#also obviously I'm so right about nicki all the time

[ennn]

Jac Schaeffer on Agathario, Rio as Nicky's dad, Rio' scar speech

Some highlights from the Jeff Goldsmith Podcast.

Jeff: That brings us obviously speaking of relationships to Agatha and Rio, you have a very interesting foundation and I know if stuff was cut, you wouldn't be able to speak exactly on some of it, but I'm curious, was there more there? It's good to leave your audience wanting more. And people have speculated as to whether or not there was more of a flashback between them and more of their history.

Jac: There was more in the writer's room. There was never any more on the page. We sort of, it was our story instinct, I would say, that getting too far into their backstory would sort of be too much of a counterweight to the Nicky material. And so we really included what we felt was vital to this chapter. But we, we certainly talked about it at great length of how they met and what their relationship was and what it looked like in happier times and all of that.

And I didn't anticipate that the shippers would be so fervent that there would be, you know– and I–it feels foolish for not – you never know how anything is gonna land and you never know if people are gonna care.

And the amount that people care is staggering to me. And it's my hope that in the MCU there's more unpacking of the Agatha and Rio backstory.

Jeff: You were talking about the shipping group, like was there ever anything about Nicholas's father or is there any credence to the concept that it could have been born as the love child between these two?

Jac: Yes. I mean, we talked about a lot of different versions of who is the father of Nikki. And we ultimately decided that for Agatha's story, it wasn't relevant to the story we were trying to tell and we didn't really wanna get into the weeds of if it was magical or, y'know – that's again – it's sort of more rules.

We certainly considered the idea that Rio is the father. I wonder if I should ask the writers if they sort of still hold that in their hearts. It's something that I certainly thought about a lot and, and like to sort of contemplate. I enjoy that it is left to fan interpretation.

I also feel that I know how the MCU works and I don't think it serves anybody to sort of for me as the creator to emphatically tell you something that isn't on screen. Because, you know, like I said, it's my hope that these stories continue.

So, so perhaps there is a later chapter that will address this, but I, but I will say that, that when we were casting, sometimes we were like, "Does that kid look like Rio? Does that kid look like Aubrey Plaza?"

Jeff: So it's a path that, that is...

Jac: Fans and viewers, yes, are– I think they're picking up on our brainwaves for sure.

Jac: [on the toughest scenes to do] And then Rio's like little speech by the campfire was really hard.

So Giovanna Sarkees wrote a beautiful monologue that was quite long. And then it was one of those things that on the day Aubrey was doing it, and it wasn't Aubrey's fault, but it just wasn't clicking. It didn't feel right for what Aubrey had brought to the role. There's so much economy in what Aubrey does, you know, like she accomplishes so much with her physicality and her very being, that this long speech just felt wrong to me.

And I changed it on the day –which is always a risk – I changed it in the moment and the "she is my scar" I came up with, watching her do that.

[slaygentford]

worst part of fanon iwtv.... sorry if this starts a war of any kind. or congrats whichever works better

second of these............... im trying to think of something I dont like that isn't just like openly dumb and therefore boring to complain about but I cant.... I will say that I think we need to keep an eye on the ratio of loustat crying in our mind palaces, Louis who is a gay PRACTICING catholic spends all his life completely stoic until one day out of every year something happens like claudia knocks over a glass or lestat opens a door for him and then he cries until he throws up and cant get out of bed for two days and then the next night hes like okay! claudia how about you drive us to go pick out Christmas ornaments :) . and you might think that's abnormal but who hasn't sat in a scalding bath for two hours staring blankly at the wall while watching from a safe and distant corner of his mind as he meticulously lobotomizes himself. exactly

[jessefandomunited]

I wanna talk more about what I like from " it's what's inside " and I don't wanna hide spoilers anymore because I have no one to talk about this with so watch it first then read

So first I love that the whole game from the moment Forbes enters the movie it becomes the picture that Brooke creates . It a lovely peice to show how many layers this movie goes into. I also love how Brooke picks up Maya at the beginning of the movie then maya takes her body. I'm sure if I listen to all the posts in the beginning of the movie again it will pretty much spell out the outcomes for each character .

Also Forbes character as a whole is spectacularly put. I love how Beatrice isn't overly portrayed as overtly flamboyant in the movie but you can see traces of it once you know the ending . It clever and I am also super happy with how everyone played each other's character. Though to be completely honest , I hated the character Dennis a lot but everyone else playing Dennis when he was in their body , I loved him especially when he was in Cyrus body and just laughing in the corner . ( obviously I hated Cyrus too )

Which brings me to my next point . I find it incredibly interesting how the first thing Shelby does when she is in someone else's body is find the person in Cyrus body and hang out with them , getting the attention and love she desires from him so much and down to the end of the second round Cyrus is STILL going for whoever is in Nicki's body. And honestly tries to be around and touch Nicki in any possible way at the end . He helps Nicki bring in the body, he holds Nicki back when she attacks Shelby. Also I love how he adores calls Shelby Nicky when she's in Nicky's body , but the SECOND she calls him Forbes he's like " wow this is disgusting youre going way too far ... wait you want to fuck Forbes don't you!!??" He's is a total and utter dick and I hate him so much.

I'm sure I have more but I can't think of it right now. Now I don't want them to make a second movie , I think a lot of the times the movie movies that roll out the worse they get . HOWEVER if they were to make one I'd love to see Forbes, Dennis , Shelby , maya and Nicky get together to track down Beatrice so they can confront her and at least some people will get their bodies back . I feel like it would be super interesting to see how different Nicki's views have changed since living in a black mans body for how long , and I think they could also potentially have an opportunity to talk about trans issues , like maybe Beatrice or Nicky or Forbes who have been living in the opposite genders body for a while are feeling more themselves in that body then their own. Just my ideas but I think it could bring up a lot of interesting plot lines .

Lemme know your headcannos and thoughts of the movie I'm so enthralled with this movie

[frightenedcricket]

One of our songs.

Noah Sebastian x Reader. Fluff.

Note: first noah fic!!!

Warning: none, I think.

You muttered the lyrics written in your notebook while your fingers moved up and down in the air. Noah watched you from the corner of his eye as he pretended to be working on something.

"Is it... Uh... That's how it happened, right? He cheated"

You sighed and turned to look at him.

You had written the song with Noah, mostly based on your ideas and feelings that kept flowing after a few bad weeks. He simply offered a few changes, way to express certain things and how to make it more "singeable".

"Yes"

Noah nodded and mimicked you. Now, you both sat looking at each other.

"Sorry for using your band as therapy" You chuckled.

He laughed and shook his head. "Our pleasure"

You went quiet for a while, both a bit lost in your thoughts.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Any of you liked him, Noah. What would have happened?"

"Yeah, I see your point" He chuckled.

You leaned your head against the chair and watched him. Noah was now looking at the desk.

"Are you sure about the song?"

"For now? It sounds amazing" You said. "Need to hear it from you, and the guys' green light."

Noah nodded. "You can just say no anytime. We won't release it if is too personal"

You grabbed his hand and run your thumb over his knuckles. "Thanks, Noah"

"No, thank you for giving us this lyrics."

"Hey, sorry. There was a lot of traffic." Nicky walked in with sweaty cheeks and his hair quite messy, but had some coffee.

"Nah, don't worry dude. You have to check this" Noah gave you a sweet smile and that's how you started producing the song.

A few days later, you sat with your eyes closed and headphones on, Noah sitting by you in the silent room. It was your first time listening to the song and there was something special on it. It took you a while to figure it out. But when you realized, your mouth opened and you turned to look at him. The other guys were outside having some drinks after a long day, so it was just the two of you.

Noah smirked and crossed his arms.

"It's me" You muttered.

You didn't think they would use it. You had sung the song once. It was recorded and everything, you had agreed. But this...

"Noah" you pushed the headphones back right when his voice came back.

"Listen. We can remove it. We actually have two versions. But if you like it and you agree, we want you to feature in the song."

You didn't know what to say.

"Maybe not like huge thing. But we want your name on it"

"My name is already on it"

"Bigger this time. YN, half of the album is also yours. Do you think we could do this without you?"

"Probably"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed your hand.

"I disagree. It's on you, YN. Feel free"

You considered it for a few seconds. Your voice was there, doing some chorus and melodies. It wasn't a big thing.

"Don't make it too big"

"Promised" You linked your pinkies and smiled sweetly at each other, that warm love between you two obviously showing. Maybe not enough because any of you seemed to notice.

A few minutes later, Noah walked you to the kitchen, where he passed you your drink of choice and lifted his.

"To YN, who finally sings one of our songs."

"To YN!"

Months passed and the song had been released a while ago. It had been a good one, the fans liked it and it sounded good on live.

"YN"

You turned to see Folio by the door.

"Mhm"

"Uh... Can you come with us for a minute?"

Why did you tour with them? Good question. Some days you still wondered what was your job apart from songwriting.

When you left the room, you found all of them looking with suspicious smiles.

"Okay, what's wrong? What have you done?"

"Nothing yet" Jolly chuckled.

"I'm scared"

"We want to ask you something" Noah started.

Then, Nicholas followed:

"What do you think about singing with us on the stage?"

You gasped too loudly, making them all laugh at your genuine reaction.

You needed a few days to prepare for it, attending to rehearsals and sound checks. But it all went smoothly.

"So, I announce you and then you come in."

You nodded with your eyes fixed on Noah's hands. They were the perfect distraction. Tonight was the night and nerves were eating you.

"You will be there, right?"

Noah smiled, more to himself than anything, but if someone had seen him... The guys would have teased him so much.

"Of course. I will always be"

You nodded with a rapid beating heart.

"But listen, we follow you. You can run away if you want to" He chuckled. "It will be fine"

You nodded and grabbed his hand in a sweet thankful gesture.

"Thank you"

"Free therapy, sweetheart"

You chuckled and blushed at the same time. It wasn't usual to hear him call you pet names, but oh how you loved them.

"My actual therapist would hate you for that"

"Sure thing"

Noah got up and lean to kiss your forehead.

"Remember, black outfit"

You rolled your eyes and tried to hid the blush.

"See you in twenty"

You nodded and watched him walk outside the room, leaving you enough space to think about what would happen at the end of the show, how Noah had guided you through the whole process, how he had been singing a song about your shitty ex for weeks now, how him and the guys had allowed you to pour your rage and feelings in that song only to perform it for you, how now they were giving you the opportunity to do it yourself.

"Okay... That's the last one" Matt whispered to you. "Ready?"

You nodded and the manager hugged you.

"Okay, you've got this"

"Now! We have a very special guest tonight" Noah climbed on his step and look at the fans, who shouted at him. "Are you ready!?" They shouted back at him once more. "Make some noise!" He finally growled as Nick's hands finally fell on the drums.

The lights, the music, the fans, the guys... Noah... They waited for you, the signer with a had stretched out.

With an encouraging push from Matt and the mic in your hand, you stepped in the stage. It all became loud, still, Noah waited for you. You grabbed his hand and he pulled you up in the step. And then he let go of you and moved back.

It was refreshing, so relaxing, so... The adrenile filled your veins so soon, as soon as you saw all that people singing back at you, singing those lyrics about such a sad moment. But you also heard him. For this performance, you had switched places. Your voice was the main one as Noah stood behind you. What originally was your voice doing melodies and choruses, was now Noah screaming and growling, which made your skin crawl.

And almost at the end, during the climax, he appeared next to you and grabbed your hand. You turned to him and looked into his eyes. This hadn't been planned. You hadn't rehearsed this but now you were singing together and you felt so light.

You reached the highest note easily, hand in hand, with him screaming one last time. And then it all went dark and the instruments faded. The loud sounds of people filled the theater.

You were shaking, but it was excitement. Then Noah pulled you to his body and you felt yourself coming back to reality again. His tall lanky body engulfed you and his strong arms kept you close. So close. You hugged him back and gripped his turtleneck so hard you could have ripped it.

Your chest were pressed and you were breathing hard. Then, still in the dark stage, only with faint white background lights, Noah kissed your temple and you felt a wave of feelings. It was there, right there.

The lights came back and he faced the stage, still with his arm around your shoulders. You tried to focus on something else, maybe Folio by your other side who was ruffling your hair, or the fans... But still it was only him you could think of. You stayed with them for the last goodbye to the fans.

You were the one who left the stage first, almost hyperventilating and with your ears buzzing.

You heard them behind you, congratulating each other and hugging.

You turned around and your eyes fell on his, he was already looking at you.

"Noah" You whispered.

He only saw you mouthing his name, but stopped walking. The guys passed you.

"Noah" You repeated his name. He nodded. He knew, he could feel it too.

You finally walked to him and your bodies clashed. Then your lips. You kissed fervousily and your hands roamed his sweaty hair. His arms wrapped around your body and pulled you impossibly close.

The kiss was intense, hard... Teeth clashed, tongues played with each other and little noises escaped you both. You could still hear the eco of the fans outside. But that was all. There was nothing else but Noah.

"Oh god" You panted as you pulled back. With your forehead against his and your hands on his tattooed neck, you could feel his quick pulse. "Noah"

"Yes" He nodded and moved his hand to the side of your face. You both still had your eyes closed and your lips wet from the kiss. Your body only begged for more.

Noah kissed you once more, softly this time, tilting your head back so he could kiss you deeper. "I'm here" He whispered in your mouth.

You finally opened your eyes and he looked at you.

"I love you" That was all you need to hear.

[babalu3rd]

Agatha All Along finale spoilers

Okay wow, this was a rollercoaster of emotions. Honestly I was most afraid we wouldn't get a hopeful ending but we did and for that I'm happy. Biggest downside to the ending is that we didn't get the AgathaRio origin story we wanted but I'm hoping against hope that they'll make it a mini series or something or that they plan to use it at a later time. Perhaps in a 2nd season of AAA? There's enough meat on the bones for a few flashback scenes in between the Agatha and Billy shenanigans we'd get from a 2nd season of AAA. I need need need to see how AgathaRio met and fell in love and then their rift. (And how they will go forward from here on. They obviously love each other but their hurt and anger is still not completely solved). Agatha as a ghost gives me the hope that she'll at one point get her body back, anything is possible at this point! Agatha and Rio's story is far from over.

The Billy/Agatha scene in the last trial was so heartwrenching, when she helped him guide Tommy to a body. "Sometimes...boys die" Just take my heart and stomp on it why don't you Jac. And Kathryn Hahn's delivery??? Give her all the awards right now!

Or the unbinding of Jennifer Kale (the worst type of vegetable hahaha).

Also Agatha saying to Billy he wasn't the one to get her out of Wanda's spell, hinting at it being Rio's doing! Shivers!

The good thing about the finale in my opinion is the amazing AgathaRio kiss we got! I've seen people speculate it was their first kiss because of how it ended but I believe it ended the way it did because Agatha was draining Rio's magic knowing it would kill her, something she wouldn't have done in the past.

All their delicious dialogue;

Agatha calling Rio: "My love"

"Power looks good on you" -"Honey, everything looks good on me"

"Congratulations my love" followed by an insane cackle

Blowing a kiss to disrupt Agatha's spell lol these dramatic hoes I swear

Just realized they both call each other "my love" Kill me now guys

Agatha ordering Rio :"Now put my yard back. Why don't you plant a few azaleas on your way out" Woof it's like they've done this a million times, fighting/foreplay rinse repeat.

The tears in Rio's eyes as Agatha sacrifices herself/found a loophole to her deal with Rio.

They way Rio flicks Billy away like he's a pest while they are flirting I mean fighting.

Other highlights; it was Billy All Along by making the road manifest and of course it was Agatha All Along making up the Witches' Road myth to murder witches!

Nicky and Agatha's backstory was so sweet and heartwrenching.

The fact that Death gave Agatha six years with her/their son before collecting his soul.... kick me while I'm lying down...

The Witches' Road being Agatha and Nicky's song truly ripped my heart to pieces.

And how gently Rio took Nicky with her to the afterlife while holding hands...

Conclusion

Agatha All Along was an amazing series, full of intrigue, worldbuilding, found family in the shape of a coven, heartbreak, complex lesbian relationships and a compelling and flawed main hero.

And while it didn't deliver on everything I wanted it as close to a perfect series as it gets in my opinion. It will remain as one of my favorite series for a long long time.

Some questions I still have

When and how did Agatha get the Darkhold

Why was Rio so angry with Agatha

How did they meet and fall in love

What happened in Salem and what was the power/knowledge above her station as stated by Evanora

Where's Wanda

Why couldn't Rio kill Agatha in the first ep? The "It's not allowed!" Line

Now that Agatha is a ghost does that mean she can go pester Rio and then finally get back together?

Or will the fact that she helped Billy get Toby Tommy a new body mean they will face off again?

[lorata]

Can you tell me more about Lachlan? Does he any siblings? Are any of them also in the centre? Is he Lower/middle/upper class? Did he keep contact with any of his cohort except Selene/cara after graduation? Do he and Alec date only in the Victor creed/selene au? Is he a loyalist?

Lachlan <3 <3 <3 </3

re: the first stuff, Lachlan grew up solidly middle class, his parents owned a shop somewhere (not sure for what but I feel like one of those corner stores that the family lives overtop kinda deals) and i ... think? he had younger siblings? but he was the only one in the program or at least residential bc i don't know anything about them

he and Alec are only ever a thing in the Victor Creed AU as far as I know WHICH HILARIOUSLY is the only time Alec ever manages something casual i think? normally he uhauls so fast he either scares off the dude by saying i love you or moves in after the second date

he is a tragic character to me, similar to Benvolio -- he's the one who is friends with everyone even when they profess to hate him (Petra) and he tries so hard to keep his friends together but the writing is on the wall, in the end he's one of the only ones left standing

because like ... yeah, of course he tries to keep in touch with everyone! Petra doesn't write him back, so he stops, but he and Selene hang out whenever she's back in town (which isn't often but still), and he and Cara date, and he manages to call Corin / Nicky / Alli / Emma at least every couple months. it's a bit awkward with all the PKs because, well, Selene, Corin & Nicky are all Scouts and they're not allowed to talk about anything they do, but Alli & Emma are regular degular PKs and they're bored out in the districts and nothing is classified so who cares. he even manages to bump into Jason every now and then and it's annoying but you know. oh well.

but then. the war. and he and Cara and Jason are the only ones left.

he and Jason do not make up for a while in canon. there is a HUGE element of how fucking dare you be the one who's left. all the others are gone and I'm stuck with you. i think it's cara who points out that yeah, every single one of their friends are dead and jason is the only one left, are they really going to ice him out just because he's kind of a douche. he's the only one left. at least they have each other

(Lachlan: don't be fucking reasonable when i'm wallowing Cara: marry someone else then jackass)

in the AU it's not AS bad because Selene and Petra also survive and when he reaches out Petra tries to ignore him but Selene is like oh that is NOT happening we ARE getting back in touch and it works! and of course Claudius works his magic with Jason so they do (grudgingly) manage to mend that fence. never gonna be BFFs but, you know, they can do a double date and not be total assholes to each other (Cara and Jason's wife-who-I-should-name get along better I bet, poor wife is dying to please and Cara knows that feel)

re: loyalty, the funny thing is that before the war Lachlan would NEVER call himself a loyalist. that shit's for suckers and Petra, and Chipmunk has that on lock for all of them put together. he's a trainer because he's good at it, and he's not sure what else to do, and well, those who can't do teach, right, so why not. but ...... then the rebels come for the Centre kids, and that is not. allowed. they're KIDS. he fights tooth and nail with the rest of them and they hold, damn it

so yeah, after the war he is not impressed with any reconstruction efforts for a long time because they left D2 out to dry, the kids specifically. but in canon it's Enobaria who fights for the Centre and Lachlan trusts Enobaria (obviously!) so when she comes on board he's like all right, fine. and like he's not in CHARGE he's a junior trainer with like 3 years of experience he doesn't have any say but it still matters, you know?

in canon divergence it's even more complicated because he's mad at CLAUDIUS who joined the rebels, even though he helped evacuate (rather than, you know, try to take out) the Centre, it's still a betrayal, and Lachlan is mad about it! well more accurately he's mad at the whole situation and Claudius is a safe target and D has had enough therapy time to recognize and let him take it out on him, and by the time Lachlan realizes that's what's going on he gets mad about THAT but then they're cool (albeit a bit grudgingly lol).

i do think he and selene have a super awkward talk postwar in divergence where it's like how the FUCK did we end up on not only opposite sides but opposite to where anyone would rightfully have imagined us. he's already taken out his feelings on Claudius so he doesn't have the energy to be mad at her, plus she's lost so many, so it's not an angry talk more a tired/baffled/resigned one. which is why when he contacts her re: the reunion they're already long past it

[nalyra-dreaming]

I just don't see the Nicki/Louis similarities, ESPECIALLY in the show context. If anything, they will parallel in being opposites.

Wellllllllllll..... I mean, Rolin... approached Louis as a character through the lens of Lestat's previous relationships, namely Nicki and Gabrielle.

I'm not joking. This is the relevant transcript of the podcast (after Naomi asks about Louis being black now):

“I kind of came around to his ethnicity through a very weird way, which is through Lestat. So there's a very famous sort of rewrite of Lestat, starting with book two. He's aggressively different character than he was in book one. But that's the Lestat that she carried on for the rest of time. And I was like, OK, that should be Lestat. And so we tried to take the given circumstances that are set with Lestat and put it back into this time period. And so he had this sort of super emo relationship with this guy named Nicky. And then he had a very excitable relationship with his mother as his second companion choice. And get into that season three, y'all. And then I was like, let's give Lestat a legitimate third attempt to try to figure out how to be with somebody for the rest of his life. And how do you not repeat your mistakes? So it started from there. And I wanted somebody who had some money, because I think he wanted to be with his own folks there. And I think he wanted someone, I thought, who could fight back and who could be a challenge and who would force him to restrain himself. And nobody at AMC was really interested in seven seasons of The Regretful Plantation Owner. So even with that, though, you wanted to have some connective threads to the novel. So we made Louis come from a lineage that once did own a plantation, did own slaves. The other thing was sort of aesthetic. If you were going to take away the ruffled shirts and all the swampy goodness and you wanted to make this, okay, something new. What's the next hot time that had a sense of smell and taste and sound? Birth of Jazz seemed pretty, pretty right on. And it just so happened there was a spot at that historical time where a black man could get in on some business and still have the sort of morally gray thing that owning a plantation would. And I don't know, it all actually clicked into place pretty quickly.”

Rolin Jones on the Podcast. *shrugs*

The show went about this brilliantly and color-consciously (thank god), much more than the transcript here can convey, obviously.

But it's still an intent of character building, namely the changes, the enhancements they made to Louis (from a character POV) being that what Lestat wanted (and did not get, for various reasons) from his other companions.

I mean, Lestat was very clear about the similarities between Nicolas and Louis in the book. He was also very clear as to where Louis surpassed Nicolas there (and Lestat's feelings). And Rolin obviously is aware of that.

I don't really see Louis as an opposite. I see him as someone more than what reminded Lestat of Nicki, and the one that Lestat ultimately fell for - fatally.

And I think that holds for book and show version.

[mystycalypso]

OKAY LETS TRY THIS AGAIN

Welcome To Ravenbrooks season 2 Theories before it comes out

Disclaimer uh- these are the ramblings of a mad man named Jack (me). Mainly so when it does eventually come out I can see what if anything I got right. Now lets get into it below the fold.

1. It's revealed that Jay Roth (Nicky's dad) is the one who died in Trinity's old house

We know in both the book and games and even the pilot, Nicky was the one living across from Mr. Peterson, but now it's Trinity's home. I think the grief of what happened in that house is why they moved

2. We'll get to see the rest of the Rescue Squad's parents

Pretty self-explanatory. I don't know what story purpose they'd serve exactly, aside from maybe how they react to their kids' shenanigans but it'd be really cool to see them. Especially Luanne Roth who I am currently head canoning to be neglectful in some manner (not necessarily on purpose) because of the lines about Nicky running away all the time and no one noticing he went missing.

3. We see a cultist in uniform

I think it'd be really interesting if specifically Trinity finds them mid ceremony or if bad things start happening to her family and she gets suspicious

4. The kids learn Mr. Peterson isn't "evil"

We know in the books that Theo is looking heavily into the cult, and he seems to be doing the same here. I think in Trinity's realization's she'll learn his real motivations for keeping them away, maybe even his side of the stories from episode 3

5. We learn what Trinity did

We have hints at what happened, obviously, but with the teaser image reusing the old photo of kid Trinity, l think we're going to learn what exactly happened and why it was so bad that they had to move towns

6. More nightmare sequences

From the hello neighbor franchise in general, we've learned that both Trinity and Nicky are prone to nightmares, and with the trauma they've gained from episode 6, I assume we'll get to see plenty other creepy cool nightmare scenes. (Seriously, just the maggots from episode 2 make me squirm physically when I see it. Every time)

7. Principle Abanante isn't dead

This might be clear to some, and yeah, it's far from the greatest stretch on this list but I think we'll see her again and maybe that she caused the school explosion

8. Delroy(and possibly Scout)'s investigations

I'm very curious about what Delroy was doing in the tunnels under the school, maybe doing his own investigations on the cult? Scout included to round out the Hello Neighbor hide and seek crew. Likely having to join forced with the current members of the rescue squad to stop a stronger force.

9. We see Theodore's brother in his "new form"

Not 100% sure if he became the Guest or the Thing, and I've seen good theories/evidence for both, but either way I think we'll get to see him with the knowledge that it's him.

10. We learn why Ivan acted the way he did in s1

He was more scared of just the mention of Peterson than anyone, and it's been bugging me since my first watch. I'd like to see if there's reason to his behavior or just general paranoia. Leaning towards the former, knowing this series.

11. Love triangle between Trinity, Nicky and Enzo

I'd really rather this doesn't happen. I hate love triangles so much. They're so dumb and useless and bad. But like I told kaydin during our third watch, I can feel it happening. It's breathing down my neck with the loud annoying sound of needless romantic tension.

12. The whole squad sits together at lunch

They escaped the basement together! The least they could do as friends is actually eat lunch together instead of Nicky and Trinity sitting seperate from everyone else

13. Nicky and Aaron's relationship is revealed

I'm really, REALLY hopeful that their friendship isn't retconned in the series. It was great motivation for Nicky to be investigating Mr. Peterson, and is also just generally sweet.

14. We see Aaron

Nicky was the basement for a couple of weeks. However, Aaron was in there for months! I'm eager to see how he is both mentally and physically. I feel like he's either gonna be much, much worse than Nicky or somehow way better.

15. Quentin becomes my favorite character

This is mostly on here as a joke. I'm not gonna lie, I know he'll be at least a favorite because he's my favorite Hello Neighbor game character. Like- the squeal I squealed when I saw his van and silly Hawaiian shirt was immense. I love him so much, and I hope he gets good screen time.

16. Nicky loses his bag

This is more just a- gut feeling? He's gained it as a sort of comfort item, it seems, and I feel like with the nature and badluck of Ravenbrooks, he's going to lose it. Bonus points if he has to choose between it or a member of the Rescue Squad

17. Mr. martaugh dies

Again, I have- no evidence for this. Yeah, he's in the teasers a lot, but like that doesn't imply he dies. Maybe I just really hope he dies because he's creepy /j, but yeah, uh- if it happens, I'll probably still be in shock even though it's on this list.

18. We see an on screen kiss

Tricky fans cross your fingers and pray, I know I will be. It'll probably just be a quick peck on the cheek, but I can just kind of feel it in my bones. Similar to the love triangle one.

And there you go! My predictions for Season 2!

As soon as it drops, you will probably see my reaction to it and a return to this list to see how close or far I was on these. (Spoiler tagged, of course) But until then, I will be patiently waiting, drawing, and rewatching the show too many times over (wonder if I can hit 50 watches before season 2 drops)

Cya!

- Jack

[aliendollien]

Theyre finally here! I've named them Nicky(left) and Minnie(right). Not the best photos as I just got home, but I did wanna do a little review, so I'll put it under a read more.

These dolls are soo cute, but I did have some critiques. Some of their accessories, mostly Minnie's were held together with glue. Minnie came with a little syringe with a bow glued to it which fell off before I even opened her, along with a pink choker that had a dog bone on it, which also fell off shortly after opening her. Both of them are so minor that I'm not really mad, just a little disappointed.

Another thing I noticed is they're not stringed tight enough, and as a result, one limb is always much looser than the rest. I originally thought it was just Nicky, but Minnie has it too, just less obviously so.

Also they're tops do not fit with their hands on, so I had to take them off and then put the hands back on once the tops were on. This was fairly easy to do with a paperclip so it's minor thing.

Now things I LOVE about these dolls. Both come with a blank face plate with eye holes so you can potentially customize them, along with TONS of hands. A minor thing that's more just good customer service, is that I was notified before they were shipped that, do to the material they were made from, the socks, specifically Minnie's, would more than likely fade over time. I was fine with this, but I am glad they let me know beforehand. They're supposed to be semi animal themed, but to be honest I didn't really care for it so I'm happy they look good without the animal themed accessories. All in all, I'm pretty happy with them and I do love how big they are compared to my other dolls. :)

[artsy-waffle19]

One thing I love so much about "The old guard" is that in comparison to other action movies I've seen so far, there's characters that have actual personalities that are vital to the plot and why the characters are doing what they're doing.

major "The old guard" spoilers if you haven't watched it yet pls do. It's on Netflix n a second part is supposed to come out soon (it's already made but there's no release date yet but stiiill)

Idk if anyone noticed that yet and correct me if I'm wrong but I noticed that n needed to share because especially for the older group of immortals it pecomes so clear why they keep going (taking Nile out here because the entire movie is just about her, getting used to it and she isn't in the same situation as the others yet).

But Andy is doing everything she's doing because she feels responsible. Her entire struggle in the beginning is, that she feels like her work isn't doing any good. She wants to stop because the "projects" she works on don't seem to work out so obviously she's discoiraged but as soon as anyone in the group is in danger she immediately jumps to being the leader of the group again ("I will get them back whatever it takes" , "I always go first").

Nicky is the optimistic one of the group and believes that everything happens for a reason, which he keeps reminding everyone of as encouragement. He keeps doing what he's doing as long as he has faith that there is a reason, even if he doesn't know it. I think for him it's the most obvious because it's part of most of his dialogues with the rest of the group "everything happens for a reason boss", "it's like it was meant to be [....] like fate", and it also shows in a lot of his other scenes even if he doesn't outright say it (like the scene in the lab when he beings up going to Malta even though they're captured right now, once again showing how he's optimistic and believes that things will eventually work out).

Joe does everything he does for the principle. This is shown in smaller ways but i really like how they kept subtly putting it into his actions. Throughout the movie he mainly seems chronically pissed off, however we gotta consider that the movie shows a time frame where people are mainly doing things that harm him or the people he cares about in some way, which he obviously deems as wrong so getting back at them is just all about the principle. There's no arguing or reasoning with him because he is set in what he believes in and will fight for justice even about the little things. We can especially see that later in the movie in the final fight in the lab. This shows especially in the line "you shot Nicky...you shouldn't have done that" followed by him, killing the guy he just spoke to, like- Nicky is alive and well, the guy's immortal there was never even a slight risk of him dying but it's the principle. Also that he wants to leave Booker in the lab for betraying them, his last line in the movie of "she's not asking", which basically translates to 'you fucked up so now you owe us, deal with it' or just the entirety of the van scene. Obviously the whole "what is he? your boyfriend?" was just supposed to be some homophobic joke but, once again he asked so he's getting an answer. It's just the principle.

And Booker tries to do all he does for the people he loves, yet all the people he loved are dead and as we can see in his dialogue with Joe ("You and Nicky always had each other.......") and the first scene of all of them interacting, in which he doesn't interact with the group much or hug any of them, plus the fact that he's the youngest out of all of them, he doesn't seem to see himself as part of the group. He can't really find a reason for anything he's doing like the others do because while Andy will always feel responsible for the people around her, Nicky will most likely never lose his faith and Joe will always find something to be pissed off about, Bookers children are dead and any people he gets attached to will eventually die, which therefore disqualifies them as a safe and constant source of motivation. And the fact that he is aware of that but cannot find another reason to live for makes all of his actions so much more understandable and also really heartbreaking. To him his immortality isn't about responsibility, reason or justice it's just about hurting "just because we keep living, doesn't mean we stop hurting". So obviously he'd want to stop it.

I just rewatched it and it's so nice to see the dialogue and the character dynamics and really get the characters actions, which makes the plot like 10 times better. Generally I just really love this movie and I need Netflix to release the second one NOW because that cliffhanger was atrocious.

[msmargaretmurry]

it was about your actual eldest daughter quinn cisswap fic :D

hahahaha thank you for clarifying <3 even though it would have been a delightful message either way

i'm so pleased to hear it though! i love her so much, i am slowly but doggedly plugging away at that fic in the precious free time i have and i am looking forward to hopefully one day share her with you and the five other people who are excited to read her story. also it's been a while since i wrote a female protagonist and it's been such a fun and interesting writing process digging into how the gender of it all does or doesn't change things.

anyway! have a little snippet of exposition!! <3

Technically, Quinn met Brady before they were fifteen. The elite hockey world is small, and they played with and against each other at various youth tournaments, but fifteen is when everything really started. Women in the NHL were no longer brand new, although still treated like a novelty — as if that’s ever going to change — but having girls in the national team development program was still in the experimental stages. After all, international competition was still strictly gendered. Someone had convinced the powers that be that if the best girls in the game were legitimately shooting for the NHL now, then it was good for the Americans to at least present the illusion of equal institutional support, the same way Sweden and Finland were doing. Can’t be falling behind the Europeans.

So the program wanted Quinn. Her parents, despite her years on boys’ teams and her tenuous commitment to Michigan, whose D-I hockey team did not historically include girls, had expressed some reservations about sending her off to live in an environment that was 90% teen boys before her sixteenth birthday. They were supportive, yeah, but they kept asking about special accommodations — a phrase that Quinn at fifteen loathed, feeling that it highlighted a difference between her and the boys that she would prefer for everyone to just forget about. But Brady, obviously, was also program-bound, and at a spring tournament in Wisconsin, Quinn’s coach connected Quinn’s parents with Keith and Chantal. Their dads already knew each other from years in the league: Jim behind the bench and in front offices, Keith on the ice. Both families familiar with the other from years of running in the same circles. The Tkachuks, it turned out, had a place in Ann Arbor while their boys were in the program, and they would be happy to let Quinn have the basement apartment, if some guaranteed parental supervision from a take-no-shit NHL veteran would put everyone’s minds at ease.

Brady, tall and gangly with his sweaty curls matted to his head, had watched the adults deliberating for half a minute, then turned to Quinn, stuck his hand out, and said, “Hey, how ya doing? That was a sick goal from the point your last game. Seriously, hell of a shot. I pointed it out to my dad and he was like, well, yeah, Brady, you could do that too if you didn’t have legs like spaghetti noodles. So I guess it’s gonna be leg day every day this summer.”

Quinn, once she had processed all of this, her hand still being shaken, had said, “Uh, yeah, looks like you could really use some work in that department.” Then she winced internally, because, yeah, great first impression on the kid whose parents were brokering her path to the NHL right at that moment. But Brady just laughed.

“So you think you’re gonna come to the program?” he asked.

Quinn nodded at the council of grown-ups. “If they let me, yeah.”

“They’ll let you. You’re too good not to go,” Brady said, so breezily assured that for a moment Quinn forgot why she had doubts. “It’s great. You’ll love it. My brother is there and he loves it. He says it’s not weird at all having girls around. I mean, like, obviously, we’ve got Nicky and Rach on our team right now and they’re great so I didn’t think it would be weird anyway. But Matthew says—” he laughed again, shaking his head “—he says, ‘just remember, you can hit them, but don’t hit on them, and it’ll all be fine.’” 

Despite herself, by this point, Quinn was grinning. “Sounds like a pretty good rule.”

“Yeah, he’s a knucklehead, but sometimes he pops out a gem like that,” Brady said.

“Brothers are usually knuckleheads.”

“True. Wait, hey.”

Quinn gave him a sidelong look, one eyebrow raised. He slugged her in the shoulder.

“Quinny, come here a sec,” her mom said, and that’s how Quinn wound up living in Brady Tkachuk’s basement for two years.

[ca-suffit]

I hate that you are right (affectionately ) but there something really ''funny'' happening since they officially presented Nicolas and the actor playing him.I can already see the excitement for Lestat first (on screen) white male interest.

It's not really about Lestat this season but all they do is center everything around him, since the photos of the next episode came out people have already forgotten everything else. It gives me a glimpse of what's going to happen in season 3 and I can already say that I will probably drop the series.The fact that the showrunner says he accepted the series just so he could adapt The Vampire Lestat book is a red flag.Also the more I learn about Anne Rice the more I regret even starting the show.

I should still point out that I don't hate Lestat or Sam I know he's popular,it's just his fans.

I also don't hate Lestat or Sam, but this is the lie that white fandom has to keep pushing to victimize themselves. Ur noticing how often white characters take over the tags, it happens every time. The first Loumand kiss we got (when it was still a bts video) barely existed but a single still of Lestat got posted by everyone for *weeks*. A lot of ppl's engagement with stuff they promise isn't racially motivated and is "the books" rly is about how much whiteness is present. It's prbly gonna be insufferable here after the next episode. There's already constant shitting on Armand with the "it's not racism, it's the books" excuse. Nicki is also a huge asshole, do u think we're gonna hear about that tho lol? It's so easy to discuss all these characters and plots without having to victimize urself. U can tell who is part of white fandom by who can't write anything without paragraphs of a disclosure about how this isn't about race. Everything is about race lol. Maybe if u got comfortable talking about it u'd learn it's easy to do without being racist about it gd?? "Noticing race is the real racism" mfers, Anne Rice made everyone stupid as hell.

I don't think wanting to adapt TVL is a red flag itself without seeing what's done with it. Obviously, watch to ur comfort level but I'm just saying for my opinion. What they've created so far is not something that paints Lestat in the best light and I'm v doubtful they'd undo all that when they already went there in the first place. I'm waiting to see where they're going with this before I decide what I'm doing. AMC is known for telling stories about fucked up white guys, I don't see them suddenly making Lestat a whole different man once it's his version of himself. The point of all of them is that everyone is flawed and we all think the best of ourselves. How we're seeing Louis, Daniel, and Armand rn is how I also think we'll be seeing Lestat. The show so far isn't picking a side on these things happening, it's showing different angles of ppl and saying it's up to u how to feel about it. White fandom is waiting for him to get a whole character retcon because they're used to Anne Rice telling stories like that but it's doubtful that's what AMC is gonna do. He might grow as a person over time but I don't think they're gonna show up on day 1 and say "so S1 and S2 were a lie" in any serious way. That would be rly offensive to the audience and pointless to the plot as well. "It was alllll a dream" kind of shit.

[player1064]

ok i genuinely can’t stop thinking about this now it’s half 12 what have you done to me 😂 expanding off that last drabble gary introducing jamie to the class of 92 and making like a big thing of coming out to them and then being like yeah duh we’ve known this forever and just jamie laughing his ass off in the background

I LOVE WRITING CLASS OF 92 FRIENDSHIP!!!!! Even though Ryan and Nicky both SUCK in real life and I HATE them so I guess in a way every fic I write that features them is an au where they DONT suck 💔

Also yes this is 1.4k words long I uh. yeah I'm having too much fun w all these drabbles dkafgshfsjdgf

---

“Jamie?” Gary asks one morning while they’re sat in bed, quietly scrolling on their phone.

“Mmm?”

“You workin’ this Saturday?”

“Uhh, lemme check,” Jamie says, squinting even with his glasses on as he taps at his phone. “Doesn’t look like it, no, guess I’m all yours. Unless Salford’s playing at home, ‘cause then I am much too busy to go watch a football game.”

Gary reaches out to smack him on the arm. “Don’t act like y’don’t love it, I’ve seen you cheer just as loud as the rest of us when we win.”

“Well, I love somethin’,” Jamie says with a fond smile, and Gary smacks him in the arm again because he’s already finished his coffee and is much too alert for all that ‘just woken up’ sappy nonsense.

“Ungrateful prick,” grumbles Jamie, still much too fondly for Gary’s liking. “So, we’re goin’ to a game?”

“If tha’s alright. I mean, y’don’t have to come, obviously, but I like it when you do.”

“You like it when I’m – what’s wrong w’you, then?”

“Christ, nothing, see if I say somethin’ nice to you again,” Gary says. “I just. Erm. I’ve been thinkin’, lately, that I’m maybe ready to tell the boys. And I thought probably this weekend’s a good time, with Phillip home and that. So. Would be nice if you were there, for moral support like.”

“You sneaky bitch, you’ll resort to anything t’get me to come watch your shitty little team play, won’t ya?”

Gary has to bite back a smile, because there’s been quite enough sappy nonsense for one morning already.

“Thanks, James.”

“’Course, love,” Jamie says before he reaches across and pokes him in the side. He picks up his phone again, and Gary notes with some pride that he's not doing nearly as good a job at hiding his smile.

*

“So I s’pose you’re all wonderin’ why I’ve gathered you here today.”

Gary watches his friends exchange glances with each other, before Nicky frowns and says “I mean, we were all here already to be fair. Same as every week.”

“Well actually some of us ‘ave jobs, Butty, and we can’t be faffing about watching Salford every weekend.”

“Salford is my job, you –” he purses his lips and turns to Phil and Scholesy. “Not worth it, is it?”

They both shake their heads.

“Yeah, alright. So why’re we gathered here today then, Nev?”

It all of a sudden feels much too real, what Gary’s trying to do. He considers backing out, not like they’ll know any different, but –

But Jamie’s sitting in the corner, pretending to quietly look at his phone so that Gary could talk with his friends alone. Gary glances over to him and gets a private little smile in response. He smiles back, maybe a bit wobbly, and clears his throat.

“Right, yeah. You lot are like brothers to me, y’know that right? I mean, obviously only Phillip is my actual  brother, but you get what I’m sayin’. An’ I know we’ve got each other’s backs, so I’ve just been thinkin’, like. It feels weird that I’ve had this like, I mean it’s been more’n thirty years, hasn’t it, and it seems wrong that I’m still keepin’ secrets from you all after all this time. I didn’t want anything t’change, y’know? But, erm. I dunno. I’m gay, I guess is what I’m tryin’ to say.”

He takes a deep breath when he stops talking, stares at a spot in the top corner of the room so that he doesn’t have to watch them all react.

It’s silent for a moment, then Phil hums and says “So, erm. What’s this secret of yours, then?”

Gary blinks.

He knows that at times he can talk too fast, that he has a tendency to ramble, but surely he’d given enough gravity to it that it wouldn’t just get lost in the mix.

“That – that I’m gay,” he croaks, as hard as it is to force himself to say it again. “I like men, like.”

He manages to get himself to look at his friends again in the silence that follows, watches them all having a seemingly heated conversation through facial expressions alone before Scholesy huffs in frustration and turns away from them, steps forwards to pat Gary on the shoulder.

“Thanks for tellin’ us, Gaz,” he says gently. “Means a lot, that y’trust us with it.”

Behind him, Phil nods earnestly, while Nicky and Ryan both tilt their heads back and groan.

“Oh my god, you can’t be serious,” Ryan says. “Paul, he doesn’t need coddling, he’s a grown man.”

Gary feels his stomach drop.

He knows, he knows that they’re all footballers, that they’re of a certain generation, he wasn’t expecting to be welcomed with open arms, but he’d thought – thirty years, surely that must count for something.

He looks desperately back at Jamie, sees him slip his phone in his pocket and stand up, ready to step in, or to drive Gary home, or just do anything other than this, but then Nicky shoves Ryan and says “Jesus, Giggsy, d’you have to be such a cunt about it though? Nev, don’t look so forlorn, like, none of us care that you’re gay. It’s just – well, we’ve been not carin’ about your being gay since we were fifteen.”

“You what?”

Scholesy and Phillip at least have the decency to look embarrassed, shuffling their feet awkwardly and staring down at the ground.

Gary shakes his head a few times, tries to rattle out the ringing in his ears, then starts pacing back and forth when that doesn’t work.

“Y’re talkin’ nonsense, wha’d’you mean since w’were fifteen,” he says, his words all rushing together in his attempt to get them out past the rising panic he feels. “I weren’t even gay then, I had girlfriend at school an’ all, there weren’t any me bein’ gay fer you to not care about! Only became gay a few years ago, anyway. After I retired, like.”

“Oh my god,” he hears Jamie mutter behind him, so he turns to shoot him a glare.

Scholesy’s now joined Ryan and Nicky in staring at him wide-eyed like he’s lost his mind, but at least he’s still got Phil on side.

Except, then Phil puts on a high-pitched voice and says “Oh, Phillip, d’you think I should ask Becks where he gets his hair cut, doesn’t he have the most amazing hair. Phillip, d’you think he ‘ad braces when he were younger, how’d’you think ‘is smile got so nice? Phillip, d’you mind if we don’t room together anymore, I think I’m going t’ask Becks if he wants to instead, Phillip –”

“—Alright, alright,” Gary says to cut him off, already feeling his cheeks flush. “We get the picture, ta very much.”

He gets the picture a little too well, because suddenly an entire lifetime’s worth of memories have been thrown off kilter, have been tainted by the implication that – but he hadn’t. He hadn’t been gay! And he’d had a perfectly normal appreciation for his best friend’s hair and smile!

Ryan grins at Phil, then puts on his own ‘Gary voice’ and adds “Ooh, Ruud’s very tall, in’t he Giggsy? An’ he’s strong, too, d’you see him lift me up on pitch earlier, ‘s like I weighed nothin’.”

Well, Ruud is very tall, Gary doesn’t see what’s wrong with pointing that out.

He turns back to Jamie, hoping his supposedly loving and supportive boyfriend is going to come defend his honour, to agree with him that it’s perfectly normal to admire your teammates and also that his voice was never that squeaky, thank you very much. Unfortunately for Gary, though, the idiot is looking on with glee in his eyes, the hand over his mouth not doing much to disguise the laughter that’s shaking his whole body.

“Oh, not you an’ all!” he complains, scowling when Jamie responds by stepping closer and throwing an arm over his shoulders.

“Aw, Gaz,” he says with a chuckle, “what’re we gonna do w’you, eh?”

*

It’s only later, when he’s about to fall asleep, that something finally clicks into place in his brain.

“Jamie?”

“Shut up, ‘m sleepin’.”

“Jamie, did I ‘ave a crush on Becks?”

“Oh my god,” Jamie groans, then pulls a pillow over his head and rolls over, turning his back to Gary.

[ad-astra-per-aspera-1389]

I discovered Lily Story and I'm making it everyone else's problem by making my ocs in it. Presenting: my Thalassic Arson OCs:

(Also Lucy Stone and Cassidy)

I'm gonna yap about them under the cut. Could I just write the fic series? yes, but that takes time I do not have at the moment, so instead there's this

Left to right, top to bottom (even though they're labeled):

Cassidy Reed: You know that one episode of austin & ally, season 1, Diners & Daters, where Austin has a crush on this girl Cassidy but she moves to LA with her band? Yeah, this is her, and that's her band, Thalassic Arson. I gave her a last name. She plays the bass, and she loves music and her friends, and she's bi <3

Lucy Stone: You already know who she is. I accept hcs that she's bi, but in this fic series she's a lesbian. argue with the wall. While BTR is on their All Over the World Tour, TA moves into the Palm Woods, and in a twist on a common btr fic trope, Lucy falls for Cassidy and vice versa.

Styx Watkins: The drummer of TA and a bit of an adhd disaster (she gets that from me, I'm sorry. They just all look childlike in the character creator, but when her mind isn't going a mile a minute, Styx can be mature and responsible just like her friends and bandmates.

Theo Cambrien: The guitarist for TA and a they/them lesbian, Theo balances out Styx's hyperactivity well, though they're perfectly capable of having fun, obviously. There was a brief period of time where they had to fight Guitar Dude over the idea that there was, in fact, room for two of them to play guitar by the pool.

Nicole Wright (Nicky): She doesn't appear much in the main storyline, since she's Danny's girlfriend from back home. Several TA songs were written about her. While the band finishes their senior year of high school while in LA, Nicky remains in Miami, though not without plans to visit the gang soon.

Danny Leavitt: He plays the keyboard for TA, which is often more valuable than his ability to play guitar. Very much an "I love my wife (gf)!" type. His jacket is his most valuable possession, due to how much he'd customized it. He's also mostly deaf in one ear. (I named him after an astronomer <3)

I think some of this lore is touched on in Lights, Canines, Arson! which is unnecessarily long, but it's mostly cute and stars these guys. I'm not entirely sure to consider it 100% canon, but it is what it is ig. the first fic in the series is namedropped in the first pic

[pynkhues]

your fic ideas for the kinktober are so delicious. can you elaborate a bit on the Week 2 fic? 👀 also Week 3, because i'm intrigued with "Lestat gets Real Weird About It" line.

(x)

Sure, haha.

Mmm, so both are just kind of areas I've been thinking about in terms of character generally right now, not even just in terms of fic, so sorry if this also sounds a bit meta-y, haha.

I've been thinking a lot lately about Louis having multiple forms of investment, and we tend to focus a lot on the art for obvious reasons, but we know he's in real estate too and he tells Daniel in 2.05 that he likes predicting what overlooked product will flourish in time. I'm kind of interested in the way investment has changed over the last fifty years in the context of the show, and how Louis' approach to it all might have evolved, which in many ways has been bolstered too by watching Industry and getting a bit of a sense of that high-end, high-value, high-stakes investment banking and where Louis might fit in that sort of context in 2024.

The thing that really stands out to me is that there's this detachment and clinicalness to that sort of investment / capitalism that feels really different to the Louis who both genuinely connected to art and obviously got off on the hunt for it and commodifying it, which in turn made me think about the Louis of '73 who was, again, more clinical perhaps professionally, but then like - - indulging his more carnal and passionate needs through drugs and boys in San Francisco.

This fic was kind of inspired by having read an article recently that cruising is on the rise again internationally, and I kind of love that we know that Louis did cruise across the decades given the implications of the Bayou as a cruising site in New Orleans, the parks in Paris, and of course, those San Francisco bars, especially because it really seems to be a distinction between him and Lestat. In the show, we've seen Lestat's really way more of a relationship hopper, even in his adultery, between Louis, Nicki, Armand and Antoinette, whereas Louis hits-and-quits, at least with his own adultery (although y'know, he tried to hit-and-quit both Lestat and Armand too lol).

So yeah, the fic's basically contextualising Louis in this sort of finance world, and him and Lestat being half-together, half-not-together and kind of orchestrating a role play in a local cruising park that gets just. Wildly out of hand, lmao, because they're both insane, but also because Louis' feeling maybe a little bored with modern investment and Lestat's' feeling creatively constrained when working on his album. Drugs may have been imbibed, and they might get a little bit (a lot) feral, haha. Witnesses will be eaten!

As for the week 3 fic:

I'm still really percolating on this one, so it's not quite as developed, but I've been thinking about how different Armand and Louis' relationship is to Lestat and Louis' in general, particularly with the BDSM-element, and wondering what the response would be to that? I really loved Marbleflan's The Things We Did and Didn't Do which captured a discomfort Lestat might have with it in the period where they have to get to know each other again, and Louis' need for it as a means of controlling not anyone else, but himself.

I also - - mmm. I've been thinking a LOT recently too about the fact that the Lestat prior to Paris is pretty naive and cut-off from schools of thought which I think would include different types of sexuality? When he arrives in Paris in the late 1700s, it would actually be right around the time Marquis De Sade was starting to publish, and given his writing literally gave birth to the BDSM movement, it's kind of interesting to think what impact that may have had on Lestat. He wouldn't have read any of it, of course, he's illiterate in that part of his life, but it's interesting to think of the conversations that were happening when he was still a young and naive mortal man.

The fact that Lestat's traumatised in that period by Magnus assaulting him and turning him, and then by Nicki's kidnapping then suicide, that he then sleeps through the French Revolution only to be woken up presumably sometime in the early 1900s by Marius before heading to America where he meets Louis, then is seemingly in his hovel from the late 1940s to, well, now, means that Lestat's lost huge chapters of time where social understandings of sex and sexuality and, well, sex toys have really changed. Louis was fucking his way through all of this, both Armand and other men, and it just kind of makes me curious as to what that actually means when they're back together.

I'm still figuring it out, I just think it's an interesting area to explore that Lestat might have some baggage around all of that (and that that baggage might be in regards to a lot of different things).

[aresmelaina]

HEY

Where Ares and Fleet talk about their lives, issues and resolve to do a movie night @fleetsummers

Ares Melaina "Hey. Mind having a customer? Or… Company? Partner? Whatever you call it." Ares grins as he makes his way into the kissing booth, a little slow. "Thought I'd check out what you're offering.

Fleet Summers "Ares!" Fleet keeps it a little less than a shriek, although he's delighted to see his friend, darting out to help Ares to the stool on the other side of the booth before he goes back behind. "Customer, maybe? Although we're not charging. Obviously."

Ares Melaina "You guys would probably make a killing with whatever people pay with." Ares leans back on the stool with a relieved sigh, regarding Fleet. "You look good. How are you holding up? Or is right now not the right time to catch up? Does the booth have a talking option?"

Fleet Summers "We can talk. Although if somebody else comes, then I'll have to attend to my duties for a minute." Fleet flutters his eyelashes with a laugh. "It's a tough job! I'm a national hero." He reaches across the narrow booth for Ares' hands, saying, "I'm doing all right. Lots to think about that's hard to think about, but. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?"

Ares Melaina "The community appreciates your service." Ares reaches out and grabs Fleet's hand, soft and warm, squeezing them. "Still what we talked about on the ranch? With your dad?"

Fleet Summers Fleet sighs a bit, almost instinctively, when Ares brings up Cole, and then says, "Sort of. It's gonna be him for a while, but it's Uncle Sol missing too. And the … everything that happened on the ranch. To you, to Nicki…" He looks at Ares, squeezing his hands back. "Do you want to talk about that kind of stuff, though? I'm fine with being more fluffy, if you want. You've got a lot to get better from, Ares."

Ares Melaina "Hey, I was the one who asked." Ares grins, reassuringly, his smile only faltering a little at the mention of what had happened to him. His thumbs trail over Fleet's knuckles. "Want a hug?" Ares asks, suddenly. "You're gonna have to do most of the work, though. But nobody can interrupt us, because you're doing your job and all. I could use a hug."

Fleet Summers "Of course you can have a -- oh, Ares." Fleet rounds the end of the booth again, wrapping his arms around Ares and pushing his face against the side of his friend's head. Ares isn't the sort who'd groan about being hugged too tight, so Fleet doesn't temper it much, and kisses the shell of his ear to boot. "I'm a murderer, now," Fleet murmurs against him. "I don't know how the rest of you stand it."

Ares Melaina "It gets easier." Ares wraps his arms around Fleet, holding him as tightly as his body would allow. His fingers rub circles into the lean muscles on his friend's back. "If it hadn't been them, it would've been you. It's survial. You get used to it, in some way." Killing a person was different than killing a walker. Even if that person was trying to kill you. It'd probably mess with anyone, if they had to. "Want to talk about it? What happened? What you did?"

Fleet Summers "I don't think I want it to get easier." As he said that, heard himself out loud, Fleet realized how true it was. "I can accept that I had to do it out of survival, but I don't want it to be something I'm ever used to." He stayed in Ares' embrace, breathing him in; a scent of illness, a little bit oily and antiseptic at the same time, but also something orange, almond. Ares' usual warm-fur scent under that. It was astonishing how quickly Fleet had acclimated to it, but it had been like that with Nicki, too. The Ranch had some good aspects to it.

Ares Melaina "Yeah. That makes sense. That's good, I think." It was a conscious choice Fleet was making. The opposite probably would've been easier. There was something admirable about it, the choice to not get used to it. "That's how the rest of us stand it though. We get used to it. I think we'd go crazy if we didn't. We have to. It just happens."

Fleet Summers For a moment Fleet almost rushed to temper his statement and assure Ares that he hadn't meant to sound critical, that he was only speaking for himself, but he bit down lightly on the sides of his tongue and didn't, in the end. Ares hadn't meant it that way. Ares meant everything he said, just the way he said it. That's good meant that's good. "And I don't want any of you going crazy, so however you get through it, that's enough for me." Fleet giggled, slightly, adding, "…some people in town don't need to get any crazier."

Ares Melaina "Different ways of getting through it." Getting numb to killing people wasn't a great thing, but it was survival. The addition made Ares smile, a little sadly, though with the hug Fleet couldn't see that. Ares reached up, petting the back of Fleet's head. "Nicki? Yeah. She doesn't need to get any crazier." He breathes in softly, feeling the warmth of Fleet's body seep into his. "She talks to you, right? Do you think she's… getting better?"

Fleet Summers "Oh, hey." Fleet might have moved back a little, so they could look at each other for this, but the way Ares was holding him made him reconsider. Ares didn't seem like he'd flinch from hard conversations but everyone had their few subjects that were harder to talk about, that they had to push themselves to reach. So instead he cuddled closer and said, "We talk. I think it's hard for her. She's super defensive about things, and she avoids thinking about motivations -- anybody's motivations -- so her world is very … flat? One-dimensional. Maybe that makes her feel safer, if she thinks she can see everything laid out." Fleet nosed behind Ares' ear, where the skin was soft and almost vulnerable, deerlike. "I think she's on her way to trying, but she has no idea where to begin. How to start seeing in dimensions."

Ares Melaina One dimensional. It sounded harsh, but Ares knew what Fleet meant, how he meant it, and suppressed that initial urge to jump to Nicki's defense that gnawed at him. "Yeah. I didn't even think of it like that. I just .. I'm glad she isn't running out of the walls anymore and getting herself into danger." Ares laughed, though it wasn't really funny. He took a soft breath. "I think it helps. People telling her her own motivations. That's how I try to do it." He leaned his head to the side, pressing himself more against Fleet. "I think she's getting better. I hope she is. I'm… Worried she isn't."

Fleet Summers That laugh of Ares' was so much like all the rest of Ares: his innate habit of making everything just a little bit sweeter, a little bit simpler, like he was constantly sanding the edges off life. Even the unfunniest, not even slightly simple or sweet things that had happened to Ares, he did that with. Fleet stroked his hand over Ares' strong shoulder, kissing it a few times compulsively, like he used to do with his plushies as a child when he'd accidentally kicked or dropped them. "I think," Fleet said slowly, "it's good to be concerned, but not worried. She gets a whiff of that and it makes her all--" now it was Fleet's turn to laugh though it wasn't funny, "--crazy. You're very calming, Ares, and nothing shakes your love. That's an incredible thing to give her.

Ares Melaina "Yeah. You're right. She would just get worse." He knew how Nicki got when people were worried about her. More eager to prove she was okay, even when she wasn't. She had enough trouble asking for help as it was. "I love her." He muttered, slightly muffled as he nuzzled against Fleet. He took a breath, a soft smile and then a huffed laugh breaking out of him. "Are you okay? I don't think I'm okay."

Fleet Summers "No. I'm not okay, I don't think I was even when I was going into all this. But mine's different from yours." They stayed nosing against each other, holding close, soaking up each other's presence. "Mine's a bunch of … I hate to say it this way, but it's new. Meeting Daddy, him dying, learning to fight and then killing people -- it's all brand new to me. You being raped, Ares, that's something that's happened to you before. It's bringing that all up again. Ares Melaina "Doesn't make ot easier, huh? We're both struggling." Ares buried his face against Fleet, whatever part he could find. "You know, I thought maybe it would be easier to handle, because it isn't new. But it isn't. I don't really… got a way of handling it well." His grip on Fleet tightened again, fingers twisting in his shirt. "I want it to happen again. I miss it."

Fleet Summers "Is it … because of Clint's brother?" Fleet had heard the rumours, but had also heard terse shards of information from Zack. Those, he tended to take on board with more immediacy and weight. "That he was in prison too, like you? So it's bringing all that up again along with the Daybreakers hurting you?" Fleet moved closer to Ares when his friend tugged on him, tightened his grip. "I felt that way too, sometimes. It's a weird thing your brain does to cope."

Ares Melaina "Kind of? He's making it worse." Ares had to swallow. "He calls me Daisy. That was what they called me in prison. I got a tattoo. He saw it when he found me and he keeps calling me that. Fuck, it's-" Ares soaked in a deep breath. One of his hands trailed up to the back of Fleet's head, feeling the curly hair there. It'd been cut short on the ranch. "How do you deal with it? With… everything? With missing the fucked up shit and what happened with your dad and the shit on the ranch?"

Fleet Summers That was a huge question, and Fleet gave a terse, wild little laugh at it. "I deal with it badly," he said, inhaling through the statement. "I cheat on my boyfriend and I feel insecure about how I look and I snap at people for doing nice things for their loved ones because I think it's a waste of sugar or milk. I shave my hair off." Fleet slumped into Ares, melting against him. "I make myself be productive and organize feel-good things that I bully people into participating in, when really I want to curl up with Rex in bed all day, or take a really hot shower and jerk off until I'm exhausted, or swim out into the middle of the lake and scream till I cry."

Ares Melaina "Hey. Some of those don't sound like bad ways to deal with it. Like organizing the pot of gold. Or shaving your hair, or getting upset with people wasting things." Ares can practically feel Fleet relax and leaning into him. They both needed this contact. "I wish the stuff we wanted and the stuff we should do was the same."

Fleet Summers "That would be too easy, I think. One of those great moralistic lessons about life, that we need to resist temptation in order to … I don't know. Keep safe. Get better. Be healthy." Fleet stayed crushed up against Ares, the solidness of the other man a comfort; even wounded and recovering, Ares felt so there. So present. He was that kind of person, who was always right in his body and not mentally wandering elsewhere. "I wish I could get over my dad. I knew him for a few months and it's screwed me up so much! I had years not knowing him and I was fine." Fleet repeated that, a little less surely. "I was … fine. Mostly. Not like other kids haven't grown up without a dad."

Ares Melaina "Mostly?" Ares asked, noticing the doubt in Fleet's voice, slight but still there. "I don't think you're supposed to compare it. I mean, it messed with you, didn't it? Him not being there?" Ares remembered their talk at the ranch, the way Fleet had spoken about his dad. Had wondered what sex with him had been like. Ares didn't loosen his grip. "Maybe… it really isn't all that new for you?" He suggested, thoughtfully. "Not that you already lived through it. I mean… it kinda sounds like it brought up some old stuff for you to. Like what the Daybreakers and Mike are doing with me."

Fleet Summers "I suppose." Fleet made a disgruntled sound, frowning. He sat with that for a while, then leaned his head back, making a sound of frustration, then dug the heels of his hands against his eyebrows. "Fuck." That felt good, so he said it again: "Fuck. I'm so tired of trying to figure everything out. Sometimes I wanna just -- stop, y'know? Switch my brain off, take it out of my head, rinse it off. Maybe stick it in a jar and spend a day not thinking about anything before I pop the … the fucking thing back in."

Ares Melaina "Yeah, I know. That'd be a lot easier." With Fleet leaning back, Ares could see into his face, see the frustration and exhaustion in it. Ares leaned forward, bumping their foreheads together. "Wanna spend a day together? You and me? We can go and bunker down in the cinema room and watch whatever movies they have. I'm pretty good at keeping people busy, you know. You won't be able to think about a thing." He huffs softly, opening his eyes so he can meet him. "Would that help?"

Fleet Summers Fleet laughed at Ares so earnestly taking on what he'd said, almost to a literal point with the promise to get Fleet to not think at all. He nudged his nose against Ares' face, so close and so familiar now after the Ranch, one of Fleet's pack. In a manner of speaking. "That would help tons," Fleet agreed, getting his fingers pleated into Ares' shirt so he could give it a tug to seal the deal. "Just you and me, though, nobody else. I only want it to be the two of us, minds off, brains empty."

Ares Melaina "That's exactly how it's gonna be. Just us. No thinking at all. It's gonna be good." He grinned and softly bumped their foreheads together again, a response to Fleet's tug on his shirt. Ares went quiet for a moment after, before speaking up again. "Would it be weird to kiss now?"

Fleet Summers "No. That's what the kissing booth is for, silly." Fleet pushed his fingers gently through Ares' hair a few times before bringing his hand down to cup just behind Ares' ear, holding him gently as he pressed a soft, squashy kiss to the other man's mouth, then repeated it a few times. "Fuck," Fleet murmured against Ares' mouth, then dissolved into a fit of giggles, like somebody might scold them for saying bad words at any moment.

Ares Melaina The kisses were affectionate, a wet crush of their lips that vaguely reminded Ares of how he kissed people as a child. Ares stayed still, Fleet's breath warm on his lips when he cursed and then giggled, in such an infectious way that Ares laughed, a short, huffy laugh. He grasped Fleet's face in his head and kissed him again, harder, crushing their lips together and holding, just holding. When he let go, both of their lips were flushed. "Sorry. You okay?"

Fleet Summers "I'm okay. You're the one who's mega wounded." Fleet petted at Ares for a bit, not moving away yet, staying in the circuit of their shared damp breathing and slightly reddened skin. "I'm holding you to that promise. The just you and me watching dumb shit together and eating popcorn. We have a lot of dry corn, at least, so even though we don't have butter we can have the popcorn. Sound good?"

Ares Melaina "Sounds great. Just the two of us. With popcorn." As if to confirm and seal the deal, Ares pressed a kiss against the corner of Fleet's mouth. He let himself linger, letting their warmth and breath mingle, soaking it up, grinning against Fleet's lips. "It's going to be amazing. You can hold me to that promise, too."