#but i think i got one hooked so i consider this an absolute win

[all-by-myself98]

OK I'm gonna rant for a second

When I was sick with covid last Feb, I watched the Malcolm X movie and I mentioned the Angela Bassett phenomenon in a Letterboxd review I was basically like.

This woman has such an interesting range of works. Not a predictable range like from comedies to actions to horrors. But like from what would be considered high brow vs low brow film and TV.

She's done like the serious Oscar tier kinda shit like the Tina Turner biopic, Boyz n the Hood, the Malcolm X movie as I mentioned, and a lot of other like. Really successful really like. The kinda shit that might be considered high brow or like. cinema shit, you know? Shit that wins awards and stays in people's minds because of how highly regarded it is

And then she's kinda gradually tapered off of that, which is fine! I think if I was an actress and I had a shit ton of success earlier in my career, I might also branch off and look at other projects. A lot of the stuff she's been in nowadays isn't really classified as high brow. It's mostly drama television or cartoons or, of course, action stuff. Like there was Meet the Robinsons, there was American Horror Story, there was fucking. ER! She was in ER for like two years(?) as a main role! And then of course that itty bitty foray in the failed Green Lantern movie, and then her actual success with the Black Panther movies.

Like... They're less dramatically intense, more just. Fun! She got her bag of money early on and now she's doing whatever the fuck she wants which is so valid of her, I would do the same thing if I ever went into that line of business. Earn your security, then have fun and do what you want!

And honestly this might not have even been her intent. There could have been other stuff going on. Her wiki link mentioned that after her Tina Turner biopic she wasn't getting any calls for roles for like a year and a half. So maybe people were just being idiots and skipping over her, maybe there was some dumb fucked up Hollywood politics involved, or maybe she's genuinely letting herself have fun with her roles now, OR maybe she noticed that there's just as much integrity and potential in a role like Athena Grant or Queen Ramonda or Marie Laveau than there is in her earlier character counterparts.

Again, this is also relying on this backwards and outdated idea of high brow vs low brow film and television. I don't subscribe to these ideas, and I think it's low-key kinda ridiculous and I think people should just have fun watching what they want without feeling like what they want to watch isn't good enough or doesn't command the same respect... But sadly other people do absolutely subscribe to these ideas and you can tell because it's difficult not to notice a difference in the tone or nuance of two different works, and why some works are not nominated for awards as much as others because some Hollywood awards panel either don't see it as serious or as respectable enough to be in with the so called "big leagues".

All visual work is valid and all visual work is capable of eliciting the emotions they need to elicit to keep their audiences hooked.

ANYWAYS that's the end of my little blab

I love Angela Bassett and whatever is the reason for her shift in her filmography, girl you are not gonna hear me complain one bit. As long as she's happy, I'm happy for her. I just find it fascinating to think about is all

And thus. The Angela Bassett phenomenon (copyright pending)

trying to understand a show you don’t watch only through gifs you see on your dash

[gay-mooshrooms]

I just spent a good hour explaining the dsmp from memory to members of my girl scout troop, making them both very confused and very concerned for my mental health.

[de4dlyniightshade]

munch! spencer, reader with migraine, spencer reads something about how orgasms can help with pain

꩜ warning!: this post is +18!!! mdni!

꩜ word count: 1.6k (got a little carried away;-;)

꩜ A/N: honestly i don't rlly like this but hopefully it's good enough :,)

You let out a quiet groan in pain as you squinted your eyes at the tv, trying to watch your favourite show but the light from the screen only made your throbbing headache worse, to the point it was almost unbearable.

"Another migraine?" Spencer asked quietly from the other end of the sofa as he looked up from his book, keeping his voice low so as to not make it any worse. You just nodded, holding your head in your hand and letting your eyes close, feeling slight relief from the light no longer beaming into your eyes.

You didn't get migraines all that often but when you did they could be pretty bad and Spencer hated seeing you in pain and hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to fix it even more, or so he thought. He'd spent hours researching ways to alleviate your pain after your last migraine, which got so bad that it practically debilitated you and you couldn't do anything but sit in a darkened room for hours until it passed.

After reading countless articles and blogs a unanimous opinion was that an orgasm relieves a large amount of the pain, one woman going as far to say that hers was completely gone afterwards. Honestly the remedy was a complete win-win, he'd be able to help you and make you feel better and he'd also get to do his absolute favourite thing at the same time, which just so happened to be eating you out.

"Do you want me to help?" Spencer suggested, laying his book down on your coffee table and turning to face you, a slightly excited feeling bubbling in his chest.

"Remember nothing worked last time, Spence" you murmured, sighing at the realisation that you'd probably end up back in your bedroom, cocooned under blankets for your unforeseeable future. You felt Spencer shift closer to you and you could practically feel the excitement radiating from him, knowing that meant he'd found some scientific way to help you and wanted to try it.

"I researched a lot about migraines and how to help you since the last one and the method that came up almost every time was that a sexual release would alleviate a large amount of the pain and i was thinking maybe..." he didn't even have to finish his sentence for you to know what he was thinking, as soon as he uttered the word "sexual" you knew what he had in mind.

"You seriously think it'll work?" Your tone was hopeful and you were prepared to try anything at this point, feeling your pain slowly worsen the more time went on. you'd tried almost every other remedy you'd been suggested by friends and nothing had worked even a little and painkillers did nothing for you no matter how many you took.

"It's worth a try," Spencer smiled, resting his hand on your lower back. you knew he wasn't just doing this for himself, it was just convenient that he loved nothing more than to be buried between your legs.

"Alright, but if this doesn't work I'm not gonna be happy" you were only half serious, you were happy to let Spencer run his little experiment, considering that if it did work, you'd both not have a migraine anymore and would have had an incredible orgasm, so either way, you got something out of the experience.

You watched as Spencer moved to turn off the TV, leaving just a lamp on so that it was light enough that he could still see but dark enough that it wouldn't hurt your head so much.

You quickly hooked your fingers into the waistband of your underwear and pants, lifting your hips to tug them down over your ass and slide them down your legs, kicking them to the side to deal with later as Spencer moved to eagerly kneel in front of you, placing his hands behind your knees and leaning down to press a chaste kiss just above your left knee.

You smiled as you slowly spread your legs apart, watching Spencer's eyes glint with anticipation. You already knew the drill—moving to place your legs over his shoulders the way he liked it and shifting forward on the sofa to give him better access.

Spencer didn't waste any time with teasing, reminding himself that this wasn't for him, no matter how much he enjoyed it; this was an attempt to alleviate your pain.

You let out a sigh as you felt his warm tongue lick a bold stripe up your folds before he circled your clit, moaning quietly at your taste that he'd grown to love so much.

You tangled your fingers in his hair as he buried his face deeper into you, urging your thighs apart to lap at your pussy, your quiet whines and moans egging him on as he took your clit into his mouth, sucking and licking at your sensitive nub, the stimulation making you twitch and grip his hair tighter, rolling your hips into his face as you let your head fall back against the couch.

Spencer wrapped his hands around your thighs as he nuzzled his face into you, making sure to get as close as possible to you so that he could dip his tongue into your entrance. The feeling of his warm, wet tongue pushing into you causing you to arch your back, a loud gasp falling from your lips, your migraine long forgotten.

"F-fuck spence," you whined as you tugged on his hair desperately, letting yourself grind into his mouth. Spencer continued his ministrations on your sensitive cunt, drinking in everything you had to give him with pleasure as he whined into your wantonly.

You felt Spencer push one of your legs to the side, and instantly you got the message, lifting your leg to sling it over the arm of the couch to give him access. You couldn't help but gasp when you felt his middle and index fingers prod at your entrance, teasing your hole briefly before he began slowly sliding them in. The copious amount of saliva and your arousal making it easy.

"Oh, f-fuck!" you moaned out as you felt his fingertips curl right into your g-spot, the mixture of his mouth on your clit and his fingers pressing right into that spot that made your toes curl, making your mind go completely blank as you whimpered and moaned, his name falling from your lips in breathy gasps.

Spencer began massaging his fingers into your g-spot, drawing needy moans from your lips as he brought you closer to your release, revelling in the way you moaned his name and the way that your walls clenched around his fingers.

You got completely lost in the pleasure as you rutted your hips into his face, gripping his hair harshly and pushing his face into you. You felt the familiar knot in your stomach tighten as you squirmed and shuddered, the feeling of Spencer's fingers nonstop stimulating your sensitive spot making you a needy mess.

"C-close! 'm close, Spence." Your voice was high-pitched and whiny as you warned him, Spencer only pushing his fingers harder into you, the action pulling a loud moan from your throat as your body began to shake and tremble.

You couldn't help but sling your leg back over Spencer's shoulder, letting your thighs clench around his head as you felt your orgasm approaching. Spencer's tongue never letting up his brutal sucking and licking on your clit, sending shockwaves through your body.

Spencer began moaning and whining into you, the sounds sending vibrations through your sensitive cunt and making you cry out in pleasure as your breath came out in gasps and huffs, your whole body tending as you felt your release dangerously close.

"G-god spence, I'm gonna c-cum!" You practically wailed with no regard for how loud you were being, letting out a constant slew of desperate noises when Spencer massaged your soft spot more precisely, coaxing you to your release as he sucked harshly on your clit.

Spencer let out an especially loud moan as you tugged on his hair, the intense vibrations sending you over the edge as your mouth dropped open in a silent scream, your whole body shaking and writhing as your release gushed around Spencer's fingers that continued to curl into you, coaxing you through your orgasm while he gently licked at your clit.

You were breathing heavily and still shaking slightly when Spencer slowly pulled his fingers from your sopping cunt, wincing slightly as his skin dragged against your sensitive walls. You watched as he buried his fingers in his mouth, cleaning off your release like he always did, sighing at the taste before he pulled them out and leaned back in, dipping his tongue into your slit to lap up everything he could, not daring to waste any of it.

Spencer leaned his cheek on your knee when he was satisfied, looking up at you through his lashes as you lay completely fucked out with your eyes closed, a beautifully content expression on your face.

"How do you feel?" he asked quietly, watching as you cracked your eyes open and furrowed your brows, scanning around the room and sitting up slightly, a smile spreading across your lips as you looked back down at him.

"I feel...great?!" You laughed slightly, completely fascinated by the effectiveness but also relieved that you'd found something that worked, both for you and for him. Spencer couldn't hide the wide smile that adorned his lips. He was overjoyed that his method worked as he pressed gentle kisses up your leg before he situated himself beside you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck and sighing.

"i'm glad" 

(dookie ass ending again ik</3 i need to work on that :,)

[ohnoitstbskyen]

So, considering what's going on with Riot right now, do you think Arcane Season 2 got caught up in all of this restructuring?

Yes and no. Arcane season 2 is part of the reason for the restructuring.

As I understand it, internally at Riot, after Arcane was a huge (and more importantly: prestigious!) success, the decision was made to basically hand the entirety of the game's lore and story over to the Entertainment division within Riot. These are the people in large part responsible for projects like Arcane, K/DA, Heartsteel, that animated series China got, all that sort of thing.

The writers at Riot were basically told to flat out stop producing new content and lore for the game - that's why there's BEEN no new story content for League for over a year - because everything was going to be consolidated under the Entertainment division from now on. This is why Riot started talking about "One Runeterra" and "Arcane is going to be canon" and so on.

The success of Arcane convinced executives that what League of Legends needs is a singular cohesive brand with its most successful public property leading the charge, Arcane is going to be the gateway drug, the hook on the end of the line that brings new players and new paying customers into the exciting world of the League of Legends multimedia IP universe!

Nevermind that Arcane's story and worldbuilding is fundamentally incompatible with >checks notes< the overwhelming majority of Runeterra as it exists and enormous compromises would have to be made to either the world of Runeterra or Arcane itself to make it work. Arcane is the big shiny prestigious mainstream Emmy-award winning project that every executive wants to put their name next to, and like companies Pivoting To Video in 2015 because Facebook showed them inflated viewership stats, Riot Games is Pivoting To Arcane. It's better than them pivoting to crypto and NFTs, at least, although I know for a fact that high ranking people at Riot tried to make that happen too.

Now, the primary cause for all of these games industry layoffs is that interest rates aren't zero anymore. Borrowing money isn't free, the curve of constant growth has ever so slightly slowed, taking on debt is becoming a little tiny bit more risky than it was previously, and corporations are responding to this with massive rounds of layoffs and constriction to show "financial responsibility" and prove to shareholders that they are prioritizing core growth strategies and blah blah blah etc. They're also trying to kneecap the growing labor movement in the games industry and exert downwards pressure on wages, but the interest rates seem to have been the main thing.

In Riot's particular case, a secondary reason is they want to pivot the focus of the company to support their One Runeterra pipe dream, so a lot of the people who got fired at Riot are writers, artists, creative leads and sometimes extremely senior and successful staff who are now surplus to requirements. This is also why Riot shut down Riot Forge in the same round of layoffs - can't have a bunch of talented indie devs going off making video games that don't adhere to the new One Runeterra policy. What if someone played Mageseeker and got confused how there can be mages all over Demacia but somehow there are no mages in Arcane's Piltover and Zaun. That's a plot hole! People write snarky articles about that sort of thing. It turns off new consumers! What if Cinema Sins makes a video making fun of it?!?

So yeah. A bunch of cocaine-addled fame hungry executive vultures at Riot are absolutely gagging on their own d*cks to put their name next to Arcane related projects, and since they were going to be screwing hundreds of people out of their careers, healthcare, and in some cases their fucking visa status anyway, it seems to have presented a nice opportunity to clear the board for their latest Visionary Scheme for the company IP.

That is as I understand the situation, anyway. I'm a bitter old man and most of what I hear is second hand and anonymous gossip through my social networks, take what I say with a grain of salt, but I've followed this company for (oh god) twelve years now and I have developed a tragically keen understanding of how its executive class operates.

[bvbygrl-writes]

Trick or Treat

Pairing: Stu Macher x Reader x Billy Loomis

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: It's Halloween and you find yourself experiencing both a trick and a treat.

A/N: As usual I didn't proof read. I know people wanted a part two to Wrong House but this unfortunately is not that. I offer this as consolation. There will be no part two of this one either. 18+ so minors and accounts without age dni or I'll block you.

Warnings: dubcon, mentions of blood and a dead body, painal, double penetration, dacryphilia, roughness, use of the pet name bunny, dark themes, just absolute sinfulness

The Senior Halloween Bash was something people started preparing for months in advance, as it was a big honor to attend. And, despite the fact that a string of murders was happening in the area, that was not enough to kill the hype for the party. Well, it was enough for (Y/n) but not enough for her best friends who were not going to let her get out of going to another party. Plus, as they had reminded her at least one hundred times, she had promised she’d go.

“I’m not sure how practical this outfit is.” (Y/n) remarked, grimacing as she snapped the fishnets against her skin. The entire costume was uncomfortable, tight, and unbearably itchy. The most form fitting thing she had ever worn was a tank top and even then, she never left the house in them. Going from flannel to the Easter Bunny’s Mistress was not going to be easy to adjust to. The feathers cuffs on the gloves were driving her insane already, causing her to scratch at her arms aggressively. Molly swatted her hand, glaring at her overly dramatic friend.

“Come on, (Y/n/n), it’s not that bad! Plus you look super hot. It’s one night. Let’s live a little.” she whined out, pouting as she leaned over the girl’s shoulder in the mirror. (Y/n) observed their appearances. Molly had dressed as a beer tavern maid and Toni, the quietest of the three, was a sexy pirate, her hook hand doubling as a flask which most certainly would need to be refilled before they left. 

“Living is exactly what I’m worried about. If the killer is at the party, I won’t be making it five steps in these damn Barbie pumps!” (Y/n) huffed out. She held onto the vanity as she stood up, her ankles wobbling. “I can’t even walk, how do you expect me to last all night?” Molly simply ignored her complaining, fluffing her hair up a little. The (h/c) looked down at the smell of rum under her nose. Toni’s plastic hook was opened at the top as she tipped the remaining amount of liquid towards her friend's mouth.

“I think you need this a little more than I do.” Toni slurred her words slightly, giving her friend a lazy smile. (Y/n) shook her head, pushing the hook back towards her.

“Someone’s gotta be sober enough to drive and considering you’ve had half a pint of rum and Molly took an edible half an hour ago, that really only leaves me,” she took a moment to take in her very pink appearance once more, sighing as she grabbed the keys from the top of Molly’s dresser on the way out, “Let’s get going before I change my mind.”

The party was in full swing at Shane’s mansion. Despite the fact he had been out of high school for four years, he still insisted on hosting the party at his place every year. For free booze, free food, and such a nice pad, nobody really complained. He got to smash girls who were freshly eighteen and they got a place to party with their friends. It was a win all around. 

It had only been fifteen minutes and (Y/n) already found herself separated from the girls she had come with. Toni had gotten whisked away by some girl in a Cat Woman costume and Molly…well, she was gone before they had even made it through the back door. The pain in her feet was becoming unbearable and unfortunately, there was no place that looked optimal enough to sit. The couch was filled with her half naked peers, making out with one another. The loungers outside were more or less in the same position.

Grabbing a slice of pizza from one of the many open boxes, she made her way upstairs, the music growing quieter as she made her way down the long corridor. Her eyes landed on the set of double doors at the end, a large ‘OFF LIMITS’ sign plastered on the front. To socialize or to lock herself in one of the only unoccupied rooms? The choice was not too hard to make. Carefully, she looked both ways before hobbling towards the double doors, opening them without a second thought.

The bedroom was massive and from the decor choice, she assumed it belonged to Shane’s parents for the rare times they found themselves home. A large king size bed with a lush comforter set on a rounded platform against the wall. On the other side of the room was a black leather couch, what she hoped was a fake bear rug, and an unlit fireplace. Taking her shoes off, she let out a relieved groan as she kicked them to the side. “Hello, sweetheart.” she purred at the empty bed, sprinting up the small steps before throwing herself onto it, stomach up. She began to make snow angels, the soft fleece making a swishing noise as she did so.

However, she couldn’t fully enjoy herself. There was a dripping noise coming from the ensuite that was driving her up the wall. Sighing, she reluctantly threw her legs over the side of the bed. “Rich people. Who doesn’t check their appliances before going on vacation?” she scoffed, shaking her head as she opened up the bathroom door. Her hand searched the side for a light switch until she felt a bump under her gloved fingers. Flicking it, she let out a horrified scream. Blood covered the walls and floor. In the tub, she recognized the girl. Jessica from her AP English class. Her curly hair was tousled and ratty, eyes wide open. Whatever she had last seen absolutely terrified her from her permanent shocked expression. Trailing her eyes down, (Y/n) could saw the dripping was a result of the blood running down her neck to the tips of her fingers, dribbling down into a pool of crimson on the floor.

(Y/n) felt sick to her stomach. It was taking everything in her to not pass out, throw up, or hell, even do a combination of both. With a hand over her mouth, she slowly began to back out of the door. She couldn’t bear to look at this any longer. She had to call the cops! Her steps were suddenly interrupted from a wall that wasn’t there before. A warm, breathing wall. A strong arm wrapped around her torso, holding her in her spot.

“Where do you think you’re hopping off to, little bunny?” The gravelly voice said in a humorous tone that she found to be extremely inappropriate given the circumstances. Her breath hitched in her throat as she began to stutter nonsensical words, begging her brain to piece together some english.

“I-I won’t tell anyone! Please just- just let me go!” she stuttered out, her voice cutting in and out in fear. The arm around her middle shifted, the hand splaying across her torso. Her legs began to tremble as a pair of lips trailed down her neck before pausing at her ear.

“Now where’s the fun in that, hm?” he chuckled. The strange man loosened his hold some, beginning to walk backwards with her. Her eyes flickered to her heels only a bit away from the two of them. Should she risk it? If he was the one responsible for the mess in the bathroom, chances are he was armed and more than capable of using his weapon. But if she didn’t try, would her fate still be the same? ‘Focus, (Y/n). You only have one shot.’ Without waiting a moment more, (Y/n) dropped her weight to the ground, quickly shimming across the carpeted floor. His arm gripped her leg, dragging her closer to him causing her to scream, jabbing the heel into the space between his neck and shoulder. The man groaned, falling back onto the ground.

 “Fuck!” he screamed out. Turning towards the door, a man with brown hair stood in front of the doorway. He had on a cloak and what you assumed was fake blood. (Y/n)’s eyes widened as she recognized him. Billy Loomis, a boy she had many classes with. He usually wasn’t very talkative but he was very helpful, always letting her borrow his notes when she missed school.

“Billy!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him as she managed to scramble up from the floor. “Thank god, you’ve gotta help me! There’s a girl dead in the bathroom!” (Y/n) wailed out. Billy stayed silent, wrapping an arm around her waist. His expression was blank as he looked down at her. Confusion overtook the girl as she looked up at him. “Billy? We need to get help!” her fear rose to another level as he began to laugh, using his free hand to move a piece of hair from her face.

“Surely you didn’t think that was a one man job, Bunny. Come on, I know you’re smarter than that.” he cooed out in a faux sympathetic tone. (Y/n) felt her whole body shaking and if it wasn’t for Billy’s firm grip around her, she surely would’ve fallen to the ground. But, it wasn’t as if her current position was any better. Using his teeth, Billy pulled off his glove, caressing her cheek with a calloused hand before turning her around to face the other man. A gasp fell from her lips, another one of her peers, Stu Macher. The blonde was now standing, massaging the bruised spot where she had attempted to stab him. The severity of the situation was now looming over her. She was trapped in a room at a loud party, where no one would hear her screams, with the killers responsible for all the deaths that had occurred in the past month. “Since you’ve already gotten the trick, it’s only fair you get the treat too.”

“I-I’d hardly consider murder to be a treat.” she stuttered out. Both men looked at each other, sinister cackles leaving their mouths. Stu marched over to her, tilting her head up towards him.

“We’re not gonna kill ya, Bunny. But I don’t doubt you’ll be screaming like we were!” he exclaimed in his gravelly tone. (Y/n) found herself relieved until she realized what he meant. They were planning to have their way with her and if she was honest, she wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea. Having sex with two of the hottest guys in senior year versus being brutally murdered like Jessica had? She’d choose the first any day. Jessica would get her justice but, it wouldn’t be from her. She was dragged from her thoughts as Billy’s large hands began to toy with her breast over her bodysuit.

 Her eyes flit close, lips parting as a soft moan fell from her lips. She could hear Stu growl before feeling his soft lips on hers, catching her off guard. She quickly reciprocated, allowing him to lead the kiss as he began to violate her mouth. The feeling of his tongue piercing was new and foreign, making the intoxicating motions of his tongue even more sinful. The blonde grabbed her hand, moving it to the tent present in the front of his pants. If his bulge was any indicator of the size, she was surely in for a treat. Stu’s hand traveled to the crotch of her bodysuit, massaging her cunt over the velvety fabric, rippling a muffled whine from her lips. The wetness grew, leaving a dark mark where his hands were working magic. He pulled away from her lips, his eyes focusing in on it. Her face grew warm with embarrassment. Had she always gotten worked up so easily or was the danger she was in adding to her arousal? Billy gripped her jaw, forcing her to look down as Stu toyed with her.

“Don’t get shy now, Bunny. You weren’t when you made the decision not to wear any underwear with this little get up.” Billy said in a disapproving tone. His free hand moved to pull the front of her suit down some, revealing her breast to the two of them. Stu whistled some before flicking her hardening nipple on her left breast.

“You’re so reactive! I bet it won’t take much to get ya to cum will it, Bunny?” He commented before latching onto her breast. A shuddery breath left her mouth at the sensation. The ball of his cold tongue piercing swirling around her nipple with hunger. Billy removed his hand from her face, trailing it down her chest before engulfing her remaining breast with a firm grip. 

He massaged it in a circular motion before pinching her hardened bud. (Y/n) moaned, resting her weight back on Billy’s chest. Reaching her free hand back, she began to play with the short hairs at the nape of his neck, giving Stu’s now fully erect cock a firm squeeze. The blonde growled, tugging on her nipple gently, sending a wave of pleasure to her throbbing clit. He pulled away from her chest with a pop before dropping to his knees, spreading her legs. She watched as his hands ripped at the fabric, leaving a large hole in her tights and bodysuit. His left hand massaged at her clit slowly in contrast to his right hand which roughly shoved two thick digits into her sopping hole. (Y/n) winced at the intrusion, the pain short lived as his fingers expertly massaged at her walls. A string of high pitch noises left her as he scissored his fingers inside her, stretching her out.

Billy tilted her head towards him, taking her into a sloppy open mouth kiss. His tongue overtook hers with ease as he gripped her throat roughly, leaving her with little air. He nipped at her bottom lip before pulling away, looking into her eyes intensely. She felt like a captured prey and at the moment, she technically was. But, even as he wrapped his hand around her neck firmly, she couldn’t find it in her to care. “I want your eyes on me as you cum. Don’t you dare look away.” he commanded in a deep tone. (Y/n) nodded to the best of her ability, staring into his dark eyes. They examined her face carefully, taking in every flinch and quiver of her lips. His arm tightened around her waist as her knees began to buckle. With every thrust of Stu’s fingers, she could feel herself growing closer.

Her (e/c) eyes struggled to stay open as he began to suck at her clit, his tongue licking up every bit of arousal that spilled from her. Stu’s fingers disappeared into her deeper, curving upwards until he hit that spongy spot inside of her. (Y/n)’s eyes widened, her lips parting as another loud moan ripped from her. “There it is!” Stu growled out before delving his head back down, his fingers applying more pressure to her g-spot as his lips sucking on her clit with an entirely new level of strength. 

The contrast of his fast working tongue combined with the languid feeling of his fingers massaging her spot was enough to send her over the edge. Her legs began to shake violently, labored breaths causing her chest to rise and fall like crashing waves. Billy’s grip on her throat tightened, reminding her of his words. She struggled greatly with keeping her eyes open as pleasure washed over her, the knot in her stomach unraveling completely. Tears of pleasure streamed down from the intensity of it all, her lips quivering as she whimpered pathetically. She had never experienced an orgasm so intense, so prolonged before. Her pussy was unbearably sensitive, a new feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Billy smirked, wiping her tears with his thumb before bringing it to his lips. Her eyes widened as a gush of clear liquid began to gush from her in a long stream, soaking Stu from below her. Billy took his eyes from her to watch, groaning at the sight, her cunt continuing to squirt. Her eyes clenched shut as she screamed in pleasure. She was already reaching her limit and they hadn’t even gotten to fucking her yet. The flow came to a gradual stop, her body jolting in after shocks as she panted. 

The girl felt her body being lifted, the feeling of the soft bed returning under her. Billy slapped her face, her eyes flying open in alarm. “You’re not tapping out already. The fun hasn’t even started yet.” he teased. (Y/n) groaned, propping herself up on shaky elbows. The two men were now nude from the waist down, their cocks fully erect. Her eyes followed Billy as he climbed onto the bed behind her, pulling her towards him with ease. His cock was wedged between her open legs, giving her a closer look. What he lacked in length, he certainly had in girth. “It’s a shame that tail on your ass isn’t a plug because,” he pushed her forward, ripping the tail from the back of her bodysuit, leaving a clean hole where her butt was, “You’re really gonna wish it was.” Before she could climb away, he pulled her back into his lap, aligning the tip of his cock with her rear. Her eyes widened at the feeling of his thick head pressed against her virgin hole.

 Any protest she had fell onto deaf ears as the tip of his cock pushed in. He was nowhere near fully in yet but the burning was so painful. It felt as if he was splitting her in half, forcing his thick cock into her unexplored hole. Her throat was growing raw as she screamed, only seeming to egg him on. She was so out of it that she completely missed Stu’s presence, holding her legs up as he aligned himself with her front. Her teary eyes shot open as his cock slid into her cunt with one swift motion, his head thrown back in pleasure. Billy was now fully situated inside of her, the burning of her ass a bit more dull but still present. She could feel them both pressed against the thin wall separating them, the feeling was indescribable. And despite the pain, she couldn’t recall a time she had felt so much pleasure.

“You’re so pretty when you’re screamin’, Bunny. Couldn’t resist shoving my cock into you.” Stu said through gritted teeth, folding her legs back as he began to thrust into her. Billy wrapped his arms around her waist with a bruising force, holding her up just an inch above his lap as he began to pound her at an assaulting pace. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth lazily. She was aware she was babbling, but her brain was completely disconnected from her body. Stu pulled his cock mostly out before slamming back into her, the three of them moaning in unison. With each movement, their cocks brushed against the thin lining of her walls, sending a volt of pleasure straight to her clit. The blonde leaned over her open mouth, spitting directly into her mouth. She began to choke, gasping for the air that seemed to no longer be present in the room.

“Don’t be-be rude, Bunny. Swallow it like a good girl. Here, I’ll help you.” Billy said, sticking his fingers down her throat. (Y/n) gagged, swallowing around his fingers. The brunette growled, looking at her with hungry eyes. Stu whimpered, his hips stuttering a bit as he looked upon, his cock twitching inside of her.

“Oh fuck!” he whined out. He was close, but he refused to be the first one to come. Moving one of his hands, he began to rub at the girl’s clit roughly, his thrust growing more sloppy. (Y/n) screamed around Billy’s fingers, her eyes rolling back into her head. Her holes began to pulsate around their cocks, causing them to let out a string of swears. “She’s close, Bill.”

“You’re almost there, Bunny. Make a mess on our cocks. Be a good fucking girl!” and right on cue, (Y/n) felt herself snap. Her pussy began to gush around Stu’s cock as she sobbed, her mascara running down her face. She began to thrash in their hold, rabid speaks of tongue flying out of her mouth. Billy removed his fingers from her mouth, choking her harshly as he buried himself deep in her ass, hot streams of cum filling her to the brim. Stu came only a millisecond after, burying his face in her chest as he painted her walls white, collapsing on top of the pile. Their cum spilled out of her, making its way onto the fleece blanket. None of them noticed as they panted, two pairs of hands trailing along her body. 

Stu pulled himself up on shaky arms, hovering above her. (Y/n) looked up at him through blurry vision as he gently moved her hair back, adjusting the pair of ears on her head.

“How’s that for a treat?”

[disneyprincemuke]

i quit drinking * cl16

you were never one to turn down alcohol. when you do, it causes a ruckus among your friends.

pairings: charles leclerc x fem!reader

warnings: um, heartbreak, i guess??!?!?!? mentions of alcohol, and breakups

notes: omg this one has a counterpart too, and i lOVE WRIting things like this i SWEAAAARRRR!!!1!!!11 but i'm ngl, it feels SOOOO poorly written so honestly i can only apologise for the lack of umph this fic has... i will make it up to you with the counterpart and a sequel pLSsSSS

(i quit drinking) // (to forget you) // (you called)

it had happened quietly - the breakup. none of your friends know that it had even happened, especially since you'd gone absolutely ghost mode since. everyone just thought you were in one of your moods where you weren't feeling very sociable. not one of them probed, simply because there was no reason to. until you very politely declined the glass of champagne carmen had offered you.

it's like the room fell silent when you shook your head.

"you don't feel like drinking?" george repeats your answer, confusion dripping with every word he speaks. he has a small scowl on his face as he stares down at you. "that's your excuse?"

you stare back at them as innocently as you can pass it off. but there's a lump forming in your throat, and you feel your chest feel slightly heavier. you feel your eyes start to sting.

you cough to clear your throat, standing slightly straighter. you look up at them with a polite smile. "yes. what's so wrong about that?"

but you know, more than anybody in this room, why it's such a shock that you don't feel like drinking.

"are you sure?" max slurs his words, pushing himself between george and carmen. he had been passing by when he heard your rejection, so here he is, invested in your relationship with alcohol. his eyes are narrowed into a glare as he interrogates you, clearly knowing more than he leads on. "you never turn down champagne."

max steps back almost immediately, throwing his head back. "maybe she doesn't like this champagne in particular!" he looks at you. "i've got better ones, if you want!"

you raise your eyebrows. "no, please! it's not the brand!"

"what is it, then?" george tilts his head, clearly confused.

your eyes linger on the champagne in carmen's hand. of course, you had considered accepting it just for show. clearly, if you'd known that your rejection would cause such a fuss, you would have just taken it to avoid this interrogation.

you're not even sure if charles had told them what happened.

"hey, what's wrong?" carmen's voice is gentle compared to the men probing about your life, so it makes you lift your head to finally look her in the eye.

you're hoping the couple of seconds of a stare-down with her is enough to let you off the hook.

much to your surprise, it does. because she starts to throw her hands in the air and push george and max in the opposite direction, preaching about how your rejection of alcohol is absolutely none of their business.

but she leaves the glass of champagne on the table next to you. and it's just starting to tempt you.

the cause of your breakup was uncontrollable, which is what made it even harder to deal with. one and a half months in, it proves difficult to be moving on from someone you weren't even with for that long.

you'd just simply grown apart, is what you told your family. the longer truth is that the spark that had once existed between you had just dissipated; there was nothing but an empty void.

the relationship started to feel different without the alcohol.

he paraded you everywhere on his arm. every race, you were there to celebrate the wins and a few heartbreaking losses. and with that came the drinking and the alcohol.

what you shared was so intense, more so with the alcohol that you consumed every couple of days. you can still taste his lips the last time you'd drank whiskey hours after the split, which is why you simply refuse to get a drop in your mouth.

all you could think of was being dizzy all morning after a night out, tangled in sheets and reeking of alcohol together. he would make you a cup of coffee and immediately crawl back into the sheets with you.

you hate waking up hungover, but he made it feel so good.

nowadays, you wake up with a clear head. the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you're ready to take on the day. with him, you always needed a couple of minutes to gather yourself from the night out.

the only downside to this is that you toss and turn in bed for hours at a time.

"drink it." carmen's voice slowly brings you out of your internal conflict. it's only then that you realise you are still staring at the champagne. your eyes slowly meet hers, your eyes filling up with tears when she picks up the glass and tilts it towards you. "i'm sorry you broke up. i wish you'd told me earlier."

you smile slightly. you know that if you take it from her, there is no chance that the night will end peacefully. you'd only end up dialling his phone number, begging him for another chance to talk and think about it all.

you scratch your arm. "i don't know..."

"you look like you need it," she says softly.

in her, you can see charles offering you a drink at one of his afterparties. you know it's unhealthy to still be seeing him in crowds, and everything that you do. but you just can't let it go.

there has to be another way out of this. but you take the glass into your grasp anyway. in one breath, the glass is already empty. you meet carmen's eyes once more, a slightly more genuine smile on her face.

you shouldn't even be drinking. but it feels so good, it's like you're back in your element.

your tighten your grip on your phone, checking it for notifications once more; notifications that will never come by.

you sigh heavily, taking the newly replenished glass of champagne from carmen's hand. the night only consisted of that - you never declined a shot anybody offered you.

you were about 5 glasses of champagne and 3 shots of tequila in when you finally forgot the way charles would look at you. you'd forgotten the way he would lazily drag his feet along the floor with two mugs of coffee, and the way his fingers felt grazing over your skin.

you couldn't remember the way you'd take on the dance floor together, hands in the air as he twirled you around. the way his hands would feel on your cheeks when you couldn't even feel them amidst all the alcohol.

you can't even dig your brain for the way he sounds; his accent, his voice, or his drunken slurs.

but you were then about 7 glasses of champagne, 5 shots of tequila, and a glass of margarita in when you found yourself alone in a quiet corner of max verstappen's crowded living room with your phone pressed up against your ear. the ringing of the line echoes in your head, and you're counting slowly in your head to keep yourself sane.

you can't even feel your face anymore. but there’s one thing for sure that you want. it’s the reason you’d avoided drinking all night.

then it goes silent for a moment. your heart drops when his voice comes through, "hello?"

[corpsebasil]

Quick quick snippet of The Selection AU I’m working on with Nikolai.

BASIS: you’re the princess. We’ve all read the Selection I think so you know where this is going. Nikolai is a high ranked individual chosen for The Selection and he’s doing his best to win your heart, not the crown.

Let me know if you want me to continue. DRABBLE TIME.

When he approaches, your only reaction is to simply stare the man down.

Nikolai Lantsov. A Two, you think. Maybe a Three? Who cares. He’s just another pompous boy trying to seduce you into giving him a crown of jewels.

WHAT HE DOES SURPRISES YOU.

“Your Highness,” he greets you, bowing almost reverently as he stands before your gilded chair. You’re on the dais at the head of the party; someone’s birthday, you think—at least that’s the excuse the advisors gave you. Any excuse for a party is good enough for them. “would you do me the honor?”

When he offers you his hand you raise an eyebrow. No other man has been bold enough to ask you to dance tonight—not one. Truthfully you’re happy to relax on your throne while you watch the members of The Selection mingle with other guests, so why is this one brave enough to approach?

“Your name, sir?” You ask, even though you know perfectly well who he is. He knows it too; his grin says enough when he rises to his full height, the picture of confidence and grace.

If you didn’t know he wasn’t royalty you honestly would’ve thought he was.

“Nikolai.” He says, dipping his head again a fraction. “And you’d make my night if you’d dance with me.”

“What do I get in return?”

“I promise not to step on your feet too many times, my lady.”

At that, you laugh.

Honestly, that’s the first good laugh you’ve had in weeks. The stress of choosing a husband in such short of a time is overwhelming and, unbeknownst to Nikolai, you’re grateful for some banter.

“You cant dance?” You ask, a tiny smile on your face. He grins.

“If you count flailing like a fish as dancing, then absolutely Your Highness.”

You giggle. You can’t help it. And your ladies that surround you on the dais all look at you in surprise; you’ve barely entertained a single one of these men and it’s been several weeks. Who is this handsome blond with two left feet and a cocky grin?

“Alright.” You consent, rising from your seat. “But just know there’s corporal punishment for anyone that steps on my toes.”

“I would go to the whipping post with a smile on my face.”

Dear lord.

When you dance with him that night you realize he’s a liar. A hugggggge liar. He’s such a good partner that you don’t dance with a single other man that night—a sight completely obvious to every other member of The Selection.

While you two spin round after round the others watch with both jealously and mortification; why hadn’t they grown the balls to ask you to dance? By the time he’s convinced you yo dance for the fourth time in a row you’re laughing loudly, head tipped back as he twirls you at ridiculous speeds.

After a while you take a break, your pinkie hooked around his as you lead him towards the dais. A servant gives the both of you wine as you sit, him on the steps of it, you on your chair.

A future queen and her inferior, if you will, and he’s perfectly happy to stay at your feet.

“Tell me one thing about you I should worry about.” You say to him, a serene smile on your face as you watch him take a sip of wine. He’s got the best seat in the house right now on top of the dais and the other men are clearly annoyed about that. “Tell me something unforgivable.”

“I don’t know about unforgivable,” he starts, swirling the wine in his glass in a contemplative circle. “but I have faults.”

“Everyone has faults.”

“Yes, but I’m fully aware of mine.”

You watch him curiously, peering over the edge of your glass.

“What would they be?”

He ponders this for a moment and you can tell he’s actually considering your question. This isn’t rehearsed; he wants you to know the truth.

“I can be cocky.” He admits, tilting his head at you. “And loud. But I’m a fun person and I love making people happy.” He squints before adding, “I’m also selfish at times, but isn’t everyone?”

“You’re certainly bold.”

“You like bold.”

At that your grin is wide.

“Yes I do.”

WELLLL

[angelofthenight]

can you pls do a dating headcannon for The twin from the devils carnival x readerpls.is okay if youcant but if you do i really appreciate it.

The Twin x Reader: Relationship H/c’s

Warnings: 1 nsfw + 1 angst h/c

Word Count: 1.6k

( I thought it would be fitting for this to be my first post after my hiatus coz it was the earliest ask in my inbox😭 This was requested before I considered doing requests and then it got lost but once I saw it again in my inbox I got rly excited about it coz idk how the requester knew the Twin was my absolute fav in the Devil’s Carnival. So pookie so sorry this was like a three year long wait😭 I tried to write as much as I could to make up for how long it’s been💖 )

♡ No matter how you ended up in hell (whether it be you died a sinner, you’re a fallen angel, you’re an angel sent to deliver a letter, or you were a mortal who got there by mistake), you met while he got you to play one of his booth games

��� You won. And he was hooked on you right off the bat

♡ He rigged his own game so he questioned how you managed to win and you just simply explained how you knew tricks to win carnival games

♡ After that, he’s so intrigued by you that he practically follows you around like a lost puppy

♡ Always lurking a meter behind you, just simply observing you

♡ The first time you caught him carelessly following you, “Can I help you?” You snapped as you turned around

♡ He stopped in his tracks, not even trying to hide or make it look like he was doing something else, and just stared at you. He slyly smiled with teeth and wiggled his gloved fingers at you as a wave

♡ You nervously swallowed and hesitantly continued walking, cursing the soft sound of his following footsteps

♡ You thought he was creepy at first with his hunched back and layered voice but you eventually warm up to him since of how often he sticks around you

♡ Once in a relationship, ur done for. Coz there is NO getting rid of him now

♡ He was clingy before with the non-secret stalking, but now that you’re romantically involved he’s practically glued to you, always going back and forth from your left and right side, constantly hovering you like a hawk

♡ Your body is like a magnet to him, he’s always mindlessly inching towards you until your arms are touching. But he can’t help it! He’s cold blooded and you warm him up the best way possible

♡ He’s practically physically clinging around you a few times a day, breathing down your neck type of closeness

♡ Never in a way that made you feel suffocated tho, it actually relaxed you knowing his presence would always be within reach. Plus sometimes he’d be so silent you’d forget he was there, leading to you getting a heart attack when he suddenly said something

♡ He loves scaring you for your cute little reactions, like tapping you on the shoulder and hiding when you turn around, he likes the look on your face and the way your heart jumps

♡ So expect him doing that A LOT

♡ But like, no one else is allowed to scare you though. Just him.

♡ He’s a hisser when he sees demons that are nothing but trouble approaching

♡ No matter how you ended up in hell, he doesn’t like you going off on your own. He knows hell well enough to know that everyone is unforgivingly horny and there’s a handful of untrustworthy and sadistic demons who are always looking for new playthings

♡ So that’s one of the many reasons why he likes to keep you close

♡ Oh he is most certainly the jealous type! He’s practically green with envy anytime he sees you getting along with other demons. He’ll suddenly slip in between you two and claim he desperately needs you for an urgent manner just so he could steal back your attention

♡ Absolutely hates when anyone interrupts your alone time. He won’t yell at the trespasser, not wanting you to know think he wants to hog your attention that badly, but will glare and occasionally hiss until they leave

♡ Omg he DEFINITELY shifts into other people to ask what you really think of him

♡ You subtly catch on tho. Coz like, the Doll would NEVER ask you what your favorite and least favorite thing about the Twin was

♡ You always think about letting him get away with it, but you find it more entertaining to squish the person’s cheeks and look directly in their eyes and say, “(pet name), I know it’s you”

♡ He changes back almost instantly with a grimy pout

♡ Plays with your hair when he teases you

♡ He doesn’t shy away from pda at all, he doesn’t believe he should have to change his affections or tone it down when in front of others. This is Hell after all

♡ He likes taking walks with your arms linked together

♡ Surprisingly, he’s a bit of a romantic: always going above and beyond for dates, never shies away from showering you in his verbal love, you are literally his main priority and the center of his world. He basically organizes his day around you and your needs

♡ He’s kind of an old-fashioned type of lover

♡ Always doing magic tricks for you by your demand, he finds it cute how vividly impressed you get over his illusions no matter how many times he shows you the same tricks

♡ He once considered teaching you the secrets behind the tricks but then he got worried that you would stop being amazed by him

♡ He has a morbidly good memory, he even remembers the most pointless, insignificant things. Though his memory can get annoying in playful bickering or the rare arguments with him bringing up very specific things you’ve said

♡ You sometimes cringe to yourself in the middle of the night over the thought that he remembers all the embarrassing stupid, ignorant things you’ve said

♡ Serious fights are slim to rare in your relationship. He can almost never get mad at you for anything, and even if he does he doesn’t stay mad for very long at all. He literally subconsciously defends you all the time even if it’s him you’re arguing with

♡ His empathy for you also makes you unable to stay mad at him, plus his willingness to cooperation to fix whatever it is you’re mad at him about

♡ He’ll pretend to be grumpy and resent you softly caressing your fingers over his scales, but he secretly ADORES it. Well, he thinks it’s a secret but really everyone knows he likes it

♡ He’s a clinger when asleep. I imagine he’s like a snake curling around you and squeezing so you can't escape

♡ He does like to watch you sleep in the dead of night

♡ If you’re ever separated for something and you have to go somewhere for a certain amount of time, his whole demeanor quite literally deflates due to your absence. He’s so dramatic when he misses you, he acts like you died died

♡ The thing he loves most about you is your assertiveness and how you never stand for anyone disrespecting you or hinting at it, no matter who they are. You’re courageous enough to tell others off and confront anyone about a certain matter

♡ His favorite physical feature of yours is your smile. To him, it brightens up the dark atmosphere of Hell and it fills him up with a foreign feeling. He could stare at your smile for hours, not in a creepy way though… well kind of in a creepy way

♡ He’s a biter, affectionately and sexually

♡ NSFW: Sex with him is insane and very dirty btw, need I remind you again that he’s literally a demon of Hell?

♡ Angst: Deep, deep down in his bones lives the confident fear that this romance won’t last. That either something terrible will happen to you or you will abandon him. He feels as if the end of his blissful happiness is an unavoidable destiny for a demon in Hell like him

♡ One of the many things he’s grateful for and appreciates is your acceptance of him. Like yeah you were definitely freaked out by him upon first meeting but you quickly grew to adore all his little quirks and creepy traits, he’s still a demon after all

♡ He’s also grateful for and appreciates your trust immensely. He knows all too well that trusting your vulnerability and heart in the hands of a demon is the most lethal risk. So the fact that you demonstrate comfort when with him warms a part of his desolated chest that hasn’t ever been touched before

♡ He’s earned that trust of yours by his endless proven loyalty to you and how you’re always his first choice

♡ You will always be his favorite playmate and audience

♡ He enjoys the silent moments with you. What is he thinking about in those moments? He’s wondering what you’re thinking about!

♡ He’s fairly open with you with his feelings but not really his thoughts, he doesn’t want to scare you away… at least badly

♡ He would feel incomplete without you. You are his main source of happiness and he considers you as the one good thing in his life

♡ I think he would quite literally do anything you ask of him, I’m talkin heaven and back for you, and without the restraint of morals holding him back, the possibilities of his request granting are nearly infinite

♡ The effect you’ve had on the double-talker is evident to everyone with eyes. Everyone noticed instantly how he’s literally always with you

♡ Some demons claim he’s gone soft, but they only say that because of how he acts around you (like a wounded puppy), he still has little to no regard for others (others who aren’t you ofc)

♡ Most of them are just secretly mad and envious that the creepy-crawly snakish or lizardish or whatever he is demon got to fall in love

♡ Overall, having this slithery and hissy shape shifter as your companion can get very annoying… but somehow he endlessly makes up for it with his unwavering loyalty and infatuation for you and always keeping each day interesting

[random2908]

We're going through the absolute dumbest drama at work lately with a funding agency. It was looking like it was all going to turn out in our favor (through, like, the stupidest means possible). But today they just threw a curveball at us that is so insane. So insane for a funding agency to meddle in that. That even though we're probably going to win in the end, they might drag our reputation through the mud in the middle.

So. Ok. This guy pretty high up in the DoD got Congress to put a pretty big earmark for our tech in the 2024 budget. (And by big, I mean, if we asked an investor for help they'd laugh and give us twice as much just for us, rather than having to split this government money between us and our competitors; maybe they'd introduce us to their investor friends and it would be 10 times as much. But we're an employee-owned company, and most of us employees are afraid of investors, so that's not happening.)

The catch ended up being that a specific agency within the DoD got the rights to distribute most of it. And that agency decided to make a rule that they were mainly going to consider small-business/giant-corporation partnerships. Well. That's not great for us, a small business who was hoping to just, like, get some of this money. But luckily we already had existing partnerships with two giant corps. The agency split the money into three pots, and two of them were for projects we thought we could do. So we told our favorite company we'd apply for the easy one with them, and our not-favorite company we'd apply for the hard one with them. (Not-favorite because we think they're semi-secretly trying to steal our IP and then use their fleet of literally thousands of engineers, compared to our 35 total employees, to run us out of business.) Favorite company said, great, let's do it. Most-detested company said, wait, we could do both these projects, shouldn't we apply for both? We (and by we I mean my bosses) told company-we-don't-like that we'd apply for one section with them but we didn't think it was a good idea to apply for both because we might look greedy; but they could do whatever the hell they wanted with the other section, if they didn't mind looking greedy.

Both our applications got rejected three months ago. For the harder project, we suspect it went to a completely different technological approach, so, ok I guess. For the easier project, though.... Evil-corp's application won... in which they said they'd hire us to do it under their supervision.

Which means they'd have all the IP. But also, stupid stupid them, they'd have none of the physicists, just the engineers. What the fuck do they expect to be able to do, hiring physicists as simple artisans rather than collaborating with us as thinking physicists, and having no physicists of their own who understand how the tech actually works.

And, here's their hubris, here's the first step from over a year ago when we realized they were trying to steal our own project out from under us: even in the existing partnership, they originally purchased a quantum device and a control box from us. And then collaborated with us on a new device design, but said they'd make their own control boxes from here on out. But they seem not to understand what's actually in the control box, and how tailored it is to the quantum device.

So, ok, we thought: they'd hire us to make the quantum device that they design (oh, cue tangent about how the current iteration--from our existing partnership--that they've designed with their fleet of engineers is unmachineable, i.e. we can't get a vendor who is willing to make the chassis for us; their design skills are hopeless). We'd do our level best to build it very well for them. I'd use one of my spare control boxes (I build/supervise the control boxes) and test it out for them (I'm one of the two testers), and do whatever I needed to to get it working. We'd send them those results, and the device. Then they'd hook it up to the legacy control box they bought from us last year (that doesn't have my newest upgrades), and one of their untrained just-out-of-college techs would try it out, and wouldn't get anything out of it. But we'd have proof that it's just user error, and so they'd lose (can't finish the project) and we'd win (reputation intact, plus the bit of money they'd give us for building it--not much, but something anyway).

This is the scenario that my coworker (the other tester, and supervisor for building the devices) and I have daydreamed about to each other frequently over the past month, to console ourselves about having lost the contest to actually get the grant money.

Meanwhile, our CEO went to talk to the government agency like, we're the leaders in this field, why did you reject all our applications?? And he was like, we didn't reject all of them! We accepted the one with dumbass-corporate-thieves! Our CEO was like, that wasn't our application, we're just a subcontractor on it, it wouldn't involve any of our IP or physics knowledge. And the government official was like... Oh fuck. But I hate Nice-company, you know that right? You know I couldn't let that application through because I hate them? Why did you even write an application with them? (If you knew the name of nice-company, you'd immediately be like, "oh that makes sense." Even though the department collaborating with us on quantum devices has nothing to do with the department making, oh, let's say, airplane doors.) So the government official was like, well, the contract with the smug-idiots isn't finalized yet, I can try to steer it so that you're less subcontractors and more partners in this. And of course, our CEO couldn't say, well, we don't want to be partners with them, because they're thieves and also stupid and mean. But he also knew they wouldn't agree to it in any real way and it was moot. So he just said ok. It's at least comforting to know... I guess... that the government did intend to fund us, in particular, they just didn't read the applications very carefully.

Ok, so that's the first fork, that's been playing out over the last couple months since the applications were due.

But meanwhile, in addition to our partnerships with those two large corps, we also had project funding from a certain branch of the military, and from an unnamed government agency (even I'm not supposed to know who it is, I think). The latter project is sunsetting--it's six years old, a full year past the end of the contract. But the director of that project told us, we should go quietly asking around in Washington DC to see who's disgruntled that the one agency got to distribute all these funds, and see if anyone wants to compete with them by directly sponsoring us (without asshole-corp tagging along). The other project, the military-branch project, is right in the middle right now: we're approximately half done and have about a year left to finish. And it transpired that right after this agency, the one with all the money, announced who the money was going to at the end of September, they then announced who their liaisons would be in each military branch. And they picked some random dude that they're personally friends with in this particular branch, rather than anyone out of the relevant department for this type of tech. So now, the actual department is like "we can't trust whatever end product comes out of this other agency's project." So suddenly, someone who is already funding us--already feels personally invested in our success--has become exactly who the secret-person told us to look for: someone in the government who resents the contest judges and wants to hold a separate competition against them. So, two months ago, they were like "next year we'll end your project, because the future of the technology is this big grant from this other agency." And now suddenly they're looking for more money to throw at us, longer term and in larger amounts. (Not as much as if we'd won the grant competition, but still. Like I always say, we're academia-adjacent; even a million dollars is a lot to us.)

And the third fork: nice-corp is pissed that there's so much prejudice against them for the doors thing, so they want to renew their partnership with us, just to show up that government agency that held the contest.

So we lost the contest, but we might be getting two new projects out of it.

And then today's wrench, back to the first fork. The government agency just told the idiot-assholes that they were going to require the quantum tech be made of a different quantum material than originally planned. (I suspect because it's the material that JPL/NASA really likes.) There is absolutely no reason for this requirement, no reason for them micromanage something like material choice. What's really, deeply hilarious about this weird bit of meddling is that for us physicists, this barely matters; you can make some arguments one way or the other in terms of how well it works for the tech, but we can work with either material. My whole previous job was with the material we're currently using--between that job and this job, I've been using it for 8 years. But my whole PhD and postdoc was with the material that the government agency wants dumb-corp to switch over to. I know both these materials equally well, and so do all the other physicists here. Mainly the difference this makes is... You need to change all the components in the control box to match the material it's controlling! The one part of the project that now-seriously-screwed-corp contractually doesn't want our input on! And changing that many components all at once is never a risk-free undertaking, from a simple engineering perspective; except that we suspect they don't even know how to build a control box in the first place, so "risk" doesn't even cover it.

When my boss broke the news to me this afternoon, I was like, wait, are you telling me I have to build a control box just to test this thing, for free because me building a control box is outside the scope of the project? My boss was like, no. They'll build a control box and send it to us, so we can test the quantum device that we're going to build for them, out of the new material, based on their designs that we have very little input on, even though we're the physicists and they're not.

I was like ...but their control box isn't going to work. My boss was like, nope! I was like, so then the project isn't going to work. My boss, no :) it isn't :). I was like, ok, I know this won't be for another two years, but... how hard should I try to make it work? Because I can try really hard and probably do something. My boss was like no, don't do that. Absolutely do not try to fix their box. If it doesn't work, just tell them it doesn't work. Tell them what doesn't work about it, but not why, don't give them hints. Maybe you won't even know why! You don't know what they're putting in the box, how can you diagnose it for them!

So, yeah, this project isn't going to work, and we're going to look bad for it. But hopefully we'll be getting two additional projects out of it, thanks to spite! And if two of our three projects work then who cares, I guess.

[riddles-n-games]

Guess what? It's time for a horse headcanon!!! A Hawthorne horse headcanon to be exact. From racehorses to heavy drafts, one thing’s for sure, the Hawthorne estate is not short on equines. As mentioned in the riding headcanon, there is a big stable further out on the property because they would otherwise be shunned by the rest of rich Texan society (yes, it’s totally a necessity as a part of the initiation according to Xander). Tobias Hawthorne had it made the year Skye was born but for Zara’s birthday and though there were annual renovations much like with the House, the next major section was added when Nash was five.

I think it most fitting to start off with the Hawthorne sisters, so let’s get into it. When they were little girls, as with most things, Zara and Skye fought over toys, accessories, clothes, and… ponies. (Yes, yes, I know that Zara was a shy, bookish child to quote Nan but they also fight in TIG over the inheritance so you can’t tell me that didn’t happen as they’re close in age.) Tobias had a grand selection of ponies that were different breeds with various strengths but there was one pony that stood out from the rest and of course, both of them had to have him. His name was Smokey, a Welsh Cob (Section D-heaviest of Welsh Ponies and Cob) dapple gray gelding that was a previous champion driving pony before he was retired. The girls loved him and neither of them wanted to let up; what’s worse is that he came with a sparkly light blue set and it was absolute chaos. Their father, for once, was beside himself so their mother had to jump in and what they would do is take the girls out on rides with him when the other was out, letting both believe that the other one gave up on Smokey when in fact that was not the case at all but it was one of their only working tactics to keep the peace. However, as time went on, Skye eventually was no longer interested in him and decided on another pony until she got interested in another, leaving Zara the winner (also, her parents were both betting on her to win this game of Who Gets the Pony). The two of them had a very close companionship and she used him for show-jumping until he passed due to declining health of an undiscovered disease.

Toby was never really interested in any equestrian events as he preferred simply riding and being in the company of his horses but did participate in driving, sometimes. He was definitely let off the hook more because he was basically the favorite child (I still feel bad Zara having suffered for it in the books even though she loved her adopted brother). On most occasions, he would be found in the stables grooming or taking care of tack after a ride; it was one of his go-to places when he wanted to avoid people. Another thing is that he loved to spend time in the pasture with his favorite horse, Aster, a Quarter Horse cross, during turnout or in a clearing in the woods. It’s noted that after Toby’s disappearance, Aster exhibited signs of depression and would wait at the gate, calling out for his owner. When Nash got older, his grandfather gifted him the horse as his first. 

Now, onto the old man himself. Tobias was an American Cream Draft collector and prominent breeder which helped out the breeder’s association since this horse breed is considered to be very rare. In addition, he was quite fond of the Budweiser Clydesdales and acquired a few retired ones to produce his own bloodline that are also sometimes used in the commercials. He’s also had quite a few racehorses participate in the Kentucky Derby, Breeders' Cup Classic, the Dubai World Cup, Royal Ascot and Grand National, and Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe races. Worldwide, in different types of racing from the regular flat racing to steeplechase, this man was hitting the top from all fronts but he remained most dominant on home turf with horses in the States and Canada ranking highest. The billionaire was truly devoted to the sport and had many experts serving to help him out when he was making choices for the breeds which he wanted to invest in most.

With all this, it leads us to the brothers and how they ended up with some of the horses they own.

Nash:

Texas Dream-A Tennessee Walker mare with an ironic name but everyone calls her Dream. She's a sweetheart but is sassy when she wants to be, however, give her apples and she'll be whinnying after you for days (according to Xander, at least). Her coat is a shiny palomino and she is one of Nash's only fancy horses, serving as his western pleasure horse in alternative to Chili Pepper, his main competing mare.

Chili Pepper-An Appaloosa-Quarter Horse that is his champion rodeo mare and loves the open field, biting at stray calves during roundups. She is a roan leopard color and is easily recognizable as she has a scar running down the length of her girth from an unfortunate run in with a barbed fence when she bucked a little too hard.

Bullet-Very on the nose with his name, this Appendix Quarter is a fast one. A retired racer that participated in the All American Futurity, coming in a close second but winning the Rainbow Futurity and Champion of Champions Stakes. Tobias Hawthorne had partial ownership of his sire and bred his own star mare with him to produce Bullet. He is Nash's secondary choice for roundups and other rodeo-related events, however, they get along best when Nash is looking for a burst of speed or in a race against his brother, Need-For-Speed Jameson. This gelding is certainly living his life a quarter mile at a time as he whizzes past, a chestnut blur by the time you see him.

Buttercup-She is a Belgian-Shire cross that Nash rescued and although an elderly sterile mare, she is a very sweet gentle giant. He has her retired to the pasture but likes to follow Nash around when he is going in to catch a horse and Grayson too because she knows he carries snacks. She has a limp but is still in fairly good shape with a lovely light bay coat and white feathering.

Grayson:

Mirtha-An imported Marwari filly that was part of a successful twin birthing by a sought-after broodmare, a rarity in the horse world given they are usually fatal for the mare. She and her twin were purchased and shipped to the US by Tobias for Grayson and Jameson. She is an intended dressage horse that's still in her early days but Gray loves taking her out for a happy gallop around the paddock. She has a strawberry roan sabino coat but unfortunately for her she loves a roll in the dust or mud (actually, make that great for her, unfortunate for Gray).

Onyx-His Arabian stallion that is black all over and is one of the most reputable Arabians used in Western competitions in Texas. The greatest joy this stallion gets is rounding up calves in the ring and he is a great partner to Nash's mare, Chili Pepper, which is why Nash does prefer his younger brother to come out on the most major roundups even though Gray is not much for it. Onyx has produced some great foals through Chili and Gray's Shagya Arabian mare, Moonlight, which in their own right often make great playmates with each other.

Sadie-She is an American Saddlebred and his favorite horse both for riding and dressage competitions. Gray's had her since he was seven and got her as a birthday present. He was very attached to her when he was a kid especially since she's very gentle and sweet. She is a palomino pinto and foaled recently a little palomino colt who is the most rambunctious of the recent brood.

Dulce-A KWPN (Dutch Warmblood) filly that has potential to become a Grand Prix horse in dressage but Gray is also training her in harness riding. However, given recent complications in the sports he loves, he is taking a pause and trying to reevaluate some of the strategies he sees his trainers use because they aren't all the most ethical for the horses. If there's one thing to be said about Grayson Hawthorne, it's that he takes care of who or what he loves fiercely and that includes his horses especially those he uses for comps. She is a spicy thing and though she can given Gray a hard time, she loves him and is buttered up easily when he sneaks her a carrot before or after training sessions. Ironically enough, she is not a chestnut, despite their reputation but rather a beautiful dark bay that prances around like she owns the place but Gray just lets her think that.

Jameson:

Eeyore-He's an American Cream Draft mule as a result of an accidental pairing of a jenny with an American Cream stallion that was on loan to one of his grandfather's friends for breeding purposes. As can be seen, that went south and the owner of the donkey didn't want her foal so Tobias took it in and had him for ten years before Jameson got attached to him as a child. He's very gentle and though now an elderly mule, he still keeps up just fine on trail rides. He is the iconic cremello type coat of the American Cream but certainly more fuzzy because of his donkey genes.

Rhubarb-A Nokota stallion that is his barrel racer and preferred riding horse. He is a beautiful blue roan with what look like dark speckles. Tobias had selected him for his grandson after he started training for barrel racing comps and the duo had been inseparable ever since they started. He has taken a liking to Avery and always looks for sugar cubes from her when she and Jamie come to the stables for riding.

Soprano-She is the other half of the Marwari twins and unlike her twin, she isn't one for dirt but she sure as heck ain't a stickler for beauty-no, she loves rolling in the grass instead. So if you see a horse with green stains, that's definitely her which is how you can tell her apart from her sister. She's just the way Jameson likes her, a feisty firecracker with a heart of gold and a potential star jumper like her sire.

Corduroy-He is a Knabstrupper gelding with a bay leopard coat and also a former harness horse, now repurposed for show jumping. A lovely quiet horse, an unusual contrast to Jameson's usual likings in terms of dispositions but they get along well. He was also imported from Europe after his grandfather saw his potential and is the most recent addition to Jameson's collection.

Xander:

Meesha-A rescued zorse yearling that’s part Nokota-American Paint due to her dam’s heritage. Despite her zebra stripes, she does have patches of blue roan and white like her mother unlike the typical bayish striped coats of zorses. Though she is too young for riding of any sorts, she is pretty well behaved on trail rides when Xander rides on her mother. She is Xan's favorite of the bunch and he is her person, often galloping for the gate when she sees him or whinnying after him when he leaves.

Magpie-The Nokota-American Paint mare that's Meesha's mother and only really trusts her owner other than maybe Nash. She is very protective of her filly. She has a beautiful blue roan coat, similar to that of Rhubarb but she is distinguishable due to white flecks across her underbelly and legs. Xander loves to take her out on rides and play tag.

Darlo-An American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft colt that is the first of the Hawthorne contributions to the breed. Before his death, Tobias Hawthorne took an interest in the breed after his youngest grandson was doing research on lost histories of American breeds and he bought a few mares to start up another breeding project. Given his success with American Creams, he decided to try this draft breed, too, and Xander got involved, taking over after his passing. Darlo is a spunky lad and with his black blanket coat, he is a stunner when he trots past. Xan hopes for him to be a stud at some point but in the mean time, he is simply growing up under the watchful eye of his dam.

Foopsy-The adorable little Falabella mare that Xander owns and is only one of many from his minis' herd. He absolutely adores her and is his longest-lasting from an abandoned ranch since the others from her original herd unfortunately passed due to neglect and other health-related problems. She proved to be a sturdy and hardy girl, pushing through her own issues as she was nursed back to health and gave Xander a want to help Nash with rescues he brought back. They have grand games of chase around the property but their favorite activity is naps under a tree in the summer (it makes for some of the cutest photos in Grayson's photo albums). She is a light grey leopard coated horse but certainly Xander's loudest mini.

Also, I want to dedicate this headcanon in honor of my friend @hathorneheiress who has been a big help to me in times when I was losing hope on some of my longest standing drafts that I wanted to get out for you guys to enjoy. She is a great inspiration to me, a wonderful writer, and the most lovely enthusiast of a fanfic bestie I could ask for. Please check out her stuff, she has given great alternative fiction to our faves in this fandom and she deserves some more recognition. Thank you all as always! Bye.

[sapphire-weapon]

Hi! Sorry if this counts as shitstirring... But you got me thinking... Do you really think that someone really needs to play the games in order to fully understand the story? Or is watching them and reading up on them enough? Thanks, and sorry!!!

Don't be sorry. This is a valid question that deserves an honest answer.

There's nuance to this. This isn't just a simple "yes or no" question.

Do I think that you need to play the games to understand the story? No, I don't. Resident Evil's story is not difficult (though, you'd never know that, looking at the fandom). It's very easy to watch the games and movies, go "ok I got it", and move on.

Do I think that you need to play the games to be considered an authority on the canon? 100%, absolutely. And I'll tell you why.

We spend a lot of time talking about narrative direction and storytelling devices and the use of tropes and cinematography here on this blog, but the one thing that we really need to keep in mind at all times is that Resident Evil is a game first and a story second. This has been the design philosophy since the series's conception. This is why RE4 OG's story was slapped together in three weeks. This is why RE5 was the way that it was. This is why RE7 is what RE7 turned out to be.

The narrative of Resident Evil is not something that exists separately or divorced from its gameplay. In fact, the opposite is true. RE's story is not only influenced by its gameplay, it actually -- in some cases -- is directly written as a result of its gameplay.

I've talked about the story behind RE4's development before, but.

Was RE6's story borderline incomprehensible, and did it jump approximately sixteen sharks? Yes. Was that the main reason why RE6 failed? Absolutely fucking not. Not even close.

RE6 turned out the way that it did because RE6 was developed and released during a time in which the biggest moneymakers in the AAA game space were brown & bloom multiplayer shooters. Capcom wanted in on that gravy train.

RE5 sought to take the award-winning formula that RE4 developed and add a multiplayer element to it in order to initially chase that trend, and RE5 for a very long time was the highest-selling Resident Evil title ever made.

Capcom looked at that and took it to mean that it was RE5's added multiplayer element that made it so successful. They weren't exactly wrong, either. RE5, for a lot of people, was like a version of RE4 that you could play with your friends.

Wesker was not killed in RE5 because Capcom thought it was an appropriate time narratively to kill him. Wesker's death was a symbolic one -- it was the death of the "old" Resident Evil -- the death of the slow, plodding, single player experience that the entire AAA industry had convinced themselves was no longer viable monetarily and not what players wanted. This was especially true for RE, after the unprecedented success of the more action-focused RE4 changed the entire third person shooter genre forever.

By the time we reach RE6, Capcom is all on on this. Three campaigns, all with co-op, all of which play differently. Chris's story is what Chris's story is in RE6 because Capcom knew that most players were probably going to reach for his campaign first, considering he was the protagonist of the most recent release and, therefore, the most recognizable to players who maybe weren't necessarily super familiar with RE. They specifically wanted Chris's campaign to feel like a traditional third person shooter in order to get new players hooked, because Capcom was convinced that that's what a majority of gamers at the time in general wanted.

Leon's story is what Leon's story is in RE6 because it was designed specifically to cater to people who loved RE4 and would reach for him first over Chris. So, they gave Leon a female partner (Helena in place of Ashley) and a slower, more traditional horror setting (while still being action-oriented), and they tried to kill two birds with one stone by having Ada running around and also being the damsel in distress, so to speak, to replicate the "save the princess" plotline from RE4.

But the biggest issue with all of this was that it turned the design philosophy of the game into "how can we sell this?" over trying to just make a good horror game -- and it showed. Capcom cut a hell of a lot of corners in terms of pacing and level design and enemy design and enemy variety in favor of focusing on the combat system (which was never adequately explained and had its nuances lost on approximately 80% of the playerbase), the netcode, and making the game's story as easy to consume and digest as possible while chasing specific market trends.

RE6 didn't go super hard on Aeon because the writing staff was just so ~dedicated to the ship~. RE6 went hard on Aeon because they wanted Leon to look heroic and save the girl just like he did in RE4 but didn't want to create another Ashley after how universally hated she was. Knowing that is how I say so confidently that Remake is retconning Aeon -- it's because the ship itself was never the point. They used it as a gameplay contrivance that they thought would help sell RE6, and it blew up in their faces. So now they're trying something new.

The actual experience of playing Resident Evil 6 was downright miserable to a vast majority of the fanbase because it was a soulless, hackneyed mess that didn't even have the decency to bother giving itself a spooky atmosphere. It was an uninspired series of long hallways filled with bullet sponge enemies and literally nothing else.

So, when the story was stupid and fan favorites like Leon felt like they got screwed over on top of all of that because the same design philosophy of "make this as mass marketable as possible" bled into the story from the gameplay, that was just the shit icing on the shit cake.

People probably would have been much more forgiving of RE6's story if the game design itself was better. Or, conversely, people would've been much more forgiving of RE6's game design if the story was super compelling.

But RE6 was neither.

And so RE7 was Capcom's way of trying to re-learn how to do pacing, level design, and atmosphere. The gameplay was the most important thing. That's why they didn't even bother using the legacy characters and created Ethan and the Bakers. The legacy characters would've been a distraction. They had to fix things one step at a time: gameplay first, story second.

That's why RE7 is RE7 and why we have only seen Leon in CGI movies and not games since 6 (Remakes not withstanding). RE7 fixed the gameplay, and Vendetta, ID, and DI served to reconfigure and redefine Leon's character, and I'm more than sure that they're going to try to finally blend those things together in RE9.

And if you don't play the fucking games, and if you don't fucking understand how the games industry works, you're not going to have any of that fucking context going into your meta analysis.

That's why braindead motherfuckers in this fandom look at that stupid remark made about how the one director thought that Leon and Ashley holding hands during RE4make's gameplay made them look "too close" and they read way too much into it -- it's because the spoken words of the directors are all they have to go off of, and they don't realize what a bad gameplay decision having Leon and Ashley hold hands would have been.

If you don't play the fucking game, you don't know that the half-second it takes for Leon to switch from his knife to his gun can mean the difference between taking a hit or not -- and so you would have no reason to think of how annoying it would be to add yet another half-second delay to Leon drawing his gun if he had to disengage from Ashley first. If you fuck with the normal gameplay loop with something that only happens when Ashley is with you, it will make the player start to resent Ashley, and that's the opposite of what the devs wanted to do -- which is what the fucking conversation in the interview was about in the first place!

That is far more likely the reason why the handholding was cut. And while that decision was being made, it was probably pointed out that having them hold hands made it look like they were on a date -- and that's absolutely not the tone/atmosphere that this game was going for. That is far more likely what was meant by "too close."

It had nothing to do with ensuring that the players perceived Leon and Ashley's relationship as platonic. It had everything to do with tone and atmosphere and the pacing of the normal gameplay loop. It's just that "*juts a thumb in his direction* This guy thought it made them look too close" was a way fucking easier explanation of what they probably thought was a really fucking unimportant anecdote about a character animation that didn't matter.

But if you don't play the games, you won't know that.

If you don't play the games, Word of God is all you have to go on. That's why people who don't play the games insist on all Word of God being explicit canon. It's because they can't use the games themselves as a baseline -- and that gives them a skewed, fucked up perspective of what Resident Evil is trying to do and be and accomplish.

This kind of shit is constantly in my head when I'm writing my meta and trying to predict where a game's story will go next.

I pull my meta directly from the games, because that is what Resident Evil is. It is a series of games that are trying to be good games first and interesting stories second.

And if you don't understand that, you have no business calling yourself an authority on the canon.

[adamprrishcycle]

WIP Wednesday (but it’s Thursday)

I was tagged by @clotpolesonly thank you!!

This is from a fic I’ve been working on for a long time. It’s not close to seeing the light of day and this is definitely not part of any kind of final draft but here you go. Absolutely no context, enemies to lovers girlies win !!!

Parrish was sweating, the front of his shirt visibly damp and sticking to him and Ronan only let himself have the smallest of glances in his direction. The smell in the car was pure gasoline as though Parrish had spilled it all over his hands and something about the whole situation had Ronan shifting uncomfortably in his seat, oddly intrigued and equally repulsed at himself. He was no stranger to shame.

“So, I take it that was the trailer you grew up in?” Ronan said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them, thinking that if he got Parrish talking again, it would break the strange spell that had fallen upon him.

Parrish didn’t say anything.

“Come on, man, you know enough about me.”

“It’s my job to know what I know about you,” Parrish replied finally. “You don’t need to know anything about me.”

“But that’s not how it works,” Ronan protested, “and I’m already working it out in my head. Man returns to hometown and lights family home on fire. Is that why you came back? Shitty childhood? Is that why you lied about where you’re from?”

“Just stop talking,” Parrish snapped and he rubbed at his eyes with a thumb and forefinger, his hand sliding down his face before quickly putting it back on the wheel with a slight shake of his head. Ronan was drawn to those hands, fine and long with delicate fingers that circled the steering wheel in an appealing way.

“Where’s your car?”

“I left it back there,” Ronan admitted, eyes trained on the steering wheel, ignoring the night as it streamed past.

“Well, I’m not taking you back,” Parrish told him but Ronan didn’t care, he hadn’t expected to be given a ride back to his car at the scene of the crime. He only hoped that the BMW was far enough out of the way to not raise any kind of suspicion in his direction. As he considered his fate, they arrived back in town and Parrish parked in the lot of the small hotel he was staying at.

He cut the engine.

“You’re not running, then?” Ronan asked in the darkness. The light from a street lamp slid in at a low angle, lighting up Parrish’s lap where he had placed one hand, twisted but casual, the other higher up, reaching for the key in the ignition. Ronan felt Parrish glance towards him.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said seriously and he held the car key in a fist.

“Now why the fuck would you be seeing me ever again?”

Ronan turned in his seat so he could look Parrish straight in the face. The guy was an arsonist and probably having some sort of psychotic episode, and the worst part was that Ronan had sought him out, had followed him this afternoon and sat outside his hotel into the dead of night. He had climbed into Parrish’s car after all of these revelations. The sick reality of it was dawning on him. Maybe Ronan was the one having the psychotic episode.

“I’ve got a job to do,” Parrish responded coolly.

“I could report you for what I’ve just seen and you wouldn’t have a fucking job-to-do anymore,” Ronan told him, mimicking his tone.

“I don’t think you will,” said Parrish, “now get out of my car.”

Ronan would have been irritated if he hadn’t been so interested, if a part of him hadn’t enjoyed the way Parrish put those particular words together, his face a harsh and unreadable mask as he spoke. His shoulders rose and fell and he reached up and hooked one finger into the neckline of his shirt, pulling the damp material away from his chest. The car was stifling.

He climbed out and Ronan mirrored him on the other side and they slammed their doors in near synchronicity. One firm bang in the night air and then the sound of cicadas resumed.

“How’s your back?” Ronan asked over the roof.

Parrish eyed him and shook his head, still unreadable, before turning and walking away towards his room. As he walked, he lifted his arms and pulled his shirt off over his head, balling it in one hand and Ronan watched the movement of his shoulder blades above his slim waist and the dark, ragged lines that ran almost the full length of him until he disappeared into shadow beneath the overhanging balcony.

Ronan relaxed finally, his jaw tight from grinding his teeth together for the whole car ride. He rolled his shoulders, releasing the tension, sniffed, spat out the nervous taste in his mouth, then ran his fingers over the hood of Parrish’s car as he turned to leave.

[partofthefandoms]

YouTube Ads ecommerce guide: When, how and why

Several DTC ecommerce advertisers are doing admirably well with Facebook Ads.

But I don’t think any brand should depend on a single marketing platform.

I’ve written before about how to bring winning Facebook assets over to Google using a Performance Max campaign that replicates the social experience as best as possible.

Today, I want to make a case for when, how, and why to consider YouTube Ads.

What to know before you begin

YouTube is a unique platform – not truly search, not fully social. It’s part of Google, yet it stands on its own. As a result, it’s not easy to master.

I tackled this in 7 important YouTube Ads lessons every media buyer should know. If you don’t want to click through, here’s the gist.

Facebook and Instagram combined great targeting with a captive audience to shorten the conversion cycle, spoiling other platforms for many advertisers. On YouTube, users either watch content they enjoy or learn how to do something.

YouTube lets you target people based on something they searched for, but they’re not actually searching for it at that moment. This intent lag, combined with the diversity of intent, means the “next step” after YouTube has to be particularly compelling.

A brand with a robust organic YouTube program will outdo one that’s using the platform solely for advertising. They have high-quality content waiting for people who end up on their channel from an ad.

A7: It's funny how many companies don't leave their video ad variations unlisted on YouTube. A lot of times you can just go to their channel and see exactly what they're advertising. #ppcchat

— Joe Martinez (@MilwaukeePPC) August 6, 2019

For brand safety, you can opt out of sensitive categories at the campaign level. Paired with audience and interest targeting, you can effectively lock out people who shouldn’t see your ads.

Google leans heavily on automation, so you have to monitor your campaigns. Even with your targeting absolutely right, you still need to feed data back to Google to improve its decision-making.

The reporting for video action campaigns is more in-depth and robust than many other Google campaigns, including Performance Max. You can take advantage of this to optimize quickly and intelligently.

YouTube fits nicely into a wider marketing or media buying mix, whether you need a new platform to expand your audience or want to scale an existing campaign. But you can only succeed if you know and accept its limitations.

With that in mind, here’s why direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce brands should consider YouTube Ads.

Why YouTube and DTC ecommerce pair well

Remember the frame of mind people are in when they’re browsing YouTube.

You’ve got folks in theater mode, looking for a solution or catching up on content. And you’ve got people scrolling through Shorts, similar to the endless scroll of social media.

But unlike Facebook, ads on YouTube are interruptive. Whether they appear at the start of a video or in the middle, you’re asking for attention when people would rather be doing something else.

But if there’s one thing DTC ecommerce advertisers are good at, it’s thumb-stopping hooks.

Ultimately, both platforms are about the retention graph. Like Facebook, YouTube shows you a chart of how many viewers stay on a video until the end. You’ll want to refer to that chart and tweak your creatives accordingly.

How do you get more people to stay to the end? Make your content more interesting.

With a strong hook and compelling storyline, your “ad” could be anything from a music video to a fix-it guide.

As long as it’s entertaining, people will watch videos several minutes in length because that’s what they came to YouTube for.

Another approach is to build around short-form, snackable content. Take your winning ads from Facebook, chop them up if they’re longer than 60 seconds, and populate your channel with several organic Shorts.

You can use these to start advertising (see below for how to set this up). Any content that does well organically should also do well in the ads platform and vice versa.

5 recommendations for new YouTube advertisers

It’s easy to get things wrong on YouTube, from unrealistic expectations to expecting crystal clear attribution. But with the right approach, an already strong brand will likely be elevated further.

Here are five things you should do to give your brand the best chance of achieving that.

1. Know what you’re getting into

YouTube has over 2.68 billion users, making it the second-largest search engine behind Google. So once you’ve tapped out other networks – Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and everything else – YouTube offers tremendous scale to diversify further.

Note: Google’s attribution is largely click-based, so you won’t see as many reported conversions. Both your ROAS and CPA will be lower than you’re accustomed to, while campaigns will need more time before you start seeing the results in post-purchase surveys.

2. Understand the platform

YouTube Shorts is particularly interesting, but Google doesn’t offer the ability to create a Shorts-only campaign. There are ways of getting past this – kind of. 

Create a new video action campaign that targets only mobile devices. This somewhat forces the system to go only to mobile devices, and in that format, it tends to lean towards Shorts. 

Be sure to only provide vertical video assets shorter than 60 seconds.

3. Adopt the right mindset

You won’t get the same ROAS you do on Facebook, at least not the same reported ROAS. But it can provide a similar level of incremental revenue and scale. 

Your approach must differ since YouTube is about creating awareness so other platforms can win more conversions. 

Whatever revenue is reported by Google, know that it’s just a drop in the bucket in terms of its incremental impact on your business.

4. Don’t try too much at once

If you go in heavy with YouTube, there’s a good chance you won’t get any results. Start with one campaign and see how things go. YouTube is budget-intensive. 

Without sufficient investment, there’s a good chance that you’ll go months without seeing any scale. Or worse, pull the plug on what could have been a high-potential campaign.

5. Use your own attribution

There’s a strong chance you already use post-purchase surveys to ask customers where they first heard about your brand. This is a good way to find people who discovered you on YouTube but converted elsewhere. 

But it’s self-identifying and not foolproof, so you may wish to consider tools like Northbeam or Triple Whale to measure impact. Just remember, no attribution is ever perfect.

YouTube is the next frontier for high-performing ecommerce brands

I like to think of YouTube Ads clicks as the beginning of a beautiful journey.

Some people go on to become website traffic and enter your remarketing campaigns. Some will join your email list. A few may not click or visit your site but think about you later and look for you by name, eventually entering your funnel via a branded ad.

Naturally, attribution and reporting aren’t robust enough to track all that. So you’ll need to be patient, trust in YouTube as well as your own creatives, and look for incremental correlation rather than causation. This means not testing out other platforms as you expand to YouTube.

Keep in mind what YouTube means to people. It’s a source of entertainment, an escape from reality. A place where people go to have their biases confirmed, problems are solved, and businesses and careers are made.

It’s only natural that users value their time there and have demanding attention spans.

But if you’re sitting on winning assets that offer and align with what they’re looking for, ignoring YouTube is as good as leaving money on the table.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

Add Search Engine Land to your Google News feed.    

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New on Search Engine Land

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About the author

Menachem Ani, Founder of JXT Group, is a digital advertising expert with over a decade of success developing high-impact marketing strategies for online retailers and lead-generation clients.

Read more here https://sites.google.com/view/gorilladigitalseo/services/seo-optimization

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Today’s replies! One about SnK, one about SPTO, a bunch about TWST.

6ubble-gum asked:

Every so often I'll find ur tiny founding titan arts again and spend a good long few minutes gushing over it lmao. snk is dead to me but tiny founder is alive and well (espec the fleas art)

Ahh it’s so sweet that you remember and look at it from time to time! I’ll repeat myself, but wow it is truly surprising that our SnK stuff isn’t totally forgotten. I feel like even I don’t remember the majority of it…

I’m very glad our teeny tiny Founder (with his little fleas) makes you happy~ God I remember when we drew it and these were the newest chapters…  wild times.

Anonymous asked:

Speaking of Yandere Todd, I can already imagine him being extremely jealous of Mobile. Mobile would have to fight Wallace’s ‘evil ex’. They would have a fight to see who’s the better psychic for Wallace. And then Wallace watched all of this with a drink in his hand while he cheers his boyfriend on. And then he might call for a restraining order on Todd. That’s what I can imagine

OH NOOO I love how absolutely devastatingly one-sided this is. Wallace cheering Mobile on, Mobile winning…  At least Todd got his participation prize… which is a restraining order 😔

Jokes aside, I find it endlessly amusing that Wallace just keeps hooking up with psychic guys. I don’t necessarily think it’s intentional, but I do think Wallace benefits from it very nicely. In a lot of ways…

And it does make the psychic vs psychic scenarios very possible, I would honestly love to watch them fight. Or to draw them fighting... For some reason though (lol) I get a feeling that Mobile is more powerful than Todd. Gotta train more! For Wallace Wells! 💪

Anonymous asked:

I found your art on pinterest, here's the link: [I edited out the link]

Thank you for letting us know, Anon! Unfortunately, I don’t know if there is anything I can do to take it down… But we still appreciate you letting us know. Pinterest doesn’t respond to the request promptly.

The comments are hilarious though. Love it when people talk about me as if I’m a cryptid that steals people’s fingers and eats their kids.

Anonymous asked:

Do you think Idia and Lilia will ever do cosplay together and if yes, what couple are they cosplaying?

I feel like Lilia is that force in Idia’s life that could make him consider things that used to be a definite “no-no” to him, and we do know that Idia actually doesn’t mind cosplaying as long as his head is hidden… And the whole cosplay thing sounds like something Lilia would want to try at least once, so maybe that could happen. If there is a combo of a character with his face (and head: can’t show burning hair) completely hidden + someone tiny and adorable? In any way, Idia is definitely going to overthink this whole thing, only for Lilia to change his mind and tell Idia that they should switch costumes with each other at the very last moment lol

Anonymous asked:

Got Azul, Jamil, Idia, and Riddle on a loading screen today and I blame you for immediately thinking about how much of a dream come true it would be for Azul to have all three of them 😂

Haha YESSSSS YESSSSSSSSS (proud of our bad influence)

It really is a dream come true, what a wonderful harem of reluctant lovers that don’t even like Azul all that much. But it doesn’t matter, because all three of them are his and his only <3

Good for him!

Anonymous asked:

have you seen ruggie’s club outfit?? he looks so good, i can’t wait till we get to see what his bottoms—i mean leona and epel look like in their club gear

Yeah I have! It’s very cool, it suits Ruggie a lot. He really does look like he is about to go and dominate some bitches lol

It’s also cool to finally see the uniform that magift players wear… is this the first time we’re seeing it? They usually wear their PE uniform... It’s a great design, and once again, Ruggie deserves to look cool. Good for him too!

Anonymous asked:

Random thought but Riddle being both in Heartslabyul and Horseback riding club... He's really constantly surrounded by big-tiddied green men :3 Good for him

Oh god I keep forgetting that Sebek also has a constant presence in Riddle’s life… you’re so right omg, what a sick twist of fate. Widdle Widdle (little Riddle) and big-tiddied green men that just keep spawning around him AHHH

Seriously, good for him. Am I ending the third reply in a row with this phrase? Well, everyone got what they deserved…

[xxgothchatonxx]

So.. I think Jude Law might be my second favourite Captain Hook now.

I said it recently - Jude Law has never given a bad performance, in my opinion. So my thoughts going into this were “ok if the writing is crap, at least Jude will be fun”. But thankfully the writing was really damn good. I’d go so far as to say this Hook succeeds where so many attempts to make live-action Disney villains sympathetic and complex have failed. And the reason why this doesn’t bother me as much as, say, Maleficent or Lady Tremaine, is because of all the villains that should have sympathetic backstories, it should be Captain Hook. So the fact that Disney even allowed this is a huge win in my book!

What I loved the most is that these writers understood that while Hook is a villain, he should also be written with some sympathy. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic animated version and Dustin Hoffman is an absolute delight, but the other Hooks I consider to be the best have that extra layer of complexity and tragedy. Jude chewed quite a bit of scenery at the start which was wonderful, but then reality comes in and he gives one hell of a powerful, emotional performance. It actually made me cry.

The “twist” on his relationship with Peter is predictable (yep it’s a very popular fan theory on here - a theory I really like) but I thought it was a good predictable. It made sense and it didn’t cross the line into being stupid. He’s not suddenly hugging Peter and the Lost Boys and giving the Darling children a first-class escort home. No no no. I love that they left it ambiguous in the end as to whether he’s changed or not. That last smile could mean anything.

So, while it’s not exactly how it is in the book, that doesn’t bother me. Because the writers understood the basics - Captain Hook is a bitter old man who has wasted his life over a pursuit of revenge, and he feels it’s too late for him to change. Add an dash of an OUAT-esque (seriously there is one part that made me go “oh so he’s Baelfire!”) twist on his relationship with Peter, and you’ve got a pretty interesting version of Captain Hook.

[milkmaannn]

YouTube Ads ecommerce guide: When, how and why

Several DTC ecommerce advertisers are doing admirably well with Facebook Ads.

But I don’t think any brand should depend on a single marketing platform.

I’ve written before about how to bring winning Facebook assets over to Google using a Performance Max campaign that replicates the social experience as best as possible.

Today, I want to make a case for when, how, and why to consider YouTube Ads.

What to know before you begin

YouTube is a unique platform – not truly search, not fully social. It’s part of Google, yet it stands on its own. As a result, it’s not easy to master.

I tackled this in 7 important YouTube Ads lessons every media buyer should know. If you don’t want to click through, here’s the gist.

Facebook and Instagram combined great targeting with a captive audience to shorten the conversion cycle, spoiling other platforms for many advertisers. On YouTube, users either watch content they enjoy or learn how to do something.

YouTube lets you target people based on something they searched for, but they’re not actually searching for it at that moment. This intent lag, combined with the diversity of intent, means the “next step” after YouTube has to be particularly compelling.

A brand with a robust organic YouTube program will outdo one that’s using the platform solely for advertising. They have high-quality content waiting for people who end up on their channel from an ad.

A7: It's funny how many companies don't leave their video ad variations unlisted on YouTube. A lot of times you can just go to their channel and see exactly what they're advertising. #ppcchat

— Joe Martinez (@MilwaukeePPC) August 6, 2019

For brand safety, you can opt out of sensitive categories at the campaign level. Paired with audience and interest targeting, you can effectively lock out people who shouldn’t see your ads.

Google leans heavily on automation, so you have to monitor your campaigns. Even with your targeting absolutely right, you still need to feed data back to Google to improve its decision-making.

The reporting for video action campaigns is more in-depth and robust than many other Google campaigns, including Performance Max. You can take advantage of this to optimize quickly and intelligently.

YouTube fits nicely into a wider marketing or media buying mix, whether you need a new platform to expand your audience or want to scale an existing campaign. But you can only succeed if you know and accept its limitations.

With that in mind, here’s why direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce brands should consider YouTube Ads.

Why YouTube and DTC ecommerce pair well

Remember the frame of mind people are in when they’re browsing YouTube.

You’ve got folks in theater mode, looking for a solution or catching up on content. And you’ve got people scrolling through Shorts, similar to the endless scroll of social media.

But unlike Facebook, ads on YouTube are interruptive. Whether they appear at the start of a video or in the middle, you’re asking for attention when people would rather be doing something else.

But if there’s one thing DTC ecommerce advertisers are good at, it’s thumb-stopping hooks.

Ultimately, both platforms are about the retention graph. Like Facebook, YouTube shows you a chart of how many viewers stay on a video until the end. You’ll want to refer to that chart and tweak your creatives accordingly.

How do you get more people to stay to the end? Make your content more interesting.

With a strong hook and compelling storyline, your “ad” could be anything from a music video to a fix-it guide.

As long as it’s entertaining, people will watch videos several minutes in length because that’s what they came to YouTube for.

Another approach is to build around short-form, snackable content. Take your winning ads from Facebook, chop them up if they’re longer than 60 seconds, and populate your channel with several organic Shorts.

You can use these to start advertising (see below for how to set this up). Any content that does well organically should also do well in the ads platform and vice versa.

5 recommendations for new YouTube advertisers

It’s easy to get things wrong on YouTube, from unrealistic expectations to expecting crystal clear attribution. But with the right approach, an already strong brand will likely be elevated further.

Here are five things you should do to give your brand the best chance of achieving that.

1. Know what you’re getting into

YouTube has over 2.68 billion users, making it the second-largest search engine behind Google. So once you’ve tapped out other networks – Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and everything else – YouTube offers tremendous scale to diversify further.

Note: Google’s attribution is largely click-based, so you won’t see as many reported conversions. Both your ROAS and CPA will be lower than you’re accustomed to, while campaigns will need more time before you start seeing the results in post-purchase surveys.

2. Understand the platform

YouTube Shorts is particularly interesting, but Google doesn’t offer the ability to create a Shorts-only campaign. There are ways of getting past this – kind of. 

Create a new video action campaign that targets only mobile devices. This somewhat forces the system to go only to mobile devices, and in that format, it tends to lean towards Shorts. 

Be sure to only provide vertical video assets shorter than 60 seconds.

3. Adopt the right mindset

You won’t get the same ROAS you do on Facebook, at least not the same reported ROAS. But it can provide a similar level of incremental revenue and scale. 

Your approach must differ since YouTube is about creating awareness so other platforms can win more conversions. 

Whatever revenue is reported by Google, know that it’s just a drop in the bucket in terms of its incremental impact on your business.

4. Don’t try too much at once

If you go in heavy with YouTube, there’s a good chance you won’t get any results. Start with one campaign and see how things go. YouTube is budget-intensive. 

Without sufficient investment, there’s a good chance that you’ll go months without seeing any scale. Or worse, pull the plug on what could have been a high-potential campaign.

5. Use your own attribution

There’s a strong chance you already use post-purchase surveys to ask customers where they first heard about your brand. This is a good way to find people who discovered you on YouTube but converted elsewhere. 

But it’s self-identifying and not foolproof, so you may wish to consider tools like Northbeam or Triple Whale to measure impact. Just remember, no attribution is ever perfect.

YouTube is the next frontier for high-performing ecommerce brands

I like to think of YouTube Ads clicks as the beginning of a beautiful journey.

Some people go on to become website traffic and enter your remarketing campaigns. Some will join your email list. A few may not click or visit your site but think about you later and look for you by name, eventually entering your funnel via a branded ad.

Naturally, attribution and reporting aren’t robust enough to track all that. So you’ll need to be patient, trust in YouTube as well as your own creatives, and look for incremental correlation rather than causation. This means not testing out other platforms as you expand to YouTube.

Keep in mind what YouTube means to people. It’s a source of entertainment, an escape from reality. A place where people go to have their biases confirmed, problems are solved, and businesses and careers are made.

It’s only natural that users value their time there and have demanding attention spans.

But if you’re sitting on winning assets that offer and align with what they’re looking for, ignoring YouTube is as good as leaving money on the table.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

Add Search Engine Land to your Google News feed.    

Related stories

New on Search Engine Land

<![CDATA[ @media screen and (min-width: 800px) #div-gpt-ad-3191538-7 display: flex !important; justify-content: center !important; align-items: center !important; min-width:770px; min-height:260px; @media screen and (min-width: 1279px) #div-gpt-ad-3191538-7 display: flex !important; justify-content: center !important; align-items: center !important; min-width:800px!important; min-height:440px!important; ]]>

About the author

Menachem Ani, Founder of JXT Group, is a digital advertising expert with over a decade of success developing high-impact marketing strategies for online retailers and lead-generation clients.

Read more here https://sites.google.com/view/gorilladigitalseo/services/seo-optimization