#at least make an announcement or send me an email lmao

[idontdrinkgatorade]

god fucking damnit i still have to do that stupid research paper. why did i choose to do it over consumer culture of all things

[fishoutofcamelot]

IT’S OFFICIAL! I’M MAKING A MERLIN-THEMED D&D CAMPAIGN!!! <3

Do you like Merlin? Do you like D&D? Do you like the idea of D&D but don’t know how it works? Then The Rising Sun campaign is just for you! (named after that one tavern in Camelot lmao)

CAMPAIGN PREMISE:

Jailbreak! The members of your party have been locked away in Camelot’s dungeons and must work together to bust out. But with a mysterious curse terrorizing the city, that might be easier said than done. Takes place during the three-year gap between seasons 4 and 5.

BASIC INFORMATION:

4-6 players, all at LVL3

Is this your first game? Your 50th game? All experience levels accepted!

Will feature monsters/characters/settings present in BBCM canon

The session will be recorded and posted to Youtube, so even people who don’t play can still join in on the fun!

Wanna chat about Merlin? (And D&D, but mostly Merlin) Join the Rising Sun Discord Server!!!

It’s a oneshot campaign, meaning there will only be one session

Submit your character sheet/s to me (email under the cut) by November 15th!

The exact length of the session will depend on player availability/preference, and how long it takes us to get through the campaign. But expect it to take around 2-4 hours

You can play as a canon character (like Mithian or Percival), or make an OC 

We will be running this through D&D5e (5th edition) as this is what I’m most familiar with. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry about it!

Players must have access to Discord. Announcements, party talk, scheduling, etc. will be held on an exclusive channel through the Rising Sun Discord Server

WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITHOUT PLAYING?

Don’t worry, we’ve got something for everyone! I want this to be something everyone in the fandom can enjoy :)

The campaign will be recorded virtually and posted to Youtube in 30-minute parts/episodes, with captions available

Transcripts will also be posted to AO3

Join the Rising Sun Discord Server!

Don’t have a Discord account? Information about the campaign will also be posted to the Rising Sun Campaign tag on Tumblr

Feeling artsy? Feel free to post it! Any campaign-related art sent to me (through Discord, Tumblr, or Gmail) will likely be posted to my Tumblr blog and also feature in one of the episodes uploaded to Youtube, provided you give me permission to do so <3

Interested? More details under the cut! 

PROJECTED TIMELINE

November 1: Player Submission period opens

November 15: Player Submission period ends

November 20: Official player + character list announced

December 18-January 18: Campaign session held. The exact date/time will depend on the availability of party members, but this is just the time period in which it’s most likely to happen (it’s my winter break!)

January/February: Campaign “episodes” will be uploaded to Youtube on a weekly basis, with their respective transcripts posted to AO3. Official release schedule to be posted after the campaign has been recorded

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Submit to my email: ragicmobot@gmail.com

If you don’t know a lot about D&D and want me to teach you/help you make your character sheet, let me know through Tumblr! 

Submissions should include your: 

Tumblr URL and/or Discord ID

Time zone

Expected availability between Dec18-Jan18

Experience/comfort level with D&D

If you are willing to have your face shown in the recording

Character sheet/s

Any homebrew content you would like to use

You can submit more than one character sheet, but you can only play as one character, and only one character will be accepted into the campaign

If we get more than 6 submissions, players will be chosen based on their availability, friendliness, and how well I think their character will fit into the campaign/party

If you’re accepted as a player, I will let you know via Tumblr/Discord before posting the official player list to Tumblr. You will also be granted access to the Party-Only channel on the Rising Sun Discord server

You MUST be a member of this server, as crucial party discussions, announcements, and Zoom links will be shared there

Make sure to have everything submitted by November 15th!

GUIDELINES

My time zone is PST. Expect this to influence scheduling

If you aren’t comfortable having your face in the recording, you can turn your camera off! However, I will ask that you at least keep your mic on

The session will be held and recorded through Zoom. Make sure you have access to this program! 

Due to Zoom restrictions, a Zoom meeting can’t be any longer than 45 minutes. So the session will probably be broken up into 30-minute meetings, with 5-minute breaks in between each one. The Zoom link/s will be posted to the Party-only channel on the Rising Sun server. If I find a more efficient way of doing this, I will let you know

There will be a session zero, also on Zoom, about a week before we record the session. This is just a quick and casual opportunity for us to meet, work out any technical issues, address campaign expectations, talk about our characters, and get to know each other better <3

General courtesy and Zoom/D&D etiquettes apply. Don’t be a dick!

I might end up commissioning/having art done of the Player Characters (PCs). If you’re not okay with that, let me know!

CHARACTER CREATION

Put your character at LVL 3

Homebrew content is allowed, so long as you have me look it over first!

Use the D&D5e character sheet for character creation (if you need help accessing this I can send you an editable pdf, or help you find an online character sheet creator)

CANON CHARACTERS

Make sure all information on your character sheet is accurate to canon. Any deviations from canon (like giving Elyan magic, or making Percival a time-traveler) must be talked over with me first

Does their canon background have holes or unknowns? Fill them in yourself! Get creative <3

If this character doesn’t have a race available in D&D, like a sidhe, then you have two options. You can either homebrew their profile, or you can using an existing race profile that’s similar while clearly establishing what their real race is

When writing their backstory, try to think of how they would fit into the campaign. Why are they in the dungeons? Is Merlin suffering the aftermath of a magic reveal gone wrong? Did Gwaine get into a tavern brawl? Has George been framed for murder?

OCs

Be creative! Time travelers, shapeshifters, orcs - as long as you develop it well enough, I’ll probably allow it

If your character has a race/species that doesn’t exist in BBCM canon - like an elf or a dwarf - then provide backstory as to why their people are never seen or mentioned in the show. Did the dwarves go into hiding during the Purge? Is your character the first of their kind? Were they cursed into a non-human form?

In the event that we get someone to do art for the PCs, please make sure the physical description of your character is very clear and concise. Consider including reference art of some kind as well. This will hopefully make it easier for the artist/s to do their thing

When writing their backstory, try to think of how they would fit into the campaign. Why are they in the dungeons? Did they get caught trying to kill the king? Did their friend turn them in for sorcery? Did they steal something from the vaults?

This should be a chance for us all to goof off and have fun, so I’m not gonna be super strict on the rules. And if you have any questions, hit me up on Tumblr!! <3

[lovelyirony]

Ironwidow fake dating and cousin Sharon matchmaking

Nat and Tony have been friends since seventh grade, when Tony made fun of her drawing and in retaliation, Nat stuck a pencil in his thigh. 

He grinned at her after sneakily getting a tissue from the front desk. 

“You’re pretty good, Nat.” 

“My name is Natasha.” 

“Not to me, it’s not.” 

So it becomes Nat and Tony. Tony and Nat. They do everything together, from attend the eighth grade pool parties and hate all of them to the freshman orientation in high school where they make fun of the senior leaders and sneak into the admissions office to make sure they have at least one class together. (And then change the schedule when they don’t.) 

Tony has been in love with Natasha Romanoff since the first eighth grade pool party, when she showed up in a full wet suit because she didn’t like the way that their classmate Ivan liked her. 

But, he hasn’t done anything about it. Why is that, everyone asks? Just ask her out! 

Well, Tony has a special talent that is medically known as “anxiety,” but he also has common sense. 

Natasha Romanoff is beautiful. She has gorgeous red hair, eyes that know everything about you before you even think they do, a wicked sense of humor, and a sense of self that is beyond anything Tony’s ever encountered. 

Tony stays up until three a.m., doesn’t give a shit about his appearance so he is frequently rushing to school with the worst bed hair imaginable, and also wears possibly the most out-of-style clothing ever. 

Like right now. A pair of jeans that’s too short and he cuffed only on one leg, a shirt that’s advertising some college Howard made him visit, and he’s pretty sure that the plaid he layered it with has a coffee stain down the back. 

He’s proven right when Sharon wrinkles her nose. 

“Dude, you seriously haven’t done laundry since two weeks ago, have you?” 

“Do I smell bad? Do I?” 

She leans in. 

“No, just like old coffee. So regular. We’ll see when Nat comes. Or you could confess your love to have her not roast your choice of apparel.” 

Tony scowls, adjusting his backpack. 

“Do you have another topic, or are you just that boring?” 

“I could also tell you about World War One,” Sharon adds. “I just read about it in one of those stupid textbooks I have to carry around. Did you know that the French are actually the worst at war?” 

“Yes, everyone knows that. I think they know that too.” 

Nat’s already at her locker. She looks gorgeous with her jean jacket, the new patches sewn on. 

“Looking cute,” Sharon says appreciatively. “Do you think you’re gonna get dress-coded for the ‘fuck men’ patch?” 

“Not if they want me to write an article on how the club fund got cut but the football team got another new field within four years,” Nat says. 

“Still a good article,” Tony says. “If you could still get into a college without a reputation ruined. You know how much schools care about sports.” 

“More than education at times!” Sharon cheers. 

Nat snorts, bringing Tony into a hug. 

“Nice to see you, dude. Ready for history?” 

“Not in the slightest. We’re probably talking about government procedure again while our teacher waxes poetic about the justice system. I think I might try to change the FDA’s home screen again.” 

“You know, they might catch on after the fourth time of you inserting random YouTube videos to different links.” 

“It’s the Federal Department of Agriculture, I highly doubt they care,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Besides, I’ve already proven that I’m probably better with technology than the government itself.” 

This was true; Tony had hacked into the official website of the White House with shitty hotel Wi-Fi and half his sanity. (It was flu season, he’d had way too much Ny-Quil.) 

School passes by with little incident, all things considered. A classic Monday, with the only real excitement being an announcement of no school the following Monday for a staff meeting. 

It isn’t until Tony gets home to find both of his parents home and in the same room, waiting for him, that he starts to panic. 

“Is this an intervention?” Tony asks. “Did I do something bad?” 

“Not yet,” Howard says. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised.” 

“Dear,” Maria reprimands. “No, there’s an event that we want you to attend.” 

“Want or need?” Tony asks. “I was supposed to hang out with my friend Bruce to work on his genetics lab.” 

“I’m sure the lab can wait,” Howard scoffs. “You’re in high school, for god’s sake.” 

“Bruce is doing lab work for Culver,” Tony says. “He got early acceptance, so he’s doing a weird deal so he gets college credit and a year off early.” 

“Impressive, dear,” mom says, smiling. “But this event is something that you can’t miss.” 

It’s a goddamn family reunion. Maria’s side, but still. At least Peggy and Sharon would come. 

Family reunions on the Carter/Carbonell side are…interesting. A lot of loud people, aunts that couldn’t stop cooking, and at least one uncle that would say something marginally horrible and cause a rift for at least six hours where everything was tense. 

Sharon had to take this advantage carefully. 

So she got her own email into the family chain of them–a mistake by all accounts, but one that should be committed sooner rather than later–and tells the family that Tony is bringing his girlfriend, Natasha. 

They both love each other, she knows that much. Tony looks at Nat like he could give her anything in the world, and Nat looks at him with so much vulnerability that she always says she doesn’t have. 

They’ve liked each other for a while now. Sharon wishes that it wasn’t at her family reunion that she was doing this, but it was either that or a dance for high school, and that’s far too much work. 

Tony, understandably, is stressed. 

“Does she even know she’s going?!” Tony yells. “Holy shit Sharon, she’s going to meet like eighty of us!” 

“Yeah,” Sharon says. “She just doesn’t know that she’s supposed to be your girlfriend.” 

“Sharon.” 

“Yes?” 

“Run.” 

Sharon squeals as she skids out of the room, Tony chasing after her. He’s not really going to do anything about it, but he still has to text Nat. 

i am. so sorry 

lmao it’s fine. sharon just said i’m going to the reunion. why? 

funny story…

fuck what’d she do 

she emailed everyone that i was bringing you as a girlfriend. and i’m not really going to spend the whole weekend correcting it. 

gotcha. operation: fake dating commence! 

thank you nat. seriously love you 

Nat reads the message, but doesn’t respond. Of course Sharon would pull something like this. She knew that Nat liked her cousin, probably since they were kids. 

And now she had to pretend to be his girlfriend, something she actually wanted very much to do. 

She gets a text from Sharon. 

Please don’t wear your jean jacket with all the patches. It’s very cool, but you will start a fight in my family and win. But then you aren’t allowed to come back :( 

Natasha sends her back the middle finger, but then promises not to bring it.

This brings up the subject; what do you wear to a family reunion? 

- 

Tony’s fidgeting in the car as he goes to pick up Nat. His mother was very surprised. 

“You got your father’s distinct habit of not shutting your mouth,” she says with a chuckle. “But I do suppose the gazes say it all. Every Carbonell man looks like he’s in love before he says it, so–” 

“Mama, not now!” Tony hisses. Natasha’s making her way to the car, backpack slung around her shoulder and an elegant handbag in the crook of her arm. 

“Hey Ms. Carbonell,” Natasha says. “How are you?” 

“Doing good, better now that I get to have you with us,” she teases. “Anthony over here never told me that he was going to have you on as a special guest.” Natasha sends a raised eyebrow over to Tony. 

“Oh?” 

“I forgot,” Tony lied smoothly. “You know how I get in the labs. Just completely forget everything I’m supposed to remember.” 

The conversation is easy after that: just a few little anecdotes that Nat and Tony have gone over last night over the phone. They had confessed that they liked each other a year ago, had kept it extremely low-key since both didn’t want to fuss with it, and that was that. 

“How come Sharon knew but I didn’t?” Mom pouts. 

“She’s an imp,” Tony answers. “An imp who doesn’t know how to keep business to herself.” 

Their family fills up a small inn out of the way, and Tony sighs as he sees three of his aunts already conspiring at the bar. 

“Be prepared for a barrage of questions.” 

“Roger that.” 

Natasha is whisked away by the ladies with a few compliments to the cute flats she’s wearing and her favorite type of perfume. Tony gets led over to Sharon, who is playing darts with Trip and their kind-of-but-not-really-cousin, Ricardo. 

“What have I missed out on?” Trip asks, grinning. “Heard some girl was crazy enough to come and date you. She’s a looker, Tony.” 

“Thanks,” Tony says. “But yes, crazy enough to date me. Sharon knows how crazy it is, I practically get the same gene from her.” 

Sharon rolls her eyes, landing another bullseye. Ricardo curses. 

“How do you always manage to do this?” 

“Practice for this exact moment,” Sharon says with a grin. “Go get me a drink. One of the good ones.” 

“You seriously get him to do your bidding every single time,” Tony says with a laugh. Trip excuses him to see Uncle Erik, leaving Sharon and Tony alone. 

“So. You liking your new status of boyfriend?” 

“You seriously need to stop meddling,” Tony scowls. “Just because I like her doesn’t mean she should be in on this.” 

“She doesn’t mind,” Sharon scoffs. “Besides, I think Aunt Angie is going to tell her about the cardboard incident.” 

“Oh my god–” 

Natasha saunters over, grinning devilishly. 

“So. Naked and a cardboard box for modesty? Why am I not surprised at the innovation, Tony?” 

“Dammit,” Tony swears. “I’m going to learn something embarrassing about you. I’ll ask Clint.” 

“Like he’ll tell.” 

The reunion goes about as well as expected. Uncle Daniel finally spills the beans and says that his son who couldn’t make it was going to bring his girlfriend that no one likes, but they canceled at the last minute. 

“They’re horrible,” Tony says. “I’m serious. They’re the kind of people that take advantage of old people.” 

“Gross.” 

They gravitate closer to each other. While Natasha doesn’t have a problem with this, it’s bittersweet. Every time Tony casually puts his arm around her and tells another story about how they snuck into the office to match schedules and his family coos and says it’s so cute, and Sharon smiles at them. 

It stings, to be this close and yet knowing that it isn’t at all real. 

Tony lies awake at night. Becuase this is nice. All of his family loves Nat, so does he, and it seems…possible almost. To have her this close, smiling at him like she has. 

So it’s not a good idea, but he goes to her room at three a.m. She’s still awake. 

“Why are you still awake?” 

“Watching funny videos. Why are you awake?” 

“That’s why I’m here. Follow me.” 

They go into the courtyard. It feels…nice outside. Tony’s wringing his hands. 

“What’s got you so nervous?” Natasha asks. “And why at three in the morning?” 

“I think this is literally the only way I could do it,” Tony says. “Only time my family shuts up.” 

“Go for it then,” Natasha says. “You have until four, when your baby cousin wakes up. Lorenzo?” 

“Got it,” Tony says, smiling. “Um, well, I–” 

“What?” 

“Oh fuck,” Tony curses. “Listen, I’m just going to say it. I’m just going to say it.” 

“You’ve said that twice.” 

“Iloveyou.” 

“What?” 

“I…I love you,” Tony says, sighing. “I’ve loved you I think since eighth grade, and I’m now telling you because I don’t think I can just go on with life without telling you. I also realize that you’re stuck at the family reunion until this is over, so now I realize I’ve put stress on you and I’m sorry, I can fake my death if you really want me to, so–” 

Natasha envelops him in a hug. She kisses his cheek, looking at him in the dim light of the lanterns. 

“You absolute fool. I love you too.” 

It’s the first of many “I love you’s.” 

Sharon takes credit for the relationship, and Tony and Nat let her. She’s also the maid of honor and meets her future wife, Maria. 

Tony and Natasha don’t go to the same college, but compete against each other in the trivia clubs that both schools have, and so they spend other time together. Natasha shows him her favorite tea shop downtown, and Tony shows her all of the hideaway spots he uses for studies. 

(And to hide her away from Rhodey, who will tell her anything and everything that’s embarrassing about Tony.) 

Right after college, Tony and Nat move into an apartment. 

About a year later, Natasha holds out a gold ring for him to put on, asks if they really have to get married in a fancy church, and watches as Tony tears up and hugs her. 

“I told you!” Sharon crows when they reveal the rings. “I told you that you would get married!” 

“Okay loser,” Natasha says. “Then you’re the maid-of-honor. Congrats on throwing my bachelorette party.” 

“I’m making us go paint-balling.” 

Tony rolls his eyes, but looks at his now-fiancee. 

Things will be good. Aren’t they always? 

[turtle-steverogers]

WTF is Cats About?

ralbert and cats the musical :)

warnings: none, cept cats the musical (if ur a cats stan, i swear im not making fun of it,,,,just,,,,,cats)

ship: ralbert

word count: 1577

editing: no lmao...CATS

-

Albert likes to think he’s gotten used to all of Race’s funny quirks and little habits.  He’d long since given up on getting him to stop biting his nails and the whole twirling his hair while he relaxes thing is pretty endearing.  But there are some things that still surprise him.  

Like his utterly amazing habit of withholding big life changes until they’re glaringly important and then announcing them as if he’s commenting on the weather.

Which is why Albert basically spits his tea all over his laptop one morning when Race announces he’s been cast in the fucking Broadway revival of Cats.

Fucking Cats.

Albert doesn’t even know what Cats is about.  Not that he’s ever really had the desire to know.  The whole show is a little too...furry for him.

It had been a mild Sunday morning up until then.  The sky was clear and blue and the sun rays hit just right on their bed, waking them up, but not disturbing them.  They’d lounged around for a few hours, switching between lazy morning cuddles and tiredly making out.  Life since moving to the City together had been exhilarating.  The freedom they’d once yearned for so heavily was finally at their fingertips, lending them the time to focus on their dreams and basking in the post college glow of their early adulthood.

Race worked at the local pizza joint when he wasn’t auditioning for whatever he could find casting calls for (which apparently included fucking Cats the fucking musical).  It was a good gig for him; it kept him busy and entertained.  Something Albert struggled to do single-handedly.

Albert on the other hand worked at a dingy mechanics shop a few blocks away, fixing up old cars on the side while working his way through the prestigious culinary grad program he’d somehow managed to get into.  All in all, they were doing well for themselves as 24 year olds living alone in New York City.

Somehow, they’d managed to drag themselves out of bed and into the kitchen, where Albert fixed them a modest breakfast of omelettes before docking at the counter to sort through some emails.  

Race was sitting next to him, absentmindedly petting Chips, their orange tabby, when he states, “I got cast in the Broadway revival of Cats.”

Albert pauses mid-type, glancing up at his boyfriend, who’s still intently looking at Chips, running his hand down the length of his back, “You what!?”

Race takes a deep breath, then repeats, “I got cast in the Broadway revival of Cats.”

Albert’s been rendered speechless by Race plenty of times in his 6+ years of knowing him.  But he’s never felt quite as...dumbfounded before.

“You got cast...in Cats?” He asks slowly, before shaking his head and backing up, “Wait, no, hang on, hang on...you auditioned for fucking Cats?”

Race ducks his head, a blush forming under his collar and around his ears, “Uh, yeah, I meant to mention it...but it never came up?”

Albert blinks again, “Who- what- what even is Cats?”

Race goes to answer, then closes his mouth hastily, “I don’t...actually really know…”

“How don’t you know?  You’re in the damn show!”

“I was only just cast!  I don’t know it that well yet!”

Albert makes a choked noise, “Okay, but you should at least know what the fuck the show is about if you went through a damn audition process- wait, when was this even happening? What- I’m so confused right now...my fucking boyfriend got cast in a Broadway musical- FUCKING CATS- and I didn’t even know he was auditioning.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you!” Race says, looking alarmed at Albert’s impending Cats- induced mental breakdown.  Chips gives an annoyed meow at the lack of attention being bestowed onto her and leaps off the counter, trotting away to find Queso, their golden doodle.

“I mean, you’re not entitled to tell me everything about your life, just...wow, I mean, this is big,” Albert scrubs a hand down his face, “I didn’t do anything to make you feel like you couldn’t share this with me, did I?”

Race’s face softens, “No, of course not, Albie,” he sighs, reaching across the table and linking their hands together, “I just got caught up in everything...sometimes things just feel so busy and overwhelming and I like to process it alone before letting other people in on it.”

Albert squeezes his hand, “That’s understandable,” he smiles, bending down to kiss his knuckles, “And congrats! I’m so proud of you! I mean, fucking Broadway...my boyfriend’s gonna be on Broadway.”

Race beams, “Thanks.”

“We have to celebrate,” Albert concludes, “I’m calling Spot and the others.  You better not have work tonight, ‘cause we’re going out for drinks.”

Race shakes his head, bemused, as Albert pulls out his phone to text their group chat.  

“Fucking Cats…” Albert murmurs as he sends the text, “Fuckin’....Cats.”

XXX

“Can you say that your bite is worse than your bark?  Are you cock of the walk when you’re walking alone?  Because jellicles are and jellicles do, jellicles do and jellicles would, jellicles would and…”

Albert freezes in the doorway to their apartment, slowly closing the door behind him as he strains his ears.  He follows the sound of the weirdly tempoed music to the kitchen, where Race is bopping around by the microwave, reheating last night’s dinner of chicken curry.

“Hey,” Albert calls, setting the groceries on the counter.

Race glances over, flashing Albert a smile and turning down the music a few notches.

“Hey, yourself,” he says, pulling his bowl out of the microwave and stirring it a bit with a fork to cool it down.

Albert crosses to him, pecking him on the lips quickly and grabbing a glass for water.

“Jellicles can and jellicles do, jellicles can and jellicles do…”

Albert wrinkles his nose, “the fuck even is a jellicle?”

Race shrugs, shoveling a forkful of curry into his mouth, “Dunno, some type of cat?  Google it.”

Albert hums, “So this is Cats then?  Interesting music.”

“I know, it’s kinda weird,” Race says, perching at the counter, “But it grows on you.  Rehearsal started today, so…”

“Yeah, you mentioned that,” Albert places his glass in the sink and leans against the counter, “How’d it go?”

“Pretty well, I made a few friends,” Race says, “Jojo’s in it.”

Albert smiles, “No kidding! That’s crazy.”

“Right?  I didn’t even know he was auditioning!”

“Seems to be the trend with this show.”

“I get it, I get it,” Race rolls his eyes, looking a little guilty.

“Jellicle songs for jellicle cats, jellicle songs for jellicle cats, jellicle songs for jellicle…”

“If they say ‘jellicle’ one more time I’m going to shoot myself,” Albert growls.

Race whips his head up, eyes slightly wide, “Oh, honey, you are not going to make it through this one…”

“Fantastic.”

XXX

“Hey, Race, have you seen my- WHAT THE FUCK!”

Race turns away from the bathroom mirror, fixing Albert with an innocent look.

“Have I seen your what?” He asks.

“No,” Albert says, pointing a finger, “First answer what the FUCK happened to your face.”

Race turns back to the mirror, dabbing some more orange cream foundation around his eyes.  Disturbingly, Albert notes that his makeup design looks very similar to Chips.

“Gotta do our own makeup for the show,” Race answers, padding a generous amount of setting powder around his face, “I’m practising.”

“Right…” Albert rakes his eyes over Race’s features.  So far, the makeup only spans on his face and down his neck a little, “What else does your costume entail exactly?”

Race grins wickedly and Albert swallows.  

“Oh, you’ll see.”

XXX

“Do you like my tail?”

Albert slowly closes his book, praying for strength as he looks up.  Race is standing by the doorway, rehearsal bag dropped at his feet.  His face is smudged- like he tried and failed to clean off all the layers of his meticulous cat makeup.  He’s dressed normally in adidas workout pants and a random t-shirt from a color run they did years back.  Protruding (Albert doesn’t wanna know how, but alas) from his backside is an orange tabby cat tail.

“Did you choose to be the same kind of cat as Chips?  Or was it some sort of creepy coincidence,” Albert deadpans, refusing to look at the tail longer than he has to and keeping his eyes fixed on Race’s face.

Race’s smile drops a fraction of an inch, “Wait, it’s weird that I chose to be her breed?”

Albert groans and picks back up his book.

XXX

“Congratulations!” 

Albert is met with a faceful of Race’s blond curls as the cast comes swarming out of the stagedoor.  He smells like makeup remover and sweat, but Albert doesn’t care as he kisses him, pride swelling in his chest.  

He doesn’t think he’ll ever get over the exhilarating feeling of seeing Race shine onstage.

“Thanks!” Race looks high on adrenaline and Albert never wants that light to leave his eyes, “What did you think?”

“You were so good!  Everyone was!  And the music was all better than I first thought it would be,” Albert said, playfully swaying them back and forth where they stood, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around Race, “Just one question.”

Race cocks his head, “what’s up?”

“What the fuck is Cats about?”

Race tips his head back and laughs, “I still have no fucking clue.”

-

the word ‘cats’ doesn’t even sound real anymore and i think that’s fitting

thanks for reading, chiefs

hmu to be added to my tag

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[bitch-a-la-mode]

Some important things about one of my favorite professors at my university:

- she’s deaf and she makes a lot of jokes about being deaf

- She’s a butch lesbian

- She rides a motorcycle

- Her interpreter is also a lesbian with a shaved head who is very petite and carries around a coffee bigger than her torso

- She always has a Diet Coke for some reason

- The classes she teaches are... you guessed it!... on queer studies

- She has an automatic signature on her email and it is as follows:

Her name

Adjunct lecturer- department of women’s and gender studies

University name

Her email

- cuz you know... in case you forgot her email while you were emailing her lmao

- Her other signature (depending on the email) is “sent from my iPhone”

- *sends a long and very eloquent email to her* her: “lmao okie dokie. Sent from my iPhone”

- If you sign at her the word “math” she’ll yell at you

- If she doesn’t like what you’re saying (I.e. xenophobic, homophobic, etc.) she’ll take out her hearing aid or close her eyes so she can’t see the interpreter

- “Listen I know you guys can technically very easily cheat during the quiz but can you not?”

- Literally 20% of our grade is watching a gay movie of our choosing and writing a 3 page paper about it

- She got arrested a lot when she was young during protests

- “I literally come from a family where all the men are cops, yea I know I’m Irish and this is New York City, but I’m adopted so fuck blue lives!”

- One time she was freaking out while getting arrested during a demonstration cuz she didn’t know what was happening and her friend was yelling at the cop to stop cuz she was deaf and didn’t understand (but her friend was being dragged away by another cop) and the cop didn’t listen so he broke her arm for “resisting” and in retaliation she broke his nose. Because she couldn’t hear her rights being read to her she legally had to be let go and she wasn’t charged.

- she used to go to this annual all women camping event for a week in the middle of the woods in Michigan

- She said in the middle of the night she went to an open shower and she had a realization that that was the safest she’d probably ever feel in her life

- She said at this event, women were assigned “tractor duty” and they would ride tractors around the perimeter of the event and if a man came they’d announce them via megaphone and they’d be escorted around the event

- Apparently the event people were transphobic so she said fuck them and made sure like 50% of the people didn’t go the following years so they lost all their money and had to close down (fuck transphobia!)

- All her readings are free online but the university yelled at her and said she HAD to assign a book for the kids (presumably to buy) so she assigns books that are free PDFs online and the university couldn’t do anything but you could tell they were Lowkey foaming at the mouth

- “If you’re having kid trouble just bring your kid to class and they can learn about The Gays!”

- She has to cancel class a lot cuz apparently a part of being deaf is she gets a lot of ear infections?

- “Make this your first or last class of the day because this class will be canceled a lot”

- Her emails when she cancels are usually: “ears suck. Don’t come to class. Enjoy your day.”

-she has a lot of free days sporadically inputed into the calendar because of her multiple absences. Sometimes she won’t use them so we’ll literally finish the course 1-2 weeks before the official end of the semester and when that happens, she says you can come in and watch movies and if you want you can discuss Intellectual Ideas and she’ll give you extra credit

- I know all this because I’ve taken her for three (3) semesters now

- When she sees a familiar students face (my own included) in another class of hers she waves and yells hi like a person who saw a good doggie

- She hates desks and always makes students sit in circles so we can talk

- “I’d rather die than be stuck in an elevator with someone from a STEM department”

- “Here’s a classical author you didn’t know was gay!”

- She says if you’re just gonna sign in and leave at least do it before she starts lecturing cuz if she sees you she’ll give you a Disappointed Mom Look and you feel legally obligated to stay

- Sometimes she forgets how loud she is and she’ll start yell-singing

- Sometimes she’ll show a video and she doesn’t know what the volumes at and she’ll forget to correct it cuz she can’t hear it so it’ll either be muted or so loud your ears fall off and it’s really a guess who every class

- “Here are free things happening at school that the school *forgot* to tell you about and I’m informing you about now”

- “If you make me read more than 5 pages I will kill you and/or fail you”

- One time a girl handed her a 30 page paper as her midterm paper and she left and yelled in the women’s bathroom for 10 mins. She came back and threw it in the garbage and told the girl “you get an A for the semester but only if you never come back to class”.

- I literally have no idea what happened after that cuz she won’t talk about it

- “Here are good gay bars in the city. Wait you’re all over 21 right? Okay yea these are great bars”

- She’s an Intellectual so she’s friends with a lot of famous gay authors?

- “Don’t ask me for a letter of recommendation I don’t even know how to write. No I didn’t write this syllabus I stole it from another professor and put my name on top”

- “If I see people look away while I’m talking then I stop because I assume they’ve stopped listening and I can’t really tell”

- “I know it sounds like I’m eating my own tongue but tell me if you don’t understand me alright?”

- She’s actually very eloquent idk why she thinks people don’t understand her

- *throws a paper ball into the garbage can and misses* KOBE!

- If there’s an event at her department she makes us go for class (like not for extra credit, like we’ll have class at the event) and if you try to leave she’ll announce your departure and make her fellow professors stare at you in disappointment

-“Madonna is a thief! Who stole from black culture and art! Fuck her!”

- “let’s talk about how evil the United States government is!”

I’ll add more as the semester goes on

[darkisucksanditwrites]

Tension

this was written last year in November, but I wasn’t happy with it. Also i planned a different ending but then I thought about it and it was stupid lmao. so i decided to just end it like this meh. 

“Hey! Sorry I’m late.”

Tetsuya was just putting his own sports bag on the bench when Kagami-kun’s booming voice announced his arrival.

“I just got here myself.” He said turning around and sending a smile towards the boy he hasn’t seen in over half a year, not counting yesterday’s evening when he drove with the whole former Seirin to pick him up from the airport.

Kagami’s answering grin was blinding as the bright, summer sun above them.

Tetsuya didn’t even manage to say it’s good to see you again because he was crushed in a tight, hot embrace ten seconds later.

One moment he was looking at Kagami’s face the next his nose was squashed firmly against a wall of firm muscles covered in thin cotton.

“I can’t breathe.” Kuroko hit at Kagami’s back.

Taiga laughed heartily and let go of his friend who send him a glare.

“Sorry, it’s just really good to see you.”

“We saw each other yesterday.” Tetsuya dismissed the comment, but secretly pleased that Kagami felt the same way.

Kagami’s grin dropped to a shy smile and he looked down for a moment, suddenly turning bashful.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t the same with everyone there.”

Kuroko swallowed at Kagami’s sudden words.

The last year of their high school was strange, filled with a strange tension between them whenever their gazes met and whenever they touched or brushed against each other.

Kagami-kun never said anything until graduation. Tetsuya would have been angry with him for waiting till the last moment, leaving himself a way of retreat in the form of American college if Tetsuya didn’t return his feelings.

He would have been angry, if he wasn’t feeling so light and happy and if he wasn’t busy kissing Kagami back behind the school.

But, still Kagami left for college and Tetsuya stayed in Japan.

They texted and skyped and wrote emails almost all the time. Something as trivial as time zones couldn’t stop them from being together obviously.

His hands suddenly felt empty and he could feel how they tingled and longed for something to hold.

He was afraid he’d do something stupid and something he wasn’t sure of.

To dissipate the tension Kuroko decided to do what always helped in these situations.

He jabbed Kagami.

“OW!” Kagami yelped, jumped and clutched at his side.

“What the hell you little asshole?”

“Kagami-kun was being weird so I applied appropriate measures.”

Kagami glared at Tetsuya, his brows furrowed in such a familiar way Kuroko almost kissed him right there.

Instead he lowered his gaze and changed the topic.

“Is that new?” Kuroko suddenly pointed at Kagami’s chest.

Taiga looked down.

“What is?”

“That new hoodie.”

“Oh that. Alex forced me to go shopping before leaving.”

Kuroko hummed, thinking and hoping his look was neutral.

“Sleeveless? That kind of defeats the purpose of it right?”

Taiga shrugged.

Kuroko reached for the zipper and pulled it down.

And stopped.

“Why are you wearing a shirt under it?”

Kagami slapped his hand away and zipped the hoodie up.

Kuroko noticed with small satisfaction that he was blushing as well.

“Stop being a weirdo.”

“I am not a ‘weirdo’. It’s been a while.” Kuroko bit his lip when Kagami pushed a ball into his hands, more roughly than it was necessary. Teasing him was always amusing.

Kagami snorted, dropped his own bag on the bench.

“You always were a weirdo.” He said while getting into a stance. And then grinned. “And as you yourself said, you just saw me yesterday. Now come on.”

Kuroko dribbled the ball with a smirk.

“As you wish.”

“Let’s take a break please.”

Kagami came to a sudden halt in his dribbling and caught the ball with one hand.

“Already? Man, you really do suck.” He said the last part with a grin and a certain fondness in his voice which made Tetsuya pout.

“Fine, fine. It is hot.” He said and fished a bottle of water from his bag.

Tetsuya wiped his brow and shook his head in hopes of creating some wind but all it did was spray droplets of sweat around him.

Kagami didn’t seem bothered by the heat. He was sweaty, maybe even more than Tetsuya, his red hoodie showing clear wet patches around his stomach, back and under his armpits, and his skin was flushed, making his already slightly bronze tan stand out even more.

But he was still full of energy, basically bouncing and not able to stay still.

Kagami drank half a bottle almost in one go. With a wheeze he laughed when he finally had his fill.

“Summer is Japan is awful.” He mused to himself but he was still smiling.

Tetsuya narrowed his eyes and put a hand over his eyes. He tried to tell himself it was because of the sun…and that might be a partially true…but there was something way brighter than that.

“Hey. C’mere and have a drink too. I can see you’re ready to pass out.”

Kuroko walked up to Kagami grabbed the water bottle from his hand and took a slow slip.

And then another one.

Their eyes were locked into each other’s and Tetsuya saw how Kagami’s mouth dropped open just a bit and his cheeks flushed even more.

That was purely accidental, and Kuroko didn’t mean to tease him that much, but this weird tension made him act in a certain way, pushing both their buttons. He wondered how far it will led them.

Kagami didn’t say anything when Kuroko finished the whole bottle, making a point of licking his lips and passing the empty container back to Kagami.

There was crunch when Kagami took the bottle and turned it into a miserable pile of plastic all the time staring at Kuroko intensely.

Kuroko knew his eyes were laughing when Kagami dumped the bottle into the trashcan and missed at least two times, before he walked up to it, picked it up and finally threw it away.

Kuroko stuck out his tongue, catching a stray droplet from the corner of his mouth. He could taste salt on his tongue.

Kagami walked back to him, his hoodie slightly opened and a basketball propped against his hip.

When he stood in front of Tetsuya, he could feel the unspoken tension return again.

“Kagami-kun did you grew?”

Taiga blinked suddenly confused at another change of mood and topic.

He raised his eyes to the sky and hummed.

“No, I don’t think so. What? Do you think you’ve gotten shorter?” He said with a smirk but Kuroko didn’t take the bait.

“No. And I wasn’t talking about your height.”

“No? Then what? Hey, are you saying I’m fat or something?”

Kuroko snorted and walked up to Kagami.

“No. Quite the contrary.”

“Huh?” Kagami tilted his head to the side and watched how the smaller boy stopped in front of him. His gaze was fixed on something around Kagami’s chest.

He then without a word of warning raised his hand and put it on Kagami’s arm.

Taiga didn’t move, but he had to ask when Kuroko put his other hand on Kagami’s arm, circling it around his biceps.

“What are you doing?”

Kuroko looked up at him, mischief in his eyes and then squeezed.

“Measuring. This was definitely smaller the last time I saw you.”

Kuroko patiently waited for the outburst, but instead of it, Kagami just blushed, frowned and shook Kuroko’s hands off of him.

“I told you to stop being a weirdo.”

“I am not. I’m simply admiring your physique.”

Kagami frowned and blushed deeper.

“By groping me? How would you feel it I did that?” He stopped suddenly when he realized what he said.

Kuroko tilted his head to the side.

“Honestly? I don’t know. You’ve never tried. You always say I don’t have and I quote enough meat on my bones.”

“Because it’s true!” Kagami finally burst and dropped the ball. “Look!” He said and grabbed Kuroko round the waist with both hands. “See? I can fit both my hands around your waits and, uh, um….”

“That’s because you have big hands.” Kuroko bit back, trying to ignore the blush on his face. This was a different touch than the hug from before. He saw Kagami-kun hug Alex-san and Himuro-san like this. Friendly.

This, even if it was to prove a point, was a way more intimate touch.

“You’re just skinny.” Kagami said in whisper and to Kuroko’s shock pulled him closer until their hips bumped against each other.

“Maybe it’s both.” Kuroko whispered back, nosing gently around Kagami’s collarbone. Taiga groaned quietly.

“This is not the best place.” He said in protest, but Kuroko could feel how his thumbs dipped under his shirt and pressed to his sides. The touch was unsure but bold enough for Kuroko’s blood to pump harder in his veins.

“Really? I think it’ll do.”

Kagami looked at him questioningly.

After a moment, with great regret Kuroko pulled away from Kagami but grabbed his hand.

“Come.” He said and pulled the other boy into the direction of nearby shrubbery.  

[theloveinc]

hi caitie! i’m the anon who told you i’ve been getting persistent anon hate and as i logged on to see your answer to my ask they’ve just sent me another one 😭 i did try blocking, i’ve blocked and reported every single hate ask i got but i think they just need to change their vpn to change their ip address? i don’t know, i feel like there’s literally nothing i can do to escape (i can only turn off asks or turn off anon, but i have nice anons too and i still want them around) and i feel really lost and hurt :( sorry for the vent, i don’t really have anyone to talk about this to

hey again (this is always how i email my professors back lmao)....!!! this does sound like quite an unfortunate predicament...... and i happen to know next to nothing about vpns so.... i'm not really sure how to combat that specific aspect of this or if any other suggestions i have might be inhibited by that...

(which, i hope u don't mind me offering, even if they might be useless, since i don't just wanna offer condolences and then fuck right off)...

BUT. hmmm, i know it really does suck but... i really would consider turning off anons, at least for a little while. i'm sure ur already aware it will make interaction even LOWER, but there are actually a lot of people who will still (or might begin to) send asks off anon. you could maybe even make a statement, not about getting anon hate but just that things are gonna be quiet for a while but that you'd still love talking to people to encourage them.

if that doesn't work... it's unfortunate, but also, so what if you don't answer/get asks for a bit. you could always work on queuing up content and whatnot or even just take a break to care for yourself. sucks in the moment but it's always relieving later when the sadness finally passes.

plus...i'm definitely a pessimist for feeling this way but like. it's really hard to offended people if all you post is. shit about characters and like literally no personal posts LMAO.

(and you could always tell me who u are if u wanted me to send u prompts or anons to save + respond to. i'm sorta guessing we're already moots? and even tho that feels kinda disingenuous, also.. i don't want u to disappear, you know? or make people think u went away forever)

i also wanted to say, cuz i looked into this once... i think there are things you can install to see who's been looking at ur profile and at what times. it does involve downloading software and MIGHT just show you ispn or whatever but... there were tutorials how last i checked).

but idk what else there is for to do. if u announce moving blogs, i'm sure they'll just follow you so there's clearly no point.... but i hope you know, deep in your heart, that you really haven't done anything wrong, nothing you decide to do in the future (whether it's take a break or respond to this person) will be wrong, and that you're handling this SUPER well.

i know that really does nothing.... but even still, i don't mind the vent at all if it helped to make u feel better even for a minute.