#I’m playing it off like he made it sound like he’s a lot more essential to the mission than he did

[shaykai]

you make one bad choice in Hell/Bhaal's Realm and you're stuck with an evil alignment after. Just saying. Also if you finish that, then there's what comes After Irenicus. Heh.

ANSHSJJSHS THAT’S GOOD TO KNOW

I’m still a hero h a (accidentally saved over the save I had to maybe take up Sarevok’s offer to beat his face in, so I’m a good guy)

Side note- I’m a few hours into the Throne of Bhaal DLC and it’s willlllld

[itsnevercasual]

clarisse x reader where y/n had been noticing clarisse like getting distant( like not holding her hand for more then 4 seconds just small stuff that only y/n notices😭) and then the day percy breaks her spear she's mad and y/n trys calming her down but clarisse just yells at her about how clingy she is and to leave her alone and basically she regrets it and apologizes multiple times and after like a week y/n forgives her and it's cute (I NEEDDDD THE PLAYING HARD TO GET PLS I HATE WHEN SHE FORGIVES HER EASILY)

I Miss You, I'm Sorry

pairing: clarisse x apollo!reader

summary: clarisse is distant and cold, and y/n is officially done.

warnings: none?? i don't think?

-

you'd been with clarisse for around three years now. at first, a lot of people were confused. clarisse was, essentially, one big ball of anger, and you were a ball of sunshine. after a while, though, it made sense. you balanced each other out. plus, clarisse was a lot softer with you.

but recently, clarisse had been acting different. ever since percy jackson came to camp, actually. she was a lot more angry. and perhaps it was because you'd welcomed him to camp and generally tried to be nice to him. you couldn't help it, he reminded you of your brother, who had a mortal dad and stayed at home with your mom.

when you'd sneak to the ares table during meals, she'd hardly acknowledge you. when you tried to hold her hand, she'd let you, for all of six seconds. you weren't sure why. you hadn't done anything to personally anger her, had you?

you must have. because even as the two of you got ready for capture the flag, she ignored you.

"hey, claire?" you said, turning to her. you were just about the only one she let give her a nickname, and you'd settled on claire. "can you help me with my armor? i think it's crooked."

"you can do it yourself, i'm sure."

you frowned. she'd usually jump at the opportunity to help you- to touch you, to breathe the same air as you.

what did you do wrong?

you had one of your siblings fix it for you.

-

luke had outrun you with the flag when you heard a scream from the beach. you recognized it.

"clarisse!" you shouted, bolting towards the sound.

when you got there, you saw clarisse sitting before percy, her broken spear between them.

you ran to her side and helped her up as the other team began celebrating their win.

"claire, i am so sorry about your spear. we-- i can fix it! or i can have one of the athena kids do it! someone should know how, right? probably. yeah, we'll have them fix it, and it'll be-"

"can you just leave me alone?" clarisse snapped.

you froze. pulled your hands away, and retreated into yourself.

"oh," you said, clearing your throat.

"gods, you're just so clingy! i just need five minutes of peace."

"oh."

that's when she seemed to realize she hurt your feelings. she sighed, her face softening, "y/n-"

"i'm gonna go."

"i didn't mean it like that-"

"yeah. i'm sure you didn't."

you crossed your arms as you walked away, resisting the urge to cry.

-

DAY 1

during dinner that night, clarisse came up to the apollo table.

"y/n?" she asked.

you kept pushing the food around your plate, ignoring her.

"y/n." she repeated.

she sighed.

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean it-"

without saying anything, you stood up and walked off.

clarisse didn't follow.

-

DAY 2

you were sitting by the lake, your feet in the water. you heard someone come from behind, and you knew who it was.

you sighed.

“y/n..” she started.

“i’m not talking to you,” you stated. you crossed your arms and kicked your feet in the water.

“please, i’m sorry—“

“i don’t care. you really hurt my feelings, clarisse. you could’ve just told me you want space instead of acting like you hate me.”

“i don’t—“

“just go, clarisse.”

she sighed and didn’t fight you anymore.

-

DAY 5

clarisse had done what you asked for the past few days. she didn’t come up to you or try to apologize.

you were getting ready for bed, braiding your younger sister’s hair, when someone knocked on the cabin door.

assuming it was some late night check, you sighed.

“i’ll get it.”

you walked over to the door and opened it, and clarisse was standing there.

you didn’t even let her speak before you shut the door.

“who was that?” lee asked.

“no one,” you shrugged, sitting back on the bed and resuming the braids.

-

DAY 6

“why don’t you just talk to her?” percy asked you. you offered to help him train with the water as best as you could.

“because. i usually do, but she’s been rude to me for a few weeks now. i just wanna makes sure she knows i won’t put up with it.”

percy shrugged, “makes sense, i guess.”

even though you had a poker face around clarisse, it did make you sad every time you shut her down or pushed her away.

you just wanted your girlfriend back.

-

DAY 7

after dinner, you really just wanted to go to your cabin and sleep. however, when you opened the door, a bunch of candles were lit.

“what the—“

clarisse was standing next to your bed with a bouquet of flowers. they were your favorites— hibiscus. they didn’t grow anywhere near long island, so she must have gotten a demeter kid to get her some.

“i’m sorry, y/n. i shouldn’t have snapped at you. i just.. i’ve worked my whole life at camp to be recognized by my dad, and percy gets all this fame and glory in a few weeks. it’s not an excuse, but i just.. wanted to explain myself,” she said, extending the flowers toward you.

you kept your arms crossed.

“i want to be around you all the time. i didn’t mean to act like i don’t wanna be with you, because i do. i mean.. besides, who else is able to calm me down?”

and that made you laugh, “nobody,” you took the flowers. “thank you for the flowers. no one’s ever gotten me these.”

she shrugged, “i figured it was about time you got your favorite flowers.”

you smiled and quickly turned to her.

“so.. we’re good?”

“we’re good,” you nod and plant your lips on hers.

-

a/n: YAYAYAYAT FIRST CLARISSE IMAGINE / BLURB / DRABLE IDK THE CLASSIFICATION!!!!

[ladykailitha]

Exit Eddie Pursued By a Steve Part 2

As @a-little-unsteddie pointed out, I can't really call it one-shot Saturdays if it has more than one part (the tag made me laugh). But I'm not sure what to call it. It's essentially whatever story I have finished that isn't one of my big three (Well Met By Moonlight, Royal Pain, and Grief (A Friend Indeed)). Which would include one-shots, short stories (like this one) or long fics (like Find My Shade By the Moonlight, my Halloween one).

Part 1

****

“Holy fuck,” Jeff said. “He laughed at an Eddie-ism and not mockingly either.”

“His varsity ring,” Gareth replied numbly. “He gave Eddie his varsity ring.”

“That possessive draping his arms over Eddie’s shoulders...” Brian muttered.

Eddie just chewed happily on his pretzels as he watched his friends repeat all the things that Steve and he had done that morning.

“So...no broken hearts this fine Friday morning, is there?” he said into a brief lull in their retelling.

All three heads snapped his direction.

“How the hell did you manage to convince Steve Harrington to be your boyfriend?” Jeff asked.

“I really don’t think you want the play by play,” Eddie teased.

They all made gagging sounds.

Suddenly there were shadows standing above them.

Eddie looked up to see Tommy H, Carol, and about half the basketball team glaring at him.

“And how I can I help you gentlemen and lady today?” he asked, grinning around chewing on a pretzel.

“What did you do to Steve?” Tommy asked. “What spell did you use, man?”

Gareth snorted.

“This is serious!” Carol shrieked. “You tell your friend to undo whatever it was that he used to curse Steve.”

“Hon,” Jeff said with a raised eyebrow, “if Eddie could do magic don’t you think he would have magicked his way through school and not had to do a second time at being a senior?”

They all kind of looked at each other a moment before the muttering started.

Eddie just shook his head. “Maybe what swayed Steve was just good ‘ole fashioned being taken care of instead of having to take care of everyone else.”

He turned his head and could see Nancy and Jonathan close by listening to him.

“Because,” he continued a little louder, “if you lot had given as much of damn about him as he did about you, maybe I wouldn’t have had to adopt him like have all my other little sheep. So fuck off. And maybe ask Steve why he abandoned you lot.”

He waved them off and went back to eating his lunch.

*

Steve was showering after gym and could feel the eyes on him. He looked up to see that half of the boys showering were looking at him and the other half was avoiding his eye.

“Did theater turn you gay?” one of the guys asked.

Steve had give it to the kid for actually having the balls to say something. He sighed and turned off the water. “I like dicks and hard chests. I also like soft breasts and wet cunts. It’s not always an either or thing.”

Some of the guys started covering their junks and he laughed.

“Oh god, I don’t care about your dicks, for fuck’s sake,” he said rolling his eyes. He turned the water back on. “I’ve never looked at any of your scaly dicks. I can see how quickly you shower. I don’t need to look at your dick to know you didn’t wash it.”

Some of them ducked their heads as they knew he was talking about them.

“And don’t think for a second that I’m the only queer in this shower room either,” he continued. “You lot aren’t as slick as you think you are. Plus, what would I want with any of your dicks? Have you seen Munson’s? Take it from someone who has, it’s far superior to you lot.”

Steve finished up rinsing his hair and got dressed. The second he was out the door, the locker room erupted in a cacophony of gossip. He just shook his head.

*

Steve walked out to the parking lot where Eddie was waiting for him. He strolled right up to where his boyfriend was lounging against the driver’s side door of his van.

“Hey, honey,” Eddie greeted with a big smile. “Miss me?”

“Always.” Steve kissed him soundly.

Eddie pulled him closer to deepen the kiss, hands buried into Steve’s gorgeous locks.

When they finally broke apart, Eddie licked his lips. “Damn, Stevie, if you kiss like that all the time it’s no wonder all the girls are after you all the time.”

Steve draped his arms around Eddie’s neck. “Only you, sunshine.”

Eddie tucked his hands into Steve’s back pockets. “You got the play again tonight?”

Steve hummed. “And tomorrow, too.”

Eddie chewed his bottom lip. “I want you to meet my Uncle Wayne. Is it too soon?”

Steve shook his head. “I’d love to meet your uncle, baby. You just don’t want to meet my parents.”

Eddie pursed his lips. “You won’t get into trouble by dating me openly, will you?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t honestly know. But it wouldn’t matter if I did. I’d pick you over those jackasses that haven’t been around much since I turned sixteen.”

Eddie hummed. “Okay, baby. I just want you safe.”

Steve kissed him. “Thanks for that. But I’ll be fine.”

“So I’m coming to the play tonight,” Eddie said, “all proper, with a ticket and everything.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You hoping for a repeat performance after last night, Eds?”

“And if I was?” he growled in Steve’s ear.

Steve giggled. “I have an outfit that I’m actually wearing at the end of the play that I think you’ll enjoy a little more than the ballgown, baby.”

Eddie’s nostrils flared in want. “Yeah, honey, we can do that.”

Steve kissed him deeply. “Can’t wait.”

“What time do you have to be here tomorrow for the play?”

“I have to be here at three, why?” Steve asked, rubbing his nose along Eddie’s.

“My uncle has work at two,” Eddie explained, “so why don’t you come over tomorrow for lunch and meet him.”

Steve kissed him fiercely. “Okay, sunshine. I’ll bring pizza, is noon okay?”

Eddie nodded. “I’ll see you then, princess.”

They finally broke apart and Steve walked back the school.

Jeff shook his head and clacked his tongue. “Dude that was the most disgusting display of affection I’ve ever seen. And you’ve met my parents.”

Eddie cackled. “Just wait boys, I have feeling we’re about to get so much worse.”

*

Eddie sat in the back of the school auditorium and grinned when Steve came out in a yellow robe over just a corset and pantaloons with stockings and kitten-heeled shoes for the scene with Cinderella trying on the glass slipper.

Eddie ran his tongue over his lips slowly. Steve had been right. The ballgown had been a treat, but this? This was the fucking main course.

He waited until all the other guys had filed out of the drama room to enter. He nearly growled when he saw Steve draped against the sofa dressed as he was in the play minus the silk robe. Which was fair. That was a lot harder to keep out of the way.

“Like what you see, beautiful?” Steve murmured. He rand his hands down the corset and Eddie growled. And then pounced.

Sex that time was different. Now that they both knew that they were on the same page, it was both more tender and a lot raunchier.

When they were getting dressed, Steve hummed.

“You know,” he said. “you really are good at making sure there isn’t anything on the clothes.

Eddie huffed out a laugh. “That’s because if you’re sneaking around and don’t want people to know, you learn real quick the art of not letting it show on the outside.”

Steve stopped what he was doing and walked over to him. He lifted his chin and gave him a deep kiss. “You’ll never have to worry about that unless you want to. Like tonight and last night. This is just a bit of fun, but...” he held up Eddie’s right hand that held Steve’s varsity ring, “this is a full on declaration, okay? I won’t ever hide that I’m yours.”

Eddie nodded. “You’ve got it, sweetheart.”

“Good,” Steve murmured. “I’m starving and Benny’s has pancakes on special on Fridays.”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, baby, it’ll be my treat.”

****

Part 3

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @yikes-a-bee @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1

[collinrobinsonsglasses]

anon since this is my first time doing this but i’m fucking devastated after the news. i have a weirdly specific scenario in mind with izzy x gn reader where reader panics/overloads sometimes if the crew get too loud tg or unexpected canon fire etc but is usually able to hide it from the crew. maybe they’ve been stressed or on edge lately and they kinda shutdown infront of the crew. and izzy comes over annoyed at first but when he sees reader not responding he takes charge and emotional hurt/comfort essentially. idk if this is too formulaic so take creative liberty!

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

Masterlist

I loved this suggestion, and I hope it was what you're looking for. This is a shorter one. Lots of fluff and Izzy comfort.

Silence is Golden

This week on The Revenge felt like the longest and most exhausting since you first set sail with Stede Bonnet. The crew battled through multiple storms, tirelessly navigating the turbulent seas, constantly soaked to the bone. You had always been more sensitive than your crewmates. The sound of cannon fire made you want to seek refuge below deck, the sensation of your soaked clothes clinging to your skin felt unbearable, and it was impossible to ever get a moment alone on such a small ship. While you imagined that everyone experienced these feelings to some extent, for you, it often felt overwhelming. You had never shared this with anyone, striving to fit in and appear as a capable pirate. However, after this demanding week, everything began to weigh heavily on you. 

For that reason, relief washed over you when Captain Bonnet proposed that everyone take a vacation, emphasizing the importance of leisure. You yearned for some solitude, a chance to gaze at the waves and unwind for the first time in a week. Your hopes were swiftly dashed when Frenchie and Wee John enthusiastically began playing with the explosives. Realizing it was their vacation too, you silently moved further down the beach, not wanting to complain and spoil their fun. The explosions reverberated, rattling your head, and your body urged you to flee from the deafening sound. However, you found yourself sitting on a rock further down the beach, attempting to coax yourself into calming down. Perched on the rock, your right leg shook, fingers gently tracing the contours of a shell you discovered on the beach, all the while yearning for the explosions to cease. 

To add to everything, Buttons joined you on your rock, enthusiastically listing off every sea animal imaginable. At this point, you experienced a mental shutdown, unable to escape the sensory overload – it felt as if your brain had flicked a switch off. The following hours slipped away rapidly, leaving you in a dazed state that was far from relaxing. As everyone returned to the ship, preparing to set sail once more, exhaustion weighed heavily on you. Descending to sit on the stairs, you rested your head on your knees, not having the energy to help your crewmates on deck. 

Realization hit you suddenly, as Izzy’s raised voice echoed in front of you, though the words remained indecipherable. Lifting your gaze towards him, you observed the frustration etched across his face before his words finally sharpened into focus. 

“You’ve had an entire fucking day to do nothing,” Izzy sneered. “Get your ass to work. You’re acting like the rest of these lazy twats today.” 

You fixed your gaze on Izzy as he addressed you, your heart quickening its pace. Bowing your head back onto your knees, you attempted to curl into a tighter ball, wishing in that moment to vanish. Izzy’s words resonated, and you couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth in them. The realization of your own laziness brought a pang of guilt washing over you. The entire day spent doing nothing hadn’t brought you peace, but instead left you feeling worse than before. In the past weeks, you had grown closer to Izzy, sensing he tolerated you more than others. Now, you feared this display might change the dynamic between you. 

You felt the tender warmth of his hand as it gently scratched your head, his fingers moving through your hair in a soothing and affectionate manner. Then your arm was gently grasped, coaxing you to rise from your seated position. Placing both hands on the back of your shoulders, he guided you below deck and eventually to his cabin. Izzy’s unexpectedly gentle demeanor toward you caught you off guard; it wasn’t what you had expected. 

“Sit there,” he instructed, gesturing to the small bed in the corner of his room. “I’ll be back once we’re sailing away from this stupid fucking island.” 

The door closed, leaving you in solitude amid the quiet of Izzy’s cabin, comfortably seated on his bed. As you breathed in, the hush within Izzy’s quarters contrasted with the bustling activity above deck. Reclining on Izzy’s bed, you focused on your breath, and after a few minutes, a sense of relief gradually washed over you. It seemed like you hadn’t been alone for weeks, and you savorted the silence within the cabin. After a while, Izzy returned, his presence prompting you to sit back up on the edge of his bed as he stood before you. Contrary to Izzy’s typical expression of anger, you noticed concern on his face instead. 

“What’s wrong?” Izzy inquired softly, kneeling down to meet your gaze. 

“Just overwhelmed,” you whispered back, avoiding eye contact and feeling a twinge of embarrassment admitting this to one of the most renowned pirates in history. “Haven’t had decent sleep all week and the explosions were too loud. I sort of shut down. It’s stupid.” 

Izzy joined you on his bed, and for a moment, he seemed to contemplate. Then, you felt his arm wrap around your shoulder. “It’s not stupid. Everyone needs peace and quiet sometimes. Especially being around these fucking idiots all of the time.” 

“Pirates shouldn’t panic at the sound of cannon fire, Iz,” you replied, not convinced by his words. 

“Pirates shouldn’t be afraid of spiders, yet Blackbeard is terrified of them. Anyone questioning your status as a pirate can fuck off. You’re one of the hardest working people on this crew,” Izzy retorted, his tone resolute. “That's why I like you.” 

“Thanks, Izzy,” you replied quietly, a smile gracing your lips. You had always enjoyed Izzy’s company and sensed he had a stronger connection with you than with the others, so hearing him express that he liked you was nice. It didn’t appear to be an easy thing for him to admit. You reached down toward his hand, squeezing it for a moment. “I’m feeling better than before. Your room feels very safe.” 

“You’re always welcome in here,” Izzy said, a hint of bashfulness in his tone. “If you're feeling overwhelmed or need a break, just tell me, and I’ll fuck off.”

“No, I don’t mind if you stay,” you whispered, a warm feeling spreading in your chest. “You feel very safe too.” Letting your head rest on Izzy’s shoulder, you noticed a smile stretching across his face from the corner of your eye. Both of you sat there for a while, absorbing the silence, enjoying each other’s close company.

[rhaegang]

Free use Ollie? At saltburn just chilling when Felix comes up, bends him over and fucks him wherever he happens to be.

I mean if you want to describe what is essentially Oliver’s idea of a perfect life this isn’t far off tbh.

The first thing to understand is that this isn’t who he is. Not in any other context. Not in any other place. Oliver isn’t…he isn’t a slut. He’s not a virgin, no, but he isn’t some desperate, needy thing who bends over for it either.

It’s just this place. The way everything and everyone in it is all covered in Felix, like he’s actual fucking glitter that’s all over, in the fibers of the carpets and in the texture of the wallpaper and poisoning the cabernet Oliver is served in the evenings. This place, and this infection called Felix — it’s made Oliver sick. Please understand.

It’s like being in a place that doesn’t exist. It’s like being on stage in a play, merely make believe. That’s what it feels like to walk the halls of Saltburn house. Especially because there’s always, always an audience.

In hindsight, Oliver ought to have considered that more carefully. He’d been seen with Venetia. It had been completely foolhardy to think that no one would have seen him slip into and out of Farleigh’s room.

Who it was, or how it came to be that what they saw made it to Felix’s ears, Oliver chooses not to question. Because it’s pointless to know who, or how, or why; the only thing that matters is the what. And what happens is this:

Felix, with a tight smile, and a wink, ushers Oliver into a room — one of over one hundred fifty, does it matter which — early in the morning. The furniture is old, and the art is priceless, and Oliver would not have imagined it would happen ever, let alone that it would happen here in this room that means nothing, but Felix throws him, physically throws him, down over a chaise.

“You lied to me, Ollie.”

About a lot of things. He isn’t sure which thing this is about. He isn’t sure how to formulate a defense. He opens his mouth, regardless.

“You got with my sister, and you lied, and even though you knew what…what I said, you went and got with my fucking cousin, too. What am I meant to make of that? What do you want me to think of that? Of you?”

“I’m sorry—”

“For what? For being such a slag?”

“Felix.” That’s what comes out of Oliver’s mouth. A default sound that he wheezes when struck, like an oough or an oof, more about the release of it than anything.

“Do you have any idea how terrible you’ve made me feel, Oliver?”

He shakes his head. He truly doesn’t. He doesn’t know what about his transgressions should make Felix feel terrible. Terrible, not gross or disgusted or disappointed or—

“It’s fucking hurtful.” Felix’s eyes are wet, even though his fists are solid. “How you’ll just give it up for anyone, anytime, except for me.”

“What?” A croak of a question. Oliver doesn’t recognize his own voice.

Again. Please understand. It’s this place. It’s not real. None of it ever feels real.

“You’re a fucking slut, Oliver. And here I thought you were mine.”

“I am!” Are they lies, or lines, or the only words Oliver’s ever meant in his entire life? “I am! I am, I am—”

“Are you? You haven’t fucking been acting like it!” And something breaks, something expensive and irreplaceable, when Felix throws it, gouging the wainscoting in the process.

“I am! I will!” He will. Oliver will do whatever he needs to do to prove it. Because it’s here, in this nowhere room with Felix on the verge of tears, more upset by his own violence than Oliver is, that Oliver understands why it was he put his mouth between Venetia’s legs, why he crawled atop Farleigh’s hips instead of merely snatching his mobile while he slept.

He did those things because he is Felix’s, but Felix wasn’t taking what was there for the taking. Oliver hadn’t understood the exchange before. He hadn’t known how explicit he needed to be in his offer. But, he realizes, he was trying to show Felix it was available. If he wanted it.

He hadn’t been foolhardy in thinking he wouldn’t get caught. He had been hoping for it.

“Whenever you want,” he mumbles, reaching his for his belt. “Whatever you want. For as long as you want.” Oliver, frantic, shoves his shorts down, peels his polo shirt up, off. He kicks his clothes aside, sandals slapping the wall.

He’s been naked in front of Felix before, but not like this.

“Whenever.” Felix’s teary eyes are narrowing. His pout has twisted with suspicion. “Whenever and whatever I want.”

“Yes.” Oliver nods, and he thinks his might choke on his own saliva from how hard he swallows. “Anywhere. You don’t even have to ask. It’s always gonna be yes, anyway. ‘Coz I’m yours, yeah?”

“You’re mine.” Felix still seems to doubt him. “Mine, not theirs. Not yours, even.”

Please. Please understand. The heat. The thickness of the film of L'Eau D'Issey that coats everything. The glitter of Felix in the white sun, blinding him. Understand. Understand.

“Not mine. Only yours.” As he says it, as he gives Felix this, and sees the relief and gratitude spill out of him like the glow from a lighthouse, Oliver feels more powerful than he has ever, ever felt.

How simple a thing it is. It costs Oliver so little to purchase Felix’s happiness. Yet it’s beyond ecstasy to have the only currency valuable enough to do so.

He goes to his knees. He offers his mouth.

And that’s what happens.

The first time.

[gremoria411]

Alright so, new Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance 5-minute clip, looking to be the opening of episode 1. This’ll probably be my last post on the series until it actually comes out, so I’m gonna talk about the clip itself and predictions for the series in general (and maybe a few other things).

Yeah, it looks pretty good overall.

The Good

The mobile suit animation’s nice and smooth, the visuals are gorgeous (I particularly like the redesigned GAW and Dopp aircraft). I really like the look of the rest of the Red Wolves squad’s Zaku’s, and the score sounds nice. We still haven’t seen anything of the plot or any non-Zeon characters, so it’ll be interesting to see how they play this (they seem to be building up the Gundam as this horrifying monster, which is a neat take). We know the team is operating in Romania on November 6, which puts them very close to the Battle of Odessa on November 7th. It’s unlikely that they’ll be directly involved in the battle (otherwise we probably would’ve seen it in the trailers), but it seems likely that they’ll be involved in the fallout as the Federation begins to get its act together. This is also fun as Odessa is the Federation’s first deployment of their GM units (specifically GM Ground Types), which Zeon has no experience against. The existence of a Gundam on top of that is essentially the worst-case scenario for any Zeon Force, so suddenly Iria’s look of horror has some nice context to it. There’s obviously a lot of influence from Gundam Igloo, so it’ll be nice to see that too. I’m personally really hoping we see some space combat, but I won’t be too disappointed if that isn’t the case.

The Bad

Voice acting and lip-synch are looking kinda rough - buuut we kinda already knew that from the previous trailers (like that pink-haired soldier). And honestly, I don’t think it’s really an all-over problem, just a few specific performances - a lot of the bit soldiers were pretty good and, though maybe this is just me, it’s probably going to have a Japanese dub track, so if the voice acting’s flat enough then I’ve no issue watching it subbed (not that that’s a solution I’d suggest for everyone, obviously). It’s also possible that the actors were given poor direction with what the scene was going to be, hence their performances feeling disconnected.

I do feel like it’s suffering a bit with it needing to “set-up” Gundam a bit - the two soldiers conversing where one says “yeah, I’m looking forward to going back to my girlfriend, in space” then gets shot shortly after. Like, if he had been shot by a mobile suit than I would’ve said that was Gundam in its bare essentials, but it does feel like there’s an….. obligation? Towards it? Sorta like “yeah yeah, war is hell and all that, oh gotta mention that we’re a sci-fi property too, that’s important….”. I don’t know, it’s just I can quote multiple scenes that have done a better job of establishing stakes and tone like that off the top of my head, so Requiem for Vengeance’s take just feels pretty flat. Also - and this is very nitpicky - the individual space colonies in the sides have names, like Tigerbaum or Achilles, so the soldier could’ve just said “my girlfriend in the Achilles space colony” or something. Yeah, it’s still a bit hackneyed but it would’ve made more sense. Dang, if only we’d solved Gundam’s need for set up back in 1979, isn’t it a shame we can’t take 20-30 second to be like “Oh hey, Zeon declared Independence and now there’s a war on *shot of operation british*. It’s not going well though”. C’mon guys we already cracked this, what’s the issue?

The character animation’s rather lacking too - I don’t know much about Unreal Engine, so it’s possible that it’s rather tricky to animate convincingly using it and they wanted to use those resources on the Mobile Suits, but several of the Zeon and Federation Soldiers just look like tap-dancing deer in headlights in the opening scenes. The Tanks….. I’m probably remembering IGLOO’s animation as better than it was, but they feel so cumbersome here, and the way that the Federation tanks just line up behind each other when attacking feels kind of lazy - especially since they outnumber the Zeon tanks nine-to-four.

Other stuff

There’s been basically nothing on the characters as yet, so there isn’t really anything to go on in terms of personality. Honestly, it could go either way with them, though I fully expect at least one of Iria’s wingmates to be killed (likely by the enemy Gundam, but it might be thematically interesting if an enemy tank gets them). Furthermore, it looks like one of the tank commanders seen in the clip is going to be a recurring character, which’ll be interesting. It’s unclear as to whether Newtypes will feature - Iria has an explanation on what they are but it’s unclear if this is just scene-setting or not. I’m not really sure how they’d fit into the plot, so I guess it’ll be a wait-and-see affair. I’m also still interested in seeing if we’ll get anymore kits out of this - I can’t imagine there’s any reason we wouldn’t see some more Zaku’s or the new GM, since most of the design work is already done. I’ve noted previously that the “new” Gouf Custom design appears to be so it will require the minimum amount of work to turn into a kit, since it’ll most likely be a variant of the existing one.

Apologies if this posts a good deal more scattershot than usual. It was partially to collect my general thoughts on the new clip in general, and also because I wanted to interrogate my own thoughts a little bit. This is because my immediate thought at the end of the clip was: “Man, Code: Fairy was crap”And I have absolutely no idea what brought that on.

[spock-in-awe]

Star Trek Las Vegas 2023

It's been almost a week and I finally typed up my convention experience! I'm not going to go into the 2600+ word level detail but there are certain moments I really want to share. I'm wholly hyperfixating on Ethan, so I'm sorry I didn't get more of Anson's thoughts and comments!

I talked with Anson Mount once and Ethan Peck twice. Both of them are extremely kind! I told Anson that Hell on Wheels is one of my all-time favorite shows and finding out he was involved with "a certain show we can't name" made me so happy. He kind of did an eyebrow thing and said, "You can talk about the show," and I laughed. Obviously, I'm not the one on strike!

With Ethan, I showed him a Spock playing cello piece of fanart, and told him I also play cello. We talked about that for a little bit. My second time meeting him, I asked a question I had intended for his panel with Anson: what is a moment you might have spontaneously erupted into song that you're comfortable sharing? He replied very quickly that it would probably be a situation where he's ribbing his friends.

Random things from Anson and Ethan's panel on 8/6/23

-Ethan was all over the place as a child. His father gave him a rock that said "focus."

-Ethan claimed he only learned to act "like five years ago."

-When Anson gave Ethan compliments, Ethan thanked him and hugged him. When Ethan gave Anson compliments, he mentioned SNW by name and heavily regretted his lapse in the strike protocol.

-In response to a fan question, Ethan said "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is his favorite musical.

-In response to a fan question, Anson said he eats "whatever the fuck I want." Ethan added pretty much the same, but he really likes candy.

The next two I wrote down verbatim from my videos.

A fan asked about what they hope would remain after losing their memories.

Ethan: So the question is… you lose your memories, so what are you? (Pause). Huh. (Fan apologizes). No, that’s a great question! So, we all experience ourselves experiencing, right. There’s no singular awareness, there’s almost two. There’s the thing, the construct that interacts with the world, Ethan, for instance. And then there’s something in my that experiences Ethan experience. So maybe that other perspective, that awareness deep inside that seems to observe Ethan experiencing, that might be what’s left. And would hopefully be amused and continue to be thrilled, and surprised by the things that happen, right. I think it’s a wonderful goal to be present in the moment, so maybe it would be something like that.

A fan asked about organizations they're part of.

Ethan: …And they are working to restore the California wetlands, which is a very important agricultural space and um, you know, I’m still working to become better educated on how exactly they do it, but they work with an enormous team of biologists, and a lot of water has been pumped out of these natural aquifers in California. And it has compressed the soil so when it rains, they call it a hard pan, the water just runs off and there are floods and then droughts. So they are working to restore those underground water vaults, essentially. It’s an amazing organization. River Partners.org. Hopefully I’ll be working more formally with them upcoming. I think it’s just a really– you know, I’m a California, my father is, my grandfather (people cheer) (Ethan makes a laughing “chaaa” sound) I guess it’s something to applaud. I love California. It’s affecting my immediate geography and my home. And they’re working really intelligently to fix this problem which has major effects. You now, there’s a lot of produce that comes out of California to the rest of the country, a lot of water that comes from California to other parts of the country as well. So, check it out. Furthermore, I’m hoping to work more with JPL actually, Jet Propulsion Laboratories, in Pasadena. Because I want to, if I can, help spread interest in rational thinking (laughs). (can’t understand). And it’s a natural fit, you can use your imagination as to why.

Random things from Zachary and Ethan's panel on 8/6/23

Both Zachary and Ethan seemed absolutely thrilled to be on stage together.

According to Ethan, they hadn't ever met in person, and had spoken only briefly. Ethan said, "This is tripping me out."

Zachary talked about losing his father at a young age. Ethan shared feeling emotionally unsafe in certain circumstances as a child, and how he felt the need to intellectualize or tamp down those vulnerable emotions. Zachary said, "Similar!" Both referenced doing a lot of work (Zachary specifically said therapy), to counter these tendencies.

Zachary asked Ethan if he's done any stage work. Ethan confessed to being terrified of live audiences, which elicited a chuckle from the audience. Ethan added that because of this fear, he should probably do it.

One fan in line to ask a question ended up getting a free photo op with the two of them because she said she couldn't afford it!

That same fan asked about their hobbies. Zachary talked about plants and how he not only wants to keep them alive now, but propagate them.

Ethan: I started sailing lessons this year.

Zachary: That tops plants.

Ethan: I don’t know about that, plants are incredible. I hope it’s (sailing) something I can do as I age.

Zachary: Were you nautical? 

Ethan: No (chuckles). Not at all.

Zachary: Any interest or exposure to that before?

Ethan: No, not really. I’d been sailing once or twice but it’s funny, I kind of hate the beach. I don’t actually hate it. I hate sand, I hate sand being in my bed. That’s the main thing. It’s hard to avoid. I like looking at it from either the shore not in the sand, or on a boat.

Zachary said many positive things about the ST fandom. He also shared how important his relationship with Leonard Nimoy was. That Leonard passed the torch to him, and now he gets to pass it to Ethan.

IT WAS ALL AMAZING.

[dvrk-moon]

LOVE ME (NOT) - YANG JUNGWON

TEASER 3

synopsis : fake dating your enemy, yang jungwon, for the sake of getting your mutual friends to stop playing matchmaker is the worst idea you've ever heard in your life. however, it's a bit more enticing when $100 is thrown in the mix.

word count : .5k

warnings : cursing, one suicide joke

featuring : newjeans minji, zerobaseone gyuvin

genre : enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, slow burn, jungwon x fem!reader, private school au, high school au

playlist : tba

expected release date : early april as of right now

v. $100 IS $100

The following day, you, Minji, and Gyuvin were all situated at Minji’s house, in her living room. Minji was sitting in an armchair, Gyuvin was on the sofa, and you were sprawled out on the floor, in yet another dramatic mood.

You recapped your two best friends on the incidental Saturday lunch, not missing any details. From the presence of Jungwon, especially to the comment Wonyoung made about you two getting together. The whole entire story was crazy to you and reliving it through your storytelling made you almost shiver in fear.

“And she went, ‘we will help you from the sidelines’,” you lamented, “like who says that?! I get that she has no idea about the rivalry, but he and I aren’t even cute together. He’s short.”

Gyuvin let out a hearty laugh at your comment, “Y/N, you are also short.”

“Besides the point!”

“Your life does not even sound real,” Minji said, “and it’s so hard to not laugh, I’m sorry.”

You groaned from your spot on the floor, sending Minji a side eye, “Is my life some joke to you two?!”

“A little bit.” Gyuvin laughed out.

You rolled your eyes and flipped over onto your stomach, “This is so not funny.”

“Have you thought about just telling Wonyoung to back off?” Minji asked.

“Yeah, I have, thanks.” You replied sarcastically. You craned your neck to look at your best friend, “I haven’t done it because I know for a fact she would ask why. And I don’t wanna get into all of that, especially because her boyfriend is best friends with the devil in question.”

Minji snorted, “You two should just fake date. That’d get Wonyoung to back off.”

You immediately sat up, “Are you crazy?! Absolutely not!”

Gyuvin agreed from his spot, “Minji has a point. Maybe you two could even become friends along the way.”

Shaking your head profusely, you shot a look at Gyuvin, then at Minji, “You guys are crazy.”

“What if,” Minji proposed, “you did it for money? You just told us about how your workplace is shutting down. Plus, you need the money. You’re broke as fuck.”

“Ouch.”

“She’s right, I hate to admit it.” Gyuvin said, shrugging.

“Oh, absolutely not. I may be broke but not broke enough to date Yang Jungwon, even if it’s fake.”

“How about this?” Gyuvin challenged, “If you can successfully fake date this guy until your pretentious-ass Ivy Hills masquerade dance in a couple weeks, I’ll give you $50. But only if you also go to the dance with him.”

“It’s like you want me to kill myself.”

“I’ll also give you $50.” Minji said, raising her eyebrows.

The Ivy Hills masquerade dance was essentially a more talked-up prom, but from what you’d heard, it was held in an old ballroom and the funding was insane. To have that experience be ruined by having Jungwon as a date did not sound enticing in the slightest, but $100 dollars did.

Plus, Gyuvin was right. It would only be a couple weeks.

“You guys drive a hard fucking bargain, I hate you two.”

“Damn,” Gyuvin laughed, “your ass really is broke. $100 to date your alleged enemy, and you’re sold.”

“I haven’t agreed!” You reasoned, trying to defend yourself.

“We both know you will, Y/N.” Minji cocked an eyebrow.

“I really, really hate you two.”

a/n : one more lmn teaser and then i’ll post the whole thing soon… i like this one a lot. maybe not as much as emu but it’s pretty close and i can’t wait to share it with you guys

[meltedbluecaterpillar]

Wrapped Around You

ch. i - you are here! - ch. iii

A/N: This is the second chapter... Azul is someone I wouldn't be able to stand if I met him in person.

tags: Yan!Azul Ashengrotto x  Mai Bouquet, stalking, aged up au (they are both 25+), suggestive content wc: 3.5k+

Mai looked around nervously as she sat in the passenger seat of the fancy looking black car. Deep violet seats made of imported leather, an extravagant control panel she was too afraid to touch. The interior smelled faintly of dried flowers and there was the faint sound of jazz music playing for ambience. “Azul is thrilled to have you stay with him. He’s been making preparations all afternoon.” Jade cooed sweetly as the drive continued. Mai folded her hands with a soft smile and nodded. “Well, I’m really happy he’s letting me stay! At least long enough for me to get my life back together.” Her shoulders sagged, her cider colored hair falling around her as she sank deeper into the seat. “It just feels like my head is spinning. Everything just happened all at once.” She sighed and turned to look out of the window. The streets had long grown unfamiliar to Mai as they traveled further and further to the suburbs of the city. 

Azul had gotten himself a house farther out with plenty of peace and quiet. The Tweels visited him often, and Jade usually played the role of a pseudo personal assistant for Azul. Usually in exchange for a favor, or just because Jade was in the mood to be nice. Azul had made a deal with Mai, asking that she only pack some essentials in a small bag while he worries about the rest. When she questioned his reasoning, she was given an indirect answer. Azul suggested she should focus on de-stressing first. He was trying to help. 

“We’re here.” Jade sang as he parked in front of a very large manor. There were gorgeous stone stairs leading up to the door with bushels of pretty pink flowers. They caught Mai’s eye. She didn’t think Azul was a fan of such a soft pink. Jade opened the door for Mai, helping her out as she glanced around in awe. It was very different from her little apartment. And slightly overwhelming. “Doesn’t Azul live alone?” She asked as she looked over the enormous home, flinching when Jade slammed the trunk shut and appeared with her blue duffle bag in hand. “He does. Well, now you’re here.” He joked with a warm smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he returned her bag to her and strolled back to the car. “You aren’t coming in?” She looked at Jade, then the steps ahead. “No, I have a few more errands to run, Azul should be waiting for you in the common room.” The conversation was cut short by the twin as he got back into the car and drove off to complete his ‘errands’. Mai was alone now. 

She climbed the stone steps while glancing at the flowers and then the large door. “What’s a common room?” She whispered in confusion as she reached the heavy looking door. Should she knock? Is there a camera or doorbell? There was a lingering anxiety building in her chest as the weight of the situation started to settle in. Mai is going to stay with a male friend. One that she had felt romantically interested in. She let out a yelp of surprise when the door had yanked open, and a kind smile greeted her. “There you are! Come in, please!” Azul greeted cheerfully. His welcoming energy washed away the fears she had as she entered with a grin of her own. “It’s so nice to see you, Azul. Thank you for giving me a place to stay. Once I get everything figured out, I’ll be out of your hair.” She assured him with a small bow of her head. Mai didn’t want to burden him in the slightest. And seeing him dressed in black slacks, shiny brown shoes, and a lavender button up didn’t help. The anxiety returned. 

But she needed some time to figure her life out again. 

“Mai, we're friends. I would never see this as an inconvenience. That is why I offered.” He reminded her as Mai glanced around the interior of the manor. Shiny wood floors, lots of odd and charming statues with nautical designs. Paintings of the sea, glass jellyfish lights dangling from above. So much to take in as Mai followed Azul took her duffle bag to carry as he walked her through the home. “I was so ecstatic when you reached out to me. It’s been far too long.” Azul beamed as he brought her into a kitchen that was far too large and spacious. It felt lonely. “You’re free to use this space as often or as little as you would like to. Usually I have my staff prepare meals here, but if you prefer to cook for yourself I understand.” He spoke as they continued on. There was a library, Azul’s office is where Mai could usually find him, the laundry room, the many bathrooms, guest rooms, and many rooms that were currently off limits. Azul just said they were under renovations. As they climbed the stairs, Azul pointed out a few more rooms. His own bedroom, if there was any reason Mai needed to find him at night, a bathroom that was dedicated to Mai, and just down the hall was a bedroom that had been cleaned and organized for her stay. “I hope it’s comfortable. I’m hoping that sometime tomorrow we can go out, pick up anything you might need.” Azul offered kindly as Mai opened the bedroom door with a pounding heart. 

This felt like a lot. Mai was happy enough to have a place to stay. She would have settled for a small loft space, but seeing that she was given such a spacious bedroom made her somewhat uncomfortable. A personal balcony, a huge wardrobe, a huge wall mirror, a bed large enough to comfortably fit three of her. In one corner was a wooden vanity, painted crystal blue with a cushioned stool in front of it. On its surface was a box wrapped in pale pink paper and a white ribbon. “Mai?” Azul called out to her and she jolted, turning to face him as he held her bag out for her to take. “Y-Yeah, we can go tomorrow…” She agreed as Azul’s eyes started to sparkle. “Wonderful, if you need anything, I will be downstairs in my office.” He cooed before leaving the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Mai let out an exhale she didn’t realize she was holding. 

“I should be grateful…” She whispered to herself, unpacking the bag on the large bed. The sheets were patterned with little cartoon fish and there was an assortment of pink and blue pillows. “Azul didn’t have to do this for me…” She laid out her clothes and other personal things before promptly putting them away. The bag was now emptied, and she traveled to the vanity where the little box was. Azul didn’t mention it at all when he came in. Was it a surprise? She pulled at the ribbon and the paper fell apart elegantly on the wooden vanity. The box had a transparent window made of plastic. Inside was a ceramic coffee mug. Elegant and small, a delicate pastel blue. It was the perfect size for a daily dose of caffeine and fitting in her hands. 

She smiled as she pulled the mug out of the box, looking it over with a soft gasp of surprise. Around the rim on the inside, was her name in gold, painted on the bottom was a shimmering oyster with a pale pink pearl. This was her mug and only her mug. 

She decided that tonight she would make herself some coffee and truly settle into her new environment. Azul was just trying to be nice. That’s all. 

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

Mai had started to feel uncomfortable with living with Azul. She knew he meant well, but it was starting to get overwhelming. The day after her arrival, Azul had taken her shopping for an entirely new interior. All new bedding, decor, and just about anything Mai happened to glance at. The amount of money that Azul was willing to spend made her stomach ache. She wasn’t able to speak up about it, simply being shushed by Azul with a “It’s no trouble at all!” and they continued.

The day after, Mai had gotten up to make herself coffee with her new mug, going through the many boxes and choices of coffee brands and flavors patiently. But within that short timeframe, Azul had gotten Mai a gift and left it on her bed. An expensive perfume from a designer brand. The smell wasn’t something she was particularly fond of, but after seeing the price of it online she felt as though she had no choice but to wear it. The gifts continued, amping up with every passing day. Azul was just being nice. That’s what Mai thought at first. But it wasn’t just gifts, it was some of the things Azul would say. When she mentioned looking into school again during a car ride to lunch, Azul seemed dissatisfied with the idea. “Well why don’t you take time to think about it a little more? What if this isn’t what you want? You’ll thank me later.” He shut the conversation down quickly. Another instance was them getting coffee in the morning together. Mai excitedly brought up how she might have a chance to be rehired at the café she was previously fired from. She had contacted her old manager and was gently told over text that she was fired due to not enough payroll. But hopefully that would change. Azul huffed as if he was annoyed with the information. “The Orange Bird Café is such a shabby establishment. You’ll never be happy there. Why don’t you work for me? I can easily take you to and from one of my branches.” He offered with a soft smile, holding a mug of his own in hand. 

Mai stopped mid-sip. She never told Azul the name of the café she used to work at. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she hugged her mug close with an awkward smile. “But, we already live together. Won’t you get sick of seeing me-”

“Never.” Azul’s tone was firm as Mai snapped her gaze in his direction. The conversation was dropped, and they continued through the day as normal. The next day she had received yet another expensive gift, carefully wrapped in lavender colored paper and white ribbons. Inside made her face flushed as she awkwardly shoved the item into an empty gift bag. Her face hot and her head now spinning. “What kind of woman does he think I am?!” She snapped to herself, rushing to the wardrobe to get dressed. She needed to talk to Azul about his recent and very overbearing behavior. Silky black lingerie, small and tight fitting. A babydoll lingerie that was clearly designed to accentuate her breasts in the naughtiest way possible. The see through fabric was like thin tendrils, tickling the flesh of her upper thigh and hardly covering anything below. The most humiliating part? Crotchless panties with a floral design, easy to rip off, but there would be no need with the ease of entry below. They looked like a bundle of strings, so small and skimpy Mai expected they would only fit over one of her thighs. That was the last straw.

Mai put on a long pink dress with little white flowers, soft to the touch and a little tight around her chest. Pairing it with a fluffy green cardigan that only exposed her round little fingers, and finally the pair of white slippers. All things Azul had gifted her. But she didn’t bring much else, and she had not yet seen any of her personal things from her apartment since she had been staying with Azul.

Something absolutely feels wrong.

She opened the door and looked into the hall in hopes of spotting Azul. She had so much she wanted to say, all out of frustration… But the tears came rolling down her face first. “There you are.” His voice made her gasp in shock. Her hands leaping to her chest as she spun around to see Azul standing there with a pastel blue ceramic mug. The one he had purchased for Mai and Mai only. “Azul- I think we need to talk.” She tried to stabilize her tone. The sound wavered as she quickly wiped away her tears. Mai noticed a change in Azul’s expression. Once she had never seen before. Fear. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Here,” He forcibly took her hand to give her the mug of coffee. “I had made this for you, and I wanted to bring it to you for breakfast-”

“Please don’t come into the room while I’m sleeping…” The request was soft, but it cut through the air like a freshly sharpened blade. Azul was still, his eyes locked with Mai’s. “I don’t… I do appreciate your gifts… It’s very kind of you to give them to me but… I don’t want to receive underwear from a friend…” It was Mai’s turn to feel fear. His gaze was searing into her skin, her hands began to tremble as she accepted the coffee mug with a soft swallow. “It’s not that I dislike you Azul. I think you’re wonderful actually…” But I feel like you’re a pervert. “But I don’t think that… Your advances feel very intimate…” She took a small step back as Azul straightened his posture. A hand moved to relax over the center of his chest. The burning gaze began to die out as he closed his eyes. Azul looked disappointed. “I greatly apologize… I did not intend to ever upset you…” He began as Mai began to curl into the mug. “I assumed you liked these gestures. You haven’t spoken up about it in the past. I was unaware that it was an issue.” He shook his head as Mai’s stomach began to churn. “My preference in underwear is different…” She trailed off awkwardly, her eyes now hitting the floor. 

“Oh! My mistake.” Azul’s surprised tone made her grimace. “If you are referring to the gift I left you this morning, it was an innocent purchase I assure you. I was looking for womens pajamas’ while I was out, and the clerk made the recommendation.” His voice was soft, and when Mai looked up at him again, his cheeks were flushed. Azul seemed like he was hiding something, but his response seemed genuine. “Please discard them if you feel uncomfortable. Why don’t I make it up to you today? I’ll take you shopping with me.” He suggested, his smile wavered nervously as Mai looked down at the dark coffee in the mug. He bought them assuming they were pajamas. Azul wasn’t like that. “Okay… We can-” “Wonderful! Let’s leave before lunch. I have a place I want to take you to. They serve wonderful desserts, you like cheesecake don’t you?” He asked cheerfully as Mai’s discomfort returned. She didn’t remember mentioning she liked cheesecake to Azul. Mai felt like it was time to speak up. But after a relaxing bath. The day was long, Azul had taken her all over the city for more shopping, lunch, a quiet visit to an aquarium, and an expensive dinner. She felt underdressed and overpaid. She wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, especially from a friend. At least she hoped that Azul saw her as a friend. He seemed pushy now that Mai was only a few doors away from his own bedroom. She had to talk to him. Mai sank into the hot water, her cheeks flushed and her copper colored hair was washed and currently pinned up and away from the soapy water. She was surrounded by big bubbles and foam in a closed off room, separated by a frosted, glass sliding door as she played music on her phone. The calming smell of chamomile surrounded her. This was the only moment she’s had in a while where she’s had privacy from Azul and his advances. 

Mai couldn’t comprehend having a romantic relationship with anyone, especially someone as handsome as Azul Ashengrotto. She loved reading books and consuming media with a romantic plot. More so when the female lead was someone similar to her. But this wasn’t like the relationships she read about in books or watched on TV. This was… Strange. Perhaps even non-consensual. She would have to talk with Azul before bed. He was reasonable, he was capable of listening. Mai just had to speak up. She pulled the little plastic plug, listening to the growl of the drain drinking up the bathwater as she slowly stood. Mai carefully stepped onto the fluffy purple bath mat as beads of water dripped down her body. She grabbed her phone and carefully pushed open the frosted glass door. Mai entered the rest of the large bathroom with a sigh. The cool air lapped at her flesh, making it prickle as she rushed to grab a towel. 

The large bathroom was gorgeous with heated tiled floors. Mai was taken shopping to pick out some decor, but Azul had arranged it all as he saw fit. Plenty of plants arranged in the bathroom and some hanging potted on the ceiling. Soft blue rugs, and seat covers, the expensive perfumes and creams arranged by color in a cabinet along with solid pink towels. Azul had even ordered a replica painting of The Birth of Venus to hang near the shower. All because Mai nodded when Azul asked if she was a fan of art during their outing. Yes, Mai picked everything out. But it never felt like she owned any of it. This was Azul’s house, and these were his things. Mai silently thought that maybe she should look for a new apartment. Even if Azul was trying to make her comfortable it was the complete opposite. She unpinned her hair, allowing the coppery waves to flow down her back. She gave her head a small shake as she looked to the sink. Starting to frown as her soft mocha eyes hardened with confusion. Her pajamas were missing. Mai remembered walking down the long hall to her personal bathroom with a light pink nightgown folded up in her hands. Usually she only wore her panties to bed and a tank top, but now that she was in a position where Azul would be lingering around, she had to wear something while going to and from. And now her nightgown was missing. She looked around in confusion, her eyebrows knitting tightly together as she hugged her towel tightly against her wet skin. 

“I know I brought it in here. I know I did.” She cried softly, her face becoming hot with frustration as she looked around the bathroom to see no signs of her nightgown. She never heard the door open or close. Was this a mistake? The housekeepers never came this late at night, so it couldn’t have been them. And they always announce themselves before entering a room. It had to be Azul. Somehow, someway, it was Azul. She pursed her lips tightly and looked to the bathroom door with an agitated huff. She had to walk back to her room in a little pink towel. Hopefully Azul was in bed for the night, he isn’t usually seen after dinner out of his office. And that was on the first floor of the manor. She would be fine. 

She walked up to the door, pulling it open with a string of quiet curses under her breath. Mai had taken only a step before her face met Azul’s chest. The scent of his salt water cologne made her hair stand on end as she quickly jerked back with a yelp, looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes. He was wearing black, satin pajamas and lavender colored slippers. His glasses were missing, and he was staring down quietly at Mai. Was he waiting there the whole time? There were no words exchanged. She could feel Azul’s eyes trailing over her nearly bare body. She couldn’t help but grow flushed from humiliation.

Mai gently pressed a hand against his chest, pushing cautiously as she gripped her towel with her opposite hand. Her eyes downturned as she nervously shook her head. “I-I’m sorry… I’m heading back to my room.” Her cheeks burned, her heart was pounding against her ribs. Every nerve in her body begged her to run away. Telling her that this situation is very dangerous. Azul was still as he stared at Mai. “Forgive me…” He whispered like he was entranced by something or even someone. And finally he took a step away from Mai. The moment he did, the young woman rushed down the long hallway to the safety of the bedroom. Mai swore her nightgown was on the edge of the sink. But her stomach sank as she shut the door tightly, staring at the same gown she was looking for now draped over the edge of her bed.

[evupdates]

GuitarWorld: “I did everything by working my ass off. I played in bars six nights a week, 300 shows a year, three one-hour sets every night for eight years with no record deal”: Evanescence’s Troy McLawhorn on his guitar firsts, favorites and embarrassing moments https://trib.al/khFs88q

Interview Behind The Read More

In this Inquirer column, we reach out to Troy McLawhorn of Evanescence to answer the essential questions in any guitar player’s life. We’re talking first songs learned, first guitars played, and what would McLawhorn do if he had a time machine?

Well, maybe we know the answer to that – he’d take that damned trench coat back to the store…

What was your first guitar?

“My mom and dad had guitars in the house, and though they didn’t play them that much, those were the first guitars I grew up playing on. The one I really started to learn how to play on was my mom's nylon-string classical guitar.

“I played that for years before they bought me my first guitar, which I picked out in a music store down the street from my house. It had a black Gibson Explorer-style body with a maple neck and was made by a company called Lotus.”

What was the first song you learned to play?

“House of the Rising Sun by the Animals. I figured out the chords and then gave a little concert to my mom and dad. I was around 12.”

Do you remember your first gig?

“My first gigs were playing at parties. In my hometown, older kids would have what they called keg parties, where they’d buy a couple of kegs of beer and have a band play. So my first gigs were in people’s backyards, playing at parties for older people who were getting drunk. One of the earliest bands I can remember being in at the time was Hellrazor. By default, our only payment was beer.”

Ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?

“I can't think of anything in particular that occurred in Evanescence, but I do remember one embarrassing moment back in the early ’90s when I was in Still Rain. Whenever I performed, I’d wear snakeskin boots and a leather trench coat that went all the way down to the ground.

“One night, I was playing a solo at the front of the stage and totally rocking out. When I was done, I took a step back, but because my trench coat was so long, I stepped on it and couldn’t stand up straight.

“Each time I tried stepping back, the trench coat got shorter and shorter, until I fell down on stage on my back into the drum kit. I rolled around for a second so I could get my shit together, and I finally got up.”

What’s your favorite piece of gear?

“One piece of gear that I regret letting go of was a Mesa Boogie Mark IV. It was a combo that had a beautiful tweed front. As for my favorite, it’s my 1985 Gibson Les Paul Custom that was given to me for my birthday by a good friend.

“It was used when I got it, but it’s a beautiful guitar that’s got this amazing piece of leather artwork on the front. I’ve never seen anything like it and it just sounds and plays great.”

Suppose the building is burning down; what one guitar from your collection would you save?

“My wife gave me a really great American Telecaster for Christmas a few years back. It’s one of my favorite guitars to play when I’m at home, and it means a lot to me because my wife gave it to me.”

When was the last time you practiced and what did you play?

“It would’ve been last night before the show. I warm up before every show, playing guitar for 20 or 30 minutes. I will usually go through some exercises, and maybe a couple of things in the show that I may have fucked up the night before.

“I don’t really have a routine, as I don’t actually sit down and practice all that much when on tour, as I concentrate on maintaining and getting ready for the show I’m about to play. But when I’m home, I practice a lot and like to learn new things.”

What aspect of the guitar would you like to improve?

“I’d love to have more of a knowledge of music theory. Growing up, I learned everything by ear. I just listened to records and tried to figure out what I could. I think it would be great to have more of an educated knowledge of theory and scales and all that stuff.”

What advice would you give to your younger self?

“I’d say invent a time machine so it can take you to now, where you could watch YouTube videos! I think it’s amazing that kids have YouTube now, because it would’ve been a whole different thing for me if I had all the knowledge that’s on YouTube."

“I did everything I could by working my ass off. I played in bars five and six nights a week, playing 300 shows a year, playing three one-hour sets every night for about eight years with no record deal. The experience was amazing. I don’t know what more I could have done outside of what we did in that time.”

Fallen (20th Anniversary) is out now via Craft Recordings.

[pottedplant53]

Silly Little Theory About Heartslabyul (Contains Mild Spoilers!)

Hello again :3

So I had this thought the other day after writing my theory about Cater (which you can read here if you're interested) about who the Heartslabyul characters are based on.

So all of the Heartslabyul kids (with the exception of Riddle) at first glance seem to be the card soldiers and nothing else – but I think most (if not all of them) have secondary inspirations on top of that, which is what I’ll be speculating on. It seems kind of unlikely that they would base an entire dorm, the largest and first one in the story no less, around what was essentially one ‘villain’. Because let’s be real, no one can name their favourite card soldier.

So in summary, this post is just Heartslabyul brainrot and some observations I've made - Note that I'm pretty far from a Disney expert, and this is all just speculation. Take it with a pinch of salt and enjoy :)

Trey Clover - King of Hearts

The reason that the King of Hearts comes to mind is because of the sort of mediator role both he and Trey play. In Alice in Wonderland, the King is very timid against the Queen and tries his best to calm her down without ever fully standing up to her. It’s clear he cares about her a lot, but is unwilling to call her out on her behaviour, only ever managing to barely fan the flames and clean up her messes (i.e. convincing her to hold a trial for Alice instead of outright beheading her).

This reflects most of Trey’s interactions with Riddle in chapter 1; He cares about him a lot (whether that be platonically or romantically, whatever floats your boat), but is too afraid to confront him about his actions. He tries his best to keep the dorm running smoothly under the oppression, always baking Riddle tarts and trying to talk him out of unnecessarily punishing students who break absurd rules. Don’t quote me on this because I can’t really remember, but I think he also tried to convince Riddle not to behead Ace at one point too???

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ace Trappola - Alice

A lot of people seem to agree that Ace draws some inspiration from Alice. From their names sounding similar, to their shared disregard for things and people they find annoying or unfair, it isn’t difficult to see why so many have come to this conclusion.

What’s more is that they both stood up to their rulers (The Queen and Riddle) and both have a penchant for sneaking off and getting into trouble. I’m referring to Ace’s ceremonial vignette, in which he grabs Epel and sneaks out of orientation in case that wasn’t clear. It’s also mentioned repeatedly that Ace has an older brother who teaches him a lot of things, much like Alice’s older sister does. They both do whatever they can to get out of things they don’t want to do – Alice snuck away from her lesson and Ace refused to clean windows. There’s probably a lot more, but that’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cater Diamond - Cinderella

Most people have already heard of this one before, so I’ll keep it brief. Cater shares some major parallels with Cinderella that aren't too hard to spot. Like I mentioned before, I wrote a small theory about Caterella which I linked earlier for anyone who wants to read it :D

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Deuce Spade - I honestly have no idea

I’ve thought about it for ages and aside from his card soldier counterpart, I can’t think of anything that makes sense (T⌓T). If you have any theories or even any nonsensical, unorganized thoughts about who Deuce might be based on, please let me know :3

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I've finally found a medium to share my brainrot (tumblr) on and I'm never stopping so prepare yourself for an onslaught of shitty TWST theories with minimal organisation-

[grimmswan]

Love Bites (But So Do I) 3

Captain Swan Supernatural Summer @cssns

Once Upon A Time : Emma Swan and Captain Killian Hook Jones

To learn more about unusual break ins and thefts, Emma and Killian attended a long anticipated play. They were certain that the wealthy and the elite would make up most of the audience. And they would also be a source of a lot of gossip.

“You look good enough to eat.” Killian growled, pulling Emma to him and nuzzling her neck.

Her red dress was tight at the bodice. The corset pushed up her breasts, giving any onlooker a lovely view. The red and black lace choker around her neck added a little something that had Killian practically salivating over his lover.

Emma arched her body, opening more of herself for Killian’s attention.

“Lucky for both of us, I chose a flowing skirt. It will be easy to maneuver.”

The powers of speed and perception that came with being a vampire worked in Emma’s favor.

Neither she nor Killian were able to keep their hands off of one another on the carriage ride to the theater.

It was only through her supernatural abilities that Emma was able to fix their clothing before the valet opened their carriage door.

But as they entered the grand hall, Killian’s mood soured.

Emma followed his eye line and noticed a woman, slightly shorter than Emma, with light brown hair, and a haughty air of wealth and privilege about her.

“Aurora.” Killian explained. “She and I were engaged. Her family liked the idea of having an officer of the Royal Navy as a family member. Liam said it would be good for us to become part of an aristocratic family. Aurora said that she found me attractive and knew we would have beautiful babies. But after I was attacked, she called our engagement off.

 I was laying in the hospital when a nurse handed me a letter. In it, she said that she feared I was disfigured. That she couldn’t stomach seeing me in a hospital bed, all wrapped in bandages. And she couldn’t marry a man with scars all over his body.”

Emma remembered Killian telling her that he and his brother were out patrolling when they were both viciously attacked by what he later discovered to be a werewolf. Liam Jones had been killed instantly. His throat had been slashed open, causing him to bleed out.

Killian would have died from his injuries eventually, had he not become infected by the beast.

Emma knew that Killian had worshiped his brother.

It made what Aurora did all the more heartless.

And it seemed it hadn’t taken her long to move on, if the man whose arm she was on was any indication.

"Let’s go over and say hello." Emma suggested. An idea for the perfect revenge formed in her mind.

Aurora's face revealed plainly how shocked she was that her former fiance was far from disfigured.

The shock was soon replaced with envy, when she realized Killian had essentially married a woman far wealthier than her and her new fiance's families, combined. 

"How did you enjoy the play?" Philip asked, oblivious to his fiance's irritation.

“It was wonderful. I’m so glad Killian recommended seeing it.”

“You weren’t the one who suggested attending?” Aurora asked.

Emma had a sense that she believed women were the ones who decided on the social events.

“I trust my beloved’s judgment.” 

Aurora, thinking she found a way to embarrass her former betrothed, interjected.

“After that injury you sustained, making it impossible for you to work, it must be nice to have all of that time to do research on social events while you live off of your wife’s fortune.”

“Didn’t you know?” Emma asked, loudly, faking her surprise. “Killian fully healed from his injuries. He is as fit and healthy as he ever was. His skill and expertise gained from the royal navy is essential to our business.”

“And what is it that the two of you do?” Philip asked, genuinely curious and interested in the couple.

“The short answer is we are private investigators.” Killian explained. “We are often hired to look into things the main authorities would not be able to.”

“Sounds exciting. I would love to hear some stories, sometime. Perhaps the two of you can join us for dinner tomorrow night?”

Aurora looked as if she were about to choke. Emma could sense that she was trying to think quickly on how to prevent them from entering her home.

“We would love to.” Emma spoke before the brat could interject.. “Killian can tell you all about how he took down five goons at once, while I was questioning their boss.”

The dinner would be useful two fold.

One, Killian and Emma could find out what the humans knew about the attacks.

Two, they could rub it in Aurora’s face how greatly she messed up in letting Killian go.

Philip gave directions to his and Aurora’s home and when to arrive for dinner.

Then the two couples said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Knowing that Aurora was watching and listening, Emma cupped Killian’s groin and whispered, “I can’t wait to get you home. My pussy feels so empty without your cock inside it.”

WIth her acute hearing, she picked up Aurora’s gasp. Obviously shocked and scandalized at Emma’s bold and wanton behavior.

A proper noble woman was never to use such language. A lady of class and refinement never threw herself at a man. Not even her husband.

Honestly, Killian being turned into a werewolf was the best thing to happen to him. His sex life would have been so boring if he had married the spoiled brat.

Once they were in their carriage and the door was shut, Emma crawled into Killian’s lap.

The way she began to grind on his throbbing member made all thoughts of the past vanish from his mind.

"I don't want to wait till we get home." She moaned. "I want to feel you all over my body, now."

If the two weren’t so lost in one another, they would have seen Aurora peaking through the window of hers and her husband’s carriage and into theirs.

And then they would have seen her expression of shock, disgust, and envy that marred her pretty face.

The carriage ride back to their home was just as passionate as their ride to the theater.

But the arrival to their destination meant it was Emma’s turn to slip into a fowl mood.

Beal was standing in front of the house, blocking their entryway at their gate.

Emma knew that Killian’s instinct would always be to protect her and their home. He was possessive of her. Of their bond. And he would destroy anything that was a threat to it.

So she had no real concern at her former sire being there. It was just a great annoyance. It meant that her playtime with her werewolf would be delayed.

A glance at Killian, and Emma could see he was as unhappy about this situation as she was.

Killian didn’t like the male vampire’s smug demeanor. He wanted to tear into his chest cavity and rip out his heart. He wanted to dig his claws into the vampire’s skin and tear it from his body.

That would be the best way of removing his smug grin.

It was obvious that Neal needed to be shown how foolish he was being.

Emma decided to give her former sire the opportunity to learn his lesson the hard way.

“If you want to talk, Neal, then we’ll allow you to talk. I have to make a call to Nemo. Killian, my darling, will you keep an I on him while I do it.”

The three entered the house. Emma continued toward the study to update Nemo on the case.

Being alone with Killian, Neal thought it was the best time to demand the werewolf leave Emma alone.

“Do you really think she’s happy with you? Dog breath. I’m the best thing that has happened to her. She will only be satisfied with her own kind. The sooner the two of you realize that, the better everyone will be.”

Killian's eyes glowed a hypnotic blue. His menacing growl shook Neal to his core.

“I’ve allowed you to say your piece. Now I’m going to say mine. I’m in this for the long hall, mate. Emma is the best thing to happen to me. You are the worst thing to happen to her. The sooner you get that through your head, the better. I will fight for Emma with my dying breath.”

Emma returned. She noticed the two men glaring at one another. Killian’s face was full of fury. Neal’s face contained more nervous energy.

"Why is your crotch wet?" She asked in puzzled disgust.

Killian snorted, smelling the rancid stench at the same time she did. Revealing the truth.

Neal had pissed himself in fear.

“I could never be yours.” Emma sneered at Neal. “You are a sniveling coward. My Killian does everything to fill my life with pleasure. You only fill it with disgust.”

Neal, choosing to pretend that he hadn’t just soiled himself, pleaded with Emma to speak with him alone.

“I want nothing to do with you, Neal.” Emma hissed.

“We were good, once, we can be again.”

“We were never good. You’re delusional if you think we were in love. Even you can’t possibly believe your lies.”

He grabbed a hold of her arm. “Emma, please just listen to me.”

“Let go of me.”

Within seconds, Killian transformed, turning from his human state into full beast form.

Neal screamed and tried to escape, but it was too late. Even a vampire could not get away from an enraged werewolf.

“You shouldn’t have touched me, Neal.” Emma said calmly, knowing both men could hear her. “My lover is quite jealous and possessive.”

With his powerful jaws, Killian tore open Neal’s throat while a massive paw ripped his rib cage from him, exposing his insides. The other paw raked at his back, exposing and breaking his spine.

Being a vampire, Neal was able to survive, but he was left in terrible agony.

With her sharp senses, Emma saw that Neal’s body was slowly healing itself.

For the time being, there was nothing he could do but lay on the ground and wait for the power to get back up again.

His view until then would be pure torture, for him.

For Emma, it would be sweet ecstasy.

Killian was not done proving that Emma was his. He turned to her with a roar, ripping her gown from her.

He licked a long stripe up her body, starting deep between her legs.

She wrapped one hand around his neck, and used the other hand to brace herself on the table. Her eyes fluttered close at the pleasure Killian created with the working of his large tongue over her body.

When she was dripping, her beast aligned himself and speared her on his massive cock.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Neal’s shock and amazement, and felt a smug satisfaction knowing he was comparing himself, and falling short.

Emma didn’t hold back her moans and cries of pleasure as Killian thrust wildly into her.

She would let the whole world know how good it felt to be ravaged by her beast.

He erupted into her, marking her with the scent of his seed.

Now calmed, Killian shifted from his wolf form to human once again.

Neal was still helpless, so Emma saw it as an opportunity to show him what he will never have.

She dropped to her knees before Killian, taking his softened member in her mouth and stimulating it to firmness once again.

she cradled him, squeezing ever so gently, and soon had him moaning his enjoyment.

He tried to pull her up, but she wouldn’t allow it. She sucked harder on his member, taking it deep in her throat. His legs began to tremble from the intensity of her focus.

The noises she made were deafening to Neal’s ears. Every slurp, every lick, seemed to echo around the room.

She was even moaning! As if she were enjoying it as much as the beast above her.

Even after Killian howled his release, Emma remained with her mouth around his organ, until every last drop of his essence had been consumed.

Then she stood up. Her eyes filled with love and her smile full of mischief.

“Delicious.” She purred. “Alway my favorite treat.”

Their eyes turned to Neal, who was just starting to get the strength to get up.

“I should kill him. How dare he even think about touching you.” Killian growled.

Emma cradled his face and smiled warmly at her lover. Though her words were far more sinister. “Control yourself, my beloved. I enjoy watching you tear Neal apart. Torturing him is far more satisfying than killing him outright. Letting him live is especially cruel, when he knows of what you and I are to one another.”

Killian grabbed Neal by the throat. His claws punctured the skin, causing the vampire's own blood to drip from his neck.

"If you have any self preservation, I suggest you find another place to dwell. Preferably one that is far away from here." Emma sneered. "Or else my werewolf lover and I will make your existence a living nightmare."

[porcelainvino]

Okay, vino, I need to know more about why you despise Darren criss

surface level: i just think he’s really cringe 😭 one could argue that that’s not a real reason to hate, but i think it’s kinda funny LMAO maybe it’s because he’s a theater kid millennial? (no offense to the theater kid millennials)

here’s a brief, there’s definitely more i just can’t think of anything else right now, collection of his cringe moments IN MY OPINION:

> naming his kid “brother”

> using music metaphors to describe him impregnating his wife/his wife giving birth (fun fact, this was my first ever reason to hate him), “we’ve been making music for years… but this time we made a BEAT” and “💙 out now. 💙”

> doing an ad with shein

> joe biden getting elected tiktok

> frankly ANYTHING he posts on tiktok

> plays a character on hazbin hotel

> using ai art for an ad for his bar, which he deleted the post for after comments were hating on it, but i have the evidence:

some random stupid personal things that i dislike him for, like this effects no one but me:

> paranoia that he’s related to me- his mom is from kinda close to where my family lives, and even if i’m not related to him, i’m scared that my family’s friends with his family 😭

> paranoia that he’ll name his kid my irl name- my irl name is a traditional filipino name and i was so nervous that he was gonna name his kid that bUT he named him brother so idk which is worse but also what if he has more kids 💔

> cringing when he sings- this was really weird but i had an era where i genuinely couldn’t listen to darren sing without physically cringing like i could listen to BLAINE sing but not DARREN??????? i think i’m over it now though. maybe…….

> some mildly distasteful things he said about fanart- this kinda made me sad to hear and (tmi) i highkey had a panic attack about it because i was paranoid that chris colfer hates me because i gave him fanart, i’m fine now my friends calmed me down after. i do understand where darren is coming from though!!!!!!!! it’s just worded VERY poorly in my opinion

‼️ things that *genuinely* piss me off under the cut!! IF YOU ARE A FAN, PLEASE IGNORE!!! I GENUINELY HAVE NO HATE TOWARDS THE FANS!!! THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION, AND I BELIEVE I AM ENTITLED TO IT!!!‼️

i feel like he makes queerness about himself

(i was gonna make a list, but turns out all of my points fall under this idea so)

maybe he’s just a super passionate ally or something but like he consistently mentions that he’s straight like.. all the time………. and sure maybe it’s because people think he’s gay or something and he wants to clarify his point, but there are PLENTY of actors who are straight who played a gay character who don’t CONSTANTLY mention their sexuality!! idk why darren always feels as though he needs to talk about how straight he is. the way he talks about it makes it sound like all his “appreciation” for the queer community is insincere

the way he mentions queer spaces is just like.. off to me :( despite being cishet, he tends to insert himself into the conversation about being queer. he doesn’t bring anything important or necessary to the community, besides allyship i suppose, so like.. why is he here….. i just feel like the lgbtq community does not NEED darren with his weird performative activism if that makes any sense

here are some examples of this!:

> a. maybe you’ve seen it but recently he called himself “culturally queer”????? i’ve read the full interview, and i get he was essentially saying “i grew up around a lot of queer people and that effected how i see the world” but like.. “culturally queer”?!? girl…… why would you word it like that………..

> b.

this thing he said is like…. a little insane imo 😃 “none of the responsibilities”????? seriously dude?????????? like queer people have to deal with homophobic and transphobic bullshit every day and he gets to go out and say shit like this

> c.

this kinda shows the point i was making about how he just talks about the queer community weird especially when playing queer characters. like saying that playing a queer character as someone who isn’t queer “glorifies the power and struggle in that”???? like you have the privilege to vaguely understand queer experiences without having to actually have the queer experience i guess?? the wording is off to me :/ ALSO, this is an example of him calling himself “white” despite being half filipino. i know he’s white passing but he tends to bring up his filipino-ness when he want’s to pull the minority card. like he erases his ethnicity then brings it up whenever it’s convenient. i might just be picky with this one, but as a filipino, that’s how i view it

i hope.. any of this was coherent 😭 i’m not good at explaining the thoughts in my brain this just feels like a jumbled mess so i’m sorry if doesn’t make any sense 💔💔💔

in conclusion, i don’t like darren criss. i appreciate that he plays one of my favorite glee characters (maybe, LIKE I DON’T EVEN DRAW BLAINE LIKE DARREN,, NOT REALLY….). to be honest, i don’t think i TRULY hate him really?? which probably sounds stupid after this entire post, but seriously! if i was TRULY a hater, i think i’d block him on all social media, not interact with his fans, ignore any news about him, etc,, but i don’t! i think he’s interesting and deserving of his success, i just find a lot of the things he has done to be weird. i’ve seen a lot of haters be way more nit-picky about things he’s said and done, some criticisms i’ve seen come from strange/distrustful sources, and i’ve seen a lot of darren hate tied to hate on blaine, hate on his wife/family, and hate on other actors like chris colfer, which i believe is uncalled for. if anyone wants to see a couple more points about his attitude towards the queer community, feel free to dm me, but i won’t share those publicly because they’re kinda off and i have mixed feelings about them. so while i may agree with some points from random glee accounts from 2016 or something to an extent, what i’ve listed here is what i SINCERELY believe he’s in the wrong for. all in all, out of all the glee-cast-who-aren’t-actual-criminals, he’s definitely the one i dislike the most.

[ladykailitha]

Royal Pain Part 15

Hello!! We slowly but surely cranking up the tension between the two boys and it's going to be delicious.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

***

Eddie had every intention of telling Steve about Seth Thursday, but he was thwarted by Robin.

Steve was running a little behind because a tattoo was taking a little longer than he thought it would, so Eddie was in the waiting area for his turn.

“So, don’t blame Miranda for this,” Robin began with a wince. “But she told me about Seth.”

Eddie took a deep breath. “I’m a little disappointed she told you, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Mandy likes to talk.”

Robin hurried around the desk and knelt in front of him. “I only bring it up, because I have a different opinion about telling Steve.”

Eddie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not against it as a whole,” she said gently. “Bad exes are bad business and that kind of shit can ruin things. I’m just saying not today.”

“Why...?”

Robin sighed, and sat next to him. “Look, you’re a great guy and I totally ship you and Steve. But don’t you think it’s a little early for the seven evil exes talk?”

Eddie snorted. “Thankfully only the one.”

She nodded. “I don’t think you should hide it from him. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying have more fun with each other before you going trauma dumping.”

“But I–”

“Want to move slow and don’t know how to say that without trauma dumping?” she finished for him.

He waved his hand in front of him. “Yeah, that.”

She nodded, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Just say you had a rough go at dating the last couple of years and just want to go slow. He’ll understand. Okay?” Eddie nodded. Robin paused for a moment. “And also maybe not do it while you’re in the middle of a literal business transaction.”

Eddie mouthed the word, ‘oh.’ “Point taken. I keep making mistakes like that.”

“That’s because your job isn’t usual,” she explained. “Getting up on stage and playing music for hoards of people every weekend for cash is the dream for a lot of people, but other than the bar owner you really don’t have a boss and your co-workers are your best friends.”

Eddie laughed. He hadn’t heard what he did described that way before, but it was true. His job wasn’t normal, but even though the product wasn’t the usual thing, what Steve and Robin did was essentially retail. They provided a service to a consumer at a price.

He smiled. “Point well and truly made. Thank you. I probably would have fucked it up between us again if I told him about Seth while sharp needles were near my person.”

Robin cocked her head. “That too. I keep saying it but seriously I’m Team Steddie, okay? But Steve has never been wooed and doesn’t know what to do when someone is interested, just at a different speed then he’s used to going.”

Eddie played with his rings. “Steve’s never been wooed?”

Robin shook her head. “Even when he was dating men, they always seemed to expect Steve doing all the romancing. That’s why he forgave you so easily. You went out of your way to remember things about him that even he had forgotten himself. That’s a really big deal for him.”

Eddie blushed. “Jeff and Mandy said to go big, so I just did what I would have wanted to get as an apology.”

She hugged him. “I’ll be sure to tell him that if he ever needs to apology to you.”

Eddie leaned his head back. “Let’s pray he never has to, yeah?”

Robin nodded. “And look, you have this shitty past that means you want to take it as slow and steady as you can but don’t want to hurt his feelings and lose your chance with him. Does that sound about right?”

Eddie took a deep breath and let out with a shuddering sigh. “That about sums it up, yeah.”

She let him go and he slumped against the back of the chair.

“So this is what we’ll do,” Robin said with a small smile. “You’ll hold off telling Steve until Saturday after the gig. Probably on the way to the club and then have a good time with each other knowing you two like each other. How does that sound?”

“Yeah, okay,” Eddie said, his voice shaking a bit.

She patted his hand. “Let me go see how much longer he’s going to be, because we might have to reschedule.”

He nodded.

She got up and went back to Steve’s room. She came out a minute later.

“He’s pissed it’s taking so long to get the colors right,” she informed him. “So because he has to reschedule, he’s willing to do it Sunday before he goes over to Dustin and Suzie’s.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “He doesn’t have to do that.”

“I think I pretty much established how much he wants to be with you dude,” Robin told him. “So come to the shop around noon and he’ll work on your tattoo.”

“Yeah, okay,” he breathed. “I’ll you guys there at the bar on Saturday?”

“Yup,” she said cheerfully. “Me and Chrissy will be dressed appropriately. Steve will continue being Steve.”

Eddie shoved his hair in front of his face. “Which is one of the reasons I like him.”

She grinned, wrinkling her nose. “Sap. Now get out of here before you get it all over the floor.”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, yeah. See you Saturday.”

Robin shooed him out of the shop to his laughter.

“I’ve never seen two stupider people in my life,” Erica said, leaning against the wall to the hallway that led to her and the other apprentices’ rooms.

Robin looked over at her with an even bigger grin. “Well, they are men.”

Erica bobbed her head back and forth. “That’s fair.” She walked back into her room and Robin followed her to check on Argyle and Chrissy.

“How goes the practice?” she asked Chrissy from the doorway.

Chrissy looked up and smiled. “I think I’m getting the hang of knowing how deep I’m going.”

Robin smiled back. “That’s great. I’m glad you’re finally getting the hang of it.”

“Steve a really good teacher,” she said. “I’ve learned so much since I started here and it hasn’t even been a whole week.”

Robin chuckled. “He’s like that. That’s why I love him.”

“How long have you guys been friends?” Chrissy asked. “Because I know you guys weren’t friends in high school.”

Robin laughed. “Actually we were. If you count the last half of his senior year and he absolutely does.”

“You guys don’t look like you could have been friends in any life time if I’m honest,” Chrissy admitted.

Robin cocked her head and shrugged. She moved further into the room. “Everyone says that, but they forget I was in marching band and soccer in high school. It’s not as though we’re complete opposites.”

“That’s true I guess,” Chrissy agreed. “You said your first job together burned down?”

Robin grinned. “Oh yeah. I’ll tell you about it later, I really have to get back up front.” She hesitated before turning on heel and scrambling out of the room, nearly hitting her head on the door frame.

Chrissy giggled.

*

Steve was vibrating in his seat at the table in front of the stage. Apparently, this table was reserved for friends of the band. The only reason Mandy didn’t show them to it last time was because she knew how loud it could be and didn’t want to scare them away their first night.

So now he can see every drop of sweat, every lip quiver, every finger placement. He gulped. He really wished that he had the foresight to sit in the back curve of the table and not the front. His brain was running a full commentary of all the things Steve found gross to keep his dick under control.

Steve was pretty sure he failed when he caught Jeff’s smirk. He was going to die. There was nothing for it. He was going to spontaneously combust, right here in the middle of this lovely bar.

And then Eddie winked. Steve let his eyelids flutter closed and tilted his head back in agony. He was grateful that was the song was the last in their set, because he was about to burst.

He stayed polite and waited for them to exit stage left, before he ran to the restroom. He ran into a stall and with two quick pumps he was coming into a bit of toilet paper. He carefully cleaned up and walked back out there a lot calmer, but embarrassed to the hilt.

Thankfully it was only the girls waiting for him and only Robin gave him a sly side eye about his mad dash to the restroom. So he was grateful for that. He just knew he was going to hear about it when he got home.

Finally band came out and Steve was relieved to see that Eddie had changed into something a little less ‘sex on legs’ and a little more ‘not kill Steve’.

Eddie looked good. He always did. But damn, that outfit he wore tonight on stage was a heart attack wrapped in leather and mesh.

“You guys ready for the club?” Gareth asked, bouncing on the balls on his feet.

Steve laughed. “I’m glad you guys had fun last time. But yeah, I’m ready.”

There were nods and agreements across the board.

“So where are we going?” Chrissy asked as they filed out into the parking lot.

“We decided to walk this time,” Jeff said. “It’s not very far and not worth the gas it would take to get there.”

Robin hopped up and down. “It’s this nifty little club that Stevie and I found when we first moved to Indy. It’s not strictly a gay club but it’s very friendly. It’s called Rainbow High and it has the best cocktail called Evita and it has...”

Steve tuned her out as she rattled on to Chrissy about the club with a fond shake of his head.

Eddie sidled up to him and nudged him with his shoulder. “I think your girl has a crush.”

Steve looked back up at the two girls walking in front of him. He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. I think she does, poor Miranda.”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “I think she’ll live not being pursued by a Robin.”

They walked in silence a moment or two.

“God,” Eddie said, tilting his head back and rolling his shoulders, “it feels good to go out and not have to look over my shoulder every minute of every day.”

“Crazy fan or evil ex?” Steve asked lightly, trying to keep the concern out of his voice. In the back of his mind he kept chanting, go slow, go slow, go slow.

Eddie scoffed. “I’ve had both unfortunately, but no this one is an evil ex.”

Steve winced. “That’s rough. Nothing like a bad ex to make you want to run for the hills. It must take a lot of courage to keep taking a step forward every day.”

Eddie blushed. “I sometimes still feel like a coward, breaking it off with him, but everyone else in my life tells me I did the right thing.”

Steve took Eddie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Sometimes it’s hard to see how bad it looks in front of us, until someone else shows you.”

Eddie squeezed his hand back before reluctantly letting go. “You sound like you know from experience.”

Steve nodded. “My parents, unfortunately.” He ran thumb over the warmth Eddie’s hand left behind in his palm. “It wasn’t until Robin pulled me aside and made examine the relationships her and most of my other friends had with their parents and see that how they treated me wasn’t right.”

“That why you two ran away together?” Eddie teased.

Steve laughed. “Something like that. Her parents were really supportive.” He watched as his best friend laughed and made wild hand gestures for a moment. “Sometimes we think they love me more than they love her.”

Eddie leaned in close. “What’s not to love?”

Steve blushed.

***

Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk​ @renaissan-vvitch @goodolefashionedloverboi @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @aizawa-emma @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @yikes-a-bee @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @archermightbegay @hallucinatedjosten @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bestwifehaver @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx

[theonethatyaks93]

My Official Review of the Masterclass Pinky and The Brain Shorts (Spoilers)

Attention! DO NOT READ THIS if you don’t want spoilers for these shorts because I’ll be spoiling the heck out of them. Are we good? Alright!

You guys!! I am proud to announce that these shorts, which I watched today, were actually pretty good! Like seriously! The clip show aspect was not invasive, the new animation was amazingly expressive, it was not a massive advertisement for the Masterclass service, it felt like a somewhat proper conclusion with the mice getting to say all their iconic phrases for one last time, there were no breaks in the continuity (in fact they bring back a lot of things such as Pinky lying whenever he says zort and the no-bake cheesecake), and it was actually funny!! I laughed a lot from the new stuff and the interactions were cute. Pinky calls Brain handsome!! Eeeeeeeeee! Brinky is real! The voice acting was also top notch. Why does Brain sound so good here? I don’t know but I love it! And the animation was amazing! For this being a secret project, it was well animated with a lot of expressions we see from season 3, proving that these were being produced simultaneously. Brain is also a wonderful teacher. He could does really well in this setting with him providing useful knowledge and tips. Brain was at his best here as well, with him not being too unlikable. He’s just over-the-top and funny. Also, the reveal of his greatest enemy was pretty surprising (Brain have you seen your internet fanbase? People love you!!). Pinky was so cute! He also gets a lot of good lines and interactions. I loved the ending of the final short with Pinky essentially defeating Brain’s plan because of something he learned. These shorts were also kind of complete chaos. Also, my worries of this being a massive ad for Masterclass were thankfully invalid. It wasn’t annoying and didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. I’m so happy! However, there were a few issues. First off, they weren’t long enough! Sure the use their four minute run to their advantage, filling nearly that entire runtime with the mice, but I wanted more! They have so much potential for a spin-off that I think this might be a testing ground of sorts. Another problem was the amount of clips used. Yes, they weren’t that invasive and I thought that it could’ve been worse, but I wanted to see more new animation. It’s fine though. Brain and Pinky played off of those old clips very well to honestly hilarious results. Also, Brain Pinky-proofing his entire setup for the class was amusing and entertaining. And yes, I know everyone’s talking about the Future Brain references. I thought they were funny and clever.

Basically all my concerns about these shorts were made invalid. I really enjoyed them and I hope you did too. I can’t believe that I laughed as much as I did and I think the writers and animators were trying to put as many gags and jokes in as possible due to the short runtime. Were there problems? Yes. Was it as good as the highs from season 3? No. But I think these shorts served their purpose well and managed to surprise me. The animation was sooooooooo good! Do I think that this serves as a semi-proper finale; I think so. You have all that was missing from the final segment on Animaniacs. What more could you want? Anyways that it for now! I’d rank these an 8/10 overall. What a fun time! I’m going to miss them so much!! 🥺😢(Yes I’m working on Pinky Week right now. Sorry for the extensive delay!)

[rhaegang]

I have a question about Enter Night, how did you come up with the imagery in the dream sequences? What inspired you to write them the way you did and did you hide some meaning inside them? Also do you have a favorite one? You're a wonderful writer and I wanna see inside your brain!!

HI HELLO I love dream sequences and I love symbolism so you absolutely caught me that there are hidden meanings in many things that happen or are seen in the dreams of Enter Night.

There are a lot of dreams in the story so I’m not sure which one to focus on…

Chapter 2: The nightmare / bathtub dream —This first dream is sort of a wedding. Felix was scared but still chose to let Oliver into his dream (Oliver needed to be admitted, because he was much less powerful at that point than later on). This choice was sort of like saying I do.

Early in the dream I made mention of winter slithering over the land & Felix as Persephone having tasted something forbidden. In the bath itself, I chose to describe the steam as like a veil. This is all because Felix, like Persephone, is a bride.

There’s some significance to the candles that hasn’t been fully revealed so I won’t spoil.

In this dream I also did a lot of playing with Incubollie’s ability to change his form in terms of like, size and shape and even state of matter. He’s a liquid, a solid, a gas. A shadow, a creature, a fantasy. He’s small enough to crouch on top of Felix and big enough to manhandle him. I wanted to establish that he really can be and do basically anything in the dream realm.

“How can I dream of something I’ve never even imagined could exist?” — this serves 2 purposes. One, it tells us that Oliver can bring his own knowledge and ideas into Felix’s dreams and two, it reinforces the separation Felix sees between dreams and something that could exist — you might want things you believe are impossible and so you have never allowed yourself to really imagine what they’d be like, because that would make their absence more painful.

Felix asking for Incubollie to bite him in this dream is just blatant phallic symbolism and essentially the consummation of their “marriage.”

Chapter 3: The Iambic Pentameter dream —

The symbolism really kicks off in this dream when we switch from the pond to the sea. The pond at Saltburn is familiar territory for Felix, it’s small and has known boundaries, isn’t all that deep even if its waters are murky. But the sea is massive, miles deep, and powerful. It has riptides and raging storms. This switch represents the way Felix’s feelings are much bigger and more tumultuous than he realized.

He’s not just fumbling with another boy he has a little school crush on. He’s captivated, swept up in a building obsession with an unfamiliar, unknowable being (even if Felix hasn’t put two and two together that the creature in his last dream is Oliver).

We also switch from day to night, blistering summer heat to icy moonlight, because Felix is out of his element. But it was him and not Oliver that caused the switch. He wants to explore the dark, even though he’s afraid of it.

The sand being black is just to make it feel more otherworldly. (Also, Felix mentioned the storm from Ch 2 being blown down from Iceland and the beaches of Iceland are black, so his subconscious is maybe beginning to connect things.)

Felix’s hand full of stars - it’s his tattoo, but also sort of a reference to his privilege, like, here’s a boy who could reach up and steal stars from the sky if he wanted to have them, but what he wants is to touch this other boy. Lastly, stars being associated with night, I use them a lot for Oliver. So, Felix’s hand full of stars is many things lol

Oliver’s voice sounding like the sea — it’s that he is the great, powerful, unknowable thing. Also referencing his serpentine form and how he hisses / how words spoken with his serpent tongue sound.

…and the idea of a ‘first time’ became impossible to contemplate, because that implied there was a beginning and therefore also an end, when that couldn’t possibly be true. All of these were the first time, and they had all already happened, were happening, had yet to come—

Oh here’s Felix’s subconscious acknowledging, again, that they’re already too bound to each other. It also foreshadows something that will happen in the final chapter.

…Oliver leaned down over him, the bone bright moon a halo behind his dark hair within the frame of his arcing horns. The black sand clung to Felix’s skin. Farleigh turned a page. 

The description here is intended to throw focus on the somewhat horrific aspect of Oliver’s nature. What is the opposite of a dream?

Chapter 5: This one is a doozy of a chapter, particularly the Minotaollie dream.

Lots of descriptions of stars and allusions to stars. Corona Borealis is visible from March to July, and is associated with Ariadne, the Minotaur’s sister who fell for Theseus. Asterion, the Minotaur’s given name, means something like “starry one.”

There’s a lot in this dream where, unlike the end of Ch 3 when Oliver is resolute that he can master his own nature, he’s very much resigned to embody it. He was a beast. He was not human. Why should he try to hold himself within the narrow confines of what made a man? He was more, and he could give Felix more than any man ever could.

Notably it’s a tame beast (the ring through his nose). Oliver doesn’t really examine the implications of that.

Also of note is how easy it is for Oliver to take control of and reshape this dream, where in Ch 2 and Ch 3 he has less ability to do that. But those dreams happened before he started feeding on Felix, and after the party, Oliver has gotten a lot stronger…

The temple Oliver creates for them as a setting is mostly because, again, I want to evoke a sense of this being ceremonial, like a wedding as much as it is like a sacrifice.

Again, like in the dream of Ch2 there’s reference to lightning, and Oliver issues a command that makes the very light around him tremble 👀

Then later in the dream with Olivia —

Felix’s eyes popped open. His ceiling above was wallpapered with the pages of a book turned by an unseen hand. He sat up again.

This is a few things. One, it’s fun wild dream imagery. Two, is it possible he’s seeing something in his dream that’s actually through Oliver’s eyes…? (Three, it is also a shameless reference to Felix’s christmas present for Oliver in BOT, which is an unrelated universe but I indulged myself.)

This is so long already, oops. I’ll try to remember to do a part 2 once EN is finished to talk about the dreams for ch6-12.