#at a party they swapped roles and played a scene in each others roles

[bodiesinourcellar]

Now WHERE is the arsenic and old lace performance where boris karloff is one of the aunties >:((( there should have been one that should have been a thing that exists

[tobi-smp]

this was Originally a response in a reply thread [Link] but I've decided that I'd like people to actually SEE IT fadsjklfasd

so ! here's an expansion on my ideas about dream manipulating Everything into place up until the disc war finale, Including technoblade.

How To Blow Up A Country From The Inside: A Step By Step Guide

(by Dream "Was" Taken)

1: dream Intentionally set up the final control room to sow doubt and mistrust. he didn't Need to have eret be in out, he didn't Need eret to make a big show of betraying l'manberg. but it was done Intentionally.

both to hurt the l'manbergians, And to push some of the heat off of him.

because it WAS eret who took most of the heat after the war was over. that's exactly the Point of having a shadow king. to act as a figure head and scapegoat while still listening to everything that dream said (and to be swapped out at will whenever it's convenient).

oh Dream isn't the king, Dream didn't blow up l'manberg. dream's just Some Guy, who Happens to not want people to gate off his house. don't think about it too much. it's a Very intentional strategy on his part.

2: it can be inferred that techno and dream's duel Was canon to the dream smp, or at the Very Least that techno and dream were familiar with each other before he joined the server. dream is Very aware that techno is one of the very few people on the server who could put up a real fight against him, which makes him a Person Of Interest.

3: dream Intentionally allowed schlatt to do his hostile takeover. he would Claim that he was Only following the agreement with l'manberg, that it was So Sad that his hands were tied, but schlatt's actions directly went Against said agreement. he was presenting himself as an ally to the pogtopians while Actively refusing to materially step in.

meanwhile, we know he was making a deal with schlatt behind the scenes, both to get into his good graces, And to get his hands on the revival book.

4: he was Very Intentionally playing four sides here.

singling tommy out to present himself as His Friend, denying it in public but playing nice with him when it's just the two of them. addressing "Tyrant" SPECIFICALLY to tommy [Link 1, Link 2], where he presents himself as an ally while providing excuses for why he couldn't Materially do anything, and at the same time providing tommy a chest full of supplies directly. helping tommy in the pet war, even when that meant hurting sapnap, Etc.

.

meeting techno in secret to Also give him items, scope out him and his intentions, and Hopefully get on his good side. he is Also, presumably, aware of techno's role in the antarctic empire (or whatever the dream smp equivalent of that was, it's unclear if it was Literally smp earth or not).

.

very Very actively enabled wilbur's downward spiral and distrust. providing him with the tnt to blow up l'manberg, starting the rumor about the traitor in pogtopia, actively egging him on.

.

and of course, playing as schlatt's muscle. watching as schlatt drove everyone else away but giving him the false confidence to continue on to the war, to the Breaking Point.

5: the end goal of all of this being the ultimate destruction of every party involved. he lead the pogtopians to schlatt to let them kill him. he shouted in absolute wicked Glee when wilbur blew l'manberg up and killed himself, telling tommy that Wilbur had been the traitor and joined in the destruction.

I've written before about how I think dream Intentionally pushed wilbur into killing himself, to take him out as a threat yes, but More than that because he was Jealous of him and what he had [Link]

but I think it ALSO needs to be pointed out that dream INTENTIONALLY provoked techno into not only splitting from pogtopia, but Very specifically to pit him against tommy.

to be clear, it was ultimately techno's choice to do what he did. he Chose to do that big speech, to attack his former friends, to set himself as a threat, to join wilbur in bombing l'manberg. he Has agency.

but dream 100% wanted this to happen. he Knew that pogtopia and techno's goals weren't aligned, he Knew that techno has a tendency to react violently, and this was advantageous from Multiple angles.

it's a repeat of the eret situation. just like with wilbur, it's demoralizing and frightening. it breaks their spirits AND pulls attention away from him. he'd greased the wheels that lead to l'manberg's destruction, that lead to wilbur's death, but he was Never the loudest one in the room. schlatt was dead, but Techno wasn't. Techno set himself up as the most immediate threat, having vowed to come back to destroy them again if they made another government. even Phil was out there saying that Techno was the traitor in pogtopia while fighting off his withers.

.

it set TECHNO up at a disadvantage if dream ever needed to "deal" with him. in a one of one fight either one of them COULD make it out on top, but if techno had everyone else in l'manberg as an ally that might actually tip the scales, and he can't have that. in a single night techno lost every one of the allies he'd spent weeks making on the server, lost his base, and had to start off again from scratch, all while branding him with the reputation of a traitor. it was the consequences of his own actions, but it was Exactly What Dream Wanted To Happen

.

it Very Specifically split techno and TOMMY'S relationship. dream wanted wilbur dead because of what he had, because He was tommy's brother, his leader, the person he'd follow to the ends of the earth. but Techno was one of tommy's idols when he joined the server too, they'd been allies and they could've been Friends (tommy had certainly thought they'd been friends). dream Needed to separate them, so that techno would never come between him and what he wanted.

techno Chose to defect from l'manberg, but it was Dream that came out the other side with everything he'd wanted.

and he was Right. Yes dream was on the chopping block for new l'manberg (ala quackity's hit list). but it was Techno that they'd wanted to kill first. it was Techno that was the immediate threat, Techno that they plastered wanted posters for. dream let techno take the fall Exactly the same way eret did.

6: of course, we have exile. we have dream framing tommy for griefs across the server the Day after l'manberg was destroyed [Link]. you have dream taking advantage of tommy griefing george's house (something completely normal on the smp) to set tommy up, to pit him Against new l'manberg and Tubbo in particular. you have him threatening l'manberg and framing it as a punishment for tommy's actions. his open manipulation of tubbo.

he got rid of wilbur, he got rid of techno, and then he pit tommy against tubbo and took him away. and he was designing pandora's vault and testing out the revival book all the while. continuing to manipulate and watch new l'manberg and techno once tommy was gone.

7: dream Knew about the list, or at least knew that l'manberg was after technoblade. and I think it's really interesting to look at what he actually chose to Do.

because he Could Have helped in a Much more direct way, openly allied with techno and prevented him from experiencing the trauma of death at all. but he chose to help Just Enough to put techno in his debt while Keeping techno as the number one threat.

he Could have openly fought off new l'manberg, he could have let techno die and use the revival book on him after the fact (letting new l'manberg think he was dead and get them off of techno's back). instead he lead techno to the totem beforehand, and lead him back to carl after.

enough for techno to escape, enough for techno to Know what dream did for him, but Not enough for new l'manberg to move the heat back to Dream.

and importantly, it's setting techno up to get revenge. because dream Could Have stepped in to stop them Immediately if he Really wanted to protect techno from the goodness of his heart.

once again, everyone made the choices that they did on purpose. new l'manberg Chose to execute techno, techno Chose to provoke them in the first place, and techno would Choose to get his revenge.

but dream very intentionally tipped the scales to move everything in HIS favor. to advantage HIM, and disadvantage everyone else.

8: likewise, dream had initially been nervous about tommy staying with techno. it was what he'd been trying to avoid after all.

and we can see that in his behavior, we can Watch him stalking them in the background of multiple streams, and of course he visited techno's house Directly. by this point dream already KNEW that tommy was there, he'd seen them together.

dream is a manipulator, and he wants to use techno, but he's willing to do a LOT to keep tommy under his thumb.

the tipping point was, of course, the confrontation at the portal.

dream confronting tommy and techno directly, dream trying to assert his control over tommy. and at first techno steps in, tells him that tommy's with him.

but then he offers the favor. tommy's with him, Unless He Wants To Cash In That Favor. and that told dream everything he needs to know.

dream KNEW that techno and tommy's falling out was coming, and he Also knew Exactly how techno reacts to "betrayal." and what's more, tommy's relationship with new l'manberg, with Tubbo, was being set up to degrade even More thanks to his association with techno.

techno would stop at nothing to destroy l'manberg, and tommy would do anything to save it. they would never last, and tommy would be destroyed when it happened.

he let them go Intentionally, with the hope that this would all crash and burn. to destroy tommy's connections and reputation to ash. to chip away that much further at tommy's moral, at his soul.

9: and in many ways, he was right. exactly what he wanted to happen DID happen, and it was the direct result of him provoking the situation further.

tommy and techno had their falling out, he got his hands on the disc, tommy and tubbo's relationship boiled over.

dream got everything he wanted, except for tommy's spirit. loyal to the absolute end.

techno and tommy Could have been friends, tommy Wanted them to be friends.

10: doomsday. l'manberg destroyed to bedrock, techno isolated from the rest of the server, everyone's spirit's ground to dust. dream told tommy that this was Fun, that their story would never be over, while standing above the ash.

pandora's vault would be complete soon, and in it he had a place for the axe of peace, for carl. in it, he had a place for tommy, his most prized possession.

techno CHOSE to do what he did, but dream lead everyone to the paths they took On Purpose. he Wanted their relationships to fall apart. he WANTED everyone to be isolated and broken so he could take what was "rightfully" his. he WANTED to keep everyone on a leash until he could own the entire server in a more Complete way than simply being the server owner.

and this is important to me specifically BECAUSE of what could have been and what would have never been allowed to happen. Because of the ways that techno and tommy cared about each other, and yet were fated to be torn apart.

tommy Chose to defy dream when it mattered, to defeat him through his Connections. through his love for the people around him. while techno did exactly what dream wanted him to.

but it's just like.

when I see people talk about what could have been they'll pick scapegoats like quackity or wilbur, or even tubbo or phil. but never Dream. the person who wanted nothing more than to set them up to fail. who DELIGHTED in it.

and it's so INTERESTING to me. it's so Interesting that the person who used and manipulated techno was Undeniably dream. who saw him as a meat shield, who set him up to hunted down, who isolated him, who fully intended to use him to his fullest.

dream WAS the tyrannical force that techno was so opposed to, dream WAS the person who'd disadvantaged techno the most, and yet they Never get set up as being enemies. either in the story proper or in the fandom.

and that's CRAZY to me !!!! the biggest antagonist to techno IS DREAM! but you'd never know it looking at the fandom.

and that saddens me as someone who likes all of these characters Very Much. I'd KILL for fic that explores this exactly. for techno to realize the sheer Extent that he'd been lead on and used. that his relationships where burned away On Purpose. that someone who truly did not think of him as a human being drove him away from the person who'd wanted nothing more than to be his friend.

it's craaaaaaaaazy, and I feel like I'm the only one who knows it.

[endless-bunny]

Pathfinder Iconics Comparison Part 1: Classes with Different Iconics

[Part 2: Core Classes] [Part 3: The Remaining PF2 Classes] [Part 4: Classes Who Got Demoted] [Part 5: Prestige Classes] [Part 6: Who's left?]

Paizo hit upon a really clever bit of design when they came up with the idea of "Iconic" characters.* Unlike some other role-playing games, which have illustrations full of generic characters and scenarios, each character class in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is illustrated with an Iconic character. These are fleshed-out characters in their own right, and in addition to appearing in illustrations throughout the books, they're used for novels and comics and fiction of all sorts. Some of them appear as party members in Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous. *Note: I have since come to learn that the character illustrations in the Player's Handbook for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons were considered Iconic. The characters for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game therefore represent a continuity of that concept rather than something Paizo came up with. However, I think Pathfinder does it really well, and it's something that is sorely lacking from the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Between the first and second editions of Pathfinder, some of the Iconics got swapped out, while others stayed the same but got updated outfits. See below the cut for comparisons between the classes that got swapped, and I'll make separate post for classes which stayed the same.

Note about the artwork: We have the absolute shining star Wayne Reynolds to thank for most of these. He's genuinely my favourite fantasy illustrator. Unless noted otherwise, all illustrations in this post are by him (and all are © Paizo). Paizo credits all the interior artists at the front of each book but finding out which specific artist did each specific piece is a bit tricky. Thankfully, not only does Wayne sign is artwork, he has such a distinctive style, so he's easy to recognise.

We'll start off with the characters who are completely different.

Alchemist

Damiel (PF1, he/him, Elf) and Fumbus (PF2, he/him, Goblin)

Pathfinder 2e has promoted Goblins to a core ancestry, so they wanted one of the new iconics to show it off. Goblins often have a fondness for things blowing up, so alchemist seemed like a perfect choice. Fumbus has already had his own solo adventure in a comic book, while Damiel was featured in Hollow Mountain.

The Alchemist appears in Advanced Players Guide for PF1 and Core Rulebook for PF2.

Gunslinger

Lirianne (PF1, she/her, Half-Elf) and Nhalmika (PF2, she/her, Dwarf)

These ladies are both very cool in their own ways. Lirianne has that sort of Clint Eastwood vibe, peeking out from under her hat. Nhalmika is a real Mama Bear, and it's quite rare to see a mother going adventuring.

The Gunslinger appears in Ultimate Combat for PF1 and Guns & Gears for PF2.

Oracle

Alahazra (PF1, she/her, Human [Garundi]) and Korakai (PF2, he/him, Tengu)

Like goblins, tengu are now more available to player characters in PF2, and Korakai was brought in to demonstrate that.

Lest you worry that Alahazra might have been forgotten, she does appear in the PF2 Advanced Player's Guide as one of the Oracle "quick builds", the Flame Augur. She also continues to appear in scene artwork in the books.

Illus. TBD, it's not Wayne.

The Oracle appears in Advanced Player's Guide for PF1 and Advanced Player's Guide for PF2.

Psychic

Rivani (PF1, she/her, Human [Vudrani]) and Thaleon (PF2, he/him, Elf [Vourinoi])

I love Rivani's outfit, and there is something to be said for completely invisible magic, but the splashes of colour in Thaleon's key art just make it so dynamic I can't help but love it.

The Psychic appears in Occult Adventures for PF1 and in Dark Archive for PF2.

Summoner

Balazar & Padrig (PF1, he/him, Gnome) and Ija & Tuku (PF2, she/her, Human [Bonuwat])

The Summoner is the Pet Class in PF2. It lacks a lot of the granular customisation of the class in PF1, but in exchange the class works in sync with its pet in a way that the Ranger and Druid can only envy.

On a side note, it seems unlikely we'll get the Spiritualist in PF2 given that the Summoner can take an Undead Eidolon and cast Divine spells if she so chooses, so as a bonus, here's Estra (she/her, Human).

The Summoner is found in Advanced Player's Guide in PF1 (with a revised version appearing in Pathfinder Unchained) and in Secrets of Magic in PF2. The Spiritualist is found in Occult Adventures in PF1.

So that's your lot. All five of the classes that got a new Iconic between editions. If I remember, I'll update this post with links to the others once I make them.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Kisses In the Dark-A PodPlay- Kinda. Day 6 of Exploring Con Content

Spoilers for Kisses in The Dark

Warnings up to chapter 5: Abuse, stalking, murder, eating/slurping up humans, nonconsensual kissing(it's how he kills people), cheating, implied/brief sex scenes, brief mentions of a past abortion. 

I HAD SO MANY ISSUES TRYING TO LISTEN TO THIS. Chapters 1-4 worked fine. However, with chapter 5 I could not listen past the 5:46 minute mark. 'All right' I thought, after trying to find other sites streaming it and getting the same error 'I'll just skip the chapter'. So I did, and at 5:21 of chapter 6, it also flashed that error.

So what I have below is essentially judging chapters 1-4. I had complaints about the narrative and romance progression, but since I can't see their whole arc, this will be about vibes.

So for this 8ish hour multi voiced audio series, the main love interest is voiced by Con O'Niell, named John. Opposite to the love interest voiced by Rhiannon Clements, Kate. 

My favorite things before we get deeper is the notable roles for Con O'Neill listed on the summary is Chernobyl(fair, as you'd likely recognize his voice) and The Batman. This came out Nov. 2020. The Batman came out 2022. So whoever wrote up this summary for the book Googled Cons IMDB, saw that he was in this movie, prayed that someone would care, and just slapped that on. Not knowing Con was mostly in the background and had less than 20 lines of dialogue. But can you imagine your only reference for the romantic lead of this story being the asshole from Chernobyl. Funniest shit ever. He had so many other roles to choose from guys! Maybe they didn't want his more queer roles to be listed for a straight romance? 

Now, I have a bias to favor Queer stories; I know this about myself and often try to stay to my own lane. Not out of hatred but so much of the media that I consume isn't queer. Be it movies or day time television. So what I read/listen to is one of the easiest spaces to curate exactly what I want.

So when I read the title/synopsis I was skeptical, but willing to give it a shot. 

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I am here for Con. I likely would not have listened to this project if not for him. In fact, I found John much more charming than I would have if John had been played by a different voice actor. Considering I was essentially just imagining a more pissed-off Izzy Hands being our protagonist. It's a real'if I didn't find this man hot, this would be creepy' situation.

This story is about a broken old Lovecraftian monster of a man who falls for the lady next door who's stuck in an abusive relationship. I realize that if either party swapped gender, or our male protagonist showed interest in men(beyond wanting to eat them), I know that I would have enjoyed this more. Because this is a standard romantic horror book, almost every cliché is touched and I predicted the twist that some people post online about. Yet there is something inherently queer in monster stories. Creatures that feel othered by society; that need to hide to be safe. So while yeah, it's a romantic novel, it still has some othered element to it. 

Overall I didn't hate it as much as I'd expected. I admire how each murder was described and Con adds a fun disassociated element to the character in his narration. Like he's been killing for so long, nothing phases him. The chapter where he kills five guys at the amusement park, Bloody Minds, was a highlight.

The romantic moments were sweet(that I could hear). The dancing and trying to show her the fun parts of life were very much trying to relate to the target audience. 

Again, I don't know exactly how it ends but see the story beats. If anyone below wants to summaries the story that tells me where these two end up in the end (together, dead, separate), I'd be grateful. I did enjoy this, I just can't find a way to listen to it, and I'd rather mentally close off this series than wait just in case.This is the only website I see anyone talking about this pod series.

I know it gets more cliché, but I was starting to care about where they go as a couple. Mainly cause I see it as a doomed love situation.

AS FOR CON!

Yes. Con either needed a better mic, and/or a pop filter. I got used to the static effect, and the editors did their best to cover it up with background sound. There are only a few points where it was noticeable. Con does a soft narrator voice that's easy to listen to, with some difficulty with enunciation and the fact I don't hear his accent all too often.

Yes. He is the most enjoyable part of this project. The lady doing the performance for Kate does a good job and I did grow to enjoy the performance, but she's just doing the role. Classic vampire craving humanity again storyline, with some fantastic imagery thrown in. I thought the age gap between the voice actors would bother me, but he's literally a century-old creature. So, eh.

Lovecraftian Izzy is a tag I keep an eye out for on AO3, so to see essentially that here was great. It was fun seeing him portray the souls trapped inside of John. Some more 'cringe' bits out of context, but if you listen to how his voice acts Mohg from Elden Ring, it gives off the same vibe. He portrayed desperate-sad-lonely falling in 'Love' very well.

The few sex scenes so far were non intrusive and fade to black in nature, besides her first fantasy.

It bugs me that we don't get a clear understanding on how The Kiss works. Cause he can kiss her skin, but it won't kill her? Is it an orifice thing? Cause he killed a guy sticking his tongue down his ear, so...

Highly recommend it if you already read these sort of stories or are on the fence and just want to hear Con and have some time to put it on in the background.

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Performance: 8/10 for everyone all around. A few duds in side characters with a few speaking lines, but overall good stuff from everyone. All the scenes between Kate and John are fun and well acted.

Editing: 8/10 Fun background music and sound effect stuff going on. Super nonintrusive, and when it is, it's too point.

Story/Writing: 6-7/10; you've seen it before. From what I've seen people complain online, the story gets worse at the very end. Don't really know why, but yeah. Sadly, I guessed that there was a god interfering here. I'm glad John didn't just immediately kill her abusive boyfriend, but god, I'm mad I couldn't hear about it. I read an Izzy Hands/John fic out of curiosity and it really pointed out how melodramatic and gothic the writing here is. The way this world is described is very fun, and something that could be fun to emulate in my own writing.

Pacing for an audio medium 7/10: The first chapter is a bit slow, but after a few murders, it picks up well.

Overall 7-8/10. Fun if you go in with low expectations. Again, this might go down if I ever finish Hard Shadows, True Stories, and Sacrifice. But I just can't find a way, sadly.

If you've read this and want somewhere to talk about it down below, don't be afraid to spoil! I love all the comments and likes I get for doing this.

Have an amazing day y'all!

@ivegotnonameidea thanks again for the rec!

Next, who knows? We'll see, probably a movie, and knock through some of everyone's suggestions.

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame - Side Story: Whose Wheel Is It Anyway?

Primary Pairing: N/A Considered Pairings Trios: YuuAyuSetsu? EmmaKanaKarin? LanzMiaShio? AiRinaMia? Secondary Pairing: ShizuKasu Rating: G? Words: ~1.6k Fandom: Love Live Nijigasaki AU: A monster theater in Shizuku’s mind Time Frame: Sometime during Shizuku’s 2nd year in high school Event: Femslash February 2023 Event Source: @femslashfeb Prompt: Third Wheel

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Author’s Note: Going a little meta with my own works this time for this entry for the 6th. I don’t think anything is required reading to understand what is going on, but there are definitely Easter Eggs to be found for those familiar with my other fics and event collections.

Summary: Shizuku wants to write about a third wheel

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She practically slammed the door on her way out, hoping that would let her pretend what she just saw was a dream. Her heart pounded as she leaned back against the wall. She wanted to create some space between her and what lay just beyond, but she was unable to find the strength in her legs to move, the thought weighing her down as it inked its tendrils across her mind. She heard movement from behind her, then, the turn of the doorknob…

Shizuku lifted the pen from her notebook and tapped the end against her lips. Should the she in this scene be Ayumu? She pondered silently.

The real-life scenario on which this chapter was based had been Ayumu arriving late to an A・ZU・NA practice session and opening the door to find what she initially believed to be Setsuna about to kiss Shizuku. Although she hadn’t slammed the door upon her exit and there had been no knob to turn. Ayumu also had not leaned against the wall wanting to run, in fact the only reason she had stopped was that she had run into Yuu, literally.

And speaking of Yuu, Shizuku intended to swap in Yuu for herself for the scene she was writing. That was another difference from what had actually happened. Perhaps that could be the reason Ayumu wouldn’t run in this scene? Because Yuu was in the apartment with Setsuna, not in the hallway to be run into.

Shizuku giggled as she recalled the real event.

Of course, the drama that little debacle had caused hadn’t been much fun at the time, but it was more amusing now in hindsight; even Ayumu had been willing to admit as such after a while. It turned out Shizuku and Setsuna were acting out a potential twist in their subgroup’s play that proposed a forming love triangle among the characters of the beast, the maiden, and the newly added witch. And Setsuna, who passionately dove into the idea of possibly emulating a scene from some anime, and Shizuku, who always took her acting seriously, may have been a bit too believable for Ayumu at first glance.

The idea was eventually scrapped after a lot of debate among several members of the idol club. Strangely enough though, the strongest opponent to the scene had been Kasumi. And that had been before the two of them started dating. Looking back, Shizuku realized it was just another sign she should have noticed that indicated Kasumi’s feelings for her.

Shizuku glanced down at her notebook and returned her thoughts to what she was writing.

The scene was to be set in the world of a doujin that she, Setsuna and Yuu had made last year, with a lot of help from Ayumu and several others from the club. That doujin had focused on a Halloween party where all of the attendants where alternate universe versions of members of the idol club. Each was a different type of monster, though they were all able to take human form, and they were dressed in costumes of the monster type of a different attendant. And instead of idols, they were actors at a theater. Or, at least some were, others filled various roles around the theater.

Despite the doujin intended to be a fun one-shot exploring a world of monsters and their possible interactions based on the actual personalities of the girls of the idol club, Shizuku became obsessed with the idea. And started writing additional scenes in secret. Stories that explored possible romantic relationships among the characters, far beyond the friendships the original doujin portrayed.

To that end Shizuku had settled on this AU having Yuu and Ayumu starting off as dating and eventually pulling in Setsuna to form a trio. It wasn’t that farfetched an idea, considering how the three behaved these days. Granted, they had not made any formal announcement that they were dating, but something had definitely changed recently among them, possibly during Ayumu’s trip to Europe. For as much time as they had spent together during their second year, they seemed nigh inseparable now.

Geh, she was getting sidetracked again. Where was she? Right, a third wheel scene… She tapped her pen this time against her notebook.

Would Ayumu be a third wheel in a scene like this? She and Yuu were already dating at this point in the story, though they were definitely both falling for Setsuna. Would it actually be more of a cheating theme? Shizuku felt her lip curl into a sneer, that was not the intent of the scene at all. She didn’t mind writing some angst or drama or pining or maybe a little bit of hurt and comfort, but she was less comfortable writing about her friends cheating, even fictional, monster versions of them.

Maybe she should swap Ayumu and Setsuna? That would make Setsuna the third wheel of the scene, which would make more sense given the context of the overall story. But would it make more sense for the individual scene? Ayumu wasn’t an actor at the theater, she was the head of the hair and make up department. She wouldn’t have a reason to have Yuu help her rehearse. For that matter, Yuu wasn’t an actor either, but she would definitely still be willing to help either Setsuna or Ayumu rehearse. But at least one of the women needed to be an actor, which meant Setsuna.

Perhaps the scene could take place at a point in the time line after Ayumu did become an actor? No, that wouldn’t work either, as Shizuku had planned to have her be inspired to become an actor by Setsuna, after the trio started dating.

Shizuku continued to the ponder her dilemma.

Would it be wrong to use a different trio? Sure, the inspiration may have been Ayumu, Setsuna and herself, but she had already made a swap for Yuu. Maybe she should just swap everyone?

Maybe the former third years? But none of them were actors in the AU, so none of them had a reason to rehearse. Granted, the Karin of the real world had expressed interest in acting and Shizuku was willing to help where she could, but the fictional AU Karin worked administrative duties at the theater. So perhaps they weren’t rehearsing a kiss scene? Perhaps Emma and Karin could be dating and just going in for a normal couple’s kiss when Kanata walks in?

Shizuku realized she hadn’t actually decided how those three would come together in the overall story, they just already were together by the time of the Halloween party doujin. Not that the doujin had made mention of this fact. But that left things open for Shizuku. She could have two of them start dating and invite the third, not unlike the former second years. Or maybe they just mutually decide to get together? Maybe something more… dramatic?

How had those three come together in real life? Wait… were they actually together? That certainly felt like the direction they were heading the last time Shizuku had caught up with any of them, but nobody had heard from them in several weeks…

Oh… more dramatic. What if it wasn’t a kiss that was about to occur? That’s right, they had made Shioriko’s monster type a vampire. Shizuku could have either Mia or Lanzhu walk in on her drinking blood from the other. Hrm… Lanzhu and Shioriko were childhood friends, so perhaps Mia could be the third wheel?

Then again, Mia could also work as a third wheel for Rina and Ai. Maybe? Rina’s monster type was a jiangshi, so while she didn’t drink blood, she did feed on qi. But would Ai make a good third wheel? For some reason, Shizuku felt Ai would simply welcome Mia into the fold with open arms. And that didn’t work well for as a foundation for a third wheel that was to spark a bit of drama before everyone eventually got together.

So… maybe it was to be a Lanzhu x Mia x Shioriko story after all? Shizuku pressed the tip of the pen back to the paper.

Move. Mia commanded her legs, though to no avail. Move, damnit!

The door opened. Too late.

“Shizuko?”

No, that was wrong, it was supposed to be Lanzhu saying Mia’s name.

“Are you writing shippy stories about our friends again?”

Arms draped over Shizuku’s shoulders and a chin dropped onto her head.

“Oh, the monster theater one again?” Kasumi sighed. “I still can’t believe Shizuko went and made her cute little Kasumin into a gremlin for that…”

Shizuku smiled, twisted her torso, and reached her hand up to pull her girlfriend down into a kiss, immediately pushing up as Kasumi reciprocated. “Kasumi-chan is the cutest gremlin I know.” She said as she dropped back down into her chair.

Kasumi pouted. Shizuku chuckled.

“Anyway, the bath is yours.” Kasumi straightened back up.

“Thank you.” Shizuku acknowledged. “Let me just get a few more lines out of my head and onto paper.”

“Well don’t take too long. Shizuko promised we could go through some of the pictures from the photoshoot and choose a few to keep.”

“Sounds like Kasumi-chan just wants to look at pictures of herself.”

“And Shizuko!” Kasumi insisted as she grabbed her tablet and climbed onto Shizuku’s bed.

“Mm…” Shizuku hummed a happy affirmation.

“I remember there were some really good ones of you this time around… like…” Kasumi swiped a couple times before pausing. An expression of admiration spread across her face. Genuine admiration. “Like this one…”

Cute…

Shizuku couldn’t help a bit of admiration of her own before it was replaced by the urge to join her girlfriend for some snuggles and photo browsing.

Yes, the story could wait. Well, mostly… Shizuku spun back to her desk, flipped a page of her notebook, and quickly scribbled out a hasty outline of her ideas so she wouldn’t forget all of them. Then, she hopped up and dashed over to the dresser to grab her pajamas.

“Shizuko?”

“Be right back!” Shizuku said as she almost ran out of her bedroom to take a quick bath.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: So, for starters, the italicized paragraphs were directly lifted from a chapter I wrote for Idol Fanfic Heaven’s Fantastic Departure event last year. And yes, that was a LanzMiaShio scene.

However, just as Shizuku thought first about making it a YuuAyuSetsu scene, so did I. The episode with Future Parade had not aired by that time, so it wasn’t in the context of the beast, maiden and witch play that Shizuku wanted to have A・ZU・NA perform. That just felt like a fun way to reference a shot from the second season that I’ve wanted to write about for a while now. I ended up shelving that idea, though, as I was still being indecisive about how I wanted to progress the timeline of their relationship, and I went with a different ship.

That said, I do still want to write something about that blink-and-you’ll-miss it scene in the middle of Future Parade. And now, having written this scene, I kind of want to write a YuuAyuSetsu version of it for my monster theater AU.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

 Civil War In America: The Sequel

I just watched Civil War, the 2024 movie, by Alex Garland. I had been holding off on viewing it because I didn’t know if it would be another Hollywood gun fest. Initially, my thoughts were – yeah, dumb Americans and their stupid obsession with whizz bang weapons. I mean, the country contains some 600 million guns, apparently. I called this article, Civil War in America: The sequel because they are looking down the barrel of a second instalment of this potentially bloody conflict. 600 thousand Americans died during the first Civil War in 1861-65. The automatic weapons are much more impressive now, so, the butcher’s bill could be way more this time round.

Killing Americans Aint So Civil

The film is a road movie with war photo journalists and correspondents at its centre. This makes sense as a directorial creative means to tell such a spread out story. It begins with violent street protests and a suicide bomber bearing the stars and stripes flag as a banner into the crowd. The explosion rips apart bodies and leaves them bleeding hunks of meat on the pavement. Our photo journalist lead character, Kirsten Dunst, snaps black and white still shots of the carnage for the movie audience to observe. The media holding up a mirror for everybody to see. We remember those iconic images from prior wars like Vietnam, the Balkans and Somalia. It made me feel old and sad at this time in the viewing experience.

Celebrating War Correspondents

The cliched war correspondents drowning their sorrows and partying at a hotel throws up inferences to famous conflicts like the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s and George Orwell and his journo colleagues. The danger of bombs and bullets increase the sexual libido of the fourth estate representatives as they indulge in booze and fuck each other in case the next moment could be their last. Smoky lobby bar scenes replete with excessive alcohol going down throats apace. Here we meet the main characters of Civil War the movie. Dunst and her journo colleague played by Wagner Mouro, Stephen McKinley in the role of the overweight old timer with gravitas. Youthful audience members have Cailee Spaeny to root for as the young actress being passed the baton by Dunst’s character as the new snapper on the scene. She will emerge as the driven edgy eye of a wounded nation. These four jump in their jalopy and hit the highway for a 600 mile journey to Washington DC. We wonder what they will see. Uncivil Carnage Displayed Enthusiastically Well, instances and episodes of carnage and bloody conflict. Bodies hung from bridges in an ode to Tehran and other Islamic cities that display their executed victims as warning to the greater public. Truckloads of murdered victims of militias being dumped in mass graves. You are never quite sure who is who in this depiction of civil war, which is deliberate I am sure. The WF are the Western Forces, Texas and California, who are one of the main insurrectionist forces against the President of what was the United States. The heroic nature of capturing images of despicable acts of war and violence is revealed as questionable. Accompanying one side or another as they fight and slaughter opposing human beings to take photos of the action is strange but considered historically appropriate. Garland juxtaposes the young innocent lens woman with the dickhead guys shooting murderous rounds into their victims. Getting off on war and violence is the purview of blokes in the main. AR15 style weapons are toylike in the ease that they end the lives of unarmed victims when so directed by moronic Americans. Lots of shooting and killing abounds.

On The Road To Death & Destruction Our road movie reaches a crescendo when duelling vehicles perform that classic of American cinema the car chase. In this rendition of the Hollywood favourite stunt scene two of our war journos swap cars via the passenger window whilst travelling at high speed down the highway. You sense that they have surrendered to the kinetic energy of unrestrained violence that permeates the air. It will all end badly, however, especially for the non-Anglo members of our travelling press core. The old fat man saves our protagonists, as the loss of innocence is rammed home in no uncertain terms. This sobering post-adolescent high section of the movie confirms Civil War as tragedy rather than dark comedy in nature. Death surrounds the lens of the camera and the culmination of what they call the American experiment is no celebration. Killing is the constant in this film and institutions fall to bombs and bullets. I suppose you cannot call a movie Civil War and deliver a happy ending.

Civil War Conclusions? What does one takeaway from this movie? Civil War in America: The sequel is an imagined modern rendition of the classic violent rupture, which almost ended the United States, as we know it. At its most obvious it illustrates the likely danger of an armed population resorting to violence via an insurrection. The male of the human species can be relied upon to turn to aggression as a means of exerting its appetite for power. The cyclical nature of warfare is testament to this, as correlated by the historical record. Right now, we have Putin’s Russian invasion of Ukraine entering its 3rd year, although it really began back in 2014. War in Syria has been going on for a decade. Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and that is spreading to Lebanon and Iran is involved via proxy conflicts in Yemen and elsewhere. Africa is often a battleground for warlords and power struggles occurring there with postcolonial overtures and Russia’s military presence exploiting opportunities. Fighting continues in Myanmar between the rebel forces and the military regime currently in power. If the United States descends into civil war the world will be greatly destabilised and more outbreaks of war will almost certainly be guaranteed. China may step up to exert its military power and increase its zone of influence by more direct means. World War 3 is more likely than not in these circumstances. The stupidity of white American males wanting to flex their power over cultural issues like LGBTQI rights, transgender rights, restoring misogyny, and a bogus illegal immigration crisis will be a blood letting that could unleash the end of American dominance on the world stage. You cannot fight an enemy at home and abroad and hope to win. You cannot turn back time and halt the progression toward a multicultural humanist democracy by force and expect that that will last. Backlashes are not smart moves for any society, they are reactions which run out of steam. Older folk die off and women are not going to put up with archaic returns to misogyny and patriarchal structures. Apartheid is another manifestation of a minority controlling the majority via force. We witnessed it in South Africa and the American Jim Crow south. Race remains an evil issue close to the soul of America. Slavery defined half the nation for hundreds of years and its consequences continue to imperil the whole of America. You cannot ignore it and outlaw studying it, as some southern states are doing. The polarisation of America has been fanned by radical right wing interests. In the media by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News most loudly. Via religion in the overt moves by Christian Nationalism and its network of white wealthy men wishing to visit their conceptions of American identity upon the whole of the country. The Republican party has been taken over by Trumpist MAGA extremists. Project 2025 is a 920 page plan to take over America from the Heritage Foundation – an ultra-conservative think tank. Many pundits think that the 2021 Capital riots were a failed coup and dress rehearsal for what is to come. Trump continues to promote the big lie about the 2020 election and his defeat by now President Joe Biden. Donald Trump lies at every opportunity about just about everything. America is awash with disinformation like a storm with no cessation. Deep down I reckon even Trump supporters know that they are complicit in a bunch of lies. These white Americans want to stand on the backs of those they consider inferior, whatever it takes. They want to win at all costs. This kind of behaviour leads to civil war. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.

©WordsForWeb Read the full article

[greatwyrmgold]

Alright, unsorted thoughts on how this would work out.

Victoria is the DM. She didn't exactly want to DM, she just kinda fell into the role. Natalie has offered to DM the next campaign; Victoria wants to play a monk.

Kenzie is a wizard; I feel like all tinkers and a lot of thinkers would be pushed towards wizardry by a shard that can't quite tell the difference between planning for a dungeon crawl and planning for an IRL raid. Before the end of the first session, she'll regret not playing a character who can cast healing spells, and immediately multiclass into druid. By the end of the campaign, her character will have at least half a dozen classes, none above level three.

Ashley's first character is a half-orc ranger; she accidentally duplicates the Drizzt Do'Urden archetype (except not a drow). This is her excuse to switch characters when she realizes she can play a dhampir tiefling sorceress and flirt with half of Victoria's NPCs.

Rain's characters keep dying. His first character, a martial warlock which everyone except Kenzie recognizes as Blake from Maggie Holt, dies to an orcish critical hit session 1. His second character (that except a girl) dies in session 3 due to a misunderstanding with Ashley. Session 4 sees the introduction and death of an elf druid girl he was excited to play; Victoria adds a side quest to bring her back.

Byron and Tristan agree to treat D&D games as an exception to their normal schedule, mostly switching at each other's turns. Byron rolls Tristan's saving throws instead of switching, which infuriates Tristan to no end (partly because Byron has shit luck).

Tristan initially plays a light cleric, planning to be a healer. This changes, both due to Kenzie shifting into that role and due to realizing that light clerics are good at burning things, so he and Kenzie slowly swap roles. Tristan is trying to convince the group to try Pathfinder next time.

Byron initially isn't that interested in playing D&D; he mostly joined because otherwise he'd have to passively watch Tristan play D&D for hours on end. He plays a basic halfling fighter with a maul, because he finds the image of a hobbit with a hammer bigger than he is to be funny. He gets really into roleplay, to the point that Tristan sometimes gets left out of RP-heavy scenes if Victoria or Natalie don't ask what Tristan's character does. Byron is trying to convince the group to try Changeling: the Lost next time.

Chris plays a rogue. He cheats, claiming it's what his character would do, even though Ashley points out that that makes no sense and (possibly because) Kenzie whines about how you shouldn't cheat. His characters have a high mortality rate, partly due to apathy. His future characters act like rogues. Even the paladin.

Natalie joins after a few sessions. She brings a barbarian into the party, and gets loud when she rages. Everybody decides it's best if she can get it all out.

Victoria's campaign is supposed to be this epic narrative about the meaning of heroism, because this is her first time and she has no idea how badly players will butcher any narrative more complicated than "go into Vile McDarknestan's house and kill him". They blunder down the "evil" path without realizing there would be another option if they asked the right follow-up questions; Victoria leans into it and their actions end up triggering a minor apocalypse.

They would suck SO bad at it but breakthrough should totally play dnd together

[daechwitatamic]

WWH Drabbles: ALSO FOR CHAPTER 4!!!!!! We cannot forget about the movie night PLEASE, THIS ONE IS A FAV!!! What was he thinking??

What Was Hidden

POV Drabble #6: Not Afraid to Lie

WC: 3k

Warnings: language, angst, Taehyung is an idiot but wbk

The request: By @pamzn and this anon!

A/N: These scenes are from Chapter 4! :) Throwback to when I posted this without context because this is how my brainstorming went (:

Anyway, please enjoy!

Taehyung was hoping he’d see you over the weekend, but considering you’d been sick he hadn’t really had his hopes up. When his longtime friend Leslie texts him to hang out, he doesn’t think twice about it.

He and Leslie were friends going back to elementary school; their dads were business partners, and they’d spent many weekend evenings in the tv room at Taehyung’s house, staying out of the way while the adults talked. They’d been close through middle school - Leslie helping Taehyung with homework almost daily, and Taehyung elbowing his friends to shut them up when they talked about Leslie in the way the middle school boys tend to do. 

The protective roles did two things for them. Firstly, it cemented their friendship. Secondly, it cemented them as only friends, deep in “basically siblings” territory. By high school, they were wing-manning for each other, swapping gossip and homework but nothing else. When they realized they both had been accepted to the same university, they’d laughed; it was exactly the kind of serendipitous thing that had followed their friendship for over a decade already.

Taehyung enjoyed Leslie and her friendship - she was strong, and bold, and didn’t take shit from anyone. Taehyung had always felt that, between the two of them, she was the stronger one, emotionally. 

He’d just never seen her that way. And if she had… she’d never let him know. 

And things had been off with them for a while. They’d spent the first few years at college spending tons of time together - attending the same parties, eating meals together in the caf, studying at the library. But slowly those hang-outs had fizzled, and then their texts grew less frequent. Taehyung had no idea why, but Leslie wasn’t big on talking about feelings, so he’d not pushed it. When she texted him to hang out, he’d jumped at the chance, hoping it was a move back towards how things used to be.

So when Seokjin pokes his head into the living room to tell them he invited “Bridget and Company” over to watch a movie that night, Taehyung doesn’t think anything of it. 

They order dinner instead of cooking that night. Taehyung and Leslie eat up in his room; he sits at his desk, her on his floor. They talk shit, music playing, until the food is gone. Then they venture downstairs for drinks. 

“Taehyung,” Jin says, “will you take the garbages out before the girls come over? They don’t need to know how gross we are.”

Taehyung eyes the garbage can and the recycling can next to it; both nearly overflow. 

“I’ll take the recycling,” Leslie offers, “so you only have to carry one bag.”

Now Taehyung can’t say no without looking like an ass, so he bags up the garbage and the recycling both, handing Leslie the lighter bag. They go out the back door and down the wooden steps, around the side of the house.

“Thanks,” Taehyung tells her, after hoisting the heavy garbage bag into the receptacle. 

“Don’t mention it,” Leslie says easily. “So, is your new girlfriend coming over tonight?”

“If you say something stupid like that and scare her away, I will end you,” Taehyung tells her seriously. Leslie laughs from her belly, low and full. 

“She’s not my girlfriend anyway,” Taehyung grumps, leading them back up the steps. “We’re barely even talking.”

“Are you gonna, like, abandon me to go cuddle?” Leslie teases.

“Are you going to be a menace all night?” Taehyung retorts. 

He can practically feel her grin through the darkness, pleased at having pushed his buttons. 

Taehyung steps back into the kitchen to find Jin helping the girls get drinks. You spot him and smile, raising a hand in greeting. 

“Hey!” Taehyung says. Your smile flickers like a lightbulb that might go out, and then steadies. 

Weird.

Taehyung leads Leslie back in to the living room, where Jungkook and Jimin are arguing over what movie to play. Taehyung plops in his normal spot on the couch, the one he always occupies when it’s just the guys at home. Leslie perches next to him, naturally, since she’s his friend. 

Yoongi leads Kiko out of the kitchen and they sit near each other on the bigger sofa. Beside him, Leslie turns her phone to show Taehyung a stupid meme. He rolls his eyes, laughing. She leans against him, tucking her feet up on the couch to keep them warm. This is all so routine, so normal, that Taehyung barely notices as he shifts his arm over her shoulders to be more comfortable.

“That guy from my chem class just dm’ed me,” she murmurs, looking at her phone. “What do I say?”

Taehyung peers at her screen with her, watching as she tries to navigate the conversation, and almost misses when you and Bridget enter the room, taking the other two spots on the big couch. 

When he does notice, he tries to catch your eye - ready to wave, ask how your day was, ask if you’re feeling better. You don’t look his way, instead turning to talk so quietly to Bridget that Taehyung can’t catch a word. 

As the movie plays, Taehyung continues to try. You keep your eyes on the screen, your chin lifted just a touch too high, defensive. That’s the detail that strikes Taehyung, the thing that tips him off that you aren’t just super into the plot. He looks down at Leslie, who quirks an eyebrow at him. 

She taps her phone and opens a note, typing, ‘she mad at you???’

Taehyung shrugs imperceptibly. Carefully, as to not be detected, he reaches for the phone and slides it onto his own leg.

‘No idea why…’ he types. 

Leslie makes a very Leslie face, one that says, I have a theory.

Taehyung responds to this silent with his own raised eyebrow. She shakes her head but reaches for the phone again, erasing his sentence and typing, ‘you should talk to her later’.

At one point, you turn and your gaze snags on Taehyung’s for just a second. His heart jumps - is now his chance? But you turn away before he can so much as smile, determinedly training your eyes on the tv screen again.

What the fuck, Taehyung thinks, growing frustrated. He runs through the last day in his head; he’s sure he hadn’t said anything stupid.

When you get up, sometime after Yoongi and Kiko disappear down to the basement, Taehyung almost knocks Leslie off the couch in his rush to follow. He needs answers. He’s fine with a silent treatment if he deserves it, but he has no idea what he’d done to piss you off.

When he enters the kitchen behind you, you turn to see who it is. When you spot him, you make a wry half-smile. “Hey,” you say, turning away again. “Am I in your way?”

“No…” Taehyung says slowly. He’s not sure what game you’re playing - you literally ignored him all night, and now you’re acting super casual? “Y/N… are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

His voice comes out wrong. It’s too plaintive, too vulnerable. He shifts, tries to get it together. 

When you turn to look at him, you look genuinely surprised by his question. “What? Of course not.”

Of course not? Then what the fuck is going on?

“You haven’t talked to me all night,” he points out. “You won’t even look at me.”

“I’m trying not to mess things up for you!” you retort, expression sliding a little closer to angry. “How do you think it would look to your girl if I did all that? I’ve dropped guys for less.”

It, honest-to-god, takes Taehyung almost a full minute to figure out what girl you’re talking about. He starts mentally flipping through the girls in his classes, wondering if you’d seen him talking about schoolwork with one of them and got the wrong idea. Then, it hits him. Leslie? Absolutely the hell not.

“She’s not my girl,” he protests. “We aren’t - ugh!” He breaks off, hearing how defensive he sounds. He needs to calm down. Did you really think he’d be that shitty? Is that what you think he’s like? He takes a quick breath, tries to give an explanation. “That’s… not what this is. It’s really not.”

He’s no good with words. He doesn’t know how to express the nature of this friendship, that there’s no threatening element here. 

You, infuriatingly, just shrug. “It’s not my business, Taehyung.”

Just like you’d texted him after the night he got too drunk at the bar with you. And Taehyung might not be good with putting his thoughts and feelings into words, but he’s good at understanding - and he’s understanding you perfectly. “It’s not my business” means “it can’t hurt me”, and he’s not going to stand here and let you get away with that. Not when he knows it’s bullshit.

“That’s your favorite line, huh?” he retorts, crossing his arms. 

“It is when it’s true,” you say calmly - and that pisses him off even more, that you’re calm and unbothered while he’s simmering with fury. He wants to tell you to drop the act, cut the crap, and be honest. 

If you won’t, he will. He makes sure he has eye contact before he says - matching your calm, even tone - “I’m not sleeping with Leslie, Y/N.”

You blink at him in silence, and for a second he feels victorious, like he got through to you, battled past that thick outer wall and made it inside. Then he watches that cold look of yours, the one you sported the whole night he’d met you, as it takes over your face.

“Good for you,” you say flatly. “I don’t know why you feel the need to tell me that.”

Fuck, he’s so mad!

“Based on how you’ve acted all night, apparently I do need to tell you that!” he shouts, and you both turn to check the doorway, to see if his outburst carried. No one from the living room stirs, and you turn back to him, that same cold expression in place.

“You don’t,” you say, shaking your head to emphasize. “There’s nothing going on with you two? Great. There’s nothing going on with us, either. I don’t care what you do.”

Taehyung feels himself take a step backwards and wills himself into stillness. 

This is the fucked up part - he knows it’s a lie. He knows you felt everything he did - at the diner, when he’d video-called you, at tutoring, at the bar. It was starting, he hadn’t imagined it.

So now I know you’re not afraid to lie, he thinks. 

He refuses to play this game with you. There’s nothing going on? Fine. There’s nothing going on.

“Cool,” he says, as tonelessly as he can manage. “Glad we sorted that out.”

He doesn’t give you time to process or react, just turns and retreats back. Most of the occupants of the living room ignore him, but Leslie is looking, and Leslie is sharp. 

“Were you yelling?” she whispers, as he settles back onto the couch next to her, temper still riled up and heart pounding.

He cuts his eyes at her, illogically mad that her presence is what made things fall apart. 

“She thinks we’re… a thing. Wouldn’t listen when I said it isn’t true,” he mutters, eyes on his legs.

Leslie gives him a long, searching look that he can’t, or doesn’t want to, decipher.

“I think I’d like to go home,” she murmurs, her voice incredibly quiet and gentle - very, very unlike her. For this reason, and this reason alone, Taehyung nods slowly instead of pushing the issue. 

“I’m driving Leslie home,” he says to whoever cares enough to listen, reaching for a jacket as he nears the front door. Leslie follows him out to the car, waiting patiently by the passenger side door as he presses the button to unlock it.

They sit in silence for a second as the engine starts, the radio connects to Taehyung’s phone, and the heater whirs to life. 

“Did I piss you off, too?” Taehyung finally asks, feeling defeated.

The look she gives him is somehow pitying. Because she understands what he doesn’t.

“Taehyung,” she says, still gentle, and it’s so glaringly unlike how she’s ever talked to him before that it gives him a rush of adrenaline, like his bodily systems are telling him Danger! Danger! Danger!

“Leslie,” he mimics, because he’s scared and it’s his go-to defense mechanism.

“Imagine how it looks from the outside,” she says, after a long silence. “This thing with you guys has been slowly gaining momentum, and then - to her - you show up with another girl. Did you say anything to her ahead of time, that you were with a friend, or that you were looking forward to seeing her? Anything?”

“....No,” Taehyung admits, gut twisting. It hadn’t occurred to him that he should do that. 

“My dummy,” Leslie says affectionately, reaching over to pat his shoulder. 

“I’m allowed to have friends,” Taehyung defends himself hotly. 

“You are,” Leslie agrees. “But how well does she know you, really? What does she know about you, about your character?”

Taehyung sulks and shifts the car into reverse, finally backing out of the driveway, instead of answering. In his opinion, you should know him better than to think he’d be playing you.

“It’s scary to open up to someone,” Leslie says a few minutes later, prompted by nothing more than her own mind still working over the situation. “It takes a lot to trust someone not to fuck with you.”

Sure, Taehyung thinks. That’s true enough. But, there’s nothing going on with us? I don’t care what you do? Fuck. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Taehuyng mutters, flicking on the turn-signal to pull into campus. “She said she’s done.”

Leslie reaches down to the floor of the car and picks up her purse as Taehyung pulls over in front of her dorm. “Talk to her,” she says, as she unbuckles and opens the car door. She pauses, considers her next words. As she climbs out and turns around to shut the door, she repeats, “Talk to her. She’s not done.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung blurts, leaning forward over the steering wheel to peer at her. “What does that mean?!”

She gives him a tiny smile, shaking her head, and shuts the door. Taehyung keeps his eyes on her, hoping she’ll turn around and give him some answers, but she never looks back.

–

When Taehyung lets himself back into the house, there are no girls in sight, only his house-mates - minus Yoongi. They all turn to look at him as he comes through the door, and one by one they join a slow-clap.

“Oh, fuck you guys,” Taehyung grouses, slapping his keys into the little basket by the door.

“Breaking the hearts of not one but two beautiful women tonight!” Jimin sings, as if overcome with pride for his friend, one hand clutching his chest dramatically. 

“The fuck are you talking about?” Taehyung snaps, eyes narrowing.

“Which part is confusing?” Jungkook asks, lips twitching.

“Well, obviously inviting over Y/N -.”

“I didn’t invite her, Jin did!” Taehyung interrupts Jimin hotly.

“-inviting over Y/N when you already had Leslie over was a super douchey move.”

Taehyung groans, over it. “I know,” he whines. “I didn’t think about it like that. It’s just Leslie.”

“And there you have the breaking of Heart Number Two,” Jimin quips.

Taehyung looks at him blankly. Jimin’s mouth goes slack.

“You don’t know? Oh, my God, look at his face, he doesn’t know.”

Yoongi chooses this moment to breeze through the basement door, heading for the kitchen. “Leslie’s in love with you, you absolute moron.”

“No she’s not,” Taehyung scoffs instinctively, then looks at all the faces in the room, all looking at him like oh, isn’t he cute.

“You had to know,” Jungkook says skeptically. “How could you not know?”

Taehyung doesn’t answer; he’s shocked into silence, into stillness, into fight or flight. He needs time to process this, to deal with it. He needs to enact a game plan to determine if it’s true, he needs to reexamine every interaction they’d had over the last ten years and figure out if he’s been an asshole or just stupid. 

“So which heart are we mending?” Jimin asks, a little kinder now as he watches the clash of emotions on his friend’s face. 

Taehyung’s already mentally gone from the conversation, already mentally up in his room pacing and thinking, already texting Leslie tell me the truth, have I fucked up our friendship at any point, have you been letting me just think it’s okay?

But still, some part of his brain is listening. Some part of his brain knows the answer - the only answer.

“Y/N,” he says simply, and turns for the stairs.

did I....... did I create a secret Plot C for wwh..... oh no....

You can find my full Masterlist here!

[kinnbig]

ok so i’m obsessed with that special clip on iqiyi where the cast act out scenes as each other’s characters, and also i was a big glee fan back in the day when they did an episode where a character hit her head, and in her concussed state was seeing all the other characters as body-swapped - basically all the actors swapped roles and played each other’s characters for the episode, in full costume and makeup etc. it was a really good episode. 

so this is my pitch for a 100% seriously produced and acted character-swap special episode of kinnporsche. i spent a stupidly long time thinking about which actors would be the funniest/best/most jarring as which characters, and also how to get all the characters in one short episode plot, just because i find this idea so fun lmao. boc if you’re listening....

set between episodes 3 and 4, post-kinnporsche kiss but still at Yok’s, Porsche trips on the way back to the bar and hits his head. when he returns to the party, all of the characters seemed to be body-swapped. Arm and Pol (now played by Ta and Barcode respectively) are trying to care for a very drunk Tankhun (now played by Jeff), who has got the party started again. Porsche is incredibly confused as to why Pol now looks like his brother.

he stumbles to the bathroom to splash water on his face when someone else starts to enter, so Porsche locks himself in a stall. it’s Time (now played by Perth) and Tem (now played by Us), and Porsche oversees the scene from the world tour - Time(Perth) flirting with Tem(Us), Porsche is shocked and confused. Tay (now played by Nodt) enters, there is the argument from the tour. Porsche is watching like :o

they all leave eventually and Porsche goes after Tem(Us) who is now drinking with Jom (now played by JJ). Porsche sees Arm(Ta) and Pol(Barcode) again so decides he needs to call his brother to make sure he’s ok.

he finds Kinn (now played by Tong) to borrow his phone. Kinn(Tong) is drunk so he flirts with him a bit and then lets him use the phone. Porsche calls Chay (now played by Bas) who reassures him that he’s fine. across the bar, Tay(Nodt) and Time(Perth) seem to have made up. Jom(JJ) comforts a distressed Tem(Us).

Pete (now played by Bible) arrives, saying he’s been looking for Porsche everywhere. Porsche tells Pete(Bible) that he thinks he hit his head, so Pete takes him outside for fresh air.

across the road, we see Vegas (now played by Build) and Macau (now played by Job) hanging out outside the bar and clearly keeping an eye on it. they watch Porsche and Pete(Bible) smoke and discuss how weird it is that Porsche is already such a trusted bodyguard. Macau(Job) points out that Pete and Porsche seem friendly, Vegas(Build) says he might need to keep an eye on Pete, too.

at the end of the night, Kinn(Tong) calls Big and Ken (now played by Pong and Ping respectively) to come and collect them all. in the car on the way back Big(Pong) and Ken(Ping) are angry about the party (Big secretly wanted to be invited lol) and berate Porsche for allowing it.

at the main family house, Big(Pong) gets a phone call from Kim (now played by Mile). Kim(Mile) says he heard that Porsche and the bodyguards had managed to get Tankhun out of the house and that Kinn had gone out with them all - he’s even more suspicious of Porsche and wants Big to get information to him asap. he stares at his big kimlock holmes board for a while lol.

Porsche and Pete(Bible) stumble to their room, and fall into the same bed, setting up the episode 4 opening scene.

the end.

[dontloseyourpants]

Stripped on Stage

A commission I received from @gaystripstories! You can also find him on Twitter here. And you can support him by buying his stories on Amazon here.

I'll out the actual story below the cut. It's about a cocky young Broadway bound hunk who has an embarrassing incident on stage during his big debut. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Before the Show: 

Hey, just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a great show! 

A sea of blank faces stared up at him, but he kept plodding on to get the reaction that he  desired. Walking further into the crowded dressing room, he finally stopped right behind me. 

I miss the camaraderie of being packed down here with everyone… it’s so lonely having  that dressing room upstairs all to myself. I usually just spend time before shows lying on my  couch until first call. 

Looking up, I saw his face forcing itself into what he thought was a genuine smile. For  someone who was apparently a much better actor than our poor little show deserved, he really  had such a hard time hiding his true emotions. 

Roger Stilton had quickly made a name for himself on Broadway. A Julliard grad just  like his rich father, he headed straight to Broadway and began booking any role he wanted. With  leading man good looks, his slicked back dark hair, and a jawline that could cut steel, Roger  actually could have earned his roles without daddy’s donations. 

As I continued looking up at him, I realized two things. First, his blush was much too  heavy for a theater as small as this one. 

Roger, sit down- let me help you out a bit. Quickly standing up in my boxers and  undershirt, I let him plop into my chair before wiping a makeup wipe across that beautiful face.  Here’s a tip when you’re not sure how strong to make your blush- you have to see what it should  be naturally and then add two swipes. 

Quickly taking hold of the bottom of his t-shirt, I ripped it over his head to expose that  chest to the whole room. His perky pecs and six pack abs were to die over, but for some reason,  even with all of that narcissism, he didn’t like showing off his body. 

See- that’s the color you want. 

I saw his eyes connect with his reflection to see the blush covering his cheeks, and I  added a bit of my powder onto his face to match. Grabbing his shirt, he just awkwardly held it in  front of him before walking back out of the room with his parting words flung over his shoulder. 

Well, let me let you get back to getting ready… I just love having a great ensemble behind  me on stage. 

I wanted to hate him, but I couldn’t. At least not for another week. He’d joined our show  after workshops, and even if I wouldn’t admit it, he was the reason we’d gotten our residency at  our off-Broadway theater. He was already booked for his next role in a few weeks in one of the  larger theaters, but if I had anything to do with it, I wanted to put his name in the news for  another reason. It was time to confirm the second thing that I realized once Roger walked in  here. 

Listen up. Every head turned back towards me this time, but unlike Roger, I could tell  that they wanted to hear what I had to say. I had a couple of decades on all of the younger actors 

around me, and they looked up to me since I’d give them actual advice. We’re a go for tonight.  Raise a hand if you’re in. 

Smiling to myself as I saw every hand quickly raise into the air, I knew that this would be  one show that Roger or the critics in the audience would never forget. I don’t know if Roger  knew that we’d picked up on it, but there was a lot of info that he gave away. He was using us as  a launch pad for some serious acting cred, and we were using him just as much. And for weeks  of workshops and performances, we existed together, but the last month had been different. He’d  starters treating us as disposable ensemble members even if the small cast all had named roles.  So, tonight, on the most important night of his run, we decided to get back at him. Looking up at  the timer on the ceiling above us, I realized that it was almost time for our first phase of the plan. 

Act 1: 

Look at him- if he wasn’t such a huge ass, he could really be the next big thing. Sorry- all I heard you say was huge ass, and I got distracted. 

Playfully slapping Sam on the arm, I kept watching Roger act as we waited for our cue.  Our show was a new take on the classic murder mystery, and each night, Roger dramatically died  on stage. The twist, the reason that we’d made it out of workshops, was that a new killer was  chosen each show. The audience could return night after night and still get a new experience  since we improved a lot and only kept core scenes consistent.  

This was one scene that was always the same, so Roger felt confident enough to ham it up as he looked at the two women in Row 2: The New Yorker and New York Times. They of  course had names, but Roger only knew them as the critics that he needed to impress. And he  truly was acting his ass off… and that was quite a challenge. Those dark gray slacks were barely  

stretched over that ample peach of a bottom, and I was reminded again that I was happy with the  game plan. And as he placed his glass of water back on the table, it was time for round 1.  

Natasha and Joslyn entered from stage left as Sam and I appeared from stage right, and in  a flurry of motion, we began bombarding him with questions.  

Sir, would you like the dinner menu? 

Please. 

Sir, would you like a wine list? 

That’d be delightful. 

Sir, would you like your water glass to be topped off? 

Certainly. 

Bending down, I poured the contents of my pitcher into his glass and across his chest. Oh monsieur, I am so sorry- let’s get you out of those wet clothes immediately. 

Patting him down with the hand towel, Sam walked behind him and began unbuttoning  Roger’s shirt. In utter shock, Roger just sat there staring at the pitcher that I’d laid down in front  of him- the one that looked completely normal. In every other show, a special prop had been  used that only held half a cup of water, but tonight, it looked like I’d grabbed the wrong pitcher  from the props table accidentally.  

There we go- we’ll have this dried and steamed before you even get the dessert menu…  not that it looks like you eat dessert often.  

He tried to cover his exposed chest as we left stage, but the tiny menu couldn’t cover  much. If he pulled it down, he exposed his perky pecs with his dark brown nipples shining under  the harsh lights, and if he pulled it up, you could see the happy trail disappearing into his pants.  As we all stood offstage in one giggling group, we watched the switch flip over in his head. He 

had just made the choice- he could either be embarrassed about being half naked on stage, or he  could continue acting so that the critics would write about how he powered through adverse  conditions. And he chose the second option… at least for now.

Act 2: 

After improving some line about remembering that he had a spare suit in his car, he  quickly walked off stage with his muscular back facing the audience. Once he disappeared into  the curtain, he began quietly yelling for the prop master, but he was nowhere to be found. Also  gone was the random rack of clothes that had been hiding in the wings for decades, so as he  rushed around, Roger only had time to grab someone’s suit coat and walk back on stage. 

Darling! Is it my birthday already? I thought I wouldn’t get my present until tomorrow. 

With her quick change successfully completed unlike her costar, Natasha was in a skin  tight dress and now playing Roger’s girlfriend. Walking circles around him, she began to  massage his tense body, and it seemed to be having an undesired effect on his lower half.  

Can I unwrap my present early?  

I’m so sorry love, but the weirdest thing happened at dinner earlier. I had time to grab a  spot of food before coming here, and then…  

As he began to sit down, the small blazer completely ripped down the middle, and the  ruined fabric fell in two pieces down each arm. Natasha was really hamming it up now as she  jumped up from the prop bed to kneel in front of her blushing boyfriend.  

I was joking before, but what else is about to come off? Did you somehow trade outfits  with a stripper? 

That time in the gym must have really filled out my shoulders.  

Then flex for me, Romeo. Let me see that body that’s all mine.  

Doing as told, Roger stood up and began to flex his muscles as he faced the audience. His  tanned chest seemed to glow under the lights, and I heard the audience getting into it more now.  If there were any repeat customers here, then they knew what normally happened here. Natasha  would have her birthday party, and in the commotion, Roger would meet his demise. But that  always happened fully clothed. 

Roger’s biceps were glistening in sweat, and his trimmed chest hair was as well. He was  breathtakingly gorgeous, and if only he wasn’t so cocky, we would have all adored him. As I saw  that blush spread further across those beautiful cheekbones, I wondered if there was something  more human under there. Just maybe… 

Oh, I just can’t resist anymore- come ravish me!  

With strength that I didn’t know she had, Natasha pulled Roger towards her as they fell  into the throes of passion on top of that bed. The audience was losing it as Natasha’s legs  comically kicked into the air before wrapping around Roger’s ample ass. She was kissing him all  over as Roger tried to break free for his cue. 

Oh honey, that special suit jacket wasn’t the only birthday surprise that I had planned. In  fact…

And this is where everything went so, so right. Roger lunged into a standing position  without even feeling Natasha’s fingers hook into the two small holes that had come undone on  each side of his tearaway pants. I don’t know how he hadn’t noticed earlier that we’d swapped them out before the show, but they’d stayed together right until they were needed.  

In comical slow motion, the back half of his pants fell to the floor as the front stayed  gripped in her hands.  

You got me exactly what I wanted! 

As Natasha jumped to meet him, we all started streaming on stage, holding balloons and  shooting party streamers into the air. The only one that was still was Roger who was somehow so  very, very visible in the middle of all of this chaos. With his pants gone, he was now standing  there in only his shoes, his nylon socks held up with leather garters on those strong calves, and  an impossibly tiny pair of baby blue bikini briefs that were trying their hardest to stretch over his  large frame.  

We all took a cue from the audience and focused on Roger as he stood petrified on stage.  His hands hung limply at his side, too embarrassed to even move them to cover up his impressive  bulge and thick pubes that were showing over the stretched waistband. You could have heard a  pin drop in the eerie quiet before one camera flash went off from the audience followed by  several more. I saw our one underpaid usher try to stop the cameras, but it was too late.  

Finally urged into action as he saw how many photos of him would soon end up online,  Roger finally spun around to try to find his pants, his jacket- just anything to cover himself up  with. Seeing the bed sheet that had been flung into the floor, he reached to grab it, but I was too  quick and stepped onto it to keep him from getting it.  

Standing back up, he had rage in his eyes as he looked at me, and he had no idea that  even more photos were taken now of him. From the back, his tiny briefs had been wedged  between those glorious cheeks, and he was exposing almost every inch of skin that he could.  

It was you- you’re the one that did it! 

He was about five minutes early with that line, but Roger’s embarrassment had finally  taken over his need to impress the critics. That was usually what he said when he discovered who  the killer was right before falling to the ground, but now, he was saying it to me even though  Joslyn was the one who’d dropped the ‘poison’ into his pasta in the previous scene.  

What are you talking about? It’s me- your best friend! 

A best friend wouldn’t do this on the most important night of their life! 

Reaching forward, he grabbed onto my shirt and yanked it apart. Buttons went flying as  my own chest was exposed to the crowd. My mouth was trying to hard not to break into a smirk  behind my trimmed salt and pepper beard as I backed away from Roger. Following me back  under the lights, he just kept going. 

You’ve always been jealous of me- my career, my body, everything! Do you know how  hard I’ve fought for this? Do you?  

He truly believed the words that he was saying even though he’d never had to go to an  open casting call in a crowded building downtown. He’d never had to squeeze into a borrowed  pair of LaDucas and dance for hours just to be told that they’d gone in a different direction. Oh  no, Roger had never felt rejection like that which is what would make what happened next even  sweeter.  

He lunged at me, and we fell in a heap on the floor. The audience, even the return  viewers, probably had no idea that anything had gone wrong. Everything we’d done had been in  character, and only one thing would be able to prove to them that this show had gone off the  rails.  

Roger’s body was gyrating around on top of me, but he never landed a punch. He wasn’t  angry enough for that, but he was too flustered to even know what to do. He couldn’t handle this  humiliation, and he was just lashing out. And then, it all stopped. As we tussled, we both heard  the pop and froze. It could have been anything, but we both knew exactly what it was. 

The Final Bow: 

And the award goes to Roger Stilton! 

The cameras all swung towards him as he tried to duck down into his seat. This is not  how he wanted awards season to go. He had just lost the Best Actor award for his starring role in  Thoroughly Modern Millie, and he was about to go to the bar until he heard his name called  again. Looking up at the big screen, he saw the category that he didn’t even know that he was  nominated for- Best Quick Change.  

With the DramaDesk award in hand, the late-night talk show host who had no business  being here walked on stage. I was sitting on the side in the cheap seats, but I could still see  everything. The last time that I’d seen Roger was when I’d been lying shirtless beneath him. I  watched as he sat motionless in his chair, and he only got up once the screen started playing a  video from that night.  

He was kneeling on top of me, and as we wrestled, the tiny strap on the right side of his bikini briefs popped right off. With his ass aimed right towards the camera, his pendulous cock  fell into view between his legs, and he tried to cover himself unsuccessfully with his hands. As  he moved, the rest of his underwear fell apart and landed on my chest leaving him completely  

naked.  

Standing up, he kept spinning around, turning one way and then the other to hide his  embarrassment. His hands were clasped over his manhood which left that ass completely  exposed. His tight waist made his bubble butt even more impressive, and the untanned skin acted  as a beacon for everyone’s eyes and cameras. I’d watched this scene dozens of times from the  comfort of my own apartment, but as Roger walked on stage to confront the host, I realized that  he probably had tried to forget this ever happened.  

When Audra Macdonald won earlier, she serenaded us with a few bars. Roger, what do  you plan on showing off to this crowd? 

The crowd was going wild, but unlike that fateful night, the crowd was over five times  bigger and full of people that Roger wanted to impress. He tried to put on a fake laugh and grab  the award, but even from this far away, I could see how strong that blush was as the host kept  going.  

No seriously, I think we need you to show it off! What does everyone here think?  

I let my cheer join the crowd as we egged him on, but he still wasn’t budging. And then,  the host looked right at me, and I pinched myself to see if this was all a dream.  

Do we need your old costar to come help out? He knows his way around this stage since  he’s performed here a few times. Come on up! 

The spotlight hit me, and now it was my time to feel a little shy. I’d been a background  dancer here in a few awards show opening numbers, but I’d never been up there individually.  Would my big break come decades later than it should have? 

Stepping on stage, I saw Roger’s heart drop, and my nerves suddenly vanished. He let the  host turn him around, and I realized that he was petrified again.  

Make me change my mind, Roger. Why shouldn’t I expose you again for how you treated  us on that show? 

Tommy, please, don’t do it.  

I could have been nice and joked around with him as we walked offstage to pretend like  this was a planned bit. But, he messed up.  

Roger, you didn’t even learn the names of your costars. My name is David- Tommy  worked the sound board.  

And before he could react, I grabbed onto those tuxedo pants and yanked them to the  ground. The button ripped off easily, and they gave me no resistance before sliding down to his  ankles. He’d learned his lesson from earlier and was wearing a pair of black trunks, but I still had  a little bit of humiliation left to give him. I could and should have stopped there, but I didn’t.  Grabbing onto his waistband, I pulled his undies to the floor and stepped back to let him have the  spotlight all to himself like he desperately wanted.  

His half-naked body was projected onto the big screen again but in real time now. His  ample, untanned ass still jutted out from his athletic body, and as he tried to bend down and grab  his pants, it jiggled with every movement.  

Looking down into the audience, I somehow made eye contact with Jan, the critic that  Roger always referred to as The New Yorker sitting not too far from where I’d been seated. As  she began typing onto her phone, I realized that Roger would get that big headline after all.

[stories-by-belle]

Champagne

Just some smutty Tom Holland inspired drabble, enjoy. Bx

It was here. I thought to myself, staring into the mirror. My last ever performance as Juliet.

It'd been almost a year since I rushed across London to my audition and somehow bagged the role even after being massively late and a total unknown. This was my first big role, my first leading lady role and here I was gaining good reviews as Juliet opposite Tom Hollands Romeo.

The fact that this was Tom's essential return to the West End, his first play since doing Billy Elliot when he was just a child, and his first ever go at Shakespeare had created a huge buzz around around the play. And he'd absolutely killed it, all of London was talking about his performance.

And, somehow, I'd been lucky enough to join him for the whirlwind of press that surrounded the play every night. Sally, my agent, was thrilled, I was no longer the problematic talent on her books struggling to hold my nerves together.

———

"Alright there, Juliet?" Tom nudged me with his elbow as we both stood backstage waiting to begin, for the last time. "You're being very quiet tonight."

He was right, normally by this point of the evening I was laughing with him, psyching myself up, ready to get on stage.

"I just can't believe this is the last night." I mumbled, I was really sad that this was ending, the whole experience had been amazing, we'd all become close friends, Tom and I especially, he was infectious, his enthusiasm, his joy, it rubbed off on me daily. And I truly believed that he was making me a better actress through all this. My confidence had grown as our friendship had over the many months of working together.

"Aw, you gonna miss me?" Tom grinned playfully at me.

I was, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Ah, you won't be able to get rid of me that easily." He said pulling me into a hug as I rolled my eyes at him. "You'll always be my Juliet." He whispered, lingering a little bit too long at the nape of my neck before moving away to take his starting position on the stage.

———

And in the blink of an eye, our last performance was done.

Both Tom and I lay still on the stage where we'd both fallen in our death scene, as the other cast members finished the play around us.

Each night, we'd lain still, and tangled up together as lovers in each others arms for, what felt like, an excruciatingly long time.

"I'll miss this part the most." Tom whispered, barely audible even to me. I thought I was hearing things until I felt his hand subtly move to hold mine.

My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest, as I chanced a glance up at him to find him staring down at me.

Finally the curtain fell around us, and the tension between us was cut. The audience were cheering as we got to our feet & rushed to take our final bows.

———

After the usual rounds of bowing, and then congratulating each other backstage, I quietly sloped off to my dressing room while the others starting cracking open bottles of champagne.

I'd just got my costumed unzipped when Tom rushed into the room, champagne bottle in hand, soaking me as he shuck the bottle spraying it everywhere, laughing manically.

"Tom, stop! Come on! I gotta give this costume back!" I shouted through my laughter.

"Payback!" He shouted back as he proceeded in soaking me in champagne. "For that coffee you got all over me!"

"That was an accident!" I managed to move out of his way, hiding behind my dressing screen. "And besides, I thought we agreed that neither of us had been looking where we were going that day!" I giggled at him as he missed me.

He pounced behind the screen, pushing me back against the wall, threatening to pour the rest of the champagne over my head.

"Okay, okay, I give up, you win, you win!" I giggled.

We were both breathless, I was drenched and he had my hips pinned under his against the wall. Without moving away from me he took a swig of champagne before offering it to my lips.

I could feel him watching me closely as I drank from the bottle.

We'd spent a lot of time over the months being close together like this, so it didn't feel weird, there had been a tension slowly building over the months as we'd played lovers on stage & flirted playfully & unapologetically offstage.

As Tom lowered the bottle from my mouth, we both hovered in the moment, simply staring at each other, daring the other to make the first move.

I'd wondered many times if there was something more here than just flirting for Tom, but this was the first time I felt for certain there was something. In fact, I could feel something pressing into my lower stomach as we breathlessly stared at each other.

"I'm sorry." Tom gulped as he moved away trying to hide his lower body from me "That was probably quite, uh, inappropriate." The gentleman in him kicked in, suddenly embarrassed at his actions, and his, ah-hem, reaction to it all.

My heart melted for him, for all the confidence & charm he had, he was really quite shy too. This, mixed with the pure desire I felt as he held me pinned against the wall, emboldened me.

"Don't be sorry." I said simply, moving towards him. "After tonight we won't be working together, so it's not inappropriate at all." I smirked at him, as I took the bottle from him and put it down.

Before I knew it, he had one arm wrapped around my waist, another in my hair, as he pulled me into him to kiss me hard and desperately. It was the polar opposite of the kisses we had shared each night on stage, there was absolutely nothing polite about this kiss.

"You have no idea how many times I've imagined this." Tom moaned into your ear as he trailed kisses down your neck, slowly pulling your unzipped dress down your upper body, following it closely with kisses, occasionally nipping at my skin with his teeth.

As the dress reached my hips & Tom was on his knees in front of me, my entire skin tingled with lust.

He tugged the dress over my hips & let it fall to the floor, leaving me standing above him in just my underwear. His eyes traced over my entire body before mumbling "So. Fucking. Pretty." as he placed kisses along the top of my knickers, he glanced once more up at me, asking for permission to keep going. I nodded and sighed as he kissed my centre through the thin cotton, that was already soaked through, he buried his mouth into me as my hands wound their way into his hair, willing him to keep going.

As he pulled my underwear to one side & I felt his tongue flick over my clit, my knees buckled as I gasped, grabbing his shoulders to keep me from falling.

"Sensitive?" He chuckled as he let me catch my breath.

Standing back up, he kissed me again, swapping between nibbling on my lips and pushing his tongue into my mouth, all the while his fingers worked my clit. As he applied more pressure, my knees buckled again, but this time he was there to catch me, pushing me back against the wall to keep me upright, he was relentless, as he pressed harder while drawing circles around my clit, as he moved to nibble my neck, all I could do was cling to him as my orgasm hit.

He held me close, his hand still gently playing with my clit as he watched me ride out my high.

“I’ve been dying to see you like this for months.” Tom whispered, stroking my neck with one hand, and stroking my wet folds with the other.

The noise outside my dressing room door broke us out of our trance.

“We should probably go join the rest of them for the party.” Tom mumbled, glancing behind him to check the door was closed, before removing his hand from my underwear and bringing his fingers to his mouth to taste you.

You let out a moan at the loss of his touch, knowing you needed more of him.

“But…” I started, knowing that now wasn’t the time, but I just couldn’t help it, I wanted more.

“So needy.” He chuckled with a satisfied smile on his face, I sighed as I pulled his lips back to mine and rolled my hips against his, hoping to pull us both back into the trance we’d been in.

“Later, baby.” Tom moaned as his pulled away from me completely. Reaching out for my robe that was hanging on the back of my door.

As he walked back towards me, he tried to adjust his raging hard on through his trousers, eliciting a quiet groan to escape from his lips. He gritted his teeth hard as he wrapped the robe around my shoulders.

“We should get you tidied up and looking presentable again.”

———

In the dressing room, he had quietly helped me dress and waited patiently while I attempted to fix my hair and face. We didn’t talk about what had just happened, and I was desperate for him to say anything about it, I needed clarity, was that just a one off, or was there going to be a later? He stayed by my side until he was pulled away by the director as we approached the bar to order drinks.

As I watched him leave, I tried, desperately, not to over think it all. And threw myself into having a good night instead, I chatted happily to the rest of the cast and crew, and drank and danced the night away. I had assumed Tom was somewhere amongst the crowd doing the same thing.

Suddenly it was 3am, and I was exhausted. Several of the others were all starting to make their way to the exit, as the guy I had been chatting with at the bar bid me goodnight as he left, I glanced around the room for Tom. Just as I thought that maybe he’d left already, my eyes found him, was already staring me down from across the bar, practically ignoring the group of people chatting animatedly around him.

I smirked at him, I knew that look. It was the same as the look he gave me in the dressing room earlier. As I made my way over to him, slowly, hugging and saying goodnight to various people as I moved through the crowd, he never took his eyes off me.

As I got close, he excused himself from the conversation he had been ignoring and moved towards me, winding an arm around my waist and kissing me on the cheek as he started to guide me towards the exit.

“Hey you.” He whispered.

“Where’ve you been all night?” I asked genuinely wondering why he’d left my side so quickly after we got into the bar.

“Sorry, my agent hustled me away to chat with some producers about a project. Did you have a good night?”

“Yeah, very good, lots of dancing and lots of wine.” I giggled as we made it outside, he led me away from the crowd of people congregating by the doorway waiting for taxies.

“You looked like you were having a good time with that guy at the bar before, or should I say he was having a great time looking down your dress.” Tom grumbled.

“Ohh, is that a hint of jealously I can hear?” I smirked at him.

At that he spun me around, pressing me up against the wall, his hands pinning my hips, his eyes boring into mine. I could see him gritting his teeth as he stared down at me considering his next words.

“Would you mind if I were a little jealous?”

“Not at all. In fact, I really quite like it.” I smiled sweetly up at him, this seemed to relax him a bit, clearly he’d been doing more overthinking than I had tonight. I reached my arms around his neck and pulled him down to my lips as his body melted against me.

“Hey Tom?” I pulled away as he started nibbling on my earlobe.

“Mmmhmm.”

“Is is ‘later’ yet?” I asked as innocently as possible.

“So needy…” He chuckled into my neck as he peppered light kisses down and along my collarbone.

“Do you mind if I’m a little needy?” I questioned him, the same way he had me.

Tom stopped what he was doing to look at me. “Not one bit.” He smiled. “Shall we get out of here?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” I grinned back at him, as he pulled me towards the nearest taxi, finally knowing we about to finish what we started after he’d dowsed me in champagne earlier.

[msotherworldly]

Characters Arcs

When writing a story, whether it be a novel or an epic film, it’s important to have subplots. While all stories should have, in addition to the main plot, something called a “B Plot,” C plots, D plots, and E plots should play a role too. Smaller plots wouldn’t change the entirety of the plot if removed...but when included, they can enhance the main plot, deepening it, and providing a greater meaning to the overall story.

While it isn’t always the case, the B Plot is often the “romance” of a story. While the hero is trying to defeat the bad guy, he develops a friendship or rivalry with a companion, before ultimately falling in love. Of course, romantic or platonic, the best sub plots explore the characters in relation to one another.

These character arcs - the changes to not only the characters themselves, but the evolution of their connection to others - give readers a reason to root for not only your hero, but the whole cast.

The film which exemplifies this point well is the first Lord of the Rings. While the groundwork for these characters, and their relationships, are laid in the book, I will be focusing on the movie version. When adapting Tolkien’s story, Peter Jackson knew the characters had to be more than names on a page. In order to foster a connection between the audience and each member of the fellowship, bonds were strengthened, or even invented, between the various members.

Merry and Pippin & Boromir

The bond between Merry and Pippin is solid in the books, but little is known about Boromir - beyond knowing he’s Denethor’s son, and a future steward of Gondor who attempts to steal the ring from Frodo, there is little else. In the books, he is a tragic figure and a lesson in how destructive the craving for power can be.

In the films, though, he becomes a friend to Merry and Pippin. He teaches them how to fight, and laughs when the two hobbits doggy pile him. It’s only one scene, but it gives us a relationship. When Boromir is later overwhelmed by orcs, it isn’t as punishment for his actions - instead, he redeems himself. He races to the defense of Merry and Pippin, giving his life for them. His death is that much more tragic because of his connection with the two. When they see him fall, he isn’t just their companion - he’s a good friend, who once laughed with them and ultimately died for them.

Aragorn & Boromir

Boromir also has a connection with Aragorn. The sub plot between the pair, which focuses on Aragorn’s mistrust in Gondor and Boromir’s belief in Gondor, is set up before the Merry and Pippin arc, beginning when Boromir drops the fragments of Isildur’s sword to the ground. His comment that these shards are no more than the remains of a broken sword underscores his lack of faith in Gondor needing a king - a point of tension between him, and the man who could be king if he cared to. 

Boromir is an idealist, seeing the best in Gondor and loving it to an almost blind degree. Aragorn, by contrast, seems to care more for the elves than his “own” people. He leads the party towards Lothlorion, home of the elves, but makes a point of avoiding Gondor. He seems to hate Gondor, connecting it with the failure of his ancestor, Isildur; like Aragorn’s antecedent, Gondor is weak. When Aragorn refers to Gondor, he calls it “your city,” to Boromir, rather than theirs.

Following the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the seeming conclusion of their arc, Aragorn swoops in to fight off Boromir’s assailants. Though Aragorn wins, Boromir is fatally wounded. He dies, but not before regarding Aragorn with the respect he would to a king. Aragorn, in turn, seems to have hope for Gondor, promising to do what he can for their people. 

This arc enhances Aragorn’s own character arc in accepting not only Gondor, but his role as it’s king. Boromir is a metaphor and embodiment of Gondor, and Aragorn’s feelings towards him are actually the feelings Aragorn has towards Gondor itself. His relationship with Boromir allows him to verbalize his inner conflict about his homeland, and who he is. In the end, he accepts Boromir as his fellow - along with accepting the city as his. 

He hasn’t accepted his role as king yet, but Boromir’s relationship with him has set him in the right direction.

Gimli & Legolas

Though the relationship between Gimli and Legolas has little effect on the main plot, it adds both humour and character development to the story. Initially, being a dwarf and an elf, the pair are resentful towards one another. Gimli more or less joins the fellowship to one up Legolas, and the two aren’t above making snide remarks towards one another. 

After Gimli’s own experience in Lothlorion, though, when the dwarf realizes that elves can be both kind and beautiful, the dwarf is able to soften towards his companion. Their enmity transitions into a rivalry - they aren’t friends, but they make battles fun by beginning a competition where they try to kill more orcs than the other. As they fight in more battles together, and swap kill numbers at the end of each fight, they develop an actual friendship (in the extended edition of the third film, they even end up drinking together). Their relationship is light hearted, but it adds depth to the story, and makes the audience want to root for the pair.

Both characters are enjoyable on their own, but together they are that much easier to love.

Frodo & Sam

In the books, Sam is Frodo’s gardener and servant. In the movies, he is Frodo’s best friend. While there is still a master and servant relationship between the two, with Sam addressing his friend as “Mr. Frodo,” the term comes to feel more habitual than formal. At the start of the film, the hobbits share drinks. Frodo pushes Sam into his crush, Rosie, and gives Sam assurance when he’s fretting over the competition he has for her affections. 

When Sam eavesdrops on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf, the wizard decides Sam will pay for his listening in by accompanying Frodo to Bree. On their journey, Sam panics at one point when he thinks he’s lost Frodo. He explains that Gandalf made him promise he wouldn’t “lose” Frodo. 

Even when he’s no longer obligated to follow, Sam insists on joining the fellowship. Elrond notes there is no separating them, secret meeting or not. Later, towards the end of the story, Sam tries to comfort Frodo, citing his promise to look after his master. When the fellowship splits, Sam chases after Frodo. Frodo can go alone, but Sam is coming with him. He repeats the line that is the crux of his bond: he made a promise to Gandalf not to lose Frodo, and he’s going to keep it.

Sam stays with Frodo to the end, even coming back after being sent away at best (and betrayed at worst) by his master in the final movie. While their bond is implicit, the repeated promise, and the ups and downs their relationship takes, adds another layer to the story. Destroying the ring is challenging - not only because of it’s effect on Frodo’s health, but because of how it tests his friendship with someone who proves to be more loyal than most. 

The bond Frodo has with Sam is also integral to the plot. After all, if it weren’t for Sam, Frodo would have been killed. With such a role, Sam needed to be more than a dedicated servant. He needed to be a loyal friend, capable of being tested and still willing to fight for their friendship.

In Conclusion

The set up of these sub plots allows the rest of the movies to be deeper too. While it goes without saying that establishing a connection between Frodo and Sam would improve their shared story arc, other sub plots are revived. 

The connection Boromir shares with Merry and Pippin, for example, becomes integral to Pippin’s own arc. With Merry removed from his side, Pippin is then influenced by none other than Boromir, when guilt over his death pushes Pippin to pledge himself to the service of Boromir’s father, Denethor. 

Gimli and Legolas go on to have journeys together, and start another body count contest in the third film (where an elephant “still only counts as one” when Legolas dispatches it).

New sub plots are also introduced, such as the bitterness between Faramir and Denethor, but most of the plots are established in the first movie. The relationships between characters make the story matter, and carry it through; the groundwork laid by these bonds even sparks new storylines. Even after his death, Boromir’s relationship with Pippin influences his actions. 

[azraqnar]

Thoughts on Agony of a witch (Spoiler warning! (Duh))

Oh boy I was doubting this series’s before but not anymore! This episodes is easily the best in the season. Grom doesn’t have shit on this episode! Everything was just great about AOAW, the music, the suspense, the action, the story, the animation, it was all wonderful!

- for one, Hooty is damn creepy when he fights not only does he effortlessly kick the emperors covens ass (you’d think they’d be more powerful than this but whatever) but he has a tea party with their unconscious bodies after. That was an interesting (& creepy) choice & it has me curious if Eda created him or not. We need a hooty backstory.

- Eda’s curse is getting worse and after episodes of not mentioning it they finally acknowledge how bad it’s getting & how Eda needs more potions or a higher dosage to barely keep it under control KEY WORD “BARELY”. It does remind me of when my aunt had cancer and her chemotherapy stopped working they had to higher the dosage. Good job on finally talking about it.

- When Luz leaves I do like how Eda & King reflect on how the “vibe” of the house changed when Luz showed up & how King thought they were gonna eat her (I guess it confirms witches do eat human kids)I am picking up a familia love from Eda & King so now we have the found family trope (Which I love). I thought it was cute when Eda decided to make a cape as a sign of gratitude & how it sets up how important this cape is when Eda talks about the material it’s made out of.

- Luz’s class is going on the field trip to the emperors coven but isn’t Bump the principal not a teacher?At my school whenever we had a field-trip it was the Teachers that went with us not the principal, Bump didn’t even play a big role so they could have swapped him out for a Teacher & nothing would change.

- Amity’s leg is still broken so she can’t attend the field-trip, which I thought was a good idea she didn’t go. I feel like the writers would try to force in more Lumity moments and it would distract from the plot. I do like Lumity but if Amity was there then fans would focus on that rather than the story & the last two episode were Amity focused so she wasn’t needed in this episode. Smart move from the writers, maybe if her legs heals next episode she could be there but idk.

- Now while Luz was thinking about stealing the healing hat I was a bit conflicted on it. I don’t like how the show is telling viewers it’s okay to steal but In Luz’s case it’s for a good cause, she wanted the hat so she could heal Eda’s curse. It’s like those cases you hear of people stealing groceries to feed their families, I felt the same here. Yeah stealing is bad but if it’s for saving someone you love is it really that bad? Idk if the writers wanted us to be conflicted over that dilemma but they succeeded.

- “Good luck with puberty” I laughed when Lilith said that, can’t believe Disney let that slip in.

- I have to say I do like the lore we get in this episode. Emperor Belos established the coven system 50 years ago to “honor the titan” which is the boiling Isles where they might get their magic from, before that witches were doing wild magic in what was called “the savages ages” it’s setting up more lore about the emperor like how did he rise to power? Who was he before? What were these “savage ages” like? If it was 50 years ago then there still are witches & demons that were alive in the savage age & they could tells us what life was like before. It also means Emperor Belos is 70+ years old. I’m just saying a human could live that long. 👀

- Now emperor Belos, wow his designs looks cool as hell, his voice is amazing too, it’s kinda sinister yet soothing at same times. As shown, it looks like he’s in a weakened state, he has to take these weird bird glowing green slime thing to have energy. We don’t know why or how he got like that, but it seems like he wants to Capture Eda so she doesn’t try to overthrow him since he’s weak. In fact, that might be the reason for the coven system, if he limits their magic then they aren’t strong enough to overthrow him. We only saw him for a bit but he gave a good impression when Luz said that no one will know about her stealing the hat we hear Belos voice echo: “ I will know” in the most bone chilling voice ever! The crew did a great job on him! Tho one thing I noticed is why is every big villain always in a weakened state? Darth Vader, Hordak, Aaravos, Zarkon, every anime villain. I just noticed this trope is overused, but I hope we can see Belos at his strongest and see how powerful he is. I have high hopes for him!

-Lilith discovers Luz is there & decides to use her as a decoy to lure in Eda. Which she succeeds when Eda goes there all angry for daring to drag Luz into her issues. I love how Eda doesn’t even try to stay calm she just straight up attacks Lilith & you can feel her angry.

- Speaking of that fight, best fight in the series thus far! The animation, the spells, the music, the raw emotion, it was all down great! It does remind me of a DBZ style of fighting when they’re moving so fast that your eyes can’t catch up & their magic surrounding them like Eda went super Sayion, I’m not complaining I like those kinds of fight & The intensity you feel in the fight is overwhelming. Luz’s life is at stake and Lilith even uses her as a human shield. She knows how much Luz means to Eda & was willing to kill her. Hell, she even threw Luz toward the spikes and Eda had to save her, then they both struggle with Eda trying to lift her up & Lilith trying to press her against the spikes & then Eda slowly turns into a monster THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A FIGHT (takes notes she ra)

- Now the biggest bomb drop in the series. IT WAS LILITH WHO CURSED EDA. she blurted it out in a rage of jealousy it seems. They were insulting each other on how one is better than the other. Then when Lilith says “THEN WHY WERE SO EASY TO CURSE?!” My jaw dropped, I suspected they would tell us but not this episode, you see can see the hurt & betrayal in her eyes when it was her own sister who cursed her. Like ouch. From what I suspected is that Lilith was jealous of Eda from what their exchanges told us. But why was she jealous of Eda? Friends? Magic capabilities? Power? Maybe fighting over a crush? What? Whatever the reason is does not excuse doing that to your sister and your YOUNGER SISTER AT THAT. Goodness & I thought Edric and Emira took it too far with the diary thing. I’m officially part of the hate Lilith club. Idc what you do but hurting your sibling like that is the worst thing you can do to them, just imagined how much Eda suffered for DECADES with this curse. No redemption can fix that. But boy do they need Family therapy or just punch it out that works too.

- I loved it when Eda went into rage mode when she found out it was Lilith who cursed her. Her own sister. Like damn that has to hurt knowing your own family did that to you. She deserved to beat Lilith to a bloody pulp & I’m happy she didn’t even bother to listen to Lilith she just wanted to attack her & I don’t blame her one bit.

- Ugh the scene where the curse overtakes Eda was a heart wrenching one. She knows she slipping away and tells Luz to take care of King & Hooty & to stay safe before she slips away. When Lilith told Luz that Eda is with her true family made me want to punch her more than Amity’s parents. You feel how helpless Luz felt & I hope they work towards her character with that feeling because Luz is happy go lucky & seeing her in despair makes for great character development.

- it kind of reminds me of when Queen Angella sacrifices herself In season 3 but I hated how they never acknowledged it since season 4 & she doesn’t even return by the end season 5, they pretty much forgot about her. We know for sure Luz will never leave Eda behind & will go save her.

- So we know Luz will go back to save her cuz we do see her wearing the cape Eda made her in the promo. Also we have 1 episode left so we know she’s gonna attempt a rescue mission for Eda but will she succeed? She’s up against the emperors coven! She’s gotta pull all her cards on the table & team up with her friends.

- A witch loses a true way. It could refer to Lilith officially turning to the dark side or Eda being lost in her curse even into season 2. Knowing Disney, they will give us a happy ending cuz it’s Disney but I will be pleasantly surprised if Luz fails to save Eda by the next episode.

- One last thing, I like the credits had no music, just silence. It reminds me of in full metal alchemist whenever a character dies the credit are always silent. I guess it’s meant to represent despair in a way? Or change? Yeah it think it’s change.

- This is why shows should focus on the plot because when you do, it delivers for some great storytelling & this episode surpasses all of the episodes combined. when you focus on the story & lore & characters it makes for great emotional impact of an episode and I hope Dana and the crew continues to do this. This show has so much going for it & people who only watch a show for a ship are clowns because this is what you’re missing out on. an amazing story. I applause Dana & the crew for this episode, really outdid yourselves!

- Overall 9.7/10 it was phenomenal!

[tippenfunkaport]

Tippen's Fics Megapost

Here’s a list of every fic I’ve posted so far. On AO3 * FanFiction.net.

Tips are super appreciated! ko-fi.com/tippenfunkaport   

I will update this post whenever I post new fics so you can find the complete list all in one place.

Series

I’ve collected my one-shots in the order they happen in two main collections for easier reading.

SPOP Missing Scenes - Collection of missing scene fics (mostly Glimbow)

SPOP Canon Compliant Post-War Fics - Collection of all my fics that happen Post-Season 5

Key for main ships in each fic

😻 = Catra / Adora (Catradora)

💖 = Bow / Glimmer (Glimbow, Glow or *sigh* Blimmer)

🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 = Mermista / Sea Hawk (SeaMista or Merhawk)

🦂💐 = Perfuma / Scorpia (Scorfuma)

🥼 = Entrapta / Hordak (Entrapdak)

Key for fic status

📕 = Multi-chapter completed

📄 = One Shot

📖 = Multi-chapter work in progress

Ongoing

📖 Glowing Up: The Princess and The Pirate (Friendship / Fluff / Adventure) - 💖 The origin story for how Bow and Glimmer met!

📖 Prince Bow and Archer Glimmer (Romance / Adventure) - 💖 AU where Glimmer and Bow swap roles!

📖 Going There (Romance / Adventure) - 💖 Series of missing scene fics from Glimmer and Bow’s perspective of Season 5.

Ensemble or Platonic Fics

Fics that either feature multiple pairings (aka the whole gang together) or just friendships and family relationships.

📄 An Outside Perspective (Comedy/Fluff) - 😻 💖 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 🦂💐 An average Etherian and his mentor travel to Bright Moon to attend Queen Glimmer’s ceremony honoring the regular people who acted heroically during the Horde War but why does the Queen’s boyfriend look so familiar? (Almost everyone is in this one!)

📕 The B-Team (A Catra and Bow Buddy Adventure) (action/adventure) - 😻 💖 Catra and Bow try to save their stubborn magic girlfriends from themselves and accidentally become friends along the way. (50/50 Glimbow and Catradora)

📄 Bow White and the Seven Princesses (A Bedtime Story, as told by Sea Hawk) (Comedy/Fluff) - 💖 😻 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Sea Hawk and Mermista are babysitting the children of Bright Moon and Sea Hawk tells them a special personalized version of the classic fairy tale featuring their parents in the starring roles.

📄 Pride and Princesses (Another Bedtime Story, as told by Sea Hawk) (comedy/fluff) - 😻 💖 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Uncle Sea Hawk is back! This time he’s reading the children of the Super Pal Trio a tale of epic ROMANCE and ADVENTURE, the classic love story between Adorabeth Boomnets and Fitzmeowmoew Catsy. (Yes, it’s a ridiculous SPOP version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.)

📕 SPOP Palentines - A collection of 15 one-shots (mostly funny but a couple of serious ones) celebrating friendship, family and other more complicated dynamics! (Table of Contents here)

📄 Web of Lies (Family/Fluff/Romance) - 💖 Bow tires to tell his dads about what happened at Princess Prom without spilling all his secrets.

📄 Of Its Kind (Fluff/Family) -  😻 Baby Melog kittens!!

📄 OK With This (fluff) - 🥼🧜🏽‍♀️🔥A Mermista and Hordak friendship? More likely than you might think!

📄 Fraternize, Co-Captain or Assassinate(Fluff / Angst) - 😻💖 The Best Friend Squad plays sleepover games.

📄 Glimmer’s Crazy Day (fluff) - 💖 Glimmer writes in her journal about a really crazy day she had, the kind of wacky day you can only have by totally random chance… right?

📄 Kyle, Lonnie and Rogelio Plot to Steal a Freaky Demon Baby (Fluff/Friendship/Family) - The Horde Trio hanging out in the Crimson Waste and deciding to go back and get Imp.

📄 Good Trouble (Fluff) - 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Sea Hawk drops Double Trouble off after the events of Perils of Peekablue.

📄 Moonlight Ghost - 💖 Something nameless is haunting Bright Moon castle and interrupts the royal family at dinner.

📄 The Fire Prince (Action/Adventure/AU) - 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Beginning of my Beasts AU, Sea Hawk as arsonist Robin Hood

📄 Captain Mermista (fluff/comedy) - 💖 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Swap AU! Adora, Prince Bow and Archer Glimmer come to Seaworthy to hire a ship to take them the see Prince Sea Hawk in Salineas... but they're not sure what to make of Captain Mermista.

Romance / Shippy Fics

📕  Cans of Tuna and Redemption Arcs (Romance / Fluff) - 💖 😻 Pure fluff modern AU in which Catra is Glimmer’s literal pet cat and Adora is Bow’s golden retriever and they all meet cutely. (Technically complete though I sometimes add new chapters randomly)

📕 Save the Archer (Angst / Action / Romance) - 💖 😻 Save the Cat goes wrong. Glimmer gets left behind. Bow gets chipped.

📄 Getting Warmer (Romance/Angst with Happy Ending) - 💖 It’s only a few hours before they’ll be going to rescue Catra and a traumatized Glimmer is having nightmares of having to face Horde Prime again. When she wakes up screaming, the only person she wants to comfort her is still mad at her, their relationship damaged beyond repair. Or is it?

📄 Another World (Angst/Romance) - 💖 Post Princess Prom Horde Glimmer AU

📕  First Kisses We Didn’t Have(fluff/romance) - 💖 A collection of one shots where Bow and Glimmer might have gotten together if things in canon had happened just a little bit differently.

📕 A Merry SPOP Shipsmas! (Fluff / Romance) - 😻 🥼 💖 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 🦂💐 Collection of one-shots inspired by famous holiday songs, one for each major canon ship!

📄 Just Like Always (Romance / Fluff) - 💖 😻 Adora and Catra think they’re helping Bow and Glimmer with an elaborate marriage proposal but their friends have pulled a bait and switch.

📄 “Yes, your majesty.”(Comedy/Fluff) - 💖 Bow accidentally refers to Glimmer as “your majesty” during a Princess Alliance meeting.  But, it’s fine, she should be able to make it through this meeting without getting completely distracted by sexy thoughts, right?

📄 Babysitting Arrows (Comedy/Fluff) - 💖 😻 Comic antics ensue when Catra thinks Glimmer might be pregnant and Adora’s Aunt instincts go into overdrive. 

📄 Time and Space (Romance/Smut) - 💖 When Bow and Glimmer have their first big fight as a married couple, Glimmer just wants to skip ahead to the part when she’s forgiven. But when an apology isn’t enough and Bow’s still mad at her, she uses magic to recreate a moment from their past with a sexy twist.

 📕 Glimbow Shorts (Romance / Fluff) - 💖 Various short fics I wrote for Glimbow Week. This is made up of…

Prompt: Memory: Bow tries to get Glimmer to remember the ridiculous names of all his siblings. (Post Canon)

Prompt: Injury: Bow patches Glimmer up after she gets injured on a mission. (Missing Scene)

Prompt: Touch: The Best Friend Squad is having a sleepover the night after their visit to Plumeria and Bow wakes up to discover he’s been unwittingly cuddling Glimmer in his sleep. (Missing Scene)

Prompt: Princess Prom / Jealousy: Glimmer wakes from a nightmare with a question for Bow. (Post Canon)

Prompt: Family: Glimmer talks to Micah while he enjoys a snack in the Bright Moon garden. (Post Canon)

Prompt: Swap: 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Glimbow and Seamista swap places for a scene from Princess Prom (AU)

Prompt: Wedding / Proposal:  Shortly after Angella’s disappearance, Bow and Adora discover that new Queen Glimmer’s been getting marriage proposals from would be suitors (Missing Scene)

📄 The Gift of a Lifetime - (Romance) 💖 It’s Bow’s Birthday, and the whole gang is getting together for a big party. Everyone keeps saying he doesn’t look a day over 30! Problem is… he’s turning 50.

📄 Shells (Angst/Friendship) - 💖 Bow trying not to have a breakdown about losing Glimmer to Horde Prime while cooking for Adora.

📄 Scars - (Angst / Romance) 💖 Bow is all healed from the Pulse bot but there are still a lot of open wounds between him and Glimmer.  

📄 Kowl Jr. (Fluff with a wee bit of Angst/Romance) - 💖 Bow and Glimmer are called to investigate reports of poachers in the Whispering Woods and find a creature long thought extinct.

📕 The Wrong Princess Prom (Romance / Drama) - 💖 Key moments from Princess Prom through Battle of Bright Moon from Bow’s perspective

📄 Parenting is an ADVENTURE! (Fluff, Romance)- 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Sea Hawk and Mermista being domestic with their kids!

📄 Booty Call(comedy / romance) -  💖 Glimmer indulges Bow’s pirate fantasy. Sexy but not explicit.

📄 Did Someone Say Seabowmista? (comedy) - 💖 🧜🏽‍♀️🔥 Joke fic I wrote for April Fool's Day where all may not be what it seems when Bow agrees to a threesome with Mermista and Sea Hawk.

Find my fics on AO3 * FanFiction.net. Only AO3 is linked from the titles to simplify my life.

[espinosaurusrexex]

Drunk

In which David gets drunk and hurts himself

warnings: cursing, mention of death, alcohol, general stupidity

a/n: for the anon who requested an imagine from my Drabble list. For some reason it took me a while to write this and I’m still not 100% satisfied with it. But anyway... enjoy!

5. Call 911 this isn’t funny!

15. Wake up! Please, please wake up!

21. Can I kiss you?

word count: 2.5k

Music was blasting through the club, bouncing off the walls back to the people on the dance floor. It was friday night and Y/N and her friends had decided to go out. Y/N was seated at the bar next to Matt and Corinna, sipping her drink and enjoying the music that was currently playing. She watched her friends dancing in the crowd having a good time and smiled to herself. The love these moments filled her with was relieving. Moments, in which none of them was supposed to fill out a certain role for someones videos. They were just here to let loose and enjoy themselves. She focused on David showing off the most ridiculous dance moves next to Zane. She was so glad he let loose for tonight. It took her an hour to convince him not to take his camera with him today. The vlogger was always extremely focused on his work, trying to catch every bit of his and his friends' lives on camera to show it to the world. He loved his job and that was the main reason why he couldn't let go of his camera so easily. The other being that going to a party was the easiest way to get funny material out of his friends. Y/N saw this as sort of a teambuilding event for their group of friends. A break from all the social media and job pressure all of them found themselves under pretty much every day. So when she finally suggested to make this night a no technology one, not even mobile phones, she was surprised by the reactions of the vlog squad. They actually liked the idea.

Y/N checked the time: 2:49 am. They had been here for almost 4 hours now. Though her friends on the dancefloor didn't seem to mind, Y/N herself felt the alcohol wearing off and the tiredness kicking in. She rested her head on Corinnas shoulder sighing loudly to catch the blonde’s attention.

‘’You alright?’’ Corinna tried looking into her friends eyes, but struggled since they were closed and nuzzled into her neck.

‘’Yeah… just tired i guess.’’, Y/N shrugged, ‘’I think I’m gonna head home soon. What about you guys?’’

Now she caught Matts attention as well. He took in the tired ladies in front of him feeling a yawn creep up in his throat. He chuckled looking back to the dance floor as he watched his friends enjoying the evening.

‘’I’m down… though I don't know if those goofs are.’’ The tall boy pointed towards Zane and Scotty twerking on a bunch of girls, who were just laughing at the scene in front of them. But who would blame them? They did look ridiculous moving to the beat of the music and failing miserably as the alcohol had probably eliminated their feeling of rhythm throughout the past two hours.

‘’But now that I see… whatever that is’’, Matt waved his hand at the crowd, ‘’you might be right.’’ he shot the girls a crooked smile before jumping off his barstool and headed towards the crazy people they all called their friends.

Corinna cleared her throat: ‘’Are you really ok? I’ve noticed you watching David the whole evening. And don’t tell me it doesn't bother you that he was dancing with this random girl the entire night.’’ She looked at the girl next to her sympathetically as she caressed her shoulder with her hands.

Corinna and Y/N had known each other long before david and the vlog squad became a thing. They grew up together, living in the same neighborhood and visiting high school together. It was an understatement to say that Corinna knew Y/N. They had practically never parted ever since they met as kids. It was just natural for them to know each other's secrets and fears, including crushes, boyfriends and all that other stuff. Which was also the reason, why the blonde was so concerned for her best friends who just happened to have a small crush on David Dobrik himself. It was nothing serious, Y/N had literally told her that she thought he was cute but she wouldn't want anything to jeopardize the amazing friendship they had. So it had soon been swapped under the carpet. But noticing as her best friend had watched the boy across the club the entire evening, corinna couldn't help but ask.

‘’I… I don't know what to feel right now, Corinna, I’m tipsy and tired and honestly just scared to do something stupid, so…. Just leave it please.’’

Y/N watched Matt talking to their friends pointing towards the exit and laughing along with the rest of them. Shortly after, David came dancing out of the crowd mimicking a rope, he pulled himself closer to the girls at the bar. He didn't stop dancing while he started talking: ‘’Why do you alrrrrready wanna leaveeeee Y/N/N?’’

He dragged a couple letters in his sentence and the girls could tell, he wasn't as sober anymore. Y/N chuckled, watching the dark haired boy bust some pretty bad moves in front of them.

‘’Because I’m tired and want to go home. It’s late anyway.’’ She tapped her wrist to emphasize her words and made her way towards the exit after seeing that the rest of the group had gotten off the dancefloor as well.

They were all walking on the sidewalk cracking their usual jokes and just enjoying their time together while debating whether they should grab something to eat before getting an uber home or just going there right away.

After a couple minutes of walking, Zane started jumping at the walls and street lights, pretending he was spiderman and annoying pretty much every member of the group. They had decided to drop by IN-N-OUT and to get there by foot, they had at least 20 more minutes to go. Y/N was just concerned that he was accidentally going to jump on the street and most certainly die. Zane creamed louder, making weird noises and trying to climb a stop sign the group had just came across. The dark haired guy fell a couple of times stumbling towards the next obstacle he could climb. He had jumped on top of a small wall next to a fountain when he screamed again.

‘’David, David come here I’m Spiderman! You're gonna be saved from me!! Here come here I wanna jump across the fountain with you!’’

David smirked drunkenly and made his way to the fountain high fiving Zane, who explained the plan to him.

‘’This is not going to end well.’’ Matt shook his head.

Y/N had to admit this was probably not the stupidest idea Zane had ever had, but knowing that David was not capable of making smart decisions himself anymore, she had concern written all over her face. Normally David was the one holding his friends back from making dangerous moves while intoxicated. Somebody else had to fulfill that role tonight. But neither was anybody sober enough nor attempting to stop those two idiots from killing themselves. Y/N couldn't do anything but watch as Zane jumped off the wall with David on his back. For a moment it looked like they could actually make it over the water but soon after that thought entered Y/N’s head, Zane slipped on the edge of the fountain. The boys fell backwards into the water, followed by a loud scream and water splashing everywhere.

‘’Shit!’’ One of the friends screamed. Y/N heard a couple ‘OMGs’ thrown her way but her surroundings were a blur the second she saw Zane burying David under his body and pushing not only him but also his head towards the cement floor of the fountain. She rushed towards her friends. Zane hat gotten up already laughing at his stunt. The rest of the group laughed as well. None of them noticed that David had yet to get up and laugh with them, but nothing happened. Y/N jumped into the water attempting to get her friend out the water but failing miserably. Matt came running to her and helped get David up and out of the fountain.

‘’Come on Dave…’’, she muttered to herself as they had finally gotten his head out of the water. Her friends were still busy hyping up Zane who stood there in full glory enjoying the applause of his friends who just complimented the guy on his stupidity.

David did not move. He was out cold. The fall must have knocked his head on the floor pretty hard, making him unconscious. Y/N couldn't believe her friends. How could they be so distracted and not see the seriousness of this situation? Anger rushed through her body as she shook davids shoulders in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness.

‘’Wake up! Please, please wake up!’’ She pulled on his shirt slapping and punching against Matt’s chest while he pulled her away from David to calm her down. That caught the attention of the others. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw David’s unconscious body laying on the floor.

‘’Call 911 this isn't funny!’’ Y/N screamed desperately after calming down a little bit. But looking in all of her friends shocked faces made the adrenaline come rushing back through her veins again. Toddy was the first one to react, kneeling down next to his friend and looking for injuries.

‘’What are you all standing there? Do something!’’ Y/N was furious.

‘’Well we can’t…’’ Mariah trailed off, ‘’ This was a no phones event, remember?’’ The girl guiltily trained her eyes on the floor inspecting her shoes closely.

The group looked at each other. ‘’One of you dipshits must have brought their phone anyway!’’, somebody shouted, but Y/N dazed off into her panic again.

This situation couldn't have been worse. Her friend and crush was currently dying on the sidewalk and none of them were able to do anything about it.

15 minutes passed but to Y/N it felt like hours. All of this would’ve never happened if she had not suggested this stupid no phones policy. Sure, the evening had been fun for the most part BECAUSE of the lack of phones or cameras, but that didn't change the situation the group found themselves in right now. Corinna was sitting by Y/N’s side and comforted her best friend who had started crying five minutes in. She was a mess. Her hair was wet and the fear was visible in her glossy eyes. The Best friends sat there for a while hugging each other and glancing back to David every second to check if something had changed. Nothing. The desperation in everyone was balling up, making them unable to move or even say anything.

Y/N twitched, noticing a faint siren in the distance. Soon after, an ambulance came rushing down the street and stopping right by them. Everything happened extremely fast and within one minute Y/N found herself at the door of the ambulance explaining to the paramedic what had happened and why she should be able to ride with David to the hospital.

‘’Sorry, Dear. Only family members get to ride in the ambulance.’’, The gray bearded man explained to her. This was bullshit. After all she was the one who saved his ass. She tried a couple more arguments but the man wouldn't let her in.

‘’She's his girlfriend… does that count?’’ Matt came up behind her smiling at the man lightly. The paramedic raised an eyebrow and studied Y/N’s face again, looking for any sign of lying but didn't seem to find any.

‘’Alight, get in.’’ He made his way into the ambulance and motioned for her to climb in.

Y/N whispered a swift ‘thank you’ towards Matt before stepping into the Ambulance and driving off towards the hospital.

04:01 am. The clock seemed to move slower than ever and every second Y/N was seated in the waiting area, felt like an hour passing by. Her eyes were focused on the green door, David had been pushed through about 30 minutes ago. She didn't know where her friends were and she didn't know how David was doing. And the worst part, she didn’t know how long this was going to take. The adrenaline was wearing off slowly and Y/N felt herself drifting in and out of sleep every now and then. She rubbed her eyes and got a cup of coffee to keep herself from falling asleep. That was when the doors opened again and a woman in a white coat headed towards her.

‘’David Dobrik?’’, she asked nodding towards Y/N.

‘’Yes.’’

‘’Please come with me.’’ She motioned for her to follow her into the hallway David had been pushed in before and stopped in front of room number 406.

‘’Mr. Dobrik is conscious now. He has a bad concussion which is also the reason why we will have to keep him here for a couple more days. You can see him now.’’ The doctor shot her a smile before rushing through the hallway again.

Y/N’s palms were sweaty as she pushed down the door handle and moved towards the hospital bed on the left side of the room. As soon as she saw him, she broke down crying. The girl walked over to her friend falling on top of him and hugging him tightly.

‘’I thought you were dead.’’, she whispered in his ear and took in his scent, which was now mixed with alcohol and sweat.

‘’Don't ever do that again. You had me worried sick! Those were the worst minutes of my life, do you understand? Don't you ever almost die on me again.’’

‘’Hey it's alright, I’m alright.’’ he smiled warmly, stroking Y/N’s back and pulling her into a hug once again.

‘’I was worried sick.’’, she repeated.

Her eyes started to water and soon, hot tears were streaming down here face. She had never noticed how deeply she really cared for David. The thought of him not being around her anymore was tearing her heart apart to the point where her chest was hurting badly. She looked down athim, taking in his eyes, his messy hair, and his lips. His lips that were basically begging her to kiss him right now. She scolded herself for the thought that came rushing through her head, but then again, it was nice to imagine being even closer to him than now. Y/N just now realised how close their faces were from each other. A half, maybe one inch parted their faces from each other and made it even harder for her to resist the urge to press her lips against his.

‘’Can… Can I kiss you?’’ Y/N was hesitant. Looking into his eyes curiously she prayed to God, that David wouldn’t burst the bubble of love and concern she was in.

But he inched closer, stopping so close to her lips that she could basically taste them.

‘’You can.’’ David smiled and closed his eyes. He pushed her head towards his gently until their lips finally met.

[ladyoutlier]

Prompt: I don’t know if this counts as head-canon or not, but I’m interested in the idea that the Crowley’s feet get permanently damaged during the Church Scene (it follows if holy water is permanent death than consecrated ground might be permanent damage as well imo). One day, Aziraphale notices.

Falling was hardly painless. It burned and scarred and left behind a great deal of phantom pains and bad memories. Still, 6000 years was an awful lot of time for Crowley to get used to all that. Let it blend into his identity until it became as much a part of himself as his name. Though he had already proven that names were always up for debate. But it was enough time to let it shift his outlook on life and play a role in everything he did. Soon enough, he all but forgot what life was like without the pain of his Fall.

78 years, on the other hand, isn’t a lot of time for an immortal being to get used to a new source of pain, although Crowley did try his hardest to cope and continue on as normal. He wasn’t sure whether it made it better or worse that this, unlike his Fall, was most definitely self-imposed.

He had made the decision to enter that church to help out Aziraphale. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move considering that Aziraphale would hardly be gone forever if he hadn’t intervened. He would’ve just been preoccupied for a bit up in Heaven whilst he was issued a new body. Likely, he would’ve made it back to Earth before the century was up, and all would’ve been right as rain.

But for some reason, Crowley just couldn’t let that happen. Had to save him the embarrassment as he had put it. Really though, he just wasn’t all that interested in seeing the corpse of his friend, even if it was hardly permanent. And dying probably still hurt like Hell. Aziraphale didn’t deserve that.

So he had tap-danced his way into that church, desperately trying to keep either of his feet from being too scorched by the holy divinity of God. At least the ground no longer burned when it was reduced to rubble. Still, the damage had been done, and, like his wings, his feet didn’t go back to normal. If he had thought about it a bit more, maybe he would’ve came in kneeling. God would’ve had a good chuckle at that.

It hadn’t been hard to play off the constant ache in his step when he walked. His overly dramatic saunter made it easy to play off a sudden stab of pain as just another example of his inability to remain still for too long. Really, he had the whole world fooled, even himself, that absolutely nothing was wrong whatsoever. That’s probably why he didn’t think twice about it when he swapped bodies with Aziraphale.

That’s not to say that Aziraphale felt Crowley’s pain when in his body. No, that wasn’t the case at all. If God’s holy wrath was tied to nothing but a physical body, well, it would hardly qualify as a punishment. This type of pain was linked to the soul so that whatever body Crowley incorporated, he wouldn’t be quick to get comfortable. 

Still, Crowley had never been discorporated, so his physical scars from his walk down the aisle were most definitely present on the soles of his feet. It wasn’t until a certain holy water bath where Aziraphale noticed, and it was very much the reason why he had left Crowley’s socks on for it. He considered keeping it to himself, but curiosity soon won out, and a week after deceiving Heaven and Hell,  he brought it up.

Their common place of evening banter was undoubtedly Aziraphale’s bookstore, but the angel had suggested they go to Crowley’s flat tonight instead. Surely if the demon was in his own space when Aziraphale turned the conversation to his question, he would feel more comfortable answering it. At the very least, he would have a harder time running away. Crowley had thought the change of place odd, but it wasn’t like he was going to say no to Aziraphale.

They were a couple bottles in, relaxed on an L-shaped couch that hadn’t existed four hours ago, before Aziraphale had the confidence to turn the conversation. It was a real shame to bring down the merry atmosphere with this, but this just wasn’t something he could shrug off.

“What did it feel like? Falling that is?” This wasn’t a new question the angel posed to the demon. Every now and then he would ask it, and Crowley would give him a slightly different answer each time.

“Like that warm bubbly God’s grace inside you suddenly got much too hot.”

“Is that how your feet feel too?” Aziraphale asked as nonchalantly as he could.

“What?” Crowley all but dropped his glass.

“I—I just noticed in our little escapade last week where we, you know, pulled one over our respective head offices…” He paused to look at Crowley who stared at him slightly slack-jawed. “Well, I noticed you had scars on the soles of your feet. Rather extreme ones too. And—and considering we can look any way we please and do away with things like scars, I assumed that these in particular must be related to a holy event.”

“Yeah it was.” The demon’s mouth was a thin line. “A holy event.”

“Oh, I do hope you didn’t step in that holy water I gave you. Everything in me said that I shouldn’t give it to you, but I did anyway.”

“Nah, was before that. 1941. Church. You know.”

Of course he knew. Crowley had once again showed up to save the day and, more importantly, his books. It was the kindest act anyone had ever done for him, and the demon refused to let him properly thank him for it. The holy water had been his later attempt at that.

“Dear Lord, Crowley. This didn’t happen to you because you felt the need to save me, did it?”

Crowley cringed at Aziraphale’s tone of voice. Last thing he wanted was the angel’s sympathy—or his guilt for that matter. “I wasn’t bloody certain what would happen when I went into that church. Figure a bit of foot pain isn’t that bad considering.”

“How’s a permanent injury to your celestial being not bad?”

“Well, the Almighty could’ve smited me then and there for stepping foot into Her holy sanctuary. Everything kind of pales compared to that.”

Aziraphale’s jaw practically fell off. “You thought the Almighty might smite you, and you still went in to save me?!?”

“I hoped the whole saving an angel thing would convince Her to go easy on me.”

“Crowley!”

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

And he meant it. Absolutely one hundred percent meant it. He’d do anything for Aziraphale, although he usually tried to keep him from knowing that.

“I’d rather you not maim yourself—or risk your life—for me. Especially when it’s a non-lethal situation!” Aziraphale was now standing, his wine glass forgotten on the coffee table.

“With how your relationship with Heaven is, I’d say there’s all the more reason for me to.”

“Then I hope you don’t mind me saying that I’ll do the same for you going forward.”

And now Crowley was standing as well. “Of course I mind!”

“So, do you see where I’m coming from? Will you trust me to handle myself.”

Crowley sat back down, defeated, and Aziraphale followed suit.

“I’ll do my best, angel.”

They were silent for a moment with Aziraphale’s gaze turned to the demon’s snakey boots. He cleared his throat and spoke up. “So your feet do hurt then?”

“‘S fine when I’m sitting down.”

“And when you’re not?”

“Maybe hurts a bit now and then.” Crowley shrugged in an attempt to downplay his words as much as possible.

“Is there—”

“No, Aziraphale. Nothing you can do unless you also have a way to make my wings white again. And don’t say bleach. It’s not a funny joke.”

“Never would have thought of it, dear.” He moved closer to Crowley on the couch. “But I can’t stand to sit here knowing you’re in pain.”

A confused yet knowing expression flooded Crowley’s face. “Demons are use to pain, angel. We always feel it. The Fall wasn’t a one-and-done deal. We just get used to what it feels like.”

“Oh.” It’s a small little noise that escapes Aziraphale’s lips. One that holds a lot more emotional meaning than the word’s dictionary one. “Crowley, I—I didn’t know.”

“It’s not like I ever told ya.” He avoided the angel’s gaze. “Like I said, we get used to it. No use crying about some 6000 year old drama, now is there?”

“I’m so sorry. That sounds absolutely awful. I wish I could, I mean, there has to be—”

“Can we please not turn this into a pity party. Really I’m fine. As fine as I’ve ever been anyway. And I’d really just like to get sloshed with my best friend, if you don’t mind.”

It was time to back off. Crowley was done with this conversation. To the demon’s benefit, he had given Aziraphale a lot. Let loose quite a few secrets, and the angel appreciated that. If Crowley just wanted to drink now and have a good time, Aziraphale was going to do his best to give him a good evening.

“Of course. I shouldn’t have pushed you on this. We can go back to drinking.” 

He picked his wine glass back up but didn’t return to his side of the couch, instead remaining next to Crowley. If the demon minded, he didn’t show any sign of it. 

If Aziraphale couldn’t offer him any relief for his physical and spiritual pain, he could at least provide Crowley with his company. Really, that’s all Crowley wanted. Just Aziraphale’s company. Because, even though he didn’t tell the angel, just being around Aziraphale made him forget all about every ounce of pain he had ever felt.