#but god did lou act so well

[louferrignojrofficial]

tommy still looks so fucking beautiful even when he’s leaving my screen and buck’s life forever

[anomaliex]

Gods I love Fabian's battle sheet so much the idea of it is just so. Good??

Like, first of all, the aesthetic. What is Fabian Aramais Seacaster if not the moment. The beautifully woven elven sheet with the ridiculous thread count sparkling in the light of the fire as he battle ballets* just goes hard.

(*well I think he combines all sorts of dance styles during battle but probably a lot of it is capoeira venturing into hip-hop venturing into. Like. Modern dancing? Classical high-elven dance is to me a folk thing that's very ballet adjacent and then Fabian puts his own spin on it and carves out his niche further as he levels up.)

Then obviously the battle sheet is significant story wise? Fabian's arc is so genuinely nice I love him connecting with his elven heritage through dance. I love that he learns to step out of his father's shadow and comes into his own by exploring a part of him that previously went ignored not even because he thought it to be bad or lesser but simply because he wasn't even aware of it. It wasn't his father's so what did it matter to him? His mother wasn't exactly an active participant in his life (or her own life, really) until shortly before that, of course he'd never even thought about what it means to hail from Fallinel. I love that what really does it for him is protecting his friends, scrambling to extinguish fires with increasing confidence in his grace and just. Yeah.

Idk if they ever go into detail about it mechanically, but to my understanding it technically acts as both Fabian's spellcasting focus for his bard spells and a shield, because you need a shield for the protection (imposing disadvantage on attacks on allies) fighting style and Lou describes Fabian whipping out his sheet when he does it. Idk if it actually grants him +2 armor class, maybe? His AC is 19 which is pretty high and I really don't know how he got there because I think they mechanically use regular armor stats and Fabian for sure doesn't have disadvantage on stealth but hey. (Studded leather + his dex(5) + 2 from a shield?? Better armor stats that max out at +2 from dex but without the stealth disadvantage because they don't stealth that much anyway??) Either way the battle sheet is cool as shit. I love you Fabian's battle sheet.

Also I like when people make it perpetually warm because of the fire elemental in fanfic, very fond of that :) especially when he uses it as a blanket for his friends or something. Or when it's like yeah wrapping Riz up in soft warm blanket, comfy, absolutely swaddled. Big fan.

[andromeda-galaxy2877]

I Promise...I'll do better.

First write fight attack! @untitled-tmnt-blog 's prompt 2, "New dad Splinter (Rise), very unprepared, but doing the best he can" this is for @tmnt-write-fight !! Y'all know I adore Rise Splinter, I just HAD to pick this one for my first attack. I hope you enjoy!

Quick warning! This fic does depict some issues with body image, due to Splinter's mutation.

-----------------------------

Lou was far out of his depth.

Huddled in a box in a rainy alley, four sleeping little baby turtles— whom of which he was beginning to fear weren’t really just animals anymore— curled in his arms, sheltered from the cold.

Babies.

They were babies.

Not animal young, not little creatures, not pets— babies. Children. Once he’d gotten over his initial panic and the chaotic whirlwind of emotions that had swamped him over being a literal goddamn rat now it hadn’t exactly been difficult to realize how the turtles had changed.

‘...What on earth do I do now?’

Going back into the Hidden City was completely out of the question. Big Mama would have her people crawling around all over the place trying to find him, to force him back into that arena. Not to mention Baron Draxum would certainly be looking for Lou Jitsu and his creations, determined to fulfill their true intention. 

‘Over my dead body.’ Lou’s hands curled over their shells protectively. There was not a chance in hell he would allow these sweet creatures to become monsters. 

So that ruled out the Hidden City, where Lou’s…new appearance would be accepted without second thought. But…the human world wasn’t exactly the best place for that either. He grimaced, pulling his legs closer to his body. His stomach roiled in disgust at the fur he could see poking through, his misshapen feet. ‘What did he DO to me?’

The sight of his monstrous, clawed hands curled around the innocent creatures made his stomach churn. His body still ached from the transformation, his vision was different— blurrier, he had assumed that it was from the panic but it was staying— ‘Why is it staying??’ He was disgusting, a monster, he—

A soft squeak caught his attention, snapping him free from the downward spiral. He looked down, noticing the large spiky turtle gently nuzzling into his hand. Lou’s eyes softened as he gently stroked the baby’s shell, chuckling softly at the ensuing…chirp? Turtles chirp?

‘Right. I…need to figure out what to do.’ Lou swallowed tightly, daunted by the sudden responsibility thrust onto his shoulders. He had never done well with this before, and now to be responsible for other lives? Oh dear god.

Gathering the babies close to his chest, Lou carefully exited the box, hesitating after he had gotten to his feet. Returning to the human world would be impossible now. He was hit with a wave of desolation, pure defeat at that realization. ‘I could never go back to my career like this. Could I even go back at all…? How long has it been since I was taken?’ He didn’t even want to know. ‘My coworkers, my friends…’ He…he would never see them again. They would never accept him like this.

His life was over.

A little warble caused his gaze to lower, the stinging in his eyes signaling the wet drops falling onto the babies’ shells was not only from the rain. The one with orange spots was looking up at him with big eyes, another soft warble escaping its beak. It was then Lou realized it was shivering—- they all were. 

Something solidified in his chest. His life may be over, but theirs had only just begun.

He would not fail them.

Shielding them closer to his chest, Lou made his way towards the back of the alley, searching for something that could act as a better shelter than that worn and torn box. Dumpsters, a pile of garbage bags, a torn up pile of blankets…a manhole.

Lou grimaced, hissing through his teeth. That would be disgusting. But… ‘What choice do I really have anymore?’

Passing the babies into one hand, he gripped the manhole cover in the other and hauled it to the side. The ladder seemed to lead into an endless abyss of darkness, his vision swimming for a moment at the daunting sight. He hesitated, ‘...Is there nothing else I could do?’

One of the turtles— the one with the soft, leathery shell— let out a fearful little chirp. Lou immediately gently stroked its shell, shushing it. “I know, little turtle. I know…don’t be scared.” 

‘That’s MY job!’ He thought with a shaky chuckle. Cradling the four babies in his arm, Lou carefully climbed down the ladder with the other. 

_______________________

A few hours had passed since then. And Lou had never felt so out of place in his entire life.

He had found a large atrium, deciding to make it into their home. Using some old blankets and a damp box he had grabbed from the alley, he formed a bed for the babies. And for a few haunting hours, Lou had sat and contemplated the complete shitstorm his life had become as the babies peacefully slept.

And then a piercing wail broke through that fog.

Lou startled, a sharp gasp of surprise escaping him as his hand flew up to cover his heart. He looked over at the box, eyes wide and heart pounding as he carefully fished out the shrieking turtle. ‘Is it hurt?? What happened?!’

The other babies let out whimpers as their sibling was taken from them, but Lou ignored them as he turned the baby over in his hand. The turtle looked up at him, sniffling, before letting out another cry.

Lou flinched, his ears pinning down to his head to try and block out the noise. He patted the red-striped turtle’s shell soothingly, grimacing “It’s alright, it’s alright little turtle…what are you crying for?”

The baby paused, blinking a few times. Then a series of chirps escaped its beak, rapid and increasing in volume.

Lou winced again, rubbing his head. “My, you are a talkative one, aren’t you…”

‘Something’s wrong. It doesn’t seem to be hurt though— what’s the problem??’ Lou’s concern grew as the wails did in volume, even more so as the other babies joined in. He carefully set the red-striped one back with its siblings, but unfortunately that did not stop the cries.

And then it hit them.

‘They’re hungry! Oh I’m so stupid—’ How had he not thought of that?!

‘...What the hell do turtles eat?’

Well, it was time to find out. Lou hesitated as he looked back down at the babies, their tearful little eyes and wobbling lips striking his heart. His gaze softened as he scooped the babies up with their blanket, holding them to his chest. “Alright…let's go find you turtles some food.” 

All four babies let out a chaotic little series of chirps, the red-striped one patting his little hands against the leathery-shelled one’s face. It immediately grumbled, snapping its teeth at the fingers.

Lou sighed, shaking his head fondly as the spiky one shuffled its way between them, chirping in annoyance before settling against the blanket with a little chirp. The orange spotted one seemed content to just rest beside its siblings, but its expression was twisted. 

Hungry. The poor babies were still hungry.

Lou began making his way out of the atrium, heading back into the tunnels towards the ladder. He grimaced as his bare, spindly claws clicked against the grimy concrete below. He did not want to be doing this, doing any of this— all he wanted was to huddle up in a corner and cry.

But as the soft sniffling of the red-striped turtle started up again, that thought faded away in an instant. All that mattered right now was taking care of these little turtles.

Climbing up the slippery, wet ladder one-handed was a lot easier going up than down. Easier to see where he was going, at least. As he made it halfway— his arm slipped. 

Heart lurching into his throat, Lou instinctively released his cargo to grab the ladder— before he immediately realized what he had done, and nearly dropped himself back down the ladder to catch the bundle.

‘Tell me they’re alright, tell me I didn’t already fail them—’

Lou could barely breathe as he carefully untucked the top of the blanket, counting one, two, three—

Three turtles.

Where was the red-striped one?! Lou’s ears were ringing, chest so painfully tight he could barely even think— and then a squeaky giggle caught his attention. The man turned his head, spotting the missing turtle sitting on the rung right over his head.

Lou blinked rapidly, the relief he felt near-dizzying. “What are you doing up there, you silly daredevil?” He reached a clawed hand out, gently scooping the baby back into his arms, and safely returning it to the blanket with its siblings. “Give me a damn heart attack, why don’t you…”

He finished climbing up the ladder, taking a moment to sit down outside and catch his breath. The rain seemed to have halted, dawn’s light gently painting the alley in a warm orange glow. As his panic slowly ebbed, guilt quickly encroached on where it had once been.

‘Why did I do that?! That was beyond reckless, so stupid— it could have died, they ALL could have!’ Lou swallowed tightly. 

He was not cut out for this.

He had never wanted to be a parent. He blanched at the word, terror striking him. ‘I can’t be a father. I cannot be their father, they need someone better than me.’

But who? He couldn’t just leave them at a pet store and hope for the best, they clearly weren’t normal turtles anymore. It didn’t take a genius to realize that. The human world would never accept them. Leaving them somewhere up here would only be a death sentence, either some small-minded human would hurt them or bring them to a scientific laboratory to be—-

‘NOPE. NOPE. Do NOT follow that line of thought, you JUST calmed down from panic!’ He scolded himself, shaking his head. No, the human world would not be safe.

The Hidden City could be…maybe there was an orphanage that cared for children, maybe he could find them a good family. With parents who were equipped to handle them, ready to raise them, who wouldn’t put them in danger by climbing a wet ladder with them with one hand.

But…

‘If Draxum found them...’ No. No, that was not an option.

The turtles’ only option was him. 

“I’m sorry…” He whispered, curling his knees to his chest as he cradled the babies closer. “You deserve so much more than me.”

The spiky turtle’s face scrunched up, an incoherent soft little murmur-babble leaving his beak as he gently patted Lou’s muzzle.

Lou chuckled wetly, smiling softly as the other little turtles followed the spiky one’s lead. “Thank you, little ones. I…I will do my best to care for you.” ‘I can only hope it will be enough…’ “Now. Let's find you food, shall we?”

The little turtles remained curled up in a little huddle together as he stood, eyes scanning the alley. His vision was still blurry— only further confirming his fear that this was permanent— but he spotted a large enough scrap of fabric to wrap himself in. The man carefully set the babies down as he did so, doing his best to cover every inch of exposed fur and otherwise rat-like traits.

A series of chirps caught his attention; Lou turned, heart leaping as he expected to find the babies in peril again— only to see them all messing with bits of fabric. It seemed it had come from a rainbow t-shirt, but the spiky turtle was hard at work chewing it to pieces, a scrap of red fabric still hanging from its jaws.

Lou chuckled, kneeling down to pull the fabric out of its mouth. “That’s not good food, little— uh…” 

He forgot to name them.

‘I should probably do that.’ They needed good names, something meaningful…he couldn’t think of anything now, with his mind the chaotic spiral it had remained trapped in since he had escaped that wretched lab.

He glanced around between all the babies again, noting the colors they were on— or, in the spiky one’s case, currently chewing on—- ‘WHERE DID IT GET MORE?!’ — Red, Blue, Purple, Orange.

“I’ll call you all that for now. While I think.” He muttered, scooping the little ones back up. Maybe he could take pieces of cloth on the way back, give them each little necktie bandanas? Whatever. That didn’t matter right now; what did matter, was finding these babies something to eat.

…Maybe visiting a pet store wasn’t such a terrible idea. Just to ask what to feed a turtle. That would be his first step. Then he would find said food, get the babies properly fed and bring them back to that atrium…and then…

Then…take it day by day. Raise them as best he could. It was all he could do now.

Lou was far out of his depth.

But maybe…

Maybe everything would be alright in the end.

[louloulemons-posts]

New Beginnings

eddie munson x fem!reader

requested by @jonaslover2006

summary : at the bottom

word count : 1k

warnings : not proofread, aftermath of vecna, eddies recovery, it’s basically just fluff, pet names.

a/n : heyyyy, so sorry this took so long to write and put out. i hope it was okay 🫶🏻

- lou

1k celebration found here

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

The beeping sound of the machines became a background noise, easy to ignore. After 3 days the stiff chair almost began to feel comfortable.

3 days. 72 hours. 4320 minutes.

Eddie was still unconscious. The surgery had gone well, he’d lost a lot of blood. He’d gone through a lot, so his body had to rest for a while.

You wanted nothing more than to see his beautiful brown eyes open again. They still didn’t know if he would wake up, the bats had done a lot of damage.

You and Wayne had been here the whole time, the man couldn’t convince you to leave. Your friends had been bouncing between Eddie and Maxs rooms.

Although you loved the redhead girl, you couldn’t stomach leaving him. You’d never leave him.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

At some point you’d fallen asleep, head resting on the bed next to Eddies thigh, hand holding his. It wasn’t comfortable at all, but it was the closest you could be.

Waking up you felt a hand softly running across your hair, slowly you woke up. Lifting your head from the bed, rubbing your eyes, you saw a faint smile from the boy covered in bruises.

“Hi Sweetheart,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Eddie,” you breathed out, tears immediately flooding your eyes. “It’s okay, I’m okay. Come here,” he pulled you up onto the bed.

You were careful where you touched, knowing his torso must be sore.

“I thought-“ you began.

“I know baby, I know. But I’m here.”

“I’ve gotta tell Wayne.”

“He already knows, he’s gone to tell the kids. Get a doc.”

“Why’d you let me sleep?”

“He told me it’s the first time you had in days.”

“Edward.”

“Sweetheart.”

“You’re an idiot! Why would you do that!” you immediately felt angry. He’d left you and Dustin, running back to stop the bats.

“I had to keep you safe.”

“You could have died!”

“But I didn’t.”

“Eddie-“

“I’m okay. Please, can we not fight. Please, I don’t want to fight with you.”

You sighed into his neck, kissing his pulse point. “I love you.”

“I love you too Eds.”

“I’m gonna do better, for you. For us.

Pushing up, you looked at his face, brushing his curls from his face. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m gonna graduate, I’m gonna stop the drugs. Get a job. Get us a place of our own. I’m gonna do better.”

“Oh sweet boy, you’ve already done so much. You don’t need to do better, you’re doing fantastic. Just do one thing for me.”

“Hm?”

“Get better.” You kissed his cheek.

In that moment, Eddie knew he wanted to do all of this. Not just for you, but for him. He wanted to be the best he could. He wanted that life with you.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“Hello!” you called out as you walked into the trailer, sliding your shoes off. Soon followed by your coat. “Sweetheart!” Eddie smiled, walking over to you.

“You look very cheery, what’s up?” you asked. “Can’t I just be happy to see you?” he acted as if he was offended, but he couldn’t remove the grin from his face.

You cocked a brow, “You gonna tell me or not?”

“I got a letter today.”

“And, what did it say?”

“It was from the school.”

Your eyes widened, you’d been waiting on this letter for weeks. Wanting to know if Eddie could graduate or not.

Pulling it out of his back pocket, you took it from his hand, re-opening the envelope. “Oh my god!”

“Oh my god,” he repeated.

“O’Donnell gave you a C+”

“She gave me a C+”

“You’re graduating!” Your arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him tightly. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Couldn’t have done it without you.” You smiled at him, pressing your mouth to his.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Eddie had done what he’d planned too, got himself a job at the local mechanic shop. Along with his music on the side, he was doing good. You had a job too, along with going to college.

You and Eddie had both saved up enough to get a little place of your own. The moving process wasn’t awful, neither of you had loads of stuff. “That’s the last box,” he said.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” you spoke, wrapping your arms around his waist. “We’ve done it now. Wanna back out?”

“Never,” you smiled, kissing his chin.

“Now … unpacking.”

“I bet I can unload the whole kitchen before you’ve even finished your D&D stuff.”

“Oh you’re one.” You went to grab one of the boxed, but Eddies arms wrapped around you, dropping you onto the soft couch. Lips meeting your own.

“What was that for?” you asked.

“I just love you.” Your face flushed at that.

“I love you too.”

“I know.”

“Okay Han Solo, let’s get this place sorted!”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Head rested on top of yours, you and Eddie sat in bed. He was reading The Lord of The Rings to you - again. “I love this,” you said against his chest, kissing one of his scars.

“Hm?”

“Our simple little life. I love it. Being with you is my favourite thing.”

“It’s mine too. I want it to be us all the time.”

“It will be Eds.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So uhm, you’d go with me to the fires of Mordor?” he asked, cheeky grin on his face.

“I’d follow you anywhere.”

“And I’d follow you. I’d also marry you, but uh will you marry me?”

You lifted your head from his chest, now seeing he’d put the book down, a ring in his hand instead. The ring was beautiful, it looked like winding vines, holding a stunning green agate stone in the centre.

“Oh Eds-“

“I love you. I want to spend my life with you, I want to be with you through the ups and downs. We’ve been through so much together, I never want that to change. So my sweet, beautiful girl. Will you marry me?”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Thank you so much for reading!

Please leave any requests 🤍

[louisrarepairfest]

LOUIS RARE PAIR FEST 2024

A rare pair fest for all Louis Tomlinson rare pairs! Thank you to all of this year's amazing writers! Please remember to leave kudos and comments on these rare pair fics if you read and enjoy them! We'll be back in 2025 for another round! And a massive thank you to all of the rare pair readers as well!

M A S T E R P O S T

🫐 I regret you all the time by @disgruntledkittenface

[E, 3k, Louis/William Prince of Wales, fic post]

Louis’ friends don’t understand, and they wouldn’t even if he explained. But every time William texts, Louis drops everything to go see him.

🫐 I'm the Big Fish by @lululawrence

[NR, 5k, Louis/Pedro Pascal, fic post]

Pedro laughed with the man in front of him who… oh god. Was that Oscar Isaac? Louis wasn’t going to survive if he was left in this room with those two for long. He should probably make his exit, except then Pedro started doing some sort of freestyle it looked like while Oscar cheered him on. Louis couldn’t help but chuckle and was trying to hide his smile as he watched on when Pedro turned and looked directly at Louis, freezing when he did so. After an awkward moment at a party Louis wasn't actually invited to, Louis keeps running into the incredibly attractive Pedro Pascal. Somehow, it's Pedro who manages to make a fool of himself, causing Louis to grow increasingly more confused at his behavior while also feeling more drawn to him. Maybe someday they'll be able to manage a moment that doesn't end in one of them feeling the need to run from the room in order to escape the other.

🫐 Glitz, Glammer, Top Hats, Cigars and Suits by @rockstarlwt28

[NR, 3k, Louis/Yungblud (Dominic Harrison), fic post]

Based in the 1920s - Alternate Universe. When Isla found a love for the melody formed by a strumming of strings, Louis didn't expect to fall equally in love with his daughter’s guitar teacher, Dominic Harrison.

🫐 Spirits by itsraininginengland / @ilovellama14

[E, 4k, Louis/Oscar Isaac, fic post]

A one shot set in and Edwardian music hall. Prompt from and written for the Louis rarepair fest. This was a challenge and a pleasure to write. Edwardian music hall performer Louis Tomlinson meets the newest act in the show, the American magician Oscar Isaac. Romance, smut and a seance ensue. Also featuring best friend wing man Harry Styles.

🫐 Ci Ci Leu by persephoneflouwers

[M, 3k, Louis & Louis' band/crew, fic post]

Written for the prompt «bread van fic reimagined with all the guys in Louis’ band».

🫐 That's Happiness To Me by @louislittletomlintum

[E, 24k, Zayn/Liam/Louis, fic post]

“Seems we’ve got a little conundrum on our hands,” Louis murmured into Zayn’s ear, feeling his hands settle back on his waist and pressing a little closer. “Mm. Seems we do,” Zayn responded, and Louis liked to think his voice was at least a bit intrigued.Louis’ mind was whirring. He’d wanted to try and get with Liam tonight, but now a new, better idea was forming. Getting Liam with Zayn, if possible, would be something of a dream come true. It would maybe blow Liam’s tiny brain, but sometimes you had to make sacrifices for good things to happen. “Do you wanna try pull him together?” Louis asked Zayn curiously, grinning against his skin when he felt his hands grip tighter.

🫐 It’s a Craving Not a Crush by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28

[E, 9k, Louis/Liam, fic post]

All around him, his coworkers have started pulling out their chosen lunches. And Liam does the same, reaching down to the backpack at his feet and pulling out the Tupperware of leftover spaghetti he’d packed this morning. When he sets it on the table he notices a little neon pink post it note on the lid that he didn’t remember being there before. Written on the note in messy scrawl it says: Have a wonderful day husband! Can’t wait to suck you off when you get home!! XOXO -Lou. Liam feels his face go bright red again as he hastily rips off the note and crumples it in his fist. He glances around the table, but thankfully no one seems to be paying him any attention. They’re all wrapped up in their own food items or listening to whatever their boss is talking about. (Or the one where Liam and Louis are best bros who end up getting married so that Liam has the insurance he needs to go to rehab. Now that he’s sober, they can get divorced. But do they want to?)

🫐 I want yesterdays love by edensrose / @holdingthornsandroses

[M, 4k, Louis/Dev Patel, fic post]

“We’re going on holiday before the term starts again,” Oli announces in their kitchen the day after the art opening. Louis looks up from his cereal bowl.“Who is we?” “I’ve rented us a cottage near the beach. Me, you, Calvin, Rick, and Dev.” Louis makes a noncommittal noise but can’t deny his heartbeat racing at the mention of Dev.

🫐 i tell myself i'm done with wicked games by haveufoundwhaturlookingfor / @sup3rbloom

[T, 5k, Louis/Michael Clifford, fic post]

Omegaverse: Alpha Louis has never questioned who he is, a strong, loving Alpha who defies stereotypes. When he meets Michael, a beta, he certainly doesn't expect to fall for him (and hard).

🫐 No More Days Alone by @signofcomfort

[M, 6k, Louis/Isaac Anderson, fic post]

Isaac finds himself lost amidst the tour but Louis is always there to find him.

🫐 To start again by @loretheloner

[E, 27k, Louis/Michael Blackwell, fic post]

Louis finds himself slowly falling for a bandmate again, despite Oli's warnings against it. Michael finds himself slowly falling for his boss and fighting against the ghost of Louis' past relationship. They find a way to start again. Or a canon compliant story that follows Michael and Louis from the summer of 2019 to June of 2024. Written for prompt SS of the Louis Rare Pair Fest 2024.

🫐 Snouts and Stouts by @turnyourankle

[T, 3k, Louis/Greg James, fic post]

A dog friendly brewery and a canine bakery should be a match made in heaven, shouldn't it? At a yearly canine festival, Louis discovers that Clifford has a thing for a certain bakery's treats.

🫐 I've drowned and dreamt this moment by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

[T, 2k, Louis/Zayn, fic post]

There has been a rivalry between them since they were young. Since the very start of their careers. It’s always been Louis and Zayn, the ones to watch. The ones to do battle and ultimately share the podium. They push each other to be better, is what the world says. They hate each other, is what Zayn and Louis say. And it all comes to a head in Val d’Argenton.

🫐 Countdown by @allwaswell16

[M, 2k, Louis/Tommy Shelby, fic post]

Tommy Shelby, pack alpha of the Peaky Blinders, has taken notice of The Garrison Pub’s new barmaid, an omega named Louis. A prequel to One

🫐 Flying Over on My Own Tonight by @haztobegood

[E, 1k, Louis/Jack Cochrane, fic post]

Louis is on his way to Monterrey, Mexico, where he'll headline Tecate P’al Norte music festival for the first time. A text from Jack makes the flight a bit more interesting.

[utilitycaster]

to elaborate on Indri and cross over a bit into Critical Role's current plot (spoilers for both WBN and CR):

Indri, Witch of the Wind and Stars, embodies a domain of the self, independence, and self-sufficiency. She lives at the north pole in a beautiful castle surrounded by an immensely hostile environment.

In the current arc, and specifically in the current episode, she has engineered a plot to dismiss the domain of the World's Heart, the seat on the Coven of Elders pertaining to community, humanity, and connection, held by Ame (Erika's PC). Such a dissolution of the domain would mean the death of Ame, its recently ascended witch.

Ame is able to save herself and her seat thanks to the help of her friends, particularly Suvi's (Aabria's PC) knowledge and intelligence gathering and Eursulon's (Lou's PC) fluency in the language of spirits. Through this group effort, as well as other adventures that put the coven's founder, Hakea, Witch of the Wandering Green, on their side, they learn that the coven cannot end their gathering with only four remaining witches lest the covenant that created it be dissolved.

It comes out in the final meeting that one of the other witches, Mirara, didn't know that destroying Ame would destroy the coven, and Hakea realizes that the plan was actually to also get rid of Mirara, leaving a coven of 3. Ame smooths this all over before it turns into actual violence by pointing out that perhaps Indri's intention was to inaugurate new witches (which they can do); but a crucial nat 20 insight reveals to her that Indri, in pursuing the power of unanimity within the coven (and perhaps leaning in too hard to her role) had intended to whittle the coven down to one: herself. She was possibly behind the more recent dissolving of two other seats. But Ame keeps that insight to herself, and Indri does recover as best she can and at least outwardly behave with all the generosity and kindness of a host and equal towards Ame from there on out, acknowledging the kindness Ame showed her and the debt she owes.

Brennan outright says it on the fireside: this confrontation ends because Ame has a bunch of friends and companions and is good with people and gains the support they provide. It also ends with the ancient, powerful, experienced witch of self-sufficiency needing to be rescued by the nascent, level 3 witch of community.

I think this is really helpful too in understanding why Ludinus Da'leth is such an unsympathetic figure. Matt said he found connection "beneath him". King Imathan Talviel of Uthodurn said he seemed stuck in the past and would not share his gifts nor engage in the community of Molaesmyr other than to heckle the priests. Ludinus himself doesn't say he was abused or pressured by those around him in his youth to follow the gods, only "told"; while this could be understatement, at least as told it seems as though he took other people's choice to find meaning in something he despised as a personal attack. The Cerberus Assembly is famously a nest of backstabbing strivers and its members don't care for him. The Vanguard is similar; Otohan thought little of him (and he of her), as does Zathuda, and while Liliana says he trusts her, she has her own doubts and Ludinus has said little of her other than to dangle her before Imogen. Essek, 7 years ago, told him to try making friends and he does not appear to have listened, and then, when he approaches Bells Hells (already a group hostile to him, due to him trying to feeblemind, attack, kill, and otherwise thwart them repeatedly) he acts as if he's doing them a favor and refuses to answer their questions, take responsibility for any of his actions, or give credit where due.

I suspect Indri will continue to be an antagonist and that some of her behavior is a front, but she is, at least, able to admit that she faltered and Ame did her an undeserved kindness, and in doing so she appears at least a little sympathetic. Ludinus's refusal to make any sort of connection to others seems to have left him utterly miserable within inches of a near-millennium-long goal. He's asking Bells Hells, people he's wronged in horrible and life-changing ways, to grant him a gift he seems to have scorned and rejected for his entire life; at least Indri recognized a freely offered one she did not particularly deserve for what it was. At some point, you do run out of chances.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Ep3 Musings - Claudia & Louis (Spoilers)

I'm still teary & choked up while typing this. SUPER emotional episode. It's incredible how much they packed into one ep, too! But the second half of the ep was BY FAR the most emotionally impactful IMO. Jacob's acting is just WAY too good; he had me choking up something fierce.

Louis taking pictures of his food for no effing reason like all the social media girlies do; I love it.

Louis STILL tryna be Claudia's knight in vengeful black. U_U But just like before when he tried to save her from Lestat, he can't save her from Bruce or the Theatre or even his own eff-ups. DANG. 😔

YES YOU DO. If you wanna keep pestering her about trauma she doesn't want to think/speak about, then be prepared for the consequences.

AMC, you GOTTA kill Bruce on-screen for us, either in QotD during all the Burnings, or during the PL trilogy (Killer's death was GNARLY).

LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER ALMOST CRYING RIGHT THERE. God's strongest soldier, she's suffered more than Christ, JUSTICE FOR CLAUDIA. All rapists deserve the death penalty, IDGAF.

Understatement of the century.

I CACKLED at that literal DEMON TIMING. Armand was already AT the door while y'all were concocting your lies! Then he just strolls on in, uninvited! 😭

BULLSH!TE. Not that it matters, since vamps have SUPER-HEARING and can READ MINDS, you morons! Pack your bags and go back to America RIGHT NOW. 💀💀💀

Louis, beloved, bless your heart, but if you don't take your garbage attempts at lying back to NOLA and stop playing with this ANCIENT immortal dressed in all white like the effing BOSS PIMP you USED to be.....

Alpha DADDY Maitre Armand Sir, I take back every bottom Uke Omega joke I ever said about you~! 😍

Yeah, about all that.... 😬

Aaaaannnnnd THIS is where you effed up, Claudia.

And Armand heard the WHOLE THING. 😭

Look at her FACE. 😭😭😭😭

They KNEW she hated being treated as a child, and they KNEW her time was numbered cuz she lied about breaking their Great Laws, so they DELIBERATELY made the "Baby LouLou" role to humiliate her, and EXPLOITED her image to bring in extra revenue (how many BLACK actresses did they ever have in their coven/stage? ZERO); all while KNOWING they were gonna kill her and Louis ASAP.

I hate this Theatre coven with ever fibre of my being, Maitre.

Excellent point, Louis. Cuz I noticed in Ep2 that their apartment is kind of crappy--I assumed it was cheap & low class cuz of the tenants all being college students & sex workers, and I noticed a bunch of chipped paint everywhere; on the doors & walls.

They're slumming it in a studio, sleeping in the living room, as neither has their own room & she has to use a Murphy Bed. Major step below 1132; the exact opposite of how book!Claudia & Lou lived in Parisian opulence--highlighting my point that AMC!Claudia got NOTHING out out being a vampire.

But it's also pointing out how Louis covers all the cracks--in his MIND, in the lies he tells himself, just to live with the glaring problems he desperately wants to cover up & deny.

I'm finna yeet myself out the nearest window.

This is SO bizarre, cuz in this version Lou KNOWS Lestat's not really dead! In the book Lou set him on FIRE. So ofc he'd think Les was really dead. But here it makes no sense why he's carrying all this guilt!

Armand knew Lou & Claudia LIED, sure--but he SHOULD know Lestat's still ALIVE--he's probably chained up in the Theatre basement in one of those friggin "wet room burial vaults!"

THANK YOU.

The guilt is out of control. Louis, if Les couldn't tell you loved him after ALL OF THAT, then he's a effing fool who neither understands nor deserves you. Now go chop his d**k off!

Is that what you tell yourself when DreamStat's in bed with you every night? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I haven't seen mental trauma treated so well in Horror media since Senua's Sacrifice; this is incredible. 👏

Lou, give yourself a bit more credit--you're doing the best you can! :( Even if your best is an entire travesty. U_U

NOBODY TALK TO ME!

Just when I thought she was having a breakthrough, she doubles down on thinking Lestat lied to them about Europe being terrible. 🤦

(The way Lou clutches his pearls like he's having a heart attack--STOP it, ma'am~! 👌) And YES, you should've told her that you folded and spilled the beans to Armand and that she was walking into a trap, WTF!?! 😡

Jacob, your GirlDad is showing; PLEASE have mercy on us! 😭

EMMYS. 👏 GRAMMYS. 👏 OSCARS. 👏 TONYS. 👏

[blacclotusss]

I Could Not Prevent It

Claudia

Ah...the death of the vampiress Claudia...the day I have been dreading since...season one if I'm being quite honest with you. Before all of the murder plotting in episodes six and seven, before things went downhill halfway through episode 4, and before she even appeared on screen for the first time. My Claudia...my babygirl. When I learned about this show, I looked up all the characters and what happens to them, and it made me nervous that she was a child and would die in such a painful way. But, when I saw that she was aged up and would be Black, as her Daddy Lou would be as well, I was immediately protective of her and wanted nothing but the best. There was this delusional thought I had that maybe they would change the course of her fate and she'd be able to live as she deserves, but at every corner she turned, there was something else lurking and waiting to capture her; from her being turned, to Charlie, to Lestat and his nonsense, to Bruce, and all the way up to Armand and the Coven. Even before she was brought into Louis and Lestat's lives, the life she lived was one no person, let alone child, should ever have to go through. And then, she comes into this situation where the both of these men are turning her against her will for their own selfish reasons. I've always felt that way: Louis wanted something to fix after blaming himself for the riots and Lestat didn't want to lose Louis. Period. But, Claudia made the best out of her situation and was brilliant and defiant, doing her own thing despite what many told her she should do or act like. All the way up until her last moments in the flesh on Earth, she never backed down. And I absolutely love her for that, always will love her. She is such an amazingly written character in this show and I hope to see Delainey in so much more after this! 

The Trial

If this makes me seem biased, so be it, but none of what happened during that trial that came out of Lestat's mouth moved me. He knew exactly what he came there to do, but wants to get caught up in the moment and emotions when retelling the story. Goodbye! And for him to sit there a try to reveal "the truth" about what happened also did nothing for me. Lestat still had a part in everything that happened, EVERYTHING. That changes nothing! The retelling of the story was shit and so was that so-called apology because how can you apologize to him and not her? You put that girl through so much, verbally and physically abusing her. Asked if she would be a lap dog, let your mistress call her a dog, put your hands on her more than once, and threw her assault up in her face when she was trying to escape. Where is her apology? And had the audacity to look like that as she died. Save the tears and as Louis said "Fuck you!" Y'all can let that move you and have you kissing his feet if you want, but it changes nothing. He's still a piece of scum watched her die as she looked to him for help (Delainey's words) with tears like you didn't come here to watch her die. 

And this whole trial had such a racist undertone to it, from the descriptions to the depictions on screen. It just gave me "Hey look at the Black people provoking this white man to make him do these things." Literally everything, down to the cutting of the Achilles tendons, the way they treated Madeleine versus Louis and Claudia, etc. Just a tragedy all around. 

The final goodbye between Louis and Claudia...my God. It's the way that they didn't have a great greeting (that turning moment was not pretty, either version) and they only had a small moment of happiness between them before they were pulled apart. I already knew Louis was lying when he said in the previous episode that he did not feel anything when she left, but seeing them grab for each other (as well as his demeanor when speaking about her in Dubai) told me they loved each other; they've always loved each other. Yes, they butt heads, but you could always feel the love between them and I hate that they didn't get a proper departure. Lastly, my favorite moments in this episode were between Claudia and Madeleine. Madeleine being so out of it, to the point of not even understanding what was going on until the end, and still choosing to be with Claudia. Oh the waterworks! I'm so glad Claudia had someone that was all in with and for her before her demise. She, and the audience at home, was finally able to see and know what a Gothic romance is. This is immortal and eternal love between those that care and understand one another. I absolutely bawled when the both of them met the Sun and I don't think we'll ever see something so pure like that in this genre. I'll miss them both. And Louis...blow that theatre to pieces! 

Armand

Now you sir...what the hell are we going to do with you? I just...the man barely said anything this episode and he still managed to get under my skin. How strong are these vampires that you, the oldest one in the bunch and most powerful, cannot move nor prevent this from happening? Or did he really want her gone like I suspected he did last week? My money is definitely on the latter because he would have Louis all to himself and that seems like the goal with these men Louis cuddles up to. And he said Sam was guarding the gate, and no offense to Sam, but I'm sure Armand would be able to take him. But, what really got me was Sam was also seen helping put Louis in the coffin down stairs so what's the truth Armand? I guess we'll have to wait until next week. But, I did want to circle back to the racism, but in the fandom and not the show because I'm noticing the same pattern between everyone's reactions to the show. Y'all are on Armand's neck (warranted) for his role in this whole thing, but let the white man waltz on stage and let those tears fall and y'all are falling for it. I saw a video from a creator today, along with other tweets, calling Louis a master manipulator and how they'd known how evil he had been all this time. What? There's no way we're all watching the same show, not when you've come to that conclusion. There is zero consideration for Louis' feelings and thoughts at all. Y'all let your attraction to white cock cloud your judgement every time and it's sick to see. I hope you have no friends or family that have gone through anything like that because I'd steer very clear from you all.  

Season One Revisits

As I expected before the trailers dropped, there were two season one revisits in this episode. However, I don't feel as strongly about them as I thought I would and maybe it's because I overly analyzed those scenes before this. To me, the Claudia turning scene showed Louis' desperation for something to make him feel better after blaming himself for the riots. Him begging and pleading on his knees simply fueled just how broken he was. The most chilling part, however, was him dragging her like a child running around the house with a doll in tow. It's as if Claudia was his property, and you can even see that with him wanting her turned in the first place. With the episode five revisit, it didn't  change anything for me at all. I took it as Louis simply defending his child as was shown in season one and Lestat losing his temper and going overboard. He still had the upper hand and he knew it, he admitted it himself. It just feels like they brought it back up for no reason...why are we having Louis retell this again? He's already said what it was and how he felt. There was no reason for him to relive these memories once again in such a short span of time. I get it was for the plot, but at what cost? How many times do we need to hear the abused recount their abuse? 

[mabelstone]

Love Language

matt stone x reader

part three of handsome stranger <3

masterlist ✧˖°.

word count: 1.5k

cw: incredibly cheesy, gushy, sweet, slow sex... dare i say love making

note: if you've read/watched me before you, i keep imagining the female character in this with Lou's sort of charisma and fashion sense, minus the bright outward colours. like, very gentle and happy, lots of layers. just very cute.

***

You'd spent most of your evenings with Matt throughout Autumn. It was approaching mid November and there were certainly no shortcomings in the affection department. You'd come to learn his love language was words of affirmation and acts of service. He'd learned yours was physical touch.

He'd often show up with flowers or little treats he'd picked up on his way home from work. Once, he bought you a portable heater when you were struggling to acclimate to the very different Autumn than you were used to.

"It's fall," he'd correct you, kissing your forehead while you rolled your eyes.

This time you'd shown up to his place bundled up with a white fluffy scarf he'd picked out for you. It just made me think of you, he'd simply shrugged it off after you'd thanked him a hundred times. You wore a fluffy coat over a collared burgundy dress with white hearts printed over it, with black stockings underneath, something you'd grown accustomed to wearing everyday in the cold weather of New York. When you arrived, two coffees were waiting on the counter. He'd never drink his until you were there.

"Hey, pretty girl," he'd beam at you when you walked in, leaning against the balcony rails with a cigarette burning between his fingers. You stumbled out toward him, being engulfed in his warm embrace within seconds. The cigarette smoke didn't bother you anymore. It'd become almost a comfort, the smell sometimes lingering on your clothes, a welcomed remnant of the nights you shared.

After weeks of spending your time together, you still hadn't slept with him. It wasn't as if you weren't sexually attracted to him; by God, you were. You were just enjoying taking it slow for once. With Matt, time felt infinite, yet as if it were slipping through your fingers like sand. You were so enamoured by one another that you just wanted to consume each other, fusing each and every atom to his, merging into one synonymous being.

He was the whole package. Externally, sure, he was nothing short of breathtaking. Painfully handsome, tall, captivating. But him. The Matthew you'd grown so familiar with; expressive, gentle, warm, every nice word you could use to describe one's nature. He understood you. He was funny, tentative, and honestly treated you better than anyone ever had. Your dating history, with the douche bags in Australia, was... less than admirable.

"How'd your meeting go?" You smiled sweetly over your shared cups of coffee, your hands thawing around the hot mug and occasionally, between his hands.

"Good, meant my day finished early." He released your hand, stepping up from the couch to open the fridge. "So I had time to make you something." He grinned over at you, beckoning you over with the tilt of his head.

You giggled to yourself but followed after regardless. "Is that?-"

"Golden syrup dumplings," he mimicked your accent terribly, his smile just as wide as yours. "You said you missed your mom and she'd always make them for you so... a little bit of your home in my home."

You beamed before him, cheeks beginning to hurt from your unwavering smile. "You..." You leaned up to kiss him, grin impossibly growing against his lips. All you could do was shake your head incredulously, looking up at him with crows feet crinkling beside your eyes. "No one's ever been so thoughtful." Truthfully, you could've cried from just how sweet he was, but of course, you couldn't be too soft in front of him.

"It's just food," he brushed it off as he usually did, as if this were the most normal thing to do for someone. "Well, go on. Try it."

"It's usually served hot, but I'll let it slide," you joked, taking a spoonful into your mouth.

"So? The verdict?" He watched you intently, his eyes sparkling like a little kid in a lolly shop. "Good as mom's?"

You groaned exaggeratedly, grabbing him by the face.

"Better than mum's," you kissed him again, sighing into him. His arms snaked around you autonomously, your own draping around the back of his neck. He pulled you in closer, your fronts flush against one another. His hands travelled to your hips as he deepened the kiss, yours travelling the expanse of his neck and shoulders. "Bedroom?" You requested softly against his lips, Matt nodding before kissing you once more, taking your hand in his, leading you to his bed.

He sat down, pulling you to straddle his lap, peppering kisses along your neck and collarbones. You purred in his lap, craning your neck to give him better access. Your cheeks heated as you felt him harden against you, that welcome warmth glowing inside your stomach.

"Beautiful," he murmured against your skin, nimble fingers effortlessly unzipping the back of your dress. You stood with his hands in yours, allowing the soft cotton to slip off your shoulders, left to pool around your ankles. He stood too, allowing you to help him strip his shirt off. Your hands roamed his chest, his skin the most inviting warmth to your freezing digits. You helped him slip of his pants, too, both of you standing in your underwear.

To be fair, this was quite unusual for you. A newly introduced intimacy of soft touch and whispered praises. Nothing you'd ever experienced, yet it was the most comfortable you'd ever felt in a sexual manner. Few words were shared, yet there seemed to be a perfectly coherent conversation unfolding between you both that couldn't be translated into a spoken language.

This time you climbed into bed, pulling him on top of you. He was swift with connecting his lips to your skin again, clearly wanting as much of you as he could get. The feeling was unmistakably mutual. You leaned forward slightly, unclipping your bra before slipping it onto the floor. He marvelled over the sight before him, taking all of you in. You guided a hand of his to cup your breast, feeling your nipple harden under his touch. He palmed it with one, the other holding his weight above you. You snaked a gentle hand down to palm him through his briefs, your thread of patience thinning by the second. "Please," your voice was barely above a whisper, the dim light from the kitchen leaking into the room, bathing his body in an ethereal glow.

He nodded, kissing you tenderly before reaching into his bedside dresser and pulling out a bottle of lube. You helped one another discard your underwear, for the first time, no layer of clothing obstructing the feel of the others skin.

How could you gently tell him the lube wouldn't be necessary? One swipe of his finger across your heat delivered the message for you. He almost whimpered softly, watching the way your eyebrows furrowed slightly and your lashes swept across your cheekbones, eyes fluttering opening periodically to meet his gaze as he gently gathered your slick on his fingers.

His eyes met yours once more, a flash of uncertainty, soon extinguished by your smile and nod of approval.

Slowly, he slid himself in, inch by heavenly inch, lacing one of his hands with your own. He let out a deep, drawn out groan, a beautiful harmonisation with the mewl he pulled from you. Your stomach tightened instantaneously, those beautiful butterflies swarming in your lower abdomen as shocks of electricity pulsed through your nerve endings.

Soft breaths exchanged as he slid in and out effortlessly, your hands cradling his beautiful jaw. With each thrust, a gentle hum of appraisal slipping into the shared air between you; the most angelic sounds either of you had ever heard.

This was different than anything you'd ever shared with someone. Tender, premeditated movements, solely focused on making each other feel good. You kissed slow and gently, lips moving in perfect synchronicity.

"You're perfect," he breathed, lips ghosting along your collarbones as he continued to sink himself deeper into you.

Your eyes fluttered shut as you seemingly gained consciousness for the first time in your existence. The feel of his warm, soft skin of his unclothed body against yours, his soft lips brushing yours periodically; barely exchanging words beside his gentle praises and your pretty whimpers and breaths. You were completely aware of your every nerve ending, feeling all of his length delve in and out of your heat, filling you more than perfectly.

"Matt," your words were delicate as they lingered in the space between your mouths, soon buried beneath soft pants as the coil of pleasure within both of your cores began unwinding. You breathed him in, every sense of yours heightening.

He delivered his final slow but deep strokes, losing himself too as you pulsated around him, waves of euphoric pleasure pummelling you in his embrace. You both came down from your highs together, foreheads touching, fingers intertwined.

He gently pulled out, laying beside you, pulling you against his chest. You listened to his slowly steadying heartbeat, a nonchalant calmness you often felt in his presence dispersing through your bloodstream.

"Was this all just a ploy to get me into bed with you?" You lifted your head to face him, an amused grin playing on both of your flushed lips.

"No... but I think now I have another reason to bake desserts for you."

[strawbrygashez]

I read a bunch of soapshipping fanfics today and I love how so many of them give Tyler actual flaws and treat him more human than he ‘actually is’ in the movie and…I wanna share some hcs i have that make Tyler ‘not perfect’ as well. I get the point that in the movie Tyler was supposed to have none bc the narrator needs to drool over him & see him as godlike but whatever. That man has issues. You can especially see this during when he was going Joker mode when he was getting beat up by Lou. Anyways this is going under a cut bc it’s long

————————————————————————

• I’ll start with the out with one that’s most common which is that Tyler is soooo bad at sharing how he’s feeling or being super heartfelt. The only person he even tells his true deep emotions to is the narrator after they’ve been together for a while. I feel like he would be that way due to how he was raised and or trauma. Getting him to admit to feeling uncomfortable is hard too. He wants to come off confident all the time so he will just smile at whatever is thrown at him even if it’s making him upset or anything like that. Also of course he has a hard time expressing how just deeply in love he is with the narrator and how much he cares about him. (Which causes problems for them both but they work thru it. Nothing could keep the narrator away from Tyler at the end of the day.)

He wouldn’t admit it but I think maybe he also resents himself for not being able to say certain things easier. He knows he hurts the narrator sometimes when he’s not saying ‘the right things’ and he genuinely doesn’t mean to hurt him in that way.

•He can get pretty jealous. Not like how the narrator feels like he’s about to kill himself bc someone even glanced at Tyler but like, if Tyler thinks someone is being a little too friendly to narrator or if he thinks the narrator might enjoy being around someone else ‘too much’ he gets all huffy, smiles threateningly, and either interrogates the narrator over ‘what that was’ later or just roughs him up some when they are in private again. He hates the idea so much that the narrator could look up to someone the same way he does Tyler. He has questions going through his mind along the lines of how are they better than him? What does he see in them? Do they make him feel more loved? And etc.

Hypothetically he should know that the narrator would rather die than touch anyone else & that the narrator sees him as a God but,, Tyler is just like that :/

•Ok now for a not widely accepted hc about Tyler. I don’t think he’s that good at writing or reading. He’s not terrible at it but I think he really didn’t give a shit about most things in school besides history. (He could probably give a big whole speech about how bad school systems are)

He doesn’t really care that he’s not that good at either of those things but does get a little embarrassed about it when the narrator points out he spelled something wrong. He will just grumble about “who cares?” or “whatever dipshit.” The narrator doesn’t mind that Tyler’s not the best at it and helps him out when he needs to without picking on him.

•Kinda canon but he’s a act before thinking type of guy in most situations. He prides himself on it for the most part but also there is times where it doesn’t end well for him. He will defend himself about whatever he did ‘wrong’ for a while until he finally is some how able to admit he’s sorry and shouldn’t have done something (only to the narrator. He doesn’t care that much if it’s anyone else that isn’t especially close to him)

•I think he had a self h*rm problem growing up. He doesn’t do it anymore now that he’s older bc he has fight club and whatnot. I think SH helped him come up with FC since he thought physical pain always helps solve mental pain.

He doesn’t hide the old scars since he can blame it on like a ton of different things and people don’t have a reason to doubt him. Like he can say he got them from years of fighting, while running away after getting caught doing stuff he shouldn’t, stuff like that. Sometimes he also just doesn’t lie about it and just says straight up what they are from. It just depends on who and how he feels that day. Like mostly the only ppl who know what they are really from are the narrator & tylers close family and maybe Marla.

Not to be cringe…I know the “he kissed my scars 😢😢” things can be cringe (believe me I would know) but I think Tyler thinks it’s sweet when the narrator does kiss his. The narrator hates that Tyler ever felt like he had to do that (but at the same time is okay with fight club??? Lol) The narrator has stayed up in bed while Tyler is sleeping and just looked at all of them and thought to himself about how Tyler must of felt, why he felt like he had to, and all that.

•My man has some kinda mental illnesses. I couldn’t say what but he just does. He’s a very impulsive man and can become very manic is all I can really say.

•He will get ideas and plans in his head and focus on them a little too hard and it’s hard to pull him out of it. The narrator is really not someone who should be fussing at people for not sleeping but he does anyways. He offers to work out whatever plans or ideas Tyler has while Tyler rests. Sometimes Tyler will let him & sometimes not. If not, the narrator will at least stay close to him so they can talk about whatever is on Tylers mind.

•He actually used to hate his laugh a little when he was a young teen. He got over it after a couple years and now doesn’t give a fuck what others think. He will laugh as loud as he wants in a quiet room if he wants to.

•Going back to that manic thing, I think the narrator can usually calm him down. It especially helps if he’s holding Tyler and pulls him away from whatever has him worked up. Narrator will run his hand up and down Tylers back or just talk to him soothingly. Tyler is usually thankful for it once he’s calmed down.

•Canon-ish again but Tyler can get a bit in over his head with some stuff. He believes he can do just about anything which leads him to getting into situations where he finds out he actually has little to no idea what he’s doing. He had this problem as a teen too like he’d say stuff like “Sure I could fix your fence!!” or just like little odd jobs around the neighborhood and he actually doesn’t have much of a idea what’s going on but It helped him learn how to do all kinds of different things in the long run. He just always finds a way to make things work more often than not in his own ‘Tyler’ way.

•Okay often he really doesn’t genuinely care if someone wants to listen to his speeches/knowledge or not. He likes sharing them since he knows they’ve helped others but he’s been doing that for as long as he can remember even at inappropriate times. Like I dunno, as a kid at a funeral I could see him just telling some random person there about how he knows how bodies decompose, how bodies slowly rot and what each stage looks like. (I think that’s why he loves the narrator. He loves how randomly weird he is as well.)

•He needs attention all on him. He loves it so much and feeds off of it. His favorite kind of attention is from the narrator and he will get snarky and whatever when he feels like he isn’t getting enough from him but also he just thrives off attention from anyone in general. It’s what makes him carry himself so confidently. He knows people are dying for a minute of his time and to be the idealized version of himself he puts off.

•He doesn’t allow himself to cry in front of others. More than likely it’s because of his father saying boys shouldn’t cry or be weak. He knows it’s bullshit deep down but he still holds that mindset for himself. (If another dude is crying like the narrator, he won’t give them much shit for it.)

•My final idea for right now….he hates the doctors and all things like that. He can say a ton of reasons why but the main ones are he just feels super uncomfortable at places like that because either 1. He doesn’t want them going on about how bad his or the narrators health is & being really worried for them and questioning them.. or 2. He just finds it hard to be as snarky or smart to ‘em. They all don’t usually fall for his bs unless they are a part of fight club or project mayhem.

[stygianoaths]

Luke Castellan and his team of godkillers but they don't kill with weapons stained with ichor, but with the illusive Mist that warps the mind of mortals so easily, it shakes their faith.

In eons past, these mortals revered the Olympians with offerings and prayers daily, told their stories that inspired fear and awe all the same. It was something the pantheon had gotten hooked on, something more addicting than the ambrosia and nectar the texts had waxed poetry over. And the council of twelve did their damn best to keep it around. After all, there was no other high out there that can compare to the feeling of being in control, of being powerful.

But like any high, it wears off, sooner or later.

So that's exactly what happens.

Alabaster C. Torrington, with the help of Dr. Claymore, "discovers" new texts that discuss Greek gods that have never been heard of before; gods who are kinder, wiser, more trustworthy, than the ones everyone has come to know in this era.

It's interesting, how the origins of these gods and their lives seem to have no relevance or connection to the other pantheon and its history. No Titanomachy or Gigantomachy to speak of. There are a few parallels, but they are pleasant, like the love stories of Dionysus and Ariadne or Pygmalion and Galatea. Otherwise, it's like an alternate timeline of its own, where every god present is named a god for a reason.

It's fake.

But the mortals don't need to know that. For what's false, if persisted in, would become true anyways. Furthermore, it isn't like a new pantheon will harm any of them. The lucky ones with clear sight may win the heart of a deity who would actually see them beyond their fleeting mortality, who would care for them.

It takes a while, though, for the mortals to adjust to this suddenly newfound information. They are stubborn creatures, Luke knows, who tend to fear the unknown and new. Yet the youth crave it like bears after a beehive laden with honey. With time, they'll come around, he knows. Maybe he might not be there to see if the plans work out for himself, but someone would, and that's all that matters to him. He just needed to be the one to start the movement.

Luckily for him, he doesn't have to wait too long.

The faith spreads through idealized modernized takes on the mythology, as silly as it sounds. It's very of the era, isn't it? Books are being published on these gods who endure hardships and come out irrevocably changed but for the better. Ethan flips through one by an author under the pen name S.J and devours it in three hours. It reads nicely and he wonders when he'll get a chance to meet the main character of the story, and ask her if the myth holds true. It is, obviously, but it's different hearing it from a god. The fanfictions are even better, but Lou Ellen Blackstone gets drowned out by Alabaster's "lalalalala" before she can start talking about the recent one that was updated a few hours ago. Eh, so what if it's a little spicy?

Nonetheless, the new band of believers grows, and it's like a sucker punch to the gut for the Greek pantheon.

Apollo comes to camp and drops to his knees before his own cabin, surprising the campers. He looks terrible. Dionysus had already looked miserable, but the children attributed that to his sour personality. And, as usual, no one noticed the girl by the hearth who had disappeared weeks ago. But Apollo, golden boy Apollo, well, he has eyes that are sunken and sickly yellow, matted hair, muscles shrunk, and hands that shake as if they are beyond his control.

"They're killing us," he whispers to Lee Fletcher, "all of us."

"What do you want us to do?" Lee asks. Apollo coughs into his fist and looks down to see a smear of gold staining it.

A nosebleed. Gods don't get nosebleeds.

His children, gods bless them, are trying to heal him, but to no avail. It's kind of funny, how on any other occasion, such an act would have been annoying. If the solution was to simply heal, don't you think he would have tried that? But, weak as he was, he felt touched. Loved, even.

But love wasn't always enough to save another. He, of all gods, should know that.

"Can you write?" he asks. Lee scratches his head.

"Write?"

"Stories. Poems. Songs. Anything."

"Um, no, not really. Dyslexia kicks my ass, and you know archery is more my thing. But Will does sometimes. Healing is his forte, but I always see him writing something in a notebook, though that could just be medical notes, now that I think about it-"

Apollo disregards that last part and begs Will Solace to take up the pen and fight back. It's their last hope. If nothing is done, this camp and its children will become all that is left of the Greek Pantheon, for textbooks and website links are not enough to keep the faith going, especially if left to collect dust or rot in an archive.

"Write us new myths. Stories that can happen now, that we can make happen. Redeem us, so that we can live. We'll do it. We'll do any of it," Apollo begs.

"Anything?" Will asks. Apollo nods.

"Anything."

The Fates looked at each other from above. How time has changed. In the past, battles were fought with swords. Now, they had to be fought with words.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 47 - Indie

It is cute to see that indie is still friends with all the people he met during his adolescence.

Cough-cough. Unlike certain other people.

His and Kerubim's life stories are in direct opposition. If one of them ever spoke of their childhood, chances are, the other one would be like, "You have no parents? Well MINE was controlling so you have it better, WET-NOSE" or "You had a shit parent? WELL, AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T HAVE HIM DIE IN FRONT OF YOU WHEN YOU WERE 5."

No wonder they hate each other's asses.

Though, it is funny how both of them had fathers who had always acted like no matter what they do, they will never be good enough.

It's a shame we hadn't seen these friends of Lou's during the series. They have nice designs, especially the yellow one.

Not a Jurgen-Crepin food moment, but this might be useful for pinpointing which fruits exist within the setting.

Patafiks is so funny to me, like... Guys there are 5.5 characters in the animated shows who are canonically queer in some way. One of them fucking sucks, one of them dies within the 20 minutes of being introduced, the 0.5 of them is Kerubim Crepin's ambiguous gender dysphoria, the normal two are Simone and Julie, and the last one is a dogboy yandere (who briefly dated("dated") Kerubim Crepin).

We live in a society.

Indie talks about Kerubim the same way I talk about him on this blog. We are so alike...

Insert "this bitch always starting shit" meme here.

Even though Ouginaks and Ecaflips both follow the same god, — albeit his different sides, — this perfectly showcases the difference in ideology that makes them hate one another.

While Ecaflips are all about mysticism, destiny, prophetising, and simply letting the current flow, Ouginaks are all about making their destiny.

Though I will be real, considering the things Ecaflip puts his demigods through, — like the, uh, son leaderboard within his dimension, or his treatment of Kerubim, (and his hatred of women, I guess, since there is no daughter leaderboard?) — as well as the Ecaflip City and its Ecaflip Psychward, I think his two personalities are more alike than we are led to believe.

It's just that the kitty personality has more glitz, and is better at masking being just as sadistic.

This line really puts how long they've known each other into perspective. God.

It also makes me think hard about the tendency of Ankama to not make distinct visual designs for characters aging, — like in Waven. Despite 30 years having passed between season 1 of Wakfu, and the start of Waven, characters like Miranda and Kabrok still look exactly the same.

I had always associated young Kerubim's design with the age range of 19-30 at best, but who's to say he can't, in this episode, be in his 40s-50s? How many years did he and Lou live together for? And how large is the gap of that unaccounted for part of Kerubim's life, the one that he never opens up about, after Lou had left him?

...I think I hauve covid.

Y'know what, I think I will be insane for a minute, and say this:

Joris, Atcham, and Kerubim really are like platonic soulmates. It feels like every single thing in their lives somehow rhymes, — like every single step they took simply brought them close to the inevitable conclusion of being together.

Sure, whatever, just tell me things like "Atcham knew, and worked with Julith, and they had a pretty amicable relationship", "Yeah Kerubim and Indie rescued the Ivory Dofus that would one day lead to Joris's birth, and then would lead to his orphanhood", "Yeah Kerubim has always wanted to be a father, and felt a certain way about kids being orphaned the same way he was", "Yeah Atcham and Kerubim went to the same war where Julith and Jahash fell in love and were probably their seconds-in-command."

Tell me that. Expect me to be normal about it. I promise I won't disappoint you.

Anyway,

I always found it very interesting that, despite becoming the Champion of Bonta, it was not Indie who went to that war, but Kerubim.

Perhaps Indie was long happily retired by that point, — perhaps he veered from adventuring into archaeology, for his museum, — while Kerubim was old, with no friends, and not much to live for anymore.

It probably was a self-destruction thing, in the "Atcham, and The Butcher of Brakmar herself, will be there. I'm so bored, and tired... It will be poetic if I defeat them, or die trying to. Then I'll be a legend. Also, there are a lot of people at wars, maybe one of them will be friendly to me :3" way.

World of Twelve heroes are always doing this shit. 💀 though considering he can't die, this isn't even suicidal ideation. It's ideation-ideation. God.

Despite everything, Kerubim does care about Indie, a lot. Indie seems to have cared for him too, — but, at times, I really do wonder if Kerubim's feelings for him ran much deeper than Indie's.

Every sign of genuine emotion is laughed at, and a genuine "I had always respected you" gets a downright haunting "yeah, and your taxidermied head will look nice in my museum when you die".

That must hurt, doesn't it?

It's funny, how life works out. Just like Kerubim, he ended up raising his kid in a completely opposite way than how he was raised. And then he dies, and his kid gets taken in by Kerubim, — who has already taken in the child of his another enemy.

...The implications of Lilotte's life make me sad. Unlike Joris, she didn't grow up in a hazardous, infested, hoarding environment. Indie was likely not mentally ill to the shits. Yet Joris's worst nightmare, — his father passing away, and him being forced to fend for himself, — actually happened to her, immediately ripping away the normal, maybe even privileged, life she had. And it just compounds the sense of loss she already had for her birth parents.

Unlike Joris, who grew up wondering vaguely about his birth family, it seems like much more of a sore spot, with her attachment to her bell...

(Off topic but, god, it's so Bonta-core, that the adoptive daughter of a previous champion of Bonta, who had a museum and was rich, ended up on the streets like a stray. I hate that city so much, it's unreal.)

She uses some pretty dark humor to cope with that. I mean, she already lost two families. No way in hell she's losing a third one. Which kinda harkens back to Kerubim's own backstory, and his own loss of the entire Crepin family, save for Atcham.

I think it's cute that, just like him, — she becomes a mother at some point in her life. Maybe it's because she looked up to Kerubim, who had a similar life story to hers, and that inspired her. Maybe it's just something she wanted, even without thinking of Kerubim's own orphan to dad pipeline.

But either way, it's like poetry — it rhymes.

[sincapjelly]

Oh god wait. Au where Lilly comes back but as she is trying to get back to her family, she starts to find herself involved in trouble, relapsing in her old habits of feeling responsible for the world's safety. This leads to her avoiding her family, wanting to stay absent from their lives instead of doing the same thing that led to her death. Maybe if she keeps away it'll be the best for all of them.

But unexpectedly, in a foreign place she gets caught to Lou.

She wanted to stay away to give him some peace, without all the trouble she had been causing him since they were very young. However the moment they reunite she gets hella distracted, almost forgetting about this goal she had. As much he missed her, she didn't have it any different, if not worse.

Though eventually she tells him maybe it's better if they just went on their lives like she never came back, because she knows she can't stop herself from getting in situations. And she doesn't want Lou to go over it all over.

To her surprise, he accepts this. If that's what she wishes, sure. But as soon as they part ways, Lilly realises this is just terrible. And knowing he is there somewhere, ready to take her in his life again the moment she changes her mind. Before she saw him, it was easier to say "I need to stay away from him for his own good.", but now that she saw him, held his hand again, been in his embrace, it's not even hard, it's impossible to stay away.

This ends in them bumping into each other over and over, eventually Lilly coming back to her senses and realizing this is just their life now.

And well, guess who knew this was gonna happen?

Why do you think Lou allowed her, his literal soulmate, to walk away in the first place?

He did enjoy running away, to be fair. To kind of mock her over her true feelings about all of this, acting like how she claims she wants him to. And it BOTHERS Lilly so much. She wants him back to bad it's so funny to watch.

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Now That's What I Call Music! 44 1999 Dance-Pop / Pop / Latin Pop / Pop-Rock / Dance-Rock / Teen Pop / Eurodance / Alternative Rock / House / Trance / Adult Contemporary

Y'know, there are plenty of times where you can find me prattling on about how much more superior the UK pop music landscape is to the US', but this 44th installment in the UK's own OG Now That's What I Call Music! series from '99 has me thinking that maybe the differences aren't as stark as I've always believed them to be; because, really, while a chunk of this makes for a mix of a fun nostalgia trip and an infusion of late 90s dance jams that didn't really make it Stateside, there's also a whole lot of dreck on this thing too, and that made listening to this double-disc feel like more of an endurance test than anything else 😕.

But anyway, let's talk about both the good and the bad with this album. The good comes with those aforementioned dance jams, some of which are genuinely great, and others that are just more lovably cheesy. From the genuinely great camp, we've got Boris Dlugosch's sleek remix of Moloko's "Sing It Back"—a tune that proved so popular in its day in Europe that I'm not sure that most people are even aware that it's a remix in the first place—and "2 Times" by Ann Lee, a song whose lead bleepy melody feels like the summer of '99, but whose laid-back, subdued nature and overall structure kinda make it feel like it arrived more than a decade ahead of its time too. And it was also produced by the same Italian guy who did Whigfield's "Saturday Night" all the way back in 1992, which gives me an idea: what if I just posted that song every Saturday night until Tumblr ends? 🤔

And then we've got some of those irresistibly ooey-gooey wads of cheese too, which are led by the late 90s kings and queen of catchy dance bleepiness themselves, Alice Deejay, and their less revered follow-up to "Better Off Alone," "Back in My Life." Plus, there's a British duo on here called Shaft as well, who deliver a bouncy Latin tribal house cover of an old swing tune that was once done by Perez Prado and Rosemary Clooney called "(Mucho Mambo) Sway." This silly gem, with its pitched-up female vocal, didn't even make the top 40 of the US *Dance* Billboard chart, but it made it all the way up to #2 on the UK's general singles chart; and funnily enough, sitting right in front of it for that coveted #1 spot was none other than a different Perez Prado-sampled mega-hit: Lou Bega's super goofy "Mambo No. 5," which is also included on this comp too.

But then the bad is *really* bad, folks. I understand that Now as an enterprise is just a few major record labels pooling their most recent hits together in order to do some quick and effortless, major cash-grabbing for themselves, so it's not actually fully representative of every surface-level thing that was out there at a specific period in time; but the straight-up, pure, Brit-made pop selection here is simply atrocious. The Spice Girls, who had made some pretty excellent pop as a full unit, were between albums after firing their controlling and deeply corrupt manager, Simon Fuller, and had started to branch out into some solo work too. But their solo stuff that takes up damn near 10% of this very album is such formulaically limp and uninspired crap: two songs from Geri Halliwell, one from Mel C, and another from Emma Bunton—all varying levels of lousy, with Geri's "Mi Chico Latino" probably being the worst of all; but the Brits still rode that one to #1 anyway, which should really deaden any sense that you may have about their tastes in music being more refined than the US', because they, like Americans, actually seem to love some truly God-awful shit too 😵‍💫.

But the high-profile sacking of Simon Fuller certainly wouldn't be the last that anyone would ever hear from him. In fact, he'd resurface a couple years later as the manager of a new teen pop act that'd rise to global popularity too: S Club 7, whom he'd also bleed dry with grueling work under horrible conditions and little pay. The group's second hit, the light and fluffy feelgood anthem of "S Club Party," which also crossed over into the States with the help of an S Club series on cable too, appears on this comp. And if there's one good British pop song on this album, it's definitely that one.

And finally, for an earlier era of teen pop, I'm glad a somewhat forgotten classic like New Kids on the Block member Jordan Knight's "Give It to You" is on here too. It was kinda late to bring back any New Kid on a solo tip in '99, when the new boyband era of Backstreet and *NSync was in full swing itself, but his team-up here with the legendary production and songwriting duo of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who were known for their R&B, new jack swing, and Minneapolis Sound stuff, is pretty tight. Starts off on that then-contemporary, Timbaland-ish, stuttered-percussion R&B tip, and then accelerates into some Miami bass-adjacent electro-funk-pop goodness for the remainder. Really lovely recipe.

So, plenty of strikes on this album, but possibly an equal number of gutters too. The double-disc format that the UK's version of Now has been practicing since 1987 has certainly opened up an opportunity for listeners like me to be exposed to a vaster array of gems and fun tunes, but it also inevitably leads to an inclusion of a whole lot more filler and trash too. The UK's open-arms embrace of electronic and dance music that dates back to the late 80s definitely enriched and widened their pop industry greatly overall, and that helped ensure that the idea of a two disc-Now would be even more viable for them; but the US version of the series, in contrast, certainly proves to be significantly more potent, because while those albums are musically less diverse, being constrained to one CD really culls out a lot more of the disposable, lower-tier crud too. So I guess if you don't care about dance music, then the US version of Now is definitely for you, but if you want some more variety and absurdity and adventurousness to your commercial pop exploration, you might like the UK one more instead, even if it tends to come with a lot more bad music on it...

Highlights:

CD1:

Britney Spears - "...Baby One More Time" Lou Bega - "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)" Eiffel 65 - "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" Sixpence None the Richer - "Kiss Me" Texas - "Summer Son" Moloko - "Sing It Back" Bob Marley vs. Funkstar Deluxe - "Sun Is Shining" Jamiroquai - "Canned Heat" Bran Van 3000 - "Drinking in L.A."

CD2:

R Kelly - "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" Backstreet Boys - "Larger Than Life" Jordan Knight - "Give It to You" S Club 7 - "S Club Party" Ann Lee - "2 Times" Enrique Iglesias - "Bailamos" Shaft - "(Mucho Mambo) Sway" ATB - "Don't Stop" DJ Jean - "The Launch" Groove Armada - "I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim radio edit)" Wamdue Project - "King of My Castle" Alice Deejay - "Back in My Life" Alena - "Turn It Around"

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

(apologies in advance for how long this is!!!)

https://x.com/bonyamericangrl/status/1869330788858364399?s=46&t=3v6fUO8HxEhcPbcR8Jxopg

https://x.com/icarusinsilk/status/1868764833031852387?s=46&t=3v6fUO8HxEhcPbcR8Jxopg

i thought the mainstream Harry slander would mostly dissipate with his absence from the public eye (not a total disappearance like Taylor Swift around 2016 - but still a move seemingly in response to over exposure & back to back negative reception from the gp like ongoing discussions about queerbaiting, the criticism in regards to his acting, and the increasing occurrence of his tone-deaf/ignorant comments like the grammys speech etc.), but i am not so secretly pleased to have been wrong. lmao.

i think everyone is beginning to more closely examine the people that celebrities choose to surround themselves with - post diddy, weinstein, r kelly etc. i’ve seen a few instances of people saying “show me who your friends are and i will tell you who you are” in regard to H’s friendships (or business partnerships - either way) with people like Corden or Lou Taylor or the Kardashians or the Azoffs… but i’m glad that there has been some criticism (not scathing by any means and as careful as any criticism leveled at Taylor Swift out of fear of fan backlash) reserved solely for the man himself.

it’s hard to not see him as a puppet most of the time, but at the end of the day i think it’s reductive to blanket any and all criticism of his behavior/actions/character with excuses that he’s somehow not in control of his image/life/career. the instances i linked are both fairly lighthearted and as innocuous as any other knock on his acting skills - but for no one other than his fans to miss his absence, for someone like Katya to publicly shit on his style choices (that are upheld by his fans as these infallible, gender bending, crazy radical choices) etc… all of this is still happening even without the over exposure!

like.. it is just crazy to me that his “break” has not made people miss him. even if it was just out of nostalgia for the music he’s put out or his image. i think it’s truly indicative of exactly how flimsy/transparent the public persona of Harry Styles™️ is. if you fail to maintain any modicum of authenticity and rely entirely on manufactured, artificial success and your team of rich old white men to funnel millions into putting you at the very top and ruthlessly eliminating your competition - what is there for people to miss? what kind of artistic legacy will you leave behind if you cannot rely on your own choices or originality? not even a little??

i have no idea what the Azoffs being in the middle of this DOJ lawsuit (from my understanding - federal prosecution like this cannot be pursued without concrete evidence of the charges stated. by law, of course, the defendant has the legal right to dispute the charges or try and lessen their sentencing… but i believe for a government agency to initiate a lawsuit against a company or conglomerate - it has to have substance.) means for their ability to continue funding Harry’s career, but i can only hope it means that i will be spared from constantly seeing him against my will for a little while longer. :)

Oh my god I remember both these events so well, and it’s shocking really how Harry has fallen in the acting world. ⬇️

-

I bet the studios releasing Little Mermaid and Nosferatu and Wicked are patting themselves on the back for a close call. When a relatively new actor pulls shit like Harry did for “Don’t Worry Darling,” drags the A list cast to the ground, shows the world that he’s unprofessional and Harry Styles comes before anyone else (Flo Pugh! Chris Pine!) even before he has established box office viability — it’s not gonna make him friends in Hollywood, no matter how many kisses he throws Stan Tucci or cases of Casamigo he sells. His fans blaming Olivia Wilde can’t gaslight movie producers, who have a long list of better actors in their 20’s and 30’s to cast. Harry got a gold ticket and he fucked it up.

My gut says that the DOJ case against Live Nation/ Ticketmaster will be dropped by the new administration. Trump is vindictive and has used the government to carry out his personal vendettas before, and the DOJ will be too busy to pursue an antitrust case. The DOJ will go after Trump’s personal enemies first. He’ll find a way to target Taylor Swift lol. The Azoffs, Ticketmaster etc., better pony up the donations.

Interesting tweets though! Thanks for the links.

[utilitycaster]

I believe you mentioned seeing Love Lies Bleeding - would love to hear your thoughts on it if you have any (and good luck with the car troubles).

It's GREAT. Everyone who is not averse to grievous bodily harm shown on screen go see it. I am not like...terribly up on film just generally; I grew up in a house that limited TV screentime with parents who hate movie theaters so there is a weird cross section of movies I know that is immensely idiosyncratic since I just don't really have a movie-going habit. Also since getting into CR in 2018 it's like. well I don't really have two hours to kill watching movies; I watch 4+ hours of stuff a week and that's plenty. So I cannot speak to things like cinematography, though it did feel well-put together and attractive to look at and all that.

I think the story is solid - nothing groundbreaking except for the fact that usually this is not a story told about queer women that (spoilers) ends with them free and together (more on this later) but it's well done as a neo-noir, the acting is fantastic, and it feels so wonderfully...big and small at the same time? Like, do not get me wrong, I enjoy a blockbuster, but when I think back to the movies I've liked as of late*, Honor Among Thieves is the only one that takes place over a sprawling journey. I guess Barbie, debatably. Like, Love Lies Bleeding is almost entirely in a small town in New Mexico with a brief portion in Vegas or in the immediate surroundings. We are not jetsetting or using green screens. The majority of the film is in a handful of places, the core cast is like 6 people with two significant supporting players. I love this. As someone who leans more towards longer form fiction in general it's just really nice to have something that says "we have under two hours and we are going to embrace having under two hours and tell a story that fucking FITS in under two hours instead of just giving you some weird shard of a Cinematic Universe."

Re the queer women: thank GOD for casting queer women as queer women and probably more importantly having queer women doing things like writing and directing. The sex scenes are great and the relationship feels...I can't say I have the experience of being one of the only queer women in a small town in the late 80s and low-key detesting the one other woman but this all feels so much like. Of course Lou responds like this! This is the first new and fortuitous thing that has happened in her life! U-Haul jokes aside like yeah this is her big chance! It's both their big chances! And honestly until pretty late in the film, because I went in with little info other than "Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brien bodybuilder lesbian romance crime drama" I expected it to end with one of them dead and the thing is the story works either way, and that feels really great to me, a tragedy enjoyer but also a comedy enjoyer.

Also I love pitch-black humor and this absolutely has that, and I enjoy magical realism when done very sparingly and this is precisely the right amount (if you assume it's magical realism, which I do; I also enjoy ambiguity). Anyway go see a fucked up lesbian and her fucked up bi girlfriend get entangled by ambition, righteous anger, vengeance, limited opportunity, and Ed Harris's skullet and bug obsession.

Finally, a personal anecdote: I saw this at the Alamo Drafthouse and as you may know they do various event screenings. They are showing Twilight: Eclipse for the total solar eclipse. It is HILARIOUS to see a trailer for Twilight: Eclipse (ft. young Kristen Stewart as personality-less girl in love triangle with two guys) before Love Lies Bleeding. talk about a glow-up. Absolutely wild to me that Stewart and Pattinson both ended up as genuinely talented actors with a taste for the unhinged given their breakthrough was Twilight.