#add another bisexual to the pile

[simptasia]

things about lost that it took me 10 years to notice

jack has hazel eyes, not brown

michael emerson is wearing contacts

ana lucia is attracted to men

[rebelfell]

game night

eddie munson x bisexual!reader x lesbian!chrissy cunningham

18+, MDNI 2k

Just a saucy blurb taking place in the universe of this story.

cw: MFF, platonic!hc, oral (f receiving), handjob, use of a dildo, allusion to pegging, polyamory? sort of kind of?

The steady ticking of the egg timer on the coffee table felt about a million miles away.

You could still hear it, but barely registered the time it was counting down.

Truthfully, all you could think about right now, all that you could focus any of your attention on, was Chrissy’s hot tongue as it laved over your clit in time with her fingers curling inside of you.

She had draped herself across the chaise of the sectional sofa, letting her newly dyed locks spill over the edge like a chocolate waterfall. With an eager smile and shining eyes, she had beckoned you forward and positioned you over her with your knees on either side of her head.

You let your heat hover over her lips and leaned back, supporting yourself with your hands so as not to drop the full weight of your body on her, but also so Eddie’s view wasn’t obscured.

Jury was still out on whether that was actually a kindness to him or not…

“You sure you only set it for ten minutes?”

From the other side of the room, Eddie made a huffy and miffed little sound through his nose as he shifted in his seat, subtly tugging at his sweats in an attempt to offer himself a little bit of relief.

“Don’t…haaaah…don’t be a sore loser, Ed,” you scolded gently, a teasing smile on your lips as you winked at him from your seat on Chrissy’s face.

She had flown into Indianapolis on Thursday for a business meeting and decided to take a few extra days off to make a long weekend of it—ostensibly staying in your spare room, although she’d been there for two nights already and the guest bed still had yet to be slept in. As per usual.

The past few months, she’d been volunteering more and more for these sorts of work trips. And whenever she did, you and Eddie would drive up and either stay the night in whatever lavish hotel suite her company set her up in, or drive her with you back to Hawkins for longer stays.

Vibrations rippled across your pussy lips as she hummed excitedly beneath you and her fingers slipped from their spot inside your core to wrap her lithe arms around your thighs, tugging you closer so she could lick deeper into your heat.

The moan it drew out of you made you toss your head back and Eddie’s eyes narrowed, lit with a combination of lust and envy.

“This is bullshit,” he muttered, shifting again.

“It’s your own fault,” Chrissy chided, pausing the efforts of her tongue to tip her head and look at him. “Who goes all-in on a pair of twos?”

Eddie grumbled more, casting his eyes at the abandoned cards strewn across the coffee table.

The poker game started out with fairly normal betting, using leftover Halloween candy as chips, and all three of you joking over blush pink glasses of rosé while a shamelessly bubbly playlist poured out of the stereo speakers. You had gone out fairly quickly, perfectly content just to watch and listen while sneaking candy from their respective piles.

But once you dropped out, it didn’t take a minute for Chrissy and Eddie’s competitive natures to come out and to up the ante, as it were.

With their full piles of candy already pushed into the center, the two of them narrowed their eyes at one another over their cards, both shooting daring, challenging smiles at the other.

They agreed the winner of the next hand would get ten full minutes to do whatever they wanted with you—but any attempt of the loser to touch themselves would add more time to the clock.

A loud, high moan burst past your lips as Chrissy thrust her fingers back inside you and stroked that precious spot that had you seeing white behind your eyes. Your thighs shook against her cheeks that rounded as she grinned, relishing in the gush of your arousal around her fingers.

“Ooh, you like that don’t you, sweetie?” Chrissy cooed up at you and then tipped her head to look at Eddie again, shiny eyes dancing with mischief. “She’s kinda needy tonight. What’s going on, Ed? I hope you’ve been taking care of our girl.”

“I take care of her just fine,” Eddie assured, his sour look deepening as his cock twitched.

Chrissy shrugged and she returned to the task at hand while your eyes landed on Eddie’s—big and round and wet and pleading. He was milking that pathetic lost puppy angle for all it was worth.

Giving him a small smile, you cleared your throat to get Chrissy’s attention and her heavy-lidded eyes fluttered open, feeling the way that you shivered with delight when your eyes met.

You gazed down at her, the sight of her lovely face between your plush thighs and the way her seaglass eyes glistened as she peered back up at you making your stomach quiver and flip with excitement. With a steady hand that no longer trembled with nerves the way it had the first few times you’d done this with her, you reached out to brush your knuckles across the softness of her cheek that was still plump and hydrated from the facemasks you’d done the night before.

“Chris…can he play too?” you whispered, playing it up with a pout of your own. “Please?”

The plaintive lilt of your voice and the way your lashes fluttered at her as you asked sooo sweetly might have indicated Chrissy was the one running the show. But as you had learned in the last few months, there was little (if anything) you could ask for that she or Eddie would deny you.

She pursed her lips, taking a moment to reply like she was deep in thought before she broke out in a beaming smile, placing one last kiss to your puffy clit before unwinding her arms from around your thighs so she could shimmy out from under you.

The two of you smoothly swapped places so you were laid out on the chaise with your head at the end near the edge. Finally, you looked at Eddie and crooked your finger to beckon him over.

His eyes bulged in his skull and he nearly tripped over the footstool to his chair he got to his feet so quickly. Scrambling over to the couch, clumsily tugging his sweats to the middle of his thighs, his chest heaved with his panting breaths like the anticipation was actually killing him.

Chrissy giggled at the overeager display, slipping off the couch and disappearing down the hall.

“Areyousure?” Eddie asked, his words all running together as he kneeled in front of you, his hard cock bobbing at the level of your mouth.

You nodded as you reached out for him with your right hand, only to rethink it and extend your left instead. You could very nearly see the diamond on your third finger reflecting in his deep brown eyes as your hand wrapped around his length. And a strangled moan rumbled from deep in his chest, the sound dissolving into more breathy and desperate panting at the sight.

He loved watching the ring he’d given you glitter while you jerked him off.

A few slow, lazy strokes was all it took to have him leaking all over your hand, still painfully hard from watching you and Chrissy without being allowed to offer himself even a second of attention.

Rhythm holding steady, you stretched your neck to look at Chrissy as she emerged from the guest room wearing nothing but an intriguing smile and carrying a black silk drawstring bag.

From it, she produced a purple silicone toy and a bottle of lube. Your eyes widened at the sight, your abdomen tightening in anticipation as she brought it over to the couch and sat beside you.

It looked like a dildo, but a sort of double-ended one? It had a rounded bulb at one end shaped almost like an egg, tapering off and then flaring into a hump that would rest right on your clit. From there, it curved into a standard phallic shape of a shaft with a slightly enlarged head.

Chrissy squeezed some lube out onto her hand and thoroughly coated the bulb with it.

“This okay?” she asked, slowly rubbing the tip of the shorter end through your folds.

You pictured it in use—one end tucked snugly into your heat, the other sticking out between your legs. Chrissy sliding down on it sooooo slowly, the pressure building up inside of you like you were actually inside of her. Her hips rocking in that slow, leisurely pace she liked until it got to be too much and she had to go faster; had to grind her body into yours until you were thrusting your hips, pushing the toy deep inside her cunt until she cried out for you to make her come—

“Yes,” you whined, breathless as your mind filled with images so filthy you could hardly catch your breath. “Yes, I want you to ride me, please—”

Chrissy’s eyes gleamed, her gaze never dropping yours as she pressed the toy inside, making your mouth fall open in a gasp at the stretch.

Your folds fluttered around the bulb, sucking it deep inside while Chrissy made sure the other end was positioned correctly for her.

“You look so pretty with a purple cock, angel,” she cooed, dropping a delicate kiss to the tip that you swore you could actually feel.

You shimmied your hips, making the toy wobble slightly, gently batting Chrissy’s button nose with it and eliciting a delighted giggle from you both.

Above you, Eddie let out a low groan and the look on his face was nothing short of euphoric.

“Is, um…” he cleared his throat, a nervy sort of chuckle breaking through as his eyes followed the sight of your dick standing rigid between your legs. “Is that staying here, by chance?”

Your eyes met his and your brows raised almost to your hairline not with shock, but intrigue.

That’s new, you thought.

And seemingly reading your mind in the way he was so good at, Eddie’s lips curled upwards and he rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug.

As if to say, what the hell?

“Consider it an engagement present,” Chrissy tittered, squirting some more lube onto her palm and generously coating the shaft with it. “I’ll just take it for a test drive.”

Her eyes met yours and one of them closed in a slow wink, making electricity skitter down your whole body. You clenched around the end inside of you, humming as it pressed on your g-spot.

“You ready, angel?” Chrissy husked, her hand moving up and down your cock in the same unhurried pace yours was stroking Eddie’s.

Matching you stroke for stroke.

You nodded eagerly and then tipped your head backward to lock eyes with Eddie as you gave his cock a light and teasing squeeze, salivating at the thought of having his thick length in your mouth while Chrissy was bouncing on yours.

“How about you?” you asked him in a sultry purr. “You ready to watch me fuck her?”

And you thought you knew what Eddie might say. You thought he might come in close to growl something filthy in your ear about pounding her until she screams. Or whisper something soft and full of adoration about how sexy you were. Or whine pitifully about how much he needed you.

But Eddie said nothing. He just beamed down at you, chest filling with a surge of pride seeing you like this. Confidence just pouring out of you, your face glowing with it—completely radiant.

He couldn’t stop himself from leaning over, his mouth meeting yours in a hungry, devouring kiss. The kind of kiss that said in no uncertain terms:

You’re mine. You’re mine and I fucking love you.

He kissed you until your lungs ached for air, until your chest was heaving and you gasped into his mouth trying to breathe. Until at last, you broke apart when you couldn’t restrain the moan that burst out of you when the toy began to vibrate.

Your mouth fell open as you looked down at the thing like it just split in two like a hydra head.

The buzzing between your legs rippled across your g-spot, making it so you could barely keep your eyes open—your firm grasp on Eddie’s cock tightening instinctively. Eddie keeled forward with a loud groan and his hand landed on the cushion next to your hip trying to steady himself.

“Oh,” Chrissy smiled, swinging her leg across you and gripping the toy’s shaft to position the tip at her entrance. “Did I not mention it did that?”

That got a breathy laugh out of you all.

And then, just as she had sunk fully onto your length, a loud ringing filled the air and all three of you looked to the table. The egg timer you had all forgotten about had finally gone off—waaay past the supposed ten minute limit. Eddie gasped as he pointed an accusatory finger at Chrissy.

“I FUCKING KNEW IT!”

Ty for reading - love you, mean it! 🛼

[monkey-overalls]

Madoka Magica Headcanons!

I’m also posting a drawing of the Holy Quintet (which will go up immediately after this), but I wanted to write some headcanons for each of them to go with it! I was originally going to put them under “Read More” on the drawing, but I eventually settled on separating the two because of how long the document got hahah.

Sexualities: Madoka, Kyoko, and Homura are all lesbians, Sayaka is bisexual, and Mami is demiromantic-pansexual.

Gender Identities: Madoka is a trans girl (she/her), Sayaka is a demigirl (she/they), and Kyoko, Mami, and Homura are all cis girls.

Height Order (tallest to shortest): Mami (by far), Sayaka, Homura, Madoka, Kyoko

🩷 Madoka 🩷

Loves cheesy romance movies, especially if they’re also coming-of-age stories. As long as they have a happy ending, Madoka will sit through any crappy flick (or an entire marathon of them). Mami joins her most of the time.

As Madokami, she has shimmering star freckles.

Started incorporating more purple into her wardrobe after becoming friends with Homura. At first this was unintentional, but upon noticing it, Madoka leaned even further into the new color scheme, especially after the two got together.

💙 Sayaka 💙

Once tried to learn the violin to impress Kyosuke, but her highly self-critical nature prevented her from going far. She thought he’d find her lackluster performance embarrassing.

100% had a crush on Madoka at some point, and only fully realized it once she came to terms with her feelings for Kyosuke. In some timelines she continues to pine for Madoka, while in others she starts falling for Kyoko instead. Maybe they form a polycule in another timeline or two (they do, they definitely do).

Despite what she may say, Sayaka (taken by the Law of Cycles) can never truly bring herself to hate Homura. She can’t help but empathize with her struggles and her descent into despair, as Sayaka remembers each and every time she hurt herself and the people around her out of sadness and anger.

❤️ Kyoko ❤️

Has burns running down her arms from when she tried to save her family from the fire started by her father. As far as I know, it’s never explicitly stated how exactly he went about killing them, but taking into account all of of the fire symbolism surrounding Kyoko and the imagery of her father’s head turning into a shattering lantern, I’m going to go with arson.

Doesn’t actually like tea all that much, but for a while she drank it at Mami’s apartment to be polite—after all, food is how Kyoko shows she cares about others. Mami caught on pretty quickly, however, and now stocks hot chocolate with mini marshmallows specifically for her.

In timelines where Mami dies, Kyoko squats in her apartment until police eventually catch on to her disappearance. From there, Kyoko moves in with Sayaka… until, you know.

💛 Mami 💛

Sleeps with a massive pile of stuffed animals so she never feels lonely. She’s never gotten rid of a single one, and, knowing this, her friends’ go-to gift for her is another plushie to add to her collection.

The beauty mark on her cheek is fake; she paints it on every morning.

In timelines where she and Nagisa live (including Homura’s rewritten world) they live together in Mami’s apartment. Their favorite activity is playing board games. Mami always lets Nagisa choose, and they love going out to search for more.

💜 Homura 💜

Constant eye bags. This girl never sleeps. Even before the time loop she suffered from extreme insomnia, which only worsened as her mental state declined. Mami gives her tea to help her sleep better, which helps a little but not enough to give her a healthy schedule.

Never takes Madoka’s ribbon off, even when she sleeps. The only exception is when she washes her hair, because that would obviously ruin it.

Has a secret sweet tooth that only Kyoko knows about (she hooks her up with the best sweets). Homura likes to present herself as a “one black coffee” type of girl, when in reality she could never drink a cup without a substantial amount of sugar.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Found an Self-Insert Cyberpunk fanfic.

Except it's not the usual type. It's the type where it's told entirely from the perspective of people other than the SI, which makes it more interesting.

Problem 1: Current events.

Almost all the references people make are ones you'd expect from someone today, like Batman or other pieces of pop culture.

Cyberpunk 2077 often references fictional in-universe media. Like the dead rock star stuck in V's head. In a world where everything and everyone is disposable and temporary, why would people usually reference 80 year old media?

At one point, a character explicitly compares another character's clothing to Danny DeVito in Matilda.

Okay, the CP timeline divergences mainly started in the 90s. So it's possible that the movie was still made, but it's still odd. Especially when the same characters don't recognize that the story's lead is heavily based on Walter White. Shaved head and everything.

Except he's using his chemistry potential for good, not evil.

And it's not just media. It's also Current Year memes, like V describing certain people as a "corpo bros who watched too much American Psycho", or himself as a "disaster bisexual".

Oh look, a segue.

Problem 2: Rainbow connection.

The story puts a lot of emphasis on LGBT characters.

There's Judy Alvarez, obviously. But also, V's in with Meredith Stout is Stout's explicitly non-binary ex who, you guessed it, is they/them.

Adds nothing to the story. The SI provides that info, and Meredith tries to trip V up, but he sees through it.

Since Meredith is a Militech Corpo, and V is an Arasaka ex-Corpo (who still isn't over it), why doesn't V…just use that connection, somehow? Militech and Arasaka are rivals. There could be some friction there. Or V could sympathize with how Stout would do anything to keep her job.

Why are non-binary characters always just they/them? Why not he/she/they? He/She? Xi/xir? or Lunagender? Or using regular He or She interchangably while IDing as enby? Why is it always the basic, simple, "normal" version? Got a Rochester's Wife situation going on?*

Also, in fanfics, things like this often suggest even more awkward left-wing political insertions, down the line.

Problem 3: even more awkward left-wing political insertions.

Well, just one.

Panam Palmer just didn't fit. This wasn't rare in Night City. Lots of people who didn't fit in, were awkward, had no social groups, didn't choose to be loners. She expected to be alone in the city and no one cared. But it was personal hate. Her skin color, nomad markings, speech, just being a woman. The list went on and every day there was some new jerk who needed to find out, because they messed around.

Panam is canonically native American, according to the devs, but she looks like a random white biker lady wth a tan. Wouldn't be the first white-passing Native woman I've seen.

Also, she lives and works around Night City. Which is extremely diverse.

Judy Alvarez and Jackie (both Hispanic) were both POV characters, and race wasn't really mentioned. You'd think ex-Arasaka V or someone would mention Arasaka's racism, but nope. River Ward was a viewpoint character, and he's much more visibly non-white, down to his necklace and dreamcatcher (if romanced).

He only brings it up in the fic when Misty asks him if he ever had his fortune told. Apparently his granny did a "spirit walk" when him and his sister were born.**

I've seen playthroughs of the game, and I don't remember sexism really being a thing. Why would skin color matter much when anyone can change that and other ethnic features at will?

Why did race only come up as a significant thing now?

I'd expect Panam to get the most stick for being a Nomad, not brown, or a woman. Especially in a city where any woman could sprout mantis blades and go Cyberpsycho at the drop of a hat.

This feels…reductive. Like the writer wanted to give Panam challeges to overcome so she could be a Tough Woman™, and just…piled too much on, like a Chicago hot dog.

I would've gone with something more subtle. "Her back itches without her Nomad tribe behind her, and she's uncomfortable in a city instead of a desert, or a road. Even the echoes sound wrong."

So, yeah, this was the last straw.

Also, I checked the writer's profile, and, very stereotypically, she's from Portland.

*Also, you might recall that there was a nontroversy over an soda ad in the game featuring a lady with, ahem, a rather substantial bulge. Based on an actual trans woman. Somehow, portraying a (possible) trans woman in the same sexually objectified way as ads featuring non-trans people is transphobic.

I never worked out that logic.

My best guess is that some people were uncomfy with it, and it's about a trans person, so it's must be *phobic somehow.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the ad was just Photoshop in universe? Or the in-universe model was a non-trans woman who strapped on the junk just for the ad?

(Though depending on who you ask, that still counts as being a trans woman, somehow.)

**Come to think, that kind of feels like it's stereotyping. I can't find evidence Pomo Native Americans do spirit walks, but maybe my Google-fu is just weak.

[hollymartinswrites]

Well, let’s just add another hyperfixation to the pile.

Walton Goggins.

I really didn’t need this but The Ghoul led me to Vice Principals and my new favorite villain/evil bisexual disaster that is Lee Russell. Somehow this bitch broke my non-writing streak of nearly two years so here’s a little drabble of him bumping into someone at the mall post-finale.

Also, Neal and Lee need more fics. Their relationship is one of the best on TV in the last decade.

[talenlee]

June 2024 Wrapup!

That’s it, Pride’s over. We’re done with any need to be queer because we obviously defeated the forces of not queer.

Hey how do all those dudes who are convinced they’re straight think their sexuality handles being attracted to nonbinary people? Like, nonbinary people can look like anything, presentation is a performance and everything, but if you believe in inherent qualities of genders, seeing a nonbinary person who’s hot has to be a problem right?

(oh who are we kidding, they pretend nonbinary people don’t exist. But if you do accept nonbinary people exist, you might be less straight than you think.)

Alright, let’s look at what articles came up in the Game Pile this month!

Gay Sauna: The Board Game, where we talked about the acceptable boundaries of genre mechanisms.

Arcade Spirits, where I made a video retelling my experiences of dealing with a game that I shouldn’t call a visual novel, because someone out there will get annoyed at an imperfect cladistic categorisation of game genres

Signalis, a game that oozes style but also told me to stop playing it, so I did

3 Indie TTRPGs, with Feathers, For the Dungeon and We Saved The World Once in a video

If you think the video on Feathers, For The Dungeon and We Saved The World Once was a bit ropy, yep! It got made very quick and close to the deadline because it was very difficult to make. Cooking these games down to entirely positive feedback without talking more about things I find personally interesting was hard enough, which is why the first seven minutes of the video are about problems with how we talk about indie TTRPGs.

Also, a thing I was really delighted by was getting to play Loom with Fox for the first time (part 1, part 2)!

Then there was this month’s Story Pile, about which I was way more enthusiastic!

Nimona, which is a great movie for kids,

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, which is a great anime, for slightly older kids!

Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess And The Genius Young Lady, which is a mid anime, for slightly older kids still!

Bound, which is, uh, it’s not for kids

What else happened this month that I’m proud of?

Hm.

Hmmm.

This is a surprising one to say because normally I can think of articles that I want you to read in a sort of ‘well why haven’t you looked at this.’ But I’m in a bad mood right now and it’s colouring things about how I look at my own writing. My article on LIGMA is tainted by knowing how little of the greater context of the area I can communicate. My article about What Disgusts Jod got a response from a Locked Tomb fan that seemed to imply that actually, Jod wasn’t bi or pansexual, because a guy can have a threesome with a man and a woman and people will still try and pretend bisexuality doesn’t exist. My article about Tieflings was probably the thing I’m the most proud of this month, in the idea of the kind of writing I like doing, and I think my article on Faces For Skins is important? At least I avoided another breakdown article about how badly I feel Pride culture connects to or relates to me, though maybe that just shows up in the work in general.

There’s this month’s shirt design:

How hard is the Barbie aesthetic to replicate? With lookalike fonts it’s shockingly easy. I note that this one specifically is a drop shadow and not a 3d semblance, as you can see on the bottoms of the ls. Hey, do you want this on a sticker? Go for it!

In terms of real world events, June is jam packed. It’s the end of the Autumn Semester for me, as a tutor for one. This semester, I took on a lot of marking work, which I like to do, but which also meant that I looked at 118 asignments this month, and 60 of them had a 5 minute audio visual component. That’s five hours of student material to just watch. It ain’t nothing, and it adds up over time.

It’s also a time with four major family birthdays in them, which means I have to find ways and times to attend to physical events. This is not a problem, because I love my family but it sure makes me mindful of just how long it takes me to recover from that to do, y’know, things with myself like write for the blog. Marking periods take time out of the blog work.

The subject matter of the month is also less of a freebie than you might think because I feel like some things are too repetitive – I don’t imagine I’m going to find a third Transformers character to write about next year, for example. There’s also the way that February and June kinda blur together – I’m very fond of talking about queer media in February since that’s one of the most fun kinds of smoochy media I like.

I aim to keep the queued posts for this blog up to 50, so every day if I add a post, it goes to 51 and dips back down to 50. I also try to make sure I’m four weeks ahead on the video channels. This month, as I write this, I am one week ahead on the video, and the queue is down to 45. I am frustrated! But I am doing things to overcome that, and in the coming weeks, I don’t have to grapple with a theme!

I haven’t been getting to bed at good times. This month has featured multiple days where I get to bed at 4 in the morning, one even at 5. This is bad and I hate it. I hate it especially because it takes a long time to recover from it, to get back to sleeping at even the modestly more sensible time of midnight to one AM. I also haven’t been cooking as much as I want to — even modest resistance means that suddenly dinner is some microwaved oats and sultanas, with a splash of milk.

I think I may even be missing one of my June goals for Magic The Gathering: Arena, which isn’t exactly important, but it is a bit of a pisser. The aim was to hit gold tier in limited, which at this point I have… a few hours to do, and I’m still in Silver Tier. That’s not a big deal but it is a bummer.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[stormblessed95]

jimin saying he doesn't care about important dates like silver day white day valentines and jungkook not caring about anniversaries or numbers it's bad out here for jikookers💀

You can "not care" about important dates and still celebrate them? I don't give a particular fuck about Valentines Day because it's just a regular day but I still buy my partner flowers. Because I love them. We still take Valentines as an opportunity to be more aware of each other. To make it special because with both of us working full time, it's hard enough already to just survive the day-to-day. Also as an aside: I'm not up to date on all the interviews, so what is the OG ask referring to?

its the way I know JK is straight is the whole being objectively mid looking but somehow so hot to us is a straight man power...

OG ask KNOWS Jungkook? Amazing. Oh to be that blessed lol. Also calling the Jeon Jungkook "objectively mid looking"? What? Who have they been looking at?

if a man is literally awakening female heterosexuality then there's 99% chance that he's straight af. And we know JK is known to be magnet for women falling for him.

Ah yes. Pointing at other people's sexuality to confirm the sexuality of an individual. Legit science right there. This is such a weird point? Also, bisexuality exists?

Also, he treats jimin like utter shit like IS EVERYONE BLINDDDD???? Dont you all love Jimin ? Then why still attaching him to that man who doesn't respect nor does bare minimum things for Jimin ? Jikookers mental institution when

Aaaand another mystery is solved. Let's add another PJM solo stan/akgae to the pile. I don't get why the knee jerk reaction is always calling the members straight which isn't very "speak yourself" of these asshats, and bashing at least one other member of BTS. Get the fuck out of the fandom, honestly. If hating (without an actually sane reason) one part of an insanely close friend group and musical act, if seeing enemies of the one member you prefer everywhere is your daily fan life: touch some grass.

Lol akgaes usually really aren't worth engaging with too seriously because it's literally as frustrating as talking to a brick wall and trying to make the brick get your point. Honestly, that'd probably LESS frustrating because it doesn't come with the gaslighting and ignorance an akgae conversation usually does. Lol they will twist your words constantly and never ACTUALLY want to have a logically conversation. They just want to screech at someone and manipulate anyone who doesn't know better. Don't open yourself up to it, I promise its not worth it 😂🤣

[thrilling-oneway]

You are so right with m/f stuff! I’m not familiar with a lot of VBS shipping discourse, but it’s annoying to see how people can’t write an analysis on how important Tsukasa is to Rui without others dog piling them and saying they’re delusional and ignoring canon for their yaoi “with no content”. (At least on twitter, tumblr is much better with this) And as someone whose also bisexual, it’s so annoying seeing people use bisexuality as a gotcha to ship m/f and act as if its progressive and that it gives them the okay to hate on f/f and m/m pairings.

YES YES EXACTLY. God I hate when people keep saying that ruikasa has no content and their dynamic is underdeveloped whenever anyone talks about them. Like as biased as I am because I like the ship, they do have a very developed dynamic regardless of if you like the ship or not. Literally there's three events about it (potato and pandemonium + it was a pretty big background element in curtain call), one of which is the third event in the game. like if you don't like ritk that's perfectly fine, but when people are dogpilling ritk shippers for talking about their dynamic/pandemonium chapter 8/wtv and saying they're reaching, especially if the person doing this is an account dedicated to another rui ship/are a rui fan, it's a bad look because you're literally ignoring a very significant part of his arc. Ignoring massively important aspects of a character you claim to like just because of a ship is low. This fandom is way too set on everything being about shipping like bruh no one is telling you that you had to view pandemonium as romantic you can view it as platonic perfectly fine and not need to erase parts of rui's character to justify your rui/female character ship.

it's an especially weird situation with VBS as well. as much as I hold the earlier EN fandom to a higher standard there was a lot of discourse around VBS and the fact that they're implied gay. like it used to be a situation where if you admitted you shipped m/f vbs you would get jumped. as a comeback people would accuse biphobia but i never saw huge amounts of people being actually biphobic. saying "an and kohane are quite heavily implied to be lesbians (and it makes some people uncomfortable to see them shipped with men)" is a true statement but people didn't need to attack others over it. not liking a bi headcanon isn't biphobic unless you're actually being biphobic about it yknow? luckily it calmed down after a while but now you get jumped for not shipping m/f which leads us straight back to the statement about an and kohane. gbr the situation with vbs shipping nowadays is much worse than the situation when i first joined, obviously partially bc of the massive increase in fandom size but mainly because people are spewing actual homophobic rhetoric over akty ankh (someone literally tried to claim heterophobia was real bc of people not liking m/f vbs a couple months ago. actually this has happened multiple times).

AND YES GOD THIS FANDOM'S APPROACH TO BI HEADCANONS IS SO FUCKING ANNOYING. Like people only use it as a way to make m/f ships more queer and try to 1 up people with it because oh yes male/female couple are not the norm at all and they're so cool and different and if you add a bi/pan hc on top of that it makes you more progressive (/s). HCing a character as bi does not give you cool points and the fact that so many people only do it for m/f ships pisses me off to no end because people treat it like Straight 2 when bi people can be in m/m and f/f relationships. People can hc whatever they want ofc but it's so obvious sometimes that people are only using bi hcs as a way to quickly round off their hcs for every character so they can multiship or justify their m/f ships as queer and at that point I'd rather they just hc'd them as straight because I don't like seeing my identity used solely for the purpose of making a ship more queer because someone doesn't want their m/f to be a hetship.

[shaving-for-a-penny]

it was an interesting cross between paths. surrounded by lesbians and bisexual women ready to to see josh groban covered in blood, I sat and watched a man I’d never seen before act my favorite character from my favorite penny dreadful. it was magical for all involved.

now here’s some more fun things that happened

I’d only ever heard of Josh Groban. I didn’t even know what he looked like until I saw the promotions.

Everyone around me in the theater didn’t know that this was the first time they’d had a full orchestra in decades. It felt like nobody understood the incredible magnitude of the revival, but maybe that’s just my crazy fan side talking.

In A Little Priest, mrs lovett laughs so hard she falls to the ground in a fit and does this

this caused the audience to laugh harder so she paused and did another full circle before getting up

I’m not sure if it was in the script but Anthony forgot where he put his cap briefly.

Johanna’s actress was perfectly jumpy and afraid, I wanted to hug her the whole way through Green Finch & Linnet Bird/Kiss Me

Also she’s so quick to shoot dr fogg it was almost comical. I had to stop myself from cackling. She was so ready to kill that guy. Good for her.

Todd has little reading glasses

Mrs lovetts actress, oh my god. So clever. Lifting up her skirt when talking to sweeney, pushing her corset up, rubbing up against him, throwing herself onto his lap. The way he just let her manhandle him into whatever position she wanted with only mild irritation was a very fun portrayal of their dynamic. By The Sea was adorable

God, That’s Good! I was just blown away. Every detail. Tobias’s body language. The new shop decorations. The pies!

THE ENSEMBLE. i hope to god they know how appreciated they are. Their movements, so synchronized, so fluid, so expressive! Those people making gnashing teeth at the pie as Toby went past I SAW YOU. i thought it was funny. I appreciate you. The exaggerated movements during The Contest, God That’s Good, etc etc… ugh, gorgeous, hypnotic

I don’t recall who played Sr. Pirelli but Godspeed! They seemed so fun! I have a very particular interpretation of his character in my mind that not many actors appeal to, but this fellow nailed it. Not that they had to, but it is always nice.

The finales. This show really knew how to end a scene. Sweeney and Lovett slammed their weapons on the table at the last note of A Little Priest, sending a flurry of flour and drops of blood into the air as they cut to black. At the end, the two (covered in blood and soot) took each other’s hands as the ensemble backed away, and dropped down into the floor with a final note from the orchestra

I’m not an orchestra person, so I do not know the technical terms / what to compliment, but they are so appreciated as well. They were flawless. Sweeney Todd is a very hard musical to sing, much less play, and having the live performance made it all that much more magical.

In conclusion, my autistic hoard of knowledge about this story has a treasure chest to add to its piles of gold. Props to absolutely everyone and anyone involved in that production. It is masterfully done.

yours,

sweeney todd

[darriness]

Klaine Advent 2022 - Day 5 - Oval

Author: darriness Word Count: 578 Summary: Ice skating! Author's Note: A piece of information I forgot to add to my verse recap from three days ago: Matty comes out as bisexual at the age of 17 :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!

AO3 Link

Oval

Kurt wraps his hands around his cup of hot chocolate and leans his elbows on the boards encircling the oval ice rink. His eyes travel over the faces of strangers as he tries to find the faces of the people he knows.

He spots Matty and his boyfriend of sixth months, Cole, not too far from him. Matty’s been on skates every year since he could walk, but this is Cole’s first time on ice and it shows. Kurt smiles as Matty holds his boyfriend’s hand and holds the other out protectively in case the other boy should start to fall. Kurt’s not sure Matty could keep Cole up on his feet should he fall, but he finds it so endearing that he wants to try.

Kurt sees Lizzy next, gliding effortlessly around the rink with her boyfriend, Landon. They met on campus and have been seeing each other for a few months, but it must be serious if she asked to bring him home for the weekend. Kurt’s not quite ready to think too deeply about that. He wants Lizzy to stay his little girl for as long as possible - even if she is twenty-one.

Kurt shakes his head to rid it of distressing thoughts before his eyes scan the rink for the last familiar face. He can’t find Blaine anywhere, though, and his eyebrows crumble in confusion. Where is his husband?

“Package for Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt turns to see Blaine approaching him from the left. His husband glides gracefully on his skates and comes to a stop easily at the boards in front of Kurt.

Kurt smirks and then bites his lip, “That will always be my favourite Christmas Eve surprise.”

Blaine blushes a little, leaning an elbow on the boards while shrugging a shoulder, “I know December 5th doesn’t quite have the same magic as Christmas Eve, but I saw you over here and couldn’t resist.”

“My romantic.” Kurt sighs to which Blaine answers with a wink.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come out on the ice with us?” Blaine asks.

Kurt shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink, “Do you remember my skating prowess at nineteen? You know it hasn’t gotten much better since then. I’d be on my butt almost as much as Cole.”

They both look over at the boys at the other end of the rink and wince in unison as Matty’s boyfriend stumbles, as if on cue, and lands on his hip.

“I’m better suited to hot chocolate drinking and shoe guarding.” Kurt waves a hand behind him to the pile of shoes he’s been tasked to keep safe while the others skate.

Blaine tilts his head and gives Kurt a sardonic look, “You just don’t want to do anything you’re not perfect at.”

Kurt raises his eyebrows and nods with a ‘Duh’ expression, “You’ve known me for over thirty years. That fact should be obvious.”

Blaine laughs, drops his chin to his chest, and shakes his head before lifting his head with a sigh, “Oh, I love you so much.” He says.

Kurt smiles and tilts his head out toward the rink, “Go. Skate. I want to watch your butt as you go.”

This time Blaine throws his head back and laughs. Without another word, he winks once more at his husband and takes off across the rink. If he sways his butt a little more than normal, well…Kurt’s not going to complain.

[dhampiravidi]

x-men OC: Hestia Li

template taken from here

General Information

Name: Hestia (Black) Li Aliases: Fury (codename); Hes (nickname) Age: (see this) 15/18 upon enrolling in Xavier's; ~40 as an adult Species: Homo sapien superior aka Human Mutant Ethnicity: half Québécois, half Han Chinese Sexuality: (closeted) Bisexual Affiliation: the X-Men

Physical Appearance

Hestia is a 5'4" (162.56 cm) young woman who engages in regular physical activity. She's lightly toned and has a relatively pale complexion (which, unfortunately for her, tends to burn rather than tan). While at Xavier's, she cuts her wavy dark hair (into a shoulder-length bob), which can easily grow to the small of her back. It’s prematurely graying as a result of her powers. She has striking grey eyes, which appear to glow in the light. Athleisure takes up most of her wardrobe--the rest is slightly chic formal that she wears sometimes when she teaches. Her symbiote form adds another four inches to her frame. Sometimes, her symbiote takes the form of a puddle with eyes when he slinks around or curiously observes people without his host being present.

Personality

Almost everyone who meets Hestia knows her to be a friendly, loyal, compassionate individual. At her core, that's who she really is. She loves hard and is always willing to be a shoulder to cry on or a giver of advice. Her negative traits are connected to her fear of being left behind (which originated when her parents divorced as a result of her childhood hardship). When her everyday schedule piles up too high with classes to teach, tutoring sessions, and chores, she can tend to run away from it all by taking shortcuts. Also, she tends to ramble when she's nervous, and that happens when she's trying to keep one of her own secrets. Strangely enough though, she is a good undercover agent because she simply doesn't see her job as her secret--as much as it is SHIELD's. Her symbiote typically has the mind of a young middle schooler (slightly feral, eager to please her, frightened by thunderstorms).

History

Hestia was born to a Québécois mother, Lea Tremblay, and a Han Chinese father, Vince Li (surname voluntarily translated to Black). Her mutation became apparent when she was ten, disrupting her otherwise happy family life. Hestia's ability to copy physical skills simply by observing them made her a prodigy in soccer and ballet. It also made her the target of bullying. That was how the unfortunate side effect of her mutation, a feral state triggered by sudden shock, became known. Due to the constant drama, Hestia's parents ended up getting a divorce. Her mother decided to stay in Quebec with Hestia's little brother, while Hestia moved to New York with her father. Mr. Black soon became an alcoholic, so Hestia earned money after school by counting cards in underground gambling rings. Her only solace was going to high school, where the kids saw her as a sweet, perfect popular girl. Tragedy struck again when Hestia was mugged in a park. She tried to fight the gunman and got shot, triggering her feral state. After she'd beaten him up, a symbiote (who Hestia would name Stitch) slithered out from the bushes and forcibly bonded with her, before eating the unconscious criminal. This traumatized Hestia, who spent the next week lying in bed. One day, she suddenly found herself filling out an application for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. As soon as she got in, she left her dad some money and went to get help from Professor Charles Xavier.

Powers / Abilities: 

Photographic Kinesthesia (she can copy any physical skill she's observed) and Symbiote Physiology (read Eddie Brock's section). The symbiote can be injured and/or torn apart by fire or loud sounds. It hungers for a chemical that can only be found in brains and/or chocolate--phenethylamine. Hestia cannot use her mutant ability while the symbiote is active (on the outside of her skin). She sometimes has him temporarily separate from her so she can, often to replicate martial arts moves, melee weapon techniques, dances, diving, etc. She also sometimes separates from Stitch so he can subtly sneak ahead and help with reconnaissance.

Trivia:

Hestia's 1st friend at the X-Mansion was Scott Summers.

Even before her mutation presented itself, she had a natural talent for soccer and ballet (not to mention doing math).

The grey streaks in her hair are a visual consequence of her mutation. No, her power can't kill her.

She is on-call as a "consultant" for SHIELD, which means she goes on missions for them and lets them study her, in return for them not showing up at the X-Mansion or arresting her or her brother for their crimes.

The money she earned during high school (mostly won in poker) is partly stored in a closet just in case. It's a couple hundred thousand.

Feeling that both of her parents abandoned her, Hestia took the surname "Li", which her ancestors used. It translates to "Black".

Stitch, her symbiote, was named after his own ability to break apart and reform correctly. The movie character is just a nice coincidence.

Hestia's brother, Connor, is two years younger than she is. He is a mutant with a perfect photographic memory, who works for criminals as a human ledger.

She teaches European French, Phys Ed & occasionally Cantonese.

Hestia loves watching hockey with Logan, even though it's a lot of unnecessary Canadian people's screaming.

Verses*

Brotherhood AU

Origins/Wolverine: Hestia still bonds with Stitch, but she's taken by Stryker's people when she's fifteen. She escapes by herself, catching the guards by surprise by using her symbiote's abilities.

The Movies: Hestia is somewhere between her twenties and thirties, adjusted as needed. She's a teacher and an X-Man.

General/Comics: she's in her mid-thirties. She teaches when she's not on kitchen duty or doing a mission for SHIELD.

IRL AU: Hestia teaches something physical (self-defense, kid's sports, ballet, etc.)

*I don't want to write any threads dealing with live-action movies made after The Last Stand. I just don't like their plots & some of the casting (plus the timeline confuses me SO MUCH) --anyway, I'm still down to RP with canons from then!

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hello can I request a matchup for genshin impact and honkai starrail!

Here’s some info about me!

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: bisexual with a lean towards men

Mbti: XSFJ

Appearance: 5’4 with short fluffy black hair average build with slightly tan skin

Personality: people describe me as passionate, friendly but blunt, and outgoing. I tend to be quiet around people but once a topic I’m passionate about gets brought up I can talk a lot! I have a hard time with facial expressions but when I get excited I really show it according to my friends! Unfortunately I have a hard time getting close to people. Once I do get close to someone though I am very loyal and will do my best to always be there for them! my friends say once I open up I can be alot more cheerful and alot of them describe me as funny and eccentric!

Likes: seafood, sea animals, Astronomy, sweets, reading, fashion, and drawing

Dislikes: cooking, bugs, being ignored, and loud noises

Hobbies: MARINE BIOLOGY, I love fish more than anything ever sea urchins are also so cute! I also am really into fashion and clothing!

Hi Anon! Thank you for your request! I hope you like your matchups!

In Genshin Impact, I match you with...

Kaeya is planning stargazing dates the moment he finds out about your love of stars! Doesn't matter if you're dating yet or not, he just wants to lay next to you and gaze up at the sky.

Also has trouble getting close to people. He hides it well but for him to make a real connection, he has to know the person for a long time.

Fashion buddies! If you think you're getting away with not having fashion parades every time you get new clothes, you're sorely mistaken.

Kaeya knows a lot about fashion so if you're ever not sure what to wear, just ask him. He'll find the perfect outfit for any occasion.

Doesn't have the biggest sweet tooth but he'll happily have a sweet treat with you every once in a while. He'll also keep an eye out for your favourite sweets any time he's out.

Kaeya's naturally smooth nature balances out your bluntness. If you ever offend anyone, he's stepping in and soothing over their bruised ego.

Will never ignore you! Kaeya always wants to make you feel appreciated and acknowledged so he'll set aside whatever he's doing and listen to you attentively.

Loves listening to you talk about your interests. He might tease you sometimes but he loves that you have something you're passionate about.

In Honkai Star Rail, I match you with...

Dan Heng is writing down notes every time you talk about your interests! Part of it is so he can add things to the archives. Part of it is so he remembers ever little detail you tell him.

Especially interested in marine biology. It's a field he doesn't have much experience with so any and all information you can give him is valued.

Another one who would love stargazing with you. It's very easy to do on the Star Rail but he'll put in the extra effort and set up a little pile of pillows and blankets and get some sweet treats to share with you.

Also doesn't have a huge sweet tooth but is amazing at making cakes! I see Dan Heng as someone who can bake almost anything perfectly.

If you're craving something, Dan Heng's the person to go to. He'll always offer to have you join him in the kitchen. He enjoys the company.

Not a super loud person so no need to worry about loud noises when you're around him. March is another matter but Dan Heng will make sure to tell her off if she's being too loud.

Understands your difficulties getting close to people. He feels honoured that you feel comfortable around him and will do his best to make sure you never lose that feeling.

[benwillbondswife]

Realising that I am infact just another closeted, blonde bisexual to add to the pile

[bookloveravenue]

Divorced Men’s Club (book 4): Employing Patience by Saxon James

Art When it comes to regrets, I have none. My life is perfect. I own a bar, work hard, party harder, and smother my niblings in all the love they deserve. I don’t need to settle down, as much as my sister might want me to. But then Joey Manning walks into my office and leaves me all but begging to give him a job … and wanting to give him so much more. The self-professed straight man is in my head and while I know that I need to move on from him, my body isn’t getting that message. It doesn’t help that Joey is a grade A flirt who can banter with the best of them. I’ve never had regrets. Not until Joey Manning. Joey The bills keep piling up and the pressure to get my sisters through college before we’re evicted is always on the back of my mind. Whoever said life was for living, clearly forgot that living’s expensive. My default mode is stressed AF and working myself to the bone, and there’s only one person who gives me a break from all that. Art de Almeida. My boss. The one man I shouldn’t flirt with, but I can’t seem to stop. I want to get under his skin. To leave him panting for me. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing except that he thinks I’m straight, and I’ve never bothered to correct him. I need this job. But some days I worry that I need Art more.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63317894-employing-patience

********

May 6, 2023

My Review: 5/5 Stars

Been waiting for this story very patiently for this story! We've seen glimpses of Art and Joey and have been waiting for the day where Art finally gives in and admits he is very interested (and will actually doing something about it) in Art. We get their first meeting together where Joey is looking for a job. And we see lots of their flirting. For Art, he has no problem admitting he is attracted to Joey. But with Joey saying that he is straight, Art doesn't believe anything will happen. He knows Joey is simply a flirt and they may tease one another but Art won't make a move unless he knows it is more than a game for Joey. Instead, he'll sit on the sidelines and stew, while also trying very hard to move on. He's the guy for one night stands, he doesn't do relationships... right? For Joey, he's been working really hard to keep things at home afloat. He supports both his younger sisters, one who is in college and the other who is finishing up high school. He works hard (and even gets another job in addition to working at Art's bar( and barely has time for himself. And he is trying to finish a high school diploma that he never got to finish. It's tough when the bills keep piling up. Then add in the complication of Art. Joey is just as attracted to Art and loves the flirting game they play. He's never really identified himself as anything other than straight more because he's never been with a man and also, any time he has been attracted to a man, it never lasted long. The label of bisexual never felt right. But when it comes to Art? Things are very much different. And he wants to prove to Art that he is serious when it comes to wanting to be with him. And that maybe just maybe, Art wants to be with him too. Loved these two! I was looking forward to this story and it's been well worth the wait! Joey and Art have the best banter and are such a great pairing. You'll be cheering for these two to finally get together. Really looking forward to the next one in this series!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[cheekypriest]

"Being accustomed to danger doesn't make you invulnerable to it. There's a big difference between facing danger and surviving it." James would be lying if he tried to say there had never been close calls, there were more than he cared to remember. Demons weren't exactly fun or easy to deal with and they were more than happy to do anything they could to get underneath people's skin and ruin every aspect of a person's life that they could reach -- - and even more so.

That, he'd learned for himself in the very beginning. Stood in his parent's bedroom as he watched his father being toyed with like he was little more than some cheap puppet for the monster's enjoyment, watching as his life was ripped away, the look of glee written all over his mother's face, twisted and contorted by the thing that had possessed her. As if that hadn't been enough, not content with only taking his father from him, the demon mocked him, forced him to watch his mother writhe in agony before finally letting her go, letting her drop to the floor like a meaningless sack of potatoes, the teen catching her in his arms, holding her close as tears streamed down his cheeks, his entire body shaking as he pleaded with her to be okay. There was so little life left in her, mere fragments in those tormented eyes as a single tear trickled down the side of her face and that was it -- - she was gone.

Nobody deserved to endure that. James wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even those who inflicted such pain upon others. That was why he became a priest, to do everything within his power to keep that side of the world from people, to let them wander around their entire lives without knowing the horrors that lingered in the shadows, that threatened their every waking moment. Why? Because they deserved that ignorance, there was enough going on in the world to make anyone's head spin but add a whole other layer on top? No, he knew what it was like, everything else practically felt numb to him. Let everyone else worry about those matters while he concentrated on what they couldn't see, what they didn't know.

Was he really about to let someone in? Give them the slightest peak into his world? Connor didn't deserve that. The poor guy had probably seen more than anyone else should, especially for someone of his age. Who was he to pile more on top? Yet at the same time, how could he get him to walk away? A man led by such curiosity, his foot was already in the door inching it open while James stood on the other side and stubbornly held it in place to try and keep the detective from moving in any further.

But for how long? How long could the Brit hold him at bay when the other could simply find another way in, sneak in through a window when he wasn't looking and he wouldn't know to be there and shield him from the very real horrors that could easily engulf him as it had so many others?

"I'm sure they are. I imagine most people see their siblings as the epitome of Hercules, but right now, you said it yourself... you have no idea what you're dealing it." Him, or anyone else at the station and that was exactly how it was meant to be. "I do." Not that he was happy about the fact, but there was never any use in lamenting the fact. He could wish his life had been different all he wanted but it wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't give him back his parents or his careless youth -- - this was who he was, who he knew how to be and that was that.

Though he did note the fact that Connor had mentioned not having a boyfriend since college. It wasn't his place to presume someone's sexuality, or judge it, particularly given his own casual leaning that he kept quiet amongst his peers. Not everyone expected a bisexual priest and there were probably plenty who'd be both surprised and horrified by the fact, something that his mentor had quickly instilled into him in his younger years. Not because he didn't approve, but because he felt there were more important matters in the world than someone's sexuality and not everyone in the Vatican would agree with that.

Was it the same for Connor? Did he have to keep it quiet as well? Did he choose to? Or did others at the station know? Queries for another time, perhaps, but something he'd definitely have to broach very carefully -- - if the younger man wasn't completely and utterly repelled by the Brit by the end of their interaction.

For a moment, James found himself smirking a little, leaning towards his desk to grab his cup of coffee again as if intentionally leaving the other man hanging. "Oh, if that were true, you wouldn't be here stumped over this case and I'd be back in Rome feeding stray cats and trying to avoid being run over by yet another bloody moped for the millionth time..." He noted with a raise of his brows, again teasing him before he drew the cup close and took a sip. By now, it had become little more than lukewarm, half forgetting about it for the last few minutes, the bitterness biting at his tongue. And yes, maybe he did have something of a playful detest of scooters and mopeds that had taken over the Italian capital city after being bumped into so often when trying to cross practically any street.

"Fine... but I'm going to need something a lot stronger than coffee if we're going down this rabbit hole." He was bound to think the priest was some sort of lunatic after it anyway, so he figured he might as well get something out of it. Especially if he did end up being taken for psychological evaluation or whatever else lay up the detective's sleeve. Placing his cup back down onto his desk, the greying Englishman pushed himself to his feet, casually sliding behind his desk to a corner cupboard where he leaned down and pulled out a rather decent bottle of whisky that he kept for the most trying times. "Care to join me? I won't tell anyone if you don't."

From the very beginning moments of their initial encounter, Connor could sense a burden that weighed upon the priest. It was invisible, but deeply felt, as it left the same unseen scars that one with a kindred soul could empathize with. It was present in his eyes, in the saucy smiles & flirtatious tones, the temperate cadence of his calm voice. A twinge of something long lost, never to be regained, not merely by the vanishing of it but by the simplicity of knowing no different. The detective shared that same numbed sadness, buried marrow deep. It was there in the dark circles beneath his eyes, guised with cleverly applied concealer. It sat within a haunted emptiness that fell over him when he was alone or lost in thought, exposing him for what he was under the surface of warmth & charm.

Connor didn’t believe that Rutherford was his particular brand of damaged, but he had been hurt in the past. The man was too cautious, too stubbornly protective not to have suffered his own heartache in the past. The detective felt they had that in common. Perhaps a few other things, as well.

The mild tease drew a little laugh from the younger male - such a proper word used to describe such an unapologetically American kid. He supposed both halves of the descriptor weren’t without merit. He was incredibly stubborn, relentless as a bloodhound when he caught whiff of a scent that might lead him in the direction of revelation. Even as the priest was trying his damnedest to plead with him, even scare him off of this crusade of his, Connor wasn’t about to budge. & both knew it. Rutherford had accepted it as fact long before making his arguments, but he couldn’t help himself in his desire to save others. Connor supposed they had that in common, too. He wasn’t the type to give up just because a trail went cold. He stuck with it, used every available resource at his disposal to find an answer.

One had to wonder just who it was for; himself, or the families of the victims. Perhaps the victims themselves, in some retroactive karmic sense. Partially, the detective had to admit that it was all for amusement’s sake. This was what he was good at. He could use his strange brain & the moral ambiguity that came with his psychology to solve crimes. But he liked to believe that there was some semblance of appreciation for the greater good within him somewhere. Maybe he was just projecting.

He was also a selfish twirp. Rutherford peppered his proclamations with small flirtations, compliments that were obviously intended to ease his defenses, aiding in the priest’s persuasions. Outwardly, the detective returned those small compliments with a gentle, though fleeting smile. Warm. He knew what the man was trying to do. Yet another side of him, prideful & hidden, preened. By no means was it the first time he had been informed that he was a beauty, that he was clever & whip smart. Those truths were not merely evident, but also a detriment in some aspects of his line of work. He hadn’t been taken seriously by his fellow officers in the beginning, & often that tended to be the case years later. Just a kid. Just some entitled trust fund baby that wanted to play cops & robbers. People really had no idea.

But he liked how it sounded when the priest described him in such a positive light. Passingly, the detective contemplated whether or not it would be appropriate to call upon him outside of the scope of the investigation. He knew he shouldn’t get personal, but where was the fun in playing strictly by the rules? He wondered if Rutherford wouldn’t be interested in a coffee. Somewhere outside of the church next time.

Though the longer the man spoke, the more he pleaded his case, the more intrigued the detective became. The mention of the Vatican had him somewhat aghast, though it hardly showed. Only the faintest shift of expression as the bewildered youth let that small detail settle, & he filed it away for later. Why would they feel the need to become involved in a suspicious death? Had Moore had deeper ties within the church than initially revealed in the thorough search of his background? Curious, he observed the priest as he made his case, eager to grasp onto those small, insignificant tells of body language, subtle changes. There was an urgency beneath the calm insistence. The detective sensed that Rutherford was genuinely scared of something.

It wasn’t the kid of crippling fear that engulfed a man & reduced him to a quivering mess. It was a learned fear, one which consumed from the inside, until the only thing left was a staticky numbness & a driven, but ironic bravery. It was the kind of fear that made a man strong not because of obligation, but because he had to be. Connor wondered just what had happened to this man to make him this way. He just seemed… lonely.

That question lodged itself firmly in the back of the detective's mind as he spoke. His own voice sounded a little far off to his ears. “I’m not unaccustomed to danger.” Connor, too, was used to being alone. He thrived in solitude as he did in company, though not by choice. “I don’t have anyone - I haven’t had a boyfriend since college, & extended family is out of the picture.” He didn’t know why he was telling the priest all this. Perhaps it was reassurance, a small comfort in knowing that nothing was going to get to Connor through anyone he loved. But he realized how sad it sounded, when viewing his loneliness through any other lens. His defined lips quirked into a pretty smile, placating. He didn’t want to give Rutherford the wrong impression. “My brothers are tough, & I’m not scared of the consequences. I wouldn't be a very good cop if I lost my nerve that easily.”

Besides, the past time a perp had threatened Connor’s family… it hadn’t gone well for them.

But there was the matter of the priest's personal apprehensions to consider. Rutherford seemed to think that his hypothesis on this case might lead the detective to thinking he was psychologically impaired. That did raise concerns, though for Connor, it mostly piqued his interest. “Besides, I doubt anything you could tell me isn’t something I haven’t heard before.” What could be so obscenely controversial that he would question the man's sanity? “I’m not afraid of nightmares, James. I can promise you that.”

[indigowallbreaker]

Ooh seasonal prompt: the blue lions (whichever or all of them) at a pride celebration/parade?

(There was no way to do this in 3 sentences so uh. Have a whole fic instead :3 Packed full of headcanons of course!)

By the time Mercedes and Annette came back from the grocery store-- weighed down with extra water bottles and a variety of snacks-- it looked as if their friends were nearly ready for the pride parade. A laptop in the corner of the living room was shuffling through a playlist of all their favorite songs, perfectly underscoring the mild chaos Mercedes’ apartment now contained.

Ashe sat on the floor surrounded by his pride pin collection, apparently trying to organize them on his backpack. The pack already bore many styles of the bisexual flag but Ashe seemed to be stuck on where to place his two polyamorous pins. Beside him sat Felix, who wore Mercedes’ spare trans flag as a cape and looked annoyed at Ashe’s fastidious decorating. 

Over on the couch, both of Sylvain’s cheeks were painted with the stripes of the asexual flag. He was attempting to convince Dimitri to add flare to his eyepatch. “Maybe you could write ‘A Bi For An Eye’ or something?” Sylvain suggested, smeering sunscreen on his arms.

Dimitri laughed. “You think that would fit on a single eyepatch?” He was fiddling with a rainbow fan, opening it and closing it with a rhythm that betrayed his nerves. Mercedes didn’t blame him. While Mercedes, Annette, and Sylvain had attended pride parades before, this would be everyone else’s first time. 

When Dedue came forward to help with the shopping bags, Mercedes motioned for them to lower their head so she could speak in their ear. “If anyone gets too overwhelmed, you can use my spare key to bring them back here.”

“Understood,” Dedue said with a solemn nod.

Mercedes smiled and pecked them on the cheek. “That includes you too, you know!” Chuckling, Dedue followed Annette into the kitchen-- her white, pink, and blue hair ribbons flowing behind her. There was just one person left to check on.

Ingrid stood in the bedroom almost exactly where Mercedes had left her. Brightly colored outfits lay on the bed, surrounded by glittering jewelry and a small pile of pride-themed trinkets Mercedes had accumulated over the years. Ingrid was staring at them with a hand to her chin, eyebrows furrowed, mouth a tight frown.

“We’re almost ready,” Mercedes said as she stepped inside. “Have you made any progress?”

“I picked out these shoes,” Ingrid said, shaking one foot to draw attention to her sneakers without looking away from the bed. “They should be comfortable enough for standing around in.”

Mercedes joined Ingrid by the bed. “That’s a very good start,” she praised. 

Ingrid hummed distractedly. Then she sighed and ran both hands through her short blonde hair. “I just don’t know, Mercedes.”

“That’s okay! No one said you had to pick a label.”

“But I have to be something, right?” Ingrid gestured down at herself, looking at Mercedes with something close to desperation. “I mean, I like girls, but I kind of like boys too sometimes. And then there’s-- well, I was doing some research online last week and I think I might be aromantic? But I’m still not sure.”

Ingrid let out a groan and sank onto the bed, displacing a few potential outfits. “How can I have pride in something I’m not sure about? Something I didn’t know existed 8 days ago? I might not even be right!” Ingrid lowered her face into her hands with another defeated exhale. 

A floorboard creaked behind Mercedes, and she turned to see everyone clustered around the doorway, watching Ingrid with troubled expressions. She put her finger to her lips to keep them quiet.

Crossing to her closet, Mercedes called over her shoulder. “What was that first thing you said?”

Ingrid hesitated. “Um. I like girls?”

“Then here.” Mercedes pulled a hat from the top shelf and held it out to Ingrid with a grin. The hat was white, with the words ‘Girl Liker’ embroidered in black cursive across the front. 

Ingrid stared at the hat, reading the simple phrase again and again. Still grinning, Mercedes put it on Ingrid’s head. “You don’t have to “be” anything, Ingrid,” she said as Ingrid adjusted the hat. “You can just come out with us and have a fun day.”

“And it’s gonna be a lot of fun!” Annette chirped from the doorway. Ingrid jumped, noticing the audience for the first time.

“All this fuss,” Felix scoffed. “If you wear something colorful enough, no one will care what you are or aren’t.”

“Felix is correct, even if he phrased it poorly,” Dimitri said, earning himself a glare from Felix.

Ashe approached Ingrid and held out one of his many buttons, this one just a rainbow. “If nothing else, this flag’s got you. That’s what it’s for, after all.” 

Ingrid took the pin and turned it in her hand. It looked a bit rusted around the edges. Mercedes wondered how long Ashe had owned it. Then, with a small smile, Ingrid closed her fist around it. “Thank you, everyone,” she said. “I apologize for my outburst.”

“Nothing to apologize for!” Mercedes made a shooing motion at their friends. “It’s my turn to get changed and then I expect everyone to be ready to go! Don’t forget to pack water!” With some gentle encouragement from Dedue, the others left the doorway, Sylvain closing the door with a wink at Ingrid. 

Hands on her hips, Mercedes turned back to Ingrid, who sat straighter now with her hat and her pin. “Okay! Let’s finish your makeover!”