#BRENNAN YOU ABSOLUTE ARTIST

[el-huddpudd]

#because is it not so very mortal to see someone you Love in Pain and going. No. I Will Stop This. No Matter How I End Up. #love makes a monster of us all and all that and it’s like #the conflict is so integral to exandria’s existence it’s just. a tragedy. and delicious

no but the betrayer gods being cast the furthest and the darkest down into the consciousness of their world’s existence because they were the first amongst their family to defend themselves

[ladyriot]

Angela Montenegro for the character ask! -mix

• How I feel about this character

I really like Angela! I think she edges into my top 3 Bones characters. They did personify the free-spirited bisexual artist stereotype, but it works. At least they rounded it out with tech knowledge and just as much loyal dog, will bite you if you even try to hurt my friends energy as emotionality, so that she does feel like a genuine and well-rounded character.

• All the people I ship romantically with this character

Hodgins is fine. He's there. I think their swingset date was very cute and they work well together. I'm also a very loud brengela girl. Especially in the first 3-5 seasons, but even later, they just had so much chemistry and some of the most compatible lifestyles and worldviews. They don't need to shed their unconventionality for marriage and babies if you just put them together... it would be so easy. Also Angela needs to teach Brennan how polyamoury works. It's basically canon. And this might be niche, but she should've hooked up with that one delivery girl who Hodgins and Zach were fighting over. I ship that.

• My non-romantic OTP for this character

This is hard! Canonically, her friendships with Bones, Zach, and Sweets are all very dear to me. And she just should be best friends with Hannah. Like, come on. Kindred spirits to the absolute maximum.

• My unpopular opinion about this character

Have you ever seen the non-Tumblr opinion of Angela and the other Bones women? People seem to hate them, so it's basically unpopular to like them at all 😂

But a less cheating answer is that I honestly don't care if she's "overpowered" in technology. That Pelant story got so annoying by its end that I was glad for it.

• One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I love her in roller derby. More roller derby!

[verosvault]

🚨SPOILERS FOR FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR EPISODE 7🚨

Dimension20 "Fantasy High Junior Year"

Episode 7 "Stress Tested"

Timestamp: 1:29:45

Video Length: 2min. & 37sec.

Fig talks to Lucilla Lullaby about doing an "Independent Study" 😭✋🥲

Brennan: "This is the same day that you need to figure out like what...You've been doing Warlock stuff. You've gotta figure out something with how you're actually gonna structure your classes for the semester."

Emily: "Yeah."

Brennan: "I think actually, yeah, as you're heading there, you finally have the conversation. You see Lucilla Lullaby walking past and says,"

Lucilla: "Figueroth!"

Emily: "Okay. Okay. So, Fig has definitely been looking at her bass, dreaming of it glowing with the twilight of doubt, being deputized by her president. But she also knows that she's on security detail right now. And so she probably needs to be a Bard for a little bit longer. So I think I wanna go to Lucilla."

Brennan: "Okay."

Fig: "Hey, I was wondering if you would be amenable to, you know us Bards, jack of all trades, master of none. I was wondering if you would be amenable to an independent study."

Lucilla: *looks interested* "Okay, tell me more."

Fig: "Okay. I used to be, like, a Whispers Bard and I'm willing to do that again if you let me kinda do an independent study that's sort of just like basically infiltrating, information gathering, using deception, and hugging the shadows to find out what I need."

Lucilla: "Okay. So you- all right. You wanna hug the shadows?"

Fig: "Yeah. I can even be giving you updates about what I'm doing. I basically have a mark, and I wanna find out everything I can about him."

Lucilla: "Okay."

Fig: "And I want to get in here." *points to her mind*

Lucilla: "Great. Well, that sounds amazing. And it's like there's an ask in here."

Fig: "Oh, yeah! Can I do that as an independent study instead of coming to class?"

(Emily laughing)

Lucilla: *starting to get emotional and sad* "...Umm..."

Fig: "Oh ***. Oh ****. ****-. Here's the thing, Lucilla. I don't think I'm an artist, okay? When I hear other people talk about being artists, I don't think I'm an artist. I think I'm just a really good friend. I think that's my whole ****ing thing."

Lucilla: "Okay. Can I take a second to process what I'm feeling?"

Fig: "Yeah, absolutely."

Lucilla: *sings*

Brennan: "And she starts singing in this insane chant and just begins to sort of float away out through a window into the sky."

Fig: "**** it, I'll come to class. I'll come to class."

[ignitesthestxrs]

I know you said you’ve gone back into it slowly but any book recs?

yes absolutely!! i have read some bangers lately tbh. also another thing i am trying to do is start uuuh reviewing what i'm reading so i will link a couple of those as well. but here is a sporadic collection of my reading enjoyments of the last year or so!

IF FOUND RETURN TO HELL // THE DEATH I GAVE HIM by Em X. Liu

em is hands down one of the best writers i know with prose that will punch you in the face and leave you asking if you can have another, please.

IF FOUND RETURN TO HELL is a queer found family novella featuring a done-with-this protag working in a wizarding call centre who abruptly comes down with a case of 'sweet angel baby boy possessed by demon hell child' in a broken magical healthcare system where following protocol is more important than like, helping people. so what is journeyman wen to do if not, you know, help anyway?

THE DEATH I GAVE HIM is the queer scifi hamlet retelling of my dreams, which is funny because i didn't care about hamlet until this book taught me how to. a thoughtful exploration on the nature of adaptation, death & immortality, and also what happens when your best friend is an AI and you wanna fuck him.

IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote the original true crime novel. still stuck in my truman blorbo moment. full review here

ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb classic 90s fantasy with surprisingly emotional focus on the protag in a way i really dug. unhinged levels of accidental queerbaiting in a way that i enjoyed rather than despaired of. full review here.

PANDORA'S JAR: WOMEN IN THE GREEK MYTHS by Natalie Haynes a great overview of classical women that takes into account multiple sources and the way they have been read over centuries, and how the time in which a tale is being told affects the tale just as much as what the text of the story actually is. does a good job of walking the middle ground between like, historical sexism and the reflexive girlbossification instinct.

IN OTHER LANDS by Sarah Rees Brennan the queer harry potter offshoot we all actually deserve. portal fantasy with an acerbic main character who will save the world out of sheer spite because the world doesn't seem to think he can save it, or want him to do it even if he could. a genuinely lovely musing on the nature of loneliness, what abuse does to a child, how it's hard but possible to overcome the prejudices you learn when you're young, and how eventually, you're going to have to make the decision to let yourself be loved.

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by Shelley Parker-Chan truly i don't have the word for how fucking excellent this queer epic fantasy is. set in mongol-ruled china, this book is a masterclass in political intrigue, historical fiction, military fantasy, and also genderfuckery. feat. the kind of tragedy you see coming for several hundred pages and still takes your breath away when it hits, and also lesbian fisting. anyone who says books based in history can't get queer can get fucked.

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by Freya Marske for a total 180 in mood, here is your queer romantic fantasy set in an Edwardian England that is reflective of the fact that like, queer people did in fact exist in Edwardian England. A lighter fare that nonetheless will hit you right in the heart and leave you delighted that a) there's a second book out now and b) the third one is coming soon. also Freya is an Artiste when it comes to writing good sex scenes, which

i belatedly realise it seems like i'm focusing on in this post but i just! like a queer text that tackles queer sex with nuance and interest and the horror and/or joy of the body, and the above authors are all fucking masters at their art (which includes, but by no means is limited to, writing about fucking)

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel. The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A USA Today bestseller! An Indie Next pick A LibraryReads Hall of Fame pick A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family's wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn't plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti's business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti's wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti's house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca's secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the question: how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

"There's nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can't do."—Sarah Rees Brennan

Review:

When you need to hire a swordsman to fight a duel in case someone challenges you on you're wedding day the last thing you expect is to fall for him. Mattinesh Jay is the dutiful heir to a struggling house, and has tried everything to keep his family's wool business afloat... and his latest attempt is to marry another heir to a rich house, yet one of her suitors is determined to duel Matt on his wedding day and since he has zero swordsmanship skills he sets out to hire a bodyguard to fight the duel should it arise. Cue Luca, the guy who kind of conned Matt the previous night at a bar and who is on the run from his own family, yet he offers a trade: he'll fight for Matt and teach him sword fighting skills and in exchange Matt will not blackmail him. Yet the more time Matt and Luca spend together training and getting to know one another, the more the chemistry between them begins to grow... yet Luca's lies are going to catch up to him and Matt will have to choose between following his duty and marrying someone he doesn't love or following his heart and going after the man who's tumbled into his life. This was a fairly easy and fun read, it's got low stakes but a fun arc to follow and the romance was nice. It's a good time and one I'd absolutely recommend for anyone looking for a romance with low stakes.

Release Date: October 8,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[savcir-faire]

adding myself to the chorus of voices that wants to create a new category of awards for podcast sound design and award them all to taylor moore for his work, especially on ep 13.

i love how the miyazaki influence is so prevalent and constantly referenced by these storytellers (genius knows genius) bc pairing brennan’s description of naram, a titanic lionfish god rising above the waves, with the c(h)oral notes and chanting i was instantly reminded of the grandeur of the forest spirit in mononoke, the horror of the war machine in nausicaa, the arcana in howl’s moving castle!!!!! positively carried away on a wave of emotion!!!!!

&the choice to highlight the screaming of human casualties, (laplo rip u were cute, apparently) to highlight consequences. &the Comic moments in this ep; the drumroll when galina and morrow have the contested persuasion roll and the *ding* when morrow succeeds? that INSANE outtro perfectly capturing the feeling of bobbing up and down in choppy surf + whale sounds bidding us adieu? absolutely despicably exceedingly GOOD! GOD! VERY GOOD!!!!

i hope taylor shows up for the ep 13 fireside chat bc he needs to be held to account for his audio stylings and showered in flowers.

psa: give these artists $5 fr i PROMISE you will not b disappointed

[ninja-muse]

November started out bookish, because my Dad came to visit for a few days, which meant a bookstore visit, a poetry reading, and a bookish movie. It then got mundane and kind of time-dilated. If feels like October was three months ago at least and that all the books took ages to get through, which is absolutely not the case. I didn't write much, just kind of lazed around. Maybe that's it?

It was a good reading month, though! Apart from one DNF that was just not for me, I didn't read a single dud and Libby kept on coming through with anticipated reads. I not long have anything actively on hold there, and few things on hold physically at the library right now either, which hopefully means I'll be able to tackle The ARC Pile again next month and burn through a handful of those before the new year. Wish me luck?

I am well and truly going to lose most of my reading challenges this year. There's no way I'm going to hit 140 books, no way I'm going to read the remaining books on my personal "read these 50 books" challenges, and I might have hit 10 Canadian authors but I'm certainly not going to hit the stretch goal of 20. I'm mostly okay with this. Really. At least I finally passed my goal of 40,000 pages. Huzzah!

Also, as you can tell by that stack of six books, I do not have a book acquisition problem. You have a book acquisition problem! Only two of those were purchases though—I've been meaning to read The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and The Mighty Dead comes recommended. The rest of them were out of damaged shipments at work. If the publisher doesn't want them back and we don't have the space to store them, what am I meant to do? Throw them away? Salt Fat Acid Heat is totally writing research, of course.

Somehow, I suspect I'm not going to hit my goal of reading more books off my TBR shelves than I add to them this year either.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

The Water Outlaws - S.L. Huang When Lin Chong is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, she finds herself allied with infamous outlaws.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, genderfluid), mute secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: death, violence, torture, blood

The Night Watch - Sarah Waters

Four Londoners after and during the War, and the melancholiness of life and love.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (lesbian, bi woman), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, queer)

warning: self-harm, abortion, blood, war, suicide

Lay Them to Rest - Laurah Norton

A portrait of people solving Doe cases and their methods.

8/10

warning: missing and murdered people, human remains

Ogres - Adrian Tchaikovsky

The world is a cruel place full of powerful ogres, and you are a peasant with a grudge.

7.5/10

warning: violence, murder, classism, oppression

Turning Darkness into Light - Marie Brennan

Audrey Camherst gets the chance to translate lost Draconean texts but grows suspicious of her new employer.

7.5/10

Black British-coded main character

warning: xenophobia

The Circumference of the World - Lavie Tidhar

A pulp sci-fi novel that doesn’t exist, the real lives it affects, and the secrets of the universe.

7.5/10

albino Vanuatan main character, faceblind main character, half-Guyanese Jewish secondary character

warning: sexist, racist, and homophobic characters

Sleep No More - Seanan McGuire

October is a changeling born to serve her family, and happy in her role. Unfortunately there are people who remember her very differently.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (bi men), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: villains really like their ideas about blood purity

The Innocent Sleep - Seanan McGuire

Tybalt’s wife has been caught in Faerie’s grandest illusion and he just wants to bring her home.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (bi man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (poly, sapphic, bi man), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: eugenics

DNF

Moorewood Family Rules - HelenKay Dimon

Jillian is out of prison and determined to make her con artist family go straight, no matter what.

Currently reading:

A Power Unbound - Freya Marske

Jack, Alan, and their friends must find a hidden artifact and foil a plot. Jack and Alan do not get along.

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (gay, bi), main character with injured leg and chronic pain, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, bi woman, lesbian), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories

major disabled character

warning: colonialism, racism

Stats

Monthly total: 8 Yearly total: 117/140 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 1 Books by women: 5 Authors outside the binary: 1 Canadian authors: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 1 Books hauled: 6 ARCs acquired: 2 ARCs unhauled: 2 DNFs: 1

January February March April May June July August September October

[heartstringsduet]

Nice ask week - what three (living) famous people do you want to invite to dinner (and/or go out drinking with)? Please & thank you.

Heyyy Lim <3 I don't drink so I will schlepp these people to brunch with me. I answered a similar ask a bit ago, so I feel like I can now choose new people? :D 1. Rafael Silva - what do I know of celebreties but he seems outspoken about politics and I would love to talk about that but also the show let's be honest.

2. Phoebe Bridgers. Second queen and very likely too chaotic but definitely a fun artist to meet :) 3.Brennan Lee Mulligan - youtuber and DM, and absolutely engaging and funny and thoughtful personality

[measureyourlifeincake]

OK what about if *you* could sit down and eat and chat with any of your artistic inspirations or artists you admire, who would you choose and what would you feed them and what would you ask?

honestly, my first thought was Jonny Sims and I'd give him some more spicy curry to feed Lovecraft

but my SECOND thought was Brennan Lee Mulligan, partly because I am currently in the middle of watching a Dimension 20 episode, partly because ever since I watched this video that youtube recommended me, I've been lowkey daydreaming about cooking a meal for that man just because I know he'd be so appreciative.

For what we'd eat, it'd have to be something I've already made before (I mean, I'm pretty good at following a recipe, but I'd want this to be a known quantity, y'know), so maybe a risotto? I make a really good mushroom risotto. There's also a pumpkin risotto I made once that was really good, I can make that. Also, my brother and I once made a loaded potato soup that fucked severely, I think he'd like that. (added bonus of giving me a reason to use the immersion blender my mom bought recently for reasons beyond my understanding) I dunno, it has to fit both my criteria of being something I know how to make and can be proud of, and Brennan's criteria (as outlined in the above video) of being "heavy."

As for what I'd ask him (after "what do you think of the food"), I'd probably mostly talk to him about larping. In a manner of speaking, he is responsible for me getting started with larping to begin with (as well as nearly every larp i've ever done), so we'd have a lot to talk about there. I'd definitely want to ask him about the possibility of there being a larp show on dropout and how that would work because that's something I've thought a lot about recently and I'd absolutely want to bring up the idea with him. Also, and this is an extremely specific thing that few people will get but i'd ask him if he knows the origin of tophat/gettysburg and why it's like that.

[celtfather]

Christmas Music for Celts Returns in 2024!

It’s Celtic Christmas Music #77.

WELCOME TO CELTIC CHRISTMAS MUSIC

I am Marc Gunn. Celtic musician with my own Celtic Christmas music. And I am a podcaster. This show promotes Celtic culture through Christmas cheer. If you hear music you love, please support the artists.

Visit the shownotes to find out more about them and follow the show at CelticChristmasPodcast.com.

Check out Celtic Christmas Music on Facebook.

CELTIC CHRISTMAS MUSIC TODAY

0:06 - Aizle & Riognach Connolly "The Wexford Carol" from The Wexford Carol

4:40 - WELCOME

5:24 - The Gothard Sisters "Here We Come A Caroling" from A Celtic Christmas

8:37 - Liz Madden "Coventry Carol" from Christmas with Liz Madden

11:38 - A Shamrock in Kudzu "Canon In D" from Kudzu for Christmas

14:44 - Mark O'Connor "Holiday Album One Winter's Night" from Appalachian Christmas

19:26 - THANK YOU FOR SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER!

This podcast relies on the generosity of people just like you. For as little as $1 per month, you can help me produce new episodes of the podcast every year. And of course, since it is a podcast, you can listen to them you are ready and in the mood.

Please make a pledge to spread Christmas cheer this holiday season.

20:45 - Jil Chambless, Ed Miller and Scooter Muse "Emanuel " from Nollaig Chridheil / Songs of the Christmas Season

25:18 - Plunk Murray "I Saw Three Ships" from Christmas in the Pub

28:11 - The Poor Clares "The Seven Rejoices of Mary" from The Poor Clares: Songs for Midwinter

33:19 - Iona "Morny Ny Cainle/Arrane Y Guilley Hesheree/St. Ives Fer Moh" from Silver

37:23 - CLOSING

38:14 - Moya Brennan "In The Bleak Midwinter (An Irish Christmas Album Version)" from An Irish Christmas

42:08 - CLOSING

Celtic Christmas Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs.

The show is supported by our Christmas music lovers just like yourself over on Patreon. Join others to spread Christmas Cheer! Sign up for just $1 per month.

Visit our website to subscribe to the podcast. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode.

Finally, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor.

Promote Celtic culture through Christmas music at CelticChristmasPodcast.com.

Nollaig Shona Daoibh!

#celticchristmas #celticchristmasmusic

  Check out this episode!

[naamahdarling]

So, the other night in an effort to show a friend that LLMs can produce very credible fiction and relatively inventive ideas, I played with ChatGPT for about 10 minutes I was able to make my point flawlessly. Don't get up my ass about this, that's juvenile.

ChatGPT has watched enough Dropout to be able to reasonably (and genuinely amusingly) impersonate Brennan Lee Mulligan and, to a lesser extent, Sam Reich. It's successfully produced a script for Game Changer where the show was entirely about cats and Brennan couldn't win, and parts of it were actually funny. It also produced an AITA post from the point of view of Brennan Lee Mulligan AS DM OF DIMENSION 20 that was in places absolutely hilarious.

It is able to very successfully postulate a set of G1 my little ponies that do not actually exist, complete with colors, cutie marks, and back card stories. It had a little trouble with G1 versus G4 due to the sheer glut of content, but its ideas were genuinely appealing because the source material it was drawing on was designed to be appealing.

It generated a list of birthday party themes that would terrify an arachnophobe, two or three of which were really good. A request for it to generate a list of queer pride birthday ideas didn't produce anything particularly original, but it was all appropriate and convincing.

It produced a short script where Johnny Sims from the Magnus archives receives birthday gifts from his coworkers, and one of those was a knife-wielding tentacle. This script was in places a little less sharp than the actual writing, but it absolutely nailed the speech patterns, and each gift was appropriate to the character giving it. It was genuinely funny. In places it was clever. It actually made me laugh.

I have most of these saved if anybody wants to see them instead of playing with it themselves.

It really isn't a question of what has been dumped into the data set. We can just assume it has been dumped in there somehow.

We can't undo what has been done and we're never going to be able to name all of the people whose work has been used to train these datasets.

I have both positive and negative feelings, strong ones on both sides, about this technology. If someone wants to use this technology to create a script for a movie in the Predator franchise, or a sequel to their favorite book, or whatever, that is a neutral act. Profiting from that is highly questionable, passing it off as the real thing is completely indefensible, using this technology to replace writers and artists and real people doing ANY work where there is no benefit to humans (like identifying cancer cells -- "AI" does that) is the second worst thing that can be done with it.

That's what worries me about this. It could produce infinite Simpsons episodes without the need for a single writer. Eventually it will be able to animate them so accurately you could ask it to make it look like it had been recorded on a video cassette and it would be completely convincing. It would be able to imitate the voice actors perfectly.

We do not want corporations to have that power. Worker protections are critical. It isn't that AI produces art that is bad or soulless or whatever. Those are completely spurious arguments and irrelevant to any true discussion of whether or not it is ethical.

What matter is is that we keep this shit out of the hands people who want to delete us from the workforce. They aren't going to delete the data. We need to protect workers.

P.S. Artists, Disney and Adobe do not have your best interests at heart. Copyright issues are more complicated than they are being presented, and if you find yourself on the side of one of these companies in any capacity, re-examine literally everything you think immediately. Unions. You want unions.

For reference, because I think it's really important to bring this up as often as possible, the worst application of this technology I can think of would be deliberately or accidentally misapplying data that could be used to affect things like a person's medical care, criminal record, and credit score, all of which are actually currently things that a single company can do, APPRISS, now owned by Equifax, yes that Equifax, and fucking nobody, none of y'all, are freaking out about that even though it's the single most frightening thing I have seen in 20 years. I cannot overstate its potential to utterly destroy the lives of literally anyone who comes into contact with the system that uses it, and those are unbelievably common. They are currently selling their product to law enforcement so that cops and businesses can use it to predict who will engage in criminal behavior, I'm literally not kidding about that, they come right out and say it. It is being trained on existing data and refined constantly.

Enjoy breaking your leg and needing painkillers, which get you flagged in a medical database that will try to prevent you from accessing them in the future (already happening), and also entering you into a law enforcement database that knows you have taken them. Then add in whatever eldritch fuckery bringing credit bureaus into it would cause.

We aren't fucked, I'm not a doomer who insists that all people are terrible and that we have no future and we might as well let things burn, I do actually care about the world we live in and the people who populate it and I consider humans a delight rather than a plague, but we need to start seriously resisting the use of this shit by entities more powerful than us. They are already way ahead.

“I can now say with absolute confidence that many AI systems have been trained on TV and film writers’ work. Not just on The Godfather and Alf, but on more than 53,000 other movies and 85,000 other TV episodes: Dialogue from all of it is included in an AI-training data set that has been used by Apple, Anthropic, Meta, Nvidia, Salesforce, Bloomberg, and other companies. I recently downloaded this data set, which I saw referenced in papers about the development of various large language models (or LLMs). It includes writing from every film nominated for Best Picture from 1950 to 2016, at least 616 episodes of The Simpsons, 170 episodes of Seinfeld, 45 episodes of Twin Peaks, and every episode of The Wire, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.”

😡

[musicarenagh]

Get Enthralled By "The Precipice" From How We Burn [embed]https://open.spotify.com/album/5qta6NlTjBS4vKQdjIym0D[/embed] How We Burn is an indie/modern/rock group comprised of talented musicians TJ Brennan (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar), Kevin Morrissey (Bass), Matt Berg (Keyboard) and Darrell Cellucci (Lead Guitar). Based out of Boston MA the band formed in 2017 and have since been making waves in the music scene. Loud amplified guitars, poetic lyrics and focused rhythms are just a few of the unique qualities which draw listeners to the music of How We Burn. From anthemic stompers to acoustic tales, the band incorporates sounds and textures from various genres, making them stand out among their peers. The band is influenced by the classic vibes of Dave Matthew's Band, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith. Since their formation, the band has had the pleasure of opening for Texas artist of the year Creed Fisher and their song Electric Lights was featured on 95.9 and the Spotify podcast "It's a Hard Rock Life". How We Burn is poised and ready to take their music to the next level, with plans to perform shows in the US and to eventually break into the international music scene. With hard work and determination, How We Burn is determined to make their mark in the music industry. [caption id="attachment_42266" align="alignnone" width="796"] Get Enthralled By "The Precipice" From How We Burn[/caption] How We Burn have released a powerful EP 'The Precipice', recorded entirely at their own Halo Studio. This is an actively involved band, no outside producers had anything to do with it – just the band members themselves. The message the EP conveys is one of bravery, resilience and blossoming self-growth. It’s about never letting anyone or anything hold you down and pushing through whatever life throws at you. This band’s hero-ready anthems enable their fans to find the strength to conquer their struggles. The male vocalist carries you through the highs to the lows of their song's emotional journeys. The rock vibrancy of the music is complimented by their US-based sound. The uniqueness of their musical artistry will set them apart from their peers, making them rise as soaring musical talents. https://open.spotify.com/track/7ixiuOopmUlaDjDnIalKBI?si=8bce612cbe244ede The EP is a 7-track wonderlist with the standout track being “Electric Lights”. It is the perfect example of the dichotomy of light and dark on the EP. The upbeat guitar riffs and punchy drums provide a captivating mix of rock and pop with male vocals. This cheerful and optimistic track is an absolute bop and radiates positive energy. The chorus is a great singalong, with a powerful and contagious groove. The bridge builds to an impressive guitar solo as the drums play a shuffling rhythm. This EP is an amalgamation of riveting sounds and heart-warming messages. It offers understanding and hope when life puts you at the precipice. It's an absolute masterpiece, the kind of EP that will move the body and the soul. Follow How We Burn on: Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, and Website.

[vanwithhands]

Highlights of episode one of starstruck

*talking about Elaine Lee* “And also author of me, Brennan Lee Mulligan”

Brennan’s birth chart and weaknesses

Siobhan finger guns

“I’m doing it with my mouth but they’ll probably add a noise here too”

Immediate initiative roll!

Three nat ones right off the bat

Emily: Can I roll with disadvantage to try to get a nat one? Aw I rolled better

Zac/Skipper: I am surrounded by morons. Seriously where is everybody? We’re being chased by a bunch of little freaks!

“I’m in hell”

“All of this is so fun!!”

Elderly space cowboy

“We’ll hand it right over-“ “we’re not handing over the dang crystals!”

“She can hear me!!”

The most perfect beautiful thing he can imagine: a full military

Zacs little military turns

Brennan singing the anthem

I’m cashing the fuck out

Ok. I’m in hell.

Another natty one

Lou as Kid Who Asks If There’s Any Homework

“This is pvp starting now” “I attack Lou”

The strongest structure is the three dimensional triangle

“I make my own hours but I don’t know what I make them from!” “Probably the putty”

Husband and wife gunning stations

Moonshine accent

Murph immediately: I’m extremely hot

NUTS AND BOLTS ANDROIDS AND STEROIDS WE GOT THIS(GET OFF THE MAIN CHANNEL)

Murph looking at Emily’s roll and making a little Murph noise

“Yeah fuck Erotica Ann! I’ve been programmed to say that!”

THAT MADE IT INTO THE COMMERCIAL???

Wow Sid is already deeply sad

Caressed by the assault cannon, I found myself rapidly leaving the state of arousal. The rollerskates didn’t help either

“Is that a good thing?” “WHO LEFT THIS ON???”

This database can interface but it can also devastate! And I throw a grenade over my back

Why is Barry Syx already giving me the two classic Murph Character Vibes: Old Grizzled Knight and Shitty Little Man

“Please Barry do your fucking job”

Five enormous naked wet men

We’re clones!!!! Dude!!!

“You’ve been toweled off-“ “By WHO”

One day old beautiful big boys

The Barry Battalion. Everything about it.

We hate shenanigans!!

“He gets fucked sir!” “And who unfucks the little guy” “BARRY!”

Barry field trip!!!

BARRYS! BARRY! BARRYS!! BARRYYYYYY!!

NADDPOD; a long lost podcast

“You don’t have to call me The Skipper” “It’s Skip” “Captain Skip” “His real name is Norman”

“We actually have a separate scribbling channel”

“Handy Annie is wearing a calculator watch”

Dora Valentine I’m already in love with you

Two dads!!

I’m going to space dad!!!!

We were swimming where we shouldn’t have been

“No thank you insurance” “your intestine are floating in space”

“As the wet of your own blood freezes in the cold of space” GOOD GOD

USE YOUR TONGUE

Someone get gunthrie on total forgiveness

Brennan said Let’s Talk About The American Healthcare System

“We’re being attacked right now” “can we just push that back by ninety minutes?” “… i’LL sEE whAT i caN dO”

“Just go swim in circles or whatever” “Okay! :)”

Ally’s wonderful game show future

“Keep the bun, not the hotdog, if you have to choose”

These people are artists

“If you want a job” “oh no I’m absolutely loaded”

I cast Sending(an email)

Just a very close friend????

Margaret starting a Reddit rebellion

They love each other so much >:(

Oh no they’re making a promise to each other

Omg the platinum cog leadership summit!!! Memories

Lucienne is giving Priya vibes

Young hip people don’t have to say they’re young and hip

Could I trade my crew for my freedom- wait I mean lalalalala

Couples Helping Each Other Shoot People <3

Norman disassociating at the wheel

“Believe in yourself Norman” “Get out of my head”

That’s not his name! He has two names, Norman and Skipper. And Captain, that’s three.

*riva weeping* “yeah, cry”

“I’d cry if it weren’t so expensive”

[neurodiversebones]

Sorry you had a shitty day. :((

More Brennan + cane thoughts???

tyty !!!! ily guys all sm and i LOVE to talk about cane user brennan

she started using a cane in her early 20s (a few years before canon starts) due to chronic pain- she absolutely dared anyone to give her shit for using a mobility aid at such a young age . she didn't struggle much with feeling weird about it- her confidence was always good enough, despite the looks she got at times .

she just used a plain black cane for years- she didn't really care for the decoration . however when her and angela became friends, angela asked if she could decorate one for her and that's when the Collecting started

i think we already talked abt this like a month ago but . she collects canes from all the countries she visits !!! for day to day use she uses a regular metal cane, but she has quite a vast collection of very pretty ornate wooden ones that she's bought from artists across the world .

her partners automatically hold her left hand even when she isn't using her cane (which she holds in her right hand)- it feels natural at this point

[rose-bookblood]

Blue Below the Surface | WIP Intro

Gorgeous header by @quilloftheclouds

Genre: fantasy, mystery

Target: NA

Setting: alternative Earth, a military academy in a fictional state; 2016

POV: multi, 3rd person limited, past tense

Themes: military, discrimination, terrorism, justice, right vs. wrong

Logline: When a terrorist attack shakes the military academy she studies at, 22-year-old Evelyn is determined to uncover the mystery, even when it starts entangling with the Elemental Republic's politics.

Literal logline: Dumbass gays get in trouble for doing stuff they were explicitly told not to do.

Featuring: greypanromantic MC | mostly POC cast | LGBT+ rep | disabled & neurodivergent rep | m/f friendship (that stays platonic) | established relationships | slowburn romance

Inspiration: idk I got the idea five years ago. Final version is inspired by Avatar: The last airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan.

CW: violence, gore, death, descriptions of corpses, mutilation, torture, war, trauma, depiction of panic/anxiety attacks, sex, mentions of alcohol

Hello, folks! I said I was going to make an intro soon and I delivered.

This project is probably the closest to my heart. I love every story I write, but this is the one that's been with me for the longest time. The old version of the plot was bad--there was a love square, and no, we don't talk about it--and self-indulgent, but it was necessary to get where I am.

Plot

The Elemental Republic is a secluded island in the Atlantic Ocean, a place for summoners of the thirteen elements to live without the intrusion of non-benders.

22-year-old Evelyn is starting her last year at the military academy, and everything seems fine, until a terrorist attack shakes the school. Determined to solve the mystery, she starts her own personal investigation, despite the warnings of the two detectives assigned to the case.

But the answer might bring to the surface a dark secret, entrenched with the very foundation of the Republic.

Characters

Evelyn Woodlock Stern

she/her

our dumbass greypanromantic MC

thicc girl

Ashkenazi Jewish

huge bookworm

cannot mind her own business

overthinks even her breakfast

that friend who never writes in the group chat, but reads every message

don't ask about her weird last name, she will murder you

Lily Brennan Hughes

she/her

Evelyn's bff

redhead gremlin

resting bitch face

cold outside, her emotions actually go from 0 to 100

she has a bullet journal and is not afraid to use it

dark academia aesthetic

in a relationship with Nathan

Andrew Lo Raafat

he/him

Evelyn's (and Nathan's) other bff

so fucking precious

bisexual

great liar

tormented artist vibes

light academia aesthetic

manga & anime boi

Cecilia Thorne Ioveanu

she/her

the one with a brain

crazy scientist vibes

mechanic

trans & lesbian

autistic

volunteers in the infirmary

Josephine Roosvelt Lenoir

she/her

detective #1

the group's mom

quiet & serious

deserves a nap

only chills w/ Travis

Travis Kasilag Chen

he/they

detective #2

demiboy bisexual

jokes a lot

should supervise the kids

good at comforting people

Nathan Campbell Strauss

he/him

thicc boi, basically a mountain

softie

supportive friend

surprisingly stubborn

broke his leg as a kid, uses a stick

your local gym habitué

Jeremy Brown Horse Collins

he/they

tough guy looks

quietly judging you

their biceps could kill a man

should rest more

videogames aficionado

don't touch his girlfriend

Annabelle Takeda Yamaguchi

she/her

always smiling

secretly a badass

bisexual

blind, uses a stick

rock aesthetic

Jeremy's gf

Serena Chukwu Rashidi

she/her

kind & optimistic

has a chaotic side

plant mom

theatre kid

lesbian

Victoria Jiménez Fujihara

they/them

kinda bossy

extrovert w/ too much energy

a lil insensitive, but means well

non binary ace lesbian

Serena's gf

(I had all the Picrews ready, but Tumblr said 💕 no 💕)

Setting & magic system

Right now you're probably screaming through tears because the synopsis explains absolutely nothing about the worldbuilding. Thirteen elements? What the fuck?

Don't worry, this nice little section is here for you.

The thirteen elements are water, air, fire, earth, lightning, metal, stone, sand, ice, light, darkness, sound, and vegetation. Unlike with the usual four elements system, each bender has a very specific power and not much room to branch out. So don't expect my earthbenders to pull a Toph (ATLA) and start metalbending.

This is an alternative Earth, where everything is the same, except for one thing: in the southern Atlantic Ocean there's a country called the Elemental Republic. The Republic has no relationship with the outside world and is inhabited by benders only. They have access to stuff like food or books, but no way to contact people. For this reason, no one really learns foreign languages.

The Republic is led by a Council of high-ranking members of the military called the Thirteen, one for each element.

An important thing to note is that in the Republic there's no discrimination--no misogyny, so racism, nothing. That's why the characters take both their parents' last names (fuck the patriarchy).

So that's my first WIP. Thank you all if you got this far (this was long lmao)! At some point I'll get to posting character intros, because I spent way too much time making those Picrews. I'll see you soon!

— Rose

Taglist: (lmk to be added or removed)

@tommie-hildebrandt @stormharbors @chaotic-queer-disaster @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @vellichor-virgo

[daily-dose-of-sweets]

Hello!! We have not interacted in while!! But I love you and I check your blog religiously!!<3 can I request some more lance sweets fluff? Or angst/fluff? Honestly whatever you’re willing to write I’ll be giddy to read. Ty! I love you so much!! I hope you’re doing well!!<3<3

@doctorsteeb

Hi!!! Just let me say I absolutely adore you and it makes me so happy to know someone likes my writing this much! I will totally try and write anything you request! I’ve got a few stories in the works for Sweets now, but here is a little late Christmas story for you! 

Christmas Greetings

Lance Sweets X Reader

Summary: After a year of being in a relationship with Sweets, you’re finally getting the chance to meet his family, or the people at the Jeffersonian in other words. Oh, and it’s at a Christmas party, for some holiday cheer this season.

Words: 2573

---

“Are you sure they’ll like me?” You ask nervously, fingers shifting against the porcelain crockpot in your hands.

Sweets slips an arm around your waist and gives your side a gentle squeeze, “Trust me, they’ll love you.”

You take a deep breath and nod. It doesn’t really ease the nerves buzzing in your chest, but at least he is right there beside you. You and Lance had been in a relationship for a full year now, and you had yet to meet his colleagues somehow. It already feels like you know them though, from all the stories he’s told you, especially his partner Booth, and his wife Doctor Brennan. You’ve wanted to meet them for so long (which lead to quite consistent pestering on your part) but now that you’re finally standing here, your stomach is tying itself in a knot.

Christmas dinner is a huge deal, after all, and so are first impressions. What if they don’t like you? You weren’t in the science profession, so what will you even talk about? Sometimes you struggle to even understand some of the things Lance talks about, so how are you going to talk to the country’s foremost anthropologist?!

“Stop worrying, everything will be okay.”

You jump when you feel Sweets press a soft kiss to your forehead. His touch lingers, sending a soothing warmth flooding through you, finally easing the tension in your shoulders. Your eyes flutter closed as you lean into him, head resting against his shoulder for just a moment. When the two of you draw away, you tilt your chin up and let a smile capture your lips.

“Okay, I’m ready!”

Sweets chuckles and raps his knuckles against the door. Moments later, it swings wide open, letting the glow from inside cascade over you.

“Sweets!” You’re greeted by a man that towers over you, making you slightly shy away, but Lance keeps a steady hand pressed against the small of your back. The man gives your partner a side hug, clapping him on the back before turning to you with a wide smile, “And you must be (Y/n)! We’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh really?” You glance over at Lance, who’s looking down with a bashful smile. His cheeks are glowing the softest rose color, which sends your heart thrumming. How can he be so cute?

“Is that Sweets and (Y/n)?” A woman comes rushing up behind the man. She offers you a sweet smile, just as vibrant as his.

Their excitement is so infectious, it fills you to the brim with a fresh energy, and now your own smile is wholly genuine. You weren’t expecting such a warm welcome! Why were you so worried about all of it, these people seem so wonderful.

“(Y/n), this is Booth, my partner at the FBI, and Doctor Brennan, the lead anthropologist at the Jeffersonian,” Sweets introduces you.

The woman, Doctor Brennan, is quick to shake your hand and say, “Please, call me Temperance, and come in. We are almost ready to eat, we have ham, and I also made a tofurkey.”

“Really?!” You gasp excitedly, darting in to follow her to the kitchen and leaving Sweets at the door, “I’ve been looking for a good seasonal tofu recipe for years! Could I possibly, maybe get it from you after dinner?”

You plop down your contribution to the meal and fall into an excited conversation with the scientist. You had no clue she was a vegetarian like you, and it’s not every day you get to talk to another! Sweets and Booth watch the two of you from the entrance, both sporting fond glints in their eyes.

“Thanks for inviting us, Booth,” Sweets hums as he shucks off his winter jacket, “(Y/n)’s been eager to meet the team, especially you and Doctor Brennan.”

The older man shrugs, though he has a pleased smile on his face, “Anytime Sweets! Bones will take any chance to make her ‘meat substitutes’. Remember how excited she got when you told her about it?”

Sweets nods, it is always memorable when Doctor Brennan shows such strong emotions, which wasn’t always often around him. He had even gotten the chance to help her plan the dinner, not that you knew about that. It filled him with warmth to watch you excitedly flutter around the kitchen, and to see how your eyes practically sparkled as you helped the anthropologist set up the dishes.

“You really love her, huh?”

A sigh escapes Sweets as he nods again, “I do. She’s amazing…”

Booth can’t help but feel a small swell of pride in his chest. He’d never admit it, but Sweets was like a little brother to him, and seeing the young psychologist so happy just put a cherry on top of the night he was having.

“Lance!” Sweets looks up at you, a wide grin spreading across his face when he sees you aggressively gesturing him over, all the while bouncing on the balls of your feet, “Come here! You have to check this out!!”

You know it must seem childish to some, but you can’t help but get thrilled over a good meal, especially when it’s vegetarian. You can’t wait for the day that you can make Christmas dinner for your family, spending the whole day cooking and then just being able to enjoy a nice night and some Christmas carols. Sweets would be right there beside you, and maybe a kid or two across the table. A boy and a girl…

“What is it?”

You jump, a fierce blush splashing across your cheeks when you whip around and come face to face with Lance. He’s standing so close, your noses are practically brushing. Your breath catches in your chest, and you spin back around, hoping he doesn’t notice just how red you’ve gotten. Stupid daydreaming, you totally forgot you called him over.

“Mrs. Temperance has this amazing recipe fo-” Your voice breaks when Sweets presses in close behind you, arms snaking around your waist. You clear your throat nervously, “-for um, for vegetarian casserole. She says it’s really good, so I was thinking I could, I could try making it sometimes!”

“That sounds wonderful,” Sweets hums, the words vibrating through his chest and against your back.

It feels like your entire face is on fire now, to the point where you feel like you need to call the fire department. There was more you were going to say, but it’s like all your thoughts have been put in a mixer and are now scattered throughout your mind.

“Stop torturing the poor girl, Sweets,” a smooth voice scolds from a few feet away.

You glance up to see a beautiful brunette with tanned skin, and right beside her stands a slightly shorter man with some of the curliest hair you’ve ever seen. You swat at Lance’s hands and twist away from his grip, embarrassment flaring deep in your chest. Nothing you could say would help the situation, so you just wave at them weakly.

“Angela, Hodgins, this is (Y/n),” Sweets says as he pulls you back to his side with a cheeky grin, “(Y/n), this is Angela Montenegro, our forensic artist. And this is Jack Hodgins, our entomologist.”

“And botanist, mineralogist, palynologist, chemist, among other things,” Hodgins continues with a casual shrug.

Angela elbows him in the ribs sharply, not letting her glittering expression fall for even a second. “Excuse my husband, he’s just really passionate about his work,” she chirps, “It’s really a pleasure to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you from our dear Sweets here.”

“So I’ve heard,” you muse softly with a giggle, “It's nice to meet you too, by the way! Lance tells me you're also a traditional artist?”

You spend the night making conversation with all of Lance’s friends. You meet Cam and her partner, Arastoo, who are so lovely and gentle to you. You ask Arastoo all about his beliefs and how he came to work in forensics, and you even talk to Cam about her daughter. You also get to talk to some of the interns at the Jeffersonian. Each conversation just pulls you in, even if you don’t understand everything they’re saying. You’re literally talking to the leaders of forensic sciences, who wouldn’t take the chance to ask them all the questions and praise them for their work! Even through dinner, you share a quiet conversation with one intern, Finn, about his time before coming to Washington DC. Afterwards, you all take to lounging in the living room to enjoy some eggnog and story telling.

“So how did you and Sweets meet, huh?” Angela asks as she plops down next to you and Sweets on the couch.

The entire team falls quiet, all eyes immediately set intently on you. You shy back into Lance's embrace, which makes him chuckle and hold you tighter. Was your story really that interesting to all these people? Really?

“Do you want me to tell them?” Sweets asks you quietly, fingers brushing against the skin of your shoulder.

“Yeah, your memory’s better anyways.”

“He has to learn all that psychobabble somehow,” Booth jests from across the room, earning a disapproving look from his wife but some amused chuckles from the rest of the guests.

Sweets just rolls his eyes, easily brushing the jab off as he starts your story, “So, we actually met at a christmas party, just like this one. A mutual friend invited us and we started talking, and things just kind of...took off from there.”

You can’t help the snort of laughter that breaks from your lips when Lance trails off. He perks an eyebrow up, peering down at you in confusion, which only serves to send you into a bigger fit of giggles.

“What?” He asks, voice pitching up.

“Nothing, nothing,” you chortle, pressing a hand to your mouth to muffle your laughter, “You just left out a small tidbit. A pretty important tidbit.”

“Oh, did he?”

The room waits for you to calm down, but when you do, you just stare intently at Sweets with a raised eyebrow. Did he actually forget the beginning of the story? And right after you praised him for his memory! You wait for just a moment longer, the words perched on your tongue, waiting to see if he gets there on his own. It’s only when you see his eyes blow wide and his entire face flush red that you let the words tumble from your lips.

“What he failed to mention, is that we didn’t just meet and start talking. No, no.” Now it’s your turn to grin cheekily, “We met under the mistletoe, by chance, and you all know how the tradition goes. We started talking after that and found that we actually had a bit in common. It was about a month later that our mutual friend decided to share with me what actually happened that night.”

It begins to dawn on some people what you’re alluding to. You can hear some giggles ring out behind you from who you’re sure is Angela and the other women. Sweets is getting darker by the second, even his ears are tinged with that appealing rosy glow. This is totally payback for his teasing earlier.

“So, this is how the story actually goes, according to our friend,” you finally continue, “Apparently, I caught Lance’s eye when I got to the party. Back then though, he was a bit shier, and didn’t want to talk to me without a reason, sooo….he and our friend came up with a plan to have us meet under the mistletoe ‘accidentally’.” You break out some air quotes for the last word to stress just how silly the story is.

“Sweets, you dog,” Hodgins laughs.

“I never thought Sweets would come up with such a devious plan,” Temperance states amusedly.

“Alright, alright,” Sweets waves his hands in the air, looking thoroughly flustered much to your pleasure, “In my defense, she looked absolutely beautiful that night. Anyone would have been intimidated.”

Something warm and fuzzy fills your chest as you tuck yourself back into Lance’s side. To think, you almost didn’t go to that party last year. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have met the most amazing person in your life.

“I can’t say I mind too much,” you chirp, eyes closing as you rest your head on his chest like a content cat, “I think I’m pretty lucky to be the one who caught his eye.”

“You guys are disgustingly adorable,” Angela giggles next to you.

Maybe you are. You had never felt such a deep sense of affection for anyone, that is, until you met Lance. Now that you know what it feels like, you can’t help but return it full force, with every ounce of your being. He’s just been so good to you and has lifted you up in dark times over the past year. You couldn’t ask for anyone better, because you’re absolutely sure such a person doesn’t exist.

The rest of the night is spent telling stories and sharing sentiments. You stay tucked in Lance’s side the entire time, just enjoying the jovial tone and the sound of his laughter. When midnight rolls around, the party begins to wind down, filled with yawns and mumbled goodbyes as people take their leave. You and Sweets are some of the last to go, with Seeley and Temperance trailing you to the door.

“Thank you so much, again, for inviting us,” you murmur as you give the older woman a tight hug.

“Of course! You are welcome here anytime, and if you ever need anything, do not be afraid to call.”

“Yah, we’re always here to help. Though I’m sure Sweets here would do about anything for you,” Booth chuckles as he pulls away from giving Lance a hug.

Sweets gives his head a little shake and takes up his place next to you, “Thanks you guys, we really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.” Booth gives a little wave, “You two have a good night. Oh, and you might want to take a look up,” he chimes right before closing the door.

Your eyes dart straight up at that, landing on a small plant hanging from the doorway. Breathless laughter shakes your chest, pale clouds lifting from your lips in the cold night air. It’s mistletoe.

“Did you do this?” You look at Lance, who has one of the smuggest smiles that you’ve ever seen on him.

He gives you a shrug and draws you closer by a hand on your hip, “Maybe…”

You shake your head at his antics, but you can’t ignore the butterflies that swirl around in your chest. Even after a year, he still makes your heart race.

“Well then, don’t leave me hanging.”

Lance doesn’t hesitate to cup your face, tilting your chin up so he can capture your lips in a sweet kiss. For just a moment, you forget the cold, you forget how late it is and how tired you are. All you can feel is the warmth of his body next to yours, the thrumming of his heart under your palm. Even when the kiss comes to an end, the two of you stay close, foreheads barely touching.

“I love you, (Y/n),” he murmurs oh so softly, for only you to hear.

“I love you too, Lance. Merry Christmas.”

Again, I love you all so much, and I hope your Christmas was absolutely amazing! Send in a request and I’ll be sure to try and write it!