Ptolemaea
Click. Click.
That’s all Regulus hears as he walks towards ‘electric lady studios’ with freshly written song lyrics in his right hand, coffee in his left. He’s used to the constant attention and fame that comes with being a singer, he’s been doing it for 6 years!
He opens the door so quickly that hot coffee spills on his hand, but he could care less. His doc martens make a stomping noise as he enters a brown door, where a big brown couch is awaiting him.
“You’re late!” Pandora says with an affectionate roll of her blue eyes.
“Sorry! I had to finish some of the lyrics.”
Those string of words piques Pandora's interest greatly, and her hands command a motion that indicates she wants his leathered notebook. Regulus puts his coffee down and opens the notebook to the marked page where his new song is. Her eyes turn more solemn from each tick of the clock.
“Regulus…” Pandora starts, “Is this about, you know, Riddle?”
Riddle.
Tom Riddle.
The man who took everything from Regulus, the man who took part in taking away his innocence, if it ever existed in the first place. The manipulative mother fucker who knows exactly what to say and when, the blurry lines that he induces and leaves in Regulus’s eyes. The man that Regulus has never spoken about to the public, leaving fans wondering who songs like “Western Nights” and “Dear John” and “vampire” are about.
Regulus hesitantly nods his head as a yes, and Pandora’s eyes regain her normal warmth, knowing not to pry too much.
“I think this is really good, are you going to put this on your next album?”
Regulus’s world tour of his album “Brooklyn Baby” had just stopped a mere month ago, yet Regulus has had quite the writer's block. Not in the sense of having nothing to write about, but in the sense that he’s writing all the things that he doesn’t want leaking into the public. He always tries to not put out songs about his parents, but that's all he can write about. He’s not sure why, but those are the words that keep flowing out of him onto his fountain pen and onto his white paper.
“I’m not sure, I wouldn’t mind releasing it if no speculation would happen, but we both know that won’t happen.”
“I’m calling Dorcas, then. The songs you’ve written over the course of this past year are some of the best you have ever written! If Dorcas thinks it’s alright, then we are doing it. If not, then we still are no matter what! People are going to talk no matter what, even without fuel to the fire.”
Regulus just sighs, knowing there’s nothing he can do to get out of this now.
“Hello? Pandora?” Dorcas says through a yawn, and Regulus envies how she was able to sleep in today.
“Yes! I’m with Reg.”
“Oh, hi Reg! Did you guys need something?”
“Yes, we did.” Pandora says while shooting a glare in Regulus’s direction that silences his internal protests, “Regulus, here, has written some of the best songs of his ENTIRE career, and yet he doesn’t want to release them, due to the public. Please tell him that he should!”
Dorcas laughs on the other line and says in a sing-songy voice “Reggie!”
“What.” He says with a faux huff of annoyance.
“I’m not sure what these songs are about, but if your only worry is about public perception, then I think you should release them. You’re secure enough in your career for this, you can’t keep keeping songs in a little vault and not releasing them. You’re honestly just robbing your fans at this point.”
“...Alright. I’ll do it.” Regulus says with less hesitancy in his voice.
“Great! Well I’m going back to bed, so goodnight!”
“Night Cas! Thanks for your help!”
“Bye.”
The sound of the phone hanging up rings across the room, and Pandora looks at him with a determined look in her eye.
“Now, what kind of production are we thinking about?”
—
RAB Updates @RabUpdates
Regulus at Electric Lady Studios!
Picture attached
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RAB <3 @rabcrackbb
iconic. utterly iconic.
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Saw Reg 4/11!!! @officialfamefucker
Omfg his notebook is open and it has something written….someone needs to decipher it for me 👀
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American Whore. @Reguluscoffee
I can't decipher it…. Where r the crazies when we need them???
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Natalie @Natal1e4509
Here’s what I think it says, as a certified crazy: …..Iron…..fears the……cot, rot? Then on the next line: Hiding…..I….start. Idk im a crazy biatch for a rsn….
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Who am I to…. @Regsweirdinterludes
I’ve been a fan for a LONG time, I’m pretty sure I can figure this out. Starting from the third line since I can’t read the first half. “Walking on snakes, I am back.” prob not it, but close? Then on the fourth line I think it says “Buckets on the door when the high….aglow??”
–
“See!” Pandora says enthusiastically, “Wasn’t that therapeutic?”
“I guess, I mean, I still have a lot of changes to make and things to figure out, but I like how it sounds so far!” Regulus says with a rare smile on his face, “I just feel like something is missing, you know? I mean, I was thinking of calling it “Sempervirens” which means always living, but I’m not so sure now. I need to do some more digging.”
“You know, not everything needs to be perfect on the first try. Take your time!” She says with a knowing voice, “Now let's go call Evan, Barty, and Dorcas to show them it!”
Pandora grabbed her phone for the second time in the studio, and called all three up. They soon walked into the studio and sat on the chairs while Regulus started playing the recording.
Evans mouth was agape while he stared at Regulus, as was the other two.
“This is…” Barty starts, “So fucking good oh my god!” Dorcas finishes with pride flashing in her eyes.
As Barty was about to ask a question, Pandora sent him a warning glare that the other two saw as well.
They all knew what that meant.
They started chatting about the song and all about the process of it. Regulus answered Barty’s earlier answer of who it was about, and comforted him through the hurt, like they always do.
“I need some coffee after that!” Dorcas says, while Regulus looks at his abandoned cup of coffee that he hadn’t finished.
They all nod in agreement and give Barty their orders of coffee, while Dorcas and Evan talk, and Pandora and Regulus mess around with the song.
“Dora, do you have a voice changer?”
Pandora is startled by that, but nonetheless, she pulls out some paraphernalia and plugs it into the wall. She toys around with it until it is up and working, and Regulus steps forward into the glass to try it out.
“Evan is a dick.” Regulus says in a low monotone voice that doesn’t quite match his usual.
Evan and Dorcas jump, and start looking around until they see Regulus covering the microphone and laughing at them. Evan runs into the room where Regulus was testing it, and says, “No, Regulus is a dick!” through the microphone, mirroring Regulus’s monotone voice. Pandora and Dorcas are hitting each other while laughing hysterically, and Regulus and Evan are fighting with each other in the stupidest voices.
“What the fuck.” Barty says while entering the door, watching the commotion.
“My coffee!” Evans' deep voice says, and he runs out to kiss Barty on the cheek, and most importantly, grab his coffee.
“We were just testing out the voice changer.” Regulus says with false innocence gleaming in his eyes as he takes off his headphones.
Barty rolls his eyes, and hands the coffee to everyone else in the room, and they all take a break from the havoc.
–
Within the next few days, Regulus and Pandora have figured out that they want to do a duet with the voice changer, the voice changer representing Riddle. Regulus has figured out the lyrics for it, such as:
I followed you in
I was with you there
I invited you in
Twice, I did
You love blood too much
But not like I do
Not like I do
Heard you, saw you, felt you, gave you
Need you, love you, love you, love you
Heard you, saw you, felt you, gave you
Need you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, saw you, love you, gave you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, saw you, felt you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you
You don’t have to say yes to me
And
You poor thing
Sweet, mourning lamb
There's nothing you can do
It's already been done
Regulus’s voice sounds downright scary in these parts, which evidently, is perfect.
“Something is still missing, there’s no overarching climax.” Regulus mutters to himself, scribbling more lyrics onto a piece of paper. “I Know The End” by Phoebe Bridgers was playing, when he heard his favorite part of the song.
The scream.
“Dora, I’ve got it!” He screams, as he continues scribbling down notes.
“What?”
“After I say, “Tell me, what have you done?” I’m going to repeat the word stop a lot of times, and then I’m going to scream!”
Pandora smirks, and all but whispers for him to get into the recording booth.
“What fear a man like you brings upon a child like me (show me your face)
Please don't look at me
I can see it in your eyes
He keeps looking at me
Tell me, what have you done
Stop, stop, stop, make it stop, stop
Make it stop
Make it stop, I've had enough
Stop, stop, stop, stop”
5 years of rage all built up in an almost overflowing bottle comes hurling out, and his scream echoes across the walls of the studio where Pandora is recording, and into the air.. In the midst of the continuing production, he continues doing ad libs and screams such as repeating the word “No” and letting everything out.
He breathes a breathy sigh as he looks up to Pandora, and the track is still playing, repeating his screams of agony.
“Regulus, I’m so proud of you.” She says while grabbing a water bottle to help his throat after that.
“I’m calling it Ptolemaea.” Regulus says, ignoring what she just said.
Pandora hummed, in-autibally telling him to continue.
“Ptolemaea. I was thinking of Riddle and about how he claims to be a child of god, yet he’s a fucking reincarnation of the devil himself. That led me to think about a story I was told when I was about 15, and it was about the four concentric rings of the ninth circle of Hell. In Dante’s inferno, it was dedicated to those betrayed by their guests. He invited me in, I trusted him, and you know what happened after that..”
Pandora stood speechless before wrapping Regulus into her arms, and he just laid against her, thinking about everything and nothing at once.
–
“Blessed be the Brothers of Black,
bound to suffering eternal through the sins of their fathers committed long before their conception
Blessed be their whore mothers, tired and angry waiting with bated breath in a ferry that will never move again
Blessed be the children, each and every one come to know their god through some senseless act of violence
Blessed be you, boy, promised to me by a man who can only feel hatred and contempt towards you
I am no good nor evil, simply I am, and I have come to take what is mine
I was there in the dark when you spilled your first blood
I am here now as you run from me still
Run then, child
You can't hide from me forever”