#and the special editions are so freaking gorgeous

[mminu]

they arrived…….. i’m gonna cry….. 😭😭😭🧡🧡🧡

[pastel-peach-writes]

VI WITH A READER WHO FREAKS OUT AT EVERY OITTLE OUNCE IF ATTENTION SHE GIVES THEM

AHHH THATS SO CUTE. I also decide to change this up a bit and made Vi a pro-boxer. Enjoy!

The Fan Turned Partner | Vi x Reader Headcanons

╰┈➤ PLOT: Headcanons of Boxer!Vi with a partner who freaks out when given attention.

╰┈➤ WARNINGS: Uses of the term "fangirl" in a genderless way, Not Proofread, Boxer!Vi, Fan!Reader, Headcanons + Brief Narrative Prose

⍣ ೋ Enjoy!⍣ ೋ

– Okay, this reader is giving me fangirl energy.

– Like how the gays of the Arcane fandom go crazy over edits or feral over fanart.

– Before you got together with Vi, you would watch her matches online and arrange watch parties during the season.

– You would deck yourself out in merch, paint her initials on your cheek, and you even got yourself a red jacket to match hers.

– For your birthday, your friend got you tickets to see her in person and passes to her meet and greet!

– Obviously, you were geeked. You were going to see your favorite boxer, and celebrity crush, in the flesh and meet her!

– In the line for her meet and greet, you tried to be civil. You tried not to freak out about how pretty she looked and how she interacted with the kids who came to see her, and you tried to convince yourself that the eye contact you two made was all in your head.

– You were 20th in line. There was no way she could see you from there. As your friend said: "Everyone thinks their favorite is looking at them. It's all a delusion."

– You tried to drill that statement into your head but as you gained proximity, there was a voice in your head telling you that what your friend said wasn't true.

– You two did make eye contact. That smile on the corner of her lips was real and you were the cause.

– When your turn came, your delusions were confirmed. She did look at you. She said it herself.

– "Hey! You've been in line for a while. Thanks for waiting so patiently."

– Uhm, hellooooo. She was totally taking glances at you. How else would she have known that you've been waiting for a long time? Totally not because she can gauge the line's length and the amount of time it's taking her to get through everyone. Totally not.

– Anyway, as you two encountered, (your friend stayed back to give you your moment), your eyes couldn't help but sparkle when you met Vi's. Her gorgeous gray eyes, her pink hair that was way more vivid in person. Even her height. God, her height.

– You were obsessed with it.

– You knew she had to be on the taller side, but even the tallest person in the world looks 2 inches on a TV screen. ___

"Hey, you okay?" Vi smiled at you. Her eyes scanned yours, aware of your starstruckness but also looking for any signs that said you were indeed not okay. She had her hand on the small of your back and you almost felt like palpating. Well, that was until your friend, Hannah, snapped you out of your daze.

"Dude," her voice barked. "You're drooling and other people are waiting." Her tone was light and sweet.

You and Vi shared a chuckle, although yours sounded more embarrassed than hers. "Consider yourself a fan?" Vi gave you a mix of a smirk and a smile. Her hand still remained on the small of your back.

Giving her an eased smile, you moved closer so you two were side-by-side and in frame for the picture Hannah was taking. "You could say that."

---

– After that interaction, you could not stop talking about it on the way to your seats.

– You and Hannah gathered some goodies along the way. And even in line for frozen drinks, you couldn't stop mentioning how her wrapped hand felt on your back and how her voice was smooth as honey.

– Hannah could only sympathize so many times before she grew tired of your yapping, but she let you continue nonetheless.

– In your seat and deep into the match, you two raved and cheered for the respected sides. One of Hannah's favorites was competing before Vi's match so it was like a 2-for-1 special.

– When Vi's match did come around, you couldn't help but relish in her confidence and bask in her charisma. How she owned the ring during her intro and how her body bounced against the ring's ropes.

– She was stunning. (Even though you knew that already).

– As she stood on the ropes, smiling and waving to her fans, her eyes found yours. For Vi, it was like time stopped. The cheers of the audience drowned out and all she cared about was making you smile and seeing that sparkle in your eye again.

– She gave you her signature wink with the tilt of your head. To that, you squealed, jumped on the balls of your feet, and waved ecstatically towards her.

– Satisfied, Vi hummed to herself and went on to start her match.

– Now Vi wasn't going to let some cute human distract her from winning this fight. She's met many cute people before and she refused to let them get into her head and make her lose the match.

– Even if those cute people seem to melt and stare at her in admiration at the smallest things.

– Your meeting was only the beginning of a long-lasting relationship.

– Even after months of being together, you still freaked out time to time.

– These freakouts were different than before. They weren't "fangirl" freakouts and instead were smitten, "omg-i-can't-believe-how-awesome-my-girlfriend-is-and-i'm-in-love-with-her" freakouts.

– Like when Vi would rest her arm someplace on your body to lean on you, you would internally freak out because she was leaning on you and she's so attractive when she does that.

– Or another time when she gives you puppy eyes for wanting something you said no to. She'd even stick out her bottom lip and deepen the pout before you groan, cup her face, and express over and over how cute she is before giving in.

– When she calls you "babe", you freak out a little, and even when she cups your face, a tiny squeal comes from you.

– Vi never grew tired of your freakouts or moments of flusteredness. She thought it was cute.

– She had her moments of freakouts too but hid them better than you.

– (I had wayyy more ideas for this originally but they all went out the window as soon as I started writing so abrupt ending! Sorry!)

WC: 994

[eunnieboo]

IYHM ask replies!!

also, a current snapshot of my mind:

💛 burrito-puppy asked:

Love to see the progress and art you made along the years! Can’t wait for the release 💕💕💕

thank you so much! 💞💞💞 i can't believe it's less than a week away... i can count the number of days left on one hand! AHHHH

💛 Anonymous asked:

Listen. The way that I too am freaking out! Gah. So excited. Can't wait.

THANK YOU!! every day i wake up and i lose my mind LMAO... the only time i'm calm is when i'm distracted, so i can forget it's actually happening haha!

💛 mickiee-art asked:

Where have you been my entire life?? I love your work so much! So excited for your graphic novel release! 💕🫶🏼

thank you so much omg!! i'm so glad! 🥺💖

💛 tabsters asked:

YOO DUDE ONE OF THE PROTAGONISTS OF YOUR SAPPHIC GRAPHIC NOVEL IS VIETNAMESE??? I'M VIETNAMESE AND BISEXUAL AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MAKES ME HSAKSHKAHSKAHSKAHSAKJ

AHHHHH i'm so thrilled to hear that!!! i live for these messages HFDSKDJHSK HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY

💛 Anonymous asked:

I just found your art today and after scrolling through your stuff I went and pre-ordered your book. I'm so excited!!

oh you are too kind!! ;_; thank you so much <3

💛 nimona-antifa asked:

WAITTT THE BLACK HAIRED CHARACTER IN IF YOU'LL HAVE ME IS A BUTCH LESBIAN? I THOUGHT IT WAS A DUDE OMG THEY'RE BOTH SO PRETTYYYYY FBFBDGD I'M GAY 💗💗💗 I seriously love your art its always so wholesome

HAHA OMG I LOVE THIS 😂 thank you!!! BUTCH LESBIANS FOREVER AND ALWAYS 💕💕

💛 albedosleftb0otych33k asked:

I don't know how but I only just found out about your graphic novel and OML! I WILL BUY IT THE SECOND IT COMES OUT! Anyways, I love your art and just wanted to tell you ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

omg thank you so much!! you are the sweetest! ( *´ω`*)♡

💛 jeweljupiter asked:

I just wanted to say seeing your art of Momo and PG makes me feel seen and heard I love the poc representation I’m a plus size dark skin nerdy black girl and seeing more women who look like me finding love gives me hope and makes me happy

when i tell you this means everything to me... it means everything to me. thank you forever T_T ❤️

-

i've been so focused on IYHM for the past couple months... now that the pub date is so close, i'm full of giddy anticipation and terrible dread. so thank you everyone for the love and well wishes! it's really getting me through it.

also, i wasn't sure how to announce this so i wanted to mention it while i'm here: Waterstones now has a special sprayed edge edition of IYHM! i got my copy a little while back and it's really gorgeous. if you like paperbacks i think the color is a lovely touch!

and as another reminder, i'll be having an in-person launch event next tuesday with Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond, WA! truthfully i'm torn between my desire to interact with people and my embarrassment at being seen in public, so please feel free to spare yourselves lmao 😭 i wasn't sure i'd do an event at all but i decided to try at least once before deciding if it's for me. so we'll see how it goes!

whew. the 17th is coming up so fast but i still have so many little tasks to do. the last time i talked about my busy schedule on here, someone sent me a message that said "you deserve a spa day," and i think about it all the time. maybe someday, anon. maybe someday...

[lookninjas]

Pick A Song Based on My Bad Descriptions -- Midsummer Edition

(but, like, sexy pool party and minimal clothing midsummer, not fur suits and sacrifice Midsommar. Different vibes).

Usual rules to the game apply -- vote for whatever you feel like voting for. Results will be playlistified and posted in a week. Please reblog because I like seeing the poll numbers change and that's the best way to get a lot of eyes on it.

Previous polls (with playlists) are:

here

here

here (lightning round crab rave soundtrack)

and here (nothing in english version)

If you actually want to know what a song is, please don't be afraid to ask! I'm doing this because I like sharing cool music in ways that seem funny to me personally, so I'm always happy to evangelize for the bands I love. Also, I do like seeing guesses in the tags, so there's that.

Okay! Have fun! Happy late solstice!

[colemckenzies]

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ultimate Edition

this easter It Is Time. using my years of fixation and research i present to you The Best Version of every song from jesus christ superstar, plus commentary. obviously subjective opinion so do feel free to discourse in the tags bc as you may have picked up i enjoy talking about the relative merits of jcs productions. also i might not even stand by this in a week bc i find it hard to keep multiple versions in my head at the same time for comparison and there are so so many versions.

please note that acting, vocal quality, music direction, and where available staging have all been taken into account. act 2 in rb bc of link restrictions.

heaven on their minds - 2012 broadway revival

obviously in terms of pure vocals carl anderson is unbeatable forever, but the staging of the 2012 broadway revival pips it for me. josh young's voice is still gorgeous and the judas/jesus/mary throuple is everything. i love versions where hotm is sung directly To jesus, and i love that in this version jesus actually listen and takes judas' concerns on board. the love and respect between all three of them is palpable and even though it is a serious disagreement, part of that disagreement comes from the fact that they care about each other so much. that's tragedy baby!

special mention to henrike tönnes on the 2022 rob carroll version, i specifically like the Ending of the song for that one. also the sarcastic clap along w the disciples that judas does in the 2013 hungary version.

what's the buzz/ strange thing mystifying - 2018 tv event

annoyingly this isn't on youtube but tbh the staging is nothing mindblowing. i think what's the buzz is a great song for showcasing the usp of each version and in this one i think being able to hear the real crowd actually cheering for jesus (john legend) really adds to the narrative. i also absolutely love brandon victor dixon and as i have said before he would be one of my favourite judases if judas were straight. sara bareilles does a great 'offended' face when he bitches about her lmao.

honourable mention to the 2012 uk arena tour for again showing off the conceit of 'modern day activists' really well in this song, not forgetting of course WOTS THE BUZZ #buzz tweet

then we are decided - 2013 hungary

(starts at about 9:49) obviously not a huge amount of competition for this one, i wish more versions included it bc it's a great song :( anyway i loveee the staging choice to have everyone else freeze-framed on stage with the priests walking among them, and i freaking love this caiaphas. literally inserting it into what's the buzz also works nicely

i do miss kurt yaghjian from the 1973 film tho, forever obsessed with his voice and facial expressions. extra shout out to the striving artists version for simply existing.

everything's alright - 2006 austria

something about the musical direction in 90% of versions of this song goes right through me, like there is always some weird instrument that makes me Cringe. but this version is Nice :) really enjoy how Pissed this judas is. and i love the way the long notes last into the next section of the song. i will say i prefer the alt melody for 'people who are hungry' but you can't have everything

this is a really nice one on the all-female cast recording as well, obviously it's already the most female-heavy song of the show but shoshana bean's judas is particularly good here i think. also of course carl anderson with tears in his eyes grasping ted neely's hands while the music swells is ingrained on my brain for all time.

this jesus must die - 1994 studio cast

this album as a whole is probably my Least Favourite JCS Ever, but i will admit that this song fucks. the haunting eeriness at the beginning. the way it kicks into a funky little syncopated rhythm. the disembodied hosannas. unexpected delight.

2012 uk arena tour is unfortunately disqualified for having possibly the Most antisemitic portrayal of the priests, which is a shame because it's probably my favourite casting. one of my favourite annas portrayals, but in general all of them are distinct and fully embodied which does make that version very fun to watch. i also really enjoy the 2019 castaway productions version for this song, the way they play instruments while they sing like a lil band, and caiaphas' eye make-up is sick. 1973 film is obviously also iconic with the little scaffolding tippy taps, and the way kurt yaghjian sings 'a trick-or-two with lepers'. i love this song sorry.

hosanna - 2017 striving artists

i kind of don't have justification for this one LOL i just like it. i know there are versions that are sung better and really the staging is quite important for this song but idk i just find this version really calming. i don't know if it's the music direction? i don't know enough about music tbh

admittedly this is another one that works really well for the 2018 tv event, but doesn't quite win for me as the crowd don't cheer in all the right places and john legend doesn't react at all to the 'would you DIE for me?' line which is crucial. for good reaction to that line the 2000 film where it elevates the bitchy gay tension in the love triangle really nails it.

simon zealotes - 2011 austria

EASYYY WIN FOR ME this is actually the song that made me want to pick a best version for each one because this version IS so much better than any other one for me. the guitar!!!!!! rob's energy!! the music design for this one really fucks so severely and then there's just rob jumping around hyping up the crowd (there is a film version from 2008 on youtube, but i wanted to capture the music for this one). iconic.

big love also to hungary 2013 for having a simon who's in a wheelchair, particularly notable when it's really the highest energy role in the show. i do enjoy.

poor jerusalem - 2022 rob carroll

i cannot find any information about this album other than what's on spotify but i do enjoy the slight alt melodies in this version and i like his voice.

not a lot to go into for this song really. i like the ben forster version a lot as well, and the 1996 london cast version. 'close your eyes' is a better lyric than 'live a lie'. moving on.

pilate's dream - 2022 all-female cast

may be biased bc I LOVE ORFEH but i just think this version is so gorgeous. i love the little vocal drifts without going too overboard and distracting from the song. the music composition is especially pleasing as well.

there's a lot of honourable mentions i could give here bc i think pilate has so much potential for power and gravitas, but 1973 film, 2012 uk arena tour, 2013 hungary, and east end theatrical ensemble. are also big favs. in terms of staging i love the fact that 2019 castaway productions has jesus himself on stage playing the backing piano like he actually is haunting pilate.

the temple - 1992 australia

australia 1992 habitually has some of the most interesting and creative music direction and this is one of the songs where it particularly pays off. love the whistles. i also like that the second 'get out' is spoken, not screamed. the second half is appropriately creepy with the sustained 'chriiiist'. pretty boring staging but at least the costumes are fun.

i don't know how to love him - east end theatrical ensemble

possibly controversial choice but ugh i love this version i even love how low the sound quality is. like listening to a vinyl. i think her voice is so gorgeous and i love her accent. deeply soothing to listen to. i feel like im in the 70s rn.

i'm also a huge fan of the 1996 london cast recording, joanna ampil has such a sweet voice and the way she emotes so that you can really Hear it works well for this song. special shout out to 2012 uk arena tour which i don't think is a particularly amazing version but we get the absolute gunshow from mel c at the end so we love it.

damned for all time/blood money - 1973 film

CARL!! I feel like 1973 film and 1996 london album are at a disadvantage in this bc they're what i grew up with so i kind of take them for granted but this is undeniably iconic. no one can commit to the tortured soul but belief he's doing the right thing like him. the way he can scream but it still sounds Good. i prefer versions that have annas suggest 'a fee' rather than caiaphas just repeating himself so that's here too. the weird keening way he sings 'on thursday night'. annas dropping the coins just as he reaches for them. UGH so good. a lot less brassy than other versions as well.

this is another song that kinda fucks in every version, but the original 1970 album and the 2018 tv event are particularly good i think. also that one bit in 2012 uk arena tour where annas is like '...... get up off the floor.'

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: Preorder now and receive the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last―featuring gorgeous sprayed edges, as well as exclusive special design features. This breathtaking collectible is only available on a limited first print run, a must-have for any book lover while supplies last in the US and Canada only.

The scariest school on earth Is about to experience real fear…

Most schools are about being the best. This school? It’s about being the worst. Calder Academy is where the rogue paranormals go. The ones who break the rules or lose control. And when that happens for vamps, werewolves, witches, and dark fae? It gets pretty freaking scary.

I should know. Because I’m trapped here.

Look, every seventeen-year-old girl thinks their mom is a tyrant. But mine just happens to run Calder Academy, which paints a giant target on my back. The way I make it through these dark halls is by steering clear of the things—and kids—who go bump in the night.

Especially Jude Abernathy-Lee.

But when a freak storm hits our isolated island, I'm stuck without a backup plan. The power is gone. The lights are out. And our worst nightmares are suddenly real—and out for blood. Now the only way to survive is to align myself with one evil to avoid the other.

And the only thing worse than the idea of getting close to Jude? Secretly loving every minute of it.

The Calder Academy series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 Sweet Nightmare Book #2 Sweet Chaos Book #3 Sweet Vengeance

Review:

A deadly magical school, nightmarish creatures, a fractured relationship... can one girl brave it all or will her nightmares consume her? Calder Academy is the scariest school on earth. Its an academy for rogue paranormals, filled with fae, vampires, mermaids, phoenixes, werewolves and more... the student body is practically killer. Clementine Calder is the daughter of the headmistress and a manticore and she is grieving the death of her favorite cousin, nursing the broken heart her ex best friend left three years ago after he kissed her and then ghosted her, and also her strange visions that she's begun seeing. Clementine is a 17 year old girl and she's already got so much on her plate, from being forced to clean up after the deadly creature menagerie that her school has to being forced to work with Jude Abernathy-Lee, the one boy who destroyed her heart that she just can't seem to stop loving. When a giant storm hits the isolated island that the school is on, things only get worse as the power goes out, nightmarish creatures are on the loose, and now Clementine and Jude have to face their unresolved relationship and the fact that they keep kissing each other and then pushing each other away. Can they survive the storm as well as the feelings between them? Clementine is plagued by ghostly visions and she's also begun seeing the past, present, and future, (and she's been transforming into a manticore without any real reason... talk about brutal puberty). She knows June is hiding something, he claims he loves her but can't be with her because he has to protect her... but he keeps coming back for her, and she knows he's hiding a big secret that could destroy everything. This is the first book in a series and it was quite a fun read, it definitely gave off Wednesday (Netflix show) vibes! I think its a fun high school paranormal read and the relationship drama was so much fun to read. I am excited to see where the second book goes and what happens to the characters!

*Spoiler: Clementine finds out that June is the Prince of Nightmares and accidentally killed his father when he was 7 years old and was sent to Calder. June harvests people's nightmares and they become tattoos on his skin. Clementine's mother has been the one using the nightmares that june harvests to create the monsters that have been going around the school. June lost control when he first kissed Clementine and swore to protect her by pushing her away. Now years later, they finally confront each other and all the truths come out. Clementine and June find out they are mates. Clementine also finds out that she is part manticore part oracle, and that her father is an oracle.*

*Thanks Netgalley , The TBR and Beyond Tours Team, and Entangled Publishing, LLC | Entangled: Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Tour Schedule: https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2024/04/10/tour-schedule-sweet-nightmare-by-tracy-wolf/ Book purchase link:

Amazon

Barnes & Nobles

Author info: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff is a lover of vampires, dragons, and all things that go bump in the night. A onetime English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing dark and romantic stories with tortured heroes and kick-butt heroines. She has written all her sixty-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her family

[bibaybe]

top 5 + ocs (5 of ones you created and 5 of other creator’s ones) — @xoteajays

for my ocs:

aella espinosa - i fixated on this woman for at least three years and hardly even thought about other ocs during the time. she'll always have a special place in my heart

willow lahey - she's probably my favorite character atm and tends to be my most constant source of seratonin lmao

carter blackwood - my recent obsession! currently reading the lockwood and co books to see how she'll fit into them, so that's been fun!

bay acker - took me years to come up with a riordanverse oc and boy, was it worth it. i love them. would die for them. need to gif celeste so i can make more edits as soon as possible

evangeline hallows - i?? think?? my first oc i ever created. she's changed so much since i first created her when i was like, 12?? insane. i love her

other ocs:

@richitozier's bram marwood has my heart - i love a chaotic little demon freak. can also tell i'll love rin kyata once there's more content for her(*cough hint hint cough*

@nolanhollogay's baby song - i love scrolling through his character tag and just vibing with his character. also, we apparently both love to see isaac with gay asian psychics bc same #jian zhao<3

@veetlegeuse's pidge kennedy - i swear i remember reading her fic and i adored her and her friends!

@praetoravila's hyejin roh - i honestly associate pearl with hyejin at this point lmao

@hiddenqveendom's junko bushida and dru lau - i can't choose, i adore them both so much. i love junko's edits - they're all so gorgeous and i want to see more and dru is just a whole lesbian icon and i adore her

honestly there's so many more i could mention, but those are my faves atm!

[sunlightfeeling]

very interested in your console/game collection actually, if you wanna talk about that 👀

Yo! Yes, yes! I’d love to. 🥰 This post is prettyyyy long, but this is for what I currently have. But I can totally go over past buys too. I’ve honestly had quite a bit more than this. Just let me know.

Consoles: ps5, ps3, ps2, wii(/gamecube since it’s backwards compatible), and the 3ds xl I mentioned

Games are pretty standard so this isn’t inclusive but here’s some of my rares/unusuals are:

ps2: Burnout, The Dog Island (my childhood omg), SSX Tricky, We ❤️ Katamari (I just realized I don’t have Katamari Damacy but I also realized I know why…oof…maybe someday I’ll buy it again LOL)

Those are all mostly nostalgia games for me from stealing the console from my brothers 🥰

ps3: The Simpsons Game, Yakuza Dead Souls, Nier, Puppeteer, Journey Collector’s Edition, Hitman HD Trilogy

ps4, I’ll include all steelbooks: Hitman Complete First Season Steelbook, Dragon Quest XI (Definitive Edition), Final Fantasy XV Deluxe Edition Steelbook (probably the most gorgeous thing I own, I’ll add a picture at the bottom of this post), Yakuza remastered collection box set (with a freaking Y5 ps3 box lmao it’s empty but so sick…I actually have another remastered copy but it’s just the ps4 box with all the games), steelbooks for both kiwamis and LAD, and the essence of art edition of Y6 (phew, this was a lot lol)

Wii/GameCube: Pikmin (New Play Editions for Wii), Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Kirby’s Dream Collection (the special edition/20th Anniversary thing), Animal Crossing GC and City Folk, PokePark 1, and Mario Party 4 and 8 (my two ultimate faves)

DS/3DS: Kirby Super Star Ultra, Super Princess Peach, Fantasy Life, Poochy and Yoshi’s Wooly World, Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn, Pokemon Ultra Moon

and that’s about it for current consoles and games!

I also have the Yakuza 0 record collection and Cuphead OST records. The Cuphead is at my parents house cuz I basically forced my dad to listen to it since I needed his opinion (he’s a huge jazz fan so his opinion is so vital 😂). But I do have the Y0 set to show off.

Final Fantasy XV Steelbook:

[godesssiri]

My cousin's daughter was flown in last night to the hospital in my city from the small provincial city where they live because they don't have a specialized children's hospital. She's ok. They've established she doesn't need surgery and she's got an unpleasant little while ahead of her but she should recover with no problems, they've already sent her home.

I went in to visit and take them some stuff because they'd been in such a rush that my cousin had left half her toiletries and the pair of socks she'd bought had a big hole in one sock.

On the way home I stopped at a thrift store I don't get to go to often but I love because they've got a fantastic book section, including antique books which I collect.

I got the most gorgeous 113 year old art book with 100 color prints. It was designed so you could tear out the prints and frame them yourself but no one had done that so it still has all 100. It has a beautiful dark blue cover with gold scrollwork (think the fancy editions of LoTR). It was freaking $19 - NINETEEN. I am very happy.

[aurorawest]

Reading update:

This one was...okay? It was a historical mystery, set in early 1930s London. I liked that part. I liked the fact that the main characters were all queer. But the characters themselves were very...eh? And the mystery was extremely high stakes but never felt that high stakes? Idk. I don’t think I’ll read the others in the series unless I’m really desperate. It wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t anything special, either.

Man I was excited for this one. It was...fine. Not amazing. I really liked Jamie, but Wes was obnoxious as hell. Lots of bro-y casual misogyny, and a weird inability to acknowledge that Jamie is clearly bi, except when he’s thinking about how bi people have more trouble sticking with one person than straight or gay people. And there’s never any growth away from those opinions, so it’s just kind of like...oh, you’re a character with some really obnoxious opinions.

The sex scenes were hot, but in a like...fanfiction-y way? Like, I kept thinking, I would write this in a fic, I wouldn’t write it in ofic. So I definitely had some problems with it. That said, the love story was really sweet, and like I said, I did like Jamie. I’ve never read anything else by Elle Kennedy and honestly I wouldn’t after this one, but I have the sequel already, so we’ll see how it is. Definitely wouldn’t pick up any of her m/f romances, though.

This was an Illumicrate book, and not something I would have picked up otherwise. It started out really promising—gorgeous writing, interesting characters, and a surprise heist plot! But the heist plot ran out of steam, most of the characters were never developed, the twist fell flat, and there was a deux ex machina that was utterly unearned. I think for a young YA audience, none of this would be a huge problem, but I was pretty eh about it. Not a bad book, but not a great book, either.

My edition is signed though, and very pretty!

I was wary of this book, because I wasn’t super impressed with the first in the series, Hard Sell. This one was much better! Ray is a waaaay more likable character than what’s-his-face from Hard Sell. And I really enjoyed the demisexual rep with Elvin, since I’m pretty sure I fall somewhere in that gray ace or demisexual spectrum myself. This book did a better job of balancing the super serious plot with the romance than Hard Sell did, but I still think it was maybe a liiiittle too high-stakes? It worked for me for the most part but I sometimes felt like there was too much dissonance. And maybe like people should be freaking out more than they were. I’ll definitely keep reading Hudson Lin’s romances though, she redeemed herself with this one.

I had no idea what to expect from this one. I read Proxy by Alex London...earlier this year? I think? God I can’t even remember when I read that, haha. It was okay, but it was very surface level. This one was much better. Super interesting world, and a culture where falconry is central, which owl-banding me really appreciated. There was no shying away from the falconry jargon, which I thought was pretty cool. I loved the characters. The two mains are a twin brother and sister, and the POV switches between the two of them (plus there’s a chapter in each section from another random POV). They’re both interesting and well-developed characters with their own distinct motivations and flaws, and their love for each other is *chef’s kiss*. This is the first in a trilogy so I need to pick up the other two.

Just started this one. It’s about a non-binary kid who comes out to their parents and gets kicked out (WITHOUT SHOES. IN DECEMBER. WTF). They move in with their estranged sister and brother-in-law who they’ve never met and start a new school, and they’re clearly dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. I mean, who wouldn’t. They also haven’t come out in the new school, so everyone at the new school is still using he/him pronouns for them. And that’s about where I am. Enjoying it so far. I also have Mason Deaver’s newest book in my TBR pile (got it in a Rainbow Crate), so it’s always a relief when the first book you read by an author doesn’t suck, since you already have another, haha.

[notjohnlegere]

Hello I fucking love your work!

Please write a Timmy story in which the reader is an actress who has just had a major and successful movie come out, and everyone loves it and it's their biggest acting part. And Timmy sees it and becomes a huge fan of hers, going down the rabbit hole of googling her and watching all of her interviews and funny moments on her social media accounts, much like his fans do for him. And they both cry when they met, because she admires his work as well.

Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️

So happy you love my work! This is short and sweet, but sooo cute! Hope you love it :)

———————————————————————

Your Biggest Fan

———————————————————————

Your Biggest Fan

Timothée Chalamet x Reader

timmy and reader are both actors, and fans of each other. they finally get to meet.

*obligatory mobile formatting apology*

———————————————————————

He felt silly. Foolish, really. Maybe my fans have influenced me too much. He thought. It’s so strange to be at the opposite end of this.

Yes, that’s right, Timothée Chalamet himself had a celebrity crush.

He didn’t plan on it, no. He had been around so many actors and actresses. Not once did they ever influence him like she did. She seemed so different. So down to earth. So on his level. And god, was she gorgeous. A classic beauty, often walking around in no makeup with messy hair—she didn’t need to be a model at all times and he absolutely adored that.

He had never even met her before and he was smitten. He spent hours going down youtube rabbit holes. Fan edits, funny moments, her being her. He couldn’t get enough. She was so familiar. She never changed, not even for one second. She was so strong, a little shy, clumsy, his mirror.

He knew it was bad when he started saving her photos to his phone. Just to look at. Just to admire when he needed a smile. Something about her always brightened his day, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what though.

He had first laid eyes on her in her breakthrough film. He was instantly a fan. Her talent, her character, the way she seemed to become the role. He was impressed. He had gone home that night and googled the movie, finding her name in the credits, and that’s where it snowballed from. Soon his admiration became attraction. And his attraction became love. That special type of love a fan has for their comfort person. I never knew what my fans were talking about until now. I almost feel bad. This hurts.

He knew he needed to meet her. He needed to say hi. If nothing else, just congratulate her on her success. In his heart, he wanted nothing more than to hug her and tell her how proud he was. What a strange feeling to have for someone I don’t know.

He got a ticket for one of her fan events. Bought it himself, he refused any type of special treatment because of who he was. Although, this changed when he arrived to the venue. He was quickly escorted backstage for safety purposes. He knew better than to leave home without security. But he had done it anyway. He didn’t want to stand out. He was just a fan like anyone else. At least until her security team noticed him.

“Are you crazy?” A security guard asked him, escorting the mop of curls backstage. “Going out without security is extremely dangerous.”

“Yes, I know, it’s dangerous.” He mumbled. “But I didn’t want any special treatment. I’m a fan just like everyone else.” The security guard rolled his eyes.

Security once again opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a shrill squeal.

“No. Freaking. Way!” The all-too-familiar voice echoed in the room. “Is that Timothée Chalamet?!”

His heart stopped. She knew who he was.

“In the flesh.” Was the only sentence he managed to utter as he turned to face her. He blushed. She’s so much more beautiful in person.

“I’m such a huge fan!” She squealed. Before he knew it, she was right in front of him. His heart raced, his hands were clammy, he felt like doing a backflip. He couldn’t believe she was standing in front of him. Excitement overtook his entire body.

“I’m a huge fan of yours!” His face hurt because he was smiling so big. Why do I feel like crying? Don’t you dare cry, Chalamet. That’s so embarrassing.

“No!” She insisted in excitement. “No way! You are so wonderful!” He felt less bad about his emotions when he saw tears running down her face. She leapt toward him and hugged him, which he graciously accepted and hugged her back. “You are so inspiring, so incredible, I cannot believe you’re here at my little event!”

“I bought a ticket myself. I couldn’t miss it.” He said, feeling a hot tear slide down his face. He fought so hard to not let another escape. “You’re all those things for me and more!” He pulled away to look at her. She only cried harder.

“No! Don’t say that!” She giggled. “You’re too kind, I’m so sorry I’m crying, this just means so much to me.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s completely okay. I almost peed myself before I came here.” Why the fuck did I say that?

She laughed.

“Please don’t get that nervous about little ole me!”

“I can’t help it.” He mumbled, suddenly feeling shy. “I think they’re gonna make me leave, but I’d love to talk to you about your movie. I am such a big admirer of your work. You’re extremely talented.”

“We can talk anytime!” She was so enthused. So sure. She wiped her tears. “Should I just give you my number and we can schedule coffee sometime?”

His heart stopped again.

“I’d love that.” He replied when his heart started beating again.

Maybe being a fan isn’t so bad.

———————————————————————

ao3 is johnlegere, find my fics there too. requests are open, send one in my ask box! hope you enjoyed :)!

[our-gentle-tide]

Kaeya, Childe and Thoma meeting the apprentice from the arcana (part 1)

Wearing:none(?)

Tbh I would be more nervous about this if it wasn't 2 am and I had energy to actually worry about it but school is already taking to much time and I don't want to just say I would write but not do it so please bear with me here- also idk if my grammars gonna be good or not, might edit this if I don't like it after I wake up tho. Brief mentions of klee and I'll write childe and thoma after some rest. Hope you enjoy

Reader:as gn as I could make it in this state

Keaya:

My mans here will think one of 3 things-

1- you're drunk

2- you're messing with him/pretending

3- you're insane-

HoWever! Your smart and gorgeous ass knows he doesn't believe you. So, what do you do? Make him levitate in mid-air ofc!

HE'S FREAKING OUT BUT DOESN'T SHOW IT-

And you're standing there while giving him a "I told you so" look lmao-

Once all that is over he'd try to convince you join the knights oRr if you ain't hiding it, he would 105% brag about you and your abilities

You walk through the gates of Mondstat looking and admiring this new world you've entered, you remember talking to your friends back home about travelling to different worlds and while they support you, they make sure to tell you to be careful and take care of yourself.

Asra was the most worried, they could of hided it well if not for your special bond. Recalling how their brow furrowed and worry filled their amethyst eyes, you don't blame them. After all they were by your side since you woke up and from that point onwards you two and Faust were basically attached to the hip.

You let a light chuckle pass your lips as you hold the strap of your bag a bit tighter then you suddenly feel something- or rather someone bump into you, you freeze for a brief moment then look down to see a little girl in red with blonde hair and radiant red eyes. You crouch down and help her while asking if she's okay. "I'm okay!" The little girl chirps while adjusting her backpack "my names klee! What's your name? I've never seen you before!" The little girl, now known as klee says as more questions start to spill out of her

"Now, now klee. One question at a time, wouldn't want our visitor here running away now, would we?" Klee and you look up to see a man with light blue eyes and dark blue hair along with sunkissed skin and a teasing grin plastered on his face as he approaches, you thank the arcana you had endured enough teasing from asra and julian to not be affected by him.

Klee runs up to the man and stand up from your position "big brother keaya! Can I go fish blasting!? Pleaseeee!!" Klee begs, keaya simply laughed and told her to keep as quite as possible or the big monster Jean would find out, klee eagerly nods and runs off. You watch her run out of the city until you hear the man talk to you as you face him "I'm keaya captain of the kights of favonius" he says "you must be new here" he looks you up and down with lidded eyes "I certainly don't recognize such attire, neither do I recall seeing you before" for a moment you don't know what to say, you blink then give a small smile, introducing yourself as well as saying you're a traveller, so you're never in a place for too long. As you two convers and he shows you around the city, keaya finds himself sitting at a table with you on the second floor of angles shear, now saying that keaya took an interest in you was an understatement, you talked about the things you love along with the people you cear for and as the night kept going, he found himself walking you to your rented place atm. "Have a good night keaya" you said as you stepped in and closed the door, keaya lingered for a moment then went home to rest with thoughts of you swirling in his mind. Before the both of you know it, a few months go by

°~•°~•In keaya's office°~•~°~•

"I'll be leaving for awhile to visit my friends back home in a few days" you heard the writing stop, you look up only to meet his gaze "how long till your return?" Keaya asked, hoping the desperation of wanting you to stay to not be evident "I'm not sure, I don't know if I'll be able to come back actually.." silence overtakes the room, neither of you dear brake eye contact and that's when you told him, that you're from another world and about magic. At first he doesn't believe you, then you cast a few spells along with a levitation spell to make him float towards you "my my~" keaya starts as a grin slowly makes it's way on his face "I hope you know what you got yourself into darling~" you slowly start to regret it.

This- this turned out longer than intended...please I need to know if ya'll would prefer it shorter or nah. also, is it obvious I just got tired at the end?-

@maxx0inwonderland

[beatupsteve]

Dirtbag / Eddie Munson x FemReader

Summary: You ring Eddie’s bell, He dreams about you but it seems you don't notice him. Why would you? He’s just a teenage dirtbag but you don’t know what you are missing do you?

Warnings: Low self esteem, unrequited love. No other…just Eddie in love.

Words: 953

A/N: * Thoughts are in Bold Italic * I did it! This is my first fic and it probably shows. This is entirely based on the Teenage Dirtbag song by Wheatus. I listened to the song and just had to write about it. Huge thanks to @munsonxeddie for helping me correcting my mistakes and being a great editor <3 Art by: me :))

Eddie opened his eyes at the loud noise the motor of his Uncle Wayne’s pickup truck made. He reminds himself to check it up on the weekend. For now, it was time for him to get up his ass and drag himself to school. It doesn’t feel like a good day at all. He had fallen asleep with his clothes on and actually considered just walking through the door like that but as he walks across the trailer he picks up a really worn-off Ratt t-shirt and changes his jeans.

He jumped in his van and the music from the stereo hits his ears, he turned that shit all the way up and started the engine. As Bruce’s voice sang “You’ll take my life, but I’ll take your too”, he drove to school.

Eddie parked on his usual spot far from the principals building and near the woods, he grabbed his denim jacket at last and shut the van door. He was walking across the parking lot when he saw you, and he can’t feel it but his pupils dilate just a second and he felt a strange weight on his stomach all of sudden. It’s her, My evenstar. You were just getting out of an Iroc and Eddie didn’t slow down his walk, he just kept looking at you, probably like a real creep while you crossed the threshold of the front door.

“Move it, Freak!” the pilot of the car shouted at him when he turned the car in his direction, Eddie unwittingly flinched and he could hear him scoff when he walked around the car.

He could still see the back of your head just walking down in the middle of the hallway when he enters the building. It’s Wednesday so he will see you again in Ms. O’donnell’s class. Not that he memorized your Schedule or something in a creepy way, that’s just happened to be the only class you share.

---

Ms. O’donnell was already scolding someone when he stepped inside the classroom. “Morning! Hows my favorite teacher doing this gorgeous day?” He asked as he put his right hand on his chest and smiled at the teacher, even bowed a little for her. She immediately  stopped her reprimand and turned her head towards him, she smirked a smile and told him to sit down.

He went straight to his usual desk, sat down and put his notebook on the table. One, two, three… He counted the seconds it took him to look at you. You were sitting two sits to his left, head down doodling something on your notebook. Man, what I would give just to talk to her! Even a new album of Black Sabbath… or an old album, anything… a special edition, even those!  He tries to hide he is looking while rubbing the back of his neck and sees you through his messy bangs.

The class started without him even realizing it. He only stops staring when you finally turn your head up to see Ms. O'donnell. He immediately sits straight and tries to focus on the teacher hands since she likes to gesticulate a lot. That didn’t last as long as he wishes when he finds himself looking in your direction again. Shit, don’t stare, Eddie!  Luckily for him Ms. O'donnell asks you to read outloud from a book, a classmate passes you over.

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse…" Christ, she has the prettiest voice. And thankfully now that it was your turn to speak up he can finally turn his body towards you. He put his elbow on the table and gently places his chin on the palm of his hand to look at you while you speak.

He feels stupid really, you were a normal girl at the school, fortunately you weren’t in the popular group nor the band or part of the party people either. Sometimes he wishes you were part of the outsiders and losers like him but as it seems you were just your perfect self but that doesn’t stop you to be way out of his league. 

Eddie started to fidget his rings as he starts to feel a little anxious. Because he dreamed about you since the moment he laid eyes on you. He loved the way you do your hair, he adores how you rock your red keds and wear tube socks proudly. He even likes how sometimes when you laugh you snorts once in a while. That seems to have flustered you when it happens but he finds it endearing. 

You could also join Hellfire if you wanted to, you didn’t even have to play, you can just sit on his throne like the queen you are and he’ll be fine on the other end of the table with a perfect view. He doesn't even know your taste in music but just looking at the way you sometimes dress, he knew he could convince you to listen to Iron Maiden with him. Also, he was pretty sure a hellfire t-shirt would match just fine with your normal wardrobe, he would give you hundreds of it, and not only because Gareth fucked up and he has a ton of them under his bed.

But all of that doesn’t really matter, doesn’t it? He was the weirdo, an outcast, a misfit and a piece of trash. He didn’t really fit into anything and surely he was ok with it but not if those were the reasons you couldn’t be with him. After all…This is stupid as shit, she doesn't know who I am, and she doesn't give a damn about me.

[putschki1969]

Thanks for your album comparison! What about covers and promotional pictures in general (for both singles and albums)? Which one do you like the most? Is there a style they chose that you find the prettiest? You can rate your favourite pictures looking at the girls' solo careers individually but it would also be interesting to compare them!

Hello again! 🤗

Sorry it’s taking me so long to get back to you, I always have a bunch of asks in my drafts and I try my best to work through them in more or less chronological order 🙈

First of all, for me personally Wakana is the clear winner when it comes to visuals. Her photo shoots are ✨top-tier✨ with no exception [even if her outfits look atrocious at times XD] ! Say what you will about Space Craft but they definitely don’t shy away from investing a lot of money in high-quality promotional material and merchandise. We are constantly getting gorgeous pamphlets, special photo spreads for her fan club magazines and of course a variety of photo booklets/books for her music releases. Nothing of that sort exists for Keiko’s and Hikaru’s solo work. One might argue that it’s not necessary since the focus should be on the music rather than the artist’s visuals but meh, let’s be real here, in many cases it’s those specific “idol” marketing strategies that bring in the big money and not the music itself. On a side note, Wakana is just so freaking photogenic, especially when it comes to professional shoots like this. Despite Keiko’s otherworldly beauty, she somehow always manages to look kinda awkward in at least 80% of her staged photo shoots. There honestly haven’t been enough releases from Hikaru that contained a proper amount of visuals so it’s hard to even compare her to Wakana and Keiko. 

Without further ado, let’s get to my faves〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Wakana

Wakana - magic moment [Regular Edition]

Comment: Look at her!!! Just look at this goddess! Can you believe that this was part of the regular edition credits booklet?!! Now THAT’s how you make people buy useless regular editions! By adding the most beautiful pictures of your artist! I love every single shot. Her hair, her outfit! The locations! Perfection! I don’t even mind the random fabrics on the ground. I have absolutely no idea how you would adequately translate a theme like “magic moment” into visuals so I am not mad that they simply went for an urban but still open setting.

Keiko

Keiko - dew [Limited Edition]

Comment: This is 100% my aesthetic, it’s unbelievably beautiful! Probably would have been my overall #1 if there had actually been more than just a few shots in the super pricey limited edition. They were really lazy with the booklets of the other editions and I’m still bitter about that. But other than that, no complaints from me. As far as I am concerned, these are perfect visuals! All the pink, the girly outfit, the messy bun, the misty glass. Stunning! And it reflects the image of the album title “dew” pretty well. Generally I am a big fan of most of Keiko’s promo and cover images (“Ray / 始まりは” & "桜をごらん / 笑ってやる” are probably my favourite single covers) but it’s a shame we are only ever getting one or two shots and not an entire photo series. Call me shallow but I want more of those pictures, preferably in physical format!

Hikaru

Hikaru - disclose [Tokuten Postcard]

Comment: I really struggle to pick something for Hikaru. Don’t get me wrong, she always looks flawless in her cover shoots but for the most part, there is just not a lot to choose from and I might actually prefer how she looks in her tokuten postcards because those visuals are typically a little more daring. Unfortunately I don’t own all of them so I just went with the one above. Overall, I enjoy her “disclose” visuals most, maybe because they are very reminiscent of Kalafina?  Who knows? Either way, her dress is gorgeous and the cover design is suitably dark.

Everyone, feel free to share your faves! For reference you can check out my scan tags 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→ 

wakana scans

keiko scans

hikaru scans

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

Enough for me

Series masterlist

Word count: 1796

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Natasha x gn!reader

Warnings: None (lmk if I need to add any)

Summary: You decide to tell Natasha how serious you are about your relationship and things don’t go exactly as you hoped but it’s still good.

A/n: Thank you to the multiple people who wanted another part in the mini flustered series that I’ve totally made up as I went along. Also I want to clarify that although this could be read as a part four to flustered it honestly isn’t super related so you can definitely read it seperately and it wouldn’t matter to the plot bc there is no plot besides soft nat. Also I don’t know if this one is any good because I didn’t edit as usual but hopefully you all enjoy!

You admire your work as you gaze out over the table you had just finished setting up. It had taken some work dragging a table all the way up to the roof and then having to make multiple trips to bring up all the plates, glasses, cutlery and food, not to mention the other things like candles you had set up. The effort was totally worth it in your opinion though because anything for Natasha was worth it.

You’ve spent a lot of time together since your first date and have gone on a couple more but so far all of your dates have been pretty casual and nobody on the team knows about you so you want to do something special to prove that you’re serious about her. Although looking up at the sky you realize you probably should have chosen another night and you cross your fingers that it doesn’t start to rain until after you’re done.

Your cell phone ringing interrupts you. “Tasha?” You answer it, looking at the caller id as you pick it up.

“Hi Y/n.” She responds. “So why am I supposed to call you?”

“What do you mean?” You ask, confused.

“You told me to call you at seven so I’m calling.” She says and you slap your hand up to your face because you can’t believe you forget that part of your plan.

“Right sorry, I forgot.” You tell her. “Anyways I need you to put on something nice and come up to the roof.”

“Mysterious, I like it.” She says which makes you smile. “I’ll be up there in five minutes.”

“Okay, see you then!” You respond before hanging up and panicking. You didn’t expect her to be so quick and five minutes really isn’t a lot of time. You still have approximately one hundred candles to light and you’re not sure that you can get it done on time. 

You run around, trying to be careful and not burn yourself, and start to light all the candles that were all over the ground surrounding the table and the pathway to the door. Just as you’re finishing lighting the last one and standing up the door to the roof opens and Natasha steps out. She’s gorgeous as always but you especially love this dress on her. It’s black like most things she wears and is tight fitting at the top but slowly gets looser until it flows around her legs. You love it because you can tell she’s dressing to look beautiful and not sexy which she only ever does if she’s letting her guard down (so not very often). You are well aware that your jaw is open and you’re blatantly staring but luckily she’s busy looking around at your setup so you have time to collect yourself.

“Do you like it?” You ask her.

“It’s beautiful.” She breaths in response.

“Not as beautiful as you.” You reply and it’s so cheesy that you nearly regret saying that but there’s a light blush on her face and she’s smiling so you smile back and take a seat at the table, gesturing for her to sit with you. 

“So what’s on the menu?” She asks lightly as she sits, still smiling.

“Just some paninis and lentil soup, hopefully it’s still warm.” You tell her.

“Well I’m sure it will be good either way.” She responds before taking a bite and moaning in delight. “It is amazing, thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” You say. “Now how about you tell me about your day?”

You listen attentively as she complains about paperwork and schedules and as she practically glows as she tells you about a new move she had used to take down Steve in training today. You love listening to her, it makes you happy that she likes talking about mediocre things with you and there’s a level of domesticity to it that makes your heart feel full. You just want to know everything about her, no matter how boring people deem it to be because it’s important to her and therefore it matters a lot to you.

You talk to her for hours comfortably as she continues to share but also asks you questions. There is never a lull in the conversation and you could listen to her voice forever. Eventually though, long after you both finish eating, the conversation dwindles to a comfortable silence. At least for her. You’re inwardly freaking out because you want to tell her exactly how much she means to you and although you think she’ll react well it’s not a guarantee. 

“What are you thinking about?” She asks, always observant. 

You gulp nervously but answer truthfully. “I’m thinking about how I am more serious about you than I’ve ever been about anyone before, even if it’s only been a few weeks.”

“I’m more serious about you than anyone too.” She replies. “But I think you already knew that.”

“I hoped so.” You tell her, continuing on your path since so far she is reacting well. “I was-I was thinking that maybe we could tell the others about us now, or at least stop hiding it and wait until they find out.”

“But I thought you were fine with it just being for us for now?” She asks, a frown tugging at your lips. Your heart sinks at her expression-you never meant to push boundaries that she wasn’t comfortable with yet.

“And I’m still fine with that.” You reassure her quickly. “I just thought it might be nice to tell the others but it’s totally cool if you aren’t okay with it.”

She stands up and starts to pace a little. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Hey, hey.” You stand up too and grab her gently by the arm so she stops and faces you. “It’s okay, we don’t have to do it, I just thought it would be nice so everyone knows how much I love you.”

Instead of calming her down your words only seem to make her more anxious. “You what? You-you love me?” She stutters out.

“Shit I am so sorry Natasha I promised not to rush you.” You immediately apologize, hoping that you didn’t mess things up to badly.

She picks her way through the candles carefully and sits down on the edge of the roof, her feet dangling over. You follow, sitting beside her, making sure you don’t accidentally do anything to further surprise her. She sits quietly, obviously deep in thought and you think as well. You know, or at least you hope, that Natasha won’t break up with you already because of this. You just wanted to give her a special night and the first part of it went great but you just had to push too far. You had promised that she would dictate the terms of the relationship when you had first asked her out but of course you weren’t able to follow through. You just wish that you could hear her thoughts so you could try to fix your mistakes. She stays silent and only speaks up after a few more agonizing minutes.

“I’m sorry-” She starts and you interrupt.

“It’s okay if you’re breaking up with me.” You say and she watches you with a strange look on her face.

“You just told me you love me-I’m not breaking up with you.” She tells you and you sigh in relief. “But I can’t say it back, not yet anyways.”

“That’s completely okay.” You reassure her, slightly disappointed but understanding and just happy she wasn’t breaking up with you.

“I want to but I can’t.” She explains, her face visibly upset, seeing a hint of your disappointment. “It just doesn’t work, I can’t say it, I’m sorry. But if you want to we can tell the team about us.” She turns away when she’s done, biting her lip, afraid of your reaction.

“Tasha. Tasha.” You say, waiting until she turns back to face you to continue. “We won’t do it unless you’re ready and it’s okay that you aren’t. I’m not going to take back my words, I do love you and being able to tell you that and be here with you is enough for me, you don’t need to do anything.”

She pauses a moment and you can’t read her expression so you start to get nervous. Maybe you should have taken back the ‘I love you’ part of your mini speech. Before you can overthink too much she throws herself at your side, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and resting her in the crook of your neck.

“Thank you.” She mumbles against your skin. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I’m happy with this because having you is enough for me because I love you.” You tell her, awkwardly un-wedging your arm from between your side and her body and wrapping it around her, rubbing her back in mindless patterns.

She shivers slightly, not from the cold. “Can you say that again?”

“What, I love you?” You ask, confused.

“Yeah.” She says, almost shyly, nodding her head against your neck.

“I love you.” You tell her, kissing the side of her head at an awkward angle. “I love you. I love you so much Tasha.”

You repeat it over and over for a few minutes, feeling as though your heart is going to burst. You no longer care that she can’t say it back because she has her reasons but she wants you to say it and she’s cuddling with you and you never want to let her go because this moment is so perfect. 

Unfortunately the weather has other plans and just as your words start to die out the sky open, a few small drops then a complete downpour. The soft glow that once covered the roof from the candles disappears as they go out, releasing smoke. You know you have to clean things up but you figure it can wait until morning, once things are drier, so you take Natasha’s hand and pull her up. She starts to run towards the door, helping you so you don’t step on the candles, giggling the whole way. Technically things hadn’t gone to plan, her not wanting to tell the team or say she loved you and it raining at the end, but those things don’t seem to matter when you see her bright smile, her hair plastered to her face but somehow looking as beautiful as ever. And it matters even less when she pulls you inside and immediately presses you to the door, kissing you hard. You’re more than happy to fulfill her request when she pulls away, asking for you to say it again. Anything to keep her happy and make her feel loved.

---

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[jerryb2]

I mean….you all knew this was coming ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : the Star Wars Art of one Mr. Drew Struzan. 

And look, the man has done so much and has such a diverse portfolio that Star Wars is only one very small part of his career. If you want to explore some of his other works, then might I suggest that you check out his website. 

As for me here, we’ll be sticking strictly to his SW art. Now, with that out of the way, here we go…

*cracks knuckles*

I have to admit that before I really started to dig into this, I didn’t realize just how many Bantam Era (and beyond) Star Wars books this man has illustrated. Nearly 50 titles, ranging from novels to comics, short stories & even an RPG supplement. 🤯 

And so, after much consideration, I decided to just pull all the titles that feature his art off my bookshelf and take a few pics for you guys:

First off, I just want to point out that I don’t have every book he’s ever illustrated. Some of them are just harder than hard to find, are hilariously expensive, or I just don’t have an edition that features his art prominently - you’ll see what I mean. Right off the bat though, you can see that he was really hitting his stride in the mid-90′s, with all but a handful of these coming out between ‘94 & ‘99. One of the highlights from this time for me, is The Callista Trilogy.

I just want to stress that The Callista Trilogy is a highlight for me only because of its gorgeous cover art. 🤣 Other than that, this book series needs to go lay down. 

Anyway, the designs are all really striking and even after all these years, absolutely iconic. And you can really see Struzan’s distinct visual style at play here; not a painting in the same vein as something from Dave Doorman, and not a simple trace. Rather, something that is stylized in a very particular, very subtle way, almost to the point where it appears photo-realistic at first glance. Beautiful.

Next up is this trio of trilogies (good use of words, me), collected in these Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) hardcovers: 

Once again, these covers are just striking, particularly The Black Fleet Crisis. This is actually what I was referring to when I said that I don’t always have the best editions for a Drew Struzan appreciation post. 😅 

Because these are hardcover collections of paperback books, we actually miss out on a good bit of the art. For these SFBC special editions, the publisher just took all three and basically photoshopped the best bits of each one together. The one that suffers the most here is obviously The Corellian Trilogy, where they didn’t even try to blend everything together, and instead just separated everything into columns. I don’t personally mind it (and I do love having the hardcover editions of these books) but if you want to see the covers as they were originally intended, just pickup those mass market paperbacks. 🙂

There’s a lot more to get through, so I’ll just hit the highlights here; even though he didn’t illustrate The Thrawn Trilogy (that was Tom Jung, who I personally think did an okay-ish job at best), he did an absolutely amazing job with the follow-up, The Hand of Thrawn Duology in ‘98 & ‘99:

I’ve always loved these covers. And narratively speaking, they really do serve as one last hurrah on the Bantam Era. Oh, and also please note, Mara Jade on the cover of Vision of the Future, just as Zahn originally described her. ❤❤❤

If you step back and look at Struzan’s work as a whole, it’s all incredibly unified. I bring this up here because even though some of these are books relatively ‘meh’ worthy, Struzan maintained a level of quality that belied the mediocrity contained within. And also to say that he was definitely busy, particularly in 1994:

That’s right - all of these released in ‘94, within a few months of one another. These covers man… *chef’s kiss*

And look I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself: The Crystal Star was a hilarious joke until we all realized they were serious about it. 😳

Alright, that’s a little on the harsh side; it’s not nearly as bad as most make it out to be, and Waru as a source for unlimited power (citation needed 👀😉) isn’t any more ridiculous than the 50 other post-Palpy, hair-brained Imperial schemes that everybody else cooked up, so I guess it fits. And besides, I really wanna be nice to Vonda McIntyre here, but this book was just so so boring. 😴

*clears throat* Moving on, here we have a couple Barnes & Noble hardcover collections of The Jedi Prince Series:

The same thing applies here; cover art photoshopped from across 6 different YA novels to get these. They don’t look bad, far from it. But rather this series has some things that people would rather forget about, namely a supposed son of Palpatine (spoiler: he wasn’t) named Triclops who had - wait for it - 3 eyes. 

Like Tien. From DBZ. Yep. 🤦‍♂️

Moving further down the list, we have yet another pair of iconic cover designs, being I, Jedi (the only Star Wars novel written in the first person, and an appropriate riff on Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot - yes ladies & gentlemen, that is as clever as Star Wars gets) and The New Rebellion.

Classics, no doubt….but for reals, did anybody else ever wonder why the X-Wing on the cover of I, Jedi is missing an S-Foil? Or how that one slipped through??? 👀

Ah, at last we arrive at what is arguably Struzan’s most famous work; the covers for Shadows of the Empire & The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition.

It’s hard to overstate just how important Shadows of the Empire really was for Star Wars as a brand. In an era where SW books were already extremely popular, the Shadows of the Empire Multimedia Project basically served as a breakout hit and reignited interest in SW media across the board. This was in no small part due to the striking imagery captured on its cover - are you seeing a pattern here?

This success actually renewed Lucas’ interest in a theatrical re-release of the OT in 1997….which of course, feature more beautiful art from Drew Struzan:

These are my OG Special Edition VHS tapes from back in the day. I watched these so damn much as a kid. In fact, they’re basically the whole reason that I’m here, annoying the shit out of everybody today. 😁

After the Bantam Era concluded & the Star Wars publishing license went to Del Rey, Struzan did progressively fewer pieces for SW media. Here we see his contribution for the latter half of the Last of the Jedi YA series, and his kick-ass cover art for the Darth Maul comic: 

And when I say that Struzan did progressively fewer pieces for Star Wars, I am of course omitting his turn as the poster artist for the freaking Prequel Trilogy: 

Say what you will about the films, but these poster designs are nothing short of genius. 

Look guys, it would be pretty easy for me to downplay Struzan’s Star Wars portfolio as just one small part of his incredible career. But my dudes, this is literally just the tip of the iceberg. The man has been a professional illustrator for over 50 years, and his art has delighted and inspired generations. From Star Wars to Indian Jones, and from Back to the Future to Blade Runner - Drew Struzan has played an integral part in shaping popular culture. 

Here’s to you, sir. 🍻