? Yeeeep... Did you like Michael Jackson before he died? I didn't really have an opinion on him. I know/like a couple songs, sure. What are some things that would make you break up with someone? If they became abusive, started doing drugs, acted arrogantly, didn't understand my mental conditions and were unwilling to be emotionally supportive, stuff like that. What was the worst breakup you've ever had? Ha, the one with Jason. For. Fucking. Sure.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''degrade'' by 3teeth

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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Does it annoy you when people make their default of them kissing someone? haha i honestly don’t see anything like this ever anymore. <<< Huh, that’s true actually now that I think of it. I don’t either. Anyway, no that never annoyed me. Why would it?

Are there any names you can think of that just go well together? Yeah, there’s a lot.

Do you enjoy museums? I do.

Have you ever met anyone famous? I’ve met Jamie Lee Curtis and Drake Bell.

Describe the scariest dream you can remember? I’d rather not.

Have you ever been to a mint where they make money? No.

Do you ever get really, really hyper? Nope. I don’t have the energy. I was never like that, though.

Are you left or right handed, or ambidextrous? I’m right handed.

If ambidextrous, do you prefer writing with your right or left hand? -

What is your favourite subject at school? English was always my favorite.

Do you ever use Yahoo! Answers? For seriousness or for trolling? I’ve used it in the past for stuff.

Have you ever stepped on a thumb tack? Nooo. Ow.

Do you have a username you use for everything? Or does it change each site? It’s good to have different usernames and passwords.

Are you in Miami bitch? No.

How did you break the last bone you broke? I’m a paraplegic and have no feeling in my legs and as a kid it happened from an accident.

Have you ever used Nexopia? No. I don’t even know what that is.

What has been the best year of school for you so far? I’m done with school.

Do you have any disorders or disabilities? Yes to both.

Do you ever watch How To videos? I have.

Do you enjoy trolling? No. I don’t do that.

Have you ever been to an emergency room? If so, what for? Yeah, for myself and for a family member.

Which emoticon face do you use most often? Things like: :) :( :D :P :L D: :), :/, :X, D:, :D

Are you a musical sort of person? I mean, are you musically talented? No.

How did you break the first phone you broke? I dropped it and it hit the ground just right and cracked.

Did you have a tree house when you were a kid? If so, did you ever fall from it? No.

Have you ever been on vacation to a snow field? No.

When you go on vacation, what mode of transport do you usually use? Car.

What is the worst show, in your opinion on MTV? The best? I don’t watch the Jersey Shore spinoffs that are on (I didn’t watch the original either) and it’s annoying how the only show that really ever airs anymore is Ridiculousness. The only shows I watch on there are Catfish, Teen Mom OG, and Teen Mom 2.

Do you like Jason Derϋlo? Sure.

Are there any movies that just creep you out so much? Nah.

Have you ever had a close encounter with a shark? only at the aquarium. <<<

Do you have any hotties on your walls? I do have an Alexander Skarsgard calendar, ha.

Do you ever wish dinosaurs came back to life and there were cute and snuggly? Uh, NO.

How many countries have you been to? Just one other one outside of my own.

How many states have you been to? In all the countries you’ve been to? Besides my own state, I’ve only been to 3 others.

What is a song you heard long before it became popular and everyone liked it? Uhhh.

Do you enjoy designing things? Anything? No. I don’t have the knack/eye/creativity for it.

Do you know anyone who has gotten themselves into a serious accident? Yes.

Can you play anything on the violin? Nope. I took lessons in 4th grade, but I just didn’t vibe with it and didn’t enjoy it. I stuck it out for the year, though.

Do you know what a raincheck at stores is? Yeah.

Whose funeral was the last you went to? My grandpa’s.

Who got married at the last funeral you went to? Uh. People don’t get married at funerals... Oh, is this a jab at getting married like saying the ol ball and chain and whatnot?

What do you think of excessively long names? What about their shortenings? I haven’t given it much thought.

Do you ever get hay fever? I don’t think so.

Do you know anyone with the last name Pilbeam? No.

When you were little, did you have those magnet letters on your fridge? Yeah.

Have you seen the Techno Jeep video on YouTube? No.

Does your house have a wood fire? We have a fireplace.

Do you know what a Pibgorn is? No.

Can you learn the lyrics of a song by ear, or do you have to search them up? Usually, but sometimes I have to look something up.

Do you like the name Amy? Sure.

Have you ever got an x-ray? How about a brain scan? I’ve had numerous x-rays, but no not a brain scan.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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thehollowprince said: And I also stand by the opinion that they could have just done a solo run of the O5 X-Men starting a new timeline with the information they got from the future.

thehollowprince said: Its not like Marvel doesn’t constantly do AUs and retcons

OMG Josh you have no idea how bad I wanted this. They could’ve done SO MUCH with that concept. Letting the 05 keep their foreknowledge and the world they could have created with that?

They could’ve averted the initial Krakoan mission and saved Darwin, Gabe, Petra and Sway in the first place. They could have all been X-Men from their Day One, Scott and Alex would have actually gotten to KNOW their brother and Gabe quite possibly would never have gone full Dark Side despite the writers apparently now seeming obsessed with the idea there’s just something innately bad within Gabe that’s always destined to bear fruit at some point, ugh, whatever, like who do you think you are, Kant?

They could’ve recruited the Giant Size X-Men lineup earlier, and saved John Proudstar, who side by side with his brother Jamie, are a force to be reckoned with.

They could have convinced Pietro and Wanda to join them instead of the Avengers and been like no but seriously that way lies nothing but shitty storylines and bad decisions that will be blamed on you by your teammates despite the fact that any and all of the bad decisions that were ACTUALLY yours could have been averted if any of your teammates were capable of functioning as an actual support system. Come join us. We have actual support systems, except for the times when we don’t, but we recruited Deadpool to break the fourth wall and he and Logan are currently cutting through the ranks of every writer who would write as hating and fighting each other instead of being a loving fucking family goddammit.

Jean could have faced the Phoenix head-on when the time for that came, using her knowledge of the future not to fear an inevitable death, but rather to know she had nothing TO fear, that the power to not control this force, but just be ONE with it, with no NEED to control it or be controlled by it, a symbiotic union, two beings in harmony deciding on courses of action together. The Phoenix’s innate powers and prerogative of rebirth and destruction tempered by Jean’s mercy, aimed and focused by Jean’s reason, the double-edged sword that is fire capable of warming homes or destroying them completely combined with Jean’s conscience guiding it to use its power for the former rather than the latter.

They could have stopped the Legacy Virus from getting out and killing millions as well as spared us from migraines induced by an AIDS metaphor so shitty at being a metaphor most people forget it was literally written to be an AIDS metaphor.

The body swap would never have happened and Kwannon could have joined the X-Men as a full member from the time she was introduced, rather than dragged along in the wake of Betsy’s tangled storylines for a couple decades.

They could have stopped Fitzroy from killing the Hellions. Hell, if they train Illyana early enough and have her mentored by Wanda who is perfectly fucking competent when left to her own devices, then like, maybe they can even take a jaunt to the future to save Fitzroy from dying in the first place and being resurrected with no soul. Not gonna lie, ever since then I’ve kinda been seriously interested in what the hell would a hero version of Trevor freaking Fitzroy even BE like, y’know? Call it morbid fascination, but like. I kinda want it, guys. LOL.

Add to that note, they could have taken another jaunt to the future and rescued Rachel from being made into a Hound by Ahab. Through the power of some convoluted plot tangle I just made up for convenience, Scott still ends up in a relationship with Maddy briefly, in one of those self-fulfilling prophecy type things where he went into it with the full intention of just averting the future and saving Maddy from her fate as the Goblyn Queen, but somehow ended up in a love triangle with a very alive Jean and Maddy who is fully informed of Sinister’s shenanigans and quite displeased with that asshole, and look, I don’t know how all of this goes exactly, but let’s cut to the chase, my only real endgame with this is making sure that Nate’s born properly, saved from Apocalypse and the techno-virus by the combined efforts of Scott, Maddy and Jean as well as Uncles Warren, Bobby and Hank, and Jean calls up the Phoenix through some psychic bond or whatever and is like hey girl, can I hit you up for a loan real quick? Got some losers that need toasting.

And in this AU the Phoenix totally has her back, and one brief cosmic power-up and gratuitous Sailor Moon transformation later, Jean glows and intones some epic one-liners with appropriate gravitas, and then just punts both Apocalypse and Sinister to the far side of the universe, never to be seen or heard from again. They like, hit a black hole on the way there I guess. It was very sad. Violin strings may commence with the requiem. Okay that’s enough, they can stop now.

So then through the plot contrivances of fuck you, I said so, Scott and Maddy ultimately part amicably and Scott and Jean get back together and the three of them civilly co-parent both baby Nate and Rachel, as Maddy keeps the healing powers she gained as Anodine and stays with the X-Men for her own reasons.

The telepaths are all better trained by the expertise Jean gained in her powers while in the future, so the next time the Shadow King comes bumming around looking to cause chaos, Betsy, Emma and Jean just look at each other and laugh and say nuh-uh before psychically squishing him into a marble.

Warren never becomes Archangel. Onslaught isn’t a thing. They make nice with Magneto and say okay you may have a couple points, let’s discuss. Bishop arrives in the past for reasons totally unrelated to his original story, has no traitor to seek out among the X-Men, and thus he and Gambit end up besties in complete defiance of that stupid fucking story and because I just think they’re neat together. Yes I said neat. Gambit and Bishop are just neat. Deal with it.

Bishop still hates that Fitzroy guy though, he’s like, I don’t even know what it is about that guy, he just rubs me the wrong way, even though Fitzroy is not evil here and has always done good with his powers, which are channeled through a device Forge made him that lets him just absorb life force from a wide range around him, spread out and diluted enough that its like, the grass feels weird for a second, like whoa what even was that, and then its over. Actually, y’know what, scratch that. Fitzroy’s powers are stupid and unnecessary the way they are now anyway, so fuck it, this Fitzroy doesn’t need life force or whatever, he’s just a dude who makes time portals. He’s like Illyana with green hair and that ugly goatee. Hey I said this Fitzroy was non-evil, not that he was perfect.

Bobby’s out and proud since he was sixteen, and with actual competence and proficiency with his powers, which make him a Literal Unkillable Gay Icon, he’s an inspiration to LGBTQ+ teens everywhere and inspires other gay, bi and trans heroes to come out. He’s a big brother figure to all the baby gays that later join the X-Men, like, Rictor comes to him for advice back during the time equivalent to early X-Factor, when Rictor’s a trying-too-hard sixteen year old who thought college age Bobby was like the coolest, which is valid, because X-Factor Bobby was like A+ Bobby characterization and deserves more reads.

So Rictor comes out earlier as well, and by the time they even meet Shatterstar, instead of a slow burn friends to roommates to lovers scenario, Rictor takes one look at the love of his life and wastes no time coming out swinging with an absolutely terrible pick up line. Look, I said his big brother figure Bobby was out and proud in this AU, not that he magically had a better sense of humor. Some things just don’t change, y’know? Luckily, Shatterstar is a weirdo, and thus he finds terrible pick-up lines charming. At least when its Rictor saying them. They walk off for a first date, already practically hand in hand, voices fading into the distance as Rictor asks “By the way, have you met Dazzler yet? According to Bobby, apparently she’s your mom. That Longshot dude with the mullet over there is your dad I guess. We should go say hi.”

Hank gets an assistant hand-picked by the rest of the original X-Men, and who has one job and one job only. To follow him around and observe all his experiments, and he has veto power over experiments that People With IQs As High As Yours Should Know Better But I Guess You’ve Got Reed Richards Syndrome.

Hank’s like, “Hmm, if I built a time machine I could go back to the Jurassic Period and observe whether my theory of - “

Hank’s assistant: “Veto.”

“Damn. Okay I was also thinking of making a deep space communicator that can reach into the farthest reaches of space beyond any known civilization and just say hi, y’know? See if anyone’s out there.”

“Veto.”

“If I combine these genetically modified antibodies here with this strain of of DNA from - “

“Veto.”

“Well Forge built this device that does this to mutant powers but I think I can make it do - “

“Veto.”

“These nanobots I - “

“VETO,”

“Honestly, at this point I think you’re just saying that just because you like saying it.”

“Dr. McCoy, I promise you, I’m really, really not.”

Logan finds out about his future clan of stabby children, and seeks them out. He rescues Daken from Romulus, somebody stabs that loser with the immortal-killing sword, I don’t even care who, and after a few tense months of Logan trying too hard, he and Daken eventually bond over how hockey just isn’t violent enough. If you’re going to make a sport all about hitting each other, just really go for it or don’t even bother, y’know? Logan claps him on the shoulder and sniffs. That’s my boy. Then they find and rescue Laura and Gabby and take a road trip to Earth 1610 to pick up Jimmy. They have a house on campus, and new students walking by it are used to hearing loud growling and even howls. They were assured during orientation that that’s nothing to worry about, it just means the House of Snikt are watching a game and are rooting for opposing sides.

Emma’s recruited practically the day they get back. She’s only just started at the Hellfire Club and has only done a tiny bit of Evil when Warren schedules an appointment with her, and then he, Scott and Jean make a better pitch than Shaw and his ilk could ever match. They’ve been to the future. Come join with us and we’ll give you an all access pass to memories detailing exactly what’s going to happen in these particular areas and many more. All you have to do is ask. Oh and also please don’t seduce any married teammates. Its bad form. To be honest, I don’t think it’ll be an issue because Deadpool assures us Morrison has been taken care of, and don’t worry if that makes no sense to you, its a head-scratcher for us to. Just roll with it.

Nate ages normally here so its not like he ends up besties with forty year old Wade, but the latter having his own plot-contrived knowledge of the future because He’s Just Like That, decides that he won’t be denied at least SOME kind of bond with The Bestie That Wasn’t. He becomes Nate’s official babysitter. Well, not official, seeing as how Scott, Jean and Maddy don’t hire him and are very clear that their son is not to be left alone with this man at any time, he is a terrible influence and he keeps giving our kid guns. But then Wade just shows up anytime they’re out because he just has a sixth sense for Making Trouble, and he terrifies away whatever babysitter’s there and greets the returning and exasperated parents with a cheery wave.

“I know what you’re going to say, but don’t worry, we didn’t do anything dangerous or against the law. All we did today was I taught him to make bombs, but we were very careful, we wore safety goggles and really, they were very little bombs. Not even anything atomic. I honestly don’t think any of them could have even blown up this whole house, and I’ve been meaning to say, I’m not impressed with the structural integrity of this place. Couldn’t you have picked something with a sturdier foundation? Its like you don’t even expect random space mercenaries to attack your place out of the blue every other month. Have any of you even read a single issue of your own comics?”

Scott’s jaw twitches Ominously. Wade starts gathering up his things. Jean rubs her forehead wearily.

“Wade, what do you even think ‘dangerous’ means?”

Wade pauses and cocks his head. Gives it a solid twenty seconds of thought. Then he shrugs.

“I don’t know actually. Don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it. I always figured it was just one of those things people just say. Like, ‘oh, it looks like rain today,’ even if they’re not a forecaster and have no real meteorological credentials to speak of. ‘Oh, this mission will be dangerous,’ and I don’t even have to use up all my ammo and I only get shot twice. Y’know?”

“Leave,” Scott says. More like intones. House shakes a little bit but that might just be Wade’s imagination. Its very active.

“Leaving!” He says hastily. He jumps through the closed window and then teleports away amid the falling shower of broken glass. Why didn’t he do that while he was still inside the room? No one knows. Not even Wade knows. Why did the chicken cross the road? Who the fuck cares, now is it Original Recipe or Crispy?

Scott, Jean and Maddy search the house while Nate angelically claims they won’t find anything, Wade doesn’t even bring him cool stuff anymore cuz he knows you’ll just take it.

Maddy finds a high-tech laser space gun under a floorboard in the closet. She holds it up with one eyebrow raised pointedly. Scott and Jean flank her and their own eyebrows raise in solidarity. Well Jean’s does. Scott’s probably does but its hard to tell sometimes. Depends on what glasses or visor he’s wearing.

“That was already there,” Nate tries. Most powerful telepath and telekinetic in the world, but the kid can’t lie for shit. There’s not much point in trying when one of your moms is the freaking Phoenix, and that’s a skill that takes practice he just doesn’t have.

The three sets of parental eyebrows make a V, judgingly.

“One month of no video games or TV?” Okay, so terrible liar but quick on his feet. At least he knows when he’s beat and jumps straight to trying to shape his own punishment proactively.

“Two months. And no flying lessons either,” Jean says. “And don’t pout at me, young man. You know the rules. No weapons inside the house unless your grandpa Corsair is visitng and we’re too tired to fight him on keeping knives under his pillow. This is a Do As We Say, Not As We Do house. Deal with it. Now, this is going with the others and you can have it back when you’re eighteen.”

It would have been three months, but Jean and Maddy caught a telepathic sniff from Scott. He’s just so proud of his kid thinking so tactically. He’s growing up so fast. Both women mentally roll their eyes. Why is he like this.

“I don’t see what the big deal is anyway,” Nate sulks. “Its just a stupid laser gun. I mean, Uncle Gabe blew up our last house with his brain.”

“Yes and it was an accident and he feels absolutely terrible about that which is why we’re not going to bring it up when he and Armando come visit this weekend, right?”

“You can have my full compliance for two weeks off my sentence.”

“Or we can have your full compliance or two weeks will be added to your sentence,” Maddy says.

“You guys suck,” declares the ten year old vessel of near unlimited psychic might. He goes to his room, stomping all the way up the stairs so his grievances can be heard even by the House of Snikt next door. Course, they’ve already been listening to the whole thing with their enhanced hearing. There was nothing good on TV. Jimmy made popcorn and chewed with his mouth open just to piss off Daken.

‘The second Father leaves the room, I am going to stab you in such a slow healing place you’ll still be bleeding at bed time.’ Daken mouths at his little brother from another universe. Jimmy scrunches his face in confusion.

‘What?’ He mouths back. He’s terrible at reading lips. Or anything that isn’t skateboarding, really. And yet Father’s so happy that ‘at least one of my kids is content with stupid normal stuff and doesn’t go around drawing cover fire just because a mission is going so well its boring and they haven’t even gotten to pop their claws out yet.’

“That’s only because you’ve coddled him. He’s barely ever even been shot at. Just the one time on vacation in Majipoor and he wasn’t even the target, the assassin was aiming for me. If you would just let me take him on a proper outing to gain some real experience - “

“Not gonna happen.” Logan shuts that down real quick.

“Really Father, just look at him. He has zero situational awareness. I’ve been glaring a hole in the back of his head for a full minute now and he has no idea. That could just as easily be an actual laser scope, you know. He’s a disgrace to the whole family.”

“Daken, we’ve been over this,” Logan says firmly. “You have your sisters to bond with over gratuitous violence. Leave your brother alone. I don’t want anyone traumatizing him until trauma finds him all on its own. It’ll happen sooner or later, he’s as much a part of this family as anyone and that means its as good as done already, so there’s no need to hurry it along. If later on he decides he’s got a taste for it, you can take him on all the outings to get shot at that you want. But he’s gotta figure it out for himself first, and he doesn’t need his big brother being the one who introduces him to all that. He idolizes you, you know.”

Daken scoffs. He can’t even get the brat to chew with his mouth closed.

“He cut his hair from that style he liked so much, just because you hated it so much,” Logan says obliviously. Daken nods like he’s conceding the argument and hastens from the room while he can still keep his mouth shut. It won’t benefit anyone at this point to tell their father that Jimmy really only cut his hair because Daken told him he would set it on fire if he didn’t.

Ugh, families are the worst. Don’t even get him started on Laura stealing some of his clothes to wear without asking. And then has the gall to yell back at him when he yells “Silk! Its the finest cut of silk! Does that mean nothing to you?” at her.

“Oh get over it. Its not like I asked for killer robots to interrupt my date.”

“Of course they were going to interrupt your date with that Julian boy. I keep telling you, he’s a magnet for trouble. I can tell. I’m one too, remember?”

“Fine, whatever, you’re right and I should just expect every date with Julian from now until the end of time to end with fire and disaster.”

“Well now you’re being melodramatic. There’s no way that boy makes it past twenty five. He doesn’t even have a healing factor.”

“Why do you hate him so much anyway? If you’d just give him a chance - “

“What are you talking about? I give him a chance every single time he’s here and I don’t kill him.”

“Ugh, I can’t even talk to you when you’re like this. You always do this, you just decide on something and then you commit to that like the fate of the world depends on you standing firm on what’s usually a completely arbitrary decision in the first place!”

Daken sniffs. “I can assure you, there’s absolutely nothing arbitrary about my disdain for the Keller boy.”

“His name is Julian,” Laura enunciates with a glare.

“I don’t care,” Daken enunciates with an expression of lofty superiority.

“You two are so dumb,” Gabby says from the end of the hallway. They both turn identical glares on her. They’d noticed her arrive several minutes ago but they weren’t about to be distracted from their battle of wills. “Laura, you know Daken isn’t actually going to kill Julian. He doesn’t do that anymore except for really bad people sometimes and he just talks about stabbing people or killing them cuz he thinks he’s funny and then he gets all pissy because nobody ever gets that he doesn’t really mean it. He doesn’t even hate Julian and he used to be fine with him before he started dating you, its just he doesn’t think he’s good enough for you.”

Daken frowns at the petite would-be peacemaker. Meddlesome toddler. “What are you even babbling about? None of that is remotely true.”

Gabby rolls her eyes up at her brother from her much lower height. She taps the side of her nose with emphasis. “You do know we all have the same abilities to smell and analyze scents as you do, right? And you know everything you can tell from peoples’ scent, right? Of course I’m right, I can smell it as clear as anything and so can Jimmy and Dad and we actually all know this and talk about it all the time, and its why Dad never actually gets mad at you for talking about killing people because he can smell you’re saying it just cuz you’re used to saying it but really you’re too marshmallowy on the inside now to do half the stuff you claim you’re gonna do. Hate to break it to you bro, but you’re a closet softie and you’ve been made. The nose doesn’t lie. Only reason Laura doesn’t know it is because you piss her off like its your favorite hobby and its probably impossible for her to smell anything beyond her own scent of Royally Pissed Off.”

Ugh. Meddlesome insightful toddler. Who asked for her intervention anyway? Daken crosses his arms in a way that’s decidedly aloof and not at all sulking.

Laura’s staring at their sister assessingly. “That’s really what you think is going on? And Jimmy and Dad think so too? You’re not just saying all that?”

Gabby bats her eyes up at them. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes,” Laura says without missing a beat.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Daken says dryly, right on her heels.

“For the sake of a candy bar,” Laura adds, because that really did happen.

“Or just boredom, because god forbid you pick up another hobby that isn’t just Chaos.”

“This from the guy who only has fun when there’s blood and bullets flying about,” Gabby fires back from a position of petite petulance.

Daken smirks down at her. “Didn’t you just say I don’t really mean it when I say all of that?”

Gabby narrows her eyes. “Touché. My own words thrown back at me. I am undone.”

“Yes, well - “

Daken’s cut off as Jimmy chooses that moment to walk past them down the hallway to the bathroom. He’s laughing and shaking his head.

“You guys are both so dumb. She plays you like this all the time, and you never see it.”

“Silence, mortal!” Gabby thunders at their brother menacingly. The effect is somewhat diminished by the fact that she can’t hit a baritone note to save her life.

“No, I’m interested in hearing what he has to say,” Daken says coolly. “For once. This is a moment without precedent and one unlikely to occur again, so let’s explore it a bit.”

Jimmy sighs and shakes his head without ever losing that amused smirk. “Had to tack on that last part, didn’t you. Just couldn’t help yourself.”

“I am a faithful student of the Truth,” Daken says, matching his brother smirk for smirk.

“The point, Jimmy?” Laura prods aggressively before that can erupt into a wholly separate thing she wants no part of.

“Oh, right.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “Its kinda her thing with you two when you get like this. You pick a fight with Laura, Laura gets pissed off and succumbs to the family curse of Tunnel Vision at the Worst Possible Time, and you both go back and forth endlessly and like you have all the time in the world for your stupid tete a tete, because on account of you both being practically unkillable and immortal, you kinda do and you know it. And then whenever she gets bored of listening to you two, Gabby swoops in and draws both of your attention until you’re both so focused on being annoyed with her you don’t even realize you’re actually side by side agreeing with each other, and she keeps it up just long enough til she’s sure she can just say she’s bored now and just leave the room, leaving you both annoyed and frustrated by a fight you can’t even claim to have won because she really just kinda...left, in the middle of it, and you’re so focused on that, you’ve totally forgotten to be pissed at each other. And by the time you do remember, like, the moment has passed and peace has been returned to the kingdom. Or at least as peaceful as this place ever gets.”

Daken stares at his mistake of a brother in the hopes that if he stalled long enough, his senses would arrive at a different conclusion. But nope. Scents don’t lie, unlike baby sis, apparently. He’s telling the truth. And Daken really does not....care for that conclusion.

Gabby stamps her foot and glares up at their brother.

“You are such a tattletale. I am providing a service, by keeping this family free of these two constantly at each others throats, and how is that service repaid? With betrayal! I hate you, you’re dead to me. Never speak to me again or at least not until I’ve stopped being mad at you, but that could be like ten years or something, I don’t even know right now.”

She draws up to her full height and squares her shoulders as she thunders this Mighty Mouse style at the still laughing Jimmy. Then, seeing she’d yet to make a dent in his armor of amusement and he was failing to take her pronouncement seriously, she punctuated her declaration by spitting on their brother’s shoe. Daken’s eyebrows shoot up again, this time in amusement of his own. Gabby then spins around on her heel and stalks off down the hallway, muttering more dire threats under her breath as she goes, the sound of them nonetheless carrying clearly to three siblings with enhanced hearing of their own. And apparently, little sis could be quite creative. Who knew she’d been hiding such talent?

Jimmy barely even notices; he’s still staring down at his shoe.

“Dude, you spit on me! That’s so not cool.”

“Some things need to be expressed so strongly, mere words will not suffice,” Daken says loftily, savoring a slightly renewed sense of superiority.

One quickly dashed, of course, because apparently he just can’t have anything.

“Bold words from the seventy year old who needed the sixteen year old to clue him in he’s being regularly manipulated by the twelve year old,” Jimmy fires back. As a return volley, its obnoxiously effective, and Daken’s still grinding his teeth and searching for an adequate rejoinder as Jimmy just grins even wider and then strolls off down the hallway as well. Whistling either an absolutely hideous song or else proof that he’s absolutely hideous at whistling. Tough call. With him it could be either.

Daken and Laura both stare after him in silence as he rounds the corner and disappears, leaving only the lingering scent of smugness in his wake. Daken hates the scent of smugness. It has a particularly....cloying feel to it. Well not his of course. But everyone else’s, especially little brothers? Acrid is the only word adequate for that.

“Sometimes I really do want to stab him. Just a little bit. And I’m not even lying,” Daken says. Laura just nods, her own nose scrunched up in distaste as well.

“Honestly? Me too.”

Brother and sister enjoy the rare moment of solidarity.

“You know what’s really bugging me?” Laura says suddenly, still staring off down the hallway. Daken turns an inquiring eye on her, prompting elucidation. She frowns.

“Where the hell did he learn a phrase like tete a tete? I mean. Its Jimmy.”

Daken does know what she means, and frowns as the nagging awareness of that leaps from his sister to himself like memetic chain lightning.

“And he used it correctly. That’s....unexpected.”

“Sometimes I wonder if maybe he’s not as completely airheaded as he pretends, and the fact that he’s got everyone so convinced of that actually means he’s running circles around the rest of us,” Laura says. She shrugs. “Of course, then I have to question everything and who has that kind of time and also the very idea of genius mastermind Jimmy disturbs me on a deeply visceral level. So then I just. Stop doing that.”

Daken nods and sighs. “Sometimes, that’s all you can do.”

“Okay, this is annoying. I kinda still want to fight, but now fighting with you feels kinda anticlimactic. Ugh, siblings are the worst,” Laura declares with a glower. “They ruin everything.”

“On that, we can agree. With allowances for temporary occasions of some of them being bearable,” Daken says. “Some.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve never said to me, big brother,” Laura says lightly. Daken swiftly scowls but she holds up a hand to forestall any rebuttal. “Sorry, don’t mean to ruin the moment. I’m thinking about how else we can put all that frustrated energy to good use. Wanna go pick a fight with the Summers’ kids?”

A slow smile spreads across Daken’s face. “Well now. Finally, a family outing I can get behind. I believe that’s precisely what we need right now. Care to lead the way?”

He still hates her boyfriend, of course, but he supposes he can let that be.

For now, at least.

16 notes · View notes

purplesurveys · 3 years

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1046

Does it annoy you when people make their default of them kissing someone? I don’t mind kissing photos or icons. But hmm, I can imagine being a little grossed out if it’s an image of them kissing with tongue or if it’s generally a little on the sloppy side.

Are there any names you can think of that just go well together? Well there’s...a lot of names in existence lmao, so there’s a lot of combinations out there that I like for sure. I just don’t rank them and I don’t have a name combination of choice just yet.

Do you enjoy museums? I’m obsessed with museums. In every single one of our family trips, my dad has always made sure to book at least one museum visit for me so I can return back home happy, hahaha. I also visit and revisit museums in my own time, and I’m open to going to any kind of museum whether it’s natural history, art, science, ancestral homes, etc.

Have you ever met anyone famous? One of my coworkers plays the drums for a local band that’s got a bit of a following, so it was definitely a shock when I first saw his name in our work group chat. Someone I used to be close friends with in the local wrestling community is now an actor/influencer and doing a billion gigs and photoshoots all day. We’re still mutuals so every now and then I’d comment on one of his posts and congratulate him on how far he’s come.

Describe the scariest dream you can remember? I never like it when someone I love is shot in my dreams. The scariest dream I had recently is probably the one where I watched three planes drop to the ground all at the same time and explode.

Have you ever been to a mint where they make money? Nopes. I think the BSP had been part of one of Nina’s field trips before, but my batch didn’t get to have the itinerary.

Do you ever get really, really hyper? Occasionally.

Are you left or right handed, or ambidextrous? Right-handed.

If ambidextrous, do you prefer writing with your right or left hand?

What is your favourite subject at school? Any history elective, biology, political science.

Do you ever use Yahoo! Answers? For seriousness or for trolling? I used to read both serious (when I have a legit question) and funny (when I was bored and just wanted to lurk on the site) items on it. These days, when I have a genuine question, Google usually pulls up a Quora link which I find has been more helpful than Yahoo! Answers ever was.

Have you ever stepped on a thumb tack? No, but my brother did when he was a baby and was first learning how to walk.

Do you have a username you use for everything? Or does it change each site? I use my first name + surname for more serious, professional websites. Then I have a go-to for everything else.

Are you in Miami bitch? :D No. Not really interested in going to Florida at all, to be honest.

How did you break the last bone you broke? I’ve never broken a bone.

Have you ever used Nexopia? Never used, never heard of it before.

What has been the best year of school for you so far? Junior year of both high school (2014-15) and college (2018-19) were really great for me. There was a string of good events that happened in both, and I was able to have a lot of fun, gain friends, and have a number of positive learning and growing-up experiences.

Do you have any disorders or disabilities? I’ve always worried that I have BPD, but from the time I started considering it until today I’ve only done self-diagnosis, so idk. There’s definitely a lot more to unpack when it comes to me, mentally and psychologically.

Do you ever watch How To videos? Not really. How It’s Made videos are fun to watch though.

Do you enjoy trolling? It doesn’t even sound fun.

Have you ever been to an emergency room? If so, what for? Never been.

Which emoticon face do you use most often? Things like: :) :( :D :P :L D: Most of the time I’ll use the open- and closed-mouth smileys. I use the sad face as well, and occasionally I’ll pull out the :3 and :/ emoticons.

Are you a musical sort of person? I mean, are you musically talented? Yeah, not at all. I can’t sing, read music, nor play any instrument.

How did you break the first phone you broke? So my mom hooked my first phone to a lanyard that I was made to wear as it was the surest way I wouldn’t be able to lose it (I was 7, which really should not be an age for kids to receive their first phones lol). One day I was being a little more rambunctious than usual, and while moving around the hook to the lanyard suddenly came off, and the phone crashed to the ground. It messed up the screen a bit and the hook also got a little fucked from there; eventually the phone came off during my 1st grade field trip and I never realized, and I lost the phone.

Did you have a tree house when you were a kid? If so, did you ever fall from it? We did not have a treehouse. My grandpa surely would’ve been the type to make one for his grandkids as he’s great at building stuff and working with wood, but it just wasn’t plausible considering most trees here are crawling with fire ants and other weird and potentially dangerous insects.

Have you ever been on vacation to a snow field? I don’t know what that is but I’ll go ahead and say no as I’ve never seen snow anyway.

When you go on vacation, what mode of transport do you usually use? We take road trips most of the time because my dad likes to drive. But if it’s gonna be on another island in the country, like Palawan or Batanes, then we obviously have to take a plane.

What is the worst show, in your opinion on MTV? The best? I don’t care for any shows on MTV and I typically think most of them look like they suck. The few ones I’ve seen, like Teen Wolf and Scream, certainly didn’t help.

Do you like Jason Derϋlo? Eh, some of his hit songs are catchy but I’m not a fan fan.

Are there any movies that just creep you out so much? Aside from everything about it being creepy, Eraserhead is just so depressing to watch. Midsommar is also a freaky film.

Have you ever had a close encounter with a shark? I don’t think so.

Do you have any hotties on your walls? I have a poster of Nam Joo Hyuk that Angela got me when she went to South Korea, but he’s more cute than hot to me tbh.

Do you ever wish dinosaurs came back to life and there were cute and snuggly? Not really. But it would’ve been interesting to see how they would look like in real life, and know their temperament and things like that.

How many countries have you been to? Aside from having been around my own, 6.

How many states have you been to? In all the countries you’ve been to? We stayed in one city/state for each country I’ve gone to - Bali, Singapore, Johor, Shanghai, Jeju, and Fukuoka.

What is a song you heard long before it became popular and everyone liked it? Idk about songs, but this was me with The Crown lol.

Do you enjoy designing things? Anything? Not my thing at all. This is more of Nina’s specialty. Girl can make anything look pretty.

Do you know anyone who has gotten themselves into a serious accident? Yeah. Off the top of my head, I remember my aunt getting involved in a hit-and-run with a motorcycle and needing to get a number of stitches on her head. My cousin Joelle also got into a bad car accident a few Christmases ago that totally wrecked her vehicle.

Can you play anything on the violin? Nope, I never learned how to play. It’s one of my favorite instruments though.

Do you know what a raincheck at stores is? Never heard of that. I’ve heard some people say “I’m gonna have to take a rain check” whenever they abruptly have to bail on a plan at the last minute, but I think you’re talking of a different raincheck here.

Whose funeral was the last you went to? Nacho’s wake. Never been to a funeral.

Who got married at the last funeral you went to? That’s pretty fucked up.

What do you think of excessively long names? What about their shortenings? I don’t have an opinion on either.

Do you ever get hay fever? No.

Do you know anyone with the last name Pilbeam? Never heard of that surname before.

When you were little, did you have those magnet letters on your fridge? We may have had those? I’m not sure. I haven’t seen the fridge I grew up with for a while now. I do know Athenna had those magnet poetry phases on her family’s fridge and we used to try to make poems with them.

Have you seen the Techno Jeep video on YouTube? I have not, and it doesn’t sound familiar.

Does your house have a wood fire? No.

Do you know what a Pibgorn is? I don’t think so. I can’t recognize the term.

Can you learn the lyrics of a song by ear, or do you have to search them up? It’s 50/50 for me. Sometimes it’ll be easy for me to recognize the lyrics, and other times it’s incredibly difficult.

Do you like the name Amy? It’s a pretty name. I’d consider it as a second or third name.

Have you ever got an x-ray? How about a brain scan? Just an x-ray.

#survey #surveys

5 notes · View notes

dbhilluminate · 4 years

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DBHI: Equilibrium, ch. 13 - “Periapsis” (pt. 1)

Characters: Noah / “Erwin Yvonne”, Gabriel / “Vincent Sharp”, Special Agent Gavin Reed, Director Thomas Falken Word Count: 2,842

Noah crashes an undercover FBI operation to say hello to a friend he hasn't seen or spoken to in a couple of months, but the mood is spoiled when the Zionist Inquisition shows up to deliver an ultimatum to Vincent Sharp, and issue a threat to anyone who would dare support the installation of an android suburb in Washington, DC.

***For a glossary of world-building terms relating to this series and chapter, click here.

(Chapter Art by ozaya, Co-authored by @grayorca15)

• Chapter Index • Characters • Glossary •

——

December 23rd, 2041 - 9:45 PM

From the outside, the looming auditorium locally known as The Mellon was unchanged. Whatever techno-aesthetics the Capitol had adopted in the last two decades, Washington, DC’s architecture was still mostly the same neoclassical Roman-inspired drivel the Founding Fathers probably thought the height of grandeur that any respectable city could model itself after. This particular building was very much a product of its time- a perfect encapsulation of the stiff right angles, thick brooding columns, and bleak texture-less walls, suggested nothing of what might actually be happening beyond the foyer. The red-green cutout projections of trees and reindeer and ornaments dancing across the Columbia pediment sculpted across its tented promenade and the delicate string instruments currently honoring an orchestral cover of one of a hundred classic Christmas songs was a hint though.

Noah stepped out of the Jaguar to be accosted by a shower of holographic white and blue snowflakes, mixed with the real-life equivalent wafting about that cold winter’s night. They swarmed like his very own plague of too-friendly gnats. Whatever property-wide projection program the event had been accentuated with, the programmer had evidently spent too much time re-watching Frozen as a child. He pulled his sunglasses down just far enough to peer over the lenses as a few flakes fluttered in, close enough for him to see their individual fractals, and gave an irritated huff through his nose. “Still bitter over the demise of Disney, I see.” A few seconds later, the shy valet swept around the roadster’s red taillights and apologized profusely for a near-nonexistent delay in offering to take the car to be parked. Noah felt nothing but amusement at their blathering, patted him on the shoulder and held the door open. “Quit fussing. It’s early yet, and you’ve a lot more rides to tuck in before the night’s over. Treat this one like the queen she is and there’ll be an extra fifty in it for you… Fredrick.”

The kitschy light-show and dear hapless Fred weren’t as bothersome as the front ranks of guards posted at the velvet rope-fenced entrance. The nearest man put up a hand and stopped him in his tracks at the top of the stairs. “I’m sorry, sir, but this is a charity function for contributors only. Have you made a donation?” It seemed only pre-approved guests were being permitted inside- a slight oversight on his part, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from his goal. He had a conversation to close out.

Noah popped his brows and donned a charming smile as he presented the falsified credentials, nestled in a flip-fold ID bearing the name Erwin L. Yvonne, complete with the most abhorrent manipulation of his likeness ever produced. “Not to worry, gents. I’m intimately acquainted with the curator, Mr. Sharp, and I’m here to deliver my contribution in the flesh.” Everything about the little white lie he’d spun on a whim was unnatural to him, but convincing to the two confused humans -poor, overworked and underpaid minions as they probably were- relaying questions into their headsets. After a few moments of conferring with whoever was heading security (most likely the Special Agents in charge of the sting this event was a front for), they motioned him through for a pat-down just beyond the rope. Noah didn’t bother feeling offended at them for only doing as they were instructed, but he did have a little fun making them as uncomfortable as possible as they searched his person for weapons. If his disguise, an old favorite thrown together on such short notice, held up to that much, then the rest would be a cakewalk- not that he had ever harbored a desire to actually go skipping through a fully-stocked dessert table. As fun as it sounded, he had enough messes splashed all over his real name without adding another to the list.

To his relief, the reach of the holographic snowflakes stopped at the door and vanished as he crossed the threshold of the foyer. The marble floor of the lobby had been buffed and waxed to a soft shine, and was still holding up to the foot traffic four hours after the meet’s commencement. Noah only paid enough mind to the guests still loitering about in groups no larger than six people to disinterestedly scan their faces at a glance and assign his background processes the menial task of matching names and dossiers to them. At the moment, he was far too focused on finding the one disguised face among them who was of any real importance to care about much else.

Mr. Vincent Sharp. Or should he say, Gabriel Reed.

The main hall was a wide, cavernous space, with rows of columns standing off to either side. Gold leaf sconced wall lamps provided an accentuating glow compared to the three giant chandeliers of brass and aluminum that bathed the room in ambient light. The dazzling light-show playing outdoors was only outdone by the splendor of one thirty-foot tall balsam fir erected in the center of the floor, adorned with no less than one hundred feet of multicolored string lights, dozens of strands of tinsel, swaths of garland, and a few hundred bauble ornaments. The topper, a white tinsel angel with glittery wings, faced the entrance with its hands pressed together and head bowed as if to thank all who arrived. A few outlying rings of cocktail tables surrounded the roped-off centerpiece. Those guests who weren’t conversing had taken seats to sip champagne or nibble on appetizers while they caught up on their gossip. Each cloth-covered table possessed its own small topper of a larger holographic projection of snowflakes hanging stationary in midair, which constantly shifted from one pattern to the next, spinning like a globe on a stand whenever a curious hand reached out to ‘tap’ them.

A small stage nestled in an alcove against the back of the ballroom hosted a classical band (ruled by one full-size concert piano) who looked as superfluous as the snowflakes that had greeted him outside. They wound through the last chorus of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire as he descended the staircase, before starting back up with Jingle Bell Rock. Between the cello and violins, Noah’s hypersensitive ear detected at least three strings in need of tightening before he shunted that note aside to take a backseat with the rest of his anxieties. He hadn’t spent two hours biting his knuckles over ever approaching the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium just to show up and critique its acoustic entertainment.

It wasn’t until a few curious eyes had turned his way, nodded and bid him good evening, that Noah realized how entirely inappropriate it was to be wearing sunglasses indoors, much less an event so high-class. The rest of his ensemble was tame enough- a dark navy blue suit bearing pointed lapels and a Zion sigil pin, complimented by a black dress shirt and loafers. The mild dose of glitter effect (same as could be found on the snow outside) projected into his black hair, accented with blue highlights, wasn’t as much of an affront as the pair of Ray Bans. Before anyone could make much of a fuss about it, he pulled them off and stashed the specs in his jacket’s breast pocket; in this kind of crowd, acting appropriate was of the utmost priority. Except when it wasn’t. Off to the left was a fully stocked pop-up bar- heads of the handful of people standing near it were turned away, giving off all manner of unapproachable vibes, including the only familiar silhouette in the room. Noah fought back a smirk when he spotted one particular set of ears before the facial recognition software even kicked in. As much as he would have loved to surprise him with his presence, he knew better than to sneak up on the owner of said ears. The last time he’d done so, Noah had wound up laid out over the fragments of his former coffee table, and he wasn’t eager to experience the cocktail hour equivalent of that encounter.

A half-hearted sweep of the room offered a few other suggestions of anything amiss, and that conclusion was about as dull as dishwater. Noah wasn’t really feeling making a scene with another guest (this event was far too classy for such delinquency), nor was he feeling at all confident enough to steal the mic off its stand and serenade the entire room. But that Christmas tree… it was giving off far too many signals to only be rigged with illumination accents. On his optical spectrum, a cloud of static encircled the poor displaced flora from top to bottom, a few of which were emitting from little lens-capped nodes disguised as burnt-out bulbs along the string. He drifted over casually and leaned in as if to admire his reflection in one of the gold metallic baubles, then carefully reached past the rope to twist and unplug one of the planted camera bulbs like plucking a petal off a flower. The fir gave only a whisper-quiet tink at this attack. The light strand continued to blink and cycle away, regardless of the missing piece. Noah held it up to eye level with a triumphant, yet mischievous grin. He knew exactly who was on the other side of the monitor observing the footage.

And having the most important discussion of the holiday season. On the other end of the feed, tucked away in the off-limits green rooms of the hall, Special Agent Reed was too busy engaging in one of his favorite pastimes of discussing classic action flicks with the unbaptized to notice that one of their cameras was moving. “I’m tellin’ you, man, Die Hard is THE Christmas movie, and if you don’t agree you’re just wrong .” “No way,” a second agent argued, “Bruce Willis himself denied that shit more than twenty years ago…” Reed let out a laugh that bordered on mocking, shook his head, and gestured to the man with one scolding finger lifted off his coffee cup. “John McClane would disagree-“ “Hey! Dumbasses! Stay focused!” Director Thomas Falken -who had insisted on overseeing the sting himself, in the event that something went horribly wrong - barked at the yapping men with a threatening leer that snapped Gavin’s head around and back into focus. On the feed of one of the bulb-cameras, an unrecognizable man rolled the glass node between his fingertips like a gem, and smirked as he held it up to the light. Reed’s brow furrowed in distress as he mumbled “What the fuck…?”, then swiped the walkie off the counter to relay the information. “Gabe.” “What is it, Reed?”

All done up in the swankest cocktail suit anyone would ever see him in, ‘Vincent Sharp’ turned, then leaned with his back against the bar and nursed a drink as he scanned the room through half-framed, squared-off, horn-rimmed glasses. One idle hand reached to throw back the hem of the tweed charcoal gray blazer, exposed the light brown waistcoat hugging his waist and hips, and slipped into the pocket of a pair of perfectly tailored, black slim-legged slacks. “We may have trouble, one of our spycams has been compromised.” Gabe tipped back his head and emptied the glass in his hand to smother the outward reaction of surprise, then set it down on the counter and gestured to the bartender for another. Rather than reach for any of the bottles displayed on the back counter, she went for a decanter on the shelf below the bar and refilled the glass with a burgundy brown liquid- thirium, distilled and dyed to mimic the appearance of Scotch. "Just one?” he asked in a curious tone as he searched the crowd around the tree. From his vantage point, he couldn’t clearly see anyone acting suspiciously. “Yeah, it’s the weirdest thing… little shit’s just holdin’ it up and grinnin’ like he knows we’re here…” And that he did. The harsh whisper to emanate over the commandeered camera’s mic said as much:

Good evening, Special Agent Reed. Fancy seeing you here.

From the other side of the room, Gabriel’s head turned a tic at the sound of crashing equipment and a few muttered ‘shit Shit, SHIT’s coming from the other end of the frequency he was currently tuned to. Like a bull in a china shop.

“How does he know you’re here… !?” Falken -known in his social circles as Tomahawk, for good reason- boomed from across the room as he rose from the couch and stormed over to the monitors. He shoved Reed’s chair aside, and scrutinized the face of the man making a mockery of their carefully planted monitoring equipment. Gavin’s heels scraped against the hardwood as he backpedaled and held his hands up in surrender. “I- I- I don’t… I don’t know, I didn’t tell anyone, I swear-” “Then who is THAT?” Falken punctuated with a slam of his palm against the monitor that made everyone in the room jump. “That’s… that’s, uh-...” He could explain that, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to. No matter how he looked at it, he was to blame for his presence that evening. His negligence had compromised months of careful planning.

“...Gavin?” His target rose from a table toward the front of the ballroom and directed his attention toward the bar, leering with the clear intent of starting a conversation. What impeccably bad timing for this to go down. “Reed! Talk to me!”

Gabriel’s intrusion provided him with the convenient excuse he needed to disengage for a moment. One visibly-shaking hand swiped the walkie off the desk and Gavin turned to break away from the glower of Falken’s death-glare long enough to respond to his partner in the field. The other hand ran through his hair with a nervous twitch in his fingers and he glanced over his shoulder as he cleared his throat and swallowed, then mumbled, “It’s-... it’s Noah,” under his breath just loud enough for him to hear.

Gabe’s thought processes came to a screeching halt as his personal life collided with his alias for just a moment. To hear that Noah was in Washington, DC, much less at the Zion Founders Fundraiser, was the last thing he’d expected to hear that evening. As Reed continued to drop curses in the background, Gabe turned to face the bar and flashed a polite, but forced smile at the bartender as she eyed him with nervous sweeps. He didn’t reach for the glass right away as it was set in front of him on a small black napkin. “Please, tell me I didn’t just hear what I think I did…” he muttered internally as a dozen different possibilities for how the night would turn out flashed thumb-nailed pre-constructions across his HUD. But Reed’s uncomfortable sputtering confirmed what he was hoping was just a joke.

“No, you heard me right.” One hand swiped over his face in a downward motion and scratched in frustration at the stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave in almost a week and desperately avoided Falken’s infuriated ‘what the fuck’ gestures in the background. “The bastard’s actually here, arrived in DC last night with Hannah and President-Elect Kamski. H-he stopped by the house lookin’ for you, but I told him you were undercover an’couldn’t make an appointment. I told him t’keep his nose outta our shit, but he-” Reed paused and squinted over Falken’s shoulder as Noah slipped the tiny camera into his pocket with a ‘Can you hear me alright in there?’ “Oh, son of a….” “What the hell is he doing…?”

The camera-bulb didn’t act as a walkie. And to their credit, all the personnel Noah could plainly see -now that his recognition software had sorted fact from fiction- didn’t stir, much less blow their cover. He knew without being told what this sting was about, and who it was the FBI were really here to keep tabs on. Perhaps him showing up was akin to being a ‘fly in the ointment’, but as yet he hadn’t done anything other than offend their Christmas tree. He gave the indifferent lens one more wordless glance as he rolled the bulb between his fingers. For a brief moment he considered winking at it, but decided at the last moment to pocket the device instead. Perhaps it’d come in handy elsewhere- for someone who hadn’t been properly equipped for this operation, it was the best he could do on such short notice. Failing that, he could always speak very loudly and deliberately at Gabriel’s collar mic, if he’d let him get close enough. The owner of the ear he recognized from before still hadn’t turned around. Outwardly he didn’t look very distressed. Only the new hunch in his shoulders, invisible to the human eye as it was, said it all. Far be it from him to keep ‘Vincent’ in suspense.

#rk900 #rk1800 #dbhilluminate #noriel #dbhiequilibrium #noah #gabriel

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imagine-organization-xiii · 5 years

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Organization XIII Music Preferences

Suggested by: No one

Xemnas

Doesn’t listen to music much and prefers peace and quiet. When he does listen to music, it’s always something classical. Chopin, Handel, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi... he likes them all.

Pretends to despise music when people - Demyx - play their own music too loud. Will demand silence when it’s a song he particularly hates.

Has a soft spot for J.S. Bach’s Suite 1 in G Major and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor

Xigbar

Without a doubt, this boy loves rock and roll, specifically 70s and 80s rock. He’s loved it for as long as he can remember, and loves that there are some songs that are perfect to put in the background during sex.

Aerosmith, Def Leppard, AC/DC? The epitome of great music to Xigbar.

Can listen to Love Bites on repeat for hours.

Loves Michael Jackson for some reason. Smooth Criminal is a person favorite, but is also fond of Billie Jean.

Xaldin

Music taste for Xaldin can go on completely opposite ends of the spectrum depending on his mood. On occasion, he can be found listening to classical music with Luxord and Xemnas, but only rarely. He’ll sometimes stop and hover in the doorway if he hears Chopin’s Nocturne op. 9 No. 2, but will never actually sit with them and enjoy.

If he’s in a bad mood, he’ll play music so loud that it will blow your ears out. Every organization member knows to avoid him like the plague if you hear any type of heavy metal and screamo music coming from his general direction.

Vexen

Listens to obnoxiously loud classical music, but not because he likes it. He only listens to it because he thinks it makes him sound smarter, but most of the other organization members just think he’s a douche for listening to it when it actually isn’t something he enjoys.

Secretly loves country music, but refuses to listen to it near any of the other organization members in case they tease him relentlessly. Knows all the words to Dolly Parton’s Jolene.

Lexaeus

Also likes rock and roll, but is way more low key than Xigbar. Loves David Bowie and The Rolling Stones with a burning passion.

Hates Guns N’ Roses and Poison, but has no idea why.

Won’t ever tell anyone, but really likes Prince. Heard Purple Rain for the first time a few years ago and never went back. He’s also in a silent battle with Xigbar over whether or not Michael Jackson or Prince is better.

Zexion

Loves anything mindless that he can listen to while reading. Is it soft music? Yes. Classical? Fine. Just something instrumental? Perfect.

Nearly had a heart attack when he discovered audio books. They’re one of man’s greatest inventions. Tends to listen to his giant list of audiobooks more than music nowadays.

Surprisingly also a fan of the Beach Boys. Wouldn’t It Be Nice is a go to whenever he’s in the mood.

Saix

Totally listens to punk rock music from 2005 until now. Demyx doesn’t have the heart to tell him that it’s out of style and Breaking Benjamin hasn’t been good since Diary of Jane.

Only listens to music while he’s working. He finds it easier to do work when he has something mindless to listen to, so he’ll put on something in the background.

Axel

Axel listens to things ironically. He likes to annoy people with his music taste, so you can bet your ass that he’ll randomly Rick Roll people. One time he Rick Rolled Xemnas three times in one day and Xemnas nearly threw him through a wall.

Listens to music that is extremely bad but he doesn’t care because he thinks it’s hilarious. Will go to his grave saying that Kanye West’s Bound 2 was the greatest song ever released in 2013.

Tries his hardest to get Saix to listen to music with him, but the only one with the patience to actually sit through his music is Roxas.

Demyx

Listens to literally everything. Has no real preference, but listens to whatever happens to strike his fancy that day.

Music taste generally changes based on his mood.

Unashamedly listens to all kinds of pop music. Lady Gaga’s Applause is one of his personal favorites.

Listens to underground bands that no one has ever heard of before - songs like Under the Wheels by Calexico - and thoroughly enjoys it.

Luxord

Likes classical music like Xemnas. The two will often sit in companionable silence and listen to their favorite classic songs together, but Xemnas will never admit it.

Also likes the Beatles, the Proclaimers and other classic British bands. Xigbar once walked in on Luxord jamming out to I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), and has never let him live it down.

Marluxia

Like’s 80s music like Chromeo’s Old 45s and, if he happens to be in an upbeat mood, techno songs.

Definitely the type of person that listens to the same song over and over again because he loves it so much, but then gets so tired of it that he can never listen to it again without cringing.

Definitely likes to play lots of peaceful music for his plants. He says that it helps them grow and that they thoroughly enjoy it. Any organization member can definitely pass by his room at any time and hear traditional music like this.

Larxene

Likes fast-paced techno music, especially for when she’s practicing her knife-throwing. They make her feel upbeat and full of energy, which is perfect for a great workout.

Also a fan of club music, though she’s never set foot in a club in her life. Likes original mixes - Atom by Ilija Djokovic and Enrico Sangiuliano Hidden T are some favorites.

Prefers to listen to music with earbuds in. Can’t stand listening to other people’s music and doesn’t like sharing her music with others.

Absolutely refuses to listen to music with Marluxia. She hates his taste in music, especially when it’s the music he plays for his plants.

Roxas

Gets most of his song recommendations from Demyx. Doesn’t understand the point of a lot of the music, but he’s always excited to be included.

Likes a little bit of everything, but usually enjoys looking for new music instead of listening to oldies. Will listen to anything at least once and always gives new music a fair shot.

Has a soft spot for Jesse McCartney, but isn’t sure why. He likes Beautiful Soul in particular.

Xion

A fan of Indie Folk and anything peaceful and flowing. She loves Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy and is disappointed that they aren’t making more music.

Also a fan of the Civil Wars, particularly their song Devil’s Backbone. She likes the way that she can just sit down and sway to their music.

Can’t do anything else while she’s listening to music. Has to sit down and experience it instead of just listening to it, which Roxas simply doesn’t understand.

#organization xiii #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts headcanon #organization xiii headcanons #kh

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dramallamadingdang · 5 years

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Music Meme! Again! :D

I was tagged for this again by @esotheria-sims and @blackswan-sims, so....Why the hell not? :) And, again, I am forever stuck in the 70s/80s/90s (with very few exceptions) because I’m an old fart and today’s music just doesn’t often resonate with me. So never expect actual new music from me. But maybe I’ve got something so old that it’ll be new to you. ;)

One Vision - Queen GIMME GIMME GIMME FRIED CHICKEN! Well, don’t, because I’m vegan, but that’s how the song ends. :) And, as usual, Queen is best served lived. And I was actually at this concert. Well, not this exact one; I was at the show the night before....where we all got completely drowned with rain because England, but it was still AWESOME. :)

I Feel Love - Vanessa Mae Yeah, Donna Summer’s original is way better, but I gotta say that Mae’s electric violin in this pretty cool. Also, techno/electronica/house/etc. is often what I listen to when building stuff in the game, if I’m not playing a TV show or a movie. I do not know why, but it apparently juices my brain. Maybe it’s all the rave partying from my debauched youth....

22,000 Days - The Moody Blues Ah, my Moodies. :) My first music love. Days of Future Passed is still my favorite album of all time, which kicked off my love of concept albums in general. But the album that this song comes from is my second-favorite of theirs.

Union of the Snake - Duran Duran Don’t ask me WTF is going on in this video. Gotta love the 80s! :)

Hole in Your Soul - ABBA I have been to the ABBA museum in Stockholm now which was actually pretty frickin’ awesome. So I am officially a nutcase ABBA fan, I guess.

Summerboy - Lady Gaga Me liking Gaga is totally my husband’s fault. But I guess it’s not surprising; she’s a lot like Madonna, and I love Madonna for some strange reason.

You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees And you may as well have John Travolta dancing, too. ;) Because the boy can move. Too bad Scientology ate his brain.

Summer Side of Life - Gordon Lightfoot The only good thing about Canada. Well, him and Barenaked Ladies. And Canadian chocolate. And Canadian beer, according to my husband. (I don’t like beer.) And...Well, OK, there’re lots of good things about Canada. :)

The Living Years - Mike + The Mechanics Despite the fact that my dad and I were very close and he’s been dead for many years, this song doesn’t make me cry. :) Perhaps it’s because we had no unresolved issues between us when he died. Now if my mother ever dies... But she probably won’t. I’m convinced she’d Undead. :) I mean, she’s in her 80s, and I have more gray hair than she does. :p

Some Like It Hot - The Power Station Robert Palmer, plus half of Duran Duran, plus Chic’s drummer. It’s weird, but what’s not to like?

I’m not going to tag anyone this time, but if anyone wants to do this and hasn’t been tagged, consider yourself tagged. :)

#non sims #memes is fun

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moonsandmelodies · 5 years

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My Top Albums/EPs of 2018

I'm pleased to report that I’ve found quite a few enjoyable new releases this year. It's hard to have a 'definitive' outlook as there remains so much for me to catch up with, but here are the highlights from what I've heard so far.

(To keep things from getting redundant here, my 2018 halfway list's honorable mentions won't be featured here. Read that list here if you're curious about them.)

Top 8 Albums

8. Steve Hauschildt - Dissolvi

ambient techno / progressive electronic / ambient

Hauschildt is known for his role in the defunct drone/ambient group Emeralds. I'm yet to 'get' the appeal of Emeralds, but I've enjoyed a great deal of songs from Steve's solo career, which veered away from his droney roots into more melodic territory. Dissolvi is more transparent/airy in texture than his last few albums, and often less inconsistent. This is great knowing how one of my main issues with his other albums was the lack of consistency. There's a mild techno element here through the subtle use of rhythms, which gives the songs an interesting aquatic pulse.

Dissolvi may be my favorite album of his besides the popular Tragedy And Geometry from 2011. While some songs loop or repeat too much, most of them have plenty of evolving layers to keep this a fluid and hypnotizing listen. This is most apparent on the 7-minute "Alienself", which goes on about 1-1.5 minutes too long but also contains some of Dissolvi's most impressive textures and atmosphere. Also notable is the title song, by far the most rhythmic and tense but retaining some needed subtlety through soft synth hums. A promising step up.

Listen to "Lyngr"

7. Tess Roby - Beacon

art pop / gothic / synth pop / dream pop

Balancing folksy vocals, synths and Durutti-like guitar, Tess Roby is like a lost 4AD/This Mortal Coil collaborator. It's not the most surprising she's on Italians Do It Better, but at the same time it's a bit different from what I expect from the label. These songs are moody and elusive, with a semi-gothic tone save for one or two more tender moments like "Ballad 5". They drift along subtly, but not without shifts in tone or instrumentation. At eight songs long it ends pretty quick but at the same time this keeps it digestible and interesting. My favorite has to be the sinister folk/synth combination of "Borders".

Listen to "Borders"

6. Noname - Room 25

jazz rap / hip hop / neo-soul

Noname is someone I've been meaning to listen to for some time now. And my first thought, of course, is 'why didn't I listen to this sooner?' Room 25 is full of blissful jazz groove, even subtler in execution than the likes of Nujabes and Digable Planets (check this out if you like either one). The excellent live band she assembled for the album enhances this effect with it's free-flowing style, one that tends to disobey common verse-chorus structure. The smooth keyboards (piano, e-piano) and Noname's own unique delivery are sure to lull you into a peaceful daze.

I do think Noname tends to mutter a little too much, which can obscure the lyrics, but she has a great flow that blends in very well with the music. She includes plenty of guests and sung sections for these songs, but they don't disrupt the album's flow. They're fitting and natural rather than thrown-in. One great example of this is the way "no name" begins with one brief rap verse before 2.5 whole minutes of singing. If someone else tried that, it could've wound up boring, but this may be the loveliest moment on an already rich album. 'Your life is your life / Don't let it pass you by', the voices repeat over strings and piano until it (and thus the album) ends. I'll be very interested in Noname's next move.

Listen to "no name"

5. Music House/Various - Scandi Disco

electro-disco / synth pop / electropop / synthwave

'If you’re bored of the sheer quantity of 80s retro music out there, maybe don’t listen to this. But if you’re like me and love this music enough to still give the continuous new releases a chance, I recommend this recent library album. I enjoyed almost every song on this one, a bit surprising seeing how there’s no hype at all surrounding it. I found it only because I was looking through other, older releases by this label, Music House, and this happened to be their most recent album. Everything about this album is shiny, stylish and fun with plenty of energy and melody. The production is impressive as expected from a stock music label, and while it has a prominent modern polish they tap into the huge potential and legacy of electro-disco very well.'

Listen to "I Can Feel The Fire"

4. Reni Jusis - Ćma

dance-pop / electropop

If you've followed me for long enough you may know I've become a big fan of this semi-obscure Polish singer/producer. However, her '16 album BANG! was a let-down. It hopped on all of the worst mid-10's mechanical bass-drop trends I hoped she would evade. I sighed and moved on. But that's when a single ("Tyyyle Milosci") popped up in May. A GOOD one, too, a reflective ballad-like song lacking BANG!’s pitfalls. A great surprise, but I didn't know what to expect from an album. But the press release claims the album is Reni's return to dance music after the 'experiment' of BANG!...

And like I hoped, the album is much more uptempo than BANG!. Shimmering pop anthems, hypnotic melodies, and of course, the abundant synths are all here. All kinds of pleasant textures pop up, forming some great transitions and grooves. Even in more 'experimental' moments (e.g. "Ćma"'s dizzy end cool-down; tracks #6 and #9) there's the kind of spacey atmospheric touches that popped up in her 2000's heyday. It would've been fine if she didn't bring that part back. I thought it was too much to ask for - but there it is!

Ćma has plenty of flaws. A few songs are inconsistent, the huge repetition lowers replay value, and her delivery gets bombastic at times. Many areas would benefit from some tweaking. But I finished Ćma feeling relieved. She did come through with some jams, and she revived the sound she does best. It's a big step up from BANG!, and for that I'm grateful. I recommend this to anyone looking for good modern electro-pop this year.

Listen to "To Tylko Podróż"

3. U.S. Girls - In A Poem Unlimited

art pop / psychedelic pop

As I wrote in the 2018 halfway list:

'While I did find the previous U.S. Girls album Half Free a bit inconsistent, In A Poem Unlimited feels like a step up. There were only about 2 or 3 tracks that I didn’t enjoy here. The album has a warm semi-70s feel thanks to the band put together for it. There’s also a sense of eclecticism that’s executed better than on a lot of other albums with similar ambitions. The voice of Meg Remy, the one true ‘member’ of U.S. Girls, can be quite twangy and takes a bit of getting used to at first, but it’s somewhat grown on me since then, and it got some time to shine here. This is most often when she does a kind of nervous falsetto like in two of my favorites, “Rosebud” and “L-Over”. While the many styles that Remy explores here aren’t much new (70s funk, jazzy rock, general quivering psych weirdness, a bit of synth pop), the variation of it all and the will to experiment helps keep things interesting, and most of them evade the boring cliches that tend to pop up in so much music lately.'

Listen to "Rosebud"

1/2. Suiyoubi No Campanella - Galapagos

j-pop / electronic / art pop / downtempo

Cult J-pop group Suiyobi no Campanella released this 'EP' in June, though I don’t get why it’s considered an EP, since it’s the length of an album. It did receive some deserved acclaim upon release but since then, I've heard little about it - seems it didn’t stick. I’m wondering if the promotion as a mere ‘EP’ is part of it - were they wanting to keep a lower profile for this? If so, why, when it’s this elaborate?

The first thing I noticed was how much these songs morph and change, often in unexpected ways. “Bamboo Princess" sets the scene. It begins wistful and hushed but soon evolves into a thrilling chorus of strings and horns. The song also seems to reference an ancient Japanese folk tale. "Matryoshka" relaxed mallet groove mutates and evolves many times through it’s duration. Despite all this, the last two songs calm things down. "A Cat Called Yellow" is a gorgeous end to the album that sounds like both a farewell and a lullaby, covered in this blanket of thoughtful ambience.

Matching the creative song structures is a wide-ranging palette of sounds. There's percussion, sampling, aquatic keyboards, mallets, clean guitar, synth bells, some kind of keening violin ("Bamboo Princess") and even hang (a recent creation similar to the steel drum). It's cold and tropical all at once. Listening is like dipping into the water at a beach resort, watching all these colors blur into the water.

Galapagos has some of the most impressive production I've heard all year. These are more tapestries than songs, and I mean that in the best way possible. This album is an ideal summer-evening mood piece. It may be winter now, but you should listen to it ASAP anyway.

Listen to "Matryoshka"

1/2. Fishdoll - Noonsense

wonky / dream pop / electronic / downtempo

'Fishdoll, an exciting new artist from China, manages to recall everything I miss about electronic music of the earlier 10′s. First I thought of ‘wonky’ producers like FlyLo and Teebs who had such interesting and creative taste in electronic production and samples. Take a gander at the amazing operatic vocal/harp sample that ends “Beijing Well” or the spacey fluttering chords on most of the songs, for example. Secondly, Fishdoll adds subtle effects to her own voice that say, Grimes or Washed Out became popular for, creating a similar kind of airy surrealism.

It doesn’t do enough justice to Fishdoll to make so many comparisons, though, since this album really does feel unique. Which is exactly why it's one of my favorites of the year - it’s an electronic artist doing something unique and doing it well.

I’m looking forward to Fishdoll’s next musical move, and I’m convinced Noonsense deserves more than a bit of Bandcamp popularity, which seems to be all it got upon release.'

Since writing this in the first halfway list, I was also asked to write a brief review of Noonsense for the Rateyourmusic front page in October, which you can find here.

Listen to "Bubbling Bop"

Top 5 EPs

5. Barker - Debiasing

minimal techno [?]

A lot of the hype around this one deemed it 'techno without the drums'. Sounded like a nice idea on paper, but I didn't expect Barker to pull it off this well. I guess I'm too used to the tedious repetition so many techno producers tend to throw into their creations. But while these songs may lean a bit on the minimal side, their steady evolution help keep this EP sounding interesting at very least. Barker also puts a lot of emphasis on my favorite part of techno, which is all the hypnotic synths and chords and effects.

Every song revolves around thoughtful-sounding arpeggios, graceful in a way. "When Prophecy Fails" and "How Hard I've Tried" are almost shy. They sound like the sensitive core of a giant mechanical structure. Overall this is one of the better examples of techno I've come across for sure. I recommend this if you're like me and looking for techno that's not so grounded in repetition+bass drum overkill.

Listen to "When Prophecy Fails"

4. Ravyn Lenae - Crush

contemporary R&B / pop / neo-soul

A brief but warm and breezy EP from an up-and-coming R&B vocalist, who happens to be hardly any older than me. My very obvious favorite is the dynamic and catchy single "Sticky", but the other songs keep up that song's pleasant retro soul style and with such a short length it's very digestible. I'll be interested to hear her next project.

Listen to "Sticky"

3. D A V I I C I - W sercu pozostaje tylko to co wypalone ogniem

synth pop / hypnagogic pop

'His sound is similar to that of Adonis listed below - a kind of lo-fi trippy synth pop, but it makes sense since they’re on the same label. This EP is a bit more ghostly and empty, though - D A V I I C I puts his voice through what sounds like autotune to a very weird, bordering-on-creepy effect. This is most noticeable on the songs “Skruszone serce“ and “Czas przez pryzmat“ which are also my favorites of the bunch. I have to say that while I like the idea of ‘hypnagogic pop’, it’s often bored or disappointed me; D A V I I C I and Adonis, though, have impressed me to an extent I didn’t expect.'

Listen to "Skruszone Serce"

2. Elysia Crampton - Elysia Crampton

latin electronic / huayno / folktronica / experimental

I'm not familiar with Elysia Crampton's previous work but judging from this I'll have to change that. This EP has a wild mixture of layers and styles thrown in, ensuring that it never gets boring. There's complex percussion, fuzzy distortion, a varied choice of samples, the occasional regular synth ("Orion Song") and, oddly enough, a bit of airhorn.

These are windy, intense sounds, anchored by the kind of frenzied rhythms that suggest a journey on horseback. "Orion Song" is my favorite for combining this with simpler but still majestic synth patterns and a surprisingly peaceful outro. It ends quick at six tracks but it's obvious from the get-go she packed a lot of creativity into this EP. It has an ear for adventure that I love to hear in electronic music.

Listen to "Moscow (Mariposa Voldora)"

1. Adonis - Wiosenna Ofensywa Nie Trwa Dłużej Niż Do Letnich Wakacji

'I only came across Adonis through Bandcamp recommendations and he’s still a bit of a mystery to me [Update: though he did thank me for including this on the halfway list in a Tumblr message!]. This is in part because all the info and lyrics are Polish. But I’m glad I found this EP, since I enjoyed every one of these five songs - while I’ve been blasting the incredible title track all June. In a similar situation to Scandi Disco, it may not be very new, since it’s pretty much a collage of 'alt 80s’ sounds, but if you love the sort of music that entails (e.g. synth pop/shoegaze/dream pop) like I do, I certainly recommend it.'

synth pop / hypnagogic pop

Listen to "Wiosenna ofensywa nie trwa dłużej niż do letnich wakacji"

Honorable mentions

Ariana Grande - Sweetener

pop / contemporary R&B / pop soul

Listen to "Breathin"

Angelique Kidjo - Remain In Light

afro-funk

'I was very intrigued when I learned Angelique Kidjo from Benin was to revamp the entire Remain In Light album by Talking Heads. According to her interview in LA Times, she heard “Once In A Lifetime” long ago and recognized the African influence in it’s sound, which is what eventually led to this cover album. Although part of me wishes some covers were a bit closer to the originals than they are, most of the interpretations are still very interesting and enjoyable with an excellent sense of energy and rhythm.'

Listen to "Born Under Punches"

Empress Of - Us

synth pop / electropop

Listen to "When I'm With Him"

George Clanton - Slide

synth pop / chillwave

Listen to "Make It Forever"

Lena Raine - Celeste

video game music / electronic / chiptune / downtempo

I forgot to mention this game OST in my halfway list somehow, but it's worthy of honorable mention at very least. It has a distinct style that reminds me a bit of the BGM you hear in Steven Universe - very colorful and spacey at the same time as varied; sometimes relaxed, other times epic. 8-bit bleeps and more modern synths blend with the twinkle of piano often. The best example of this mixture, to my memory, is the bright and productive "First Steps". With so many songs it's hard to evaluate how well it works as an album, but it's more understandable for a game soundtrack as I figure some of these sound better in context. Whether it works that way or just misses the mark, there's no doubt this is an impressive piece of work.

Listen to "First Steps"

Pastel Ghost - Ethereality

synth pop / dream pop / gothic

Pastel Ghost doesn't tend to explore new ground with her songs. It's not surprising and I don't think she needs to do that all the time, per se. The issue here is more that those same cliches are even older now than they were in 2015. Read: excess 808 hi-hats, your usual stompy goth-club bass patterns...

But I realize this was more of a grower for me than Abyss. While the vocals and rhythms were disappointing, the synths only got better. Here, PS does a great job of layering distinctive timbres together and forming rich textures and harmonies out of them. I love those twinkling aquatic tones in songs like "Tears" and "Underwater" in particular. She hasn't lost the more distinct part of her sound that first drew me to Abyss, evolving it all at once, which is what matters most in the end.

While Abyss was all about being spooky and sinister, Ethereality is murky and bittersweet. You could say the 'pastel' caught up with the 'ghost' (ba-dum-tish!)... It's not a huge change but it takes you elsewhere, like the depths of an ocean rather than a gloomy forest. Songs like “Emotion” and “Possession” just wash over you like a waterfall thanks to the production - there’s a crystal-clear quality to it that makes this an easy listen even in the lesser moments.

Ethereality, right down to the silly title, could be less predictable, especially in 2018 after there's so many others doing this sort of thing. A lot of the vocals are too breathy and twee, moreso than before. But it's hard for me to ignore the skills on display. Her ear for melodies, synths, etc. continue to distinguish her from the pack and I continue to enjoy her take on this music.

Listen to "Sakura"

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