#I need someone to make an edit of this scene to daylight

[salem-xx]

the way I always associate Daylight - taylor swift with dick and kory and then they had this scene of them dancing to a pink sunset.... I am not okay ​

no bc the lyric "I've been sleeping so long in a 20 year dark night (now I'm wide awake) and now i see daylight I only see daylight" is so Dick and Kory being the light in his life now ughhhh

[not-so-lost-after-all]

Yeah, in the setting where souls are quite a tangible matter (Wall of Souls, soul coins, etcetera, etcetera), becoming a vampire means either losing your soul or, if you are really dedicated and have enough willpower, fighting for whatever is left of it every day of your eternal life. There really are no in-betweens or alternatives.

Also, the good news? There are lore-friendly ways for a vampire to walk under the sun. For instance, Hexxat (the vampire companion from the enhanced edition of Baldur's Gate III: Shadows of Amn had a cloak enabling her to walk in daylight without burning). The mentioned Hellrider vampire also had his ways of moving around and successfully being part of the team, so it's not so far-fetched that Tav will come up with something to help Astarion. And even if it will be too much of a challenge...well, my Tav used to see the world as a dark and cruel place even in broad daylight. Being with Astarion, with someone she could actually protect from both his tormentor and his own tormented mind, help with getting a second chance in life makes it worth sticking to the shadows.

Ha, thank you for the info. Even if it weren't established, you can always bring up something new in this setting. Some people believe there could be DLC to this game but honestly, loose ends like these would only be adressed in some time up material. If ever. We don't exactly need to know this for Astarion, that's what fanfics are for. Maybe it's better this way, not to know. Remember that Viconia was romanceable and redeemable in the previous game. I would hate if there was a short story or something in 2028 where a group of heroes need to kill asshole Astarion who tries to take over Baldur's Gate. P.S. Of course your Tav would stick around :) If you try the break up option in the last scene, Astarion admits He didn't actually believe you wouldn't.

[fill-me-with-your-memes-daddy]

Watching the Rise of the Titans movie and I'll be documenting all of my thoughts/reactions here. [Spoiler Warning]

So instead of reblogging every new update, I'm just going to have this post up on my phone as I watch and type my reactions in a bullet list format.

Nari's human disguise is so cute. As someone who does have a cottagecore aesthetic, I want to cosplay her so bad

Are Skrael and/or Belroc non-binary coded? Regardless, I'm also obsessed and I want to fuck Skrael and be Belroc.

STEVE CARING ABOUT JIM BEING HURT YESSSS!!! My god his redemption has probably been one of the greatest there is because he doesn't just suddenly go from being a bully to a completely good person. You can see the gradual shift in learning better throughout the shows which is awesome.

IN NEW YOOOOOOORRRRRRRK!!!!!! CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!

The mugshot montage reminded me of season 1 of trollhunters when toby and Jim were arrested at the museum.

STRICKLER PUT A RING ON IT??? HE'S THE ONLY DILF IVE EVER ACTUALLY AGREED WAS HOT WYM I CAN'T HAVE HIM??? well I'm still really happy about his arc over the series probably one of my favorite character growths.

Eli my guy got his growth spurt!!! As an 18 year old who is still 5'0", I'm happy but envious for him

So I went into this movie without watching any trailers or promo, but I doubt anything could have prepared me for the existence of mpreg. In fact, I wasn't going to document my reactions until I saw that.

NAMURA!!!!!!!!! MY BELOVED!!!!!! I CAN STILL THIRST FOR YOU WITHOUT GUILT

The coach teacher just called the kids zoomers so I have to dock one point from my final rating just because of that. Unforgivable

Those husky animation models suck lmao

Oh fuck the titans got power ranger zords!!

God why did they include the mpreg??? This movie would have been perfect without it.... After that plot point being revisited only one time I'm already beyond done with it

Like it's bringing me back to the v*ltron days where they're was a suspiciously high amount of klance omegaverse and mpreg fics and art created and it physically hurts because Steve and Keith's voice actor is the same person meaning this is especially cursed to me since I was unfortunately in the v*ltron fandom and remember all of that

But like on another note, how old are these characters again??? I haven't checked any wikis because of spoilers but is Steve an adult??? I know aja might be technically a lot older than 18 because alien but is whatever age she is equivalent to an adult as far as emotionally and physically in Akaridion development??? IS THIS A TEEN (M)PREGNANCY IN A KIDS SHOW????

Like bruh I saw a singular post on here before going into the movie that was like "rott spoilers without context" and there was a pregnant belly but I was absolutely not expecting the actual context of it. I'll find the post after I finish and edit this post to tag the creator right here: @makoden

This entire post is just gonna be me ranting about mpreg huh

Anyway I love the whole roundtable allusion to the legends of king arthur (not the toa version but the one he's based off)

THERE'S 3 TO 5 BABIES????? I need to take a break bruh this is just too much

Alright I've taken a 30 minute break got some food and did some things i love (decompressed by tactile stimming with some owl plushies and watched some videos on my favorite owl, Garu. He lives in Japan with his owner and is a domesticated eagle owl who basically just acts like a sky cat. If anyone else needs some eye bleach, here is their YouTube channel)

Blinky and ARRRGHHH!!! saying their "if one of us doesn't make it" talk my god one of them is going to die I can see it and I will be utterly crushed. Jim can't lose another father figure and Toby can't lose his wingman again I will riot if this happens

On a similar but unrelated to the movie note, can we just talk about how toa started with Jim having 0 dads and (if strickler and blinky live to the end) will end with 2 dads? Like I just really feel happy for him that he has two dads who actually figured out how to put the past behind them to not have any infighting between them so that both of them are healthy father figures. Jim has already been through literal hell and back losing his actual humanity in the process so if he loses one of them, I'm going to be really pissed because at this point, this is just Jim torture porn. Y'all know how as SpongeBob SquarePants went on, the show just became Squidward torture porn? It's starting to feel that way for toa and I really hope they cut the shit by the ending

Jlaire is such a good ship but like I feel like it's too perfect they never disagree with each other

YESSSSSSS Someone finally doesn't treat toby like a fat waste of space who messes stuff up!!! I think out of all the characters that would have been most deserving of a rewrite, it's Toby. Sometimes I just feel he's only comic relief and any heartfelt moments he's had in the series was also born of stupidity (ie his flour baby project being unharmed was seen by him as divine intervention from his parents but was actually just Eli and Steve behind the scenes).

Ohhhhh yesssssss Archie's father!!! I was hoping I'd see him again because we got so little of him last

Ooooooooooh Asian trollmarket!!!!!

Oh never mind slavery trollmarket

Bruh titanic camelot

I feel like we're not seeing enough of the villains because I completely forgot about the power ranger zord things

NAMORA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY LAST CRUSHHHH

STRICKLER NO NOT YOU TOO PLEASE

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE ONLY TWO CHARACTERS I SIMP FOR ON THIS SHOW DIED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

THAT WHOLE ASS RANT I WROTE IS COMING TRUE FUCK THIS MOVIE THIS SERIES IS JUST JIM TORTURE PORN

WAIT JIM'S SPERM DONOR INFO?

Oh thank God I don't want to know anything about that person

For the record, I call that man Jim's sperm donor because he has no business being called a father to him. All he did was donate some swimmers to the creation of him and give him abandonment issues

Oh another blind troll elder???? This fucker is just if vendel was a bad guy

Bruh I was grieving

PACIFIC RIM WITH GUN ROBOT VEX AND THE BELROCZORD? I've never seen that movie but I know the reference

Bruh Blinky doesn't read horoscopes? Does he realize conspiracy theories are just the manly version of horoscopes?

NO DON'T KILL VEX STOP KO-ING FOUND FAMILY MEMBERS

Oh thank God he's okay

NO NOT ARCHIE AND CHARLEMAGNE OH MY GOD

oh never mind they're just gonna coup de tat I believe in them :))

But I want to see him again

But I'm glad to see vex

Yay they're in arcadia!

But yeah I wondered why the trolls and Merlin didn't keep the whole "daylight doesn't hurt trolls" feature from the eternal night but now Guillermo del Toro I see you were playing the long con in that just to kill my girl Namora :(((

Oooooh I love the animation of the Narizord over Chihuahua!! It looks very good and realistic (if only they could have put some of that into those huskies from before smh)

Bruh the character designs of the arcane order are so good I want to be them

Nari making sure the Skraelzord doesn't crush the bus

DAMN DOUBLE HOMICIDE

Bruh I'm just glad we finally have an answer on why arcadia had everything going on as opposed to literally anywhere else!! I always found that as a weird coincidence for plot convince.

BRUH WERE BACK TO THE MPREG IM SO JEALOUS I FORGOT ABOUT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GRIEVING THE LOSS OF MY LOVELIES.

Oh that's real convenient that the ninth configuration meant all of them. Way to not decide which character gets more attention. Though it probably was a smart way to not have any infighting in the fandom between each character's stan group.

Bruh I just realized where is Barbera did they just ditch her on the Camelot ship???

And where are the other trolls that migrated at the end of trollhunters s3? They said something about new jersey but obviously Jim and the other main characters got on Camelot instead.... This feels like a plot hole

And we never learned the process of how changelings are made and bonded to humans and stuff. We just know it's super painful but I'm curious ffs!!!!

THE DONT THINK BECOME HERO SPEECH ALL SAID TOGETHER!!!

BRUH THEY REALLY HAD TO SHOW HIM GIVING BIRTH??????? WAS THAT AN ABSOLUTE MUST??????

Plus the main audience for this series is little children (the rating for the movie is literally TV-Y7) so even though my adult ass is not in the target audience, I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND WHY WOULD MPREG AND ANAL BIRTH WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT THING TO 7 YEAR OLDS???? THIS IS A LITERAL FETISH HIDDEN IN KIDS CONTENT ITS ELSAGATE ALL OVER AGAIN Y'ALL 😭😭😭😭😭

Though it's probably hypocritical of me to think fetishes don't belong in kids tv when I've openly admitted to thirsting for strickler and namora

HUZZAH

NEW AMULET WAZ GOOD????

STAB THAT BITCH JIM

WAIT NO I SAID STAB NOT GET STABBED

Alright good job just missed the directions at first but you fixed it

SEVEN KIDS?????????

T O B Y ????????????

W A I T NO

N O

IS HE ACTUALLY

OH MY GOD THERE'S HOPE

NO THERE ISN'T

F U C K THIS SHIT THEY REALLY JUST HAD HIM TO BE BULLIED THEN KILLED

Y'ALL IM ACTUALLY CRYING THIS NEVER HAPPENS

I NEVER ACTUALLY GET SO EMOTIONAL OVER MEDIA THAT I CRY IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE AT THE END OF VOLTRON BUT AHHHHHHHH

W A I T

HE'S GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK?????

HOLD UP THEY'RE JUST GONNA BRING ALL THOSE DEAD PEOPLE BACK??????

WAIT IS HE

BLINKY CALLED HIM A SON

HOLD ON IS THIS GOING TO BE A CLIFFHANGER???????????

BRUH THEY REALLY JUST CAN'T END THE SERIES WITHOUT CLIFFHANGERS like there's always an open ending

TROLLHUNTER TOBY????? You know what forget the whole rants I had on how toby was written they just redeemed it all

And that's all! I'd rate it a 6.5/10 because it's definitely the weakest of all the sequels but still had amazing animation and some good plot points. It's just really hard to look over the bad stuff enough to rate it any higher.

[sandbees]

hi author-san! I really like your blog and I wanted to make a request if you accept them; Could you write about how the first year gang would react with a fem y / n who is curvy and being made fun of for it? if it makes you uncomfortable please ignore it, have a good day!

:000 interesting concept, I’m doing it. Also, thank you and you have a good day too! :)

Ok, so first thing’s first, as a group, they will throw hands at the person bullying (Y/N). Maybe even commit murder. Whoever bullied you is going to have a bad time. They’re also going to comfort you, in their own way.

But even if you try to hide it from them, they will know. They can tell because you’re their friend, and once they figure out who is harassing/bullying you, they will be there. Can’t have anyone bully their perfect. Only they can.

Mob Student C: *Bullying (Y/N)*

Ace: *Pops up out of nowhere* So I’ve heard you were talking shit about my friend.

Deuce: *Appears from the bushes* Hey bud, back off :)

Jack: *Animal growls at the mob student as he removes (Y/N) from the scene*

Epel: *Already cracking his knuckles* I think we need to have a ‘talk’ :)

Sebek: How dare you bully our friend! *Has a sword out* You need to be taught a lesson on respect!

Besides that, I think as a group they’d agree to “bodyguard” you. As in one of the first years will always be by your side, whether in class or in the cafeteria, you will always be with one of them.

Individually? Well...

Ace is the one to drive your harassers away with his words. He’s too scrawny to be intimidating or strong enough to get a good punch (well, not as strong as someone like Epel or Deuce), but he is good at picking at someone’s insecurities. He’ll go down on your bully’s own appearance. After, Ace would be complimenting you constantly. Oh? You know, you’re eyes look really pretty in this light! Did you change your hairstyle, because it looks really pretty! You’re beautiful the way you are!! He tries to compliment your appearance whenever you seem down. He’ll still tease you, but he doesn’t try to tease your appearance if it makes you uncomfortable.

Deuce is the first person to punch your bully when he seems them harassing you. “What do you think you’re doing, harassing a girl like that?!�� Full delinquent mode, he will not hesitate to beat the bully to a pulp. After that, he’ll be very embarrassed, comforting you with kind words. He’s going to fuss over you, because that’s what friends do, right? If you become a little self-conscious after that experience, he’s quick to reassure you. What are you saying? You’re beautiful as you are!!! If anyone makes fun of you again based on your appearance, expect Deuce to appear out of nowhere and duke it out.

Jack is quick to remove you from the situation. While he does want to punch the living daylights out of the person bullying you, his top priority is you. Once you’re out of harms way, and you don’t see the others beating the shit out of your bully, he’s going to comfort and hug you. It’s not like he likes you or anything!! Bullying is unacceptable! He dislikes bullies, they’re cowards. Of course you see right through him as he wraps his arms around you protectively, his tail wagging ever so slowly.

Epel is the second person to punch your bully. He’s going to openly curse and shame them like the feral boy he is. He’s pretty annoyed at your bully and he gets you! Being picked on based on your looks; he’s had a few passing comments here at school about how dainty and weak he looks. Epel will have a talk with you when your bully is taken care of. You’re a little insecure? Well, can’t have you think like that!! Your body doesn’t dictate how you appear or act to be; look at him!

Sebek is loudly shaming your bully. Really, really loudly. How dare they pick on you based on how you look? How dishonorable!! Waka-sama would be disappointed!! He’s righteously furious with your bully, especially if he finds out that your bully brought you to tears. And it was just about how your body looked?? Unacceptable! Sebek is going to teach your bully about respecting others! “Wait Sebek no put the sword down-“. When all is said and done, Sebek tries his best to comfort you. The words your bully said are starting to effect you? Worry not, he’ll make a list on why you are beautiful!!

Extra:

Grim doesn’t understand why someone would tease you about your body. He’s the first person to act; trying to scare the bully away with his fire. After they’re taken are of, Grim reminds you of how important you are. Don’t listen to anyone not worth your time!! Grim’s (and your friends’s) opinion means more than that stranger’s! If you don’t tell the other first years, expect Grim to snitch, because he does care about you. Why would you let yourself be tormented by this guy anyways??

-~-

I love these boys so much :))) I’d like to think that they’d be very protective of a female (y/n), especially in an all boys school.

(Edit: I meant to queue this for tomorrow, but I ended up setting the time to tonight- isjdbsjd well, late night update I guess-)

[vesuvianmess]

Popsicles?

Art by @jilljoycearts Drexxel is @vesuvianmess Vell is @deathbyarcana

A short fic recounting how these two met, pulled (with some edits) directly from a currently running roleplay.

Quick Warning: Contains mentions of stalking and harassment

"You are very welcome, have a good rest of your day!" He waved the group off with a smile. "Hiya, what can I get you?" He asked another.

Flitting back and forth from group to group, he greeted every single person with a genuine smile. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing others light up with joy. He’d taken up working at the bakery part time to help with some expenses of running his own shop. And he had to admit, the smell of fresh baked bread may have influenced that choice. The job was never boring as the market was always flooded with people, locals and travelers alike, all looking for something. Still, he only worked with Selasi during the mornings and early afternoons. When he’d had his fill, he would return home to open the doors to his own little business.

But today, he had something a little different in mind. Instead of selling little animal pelts, herbs, bits, and bobbles, he was in and out again in a flash. Having changed into something much more comfortable for the heat, he pulled a wheeled cart behind him to the town square. Near the fountain, he’d found the perfect spot and pulled the cover off the cart. It would take him a little time to set everything up, but once it was done, he noticed people already beginning to gather around. Some faces he'd seen many, many times before. Others, much more new. Taking a seat on an overturned wooden bucket, he twirled a pair of drumsticks between his fingers. 

“Hello Vesuvia, I’m bringing you a special late afternoon show! Now then," he sat up a little, the line of his back straightening. "For those of you new to my show, we have fun here! Here's how this goes!" making a grand sweeping gesture to the gathered crowd, he continued on. "You may request a song but there is no guarantee I will play it. I will not tolerate pushing, shoving, or otherwise harmful activity during my shows. And, as always, tips are appreciated but not required, come stay for awhile and feel the beat of the sound! I'm Drexxel Volkov, and may luck be forever in your favor!" 

It started with a small metallic chime, a shortstop of little taps on the rims of the set. But before long the square was alight with the beating of drums. His whole body moved in time with each beat almost as if he were dancing along to his own song. Small children bounced and tugged at their parents' sleeves, urging them to get closer. New comers stood with delighted expressions, some even getting a little antsy standing in one place, others giving way to bouncing their bodies to the rhythm. 

There was nothing better than this, looking out into the crowd as he thrummed away the minutes, flipping the sticks and singing along even though nobody could hear him over the heartbeat he'd created. 

The crowd was thick as usual but new faces stuck out easy to him. Even with the prick of sweat beginning to roll down his forehead, he was able to focus enough to make everyone feel included in his performance. One face in particular he stopped at for more than a split second. A taller man with vivid blue hair, dark skin, and a sort of shaken demeanor. He looked….out of place perhaps amid the crowd, like he could bolt at any moment. Drexel found himself stealing glances at the man throughout his show, a dizzying knot of butterflies in his gut as he saw the man start to meld into the hum around him. The thrill of the performance carried him through like a tidal wave crashing against the shore, his fiery passion shining through clear as day. Every movement felt natural, every breath felt like a whole new beginning. Drexxel never came from a background that favored this sort of thing, rather it was something he'd picked up on his own time. He had the extra energy to spare and needed an outlet to help with it. Besides, he always did like seeing people smile and what better way to do that then get them moving? 

Into the second song now and he felt a wave of static run through him. Someone in the crowd was a magician. He could feel it. Even through the loud beating of drums and the crashing of cymbals the low electrical humming filled his body. He was sure of it. But was this magician able to sense him as well? That he did not know. He wasn’t sure precisely where the feeling was coming from, but he was determined to draw it out. With it toying at his mind, he decided it was time to show off just a little more. After all, using magic was a good way to lure out another magician. 

Drexxel simply waited as he beat along in time to find the perfect moment to really show off his moves. Normally he would have saved this bit for later in the evening, but he just had to do it now. After feeling that little pang of magic, he knew he had to show whoever was producing it, that they weren't the only one with fancy magic at their fingertips. Just a moment longer....

When the final chorus of the song hit, he let it loose. His drumsticks sparked and crackled to life, enveloped in searing hot flames. With his sticks now burning with intense heat, he slammed away at his drums with more grandeur and energy than before. With each hit fire roared from the contact point, creating a dazzling display of towers of fire in varying sizes. If anything were to draw this other magician out, it would be this. 

By the end of the show, much to his dismay, this fellow kin had not revealed themselves. It was a bit of a shame really, he would have loved to have someone join in his performance. What a dazzling display that would have been. He could only imagine what kind of magic would have complimented his own.

"Thank you all for joining me this afternoon!" He gave a bow, his hair falling a bit loose from his bun. "It's a hot one out today so make sure to stay hydrated and get some good food in your belly!" 

 He stood and lifted his arms over his head in a long stretch before using the rad cloth tied to his side to wipe away the sweat that cling to his skin. The show was over, but people still lingered in the area, some tossing coins into an open bowl near the drum set, others approaching Drexxel with questions. He was small for his age of twenty-five, standing at mere chest (or just below) level with most other adult’s that spoke with him. He had a thin, but decently sturdy frame with most of his strength apparent in his legs. Most people would know him for a scar that ran along his right cheek. Whenever asked about it he would simply tell them he didn’t remember where it came from but knew he’d had it most of his life. 

The town square was still bustling with people as he began to pack up his things. Above it all though, he could hear footsteps approaching him. He paused a moment then spun on his heel to come face to face with a regular to his shows. The man was leagues taller than himself and had a strange look to his eyes. He was holding a piece of paper, crumpled and damp with sweat in his hands. Drexxel heard the man speak but didn’t quite catch the words. 

“I’m sorry?” He responded back, urging the man to repeat himself. When he did, a chill ran down his spine. “...Go out with me. Dinner.” He pushed the paper into Drexxel’s hands. “You’re so pretty.” 

The smaller pulled the note apart just enough to read it. In shaken scrawl it read:

‘Don’t make a scene. I’ve been planning this. You and I belong together.’

He’d seen this sort of thing before in books and screenplays. Some secret admirer gets too confident and goes after someone who isn’t interested and it becomes a problem. Problem being a kind way to put it. Harassment was a better word for it. Bold of him to make the attempt in broad daylight, let alone a busy square. In the kindest way possible, Drexel looked up at the man and spoke.

“I’d love to, but I have plans this evening. Another show I mean.” 

He felt the prickle of magic in the air again, but it wasn’t coming from the man in front of him. The magician was still in the area. 

"Excuse me, I'm talking to you." the man's voice broke him from his thoughts. "I'll be picking you up this evening."

Drexxel's brow furrowed, the energy around him shifting like hissing smoke trying to catch on damp wood. 

"I'm really sorry, I mean it." He offered a sincerely looking apologetic smile. "But I really must be getting home." He made a move to leave but was stopped when the man caught his wrist. 

"You're not going anywhere short-stack." 

This....could be bad. As much as the crowd had dissipated, there were still people lingering about. Too much of a risk to cause a scene. But every fiber of Drexxel's being was telling him to flee. He needed an out. In the most...nonchalant way possible, he attempted to wriggle his wrist free. 

"Your performance really spoke to me Drexxy. It's like you were composing a symphony just for me." As he was caught in his own little moment, Drexxel pulled his wrist free. But it only lasted a second.

He felt a pull against his skin before he heard a small snap. The man had missed when reaching for Drexxel's wrist and instead caught the beaded double bracelet on his wrist. Beads had gone flying haphazardly in every direction, landing on the stones below like pellets. In that moment he felt the pull of magic much closer than before. This other magician was close. Very close. 

Drexxel was unfortunately used to people approaching him with much more....fervor than he anticipated. However, this particular instance was something else. He'd never had someone so adamant on taking him home. If this were to go on for a moment longer, he was sure to lose his composer. He may be a pretty upbeat guy but he also had a notoriously short fuse. 

That hissing aura was rapidly kindling itself from a crackling campfire to a firestorm. When his bracelet snapped, he felt something in him switch. Rage bubbled up under his skin like pot boiling over on a stove set too high. His fist clenched and a growl escaped him. 

But then, out of nowhere, everything around him stopped. He was about to throw a fiery punch but stopped short when he saw another man between him and his new 'friend'. It was the man he saw in the crowd! He said he was there to help just now. But what was he doing here and how did he…

"How--?" Then it hit him like a hard slap to the face. "So you're the magician I was picking up on!" His anger flickered back to amusement and joy. "I knew I wasn't imagining it! Oh! The helping thing, yes." 

Drexxel offered the newest stranger a warm, bright smile. Without hesitation, he grabbed his hand and shook it furiously. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Drexxel! What do you say we blow this popsicle stand and get somewhere far away from this creep?"

The other man seemed to freeze up, like he expected a much worse response. His whole arm wobbled when Drexxel shook it. His eyes were wide and his lips parted in shock. It took him a minute to process what the smaller man had said to him. 

“Oh, I…that is….popcicles?” The man felt his face go hot, blood rushing to his cheeks. He was sure the smaller man would mistake him for a tomato. 

Drexxel watched him curiously. It was like watching the gears of a clock turning, the way this man seemed to be having an inner monologue with himself about whether or not he’d made the right call to get involved. He could feel how shaken up the man was, his hand trembling. Not very good at keeping his cool was he? Finally he spoke again. 

“It’s localized. My….my magic…it…I mean I…no, it. It will wear off when we get a distance away. He could follow? I- who, well…popsicles?”

Drexxel had always been good at making new friends and getting people to laugh and smile. He was small, yes, but he made up for his size with seemingly boundless energy. It was nearly impossible to not like the guy. But, he could tell, he kind of took this one by surprise. But it wasn't the first time someone had responded this way. Not often he got to see someone turn that red before though!

Whoever this new guy was, Drexxel had never seen his face in Vesuvia before. And he’dbeen in the city for quite some time now. It'd been since he was about nineteen. He knew almost every face in Vesuvia, even if a good handful of them were only in passing. But this one, this one he wanted to know more about. Consider his interest piqued. 

When time came back and this new magician struggled to make a clear sentence, it was all Drexxel could do to hold in a laugh. Localized magic though, not sure he'd heard of that one before. He completely skipped over the popsicle schtick.

"Localized huh? Hey, think you could use your magic with mine? I'm thinking....a wall of fire!" He still hadn't let go of the stranger's hand. "I could put a wall of fire around him, just tall enough to trip him up of course. You could stop time around it until we get far enough away that your....localization wears off!" Mossy green eyes brimmed with excitement. He gave the hand in his a squeeze. 

"I bet we'll make a great team!"

He could see the man trying to process the words coming out of Drexxel’s mouth. He’ll admit, he was a bit of a fast talker when he was excited. 

“Wall of fire…” He repeated Drexxel’s words, more to himself than the other, considering the idea. Not terribly flawed, he thought. A quick fix but not long lasting. “Worth…worth a shot.” an unsteady voice. “Wait - a team?” Vell had barely gotten the words out before the air thrummed with magical energy and, just as promised, fire sprung to life around the note wielding creep. If the situation weren’t as it was, he might have taken time to admire the flames.

"That's what I said isn't it? A team!" He mused, giving this new friend a wink. 

When time did in fact stop around his flames, the passion in his eyes burned that much brighter. He beamed at this new stranger. 

"Talk about a cool party trick. Come on, let's get out of here." Still gripping that hand, he took off. Hopefully this new friend could keep up with him. 

They took off out of the square, rushing past pedestrians and shopping stalls in a race to escape the area. Drexxel had taken the lead, ducking and diving under obstacles like it was as easy as breathing. He felt his new found companion trip up a few times but he managed to keep up the pace. He was new to Vesuvia and hadn’t the slightest idea where the two of them were headed. Drexxel looked back to check on his new friend at just the wrong moment. The edge of his sandal caught on uneven stone, sending him tumbling into an unattended fruit cart, scattering oranges along the alley. He’d never let go of this new companion’s hand, and in turn, the two of them fell together. The other man now had him pinned, a leg on either side of him. 

“I-- We-- uh…” The stranger fought to find the right words, feeling like a tea kettle ready to whistle. “We fell.” 

Drexxel could feel his own face burning a bright shade. He would have been able to laugh it off if it weren’t for his immediate attraction to this man. Impulse guiding him, he offered the man a toying smirk. “You know, I think this might be fate.” He winked. “And I don’t even know your name.” 

“M-my name?” The other man stuttered.

He tried to stand, pulling on Drexxel’s hands to pull him up as well, only to lose his footing. He fell back onto the stone, the smaller of the two now sitting perched on his abdomen. The look in his eyes was….entrancing. Intoxicating even. He couldn’t look away. “I’m Vell.” 

“Vell…” Drexxel liked the way the name felt when he said it. He let his hands drift to the other man’s chest, watching him with bright eager eyes.

Now, what was that saying about playing with fire?

[eeemarvel]

If you had to choose one scene of Hero Reform to be animated/filmed, which one would it be and why?😊

What a fun ask!! In one of my most recent responses, I mentioned how I'm inspired by the marvel cinematic universe. I also mentioned that I often think of scene first and then plot before writing a story. I'm actually a very visual writer, if that makes sense. It almost feels like I'm recording scenes from a movie when I write HR. So I guess the selfish answer is a l l o f t he s c e n e s. (⊙‿⊙)

BUT IF YOU HELD A WATER GUN TO MY HEAD AND MADE ME CHOOSE ONE: it hasn't been published yet. and i'm sitting on needles, waiting for the moment i can share it. It's one of those scenes that I thought of before the actual plot and it gives me goosebumps whenever I edit it and I just love it so much.

ANd if you actually PULLED THE TRIGGER ON THE WATER GUN AND GOT MY HAIR WET: i'd choose the scene when Yuuri and Victor team up to fight the assassins that are chasing Yuuri in broad daylight. I choose that one as a close runner-up because you get so much: Yuuri being slick and dexterous but still sacrificing himself to save someone who can't save themselves, Victor being a #HERO with the dramatic entrance and flashy display of powers, the assassins assassining (it's a new word), the turn the fight takes when Victor realizes he can't let Yuuri go free in broad daylight with witnesses around. *chef's kiss* I need to see it animated, por favor.

IF YOU KEPT SQUIRTING THE WATER GUN: my non action scene pick is when Victor comes home from the hospital to relieve Felix of his house-sitting duties and Felix is like "I handcuffed your little brother to the bathroom sink because I swore an oath but the fact that you're still in cahoots with a #criminal is none of my business." That scene is so funny to me.

[lostinfantasyworlds]

Teaser for Under the Northern Lights, Chapter 8: Stay

I CAN’T EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM TO SHARE THIS TEASER.

This is the moment for this story. 

As in, one of the very first moments I imagined when I first came up with the idea for UTNL. Basically, everything that has happened so far in the story was just a lead up to this one scene I had imagined months ago.

This is a long ass teaser (almost 2k words), but this is going to be one of those ridiculously long chapters again, so it’s still only a small snippet. I have a feeling you guys won’t mind the length for this one 😉 .

This is still subject to light editing later on, even though I spent 3+ hours editing this one small section today because I am a crazy person.

Taglist (let me know if you want on or off!): @aelianadawn​​ @alisanangel​​ @alysssa-inukag​​ @bluehawaiicat​​ @born-for-eachother​​  @deactivated2431545484​​ @goshinote​​ @gruviyasharuto​​ @inussunflower​​​ @julyzaa​​ @keks-creations​​ @ladyaerilla​​ @littleredwritinghat​​ @liz8080​​ @malditamigs​​ @neutronstarchild​​ @purplemys​​ @redflamesofpassion​​ @rocioanime4​​ @sailorlolo​​ @sangoslays​​ @sunsetskys​​ @superpixie42​​ @theinuyashareader​​ @zukkosbaby​

Inuyasha smiled before standing up and walking to the coat hooks by the door. With the fire roaring, it was finally warm inside the cabin, making the coat he was still wearing feel like overkill. 

Kagome watched as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks, gasping when she saw what was underneath. Inuyasha’s sweater had been completely torn to shreds on his left side, dark red blood staining the frayed edges of the fabric.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome exclaimed, standing up abruptly. 

“What?” Inuyasha asked, alarmed by her tone. Why did it sound like he was being reprimanded all of the sudden? 

“You’ve been taking care of me this whole time when you have even worse injuries?!” 

Kagome pointed to his side where his shirt was torn, starting to walk around the back of the couch so she could inspect his wounds. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Inuyasha looked down at where she was pointing, vaguely surprised to find his sweater in bloody tatters. 

“Keh, this is nothing for someone like me. Just scratches,” he said nonchalantly, twisting a little as he inspected the wounds underneath. He brought his hands to his side to move the torn fabric out of the way, his mild surprise turning into annoyance. 

“Sucks that this sweater got ruined though, I just bought it a few days ago.” 

What a fuckin’ waste of money. Stupid wolves.

Inuyasha sighed a little, gripping the hem of the ruined sweater and pulling it off over his head. He walked around the breakfast counter to stand at the sink, balling up the sweater and throwing it in the trash along the way. Tearing a few paper towels from the roll on the counter, he wet them in the sink before starting to dab at the patches of blood on his torso.

All while Kagome stood transfixed, frozen in place, unable to stop her jaw from dropping. 

Not only were his wounds already closing up on their own, but Inuyasha was now standing shirtless in front of her.

The man she felt more attracted to than all of the other men she had been with, combined.

Half-naked. 

Right there.

And we’re completely alone…

It was a scenario she had envisioned since she first saw him in the daylight. Finding herself alone with him, getting to see the hidden planes of his body. It was something she had thought about in the shower in Denali, imagining his hands were the ones running across her body, instead of her own. 

She had produced quite the detailed fantasy in her mind of what he might look like underneath the layers of clothing he typically wore, and yet, it couldn’t compare to real life.

He was so hot.

So ridiculously fucking hot. 

She couldn’t even think of a more eloquent word to describe him, due to the fact that her brain had short circuited the moment his fingers slipped under the hem of his ruined sweater. It felt like she had been hit by a freight train of lust, rendering her utterly useless as she watched his large muscles rippling underneath his tawny skin. 

It didn’t help that the position he was in only accentuated the very features that had her heart racing faster by the second. As he wiped the blood from his skin, his forearms and biceps flexed subtly, his well-defined abs tensing from the twisted position. Every last ripple and bulge was an ode to his strength, the raw power that had kept her safe.

The way he had protected and cared for her over the last week tapped into a primal, instinctual desire that she wasn’t even aware she had. An attraction to his chivalry and brawn and that was deeply ingrained in her subconscious, and only made her want him that much more. 

She wanted to feel that smooth skin and solid muscle underneath her fingertips. To grip him as hard as she could while he surrounded her with that delicious body of his and she surrendered to him completely.  

Kagome had to stop herself from letting out an audible whine as she watched several drops of water slide down his side, trailing down until they met the belted cargo pants that hung low on his hips. 

She had to be in a movie. 

Or a porno. 

People don’t just look like that in real life. 

Men don’t just show up, with adorable dog ears and chiseled jaws, and steal your heart in a matter of days. They don’t just appear out of nowhere at the last minute to save you from being eaten by wolves. 

And they certainly don’t just casually undress in front of the person they had been flirting with for days like it was no big deal.

As if they hadn’t been about thirty seconds from fucking each other in the middle of a restaurant yesterday.

He seemed to have genuinely forgotten for the moment, not even looking in her direction as he inadvertently flaunted his body. Apparently, he had no inkling of the effect he was having on her. 

Finally managing to tear her eyes from him, she turned away so as not to get caught staring. Her mind raced a mile a minute as she stood awkwardly near the front door, unsure of what to do with herself. 

She knew he wanted her too, but where did they stand after everything that just happened in the last twenty-four hours?

He had just saved her life, risking his own in the process.

He had invited her into his home, something he claimed he had never done for anyone else before.

It was all so overwhelming that it felt wrong, in a way, to try and make a move on him right now. Especially when his mind was clearly not following the same train of thought at the moment. 

She already felt like a voyeur for staring at him unabashedly when he had only been trying to clean up his wounds. 

This was his home, a place where he probably felt safe and in control. He had to be the one to make the call. If he wasn’t thinking about finishing what had been set into motion two days ago, after everything that happened, then she couldn’t blame him. 

Unfortunately, Kagome was losing any semblance of self-control by the second. The freight train was now off the tracks and barreling towards Inuyasha with no way of stopping it. If she didn’t leave now, there was no telling what she might do.

Inuyasha finished wiping the blood off his torso, the deep scratches he had sustained from fighting off the wolves already mostly healed over. He threw the blood-soaked paper towels into the trash, and was just about to go grab another sweater, when he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes snapping to Kagome.

That scent...holy fuck.

He had caught whiffs of the delicious spicy-sweet addition to Kagome’s scent that indicated her arousal before. Most notably during the ending of that game of truth-or-dare, and last night when he spread her legs under the table at dinner.

It had been hard enough to keep himself in control those times, wanting nothing more than to give in to his desire and take her right there. 

But now?  

Her scent was stronger and smelled more delicious than any of those times before. He could already feel himself salivating in response, wanting to taste the sweetness of it on his tongue.

But what the hell had caused such a strong, sudden infusion of arousal into her scent? He looked around for clues, everything clicking into place as he realized that he was standing there half-naked, Kagome pointedly looking away from him. He could faintly hear her heart beating faster than usual, her cheeks flushed. 

Kagome was smelling like that...from him taking his shirt off? 

Well, that was certainly an ego boost. 

He had done it without thinking, completely distracted by his wounds and every other fucking thing that had happened that night. He had been in “protect” mode, focused solely on dealing with the situation and making sure Kagome was okay. There had been no room in his mind for thoughts of the current state of their relationship, only the overwhelming need to ensure her safety.

But now...it was as if a switch had been flipped in his mind. 

They were finally alone.

She was unharmed, and clearly wanted him.

She was...putting her boots back on like she was trying to leave?

Huh?

“Uh...Kagome? What’re you doing?”

Kagome still seemed unable to look at him as she picked up her camera bag.

“I should probably get going. I...want to check in on Miroku and Sango first thing tomorrow, and...you — you’ve already done so much for me, I don’t want to put you out any longer,” she said distractedly, fumbling over her words like she was trying to make up excuses as she went along.

Inuyasha stood dumbstruck and utterly confused, unable to come up with any kind of coherent response. 

“Uh…”

He watched her secure the strap of her camera bag across her shoulder, trying to make sense of the disconnect between what his nose was telling him and the way she was acting. Her scent had only grown more potent in the moments since he first smelled it, but now she was acting as though she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

What the fuck was going on? 

Had he done something wrong?

Inuyasha walked around the breakfast bar, not sure what he was about to do, but needing to do something. He halted, standing in the middle of the cabin, when Kagome finally turned to look at him. 

She looked even more beautiful than usual with her cheeks flushed, her eyes burning bright with the same desire as her scent.

“Thank you, again, for everything, Inuyasha. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon.”

Her voice was quiet and sincere, if not a bit shaky. She smiled warmly at him, giving no indication that he had done anything wrong.

Every sign pointed to her wanting him.

But, if she wanted him, then why was she leaving? 

Unless she thought he had changed his mind since last night?

Inuyasha watched her turn towards the door and reach for the handle as if in slow motion, her long black hair sliding over her shoulders. She was wearing his sweatpants, and for some reason, it was the sexiest thing in the world.

And that fucking scent of hers was driving him absolutely wild.

There was no way he could let her walk out that door.

Gathering all the confidence he could muster, he spoke clearly and loudly enough to get her attention.

“Or…”

Kagome’s hand froze on the doorknob, turning her head slightly towards him in a clear indication that she was listening.

Inuyasha’s next words were quieter, his voice trembling a little despite his best attempt at confidence.

“...you could stay.”

[poirott]

This is the 2nd part of the "Riddle of the Spinx" interview with Death on the Nile cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos for British Cinematographer November 2020 issue (part 1 transcribed here). The full interview has now been released on the British Cinematographer website. I've included some of the text below!

In Part 2 Zambarloukos talks about shooting with the cast on location in Egypt and doing a particularly complex single shot of them on set, how they did the opening b&w sequence of young Poirot as a soldier, and built sets of Abu Simbel and the pyramids, the use of realtime footage projected on LED screens to make the studio sets look more realistic, what part of the Murder on the Orient Express set they recycled for Nile, etc.

Q: This was shot like Murder on the Orient Express at Longcross Studios with plates filmed on location in Egypt. Was it ever a possibility to shoot entirely on location?

Haris Zambarloukos: The issue is that 1934 Egypt barely exists today. For example, in the 1960s they moved the Abu Simbel temple 300 metres away so that the Aswan Dam wouldn't flood it. So, we built the entire four-storey high Abu Simbel at Longcross, complete with banks of water. The same with Giza and the Sphinx. In the 1930s the Nile went up to the feet of the Sphinx. Now all you see is the concrete expanse of Cairo.

Secondly, it's difficult to shoot complex shoots on a river while floating, taking all the cast down there and scheduling them, on top of ensuring everyone's safety on such a high-profile project.

Our whole design and research went into creating a set. We wanted to build a life-size boat inside and out; not to break it down into small sets but to shoot it as if we were on a boat. That’s a huge undertaking. Jim Clay built an amazing set to scale for the Karnak. It was so big we needed to build a temporary sound stage around it. We also wanted to use some real daylight when we got great sunlight in Longcross and use a little bit of water to basically film the boats carrying guests to the Karnak.

We recycled the railway from Orient and built the boat on that so we could wheel it in from outdoors to indoors. We built a very elaborate lighting rig that you could pull back and see the entire boat in one shot. You could step onto the boat and walk through all the rooms which were all lit for an analogue film f-stop. It was complicated and took most of our planning but I personally don't think you can tell the difference when we cut - even from a shot filmed outside in real sunlight juxtaposed with one in apparent sunlight on our sound stage. It's seamless because we took such great care and a detailed approach to our rig and construction.

In Orient you created some stylish direct overheads of the train carriage. You've told us of the Steadicam dance sequence in Nile. Were there other stylistic flourishes?

Inside the sound stage we went twice round the Karnak with the entire cast all choreographed for this one great reveal of a murder. It was really hard work to do. I understand why it was cut in the edit although they have kept a lot of other single long takes and there are lots of places where you see the whole cast in a single shot.

However difficult you might think setting up a long single is in terms of lighting and operating, it is equally, if not more difficult, to block a scene with multiple actors, keep the audience engaged and choreograph it in a way that is exciting and at the same time reveals things gradually. There's a lot of pressure on a lot of people in shots like that. Everyone's got to be on top of their game. Because we're all so interdependent, it's a domino effect in that the further you go in the take, the bigger the responsibility is for not getting it wrong whether that's the operator, focus puller, the actor saying the final line, the gaffer lighting a corner at just the right time. We always get excited about those shots but also very nervous.

You augmented the studio work with plates photographed on location in Egypt. Tell us about that.

We filmed on the Nile from a boat with a 14 8K Red camera array. We had a 360-degree bubble on top of the boat and two three-camera arrays pointing forwards and backwards as we travelled up and down. We specifically chose areas where modernity wasn’t present (or where it was, we removed it in post) and we also shot plates from the point of view of passengers onboard the Karnak.

VFX supervisor George Murphy edited the footage and stitched the plates together into an essentially very, very advanced virtual reality rig in which I could pan my camera. We did that before principal photography, so we never had to guess a month or so later what to put there. That’s a big help. Most shoots do their plate photography afterwards. It meant I could pretty much place the camera on any deck of the Karnak for any scene and know what the background would be.

As with Orient, did you play back footage realtime on LED screens outside the boat set?

I'd love to have done it live but on Orient we were only dealing with one wagon's windows at a time. It was still the biggest LED set-up ever done to that point, but the Karnak set is 20 time bigger than that. There aren't enough LED screens available – plus it would have been prohibitively expensive.

Instead, I went for a much larger version of a technique I'd used on Mamma Mia which was to hang back projection screens all around the boat – 200m in circumference, 15m high. We used Arri SkyPanels at a distance to create a sky or a part of the background. It could also be converted into a blue screen when we needed to. It meant that if I had a shot looking above the horizon line into the sky then it could be done in camera.

How confident were you of retaining colour and contrast from set to post?

I took stills on the recce and we used those to the create colours with this back projection for our skies. I take prints (not digital stills) so there is no misinterpretation. A still is a piece of paper that you can see. Once something is emailed across and seen by someone watching on another screen the information can get lost.

At the same time there were a lot more checks and balances put in place. We had a projector at Longcross and I watched dailies with (dailies colourist) Sam Spurgeon every lunchtime. With Kodak and Digital Orchard we have a very quick process to convert analogue filmmaking into digital by the next morning. Film is processed at night, they scan at 4am and by mid-morning those digital images are transferred to our dailies suite at Longcross. At lunch we’d watch it digitally projected, having been processed, scanned and graded at 2K.

I check that first and give notes to Sam and those get transferred onto our dailies which is what Ken, the editorial team, VFX and studio team sees. That's a major check. It's me with someone in a room, rather than me talking over the phone which is a big difference. I have a very good relationship with Goldcrest and (DI colourist) Rob Pizzey who also sees things along the way. I supervise the grade at the end. So, there's no need for anyone to interpret anything. It’s a collaboration in which we all look at the same images.

Did you shoot black and white for the opening scene or convert?

We shot colour for a couple of reasons. Although Kodak could manufacture BW 65, there is no lab in the world to processes it. Plus, there’s a certain skill to grading BW using colour negative and the added benefits are that that you can place a grey tone to a colour. For example, you could take red and decide it will look a very dark grey or a light grey, so you get very detailed tones. Ultimately, I get much more control in the DI this way. They were very monochromatic battlefield sets and costumes so it was quite limited in this case. The Germans wore grey and the Belgians wore dark blue and it’s a dark sooty gas-filled battlefield but you could manipulate the blue in the sky a little bit more and certainly manipulate the intensity of people’s eyes - especially if they had blue eyes (which Branagh does).

How did you handle sound sync?

To do sound sync work on Orient we used sound cameras that are twice as heavy as high-speed cameras, so I wanted to develop soundproof housing (blimp) for our camera on Nile. I took the problem to Stuart Heath at BGI Supplies at Longcross. They've made all sorts of props for us before, from Cinderella’s carriage to the furniture on Nile. I told him that I needed it really quickly. All my other attempts had failed. Stuart suggested using a material that they soundproof the interior of helicopters with. He brought a draper in who basically measured the camera as if making a dinner suit for it and quickly made a couple of versions for us. It was very effective and really opened up the Steadicam possibility for us. All from just wandering onto a workshop on the lot and asking a friend if he had any ideas about how to achieve something. In the old days that’s what everyone did – the answer was somewhere on the lot.

Finally, after six films and 14 years working with Ken Branagh, could you tell us what makes your relationship tick?

It is a fantastic friendship. To begin with you must be able to maintain a professional friendship with any cast and crew which is all about doing your very best and understanding where you have common aesthetics and shared thoughts about humanity. Ask what kind of world you want this to be, because that will come through in your filmmaking.

As you say, I've spent years working in close proximity to Ken and we have a mutual affection and admiration for each other otherwise we wouldn't be doing it for so long. He is relentless in pursuit of perfection and in his advancement of storytelling and is inspiring to work with. It means you have to be as relentless in your area of craft.

I think we both like making the same kinds of films. I'm a Greek Cypriot who grew up with Greek myth and tragedy. Ken's love of Shakespeare is legendary. You can easily see the lineage between Aeschylus (the ancient Greek creator of tragedy) that goes all the way to Shakespeare. Perhaps that appreciation for the human condition in its best and worst forms is the tie that binds.

Photo credit: Rob Youngson

Source: britishcinematographer.co.uk - February 4 2021

[filthyjanuary]

ok well i watched tfatws finale and like the entire season that was absolutely incoherent in terms of politics and theme and messaging

first of all, it’s CRIMINAL that karli dies and walker lives. like i expected that because...marvel, but it makes me genuinely livid that to the END they committed to this ‘she’s just a misguided little girl’ thing and she had to die because a) she was going to shoot sam and b) she needed to die to preserve sharon’s secret but WALKER who murdered someone in BROAD DAYLIGHT last ep was like...somehow part of the team again??? working with sam and BANTERING WITH BUCKY???? ARE YOU JOKING???? his only consequence is he’s stripped of his military titles but otherwise is free to do whatever including signing on to work with val? what the shit? you KNOW they have plans for walker so they had to put him in a neat little anti-hero box for later, and they OBVIOUSLY never had any kind of coherent motivation for karli and her storyline so obviously she needs to die.

like was it nice and feel good-y that sam saves all these politicians and they finally give him the time of day and listen to what he has to say? sure! but you’re telling me we’re supposed to be like well maybe if karli tried talking that would’ve solved anything? what kind of messaging is that? the average marginalized person is never going to be in any kind of scenario where they can save their oppressors enough that their humanity is finally spelled out for them enough to give a shit about doing the right thing

like i get it, sam is worthy of the mantle of cap because he never stops reaching out to people, he leads with empathy, I GET IT, but whatever point they’re trying to make doesn’t work because REALISTICALLY BEING EMPATHETIC CAN ONLY GET YOU SO FAR

and they never answer any of the tough questions! if karli had never tried to take the prisoners hostage and thus they’d never been saved by sam, appealing to them to stop the vote through their shared humanity wouldn’t have done jack shit! by having SHARON kill karli, they take the choice of what to do with her out of sam’s hands entirely so he never has to ACTUALLY make any tough calls, including the call that steve makes in catws which is do i surrender and accept death instead of raising my hand against someone who is going to kill me who maybe doesn’t deserve it? it’s cowardly writing to ask all these tough questions and then sidestep around the answers. yes, in an ideal world empathy and dialogue and appealing to others solves every problem but WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT DOESN’T? karli isn’t going to stop, so sam’s response in the face of that was IMPORTANT and they just... don’t answer it? i’m not saying there’s a CORRECT answer, but they needed to answer it somehow and they just... don’t.

i called sharon as the power broker but her heel turn to villain was just like.... told to us? we needed to see it like how do you go from catws sharon to this sharon.... like off screen?????

sam’s gesture for isaiah w/ the statue very good and pure but REALISTICALLY you’d think he’d have some conflicting feelings about it. you’re telling me he goes from absolutely justified anger and mistrust of the government to like ‘uwu they acknowledged me’ because sam said some nice things on tv and he’s in the corner of an exhibit now???

they just were juggling WAY too many plot threads and then went ‘oh shit we need to wrap them up’ and consequently dedicated like... 35 minutes to fight scenes and like 10 to actually closing character threads as quickly as possible and setting up everything they need to set up for future mcu instalments (villain sharon! whatever is going on with val and us agent!walker, etc.)

there were a lot of very cool shots! a lot of the sam/karli fight was a very obvious call back to the steve/bucky fights in catws especially the last one in the helicarrier, and sam flying down with karli’s body was BEAUTIFUL but like... cool shots and actors carrying the shows on their back despite incoherent writing can only do so much of the work, you know?

EDIT: ALSO I COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT DURING THIS PART BUT IT WAS FUCKED UP AND EVIL FOR BUCKY AND WALKER TO CALL THE COPS ON A BUNCH OF POC FIGHTING FOR REFUGEES LMAO MARVEL GO TO HELL

[grizeldanyx]

Scenes in WKBZ that parallel each other (part 2)

(spoiler warning)

(also please notice the trigger warnings before reading!!)

Curtains in broad daylight

When Christiane and Benno wake up in episode 6 after their withdrawal, the camera view first falls onto the curtains and the broad daylight shining through them, before we really see the two inside of the room. They start talking about being clean before sleeping with each other. In episode 7, the morning after Michi and Benno slept with each other, when Benno is already awake, the focus is also on the curtained window and the light shining through it, very similar to how it looked in the prior episode in Christiane’s room.

I’m not sure if this is supposed to mean anything intentionally, but it could be, because at least for me these camera shots were noticably similar due to being a bit unusual. I interpret it these ways: Because it is explicitly Benno who’s looking at the window in the second scene, he might be thinking of the first scene I described when he was with waking up with Christiane. In his letter he says that sleeping with Michi made him realize that he only loved her, so maybe that’s why. Other than that, maybe it also shows something about the nature of these two different relationships he could have: With Christiane he can be together in broad daylight, which is the time they were sleeping with each other in the first scene, whereas with Michi their relationship would always have to be something in the shadows, symbolically the night, he would feel the need to hide. This ties back to the idea someone brought up (I don’t exactly remember with whom I had this conversation, sorry. Edit: It was @wheresbenni. Thanks for reminding me :)) about how part of the reason why Benno chose to be with Christiane is that it’s the “easier” relationship for him, because he doesn’t have to face the struggles regarding his sexuality then.

Christiane calling both Benno and then his Dad an asshole in front of the other one

When Benno’s Dad tells Christiane that he stole his money in episode 7, her reply is “What an asshole”. In the next episode, when Benno tells her that it was his own father who reported him to the police, she says the same thing about him, although she knew that his Dad was going to do that.

I think this shows what a strain Benno not showing up at the Zoo station to go to Paris with her put on their relationship, because Christiane’s reaction in the first scene was probably fueled by her anger about it. I’m not sure whether her reaction in the second one means that she forgave him, though, after he explained that he had to help Michi but always wanted to return to her. Maybe she just said it because she thought it was what Benno wanted to hear in that moment. Same could count for the Dad in the first scene, actually, because Christiane knew that Benno used to steal from his father and I mean, how else did she expect him to get the money for Paris? I think how she seemingly couldn’t make up her mind on this conflict shows how confusing all of these events in general must have been for her, between trying to get clean, falling back into the drug use and having a strained relationship because of it.

Babsi and forgiveness

tw: suicide

During the carousel scene in episode 2, Babsi thanks Stella for the evening and she asks “I thought for getting you down from the bridge?”, to which Babsi replies “I might forgive you for that someday”. In episode 7 when her and Christiane are at Günther’s, Christiane confesses that she lied about Dijan asking for Babsi and she answers “Forgiven”.

Now I believe this shows in what a much better mental condition Babsi was after the rehab clinic ... Before she started doing heroin again, sadly. Because, if we assume that Dijan symbolizes death, Babsi was excited to see him again, thinking he was finally interested in her. (Although it’s honestly a bit weird here that Dijan also seems to be a real person, idk.) But when she finds out that this was not the case, she’s okay with it. This fits together with Dijan telling her that he was looking for a different Babsi - probably the suicidal, drug addicted Babsi she is no more at that point. In episode 2 however, she was suicidal as she was standing on that bridge and from there on things got a lot worse for her, as she was also slowly getting addicted to drugs. Hence she told Stella that she might only forgive her someday, because at that point she was stuck in that downward spiral and unable to be fully glad that she didn’t commit suicide. In episode 7, however, for a while she’s out of it and therefore quickly forgives Christiane. Although she obviously sounds sad saying it, and we all now that it doesn’t take long for her to relapse. I wish it was different. :(

Axel and Michi telling their crush that they’re beautiful

When in episode 2 drugged-out Michi tells Benno that he’s beautiful, nobody thinks he’s being serious, especially not Benno himself. When Axel tells Christiane in episode 6 that she’s the most beautiful woman he ever saw, she seems flattered and hugs him.

I recently mentioned this parallel in a text responding to @sun-undone, so to keep it short here, I basically think these scenes show the differences between Michi’s crush on Benno and Axel’s crush on Christiane, because Axel is able to communicate his emotions and therefore has a certain catharsis that Michi lacks, which leads him to such strong reactions of jealousy and hate for Christiane. A lot of that has to do with societal pressures and internalized homophobia that make Michi unable to express his feelings for Benno, who doesn’t seem to take him seriously in that regard anyways (maybe that’s why Michi said to him “Why can’t you ever take anything seriously?” at some point).

[lambden]

fic writer review

tagged by @dameferre (on main) <3 this ended up being long so i’m throwing it under the cut! thank you for the tag, i’ve wanted to do this for a while!

tagging: @weedsinavacantlot @mosaicscale @jaskiersvalley @unyielding-as-the-sea @chubbykatsudon @ohnomybreadsticks even though I know some of you have already done this!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

78. one is anonymous right now for a flash fic challenge so it isn’t showing up. i have no fucking idea how i got here (AND i’ve deleted so many stories...)

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

542911 which is truly horrendous. somebody stop me

3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

so i’ve MOSTLY written the witcher/dead by daylight/until dawn, but i have 25 fandoms with currently published works. yikes

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

-number one is a stupid fic with a polyamorous ship (+ a trans character) for a fandom i no longer care about and a book series i really hate. i regret writing it (and have said so in the notes), i was at a place in my life where i wanted to write this incredibly self-indulgent thing after diving headfirst into canon, and now rereading it with a critical eye, it just makes me annoyed.

-number two is, SOMEHOW, the geraskier scent kink fic?! i don’t understand how this has more kudos than some of my other fics!!!!! people really love smut huh

-number three is venom smut

-number four is the cave, my longest fic! it’s an until dawn fix-it that is very self-indulgent and definitely needs a total rework haha

5. do you respond to comments, why or why not?

i try to respond to all comments that aren’t anonymous! like elle said, I appreciate it more when people notice an obscure reference or something. I think the one word/emoji comments are still nice but they don’t personally have much of an impact on me. and all this being said, i am perpetually behind on my comment replies I currently have 246 to do 😔😔😔

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

it’s the one i’m publishing next week for the whataboutthebard event hehe

7. do you write crossovers? if so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i love crossovers i think theyre very fun! i wrote an (unpublished) crossover where deadpool and cable are the superhero identities of face and hannibal from the a-team. it was a birthday gift to a friend and it was VERY indulgent especially with the non-linear timeline (because cable) but whatever, i reread it recently and it still slaps

8. have you ever received hate on a fic?

i have but nothing that really irked me so badly i remembered it, oops

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i sure do which is hilarious because as someone who is sex repulsed like 95% of the time irl... how do i keep getting away with this

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

okay no i haven’t (to my knowledge) but also someone once wrote an until dawn fic “inspired by” the cave that basically took the exact same plot and ....??? made it worse/simpler? it was hard to read so i wasn’t 100% sure but. at first i was flattered and eventually it just got annoying, even though they barely wrote anything for it

11. have you ever had a fic translated?

people have offered but none have followed through!! wah

12. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i’ve planned out fics with people but the writing process is difficult enough without someone else there. i would really like to get into those train fics where each author writes a different part though, i think it’d be a ton of fun

13. what’s your all-time fave ship?

it is probably, just statistically, eames and arthur. but there are so many lmao how could i choose

14. what’s a fic you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

i should probably put the cave here but i’m close to the end of that one actually, just need to sit down and do it! but ‘spectacular’, the kingsman/baby driver crossover i worked SOOOO hard on, is probably not something i’m ever going to feel comfortable finishing. or if i do, i will be rewriting it so that it’s clear that i’m headcanoning baby as someone other than ans*l elg*rt (john boyega...? 👀) but yeah at this moment in time i can’t see that happening

15. what are your writing strengths?

idk.. i like my dialogue!

16. what are your writing weaknesses?

scene transitions, endings, editing out scenes that aren’t cohesive and don’t contribute anything but I love Them Your Honour, falling into the same boring writing style with each sentence having the exact same structure

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages on a fic?

i think it needs to be done correctly and there has to be a reason for it

18. what was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

i dunno man... naruto maybe???? d. gray-man? sh*rlock??????????? perhaps les mis when i was a baby and literally only cared about eponine and cosette

19. what is your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

it’s really hard for me to choose only one answer here 😔 I really like my laegjarn/fjorm stuff and the ocean’s eleven fic i wrote, and i LOVE the dialogue in my veep fics <3 for dead by daylight i’m still proud of my jake/evan summer camp slasher AU! and i like most of my witcher fics, i’m really excited about some things i have in the works right now.

if you actually made it to the bottom, thanks for reading!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[tobeornottotc]

Tharn and Type Seven Years Ep 2: Observations and Comments

Wow, what can I say except yes finally after a bit of worry about how this season was going to be especially after being scarred by A chance to love (like Tin and Can are cute but the lack of a good plot and waste of side characters still hunts me to this day), I really came weary into Tharn and Type season 2, but thing is as much as last week the editing, sound issues and some lightning issues worried me, I kind of really enjoyed seeing my couple once again. It was just a bit different to the feeling in season 1 for me (it should be we're seven years in we're meant to have maturity, domesticity, and slower less angsty relationship from Tharn and Type) but yeh because of this different feeling I wasn't sure what to say about this show. But Episode 2 took me back to my love for this couple, and I couldn't help but go through excitement, tears and also just nostalgia for how much it called back to season 1.

 As much as Tharn and Type have grown up and had their issues, the way they settle them now is different, their dynamic is still the same they're still passionate and crazy about each other but its the little things as well that shows how mature they've become, even though Type may curse out everyone including Tharn because that's his personality its the softness from him for me that warms my heart, its the way he's absolutely devoted to Tharn: he still calls out his father and says he'll be a widower without him,(already seeing himself tied to him in a marriage without the actual involvement of the law and people), its the way he ensures that Tharn is protected from being hurt when cooking and worrying about the little scars on his hands, its the way he pridefully tells everyone who he trusts that he's looking at his man and he's not ashamed to look longingly and lovingly at Tharn as he sings their song. It's so beautiful, and it's just so incredible to see his growth and see how absolutely devoted he is to Tharn despite Tharn not fully seeing so. 

Tharn, on the other hand, is the same as always 100% focused Type and making sure Type knows he's his, I just love how they talk to each other, how despite fighting all the time for seven years they find it like a comfort to expose their flawed selves to each other knowing they won't back away. I love how Tharn and Type still have those moments where they show they clearly need each other for comfort and just warmth (cuddle scene and Tharn apologising) and I love how despite having disagreements they go back to normal the next day and ensure that they don't fight for too long. It's just precious and its what I love about them. And of course, their passion which one of the reasons for why they are so great, that chemistry has just gotten better and better and that kiss blew me away in the bathroom. Mew and Gulf are clearly now used to each other, and so much more in tune with each other, their chemistry, sensuality and seductive could be felt from the screen, and I felt like an interloper watching it. It made me scream, made me laugh, but it made me blush, and I remember how much Mew and Gulf engulf the whole show with their chemistry and passion. I'm jealous, to be honest about it all.

Other things to notice

Phu and Cir: They're adorable, their skinship shocked me wasn't expecting the amount of PDA we got from them but I ain't complaining it makes me appreciate this show even more. Phu and Gun are the antitheses to Tharn and Type, they're adorable and soft and proud of their relationship in public, they don't seem to fight or argue, and they have a sweeter dynamic to them, but I do hope for a plot for them instead of just cute stuff because I like their characters and I like the actors. But right now I see what they're here in the show for, they keep being a reminder to Tharn about his own hopes and dreams for what he wants from his relationship; he wants what they have, he wants to be overly affectionate in public and to able to call Type his in front of everyone just like Cir does. So they do have a use, and I don't want people to see them as like just fan service.

Fiat and Leo: Fiat is spoilt, and he gets his way we can see that he goes a bit unstable when Leo is away for a while. Almost he's reliant on Leo, and he's not used to being away from him. Leo is fiercely protective of Fiat as we see his friends keep updating and worrying about Leo's reactions to them not doing Fiats bidding or hurting him. For Fiat I love this actor, he's stubborn and like he doesn't give in typically, childish and immature, and I'm guessing Leo is the opposite. Still, Fiat reminds me of how I felt about Type, he's annoying and flawed, but he's somewhat lovable and intriguing. I can't help but want to care for his character and know more about him, and that's all because of his acting and charisma. I'm so excited to delve deeper into his character, and I can't wait to see how Leo plays a part in this.

The boss: Type isn't someone who likes to be patient so that he will explode later on this person. The question is why is the boss of Type so rude, and disrespectful, he's so like hyperfocused on trying to make Type seem so weak. From what Type has said its to do with jealousy, but I'm not really if that's all it is, he's jealous about Type being so handsome, and charismatic and liked by women that he feels some kind of inferiority complex? Because to be honest just because his girl hit on Type, it's very unprofessional of him to act this way, and I am not okay with it. I cannot wait to see Type punch the living daylights out of him. Eww

Khunpol and Champ: My babies, my soft, cute, sweet babies. They probably will be angsty soon, but I love them already. Champ is one fluffball so much more gentler than he was in Season 1, he's adorable, clueless about love and I'm sure Techno is going to play a massive role snooping and trying to set up Champ and Khunpol. As for Khunpol I can see already that baby boy has a crush on our Champ (even though Champ is so clueless) but the girlfriend mention and the relief on his face when he realises there is none, the way he laughs and gets excited when he saw Champ and a bit of disappointment when he saw Type walk into their conversation pretty much already tells me what I need to know about these two. Khunpol is shy and gentle and wouldn't really try to make anything happen, but he'll probably wait longingly for Champ to recognise how he feels. And Champ is going to be very naive and very dumb about the situation. They kind of remind me of King and Ram in my engineer, Khunpol screams King to me acts innocent and sweet like he doesn't know what's happening but secretly holding and panicking about feelings. And Champ is more like Ram,  a bit distanced from that feeling but soon will realise what's happening. Either way, my babies are making me so excited the way they make each other smile, the skinship from Champ to Khunpol which is automatic apparently and something he just likes to do because he sees Khun as cute and fluffy. Squeal, my heart is about to be stolen by these 2, can't wait to see how they unfold.

Overall this episode of Tharn and Type 7 years has been a blast from the past, I have had so much fun rewatching it and its made me so happy and excited for what's to come. If we get more stuff like this, then Tharn and Type is probably going to stay my favourite show. Still, I am so in love with everything in this so far/  I also wanted to say that it's nice to see them have conversations this episode about work and how they've changed, it's genuine and also very warm to see how they had grown up and graduated from uni when in the past season we watched their immature selves act childish and young and react that way in situations. This show is meant to be a more mature version of Season 1, and I think it's doing that so far. Also can Mew please stop looking so good? Like I can't deal with it, and Gulf as well likes in that uniform like please let me breathe. Haha. I can't wait for the next episode.

[cupstealer]

Re: your last ask.

I am also no longer into the fandom side of hockey anymore and hardly ever read fan fic anymore. (A senior thesis will do that to a person 😔) Buut I want you to know that I think about contact high on a regular basis. Once a week maybe type of regular, when I’m wishing I was reading something fun and not a science journal. Is that weird?! I mean I know that sounds a little crazy- but it might be the greatest fic I’ve ever read. While I was reading it I got the sense that it would be one of my favorites, but I had no idea how much it would still ruminate with me a year and a half later. I don’t think I can recall a single other rpf work like I can that one. You are such an amazing writer! And I hope you continue to write- whatever it may be that your writing about! 💕

(Sorry to keep putting these on y’all’s dash, but it’s the only way I can THANK these anons and they definitely need thanking.)

Your timing OP ;.; I really got this ask when I needed it most. 💕 Thank you thank you thank you! Sorry for the delayed response—it’s so hard to figure out how to thank somebody and explain how much words like this mean while not sounding like a flu patient or something.

To answer your question, it’s not weird! There are absolutely fics that live rent-free in my head to the degree that I’m basically sponsoring them on a permanent residency program [cut to footage of bring it if you really want it by staraflur]. And god, what an honor that Contact High is like that for you 🙏 Contact High is my favorite thing that I’ve written. A lot (pfff, all) of the content was so self-indulgent for me, just utter wish-fulfillment, which I usually try to dial back, but I wanted to see what might happen if I really leaned in instead. (The thing with toothpaste/walking in on someone actually happened to me when I was staying over at a friend’s house in high school... Sorry again to her brother, I promise I barely saw anything.) There isn’t a single element of that fic that I wasn’t excited about while I was writing it. And it’s that much more touching when the work that feels the most ‘me’ is someone’s favorite.

Anon, I hope you get some free time to read fun stuff soon! You deserve it. And good luck on your thesis! Defend that sumbitch like you’re Connor Murphy (no idea if it’s the kind of thesis you defend, but you get my meaning). Thank you again 💕

I am still writing, by the way! Just as slow as ever though, and for a very mixed bag of subjects! No hockey lately, though I have a few unpublished 1988 WIPs that I haven’t touched in a long stretch yet haven’t let go of either. Every fall, I pump myself up to roll up my sleeves and edit/finish this genre-confused frankenstein of a haunted house-type fic, and I haven’t given up hope yet! (Plus if I finish it, I can finally read jezziejay’s witch Jonny fic—which got posted while I was writing mine, and I made myself bookmark it for later so I wouldn’t be influenced or in my head about any overlap even though they’re almost certainly totally different in every way. I’m dying to read hers ;.;)

Hmm I hesitate to say this, but... If anyone is really interested regardless of fandom, there’s also an unorthodox fic I wrote as a Christmas present for my sister back in 2017 that she keeps telling me to post. (I know, and it gets weirder from there.) I think I want to but I’ve hesitated for several reasons. First: I need to re-do the ending now that I’m not scrambling to finish it on Christmas Eve. Second: It is a pairing that does not exist and kind of bananas. More info under the cut if you’re interested.

Basically, years ago, one of my sisters and I had a looong conversation about who was worthy of being shipped with Stacker Pentecost from Pacific Rim, and when none of the characters from the movie satisfied us, we reached out into the vast universe of basically anyone from any media to find him love, guess-and-check style. After literal hours, I brought up one of my favorite under-appreciated characters, Linus Caldwell from Ocean’s Eleven (Matt Damon). Which makes no sense, but doesn’t it a little? It became a running joke, and then a running a joke that I was gonna write it, and then not a joke. Ain’t that the way?

So yeah—Third: I’m hesitant to get somebody excited about a new hockey fic only to open the email and see it’s a batshit crossover that literally no one (except my sisters) is asking for. That being said, I started it as a joke/challenge, but ended up making something that I find quite a fun little ride because I was so loose with it (because, like, who’s ever gonna see this, right? Some real dance like nobody’s watching shit). I’ve written a bunch of stuff never meant to see daylight, but this fic in particular feels complete. It just has a lot going on (Hidden identities! Never Been Kissed-style fake student/professor tension! Chase scenes! Cameos! Close-up magic! Heist crew banter! Idris Elba’s North London accent! My total lack of military knowledge!). Also it’s over 30k words. (Yeah.)

Is there any interest in me posting this?? To be clear, I’m definitely not expecting it to be popular or anything, but taking the time to fix it up only makes sense if I know at least two people will lay eyes one it, lol. You don’t have to know both films really well for it to make sense, but familiarity with the Ocean’s trilogy and characters probably helps a lot for context since it takes place in between those movies. Goes without saying that no offense will be taken if there isn’t clamoring demand amongst hockey rpfers for 30k of Pacific Rim crossed over with a George Clooney movie franchise in a fic that has neither giant robots nor giant monsters (nor George Clooney, in any appreciable quantity)... Think I’m capable of taking that sentiment on the chin. 🤙

[lesbianlovelanguage]

YOUTUBER AU I’m such a fucking sucker for those. It can be anything you want really. Maybe they are friends doing a challenge or something and they end up kissing (or more ;)) or they could meet each other at like a creator even and take a pic together and everyone starts to ship them... :)

HI! Anon I am so sorry, life has been *general handwaving* a MESS. But, I’ve finally gotten most of my shit together and look! A fic! Finally!!! I hope you enjoy two ridiculous boys being ridiculous.

---

“You guys asked for it, and here it is. The explanation to Bendy and the Ink Machine! Now, I’ve watched a ton of playthroughs of this, especially The RatKing’s, as well as played through it myself, and I think I’ve got it.” 

Such a simple statement, it made it through both of the editors as well as Steve and Dustin themselves without raising any red flags. But as with everything, once it had been released on the internet it became fuel for fans to break apart and over analyze. 

The comments started pouring in, the standard mix of support and people trying to break apart his theory. But one comment in particular would stand out and begin something so much bigger than itself. 

Twenty minutes after Steve had pressed upload, someone with the username Random Hoe posted a comment saying Awe! A collab between you and Billy would be totes amazing!! While an innocent comment in itself, it began to pick up steam as people ranted and demanded for the two popular youtubers to interact more. It turned from video ideas to outright shipping within two hours, and only five hours after the video had been up, people began tagging Steve on Twitter with everything from edited screen grabs to fanart and video edits, all about Steve and Billy’s secret yet undying love for each other. 

Steve had almost quit Youtube as the fanbase for what had been dubbed “Stilly” steadily grew and became all the more ravenous. There were less and less comments and reactions to his theories, whether movie, video game, or even book related, and more and more comments about how he needed to do a collab with Billy ASAP, and how he’s queerbaiting, and how it’s okay to come out, it was 20Gayteen after all. He had tried to do damage control, but it only made things worse. 

And then someone showed Billy, and Steve not only wanted to quit Youtube, but also crawl under a rock. 

Billy’s only reaction to someone sending him a picture of Steve and Billy during a live stream was “Nice art, like the hair,” but Steve could have sworn his mouth twitched down in a grimace before Billy recovered his composure. 

But Dustin had convinced Steve to keep going, and with two months of no recognition or new content, the frenzy of Stilly shipping died down. It never disappeared, but no one sent anymore art to Billy and stopped tagging Steve in all of their posts. That had been in February. 

Vidcon was in June, and Stilly was the least of Steve’s worries. He’d been asked to host a panel on the new game show he and Dustin had begun hosting on Youtube TV about pop culture trivia, and then host a live episode with various Youtube guests as competitors. It promised to be relatively simple, a simple explanation of the origin and behind-the-scenes and a simple Q&A session followed by what he spent every Thursday doing for the past two months. And it was, him and Dustin breezing through the panel bouncing off of each other and the first round of Did You Know? You Don’t Say? flying by as the famed beauty guru aced almost every question. But once the second guest stepped on stage, Steve knew it was all going to go to shit. 

Because Billy Hargrove, The Rat King himself, swaggered out on the stage in flip flops and an Everlast crop top and flopped into the contestant’s chair with a smirk. Steve froze, mouth suddenly drier than a desert. 

Luckily, Dustin didn’t even stutter. “Ah! The next victim. Should we go easy on him?” He waggled his eyebrows as he asked the audience. The audience shouting brought Steve out of his daze, and with a shake of his head, he turned and spread his arms out wide. 

“Well then, let’s begin. So, Billy, Do you know what the rarest MnM color is?” 

The cocky smirk melted off of Billy’s face, replaced by one of thoughtful determination. He’s silent for only a moment before he looks up and says, “Brown, like your eyes, Pretty Boy.” Steve feels his pale skin flush with heat, but he coughs and tries to play it off.

“Quite the charmer there, Rat King. Luckily, your lines are actually true. One point! Let’s see it!” He calls out and then looks behind him to the television screen currently displaying the scoreboard. A large blocky 1 appears and the audience cheers. 

“Alrighty then,” Dustin says after the crowd dies down. “Next question. Billy, Do you know the original name of Istanbul?” Billy chuckles, and shakes his head.

“Easy. Constantinople.”

Dustin fake pouts and looks over to Billy. “None of that Rat King charm for me?” The audience laughs, and Billy chuckles before throwing a wink at Dustin.

“Not quite old enough to ride this ride, bud.” 

Dustin scoffs and shakes his head, making the curls bounce around wildly. “Whatever you say, old man. You did get it right by the way. Let me see another point!” Dustin mimics Steve and gestures towards the scoreboard which now shows a big, white 2. 

“Your turn, Pretty Boy. Give me something hard.”

“Alright. Let’s see.” Steve pretends to look over his notes before seeing the perfect question. “So, Billy, Do you know which two American states don’t observe daylight savings time?” Billy stares blankly at Steve. This was the final question in their lineup, but he had asked for a hard question. 

Luckily, Billy recovers quickly and clears his throat before giving another chuckle. “Damn, I know I said give me a hard one, but I wasn’t expecting that. I’m gonna go with Hawaii and Alaska?” Steve shakes his head and gives a small sigh. 

Dustin gives a little cheer, and then runs over to a table off to the side of the stage where they have a cue card that the contestant has to read off of if they lose. It was Dustin’s idea, the You don’t say? part of the title. It’s his favorite part of the show, because they get to see their contestants say some ridiculous things.

“Well, unfortunately, that was incorrect,” Steve announces over the booing audience. “And, following the rules, you now have to read whatever is on this card.” Dustin hands Billy the cue card with a wicked grin. 

Billy sighs and flips over the card. There’s a moment of silence as he reads over what the card says, and then he looks up at Steve and clears his throat.

“Would a Pretty Boy want to go out with me?” He says in a clear voice, gaze never leaving Steve’s. 

Suddenly too many things for Steve to process happen at once. He feels the heat return to his cheeks and his mouth dry out again, the audience goes wild, and a buzzer sounds, signaling that they were out of time for Did You Know? You Don’t Say? Dustin comes through and pushes a frozen Steve off-stage, where Billy is waiting in the wings. With the audience’s weighty gaze gone, the feeling returns to Steve all at once.

“What the hell man? What was that out there?” He hissed at Billy. The man simply shrugs and gives another one of his trademark smirks.

“Just giving the people what they want, Princess. Try to keep up.” And then he turns around, and walks away. Simple as that. Nothing to it. 

Steve wants to scream. Fortunately, he and Dustin have been friends for years, and he knows all of Steve’s tics by now. The stagehands shoo them from the wings, and he pulls Steve through one of the backdoors to outside the convention center. Somehow, he also procures a water bottle in the hustle, and hands it to Steve once they’re both sitting on the steps outside. Steve takes the water bottle gratefully and chugs half of it in one long gulp. He pulls it away and wipes at his face before sighing. He seems to deflate, like a balloon losing all of its helium at once, and Dustin puts an arm around him. It’s awkward because he’s shorter than Steve, but it’s still comforting nonetheless. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Dustin asks quietly.

“I- I’m so stupid. For just a second I thought it was real, but why would it be? What would someone like him see in someone like me?” Dustin lets out a huff before pulling away and turning towards Steve.

“Steve, buddy, pal o’ mine. You’re an idiot. If anything, he doesn’t deserve you. He’s a pompous ass for pulling a stunt like that. It’s bullshit.” 

“He could have anyone. Between his paycheck and his pecs, he’s one of Youtube’s hottest content creators.”

“Yeah, sure. But for the sake of alliteration, he also lacks personality. The guy’s a huge dick! And he proved it today. He knew that you wouldn’t shut him down and bitch him out on stage, so he thought it would be funny to pull that shit.”

“Yeah, he is kind of just a publicity-seeking asshole, you’re right,” Steve admits, feeling a little better, and a lot angrier. “You know what, Dusty-Poo? I’m gonna find him, and give him a piece of my mind.” He stands up, itching for a fight and knowing who to go find for one.

“Tha-that’s not exactly what I meant but sure! Go knock him down a peg.” Dustin stands up as well and follows Steve back onto the main showfloor. 

It takes about twenty minutes to find Billy amongst the crowd but Steve sees him, and locks in like a tiger stalking his prey. Or something cool like that. Thankfully, Steve doesn’t have to make a huge scene as he walks up to Billy and gets in his face. 

“You. Me. Conference Room 3. Now,” Steve says, poking a finger in the middle of Billy’s chest to emphasize his point. Billy chuckles, but still follows along as they walk into the empty conference room. Once they clear the doors and Steve hears them swing shut behind them, he turns to Billy.

“Explain. What the fuck was the point of that little,” he wavs his hand around, “stunt you pulled during the game show?” 

Billy raises an eyebrow. “Told you Pretty Boy. I gave the people what they wanted. 

“So that’s it? It was a publicity stunt?” 

“You tell me. You’re the one who started the whole thing,” Billy shoots back, still holding on to an air of nonchalance, but Steve can his patience waning.

“You- you mean the stuff from February? When I happened to mention you in one video? You think I meant for that shitstorm to start, for fun and publicity?” 

Billy only shrugs again.

“Okay. Nope. Again, I mentioned your channel one time, as a source. Gave credit where credit was due. I do it for all the channels I watch! I’ve mentioned Nancy’s channel like 8 times, and Jonathan’s too. Never had this shit started with them.”

“They’re married, Steve. Like super married. Of course it wouldn’t. We’re both single, queer youtubers. Of course shit’s gonna stop. Didn’t your agent or whoever look over your video?”

Steve huffs. “Oh yeah, let me just go hire an agent, cause I have such a need for someone to monitor my every move,” Steve snarked. Billy just looked at him like he had failed to add 2 and 3.

“You’re telling me you, part of one of the biggest channels on Youtube, don’t have an agent?” 

“We’re not one of the biggest channels, and we’ve never needed one! We’ve got our team of editors and assistants, no need for some agent.”

“Steve,” Billy says patiently, like he was explaining something to a child, “You have over 4 million subscribers. That’s a big channel.” 

“We’re still not one of the biggest channels, dipshit.”

“Oh, I'm the dipshit? I didn’t start a fucking fandom frenzy apparently by accident. Because I was smart and got a fucking agent.”

“You’re such an asshole.” 

“Whatever you say Princess.”

“Stop fucking calling me a princess!” Steve screams, voice booming in the silent conference room. “Why do you do that? Pretty Boy, Princess, Stevie? Just- just stop with the fucking nicknames. It’s not fair.” The second part of his outburst comes out as a whisper, sounding almost desperate. 

Billy was at a loss for words, but then again, he had always been more of a man of action. 

So he says nothing, only gives a seconds’ thought of what he was going to do, before lunging forward and doing it. 

Steve’s next words are muffled as Billy crashes their lips together with absolutely no finesse, teeth clacking. It probably constituted as the worst kiss Billy has ever had, but as he moves back, Steve grabs a fist full of blond locks and pulls him forward. Their 

second kiss is far better. By no means is it soft, but that was just par for the course with them wasn’t it? 

The kiss comes to a natural ending as they both pull back to breath, before Steve starts to giggle. 

“You really need to work on your pick-up lines, Rat King.”

A soft gasp from the doorway cuts off Billy’s retort, and they both turn to see a girl decked out in Youtube merch, including a jacket with the Upside Down Theories logo on it. She had dropped her backpack, and was open-mouthed gaping at the two. Her eyes are as wide as dinner plates as she frantically gathers up her backpack and shoots out of the conference room. 

“Chances that this blows up online by tomorrow?” Steve asks, turning to the blond next to him. 

“I’m betting in the next two hours, Pretty Boy,” Billy replies.

A wicked smirk creeps onto Steve’s lips as he shrugs and says, “Oops. What was that about getting an agent to help with this stuff?” 

---

Aside from this taking FOREVER, I hope you guys enjoy this! It was tons of fun to write.

tag team: @lostnoise @gideongrace @stevefuckingharrington @a-magey @catharrington @trashycatarcade @myboyfriendsteve @thesummerof84 @lightsupinthenorth @smashmouth-hargrove (lmk if you would like to be added/removed from the list!)

[finaledenialist]

Tell me if No Light, No Light by Florence and the Machine is not the most destiel song ever (from Dean's pov)!!!

Yes, of course!!! Amazing music taste Anon!!! ♡♡♡ (fun fact: I discovered this song years ago because someone made a Sherlock edit with this song - you know, s2 finale when he ‘dies’, so there is some additional superlock baggage here haha). 

But this song is SO GOOD. I mean almost the whole Ceremonials album is actually destiel (Seven Devils, Shake It Out, Never Let Me Go, All This And Heaven Too)... Florence Welsch heller confirmed? Hm? 

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes I never knew daylight could be so violent A revelation in the light of day You can't choose what stays and what fades away 

This is literally Cas’ death in 12x23, I will take no further questions

Through the crowd, I was crying out And in your place there were a thousand other faces I was disappearing in plain sight Heaven help me, I need to make it right

Not Dean seeing Cas everywhere in season 8, not Dean praying to God in s13 to bring Cas back. No. Nope. 

You want a revelation, You wanna get it right But it's a conversation I just can't have tonight You want a revelation, some kind of resolution You want a revelation

CONFESSION SCENE. That’s all I have to say.

Would you leave me, If I told you what I've done? And would you need me, If I told you what I've become?

Demon!Dean? MoC!Dean? Post-hell!Dean????? GOOD GOD 

[billyvision]

Just a list of songs that I’m manifesting someone makes an edit to for WandaVision/Wanda Maximoff/Vision:

Songs with Lyrics:

Pure Imagination cover by Fiona Apple

Do I really need to explain this one? Just listen to the lyrics. This song is WandaVision. Like “Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it...” 

Where is My Mind cover by Safari Riot

This would just be epic

Exit Music (for a Film) by Radiohead

This song reminds me of Vision and Wanda’s relationship in the series 

Black Magic Woman cover by VCTRY

Wanda, enough said. 

Jenny of Oldstones cover by Florence and the Machine

She do be dancing with her ghosts tho and she never wants to leave

Songs without Lyrics: 

On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter

It’s sad boi hours

Experience by Ludovico Einaudi

This song would be great for a retrospective on Wanda from her first appearance in the post credit scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier to the end of WandaVision, especially with the way the song continues to build. She has so much trauma. 

Remembrance by Balmorhea

This song just brings out the sad

Frankenstein’s Monster by Henry Jackman

If Wanda is going to do Magneto’s move in 1x05, she is going to benefit from some awesome Magneto theme music while doing it. Whether or not they end up being related in this show, this song is epic