#but it will probably happen during my lifetime is all i’m saying

[nezumithewriter]

are you going to ever finish the squip Michael au

Yeah i’ll finish it!!!11! It hasn’t been too long since the last update—

uh

[janeyseymour]

I Hate You, I Love You- part 2

Part 1.

Summary: You swallow your pride and ask Melissa to do you the favor of a lifetime.

WC: ~2.5k

Monday morning comes all too soon for you. Today is the day that you have to swallow all of your pride and your hatred for the redheaded woman and all but beg her to pretend to be your faux girlfriend for the holidays.

You’re sitting at your desk trying to grade the last few spelling tests you skipped out on over the weekend when you hear her make her way in, keys jingling and boots clanking against the tile loudly. God- you do not want to do this. But it’s now, or it’s in the staff lounge with everybody watching and listening in. So, you stand from your desk, run your fingers through your hair nervously, and make your way over to her door.

Her back is turned to you, she’s leaning over to put her bags on the ground, and… damn. Her figure is insane. You take a few silent moments to appreciate it without her being aware that you’re there. Quietly, you knock on her doorframe and lean against it, arms crossed over your chest. Are you pushing your breasts up just the slightest bit? Maybe. If you have to swallow your pride and nearly die of embarrassment, you might as well look hot doing it.

She turns just her top half, still leaning over, and you have the perfect view of her… Shit. Stop looking. 

“What could you possibly need right now?” She huffs out. “It’s freakin’ Monday at 7:30.”

You harden at the greeting she’s given you. “Trust me,” you roll your eyes. “I don’t wanna be here anymore than you do. But, I got to talk to you. Alone.”

“Oh?” The redhead raises her brow and sits in her seat before looking at you confused. “Come to finally tell me that you’re-”

“I need a favor,” you sigh. “Like, a really big one.”

“I can’t get you outta a ticket,” Melissa snorts. “You know that.”

“I don’t need that. I need… I need you to…” Just fucking say it. “I need you to pretend to my girlfriend over the holidays.”

Her jaw drops. It’s clear that’s not what she was expecting you to say in the slightest. “What?”

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend over the holidays, and before you shoot me down, at least let me give you the sob story and think about it. Please?”

She begins howling with laughter. “Sure, let’s hear it.”

You explain what had happened on Saturday, and you hate the way that she’s getting such pleasure out of your misfortune. “And they all mentioned something about it yesterday as I was leaving too, so I know I can’t get out of embarrassment either way- having you there somehow seems like the better option.”

“Why’d you say my name?” your colleague asks, and it’s clear she genuinely wants to know. But then she gives you that ridiculous smirk again. “Is it because you know I’m the hottest person you could think of?”

“Please,” you snort. “I was going through the list of single people I knew in my head, and I knew I couldn’t say someone that my mom already knew… unfortunately, your name came out of my mouth before I could stop it. And now they know what you look like, so it’s not like I can ask anyone else to pretend to be you. But you wish I thought you were hot.”

That’s a bluff. You think she’s hot as hell, but she can’t know that. And what you don’t know is that Melissa wishes you didn’t hate her the way that you do, and she wishes that she didn’t have to pretend to hate you to get your attention. 

“What’s in it for me?” she chooses to ask.

You roll your eyes. “My mom’s cooking, and you get out of having to deal with Kristen Marie on Christmas.”

“And…?”

“A hundred bucks.”

“A hundred bucks a day.”

“No way.”

“How many days are we talkin’?”

“Probably the weekend,” you sigh. “That’s three hundred bucks and an hour car ride there and back; usually stay with them during the holidays so I don’t have to drive back and forth, and if I don’t, they’ll know something’s up.”

“Three hundred bucks,” Melissa states again. She knows she won’t take your money, but she wants to see how desperate you are.

You groan. “Fine.”

“And then what are you gonna tell them after?”

“That we broke up,” you tell her as if it’s obvious. “Trust me. This is just going to be a weekend thing, and then I’ll only have to talk to you at work.”

“Fine. Don’t go fallin’ in love with me, babe,” the redhead winks at you.

You absolutely despise the way that the red creeps into your cheeks. “Don’t worry. That’s the last thing I’ll be doing.”

As the holiday season approaches, your mother continues to pester you about bringing your ‘girlfriend’ around before the actual holiday. Luckily, you can use the excuse that you are extremely busy with your students, as is Melissa. It’s not a lie- you feel like you’re drowning this year. You know your colleague isn’t fairing much better with her students.

But the Friday before winter break starts, exactly a week before you have to make your way back to your parents house, you step into Melissa’s room again early in the morning.

“Come over tonight. We need to figure out all of the details of our relationship so we don’t flop in front of my family next week,” you tell the redhead.

Melissa shakes her head though. “You come to me. Ain’t no way I’m goin’ to your place and eating takeout when I can just make us dinner.”

“Fine.”

“Six. Bring wine.”

After a long day of school with children all too eager to be done for the week, they’re sent home, and you’re able to leave the school for the weekend. You’re looking forward to the last few days of teaching before the break and then Christmas break itself… until you remember that you have to spend Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after with Melissa. God, this is going to suck.

Still, you’re caught in your web of lies, and you know you can’t back out now- not this late in the game. So, at six o’clock, you’re on Melissa’s front stoop, knocking with a few bottles of wine in hand.

When the redhead opens the door, you hate yourself for ogling her. She’s standing there in a tank top and sweatpants, hair knotted up in a messy bun, and covered in flour. “Jesus. I said a bottle, not three.”

“Well, I didn’t know what you liked, and we’re gonna have to be drunk to make this work,” you shrug.

“Red,” is all she says as she steps out of the way to let you in. “Don’t forget that for when you’re getting me wine at your parents.”

You make a mental note of that, and then you make your way in. “I hate you.”

“I know,” is all Melissa responds with. “But it wasn’t me who said we were dating, now was it?”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” Green eyes bore into your own for a few seconds, clearly challenging you.

You just set your things down on her counter with a scowl. 

As much as you hate to say it, her cooking is delightful. The wine pairs well with the food. And you aren’t complaining about the view. Melissa looks… she’s hot as fucking hell, and you’ve caught yourself staring at her rack quite a few times during dinner.

You insist on cleaning up dinner, and she fights you on it. There’s something about it that makes you feel a certain way. It’s almost like you love to hate her.

Before you know it, the two of you are settled on the couch, each with yet another glass on wine in hand, and you’re attempting to hash out your fake love story.

“I told them we’ve been dating for a while,” you sigh. “So… I’m thinking four months? Long enough for you to show up to Christmas, but short enough for them to not know about you.”

“Sure,” she agrees without much of a fight. “I’m assuming we just met through work?”

“I figure the more truthful this lie is, the easier it’ll be to keep up with,” you shrug.

Melissa nods along. “That’s a good plan.”

“The other thing is…” you rub your collarbone nervously. “When I’m in a relationship, I tend to be quite touchy, so we have to- we have to do that.”

The redhead shrugs. “Whatever we have to do in order for me to get my three hundred bucks.”

You spend another two hours learning about each other, drinking wine as you go. She’s learned about your parents, your aunts and uncles, where you went to college, what your favorite color is, what kind of wines and cocktails you prefer, the foods that will be at dinners that you won’t go near, what you like to do in your free time… and in turn, you’ve heard all about her enormous family, how long she’s been at Abbott, how she loves to crochet but never knit, the fact that she has a guitar in her classroom that she doesn’t know how to play other than basic chords, among other things. The two of you agree that Melissa was the one to make the move on you after a happy hour with the work crew. You were the first one to say ‘I love you’, and those at school aren’t aware of the budding relationship between the two of you.

It’s a revealing night, and you find yourself not wanting to beat the shit out of the woman next to you. You would almost venture to say that you’re enjoying you’re time with her- almost. 

It’s fairly safe to say when you’re finished going over family trees, your back story, and basic information about each other that you’re both wine drunk. You’ve gone through two bottles, and you’re halfway through the third.

“You’re fuckin’ crazy if you think I’m lettin’ you drive home like this,” your coworker laughs as she watches you attempt to gather your things. “Just stay the night.”

“Like hell I’m doin’ that.”

“You’re gonna have to spend a weekend with me sharing the same bed, in your parents’ house. Get over yourself,” Melissa tells you. “Seriously. Just stay- I got a spare bedroom you can use.”

“Fine.”

The next morning, she’s awake before you and somehow not hungover the way that you are. Melissa’s already left the house actually. She left you a note to make you aware of that.

Had to run out to do some grocery shopping. Don’t miss me too much. She finishes the note with a winking face, and she signs it ‘Mel’.

You roll your eyes, but you pick up the pen before scrawling out, Thanks for letting me stay the night. And then just to fuck with her, you scribble down an ‘xo’. And then you head back to your own apartment, entirely forgetting that you’re still clad in her sweatpants and About shirt.

With a heavy sigh, you shoot her a text. I left, but I forgot I’m wearing your stuff.

Just keep it for now. Bring it when we go to your parents’ house so it looks like you’ve had it for a while.

I hate to say it, but good idea.

I’m full of good ideas, babe.

You spend most of your Saturday nursing a hangover, Sunday is spent preparing things for the final few days of school before Christmas break. With Christmas Eve being on a Friday and Christmas being on a Saturday, that means you have up until Wednesday with your kids. Wednesday is the class holiday party, and you would prefer to have everything set and ready for you to just throw in the trunk of your car come the day of the celebration before you send the kids off.

Then, once your kids are sent off to their parents high on sugar and eager for the break from learning, you’re stuck with the knowledge that you have to spend some of your own retreat with the woman that you love to hate.

“I think we should have dinner again,” Melissa knocks on your door as you’re gathering your belongings. “Come over, I’ll make dinner, and we can go through our story again.”

“I’m bringing the wine?”

Your coworker smirks. “Yeah.”

This dinner ends the exact same way that your last dinner with the redhead did. You’re asleep in Melissa’s guest room dressed in a pair of her sweatpants and an old Abbott tee-shirt.

When you wake up this time around though, Melissa isn’t out. She’s actually downstairs sipping on a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

“The newspaper? Are you serious?” you tease her.

Your colleague just rolls her eyes. “I like having the fine print- reminds me of when my dad used to read it.”

“Well, lucky for you, my parents still get the paper delivered every morning,” you chuckle. “I don’t know how, but they manage it.”

Melissa purses her lips and sips her coffee. “Good to know.”

You scratch the back of your neck awkwardly before sighing. “Well, I’m gonna head out, but I’ll pick you up Friday at ten? My mom likes when I come over early so I can help her set everything up.”

The redhead just nods.

“Thanks for letting me stay the night again,” you say quietly before you grab your bag and leave.

Thursday, you spend most of the day regretting your decision of lying to your parents and aunt and somehow convincing the Melissa Schemmenti to play into your lie. Most of Thursday night is you lying awake and stressing. When you do finally fall asleep, you’re plagued with stress dreams about how this could all go terribly wrong.

All too soon does your alarm go off, you’re hauling your suitcase into the car, and then you’re making your way to Melissa’s house to pick her up.

She’s ready relatively quickly and jumping into your passenger seat in an awfully good mood for someone who has to pretend to be in love with you.

The drive is quiet, and you thank God for that. But then, you’re pulling into your parents’ driveway, and your nerves start to get the best of you. You feel your palms sweating as you don’t loosen your grip on the steering wheel. 

Melissa looks to you with her brows furrowed. “Hey.”

“What?” you grit out.

“If you don’t fuck this up, I won’t.” And then she’s out of your car and grabbing both of your bags before she makes her way over to your door and opens it for you.

You raise a brow.

“Your mom is already standing at the front door waiting for us to come in,” she whispers to you. And then for good measure, she presses a quick kiss to your cheek. “C’mon.”

You tangle your hand with her free one, and then you’re making your way up to the door. You can only pray Melissa isn’t disgusted with your sweaty palms.

You don’t even have to knock before your mother whips open the door, Aunt Jo right behind her, with a grin on her face.

Here goes nothing. 

TAGS: @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @sweetcheeksschemmenti @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @a-queen-and-her-throne @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld @cosmichymns @sasheemo @m1lflov3rrr @ricejucie @temilyrights @emilynissangtr @squinnchy @dopenightmaretyphoon @emeraldoceansstuff @shinyfaerielights  @blkmxrvel @marvelwomenrule @sarahjohannson @casualfoxwitch

[ghost-proofbaby]

twenty four hours (modern!eddie munson x fem!reader)

HOUR SEVEN

in which you come to a few realizations while remembering the very first night you'd met eddie. a phone call with steve leaves you with more questions than answers.

→ tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn

→ warnings: strong language, eventual smut, heavier angst this chapter but all will be well soon, two uses of y/n, upside down does not exist, minors dni

→ word count: 4.4k+

→ a/n: shorter chapter today but the focus here is the memory! finally making some progress haha. also trying out something new with formatting/the summary situation. if i hate it, i'll probably change it. <3 also, italicized portion is a memory.

masterlist.

spotify playlist.

◁ previous part, next part▷

7:00 ────ㅇ────────────── 24:00

DINGUS: [image attachment]

DINGUS: y/n just texted me this. we’re not getting an update this hour. 

BIRDIE: what the hell happened?

DINGUS: she hasn’t said yet, as you can see in the photo, robs. 

ARGYLE  😎: what do we THINK happened? 

BIRDIE: my best bet is fighting? 

ARGYLE 😎: lover’s quarrel? Makes sense. 

BIRDIE: i’m adding nance back into the chat

BIRDIE added NANCE to the groupchat.

BIRDIE: @NANCE explain what you meant earlier please. we’re having a code red. the bad kind. 

DINGUS: there’s a good kind of code red?

NANCE: Oh God, what happened? 

DINGUS: y/n texted me saying she fucked up, and we’re assuming either she’s finally murdered eddie, or they’re fighting again.

NANCE: I can call Eddie, if you guys want?

JOHNNY: So does this mean we’re all $500 richer?

BIRDIE: @JOHNNY if you still think this is about the money, you’re a fucking idiot

—

HOUR SEVEN - 10:00 PM

There had been a time in your life where you believed you didn’t hold a single mean bone in your body. A time where you were soft-spoken, a time where you overflowed with kindness and dotted out compliments to random strangers. There was once a version of you in this lifetime that worked so fervently to be the type of person people liked and enjoyed the company of. You always swore to always treat others with the same grace as you would prefer to receive as well.

A year ago, that version of you had been sidetracked. 

You stare at the wooden frame of Eddie’s door with blank eyes. He wasn’t going to open it any time soon. You’d tried knocking multiple times, calling out to him in a soft voice, begging and pleading and begging and pleading. His response continued to be silence. 

“All I’ve ever done is hurt you.”

With the haze clearing, in the midst of the aftermath and sour clarity, you wish you would have corrected him. Eddie and you had surely hurt each other countless times, but it is not all he’s ever done. 

You can remember the better moments clearly now. The time you’d tripped walking up the steps of one of the bars on Main Street, and Eddie had been the only person in your friend group to stop completely, reflectively reaching out to catch you from embarrassing yourself. The night of your birthday, in which he hadn’t come to the party due to “work” as Steve had explained, but had sent a card along with your friends that contained a gift card to your favorite coffee shop. You hadn’t even realized he knew your favorite coffee shop, and you’d come to find out that he didn’t even ask a single one of your mutual friends for it. You’d brushed it off as a lucky guess. And there was the time you’d forgotten your wallet during a brunch with the group, and he hadn’t hesitated to pick up your bill with his own. He didn’t even give Robin the chance to argue; he’d simply snatched your bill from across the table when you’d paled as you dug through your bag, and didn’t say a word about you paying him back. 

Small moments. Glimpses of kindness, bandages on wounds that you’d been ignoring to keep up a war between the two of you that you’d always assumed he’d started. 

Eddie Munson wasn’t the enemy, and the first night you two met was never a red herring; it was a glimpse into who he actually was. A clear look past the armor he hadn’t formed yet when it came to you. 

—

A YEAR AGO

“They’re going to love you!” Robin insists as she continues to shove you from behind through the entrance of the bar. Steve is ahead of you, guiding you through the rough crowd to the table the rest of the group had already snagged. 

You turn your head over your shoulder, reaching up and grabbing the hand that Robin rested on you, “You don't know that. What if they hate me? What if they think I’m the worst person they’ve ever met?” 

Even as you wore a smile, there was a truth to the fear in your words. You were petrified that these strangers, strangers who meant so much to your only friends on campus, would turn their noses to you. There was nothing Robin or Steve could do to extinguish the fear. It was already a terrible knot in the pit of your stomach, tying and untying itself like a nuisance as Steve started to wave at a brunette who had been scanning the bar as if waiting for someone. 

She’s pretty. Wavy hair barely brushing her shoulders, sharp features accentuated in the shadows of the busy location. The moment her blue eyes locked on Steve, all the concentration on her face faded to be replaced with an excited smile. 

She returns the wave, and the boys surrounding her at the table all glance in your direction. 

You’re still half-hidden behind Steve as the three of you approach the group. Robin bounds out from behind you, scooping the woman you assumed was the famous Nancy into a barrelling hug. Your eyes flickered to the boy sat to Nancy’s right, shaggy hair flopping against his forehead and smile creases exposed as he nods to Steve and holds up his drink in greeting. Beside him, another man sits, long and shiny hair flowing over an outrageous Hawaiian print shirt and topped off with a baseball cap that looked to be the merchandise of a pizza shop. His smile is welcoming – something comforting in the relaxation of it. 

You’re almost completely captivated by the warmth that bled from the group when Steve and Robin are suddenly taking their seats. Robin sits beside Nancy, while Steve takes the seat across from the man with long hair. 

The only seat left open was between Steve and a man who’s back was turned to you. 

His hair is in a loose bun, unraveling against the nape of his neck.  You could see each and every defined curl. His broad shoulders stiffen beneath a leather jacket and denim vest, and his ring-clad hand cradles a short glass of something dark, something fizzy. 

“Alright, everyone!” Steve announces, turning and beckoning you to take this seat. Your stomach twists again, realizing you’d be sitting beside a stranger. One who had yet to even spare you a glance, “This is Y/N.” 

There’s rounds of greetings and introductions as you brush shoulders with the stranger to take your seat, and try as you might to keep up, all you can focus on is not looking at him. 

You’re guess was correct – the pretty girl that Robin had hugged was Nancy. The boy with floppy hair at her side was Jonathan, and the man with long hair told you his name is Argyle. His tone of casualty matches the comfort of his smile as he holds a hand out to you across the table, both your elbow and his brushing against empty baskets once filled with bar food as you shake. 

Finally, you turn to look at the stranger beside you, Steve reaching around to clasp his shoulder. 

“And mister oh-so-welcoming here is Eddie.” 

Eddie. He finally turns to look at you, with doleful eyes and a tight-lipped grin, and you almost forget how to breathe. 

He was intimidating. All broodish glances and stand-offish energy. But then Argyle cracks a joke, and suddenly, it all fades. The air in the room crackles frantically as you watch him chuckle slowly at first, until he finally descends into cackles with Steve and Jonathan alike. 

That’s when the first vine sprouts. 

The second one does when the conversation becomes overwhelming, and you find yourself lost amongst the sea of new friends. They’re nothing but friendly, trying to learn more about you but easily falling into well-established inside jokes at times. When you descend into silence as you watch them recount a story of a time that Argyle snuck them into his job after hours, you suddenly feel Eddie lean in closer to you.

“I think they tell this story every time they get drunk,” he whispers, tilting his head so that the words only reach your ears, “I’ve probably heard it a hundred times by now.” 

You bite back a smile, “Just tonight, or the entire time you’ve known them?” 

“Both.”

You have to fight hard to swallow down giggles, Eddie hiding his with a sip of his drink. A waiter who had taken your order nearly ten minutes ago arrives with your own drink. An amaretto sour. 

“I’m Eddie, by the way,” he says as you taste the drink. Its citrus bursts across your tongue and you nod.

“So Steve mentioned.” 

“Yeah, but I felt bad for not introducing myself,” he shrugs. You were facing him fully now, no longer trying to stick vehemently to Steve’s side. “I didn’t want to seem like a dick, just… had a long week.” 

You knew all about long weeks.

“I get it,” you assure him, “Are you in school, too?” 

“Night classes,” he supplies with a wave of his hand, “Midterms are a bitch, especially after working all day.” 

“Tell me about it. I think I’m about ten seconds away from getting fired at my current gig,” you joke, and Eddie laughs. It occurs to you that you’d probably do just about anything to hear his laugh more, and already begin to conjure up terrible jokes to pull that sound from him once more. It’s even more comforting than Argyle’s friendly cadence, than Steve’s elbow knocking yours to remind you he’s still there.

“Why would you think that?” Eddie’s nose scrunches, more curls falling against his cheek. Your drink is immediately forgotten. 

“He caught me talking shit,” another laugh falls from Eddie’s lips at your deadpan, more reserved than the previous but just as melodic, “I give it a week. He was already looking for a reason to send me to the chopping block. Says I talk too much to customers.” 

“Is that even possible?”

“Apparently.” 

For a moment, in the smoky bar, it’s just you and Eddie. All knotting nerves have been replaced by the weight of the vines that surge higher and higher in your chest, growing at impossible rates. They don’t strangle you like your fears of the night had; their weight is a comforting hold, something solid to reach out for in the unfamiliar territory of new socialization. Without the mask of intimidation, Eddie feels like an old friend. 

You assume that everyone else is distracted by their own conversation, but Robin catches the way you lean into him as the two of you joke. She nudges Nancy subtly, and they both share a look when Eddie blushes at you being impressed as he tells you that his battle vest is hand-sewn. 

Your vines are not as hidden as you assume they are, certainly not when the first bud of hopefulness begins to grow. 

“So how long have you known Steve?” you ask him quietly, still under the guise of the two of you having created your own small bubble of a moment. 

Eddie downs the last of his Jack & Coke, something you caught onto by smelling it on his breath when he had gotten particularly close to you during conversation, “Too long. We all met in high school, actually.” 

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” you groan, and your forehead dramatically falls into his shoulder without second-thought. He stiffens beneath the connection, “I’m infiltrating a friend group that’s stood the test of times? I’m doomed.” 

You nearly lift your head from his still stiff shoulder, afraid to make him uncomfortable, when he brings a hesitant hand to pat your back jokingly, “There, there. I think you’re fitting in fine.” 

“Just fine? Ouch,” you finally lift your head as you had planned to, just as Eddie had begun to relax into your touch. His hand doesn’t fall too far from your back, resting on the back of your chair. His shy grin is impossibly charming, “You could have just said I’m crashing and burning, you know?” 

The night carries on like that, you and Eddie lost in private conversations only to be occasionally dragged back in on whatever debate the group is having. It’s a spring reaction; once one or both of you have given your two cents, you return to one another, finding solitude in joking and Eddie updating you on the group’s ‘lore’, as he puts it. Steve shoots several glances in your direction, always prepared to offer comfort in what should be an overwhelming situation, but he never has to. Every time he glances at you, Eddie is already taking the lead of entertaining you, qualming all your anxieties into non-existence. 

Your vines decorate with buds of hope. Every laugh you pull from Eddie, every fleeting touch that passes between the two of you, every new inside joke he decides to make with you rather than indulging in ones set in stone already with old friends - they all whisper of new friendship. They whisper in potential, in new beginnings and coming home after long weeks. 

By the time Nancy announces she has to go to the restroom and invites you and Robin, you’re in full bloom. You’re convinced that Eddie is a friend. And you can see it in his eyes – he’s convinced of it too, looking nervous when you stand and agree to go with Nancy. He looks like a child about to lose their social crutch, and it has potential to be devastating.

It’s almost enough to make you ignore your bladder, but you need to pee, and you need to socialize with more than just Eddie tonight. 

You’re not sure what happens at the table during your trip to the bathroom. But something surely does happen as you giggle with the girls under the humming lights of the restroom, as you all stand in the mirror side by side and fiddle with your hair and makeup and Robin makes a comment about how terribly cliche the moment is. Nancy slaps her on the arm, mutters something about the importance of girls bonding, and when you return to the table, you see it immediately – Eddie’s mask of indifference has returned. 

His cheeks are flushed, and all the boys are sharing nervous glances between one another as you all sit down again. 

There’s no more fleeting touches. You sip on your now watered down drink, and you try and pull Eddie out from wherever he’s ventured in your absence, but it’s no use. A conversation was had while you girls had been in the restroom, and it left Eddie in his head, out of reach. The buds of hopefulness quiver on their vines, and you try to reassure yourself that it’s nothing personal. It’s nothing personal when he clearly holds back any laughs at your jokes you lean into his space to whisper to only him, it’s nothing personal when his arm never rests on the back of your chair again, it’s nothing personal when he won’t meet your eyes the rest of the night. 

It’s nothing personal, but it’s sorely disappointing. 

You end the night, everyone splitting up, Eddie heading off towards his motorcycle. He hadn’t even mentioned driving a motorcycle during the night, and you curse the way you watch him straddle the seat as he secures his helmet over his tied-back hair. You desperately wish to know what was said while you were in the bathroom, what had happened to make him retreat so far from you after spending the entirety of the night tending to the greenery that had grown attached to your ribcage. 

“You like him, don’t you?” Robin teases at your side, bumping shoulders. 

Something aches in you. The thrill of meeting someone new, of getting along, of finding them cute and endearing, is beyond your grasp. 

He didn’t even say goodbye. 

“I did,” you whisper softly. A reverberation of past-tense, an exhale of worry. 

You did. But he didn’t even say goodbye. 

—

Eddie still hasn’t opened the door. But to his defense, you haven’t tried knocking again. 

That ache from that night, the feeling of a delicate rush of possibility taunting you from a distance, still remains. Even amongst now rotted vines, even as petals fall from your hopeful buds. It never really went away. With each group hangout that followed, it echoed louder and louder, demanding to be heard and demanding to be felt as Eddie grew colder. You were an idiot the first few times; you’d still gravitated to him, falling right into his orbit and begging for his attention. You’d still seek him out in every room, craving to find the warmth that had once sparked in his eyes only to find them averted from you entirely. And when you couldn’t take the hint, when you wouldn’t leave him alone when Steve and Robin left you to your own devices at the hangouts, he became mean. 

You took it as a joke at first, but six months ago, something inside of you finally wisened up – it wasn’t a joke. Eddie Munson hated you. Somehow, he hated you, and yet he also swore to protect you. He hated you, and yet he would still pay for you without you asking him to. He hated you, and yet he still remembered your birthday. He hated you, and yet, he still knew your favorite coffee shop. 

He hated you and yet. 

You stand, unable to take your racing thoughts anymore, moving to pound on the door again, “Eddie. Open the door.” 

You’re not asking anymore. 

You don’t care for answers any more. In this moment, you truly believe you could let it all be water under the bridge. Right this second, if you looked into honey brown eyes and goddamn dimples, you’d forgive him. 

“Eddie,” your voice cracks, and you scorn yourself. 

All I ever do is hurt you. 

Even in locking himself away, he’s hurting you. Putting that distance, choosing to not work this out like adults, is hurting you. 

“Can you- I don’t know, at least let me know that… that…” you trail off, huffing in frustration and finally smacking a flat palm against wood, watching the door shake on its hinges from your force, “Just let me know you’re alive, Jesus Christ, Eddie. We still have to take the stupid fucking photo for this hour, and we-” 

Mid-tirade, the door swings open to reveal Eddie. He doesn’t look irritated, he doesn’t look mad. He looks tired. 

The war between you two has weighed heavy on him, too. He doesn’t look like the same person you met a year ago. The battles raged, the fights lost, the victories celebrated through bloody teeth – they all show on the shadows of his face, a clear mirror image to your own. 

“Take the photo,” he says in monotone, hardly leaving the door cracked enough to catch a proper glimpse of him. 

“What?”

“The photo. Take it. For the chat, so you can get your money when it’s all over.” 

You’re stunned for a second. The money hadn’t even crossed your mind; you had just been rambling, hoping to find the right thing to say to get him to unlock the barrier between you two. 

Who the fuck even cares about the money anymore? 

You do. You’re supposed to. And so is he. 

You sigh and pull your phone from your back pocket, and turn your back to him before lifting the camera to capture the two of you. The door creaks open an inch more. 

There’s no fun pose. There’s no smiles. There’s nothing. It’s even more lifeless than the first photo taken. You can’t stand to look at it longer than necessary as you send it off to the group. 

Just as you turn around to face him again, to try and talk to him, the door shuts again. You can hear the soft click of a lock. The ache is heard, the ache is felt, as you refuse to look back at the wood that still separates you physically, at the emotions that separate you mentally.

You don’t really know why you do it. But you walk out to the living room, deciding against sitting outside the door any longer and continuing to make yourself miserable. Your feet carry you straight to the sliding door of his balcony, and you press outside into the cooler night air, shutting the door behind you. 

What happened when I was in the bathroom that night? 

The thought haunts you, a new ghost that had been lingering and gathering dust since that night. You never asked anyone, certainly not Eddie, and refuse to overthink it until now. But after tonight, after practically reliving your first encounter with Eddie all over again, the deja vu and the curiosity are winning over. 

You dial Steve’s number.

“Hell-”

“Why do me and Eddie hate each other?” you blurt out, cutting off Steve’s greeting. 

“I- What?” Steve’s confused, understandably so, “How should I know? I don’t keep a list of every time you rant about him to me.” 

“What about him?”

“Okay, you know I love you, but I’m not a mind-read-”

“What about a list of every time he rants about me?” 

Silence buzzes through the line, and you glance up at the night sky. It’s a cloudy black. The city pollution hides most of the stars, and from Eddie’s balcony, you can’t locate the moon. 

“I also don’t have one of those.” 

“Why not? Because, Jesus Christ, Harrington, I have questions-”

“Because he doesn’t rant about you. Especially not to me, but Nancy says he never talks about you usually either,” Steve explains in an even tone, still not sure how his answer should be helping you. You are the one, afterall, with Eddie right now. 

Even if he is locked away in his room right now, refusing to speak to you. 

“That makes no sense,” you sigh, exasperation creeping its way into your bones, “I rant about him all the time. I’ve bitched to you and Robin more times than I can count about him. He should be doing the same.” 

Steve says your name softly, “Why are you asking me this?” 

You laugh humorlessly and shake your head, even knowing Steve can’t see you, “It’s stupid. Forget it,” It’s not stupid to you, and you can’t forget it, but this doesn’t concern Steve, “Can I ask you one last question, though?”

“Shoot, babydoll,” you can’t help but grin at that nickname. Steve pulls it out at random, every time he’s trying to make you feel bad. He knows that neither of you can take it seriously. 

“Um, that night you introduced me to everyone,” you begin, stepping up to wrap your free hand around the iron railing of Eddie’s balcony, letting the cold seep into your palm, “At the bar, you know?” 

“Right…” he encourages, “What about it?” 

“Me and Eddie got along,” you spit it out, letting it tear from your chest and score your throat on its way out, “We… we were getting along at first, and then I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he…. He…” 

He was gone. The Eddie I’d first met had vanished. Where’d he go? Why’d he go? 

“Shit, your memory is way better than mine,” Steve chuckles, sounding nervous, “But, I mean, I kind of remember that. You two getting along, at least. Guess that’s why we all were really confused when you started hating each other. But I’m still not understanding the question - are you asking if I remember the night? Or if he’s ever talked about it? I was a jock, you’re gonna have to spell it out for my pea brain.” 

“Stop insinuating you’re stupid,” you scold on instinct, scowl settling along your features as you lean onto the railing and glance down. It’s only two stories, but the ground feels impossibly far as you ask, “What happened when all us girls went to the bathroom? When we came back, he acted differently. Did he mention hating me that night? Did I leave a bad first impression? Was it all just a joke to hi-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. One question, remember?” you’re sure Steve can hear the panting in your breath over the line, the way your chest heaves in the memory, “I’ve gotta be honest - I don’t remember. I know that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for, and I don’t know what’s going on with you two right now, but I was already well on my way to drunk. I think Jonathan and Argyle poked some fun at Eddie, maybe teased him about something, but I really can’t recall what it was about. Maybe his hair? Who knows?” 

The answer isn’t helpful. It’s only more confusing, more hurtful. 

He stopped joking with you because someone made fun of his hair? You lost access to the warmth buried beneath his surface because his friends teased him? 

“Okay,” you sound defeated. You feel defeated – defeated by the weight of still feeling like an outsider, defeated by the barrier of some measly wooden door, defeated by the hurt in Eddie’s eyes as you admitted that he only ever hurts you, “Okay, thanks, Steve.” 

You hang up before either of you say goodbye. When you pull your phone down from your cheek and ear, you see your phone still open to the photo of Eddie and you that you’d sent to the group. 

You were wrong. There wasn’t only nothing. Your face may have been void of all emotions, but now looking at it, you can see Eddie’s isn’t. 

He’s looking at you and not the camera during the shot, face crestfallen, eyes nearly teary as the corners of his mouth tucked downward. 

He’s looking at you with regret, with sadness. He’s looking at you as if he can see the vines he’d planted in you, all rotted and dusting away, and he’s mourning them just as you had. 

It’s bullshit, or your imagination, or your innate need for Eddie to bleed the same way as you have over your entire situation with each other. You lock your phone and don’t bother to look at the photo again as you enter the living room, as you toss your phone onto the loveseat, as you curl up on the couch and don’t even bother to go to ask for a pillow or blanket. He probably wouldn’t answer the door, anyway. 

You don’t say goodnight to Eddie, just as he never said goodbye to you the first night, and wonder if he notices the absence of your salutation.

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[badomensgoodomens]

RIFFS AND REGRETS - noah sebastian - part two

part one here

______________________________________

hi, i have ultimately decided that after a week i absolutely hate this storyline and believe i can do better lol. i had intended to progress further after this chapter, but it is suitable to stop here.

_______________________________________

Hadn’t planned on waking up in a shitty emergency tent during the festival of a lifetime, much less the angry danielle who was standing over me lecturing me. 

“Are you fucking stupid?? You were so dehydrated that the adrenaline made you faint!! We talked about this- that is the number one rule of touring-” “danielle-” “you had me worried sick!! That is so not cool-” “danielle!!” i shout, overwhelmed. “Fuck- did i hit my head on the way down?” i ask, rubbing my face.

 “Uhhuh, leo said you went down like a ton of bricks, hit your ribs on the fuckin toilet bowl.” i groan, leaning my head back. “He was watching you, yaknow.” she says. I pause, looking up at her in utter confusion. “Who?” “noah. From the artist tent.” i close my eyes with a sigh at that information. “Thanks for sharing.” i mumble, trying to ignore the stinging coming from my ribs. 

“You can't keep ignoring him, you know.” she says, shifting her weight from one foot to another, hand resting on her pregnant belly. “He broke my fuckin heart dani.” i reply, too exhausted to put up a proper fight. “Oh please. You didn’t even date.” she says, vic comes up behind her. “Who?” he says, wrapping his arms around danielles stomach. “He who shall not be named.” dani retorts, leaning her head on his shoulder. “She STILL stalks my insta. I am NOT talking to him. Hes probably cheating with poppy anyways. Shes pretty.” i say, sitting up a bit. “Arabella, you're one stupid bitch.” 

____________________

The next morning i have a much needed shower, i stand infront of the foggy bathroom mirror in nothing but a plain black set, admiring the nasty ass bruise that littered my left rib. Yikes. I shimmy into a stage outfit, now ruined by the bruise i adorned. 

I managed to limp backstage with the help of vic, who set me down on a random, rundown couch with a bottle of water. I lean back with closed eyes, until the weight shifts that is. I crack an eye open, nicholas sits next to me. “So i’m just ticking you all off one by one huh?” i murmur, closing my eyes. “You could say that i guess. Hey i heard through the grapevine about what happened yesterday. You okay?” i take a sip of water, allowing the cold liquid to soothe my throat before speaking again. “This water is good.” “you didn’t answer my question.” he uncrosses his arms, leaning back a little. “I don’t want to lie to you” i shoot back. He grins. “Ive missed you, bella.” he side hugs me, narrowly missing my bruise. I just hum in response. “Hows the rockstar life?” i ask, he tilts his head. “Its okay i guess. I really do miss having you around bella-” he starts again. “Hey, we’re on in five.” noah calls out, briefly walking past the room, he avoids eye contact. 

Its almost like im a thorn in his side. 

I probably am, honestly. 

______________________________

I can’t even lie, bad omens stage presence is phenomenal. Its exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. They give every concert their all, its admirable. However, unfortunately we were allocated the time slot AFTER them. I hobble towards side stage, taking deep breaths. Leo gives me one of his bullshit pep talks. “I’m not even anxious, just unsure how im supposed to do this.” i laugh, pulling myself up the stairs. 

“Hey australia how we feeling!!!??” I call out, genuinely trying  to muster up ANY ounce of energy. “So yesterday i took quite the fall, and now im covered in bruises, so i need YOU guys to give it your all!!” 

We launch right into our set, the crowd menacing once again. During each set i allocated 5 minutes at the end to play whatever song i please. 

“So i intended to perform doomed today, because i know yall love oli sykes. But considering im uhhh a bit.. Limited. We are gonna sing a bit of sleep token.” 

Gene begins to play the opening chords to “the love you want” 

Everyone and their mother knew how much i loved sleeptoken, how much noah did. However i was dumbfounded when i spotted him standing side stage, his gaze boring into the bruises on my left side. Fuck. this just got an awful lot more awkward. I finish off on stage, managing to slip past him in a timely manner despite being injured. I collapse on to a leather couch, exhausted. 

I lay there for a while, watching the different bands filter past. Eventually, i hobble my ass out of there, humming mindlessly. 

“Give by sleeptoken huh?” 

I actually nearly shit myself, my heart falling to my ass. 

“Can i help you?” i respond, turning around to face noah. I can’t pinpoint what flashes across his face. “Its been a while arabella.” he shifts awkwardly. I nod, we stand awkwardly, the wind picks up. “We should really talk.” he breaks the silence, taking a step forward. 

I step backwards, muttering “ill think about it.” before escaping to my bus. I shut and lock the bus door, sliding down it. Shit. Shit. I just fucking ran away from him. 

“You good?” leo asks, handing me a beer. “Just ran into noah.” i breathe out, taking a sip. He joins me on the floor. “How’d that go? You wanna talk about it?” i sigh. Gene and lucy join us. “What even happened between you two” lucy questions, cradling a vodka cruiser. 

“He started dating this girl and got really distant. She told him to drop me, eventually i got so sick of it i tried to walk out and we got into an argument. He said… some stuff, so i got the hell out of there.” i summarise, avoiding eye contact. Leo elbows me, “you wanna say the rest?” 

I cringe, the whole situation not having been my best moment. 

“Okaywellyeahihadacrushonhim butineveractedonitsoidontknowwhyshewassomad-”             

Leo laughs. 

“Im fuckin doomed for eternity, he wants to talk” 

____________________________

“I think you should.” danielle says, crowded around a bar table in a bustling underground joint. I shake my head. “Do i even bother though? How do i know hes not going to just reprimand me for what happened?” i groan, my head in my hands. Vic hands me a much needed drink. I sigh, unsure of what to really do with myself. 

A couple drinks in, vic whisks dani away to the dancefloor, leaving me alone. I toy with the straw of my drink, running my fingers over the rim. Somebody sits opposite me. I look up, meeting the eyes of folio. “You okay?” he asks, signature grin slapped across his face. “I’m good, you?” i answer, trying to make smalltalk. He replies with a nod, downing the rest of his drink. “Shouldn’t you be with the boys?” my voice is quiet, small. “Nicholas and noah are god knows where. Jollys chatting up some girl. Didn’t wanna kill his vibe. Plus you looked sad so….” 

Right. He was only here because he pitied me. Just like the rest of them. “”Nick, it was great talking to you but i think im gonna head back to the buses.” I say, packing my things up. “Oh- okay. Get there safely.” he smiles, pulling me into a hug. I step out, exhausted. I slip towards the side alley, reaching for a cigarette in my bra. I lean my head back on the cold brick wall, the night air was cold compared to the short dress i was wearing. I was honestly a mess… this was all so…. Confronting. 

I wait patiently for my uber, wanting to get the hell out of here. “You got a lighter?” i gulp, turning around. Im face to face with his chest. Fuck i forgot hes a fucking giant. I look up at him, nodding. I watch him light a joint, leaning on the wall next to me. “You wanna talk.. Or..?” 

I take a deep breath. Contemplating every single life choice.

“Are you and her still together?” i ask, rubbing my hands on my thighs anxiously. He shakes his head, taking a drag. “I broke up with natasha four years ago.” i hum, so they stayed together a whole year after i left. I look up at the night sky, unsure of what to say next. 

“Im sorry for what i said to you.” 

Im almost immediately agitated. “You hurt me noah.” he rubs his face, handing me the joint. “You don’t think i don’t know that?! I watched you walk out that door knowing there was nothing i could do-” “there was SO much you could fucking do.” 

Its silent for a moment. 

“She threatened me that day.”

“What?” 

“Natasha. She slashed my tires.” 

Hes honestly.. Taken aback. 

“Sorry?” 

“She told me you’d never love me. That i was pitiful for thinking i had a chance.” i swallow, avoiding eye contact. 

“Bella-”

I take a drag. “I’m sorry noah.” 

“What for..?” he says, almost holding his breath. 

“I told you that i hoped you’d feel sick to your stomach when you hear my name.” i laugh bitterly. 

He nods. 

“Uhh… not exactly far from the truth.” 

We sit in comfortable silence, just smoking. 

“I broke up with her because she cheated on me. Shes a tattoo artist now, atleast thats what ive heard from nosey interviewers.” he says, effectively breaking the silence. 

I don’t say anything, staring at the ground. It starts to rain. 

“We weren’t supposed to end like this.” he speaks again.

“Atleast not in my dreams.” i laugh. 

“Chase two girls, lose the one.” noah says, looking down the alleyway. 

I look at him quizzically. 

“Wait. you liked me?” 

“Like.”

fuck this. I need to go, i need to get away from him. Fuck. fuck im going to fuck something up. I shouldn’t of done this. 

My heels click as i begin to run away again, wiping frantic tears. He reaches for my wrist, his fingers warm compared to the coldness of the night. pulling me back to him like a safety net. Almost immediately i wrap my arms around his waist, sobbing. 

“I don’t hate you” i wail, he sighs, stroking my hair. 

I shouldn’t be doing this. 

“I know bella.” he murmurs, tightening his grip on my waist. 

“I should.” i sniffle, looking up at his doe brown eyes. 

“You should. And it makes me the luckiest bastard in the world that you can’t manage to.” 

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 17

It’s Emily Axford’s World, We’re Just Living in It

Welcome back to Fantasy High where this monster 3+ hour bombshell of an episode is dropping during one of the busiest weeks of my life! There is SO much going on in this episode that I’m absolutely going to have to speed through things to get this out before the next episode but I’ll try to hit on all of the most important points. OK, ready, set, let’s go!

We closed out last ep in the middle of downtime where we learned that Jace had a scar from being infected with a rage crystal shatter star and from there we still have a bunch more downtime to get through. Highlights!

Riz investigates the footage from the crystal cam and again has the feeling that he needs to go back to his office and check out any open-ended clues because he’s missing something. 

Gorgug tries to work on a way to harness the power of the Night Yorb’s darkness since it’s trapped in his van since they’ll probably be fighting a solar deity soon. He does mention it to Henry but not why he’s doing it. He also looks into the Cloud Rider and confirms with the Aviation Club goblin kid that it would be powerful enough to lift the Hangman (referring not to the motorcycle, but to Bill’s ship which is now Seacaster manor). 

Fig writes another Ankarna themed song and rolls an insane 37. That’s powerful enough that she’s able to commune with Ankarna in her dreams. She calms the distressed Ankarana with the paladin spell Atonement and by commiserating that both of their girlfriends are “out of town”. Ankarna calls Fig her hero and says that “She’s always known” before she wakes up. 

Fig keeps haunting Ruben's dreams but they're abjured so she can't straight up talk to him. In his dream, she sees his house in Elmville and feels rage as well as fear. She sees a glade in Far Haven Woods and a scared pre-emo Ruben which makes her think that that's where they did whatever they did to kick things off and that maybe the old Ruben is still trapped somewhere. 

She then goes full Emily Axford and–along with the help of Fabian, British Kristen, Gorgug, and Adaine–goes to Ruben’s house and FAKES THE DEATH OF WANDA CHILDA BY KIPPERLILLY. Once she’s “dead” Adaine casts Enlarge on Gorgug and throws a cloak on him so he can take her away the in the same way Buddy’s body was taken away. It’s the performance of a lifetime with a 34 but the craziest part is they know someone was watching through the window but they have no idea who it was. InSANE. Imagine if it’s just Kipperlilly watching from Ruben’s window like ???????

Finally she gets Eugenia to design a tattoo for Fabian’s bday that will let him cast Ghost Step. She’s gonna secretly tattoo it on him because sure why not. 

Kristen talks to a very stressed Jawbone who has been dealing with a lot of angry kids lately which is, como se dice, troubling considering the whole rage god situation. She downloads him on everything going on and reveals that she was gonna try to have British Kristen steal files so she can see if the addresses of the angry kids form a 24 pointed star but instead she helps Jawbone clean his office and asks if she can have the addresses. He can’t give out student info but he says he’ll check a map and see if they form a star as well as checking on Jace. Kristen tells him to be super careful because the last teacher they talked to was Yolanda, RIP. (He also mentions the Sophomore Year Hotel Cav fight as being a weird thing that happened and the murder attempt of Lydia–things that we’ve already flagged as loose ends. We’ll get back to this).

Bobby Dawn is freaking out because they can’t find Buddy’s soul in corn heaven. Kristen reveals that he’s not in corn heaven and in fact is following a new god (after confirming he doesn’t have a rage crystal). Bobby Dawn thinks he’s being punked–especially once Kristen says the new god is her god’s ex-wife–but Kristen is being pretty sincere (so sincere that Murph is melting into a puddle anticipating she’s about to give the game away to one of their least fave NPCs–imo, she didn’t give away anything game ending but she was def playing with fire). Bobby tells Kristen to call him if there’s anything he can do to help find Buddy and Kristen dips to go talk to “[her] friend Murph.” Not Riz, Murph the irl guy, lol. As that happens, Bobby goes to have a whisper convo with his wife Pam who is also there. Suspicious.  

Riz/Murph makes the connection that Lake Shimmerstone is called that because of the gem filaments that flow from the Mountains of Chaos. It's a classic "no rolls necessary" moment. 

Kristen finally checks the bylaws and sees that the major change made was that there is no longer any inaugural period post election. So once the votes are counted, whoever wins is president right away. It was a change by Mazey requested by a faculty member--they think Jace. 

Kristen checks on her brother finally and it doesn't seem like he has a rage crystal but he's pretty bummed that he hasn't been able to convert any of his friends despite being a good paladin. He's also having a little existential crisis because he has non Helioic friends who don't actually seem like scary heathens. But then he was warned that sin might be tempting. Kristen tells him that she understands and that he has to decide whether he knows himself better than their parents. She says she's always around to talk. She then does a Relaxation roll and loses 3 stress tokens! Brennan also has her roll a d6 for the Relationship track roll with Buddy and on a 6, loses her final stress token!

Like Fig, Kristen also gets to commune with her goddess. Cass says that she's trapped and the king will come to Spyre. She says her wife's "fiery hand" grasps her in death and she has to protect her from the upcoming destruction--but she can't do it as herself. She tells Kristen that Ankarna has a champion as well and when Kristen asks who Cass says she already knows the champion. Finally, she urges her to look into what Kalina said because there was to be a good reason for her saying Ragh’s name. 

I’m going to leave the bullets for a moment (largely because Tumblr gets mad at blocks of text that are too big) to say that Adaine and Fig go to Ayda’s geocache and find an insane amount of spell components which would have been super useful earlier in the year. It also has instruments for Fig including a new bass that Brennan says he’ll get Emily the item card for ASAP. Back to bullets!

In his research, Riz finds the location in the Mountains of Chaos of the Temple of the Fallen Sun where Lydia's party members stopped in their travels. 

Riz looking into the Loam files sees that the person they're after must have had some ability to stun their opponents which is probably the reason for the lack of defensive wounds. He also learns that Ruvina's festival was called the Festival of Frost which sounds a lot like Frosty Fair. 

He finds some text about something called the War of Shattered Stones which apparently took place around when Ankarna's domain changed. 

On a hunch that there is more going on with the rat grinding than meets the eye, the whole gang takes a field trip to Lake Shimmerstone and Riz finds evidence that at some point the Rat Grinders were taken here while a massive giant was fighting deadly monsters. That doesn’t make sense so they call in some rats to question who tell them that there was a giant fighting these monsters and basically leaving the killing blows to the Rat Grinders so they’d get the XP–which is mechanically insane diegetically but we’re gonna ignore that. The rats also confirm that this was when Lucy was still around. The Bad Kids think that the RG’s made a deal with this giant (who the rats say is a guy btw) to get powered up and they got crystals as their end of the bargain. 

OK, that basically wraps up downtime. One more piece of business before we head to the Temple of the Fallen Sun! Zara has a talk with Fig where after heaping praise on her, she passes along a message–the appearance of a surprise meteor shower which was arranged by Ayda and is the most romantic thing ever. I won’t recap it, just watch it yourself. I can’t do it justice. Before Fig leaves for some hot tub time, Zara asks about Fig’s evaluation and Fig assures her she already turned it in. 

Time for a griffon road trip! And strap in because this is a MEATY lore dump. Sandra Lynn brings everyone on griffons to the Temple of The Fallen Sun and Riz brings his files because he can’t shake the feeling that he’s missing something. 

They find this infernal temple littered with humanoid bones and Fig can tell with her divine sense that it's a temple to Ankarna. There is a place where Ankarna’s name was destroyed and replaced with a Ranger’s symbol that says: Do Not Enter. Fallen Temple. There’s also evidence that someone tried to rewrite Ankarna’s name but it’s not her actual name. It’s the glyph that means her but isn’t her actual name. Which suggests that there’s a group of Ankarna followers that are trying to do stuff involving her but that don’t know her name. 

Everyone who can loads up on Truesight and See Invisibility before they enter the temple. There are a bunch of pretty good Investigation checks but, in particular, Riz gets a 32 and Fig gets a Nat 20.

Fig sees a vision (and Adaine can see it too--I assume as elven oracle she can just piggyback on anyone else having visions lol) of two giantkin wearing robes with a sun emblem being executed by armored individuals wearing robes with a fiery emblem on it. This temple was built right when Ankarna's domain was changing. They’re seeing the old priests of Ankarna being executed by the new ones. 

It's clear that this temple was built as a part of a state religion--the focus on conquest and strength is very empire-y. Adaine sees some writing in Giant and casts Comprehend Language so she can read it. There’s a bunch about the War of Shattered Stone and some new stuff about the temple being built for the glory of the House of Sunstone. They walk through the temple and see all this awful equipment for torture and execution. They get the sense that this is where Ankarna was changed. Her new followers did a bunch of heinous stuff in her name to force her to become infernal. As above, so below and all. 

Adaine casts Legend Lore and Brennan basically salivates. 30 seconds later, Riz rolls a Nat 20 to Investigate his files. So we’re about to crack this whole thing wide open folks. Let’s do this!

Fig and Kristen explore a chamber and Kristen's shards glow so bright she has to wrap fabric around them so they don't hurt peoples' eyes. They realize that their goddesses have been in this room together before. It's where they got divorced. Fig sees a vision of a bunch of Cass's followers dropping their weapons and backing up slowly and then being brutally slaughtered by the new guard of Ankarna. 

Adaine's Legend Lore starts: Sunstone was the top clan of the giants and conquered all the others--Thunderfist, Hornspear, Moonspeak, and Frostblade (Lucy’s ancestors). Ships got better which meant people started mingling and so did their gods. Ankarna and Cassandra got married. Things were good for a while but the leaders of the church of Sol didn't like having two sun gods in their pantheon so they whispered in the ears of some of the Sunstone guys that maybe conquest was the way to go (this was when they started conquering the other clans).  

Clan Frostblade rose up to fight because Ruvina was so concerned with stopping her sister and at the sundering of the Cliff's of Colcath, House Sunstone was destroyed. 

At this point, Riz realizes the thing he was missing in his files and it’s the thing we noticed ages ago. The weird moment in Sophomore Year. How did Ragh get cursed so he could see Kalina in the first place? Brennan plays the clip, looking like the cat who ate the canary. Porter did “Barbarian Healing” on him. That’s not a real thing. Lay on Hands is though. Porter is the one who infected Ragh. Emily, who has hated this man from day one, is LIVING. 

Back to the Legend Lore: The sundering of the Cliffs of Colcath. Sundering as in breaking. As in Cliffbreaker–Porter’s last name. 

They start putting things together. Him telling Fig he's a paladin to his ancestors. Gorgug sees him smite a giant stone with the force that would be needed to fell a bunch of trees in the woods. Disasuding Fig from being a paladin of Cass. His connection to Jace from the start. The large figure healing Buddy? He’s big as hell and Paladins can revivify. And Ankarna telling Fig that she’s known all along. 

The Legend Lore Concludes: After the sundering at the cliffs, the remaining Sunstones changed their names (to Cliffbreaker) and went into hiding. The Frostblades destroyed Ankarna's name to free her from the corruption (but I guess that went a little too far and backfired). The name was lost but a lot of Ankarna's true followers waited for her return. That includes Bakur who the Bad Kids realize was trying to bring back not infernal, ragey Ankarna but sunny justice Ankarna. But he was stopped by her mortal followers. 

Sandra Lynn watching all of this is like, “Well shit,” and points out that if the world isn’t already in chaos they must not have everything they need yet. The Bad Kids figure the opposition must be missing the name and a successful election. The election is in four days so that’s how long they have to stop it. In one final sick fusion of bard and paladin, Fig uses a riff from her base to uncover an older image of Ankarna and Cassandra pre-corruption and then they head back home. 

(Note: This comes up later retroactively but before they leave, they also check for footprints and see recent ones of Porter, Jace, and Buddy. It looks like they teleported in.)

Kristen casts Sending to warn Jawbone that Porter is bad news and then they speculate some more. There was a question in an earlier episode about what does it actually mean that Ankarna died in the Red Waste. They figure out that it means that the last follower who remembered her name was killed there. 

They talk to Bakur who says again that he was betrayed by Ankarna’s mortal followers. He also mentions that even in her infernal state, she would refuse to grant her followers spells when they had plans to hurt her sister or wife (even when Ruvina’s followers were attacking her). 

Bakur realized that Ankarna's followers were interested in her power but not in her. Bakur also overheard conversation from Lydia's party that said that Ankarna needed to be remade in a place where a god has been borne. A god. Any god. Riz flashes back to Kipperlilly Jawbone asking where Yes! was borne. 

Fig with some help from Adaine makes a fake version of Ankarna's name to give to Porter--Bacharath written in Giant. While Fig goes to give this to Porter, Adaine is hiding outside with Detect Thoughts on and Riz is hiding nearby invisible and recording.

Fig finds Porter and tells him and she found a new god and found her name but it’s annoying because she can’t read Giant which she needs to do to rez the god. She does it really casually and acts like it’s no big deal and Porter tries to play it cool but Adaine can tell with her Detect Thoughts that he’s chomping at the bit to get that name. She makes sure that Fig crits on her Deception with a portent. He (not at all) causally offers to help Fig translate and snatches the piece of paper from her. Fig then challenges him to spar and he agrees. Brennan asks for a Con roll and when Porter stomps his foot, everyone is immediately stunned (remember the mention of the stun effect and not defensive wounds earlier). Everyone but Riz who rolled a Nat 20. So he keeps his Invisibility. He also gets a high enough luck check to feel that there is someone else invisible nearby, close to Fig and Porter (note: later, Brennan tells Adaine that while she had Detect Thoughts up, for a moment she could detect the thoughts of an invisible KP). 

The last thought Adaine gets from Porter as her concentration drops on Detect Thoughts is, “Did I lock the office?”

Porter helps Fig up and doesn’t actually fight her but it feels like they just saw Porter do a Legendary Action which is a weird thing for a teacher to do–even a strong one. Fig asks what the hell that was and Porter plays it coy, saying senior year is gonna be really exciting. Riz is absolutely not having that non-answer and Misty Steps into Porter’s office. With his high investigation, he just finds everything so back to bullets:

There’s a note where he’s intimidating Halo St. Croix (the paladin teacher) into letting him teach the multiclass paladins. 

There are MCATs signed for him to teach both Lucy and Buddy paladin lessons. 

There’s an encrypted message between Porter and Bobby Dawn where Bobby is basically saying he’s very happy for Sol to remain the ONLY god of the sun in town but a new war god? That could be OK. He also suggests Porter look into Devil’s Honey for his plan. 

There's medicine to help with a psychosomatic allergic to feline dandruff (prob Kalina related). 

There’s filo dough–the kind you use to make baklava (a honey based dessert). 

There’s a leather cord, probably used in the casting of Spy’s Tongue Curse than smells rank. 

There are tons of blenders full of whey, protein powder, and ambrosia–food of the gods. Together, they piece together that mortals aren’t supposed to eat ambrosia because it kills them. Not in a violent way–they just ascend to the afterlife. They figure that Porter is basically eating god supplements, with the intention of supplanting Ankarna and becoming the new god of rage. Explains why he suddenly has legendary actions. 

There’s some cryptic, vague communication with the Rat Grinders which doesn’t give much away but is enough to tip them off that Ruben’s house is the place where they plan things. 

With that they go to investigate Ruben’s place. Before they go, Riz sets up a dead man’s switch that will release evidence if he doesn’t stop it–just in case they get trapped or held up or something. Adaine also calls her sister so she can cast a bunch of protective wards on Fabian’s place–she’s a master abjuration wizard after all. 

Riza goes in first and disables all the traps in Ruben’s house which means they won’t get caught but the RG’s will know someone was there later. Here’s everything they find and, like the rest of this episode, it’s a lot:

Adaine finds Oisin’s workstation and most notably finds a picture of his dragon ancestor hanging out with Kalvaxus, some notes about the Cloud Rider, and notes about stealing summons from other people (remember Adaine's mephits going haywire at Fabian's party). There's also some notes about a way to write telekinetically on the inside of a sphere. They’re not sure what that means. 

In Ruben's sound studio, they find notes from Porter helping Ruben write the song Get Mad--the song he did at Frosty Fair. 

Gorgug hacks into their private servers and sees all their communications. KP insists that they only call Cass the Nightmare King and (presumably) refers to Porter as the "Big Guy". She says he wants the Nightmare King and should have her locked down sooner rather than later just as soon as she shows herself in the Astral Plane. There's also stuff from last year where KP is really excited. She says the Big Guy has been looking out for them for a while and she's hyping Lucy up saying she gets to be the champion (something we know she didn't want). KP is specifically excited that this will allow them to keep up with the Bad Kids. Jace is also mentioned as a conspirator under the acronym JSD which isn’t slick at all lol.

Kristen sees evidence of Buddy helping with a ritual and stuff about where a god was "borne" (spelled correctly) so clearly they know a lot about what's going on. She also finds out what KP wants to do once she's President: she wants to shut down Aguefort as a school forever which will nullify the protections and wards it has centered on it, the big one being that Elmville can't be moved to any other plane of existence while school is in session. They think the Rat Grinders want to teleport the whole town–perhaps to set up a divine domain. Which would need followers–specifically angry followers. IDK about y’all but I feel like being randomly teleported to the Astral Plane would make ME pretty angry. 

There are texts post Lucy but pre Buddy where they're like what are we gonna do now? There's a "We're all in this together now" vibe (like some kind of twisted High School Musical) and they resolve to "talk to the Big Guy"

We learn Buddy was chosen for the same reason Lucy was a good candidate–connection to Ankarna. Lucy because Ruvina was her sister and Buddy because of similar domains (Helio’s domain is a Solar offshoot). Also I didn’t mention this before but Buddy did *not* know what he was doing. Oisin and Ivy are joking about his cluelessness behind his back (Booooo I was rooting for you dude). 

There’s a message from Jace telling them to stop antagonizing the Bad Kids even though they want revenge which leads the Bad Kids to question what they ever did to them. 

In Oisin's room they also find a lot of stuff about dragons and an image of a fetal god being protected by the Nightmare King. Also they remember how cloudy the Nightmare King's realm was (maybe a cloud rider connection?) 

Deep breath, this is a lot of stuff and we’re almost done. 

There's stuff about the Thistulespring tree and Ruben’s song spreading the rage vibes that represent the crystals in the ground. 

They realize that Porter is probably using the Devil's Honey to lie to Ankarna about his intentions as he's communicating with her.

They see that for the ritual they needed a body (Porter), Ankarna's name, the protective storm of the NIghtmare King, and his name inscribed by the champion of the old goddess. They realize that’s why Zara never got her eval. Fig is the champion and she did Porter and Zara’s eval on the same sheet which he swiped for this ritual. He literally made Fig a paladin so he could get what he needed. Diabolical. Aguefort needs better hiring practices. 

OK. Phew. Finally done. They head out and the next day is election day. Porter isn’t at school that day which is not surprising but is concerning. They don’t see the RG’s either. After school it’s time for the big party/election at Fabian’s place. Mazey gets a booth set up and Jawbone is there as faculty to make it legit. Aelwyn has warded up the place. Fig is there as Wanda cause she’s a maniac. Adaine is casting Detect Magic continually at the voting booth to watch for shenanigans. Also Ragh shows up and he aced his tryouts! He’s gonna be a profesh bloodrush player! Hoot growl all around!

But Riz (and honestly Murph) is unsettled. Everyone’s at this party where Fabian’s victory is a sure thing? All in one location together? Rat Grinders nowhere to be seen? This is WAY too easy.  

Which is Brennan’s cure to drop the other shoe. 

Things are just like Adaine's visions...until they're not. The sky was always clear in her visions and now storm clouds are brewing. She gets a Sending spell from someone, "You didn't see the storm coming? Must not be a very good Oracle." Oisin. Suddenly, ping pong balls with runes inside of them start raining down from where they've been stuck in the unkept Seacaster manor for months. From when Oisin "missed" his shots. Telekinetic writing inside a sphere. Runes inside ping pong balls. As they fall, there's a sudden lurch. Winds kick up and Seacaster manor is flying above Elmville. Everyone rolls initiative! 

I’m not doing proper Honor Roll/Detention this week because this was such a long episode and I'm exhausted. Honestly, Honor Roll for me for getting this up in time. Detention for Fabian for not using is 10k gold allowance to have someone clean his house in the past 9 months. 

Random Notes

Gonna just stick to a few plot relevant ones to keep this brief. 

Re: Adaine not seeing the storm in the same way that the previous oracle couldn't. I wonder if that’s just a blanket thing that weather evades predictions or if they did the same thing that was done during Kal’s plan to evade that oracle's sight before Aelwyn sunk her ship.

I don’t think I made it clear but Porter def killed Yolanda according to this ep. 

Porter’s Legendary Action is able to stun someone for multiple rounds which in combat would be devastating. 

I’m shocked they never tried to talk to Ruvina at any point during the campaign. 

I am still VERY concerned about Riz being made staff by Jace and given silver. That feels suspicious given we know he’s on Team Porter Ascension. 

I didn’t get into it because it was nebulous and would have messed with the flow of the recap but there was something there about teleportation circles and the Rat Grinders continually casting teleport to make a circle and maybe that’s how they’re gonna get Elmville into the Astral Plane. Just mentioning it in case it comes up again.

I don’t think we got closure on the “where the god was borne” thing. Because borne means carried, not created, right? I wonder if Seacaster manor would count because the corpse of Yes! Was brought there by Ankarna. 

The Rat Grinders and Porter have at least 2 obstacles they don’t know about. They don’t have the real name (unless they got in since Fig gave Porter the fake one) and Fig is literally domain squatting on Ankarna’s domain. She already called dibs so any claiming will have to go through her. 

I think it’s really nice that Adaine tried to do a relaxation track for Kristen. Handshake meme, her and Riz.

Emily insisting so hard and consistently that Porter was evil that Brennan just made him evil has some real as above/so below energy lol.

[therealslimshakespeare]

Alright, allow me a word or two on this whole HARRY CROSBY weekend in Oxford situation. This is probably redundant in this wonderful fandom but I think many of us were bracing a little during it and I have thoughts….

1. Harry Crosby had a delightful way in his book of mentioning in the most admiring terms the different women he encountered while posted overseas, among them Subaltern Wingate. This ought to be less of an anomaly in the world than it is but yet, it’s remarkable all the same. Particularly during such a time period and it ought to be taken in the tone in which it seems to have been relayed. Now, that can be hard to transfer to the screen as audiences are often wired to see man+woman=sexual tension of any sort, that’s unfortunate but there it is. Add producer and the writer’s interpretation of it as well and you’ve got something even more skewed. And then, well, it’s wartime, it’s grief, it’s roommates, understanding and isolation from loved ones -and Anthony Boyle’s perpetual bedroom eyes as well -so it had me on edge at times about where the tone was gonna go. Altogether i am not mad or faulting anyone, I liked that nothing was suggested, what happened is what we saw. And I liked what we saw. You can read endless accounts of how wartime can feel a bit surreal sometimes and you’re given these pockets of moments with strangers that are sometimes more impactful than a lifetime with familiars -and I honestly think they caught that vibe well.

2. Now I’m getting analytical and probably making excuses for my fail of a kicked puppy husband who loves his wife but, hear me out:

:Croz’s time in Oxford starts with him delightedly reading the newest letter from his wife. that emotion remains until he reaches the end of the letter and her usual sign off, “say hi to Bubbles for me” -we see he’s promptly shattered and the letter is discarded. As is Jean and thoughts of her for the rest of the weekend. Writing back his beloved wife will require telling her of Payne’s death and in his recounting of stories to Alex. Westgate, there’s a very present tense to his reminiscence of Bubbles, which suggests that he has not fully processed it himself. Writing Jean back would be the finality he doesn’t want to except. So instead he has a new friend who gives him a reprieve, someone he can tell stories to without the shared history and grief that Jean will carry alongside him. Their histories are all too tangled. I see it as a sort of escaping mechanism, perhaps you could stretch it all the way into emotional infidelity as far as the show goes, but I think it’s less of indifference towards his wife and rather trying to put off the inevitable of hurting her and himself by writing that news. By the end of the episode he’s come back to earth, into reality, with a cold hard thump, having to get on with things. Legit telling jokes about death.

I think it’s interesting how they framed the episode in that way, and it’s perhaps an insight into what he psychologically was going through. anyway, I won’t be hanging out the “welcome home cheater” banner. 😭😆

[suffering-asthmatic-tifosi]

i’ll explain papaya rules for you!!

okay so after oscar’s over take (and im pretty sure after mclaren’s first pit stop) lando’s race engineer comes on the radio and says

“you are allowed to race oscar, papayas rules”

so everyone was kinda confused because no one knows what said “papaya rules” are. so anyway after the race during the press conference, lando gets asked what papaya rules are and if he thought oscar’s overtake fit into those rules. lando basically said that the papaya rules are that they are free to race, but do not make contact. lando thought oscar’s overtake did fit into the rules but could’ve ended badly if he had braked later. zak brown was also asked about it after the race about what papaya rules meant and basically said the same thing that lando said!! but he said they would have to rewatch oscar’s overtake to make sure it applied by the “papaya rules”.

but then everyone (mostly lando fans) started getting mad at oscar and mclaren for allowing oscar to overtake and for them to race. they think that they should’ve swapped the cars on the last lap to allow lando to close the gap to max in the drivers championship a little more.

another thing, in the post-race press conference lando got asked if he needed help to win the championship and he said that he did have help and that his teammate was indeed helping him. he also said that he didn’t want to win the championship by begging for track position over his teammate. he said it was something the team would have to implement race by race. and oscar had nothing to add to that.

i hope this explained it and i probably added wayyyy to much details!! but it’s very interesting to me as a die hard oscar fan, to see everyone hating on him for racing and not giving the position to lando, even though the team said nothing about giving it up. but ill let you have your own opinion on the situation <3

Anon you’re and actual angel. Like genuinely you deserve a star here ⭐️

This topic now intrigues me more as a lifetime Lando fan and a new Oscar fan. Honestly I think, always thought tbh, that whenever Zak says that there is no number 1 driver, he’s just lying bc it’s Lando, we all know it’s Lando guys.

On that note, I think this Papaya Rules stuff is not very healthy for the future. Like how is this gonna work in a few months when the inevitable is going to happen and Lando is 3 points from the championship and Oscar is only p3. Who are “Papaya Rules” gonna help out at that point?

I get it, racing each other can be dangerous especially considering Lando’s lead. But making a petty kitty papaya rules is not the way guys. I get McLaren is trying to be the new hip team.. (i.e holister merch and like every pr thing ever (I could be wrong but McLaren feels like it like started this wave of F1 merch in American malls bc when F1 merch started rolling out it was all McLaren merch.) (sorry for all the () but on all that McLaren merch, when a driver is put on it it’s ALWAYS Lando. I own Hollister McLaren merch, it’s all Lando. And for the New RB merch at Hollister, it’s all obviously Max bc he’s the number 1 driver. So yeah sry for the Tangent)

.. but I think treating the boys like Kindergarteners with papaya rules is not it. There is a better way guys. I’m like 79.678% sure they aren’t gonna be the next Maxiel Baku 2018.

But I’m an idiot so I’m probably vry wrong. THANK YOU ANON FOR THE EXPLANATION I WAS ACTUALLY SO CONFUSED AND SO WAS MY DAD (another big Lando fan lol)

[22ayla19]

Summary: You took an oath that even if you die, you will definitely meet in your next life, under the same pomegranate tree where you first met.

Warning: AU, mentions of death (reader died in a past life), reincarnation, angst, tarot reader, clairvoyant.

From the Author: I was able to complete the world quest with Deshret only recently and gods, how mesmerizing it is. I'm very interested in the desert, it's a pity that there is little lore on it.

To say that I’m not like everyone else, everyone will think that I’m an upstart, posing as a simpleton, but I’m really different from ordinary people. You see, I am a person with an unusual gift, I can see spirits since birth. They say that newborn children and animals are very sensitive to the paranormal, my parents believed in this up to a certain point, until I grew up and began to scare them with the words “Mom, dad, look! There’s Aunt Bella!” Yeah, Aunt Bella, who died in an accident due to the fault of one drunk driving... Mom then almost fainted.

That's pretty much how all the paranormal stuff started with me. I am already 25 and roughly speaking, I have become a local fortune teller, as some call it, which sounds very rude, since I am a clairvoyant and a tarot reader to boot. Of course, I charge for my services, but it happens that sometimes deceased clients come to me, that is, spirits who ask me for help, to finish things or say important words that they did not have time to say during their lifetime. Honestly, I would not pay attention to them, but there was one case when I ignored the spirit and as a result, the daughter of a deceased woman died at the hands of her husband. I still feel guilty for not warning that girl...

Fortunately, today is my day off and I can take a little break from the daily hustle and bustle. I decided to lie in bed and watch Egyxos at the same time. So what? I live alone, no one bosses me around, I can at least be a child alone with myself. Since childhood, I have loved everything connected with Egypt, and I am studying to be a historian and the topic of my diploma is Ancient Egypt, the secrets of the pyramids and pharaohs.

My joyful and exciting mood was ruined by a call from a friend. Still, it would be better to set the “do not disturb” mode...

- Hello, friend!

- What do you want (F/N)? Get to the point, you wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t very, very “important,- I answered my friend displeasedly. Well, it's true! I told her not to call on my day off, but she again probably asks for a triangle layout for the first men she meets.

- Well, you’re so mean,- she pouted, for sure. - In short, I met two guys here, they’re so nice. One is so tall that...

- I don't care what they look like. Their names and two bottles of cognac at your expense, and I’ll make you a triangle layout - I’m really not interested in her personal life right now. I value (F/N), but she is very amorous and after a couple of betrayals, some scoundrels (which is putting it mildly), she is desperately looking for that very man who will only love her and not get under the skirt of others.

- I guess I’m tired of you with my men, aha-hah... Sorry, Y/N...

- To hell with you. I’ll make a schedule and bring some booze to me next weekend. Agreed?

- Agreed! I'll be waiting for a message from you! Bye bye!

- Where are you going?! Tell me the names of your men! How can I make a schedule for you? - how I love her instant forgetfulness with all my backside.

- Oh, oh! Andrew and John are their names.

I made this triangle layout and purely theoretically, something might work out between her and Andrew, but it depends on both of them, I can only suggest a possible scenario. But John has something dark behind him, so it’s better for a friend not to get too close to him. I wrote the message, and then it’s up to (F/N).

I would like to eat some fruit now, I really want pomegranate or pomegranate juice, but the only option is to leave the house and go buy it, but I’m too lazy. Eh, there’s nowhere to go, maybe I’ll buy myself something else, I’ll go and get ready quickly.

It didn’t take long to get ready, only about 10 minutes, I left my apartment and went towards the supermarket. Already on the spot, I began to look for the fruit I needed. I quickly found it, took the bag and, touching the pomegranate, I had a vision.

Love... such a strong feeling, but at the same time weak. One day my love destroyed the one I loved very much. I don't want... I can't lose you too...

My habib albi, you yourself said that love is a very strong feeling, so let me become your strength, your support in such troubled times.

My Merit...

I want to share my love with you, like I once shared a pomegranate with you. Even though I am destined to die as an ordinary mortal, I will definitely return to you under that pomegranate tree where we met.

The vision disappeared, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. This is the first time something like this has happened to me. I have experience as a clairvoyant, but for some reason I felt empty and lost after this vision. I didn’t even want to buy pomegranates, but since I came to buy them, I’ll buy them. Although it is interesting that similar visions will continue to appear.

. . .

A month later I went on a little trip. I needed material for my thesis, and I would draw it from the history of Egypt itself. Of course, now it is possible to find the missing information on the Internet, but it is still much better to see all the secrets of Egypt for yourself.

The strangest thing is that when I arrived in Egypt, visions began to torment me. From them I only understood that the king fell in love with a girl who became both strength and weakness for him, but because of the unrest in the country, both she and he died. It’s a sad story, but there’s something left unsaid in it, but I can’t figure out what it is.

Today I have a meeting with an expert who will talk about Heliopolis, one of the oldest and most important cities in Ancient Egypt. The meeting with this expert will be the last, since after this I will have to return home and complete the material for the diploma. It’s sad, because I want to know even more about Egypt, it fascinates with its secrets.

I was supposed to meet with the expert in the park near the museum, but since I arrived earlier than the appointed time, I decided to take a walk to pass the waiting time.

Walking through the park, I noticed a pomegranate tree. It’s strange that it is in such a place, but looking at it, for some reason I remembered a fragment of my visions, where the king met a girl under a pomegranate tree.

I walked up to the tree and began to look at it. An ordinary fruit tree, there is nothing so distinctive, but for some reason it attracts you. It’s as if some unknown force wants to say something, but cannot.

For about 5 minutes I stood and looked straight at the tree that I didn’t even notice how a fruit fell from the tree, but it fell not on the ground, but on my head. I managed to catch the pomegranate in my palm, but my head now hurt from the blow.

- Miss, are you okay?

- Yes, I'm... fine..

Looking at the man who was looking at me worriedly, I felt a surge of joy, happiness, but also bitterness. I felt the same as in my first vision about the Tsar and my favorite, but for some reason it was joy that I felt.

It was at this moment that, out of luck, another vision came to me.

My dear, Merit... I could not protect you, I could not protect my people... My ambitions became the grave of both Nabu Malicath and you. If my sacrifice can cure the plague on my lands, then I will give my life without regret. My only wish is to meet you in the next life under the same grana tree where we met.

- Maybe you should still go to the doctor, miss? - the man became more worried at the sight of my numbness. I couldn’t tell him to his face that I was imagining a moment from the past. They'll take her for a crazy person.

- Everything is fine with me. There’s no need to worry, I’m just tired after several weeks of work - it wasn’t a lie, since I’m really tired, but I won’t tell just anyone about my paranormal powers. Although the words “just anyone” do not quite apply to this situation. It’s difficult to describe in words, because looking at the man in front of me, I felt that I could trust that he was someone I once knew, the feeling of deja vu did not leave me.

- Excuse me, have we never met before? You just seem very familiar to me...

- Oh, it’s unlikely that we’ve ever met, this is the first time I’ve seen you, miss. Perhaps my words will seem absurd, but maybe we met in a past life?

The question itself sounded like a slight flirtation or even a joke, but for some reason, behind the man’s back, I saw a shadow, or rather the image of the king who appeared in my visions. Time seemed to stop, I didn’t hear anyone, as if I had fallen into a trance, but the man’s voice made me realize one important thing.

- I have been waiting for our meeting for a long time, my dear Merit, - an important detail that I have been missing all this time. I was the same Merit from the visions. More precisely, my past life. And the man in front of me is the same man who swore to wait for me in my next life. He is the same king who sacrificed his soul to stop the plague because he could not save the life of his beloved.

[prince-liest]

Dr Prince! You have very effectively infected my brainslug with ‘Lady’s First’ (fire name, btw. the meaning hit me in the face when typing this and you would only know when checking the spelling) I can’t stop thinking about it.

Sorry beforehand, this may bully your inbox with a wall of text.

There are so many things I want to write and analyse about this, but right now I’d like to focus on Vox:

(also: feel free to ignore this if my insane ramblings go off the rails, lol, they tend to do that)

So I find it fascinating how both of them interact in this. Clearly they were talking about emotional and personal things way more than male Alastor. It’s very hard for me to put into words, not gonna lie. Vox, I feel like, has experienced a very different kind of ‘hell-socialisation’ in this version. Since it’s not ‘my gender is eldritch monster’ Alastor he’s looked up to but Alastor the woman who also happens to be the mighty Radio Demon, things turned out very different. 

We can all agree that friendships between men and friendships between men and women are different. We can’t forget that Vox is also playing a role here. His presentation is carefully crafted to be the ‘man’s man’. He is all ‘I’m going to present as toxic masculine as I have learned men to be during my lifetime’ -> probably very much imitating the way that his boss used to present. Because that’s what a man does, of course(lol)! The competitive edge, so to say, is missing that would be present between ‘old-boy’ male friends. This is laced with the fact that Vox is also queer as Hell and not immune to his own upbringing. So he was able to clock Alastor’s insecurity IMMEDIATELY and tried his best to dispel them (even though it was for different reasons than one might think initially). Because he’s probably been subject to the same thing when he was alive. (Again, ignore if I’m being stupid about this, it’s just my own interpretation and I’m INSANE)

Also it kinda feels like talking about feelings is something that comes more naturally to Vox and thus, things like him being transgender and them having talked about his vast collection of dildos beforehand is interesting but I also can’t quite put my finger on WHY, exactly. Is it because a male Alastor would have absolutely snooped around Vox’s room as well, taken note of the dildos and just not given a shit? I don’t know! And Vox being so soft and considerate throughout the whole thing hit me in the face out of left field, not gonna lie.

Now, coming over to Alastor for a moment. You can almost see the gears turning in her head that led to this decision. All the little hints beforehand and the interactions throughout. As you said: socialisation as a woman dictated to her that if she wants to have a meaningful friendship with a man, it is expected of her to give herself over. She clearly likes Vox enough but I think there are also other layers to this. There is also that “choosing a partner” vibe. She is just as curious and wanting to try things as her male counterpart. She also already knew she probably wouldn’t enjoy sex but she’s not above trying it out nevertheless -> combining all the things: Vox being a friend that is near and dear to her heart that she also doesn't feel ‘weaker’ to, if that makes sense. Vox can’t ‘take’ her power or perceived status away the same way a non-Overlord would in this scenario. I interpret/project a lot of “men sleeping around are heroes, women sleeping around are sluts” into this. Then there is Vox being trans and having had very similar socialisations during his lifetime. It almost created a safe space for Alastor. If it was going to be ANY man she was ever going to try this with, it would be Vox. (Of course that notion of ‘safety’ is a very flimsy and badly worded descriptor that goes out the window the second we bring hypnosis and the fact that they are DEMONS in HELL into the mix but I’m very bad at describing my thoughts in this otherwise) 

Phew. ok, so that was so many words to say: I love this stuff! 

Now I wish that it was a series but my brain already can’t comprehend how this masterpiece even saw the light of day so….

Thank you so much for this!

HENCHY THIS ASK WAS SO LOVELY <3 No apologies, I love long comments (though for continuous conversations I tend to start putting things under a cut, haha).

I think you're very on-point with a lot of this, especially with Vox feeling like a safe enough option that Alastor was able to get far enough as to try this in the first place. And it's not just because she thinks Vox understands where she's coming from, having experienced life "as a woman" (in Alastor's eyes, though that's not precisely actually true to the trans experience), but also because they're from similar enough time periods that she thinks Vox has a proper understanding of how things should be. Vox in this fic has been historically actively more respectful to Alastor in a very gendered way because he's socially canny enough to pick up on the fact that Alastor expects him to be, and he cares enough about what she thinks of him to continue behaving that way even decades after they met when it's not actually the 1950s anymore.

Chivalry is dead, but they're both in hell with it!

And talking about his feelings comes more naturally to Vox in this fic because he's talking about them to a woman rather than another man, so a lot of society's "men shouldn't have soft squishy feelings (unless it's to their mother or female significant other)" bullshit doesn't register, especially to a guy who, y'know, has a vested interest in performing masculinity "correctly." If that makes sense! >:D

Anyway, thank you so much! I didn't expect the sheer amount of interest and positive response that this fic would garner and it has brought me a lot of joy. I'm really happy that you enjoyed it!

[davidtennantgenderenvy]

As i approach the end of finals week, I’m taking a moment to reflect on all of the absolutely CRAZY things that have happened during my roller coaster of a sophomore year of college!

This is of course, going to go down in the history books as The David Tennant year. What started as a silly little reawakened special interest in my favorite actor has somehow opened doors for me that I never could have imagined. Writing a two hour video essay about this man is NOT how I thought I’d be spending last semester, but not only did it become one of the proudest creative projects of my entire life and connected me with so many amazing internet buddies, but it was also invaluable in helping me come to terms with my queerness and come out to my friends and family. Thanks to a silly little short about David’s BAFTA outfit, he KNOWS I EXIST NOW, which is still so wild. And finally, he inspired me to write my most ambitious piece of music to date, my 8 month labor of love Crowley’s Lament, which put to the test basically everything I’ve learned about music and performing and has been received so beautifully by you guys.

This year wasn’t all about him, though! I finally got to make my collegiate stage debut in my first opera, and Iolanthe ended up being the dream role I never knew I needed- an endearing and inspiring character that was such a fulfilling challenge for an actor and singer to play. I learned loads of challenging classical, musical theatre, and pop rock music this year, listened to a ton of new albums (Will Wood might be one of the most incredible musical discoveries of my life?), and learned a ton about music theory and history. One of my favorite classes this year was Film and TV music analysis, and I got to apply my knowledge by composing the score for one of my Discord mutuals’ short films! I turned 20 and on the same day got to perform in an original musical for my friend’s composition recital. I took part in my first ever crew assignment, had two of my pieces performed at Project 21 concerts (one with a full band!), and my original Fullmetal Alchemist song Even Into Hell was choreographed for a collaboration with the school of dance, which brought my piece to such gorgeous emotional life.

I’ve gotten closer to friends old and new, and just when I’d accepted that romance probably wasn’t in the cards for me any time soon, I met (well, started DM-ing), the most amazing person through the most unexpected set of circumstances (that honestly deserves its own video sometime in the future). My brilliant internet friend-turned-parter Merlin @elsinore-and-inverness has brought so much light and joy into my life, and I can honestly say I’m the happiest I’ve been in years.

Next stop, THE UK!!! I’m not only studying abroad on a once in a lifetime Shakespeare trip, seeing loads of West End shows AND performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, but I also get to meet my favorite London boy in person :)))) could NOT be more excited

[triplexdoublex]

Promise

Pairing: (Virgin) Chase Hudson x (Virgin) Reader

Warnings/tags : virginity, loosing virginity, mild blood, Sharing past memories of them being just friends as children. brief mention of underage drinking (Chase and reader DO NOT par take), brief off page mention of them kissing and getting to 2nd base( kiss/touch breasts) in the past prior to them turning 18. , NO SEX including ORAL happens before they are 18 only after!!!

“Pinky Promise,” you and Chase said in unison, hooking your little twelve year old pinkies together. “And I promise to never break a promise… EVER!” You both followed, in tradition with your usual promise making ritual the two of you had developed over your lifetime of being neighbors and best friends.

********

And you never did break a promise to each other, not once… and you certainly weren’t going to start now.

“Ugh, if I could go back in time and punch twelve year old me in the face right now I would!” Chase grumbles in sexual frustration, pausing his steamy make out session with you, and moving to sit at the end of his bed before things go any further. This is the closest the two of you have ever been to breaking the promise you made to eachother that fateful day after watching a video on STDs and teen pregnancy in sixth grade health class.

“I’d punch twelve year old me too, if I could,” you match his level of frustration. You grab your bra and fasten it back on before joining him at the end of the bed. “I should have known coming over here when your parents aren’t home was gonna make it nearly impossible to stick to our stupid ‘no sex until after highschool graduation’ pact.”

“If we’re being honest you should probably punch yourself twice,” he elbows you playfully.

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?”

“Because you’re the one who decided we should add ‘no oral sex or touching below the waist’ to the pact.” He runs his painted fingertips through his deep brown hair.

“It sounded gross at the time!” You exclaim in playful defense. “Plus neither of us knew we’d end up together.” You add. “It wasn’t until we were fifteen when you kissed me during our weekly Friday movie night that I even knew you liked me like that. I still remember the surge of electricity that went through me the second your lips touched mine, and how it made me lose my grip on the bowl of popcorn— what a mess!” You smile at him.

“Yeah,” he smiles back at you, reminiscing. “We kissed until the credits rolled. I still don’t know how ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ actually ends.” He laughs.

“It ended with your tongue down my throat,” you giggle. “But it’s three years later — we’re eighteen now — and that’s still all we’ve really done, besides you kissing and touching my breasts. There’s gotta be something we can do to get some release without breaking our promise. The overwhelming desire to make eachother cum, is absolutely killing me lately.”

“It’s killing me too—Fuck, especially hearing you talk like that— you’re not helping you know,” he jokes, adjusting himself in his pants.

“Sorry,” you blush. “But ummm, I think I might know something we could try though,” you say softly, hesitant to admit what you’re about to.

“Please, What? Anything!” Chase practically begs.

“Ok, I’m kinda embarrassed to say this, and you’re probably gonna think I’m weird but umm…so obviously, sometimes I masturbate thinking about you, and I’m sure you do it thinking about me too—” you pause to take a deep breath. “—but sometimes it’s not enough so i’ll like hump my pillow and pretend it’s you and- and, I can get off like that,” you hide your face in your hands.

“Hey, you don’t need to be embarrassed,” he peels your hands away from your face. “I actually think that’s hott as fuck. I’m honored. He smiles, blushing. “I’m not sure how that helps us now though?”

“Y-you can be like my pillow — we’ll both keep our clothes on of course, well the necessary ones anyway.

“Ok, I’m totally down to try that,” he says with a flirtatious smile as he scoots himself back on the bed and lays down. “I’m all yours,” he smirks, gripping his erection through his tight jeans.

The depths of your abdomen are already warm with desire as you straddle him. As luck would have it, you’re wearing a skirt; the thin fabric of your panties are the only thing separating your plump and eager clit from the hard bulge of denim beneath you, as you begin the slow roll of your hips.

“Mmmhahamm,” Chase moans out a satisfied, smug, little laugh as he slides his hands up your thighs and under your skirt to grip your hips. “This just might be the best idea you’ve ever had,” he smirks, using his grip to push and pull you against him, intensifying the friction for you both.

The feeling is far more intense than the soft cushion of your pillow and you relish in it, appreciating the way his twitching cock excites your sensitive bud.

“Goddd, I wish you were inside me right now!” you whine out, adding a slight bounce to your movements so you can pretend.

“Trust me, I know, I wish I was too,” he bucks his pelvis up to play into the fantasy of it all.

The only thing missing is a fullness inside of you and a tight warmth around Chase, but this will do for now. You can feel how slick you're getting and wonder if Chase can feel the dampness through his denim. And as if he can read your mind he slides his hands back down your thighs to the hem of your skirt, lifting it up to take a peek underneath.

“Mm-Fuck that’s so hott! You’re soaking through your panties babe,” he exclaims, watching in awe as wet spot blooms.

“That’s because this feels s-sooo fucking good, baby! Mmmhhm.” You moan, looking directly into his gorgeous blue eyes.

“Yeah?” He asks rhetorically and bites his lip, as his body moves in unison with yours. “Let’s get this back off you, huh?” He sits up slightly supporting himself with one hand as he expertly unhooks your bra with the other . It’s one of the only things he’s been allowed to take off of you for the last three years, so of course he’s mastered it by now. “Fuck, you’re so gorgeous,” he sits up fully now, gently cupping your face with partial sweater paws —his painted finger tips resting gently on the apples of your cheeks. He pulls you in and begins kissing you, your tongues embracing each others in sensual rhythm.

You grab the hem of his oversized sweater and begin to pull it up, only parting your mouths long enough to tug it over his head. The second it’s discarded, you’re at it again; desperate, hungry kisses moaning into eachothers mouth.

“C-can I try be-being on top now,?” he breaks the kiss to ask, panting and out of breath.

“Of course,” you roll off him and lay on your back, letting him climb on top.

Somehow this position makes everything feel more real; the weight of him between your legs; the skin to skin contact of your bare, sweat-slicked chests gliding against each other with every roll of Chase’s hips.

“Mmmhm— Fuck, baby! Can’t wait to do this for real,” he kisses the words into the flesh right below your ear; he knows it’s your favorite spot. As usual it sends a wave of pleasure straight to your core.

“Fuck, I’m so close, Chase! Don’t stop!”you cry out. But your words excite him too much…

“Shit! No no no no NO! Not yet!” He pleads with himself, shortly following with a defeated “I’m cumming.” With a heavy sigh he rolls off of you. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Chase, don’t worry about it, besides I can take care of myself,” you reassure him, giving him a peck on the lips, and shift to get out of bed to head to the bathroom.

“Wait!” He reaches out grabbing you by the wrist. “I wanna watch …if that’s ok with you of course.”

“Umm.. yeah, okay,” you reply timidly, knowing you're about to star in a private show of one of your most intimate moments; all eyes on you, even if they are just Chase’s.

You position yourself back on the bed—legs spread and skirt lifted for Chase’s viewing pleasure— and slip your hand into your panties. It was never an official part of the original promise you made, but at some point in your relationship it became like an unspoken rule that seeing those parts of each other were off limits until after graduation as well. Your fingers move in circles over your clit, shielded only by the thin, delicate, wet fabric of your panties. It doesn’t take long before Chase is hard again; his own hand tucked into his boxer briefs, as he watches you.

“So sexy, playing with yourself for me,” he stares in awe. “Thinking about this dick inside you baby?” He says, as he strokes himself, his jeans now unzipped to allow him more range of motion.

“Mmmhm, you know it, Cha—“ your orgasm cuts off your words as it surges through you. Chase can’t take his eyes off you as your legs tremble and thighs clamp close around your hand— he’s never seen anything so arousing in his life.

“Baby, give me your hand,” he requests, when your body stops seizing in pleasure. You give him a quizzical look. “Trust me,” he elaborates. And you do—you trust him, you trust him with every cell in your body —so you extend your free hand out to him , the other still resting lazily in your panties. “No, the other one,” he specifies. In confused silence you pull out your hand—fingers still sleek with your essence—and give it to Chase who brings it to his lips. “Wanna taste you,” he takes two of your fingers into his mouth, his tongue swirling over, around and between them.

His dick twitches at his first taste of your flavor. You feel the buzz of his moans briefly around your fingers before they fall from his slack jaw as he cums hard in his pants, again.

“Can I?” You ask, nodding down to the mess seeping through his boxers.

He knows exactly what you’re asking and thumbs a drop of cum from his tip, and brings it to your lips. You open your mouth and he pushes his thumb in allowing you a taste of his salty release.

“Do I taste good, baby?” He asks. With his thumb still in your mouth you coyly nod yes. “You do too,” he smirks before slipping out his thumb. “God, I can’t wait until graduation.”

************************

By the time graduation rolls around the two of you have practically worn a hole in the crotch of every pair of pants and underwear you own.

After diplomas are received and caps thrown you sneak off to a hotel party with Chase, telling your mom you’re at sleepover with your friend, because even though you’re eighteen your moms one of those ‘you live under my roof, you live under my rules’ kind of mom. Technically you’re not really lying since your friend is here at the party too, but you doubt anyone’s gonna be sleeping, unless they just blackout; Another friend's older brother is stupidly supplying alcohol. You and Chase will not be partaking — another sixth grade health class promise to each other— no drinking until the legal age of 21.

Chase has been acting slightly off all night, he seems distracted, like his mind is completely somewhere else right now. It’s so unlike him and you're a little concerned.

“Earth to Chase,” you call out, grabbing his attention. “You okay? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He takes a big breath before answering “Sorry it was supposed to be a surprise after the party but I can’t get it off my mind …..I got us our own room,” he says handing you a key card.

“Oh..OHH!” It suddenly hits you as to why he’s been acting so odd. “I’m gonna go tell my friends I’m not feeling well, so we’re leaving early.”

***********

Once alone inside the room with Chase, your nerves start to kick in but you try not to show it. You and Chase are on the bed— still fully clothed sans socks and shoes— kissing softly when he pauses to ask…

“So how do you wanna do this?”

“Umm, however you want to I guess.” You respond sounding unsure.

“Are you okay? We don’t have to do this tonight if you’re not ready yet,” he says sensing your nerves. “I’ll be just as happy sleeping next to you as I’ll be sleeping with you. No pressure.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Everyone makes such a huge deal out of virginity , I think I’m just psyching myself out even though I know it's just a social construct. I’m mostly just worried about it hurting,” you admit.

“Promise I’ll be as gentle as possible, and we can stop anytime you want or need too,” he reassures you. Just let me know—I’m your best friend before anything else, before being your boyfriend, and certainly before my own pleasure— the last thing I wanna do is hurt you in any way shape or form.

“Thank you, I really appreciate that. You make me feel so safe, I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone but you,” you give him a slow, sensual kiss, before pausing to speak again, “I really appreciate you going to the gyno with me to get birth control last month too,”

“Of course, birth control is just as much my responsibility as it is yours—which reminds me, I wasn't sure if you still wanted to use condoms or not, but I brought some,” he reaches into his small cross body bag on the floor by the bed and pulls out a three pack. “Completely up to you, I’m fine either way.”

“I’m okay doing it without one. I mean, I’m on birth control and we’re both virgins.”

“ That’s what I was thinking too, but I wanted to bring them just in case you didn’t feel the same way,”

“You’re the best,” you smile at him. “So umm I was thinking like, missionary— at least to start.”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

“And umm, if you don’t mind, can we like skip the other stuff for now? I’m just really anxious to finally have sex with you,” you blush.

“Same,” he smiles. “I’m completely fine with that,”

Slowly, you begin undressing each other: first tugging Chase’s form fitting black T-shirt up and over his head, followed by him pulling you to your feet so he can unzip the back of your dress. He stands behind you, kissing the base of your neck before taking his time lowering the zipper, and continuing to kiss down your vertebrae as he goes. Once fully unzipped you shrug the garment from your shoulders, letting it cascade down your body and pool at your feet. Chase lends you a hand, helping you step out of the swirl of fabric and then gently lays you down on the bed. You’re only in your panties; your graduation dress not requiring a bra. Chase stands at the foot of the bed and begins to unbuckle the belt of his dress pants. It’s by far one of the hottest sights you’ve ever seen, reminiscent of the cover of one of your guilty pleasure steamy romance novels. After he’s fully removed his pants, he climbs onto the bed, the both of you in just your underwear.

“Can I take these off you?” He hooks his thumbs under the skinny strap of fabric at your hips. You respond with a nod and your bottom lip tucked tightly between your teeth. You lift your hips for him as Chase makes quick work of tugging them down and off. He marvels at the sight before him; you completely nude for the very first time in his presence. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful,” he lightly traces a single finger over your slit, just barely parting your lips. “Ready for me?” He strokes himself through the confines of his boxers and then quickly removes them when you respond with another nod. He spreads your legs then positions himself between them. “Try to relax for me, okay.”

He attempts to run his tip through your folds to lubricate himself before pushing in but it seems your arousal isn’t quite as plentiful as the times that the two of you have simulated sex. You can feel the friction from the lack of wetness as Chase tries to navigate his way through your folds, and embarrassingly, you know he can feel it too.

“I’m sorry,” you cover your face in shame. “I want this. I’m in the mood and everything, I swear. I’m turned on, you turn me on—-” you ramble in a panic, thinking Chase is going to be offended.

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay. I know it’s probably just because you’re nervous. Don’t worry about it, I brought some lube, just in case,” Chase reaches down to his bag once again, and pulls out a small colorful bottle. “Is it okay if I rub some on you?”

“Of course,.………Chase,—I love you, seriously, you’re the best.” You’ve heard some of your other friends' first time stories and you know how lucky you are to have someone who cares as much about your level of pleasure and comfort as their own.

“I love you, too,” he smiles, giving you a kiss on the forehead. “I know you said you wanted to skip the other stuff for now, but I think it might be a good idea if I get you warmed up with my fingers a little first. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” you involuntarily squirm with anticipation.

Chase cracks open the bottle of lube, and squeezes out a moderate amount onto his fingertips. He warms the clear, cool, jelly between his thumb and forefingers before gently applying it to your opening.

“Ready?” He waits for your nod of approval before sliding a slicked finger inside of you. The sensation causes you to softly breathe out his name. “You okay?” He asks, sounding concerned.

“Yeah,” you whisper. “Keep going.” And he does, working them in a ‘come hither’ motion and adding a second finger when you say it’s okay. You wouldn’t say it hurts by any means, but you can definitely feel the pressure and stretch of his long, slender fingers working inside you. But the pleasure is there as well; that special spot you also learned about in health class—Chase has undeniably found it. “Mmmm, Chase—fuck…so good — kiss me.”

“Anything you want, baby,” Chase leans over your body— his fingers still getting you ready for him— and connects his mouth to yours, devouring your moans. Every kiss fills you with the same electric surge as it did during that Friday movie night, three years ago. That’s how it always is with you and Chase; every kiss feels like the first time —everytime.

“Want you…now,” you whimper as he moves the kisses to your neck.

“I’m right here, baby. I’m all yours,” he breathes against your flesh.

“Inside me,” you clarify, grabbing his hard dick.

“Yeah?” He perks his head up smiling at you. “Think you can take me now?”

“Yeah, go slow though,”

“I will, baby,” he slips out his fingers and uses the mixture of lube and arousal to coat himself before lining up between your legs again. “Let me know if I’m hurting you or you need me to stop, okay.”

“Okay,” you take a deep breath and slowly release it, trying to calm your nerves, while he lines himself up again.

This time he’s able penetrate you, and delicately begins sinking further in. He places his hands down on the mattress near your shoulders to support himself and you instantly grip his arms, slightly digging in your fingernails.

“You alright?” He pauses pushing in.

“I’m ok… k-keep going.”

“You sure ?”

“I’m sure.”

He continues to caringly inch his way inside you until his pelvis is flush with your body.

“Mhmm—fuck!.. i-it’s, it’s all the way in, baby. Feels so good…too good. Mmmmh, shit, gimme a minute.” He closes his eyes and sinks his teeth into his lip.

“It’s okay, I need one too.” You distract yourself from the twinge of pain between your legs by fiddling with one of his necklaces. “I still can’t believe you’ve kept this all these years,” you say, holding the dog tag that hovers above your body like a pendulum at rest; Chase’s name engraved on the front.

“Of course I do. You gave it to me,” he strokes the side of your cheek with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, for your tenth birthday!” You giggle.

“I loved you then—even if I didn’t know it yet—and I love you now,” he leans down, kissing you softly. The cold metal of the tag now touching your breasts excites you, and you let out a small moan that buzzes against Chase's lips. “I should be good now, are you?”

You silently nod and Chase—paying close attention to where your bodies are joined — slowly draws his hips back and gently pushes in again, but this time when he pulls back his hips he notices a bright red streak down his length.

“Shit, you're bleeding!” he sounds panicked.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry!” You go to cover your face again, but Chases intercepts, instead, interlocking your fingers together

“Baby, it’s okay. I know it’s common the first time. I don’t care about the blood, I’m worried I’m hurting you.”

“I mean yeah, it hurts a little, but it's gonna hurt whether we do this now, later, or another year from now; It just comes with the territory. I trust you and I know you're being as gentle as you possibly can. I’ll be okay, I promise.” You reassure him. Besides, from what your friends have told you it should begin hurting less and start to feel good soon.

“Soo continue?” He asks, to be sure.

“Yes, make love to me, Chase!

With his hands still interlaced with yours, he resumes the slow and careful roll of his hips and gently pins them to the mattress just slightly above your head. It’s not a dominance thing though , it’s not like the movies, or the spicy romance novels you read — it’s an assurance thing, a silent way of letting you know he’s got you, you’re in good hands and he’s gonna take good care of you. He dips his head, planting a garden of kisses along your throat as he delicately pivots his hips. It takes a bit to adjust to the intense stretch but Chase coaches you through it—reminding you to breathe, and distracting you with sensual praise and eye contact— until the ache eventually fades away. The sensation that replaces it is akin to the feeling of the way your heart skipped a beat the first time Chase said ‘I love you.” The memory of it playing on repeat inside of you everytime he glides over your g-spot.

“Ohh… Chase!” You pant breathily.

“You alrig—?“

“ You feel so fucking good,” you cry out, cutting off his question of concern.

“Mmmghh, he grunts at the pleasure your words bring him. “Happy you… mmhm finally get to enjoy this as mmmuch as I am,” he speaks through broken moans. “Don't know how mmmuch longer I can last though”

“Ss’okay, babe. It’s your first time too, I-I understand.”

T he next few minutes are filled with mutual pleasure, love-laden moans and passionate kisses. And even though a part of him is literally inside you, and your bodies are pressed together, you desire him impossibly closer still; your hands gripping and grabbing at his slender body as if you could just crawl into his chest and stay there for all of eternity. You call out his name as a familiar feeling begins to brew within you. But before you can reach your climax …

“Can I… in you?” Chase asks through heavy breathing. And with your nod of consent, he begins to pulse inside you, a warm sensation filling you up. “Ughhm, Holy Fuck!” Chase calls out, a shiver of ecstasy running through his body. He collapses on top of you, boneless as a jellyfish while he comes down from his high and catches his breath. “That was the best orgasm of my fucking life!” He manages to lift himself up to speak, making eye contact with you. “Wanna make you feel good too, Can I finish you off?” He sensually runs his tongue over his top lip.

“I’d like that,” you squirm, on the brink of orgasm already.

With no prior experience with oral sex you silently wonder to yourself if he’ll be able to make you cum, but the second his tongue traces a counter-clockwise half circle around your clit, you know he will—and soon! He continues licking a stripe down the side of your sensitive bud, then halfway back up, over and down. When he circles your clit next, you realize what he’s doing before he even finishes the letter.

“Chase!” You blurt out as if you were supposed to guess the word his tongue is spelling out in calligraphy.

Your hand rides atop his head as he softly zigzags the letter ‘S’ over your clit. Somewhere in the middle of the final letter your body starts convulsing in pleasure and Chase proudly wears your thighs as earmuffs as he makes you cum.

“God, I fucking love you,” he kisses his way back up your body, when your thighs finally release their hold on him. He gives you one last kiss on your mouth before he settles down on his back besides you. He takes your hand in his and brings it up to his lips placing a gentle peck on the backside. “That was amazing,” he says with his head turned, looking in your eyes as he softly strokes your hair. “Finally getting to be with you like that after so long was….was everything!” He struggles to find a word special enough to encompass the way he’s feeling. “I swear the wait just intensified the experience as a whole; so many new and exciting sensations we got to explore together for the first time ,” he kisses you lightly on your forehead.

“I agree, and I’m so lucky to have a man so deserving of sharing my body with. I felt so safe, respected and loved the entire time; so thank you for that.”

“Of course,” he gives you another forehead kiss and starts to get up.

“Mmghh,” you grumble playfully “Where you going? Stay with me.”

“I’m gonna draw you a nice cool bath, it should help with any remaining soreness…and here take two of these,” he pulls out a travel size bottle of Tylenol from his bag.

“Thanks,” you smile, getting up from the bed and grabbing a water from the mini fridge. You wash the pills down your throat with a sip of water, and make your way into the bathroom.

“Oh, and don’t forget to pee!” He calls out as you close the bathroom door.

“Okay, you reply, laughing to yourself. You think it’s adorable how he obviously did his research; from the lube, to spelling his name between your thighs, the Tylenol, the cool bath, and reminding you to empty your bladder. You wouldn’t dare call him out on it though.

**************

After your bath, you wrap yourself in the white robe provided by the hotel and open the bathroom door only to find Chase sitting on the bed in his boxers, a bleach pen in hand, scrubbing at the small— mostly gone— crimson patch on the sheets.

“ You can sleep on that side. I’ll sleep on the wet spot… think I got it out though.” Chase says, tucking the stain remover back into his little ‘first time’ kit.

“Oh, Chase, you say playfully. You’re such a dork sometimes, but I totally love you for it,” you pick up one of his balled up socks off the floor, and throw it at him.

“Hey, what was that for!” He smiles at you, tossing it back.

“Nothing,” you say, not wanting to embarrass him. “I just appreciate everything that went into tonight,” you leave it at that, and take a seat on the bed.

“Wait, hold that thought,” he sounds both elated and nervous all of a sudden. “I have one more surprise for tonight.” He pulls a small wrapped box out of his bag and hands it to you. You look at him quizzically. “Go ahead, open it!” He’s so excited that if he were a dog, his tail would be wagging. You removed the wrapping paper to find a black velvet ring box.

“Chase,” you let out in a barely audible breath, your eyes already welling with happy tears. With unsteady hands you pry open the hinged box to reveal a conservative sized diamond ring. You drop the box into your lap and throw your arms around Chase. “Yes, yes— a million times yes, baby!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t get you anything bigger right now, it’s just a promise ring but I didn’t wanna wait any longer trying to save up, I figured tonight would be the perfect night to ask you.”

“ It’s beautiful, Chase, I love it!” You retrieve the box from your lap to admire the dainty melee diamonds that surround a slightly larger Marquise cut diamond in the center.

“Here, let me put it on you,” he gently takes the box from your hand, removes the ring and begins sliding it on the ring finger of your left hand. “A promise solidifies the bond between two people and with this promise ring, I vow to honor that bond forever. This ring is a symbol of my love for you and my promise to marry you… after College graduation,” he adds with a laugh.

“Oh we’re playing that game again?” You return his laughter.

“It will be worth the wait, just like it was this time, promise.”

[aranarumei]

hello! since you've mention ssmy thoughts i have come to ask for any you have on kurasawa and tashiro! or kurasawa and miyano, or anything kuresawa really. thank you!

[ask me about any two ssmy charas and i'll give my thoughts on their dynamic, real or imagined]

oh hi!!!! this is like. totally congruent. I was actually talking abt kuresawa-tashiro shenanigans super recently so. from the ssmy first years light novels, when we probably get to meet yuki I think it becomes obvious that kuresawa’s attracted to sweet sincerity. also, that kid loves stars. he’s a huge romantic, which I think is obvious. and he’s serious—he picked this high school for it’s astronomy club, and clearly he cares about studying. I can kinda see why he pierced his ears—hirano’s a lot more outwardly rambunctious, but I think he models that “diligent nature” that kuresawa has in him. like hirano, he’s really careful in his support of miyano’s relationship with sasaki… doesn’t make it obvious, doesn’t push it, but makes sure that miyano doesn’t feel cornered by having to address it too soon. in the ssmy second year light novel he does just that when the conversation turns to topics of love—miyano vaguely talks about his type, and before tashiro can be like, “hey that sounds just like sasaki” kuresawa claps a hand over his mouth.

so like, tashiro, right. probably everyone knows I’m a fan. he’s lively and the life of the party and he’s also a guy who’s welcoming enough to the point that miyano feels comfortable talking to him. not about bl, but like. well enough to ask tashiro to lock up for him when kuresawa gets into that fight. (speaking of, really good moment w/ kuresawa and miyano. it happens and then kuresawa just is kind of like. well. I’m friends with you now. I’ve noticed you’re probably into bl. cool. I love how direct he is about it) miyano also calls him “surprisingly perceptive” in the first years novel, and in the second years novel, during the love talk kuresawa narrates “tashiro, of ever sharp intuition…”

he expresses a similar sentiment in the manga, too—tashiro is really sharp! not deliberately, but he’s just got a knack for knowing things. total intuition. he’s different because w/ regards to miyano and sasaki’s relationship, tashiro is just overwhelmingly neutral… he’s like, interested, but he doesn’t really treat the homosexuality part of it like it’s any kind of deal. kuresawa also thinks that he doesn’t want to introduce tashiro to his girlfriend because he’s too charming. thinks that he and his girlfriend would get along without him, and they’d do it better than miyano and his girlfriend, which is crazy, because miyano and kuresawa’s girlfriend actually share interests. on the subject of “interest” and tashiro, though, there’s love & passion from the first years novel, which is. amazing. stunning. unbelievable. the reason why some people on tumblr are obsessed with an unnamed ping pong club president. but it’s also got this bit where like… tashiro hangs out at a bathhouse to play ping pong with some of the old men there, and some of the old women there are into yuri. and I think the fact that he knows this, and that he regularly hangs out there and is clearly beloved by the patrons, just shows how good he is at like… listening? and making connections with people? there’s this part in the manga where tashiro spends his entire lunch break listening to kuresawa talk about his girlfriend, and while it’s mostly meant as an example of how much kuresawa adores her and adores talking about her, I think it’s also important to note that tashiro got so swept up in listening to it that he forgot to do anything else during his lunch break.

all that to say: I think kuresawa’s going to get the shock of a lifetime one day when, in conversation, tashiro just offhandedly says something that implies he’s got knowledge of yuki’s tastes in bl. not just because tashiro’s recalling incredibly specific details about his girlfriend, but because he’s pretty sure he hasn’t actively tried to talk about anything bl-related with tashiro ever. that’s meant for him and miyano to quietly discuss sometimes. how does tashiro know that? and the reason is, well, he’s a guy who’s deceptively easy to talk to, to the point that you say too much, only you wouldn’t ever think you had, because he accepts it so easily. I hope they get to be friends for a long time.

fun fact the above paragraph is the actual idea / thought I meant to respond with. I just talk too much so I gave a bunch of extra context. don’t have a real proper conclusion so I’ll end it here…?

wait also I love the brief romance of tasuko and tashiro. objectively one of the funniest things i’ve seen, especially with 1) the fact that tashiro was 100% ready to accept a girl showing up in an all-boys school out of nowhere, and 2) the light novel context of the fact that tashiro can’t even properly recall any kind of crush or type of girl he’s into. me personally I like to think think there’s a yet-unworded gender thing going on there. ok end for real. thank you for the ask!

[revserrayyu]

2.4 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 1]

**SPOILERS** I didn’t think I’d be up for more story ramblings after the entirety of Penacony, but rejoice, our trip back to the Xianzhou has already exceeded my low expectations. So here we are. Ready to yap once more. At this point, I’ve already finished the entire 2.4 story but this post (probably one of three) will only cover up until the stunning Feixiao makes her first appearance, so be wary of any spoilers and later events that I may or may not possibly mention. Who knows.

I started this mission the night of the update so my memory might fail me at some places, but I sorta remember the giddy tone Dan Heng used here when suggesting March should stay on the Express by herself this time. That man is funny when he wants to be and I adore the teasing these two constantly have with each other. Her mentioning other days of the week in fear of another Sunday fiasco happening is hilarious too.

It’s always a welcomed surprise to hear the Trailblazer speak and I’m so thrilled with how often we got that chance throughout this quest. After watching tiny bits of some ZZZ playthroughs and seeing how often their protagonists get to actually speak, I sincerely hope they continue this in the future with HSR because Rachael & Caleb do a fantastic job with them. English dub bias yes, but I have no doubt all the other languages are great too. Anyways, being cautious to whomever is set to guide us around the ship is real valid. We certainly don’t want another Tingyun situation to take place.

Just the mere mention of Feixiao’s name gets me excited to finally see her in game. But is she truly young? Later on, we learn how she and Yukong are war buddies so it leads me to assume they might be similar in age? Our lovable pilot is around 246 years old, so it could be possible? I could be wrong though of course. I will admit to forgetting if the Foxian lifespan is around 300 or 400 years, or if there’s no actual definite lifetime expectancy, but regardless, the ladies continue to look fabulous.

So the Borisin attack starts, Yunli gets a flashy entrance showcasing her strength as she takes ‘em down with Old Mettle and takes a slight interest in Yanqing’s sword.. that eventually leads to her taking it for herself. I wasn’t expecting them to get along right away but I was surprised that she actually snatched the sword away without a word.

They could not have made this dude seem more obviously suspicious if they tried.

I love how we could’ve actually chosen to mention the fake dream we had of the general and Imbibitor Lunae in Penacony. It was a fantastic dream indeed~

When Huaiyan was teased alongside the other characters during the very end of the 2.3 livestream, I naturally assumed he would become playable as well, but now.. eh, I have my doubts since he didn’t get drip marketed like the rest of them. It could’ve been interesting to have an older gentleman as a unit. I mean, I know we have Welt, but he doesn’t really look this old, you know?

Calling one of Yanqing’s prized swords a simple “dagger,” HA. All their bickering is childish in the most fitting way but I do like how Yunli continues to holds onto his sword, saying that if a sword is lost on the battlefield, it should be reclaimed on the battlefield, or something along those lines.

Huaiyan might appear to be real old, but him having some secret mentor strength like your typical anime grandpas tend to have wouldn’t surprise me at all, so I understand March’s idea to prevent any chance of angering the geezer.

The boys!! And.. only them! Dang, they’re really making me wait to see Feixiao huh. I wonder if there was any hidden reason behind her heading over to Scalegorge, unless it really was just to take in the sights. I also wasn’t expecting Moze to be so tall.

I’m afraid that’s just one of the downsides of being apart of the main character’s crew, March.

Teasing Yanqing is everyone’s favorite pastime. I unfortunately don’t have much to say about Lingsha. I think she’s pretty and naturally I’m interested in meeting another Vidyadhara, but that’s all for now.

The continuous back and forth between these kids drags on a bit much for me but I’m 100% with March on seeing this drama unfold even more.

So the kids start their “spar” and the quick glimpses of the 2.4 trailer start to make sense. Originally, I thought their fight was part of the Wardance ceremony, where they had to prove their strength against other competitors or something, but nope. All that fighting was just for a simple sword. The cutscene was animated nicely and I’m grateful the quality remains decent even outside of main story events, but it’s safe to say my focus was pulled away by a certain someone showing up amidst the brawl..

And my god, does she make a statement! Stopping both Yanqing’s slash and Yunli’s giant sword with just a couple fingers?? HELLO?? Ma’am, you’ve been on screen for not even ten seconds and I’m already deep in love with you.

She’s gorgeous. Her eyes are mesmerizing. All the earrings are super cool. Excuse me while I…*deep breath* AAAAAHHH.

The way she quickly evaluates both of their fighting styles correctly.. amazing. I say she’s certainly a battle expert.

No no no, don’t say that. Don’t say you’re a patient and there’s something medically wrong with you because if something bad happens to you I’ll get so upset!

Eeehehe, that wink and confidence stole my heart. I know what else you’re lacking: a lifelong partner! And I volunteer myself!

I just.. really love her design so much! It’s such a welcomed change from the usual outfits we’ve seen among the other ladies of the Xianzhou. The colors are so vibrant too and the jacket is awesome. Heeyyoo Hoyo, if you wanted to sell this jacket I’d totally buy myself one! Just saying!

Hhmm, I’ll end the fangirling here. For now. There’s bound to be much more on the way.

[kenjakusbraincum]

Thank ya for your permission

Let’s start with period sex. I know for a fact that he loves period sex because there is no way he doesn’t love the taste of his pet’s blood. Depending on the head canon he will probably either ask you or just straight up take some of your blood and have it incorporated into his meals.

But to drink it…right from your womb there’s no way he doesn’t go feral. I think when you are bleeding he just eats you out. He probably can’t decide if he wants to have you sit on him or if he should go between your legs. Either way it ends up with him eating you out for hours.

And the sight of him, his face covered in your blood and nectar…I think in the beginning it would scare you because of the amount of blood and how wrong and dirty it feels. But Sukuna will make sure you get used to it and he reassures you it’s not dirty. It’s beautiful and heavenly for the both of you.

And he doesn’t edge you, no no, he will overstimulate you. The taste of your arousal….and cum. He gets drunk of that. It doesn’t help that because you’re on your period you are also very sensitive, so sensitive that everything he does feels ten times worse. So he loves to see you struggle and squirm around trying so desperately to escape his mouth. You already do that when you regularly fuck but when you’re bleeding? It’s like a predator eating his prey still breathing.

And even when you are on the brink of passing out from the many times you’ve cum and squirted. He’ll still split you open with his cock. He loves to jolt you awake, robbing you of rest. “I’m not done with you pet, I need your arousal and blood around my cock.” “I need your blood all over me.”

This is very messy and bad….……..I uh…..also wrote something an entire thing based on ovulation if you are interested…….heh….I need to go to jail.

No thank YOU for taking the time to feed me!!

He DEFINITELY loves period sex. Come on. He's nasty AND horny as fuck, a little blood won't deter him from having his needs met. For pet this must be the biggest taboo so he definitely introduces it slowly. I can imagine the first time happening when pet complains about having cramps, and Sukuna sneaks his hand between the folds of their kimono and tells them to just relax and trust him - and lord it feels so good. It's the simplest touch he can provide you with and it's just enough to have your whole body trembling in pleasure -

Then it develops and ultimately of course it comes down to him eating you out like a starved animal. Hungry, merciless, not stopping unless you shout your safe word. No cramps get by when Sukuna is done with you, and even if they did you'd be fast asleep already.

I can imagine Sukuna knows the female body very well, not just because he's had many women during his lifetime, but also because he's probably had the chance to physically open them multiple times to say the least... And keeping a pet for a while means he gets to know the intricacies of the whole cycle, and how energy and moods change with it.

That being said I'd love to hear what you've got in mind for the ovulation/luteal phase 👀 I romanticize this topic bc if I don't I might as well kill myself bc my periods are SO bad. I have to pretend its all for a higher purpose lmao

[rindouheart]

Ok- I saw your stuff and I couldn’t believe you only had three things hshsjjdb

Do you mind an enemies to lovers type thing with pink haired sonic and the hedgehog dude? (Aka. Chigiri and Barou lmao) The reason they beef can be anything you want-

If you’re taking anons- I wanna be 👺 anon pls and ty, it’s ok if you aren’t too lol

CHIGIRI and BAROU + enemies to lovers!

content. just them arguing with the reader (slight sad in chigiri’s part) + gender neutral pronouns used | small scenarios + some hcs

author’s note. hi babe! I’d love to have an anon! believe it or not, but in like 3 years on tumblr no one has ever asked it to me <3 however, i hope you like these headcanons!

(i made them extra long to excuse myself for the long waiting, please forgive me :( )

CHIGIRI HYOMA

you were friends at first, but then the whole injury thing happened.

“why would you give up? a lot of famous players have had injuries in the past, but they still managed to come back! why would you throw your dream in the trash bin like that?”

“you’ve never understood me, then”

after expressing your opinion on why he shouldn’t give up on his dream while he can still play, you started arguing for everything.

it was heartbreaking to see: you, his best friend since childhood, being treated like a complete stranger.

even more heartbreaking was the fact that you liked him and you couldn’t stand the way he was giving up on his lifetime dream.

chigiri absolutely hates you when you’re right.

you started to avoid him and he started to avoid you. it was a mutual thing.

he actually hoped for you to come back, because he realised he acted like a baby.

however, he hasn’t even seen you for months.

chigiri fucked up, completely.

you meet again at a café (unplanned, you’re still not sure how to behave towards him)

“oh, y/n, hi” he mutters with his coffee in hand.

“what do you want?” it wasn’t supposed to come off that harsh, however, chigiri’s face changes expression.

“nothing” he wants to slap himself.

“do you have a minute?” you ask, sitting at a table in the corner “we have to talk and you know what i’m about to say, i guess”

he sits down and huffs.

“i’m kinda tired. we were best friends before the injury thing, and now we look like we spoke once in our lives” you say, keeping your voice as low as possible “your behaviour is annoying”

he knows you’re right, so he just murmurs a “i’m sorry”

you keep up talking “i was really upset when you told me those horrible things. i felt betrayed”

chigiri wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. he totally fucked up.

“I’ll get straight to the point, i had and probably still have feelings for you, but i don’t know if i should follow my heart or my brain right now, because you acted like a bitch with me”

oof, OOF.

“i am very sorry, y/n. i don’t know what i was thinking when i said that. i was too scared of hurting myself again and i almost gave up on my dream. it was stupid, i know you were right, but i didn’t want to accept it”

you breathe in deeply. “i accept your excuses, i’m sorry too. i shouldn’t have pushed that conversation that far”

“but you were right. during my time in blue lock, one of my friends told me the same things you told me back then. i realised that i was the one at fault.”

you nod “i’m happy you will continue to follow your dream. i’m sure you’ll be successful”

chigiri gives you a soft smile, making your heart melt.

“so we’re friends again” you say.

“actually… staying without you all this time was hard” he confesses.

“so you’re asking me…”

“yes, i’m asking that”

he laughs when he sees you blushing.

“i have a couple of days off, what do you think about going on a serious date before i go back to blue lock?”

“i’d love that”

BAROU SHOEI

this bitch

when he accepted to move into a new apartment for university he was prepared for anything, he thought.

you’re his polar opposite: messy, loud, extrovert, creative. the living copy of phoebe buffay.

“why are your clothes on my side of the room? is it that difficult to put your things in your side?” and he points the coloured tape that divides the floor in two halves.

(it was your idea to put it down, so he wouldn’t argue with you)

“the space on my floor was finished, i took a bit of yours”

this man is about to jump from the window.

you actually find his exaggerate reactions absolutely funny.

you leave your stuff around the house on purpose, just to see him getting mad.

barou, in reality, loves cleaning, so he is actually satisfied when everything is back to its place.

however, he is quite unreadable, and you think he hates you for the mess you always leave inside the apartment.

suddenly, one of your friends asks if you want a room near your university.

obviously, living closer to your department is better than living where you’re now, since public transport is often crowded or late.

when you leave he’s in paradise.

or at least he thought.

despite the first few days, barou actually misses your mess.

his days are pretty empty without picking up your stuff and cleaning your shared room.

he thought he hated you for that, but he loved cleaning your bedroom.

and that’s why he calls you after a couple of weeks “can you come back, please?”

you’re astonished. why would he want you to move back to his apartment? is he the same person that got mad every time you left something out of place?

“why?”

“well… I…”

is the king barou admitting his feelings?!

he misses you a lot.

“i miss your mess, now i’m always bored after studying, i have nothing to clean up”

“wait” you say, trying to connect the dots “i thought you hated me for my messiness?”

“i thought i hated you too”

“thanks?? how should i answer to that?”

“with a <<yes, I’ll move back to your apartment>>” he laughs

“okay then”

HE DID IT!

now you’re back in the same flat!

for now, he isn’t going to tell you that he appreciates your presence this much, but i can confirm that he’s down bad.

“you’re the only person whose mess isn’t a problem for me”

he might be a king on the football field, but we still need to work on love declarations.

@rindouheart ‘s headcanons — 02192023

[annaskellington]

A Recounting of Phantom of the Opera: Middle East/European Tour

Hello everyone!

I had the opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera: Middle East Tour/European Tour 3 different times during its run in Lisbon and I’m here to do a review/recounting of everything I saw on the show that was different from normal and worth noting. This is a mixture of what I saw on stage and my opinions on it. You are valid to have your own opinions and if the show is coming to a city near you, I definitely recommend to check it out!

Keep in mind, this is a non-replica. Stephen Barlow is the director and Andrew Riley did the costumes and set design. I have only seen one other production of Phantom and it was the Italy run they did with Ramin Karimloo, also a non-replica, therefore I use it quite a bit in my comparisons (as well as the original) simply because it’s the only one I’ve seen live other than this one.

Extra details: The chandelier is in the audience instead of on stage. There are screens on the sides of the stage with the subtitles. On the first night, it only had the subtitles, but on the following nights, it also had a house-cam being livestream into those screens. There are two Portuguese members on the cast: Francisca Mendo – a ballerina and Lara Martins – Prima Donna. I mention them quite a lot since they were the main attraction of the performances.

The Phantom - Nadim Naaman

Christine - Georgia Wilkinson

Raoul - Dougie Carter

Prima Donna - Lara Martins

Auction House

There is only old man Raoul, the auctioneer and an ensemble member on stage - the one holding the items. The auctioneer is pointing at the audience when the items are being bided which makes it slightly awkward when you look at where he’s pointing and it is just random audience members. Seeing old man Raoul by himself is also weird for some reason. Overall, the lack of people is really odd during this scene.  

Overtude

“A little illumination! Gentlemen!” and then the chandelier just lights its light bulbs and just stays like that for a long while. Nothing is happening. Then finally the curtains open and you see the Hannibal cast getting ready and into positions and then finally, Lara Martins starts singing.

Hannibal

On opening night there was a flub: Christine isn’t on the stage at all for most of Hannibal. When the managers start saying their lines of “Meg Giry, Madame Giry’s daughter, promising young dancer”, Meg starts dancing closer to Madame Giry and she hits the staff on the ground and asks “Christine Daae, where is she?” and Meg replies “I don’t know mama!” which leads to the “Daae? Curious name…”, but Christine only enters the stage much after.

However, on the following nights, it proceeded as normal with “Christine Daae, concentrate girl” to which Meg says “Christine, what’s the matter” and leads to “Daae? Curious name…”.

Think of Me (Carlotta)

When Carlotta is talking to the maestro, Madame Giry goes to talk with someone down from the orchestra which I found really fun. Then the thing that interrupts Carlotta is actually a bucket that falls on the left side. Carlotta throws herself on the ground and just lays face flat on the ground which made me laugh so much, everyone is fanning her and worrying about her. Then, when the ex-owner is leaving and usually would say “If you need me, I shall be in Frankfurt” instead he says “If you need me, I shall be in Alentejo” which got a huge laugh from everyone. Alentejo is an area of Portugal, very beautiful but not touristic at all, probably one of the two Portuguese cast members might be from that area. On opening night, the subtitles had the original line but on the following nights, it had been changed to the Alentejo version. Another big change is Madame Giry is acting much more caring of Phantom and his plans. That woman was giving a performance of a lifetime. When the managers are saying “A full house and we have to cancel”, Madame Giry says “Ler her sing for you” but no one listens to her and everyone is starting to leave as well as the managers, but she hits her staff on the ground and says “Monsieur!” and after a few moments of silence “She has been well taught”.

Think of Me

When Christine starts singing, she’s super shy and everyone starts leaving. All of the cast members start exiting the stage whilst complaining and being angry. When she gains courage, they all start coming back like holy shit, she can sing. They close the curtains behind her as she gets to the Raoul part and when Raoul says his lines, there’s a faint applause being heard and she starts bowing which caused the audience to applaud as well muffling Raoul’s part. This happened only on opening night, other nights the audience was quiet as you heard the fake clapping from the stage. But Raoul says his part like usual, the box he’s in is on ground level so you just see his little head peak out.

Angel of Music

“Rehearsals, always rehearsals” – I love that line from Meg Giry, on one of the nights Madame Giry rolled her eyes at Meg. Fast forward to when the phantom tells Christine to look at the mirror. It looked so spooky. Nadim had his hands on the glass and was really creepily moving his hands and face around. When Christine sings the part where she turns her back to the phantom and turns to the audience, Nadim flinched as well. He opens the mirror like a door and she steps inside.

Title song

It starts spinning and shows the other side of the circle is some stairs going down. When it starts, the phantom is at the bottom of the stairs and she’s at the top. He never really allures her or drags her, he just slowly convinces her to go down the stairs. At one point he’s in the bottom with a blue light and she’s at the top with a yellowish light to show their contrast. When it gets to the ensemble singing “He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera”, the stage rotates once more and turns fully blue. They enter the boat and the turn the smoke machines all the way up. Christine does her high notes sitting on the boat, which is definitely a choice, and goes to show it is prerecorded cause there is no way she would’ve been able to do the high notes sitting down. The Phantom also doesn’t really react to the high notes, he’s focused on rowing the damn boat. So, it comes across as the high notes are simply part of the song and not that he was able to almost wrench the high notes from her voice. He says half heartily “sing, my angel of music” because, again, he's not paying that much attention to her.

Music of the Night

Christine spends the beginning still sitting in the boat. At one point, the phantom grabs his music sheet book and hands it to her and convinces her to open it. She does and is like damn, this is actually kinda good. So, he grabs his cloak and lays it on the ground where she goes and sits whilst reading the book. At the end of the song, they just stare at each other and she leans in for a kiss, but he backs away and sings the last note of the song.

STYDI

He didn’t get that angry, at the beginning he does “throw” her to the other side of the lair where she hands up holding the wall for emotional support. He didn’t crawl around since there’s barely any space, he sings those lines just standing up and covering his face. At the end, he sits back at the piano bench and she hands him the mask and he quietly take it.

Bouquet Magical Lasso

The ballerinas are walking from stage left to stage right where the box 5 sits and they’re being really sneaky and scared going towards it. The first girl gets closer when, FNAF style, Bouquet jumps out and snatches her arm and holds it whilst singing the first few lines. He then steps out, after which Madame Giry arrives and as she says her lines she puts her cane in between them and they start wrestling it for some reason. I too would like to get my ass kicked by Madame Giry but it was weirdly violent for her character. You never see the Phantom and Christine returning.

Notes I/Prima Donna

As the song starts, one of the ensemble members comes on stage and starts sweeping the floor, I love it. When the managers are reading the notes, there are two ensemble members on stage, one of them is trying to take a peek at the newspaper and one of the managers gives it to him so he reads it with other cast member. Not sure why, but cute addition. Whilst the Phantom reads the note, the light inside Box 5 lights up and Madame Giry is always looking at it. When the note reads “leave Box 5 empty” the lights flicker causing Raoul to get closer to inspect. After they read the note, the managers start singing Prima Donna. When Carlotta says “Precious little ingenue”, Raoul goes in her direction to I don’t know, defend Christine or smack Carlotta. Raoul gets close to Box 5 and starts inspecting it whilst Madame Giry is trying to protect Raoul (and the Phantom I guess) and pay attention to the managers at the same time. Raoul eventually looks back and starts singing his lines alongside Madame Giry and Meg Giry, they are forming a little circle on the left. Eventually the rotating stage starts spinning and Carlotta starts walking on it whilst cast members are walking around. They then place some spiral stairs on stage that Carlotta climbs. Then randomly, as we near the end of the song, a pink background drops and petals start falling from the sky. It’s cute, but random, especially cause the ballerinas show up and start dancing but Prima Donna isn’t a diegetic song, the other characters aren’t meant to be hearing it, but maybe in this production Prima Donna is an actual song that they perform? I have no idea and if I think too hard, I’ll get a headache. I just know that when the Phantom says his last threat “So it is to be war between us” – both Madame Giry and Raoul look super spooked out and worries as they run off stage leaving Carlotta alone on stage. The curtains fall behind her and on opening night Lara got a standing ovation.

Poor fool

Carlotta doesn’t “pretend kiss” her husband. She’s doing her “Adieu” note when the husband shuts her up by banging his walking stick on the ground. Instead of kissing, they just snarl at each other. Later on, during “a toad, madame?”, one of the cast members brings the throat perfume/spray for Carlotta, like in the Italy Tour production which serves as an explanation to her sudden toad voice. “She’s singing to bring down the chandelier!” but the chandelier just flashes its lights, doesn’t shake around at all. When the managers are bringing the ballet, one of the cast members is getting a chair to take offstage but ends up in the middle of the ballerinas, so he does ballet with them and the chair is still in his arms, it was actually peak comedy. Also, Bouquet is the actual actor and he’s hanging there and you can see all the wires holding him up, you never see Phantom attacking him so when one of the managers turns to Madame Giry after she gives him the “I told you” eyes, whilst everyone is running and screaming, and says “It’s an accident, simply an accident!”, it actually could be.

All I Ask of You

Christine goes to the stairs and starts using them to go up which is super odd. I guess they’re meant to be a different staircase in the Opera but it’s definitely weird seeing her using the stairs that we just saw the Phantom using to go from the mirror to the lair and now she’s using to go from the theatre to the halfway point which is the rooftop. Which means if she went even higher on the stairs, she would end up…higher than the roof? They sing the first part of the prelude on the stairs. When Raoul says her name the first two times, Christine starts going down the stairs while holding Raoul’s hand, but then the Phantom says her name the third time and she gets really scared and runs through the door that is in the middle of the stairs. She’s gone and the stage starts spinning slowly and you see Raoul take out the box with the ring from his pocket and look at it, then you see him run through the door as well to join Christine. They sing their song on the very tight space that is the top of the dome and instead of kissing, during the instrumental part, Raoul goes on one knee and takes out the ring to propose. She’s super happy and jumping around whilst smiling and then they sing the final bit of the song and finally, at the end, they kiss.

All I Ask of You Reprise

The Phantom shows up and he’s on the lower half of the dome, sort of hard to explain but basically on the ledge of the dome. He sings the song and when Christine and Raoul are singing, Nadim says “No... Please Stop...” in a very painful way, I liked it. He was begging them to stop hurting him. Then he runs away and the curtain falls and the cast members are doing their bows when the chandelier starts flickering its lights and falls in a vertical line. I might be remembering this wrong, but it wasn’t that it was super fast, it was more the fact that it wasn’t slowing down that made me think like wow. But it falls and I would say that ends up maybe 3 meters of the ground, not low enough for people to stand up and touch it, but much lower than I was expecting.

Masquerade + Notes II

It’s set in this hall of mirrors which is quite cute. When Christine and Raoul are singing their part of “secret engagement”, there is a dancer in the middle doing a solo performance and everyone is looking. When she finishes dancing, they all start clapping and scare Christine. Immediately after, it is revealed that there were two ballerinas painted in gold hiding in plain sight holding the candles and they basically jump out of the wall spooking everyone and start dancing. The Red Death costume looks a lot more like the 2004 movie, he shows up on the mirror of the back wall and the wall moves towards the front of the stage before he starts singing. He just goes back through the mirror whilst there is smoke, no special effects really. They remain in the hall of mirror until the end of Twisted Every Way. Funny enough, when Christine sings “Stop it, I’ll drive myself mad!”, Raoul is the only one that gets her a chair and stays, the rest of them just leave. Also, before that, during Notes II, Madame Giry enters the scene with her back turned on the group and looking off stage really disquieted, we can assume the Phantom has just given her the note and when the Phantom is talking about Christine in the note “No doubt she’ll do her best…”, she tries to go to Raoul who has his back turned on her but all of the cast on stage block her path and form a circle around her, really menacing.

Don Juan rehearsal

On opening night there was a bit of a failure on the production team as you could hear in the background them moving the set around. Usually you hear it only faintly, but in this scene, they were switching the hall of mirrors for the stairs with the rooftop and you could hear the sets being moved around. One of the cast members even looks off stage when it gets very loud. On other nights it is not as noticeable. For some reason, when Madame Giry enters the stage alongside the chorus, she brings this stick with a lamp (sidenote: on the second viewing, it was someone else that brough the stick with the lamp, unsure of what happened there). It adds to the ambience. When she says “Can you be certain of that?”, the light starts flickering and they all look scared at it. Also, it takes a lot longer for the piano to start playing by itself. After Piangi fails “those who tangle with Don Juan” for the last time, it takes half a minute for the piano to start playing. During this period, you hear Piangi say “I’m doing my best, but I don’t understand” to which Carlotta replies “Don’t listen to them, Carlo”, right after you hear Madame Giry say “You sang it quite beautifully mademoiselle, I’m sure it will do more than justice to the role” and Piangi says “it is no beauty! No music!” and finally the candles on the piano burst creating smoke and the chorus all raise their music sheets absolutely shaking in their boots and sing the lines correctly. It ended up being more funny than spooky, but the Madame Giry light flickering did add an extra flair.

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

Yet again, on her way to the rooftop, Christine uses the same stairs of the title track. She uses the door in the middle to access the rooftop but instead of being at the top of the dome where she and Raoul sang All I Ask of You, she is on the ledge where the Phantom sang the reprise. It’s definitely weird that she sings this song on the rooftop and not on the cemetery, doesn’t look like she’s singing about her father at all. But there is some fake snow falling so I’ll take my wins where I can. Trigger warning: suicide. However, when she gets to the ledge, she goes to the very edge and starts looking down almost like she wanted to throw herself off it? In the Italy Tour, they also had Christine doing this but right before All I Ask of You. What is their obsession with having Christine wanting to end her life? It’s a tad weird. Georgia sang it beautifully though.

Wandering Child

The Phantom shows up on the top of the dome, so their positions are switched from what they were in All I Ask of You. Raoul shows up as well on the opposite side of Christine on the ledge. Nadim only says “Come to me, angel of music” once and then it’s just like a full minute of Raoul being like “Leave her! Can’t you see she’ll never be yours!” and Christine looking at the phantom in silence. A tad awkward. Then Christine starts backing away into the ledge and when she’s about to fall, Raoul runs towards her and even the Phantom starts sliding down the dome to get to her. That was cool, ngl. Then when the Phantom is taunting Raoul, Dougie actually starts climbing the dome? Which makes sense why the Phantom then replies “That’s right, that’s right, keep walking this way”, I just found it odd that he was actually going to the phantom. For a moment I thought we would get a fight like in the restaged version, but we don’t. Christine jumps up and grabs Raoul’s pants to pull him down making him almost fall and they run away together whilst the Phantom screams “don’t go, don’t go!”.

Point of No Return

There is a table, everyone. The Phantom starts singing behind the curtain still and Christine figures out it’s him immediately. Which I think makes sense, she’s been hearing his voice for ages. In the Italy Tour production, Ramin was imitating Piangi’s accent and voice so it’s understandable if she didn’t figure it out, but the OG production always had that small issue. However, with her figuring it out super early, she immediately backs away and is super scared of him. They go around the table, Christine always making sure she is far away from him. At one point she turns to Raoul and the managers, but I guess they don’t see her or don’t figure out why she’s scared because they’re just there enjoying the show. They look like that Pikachu :0 image when she removed his hood. The problem with her figuring it out means that the song is no longer sexy nor alluring. The phantom is just singing and she’s scared. After she sings her part of “I’ve decided”, she gets on top of the table and starts crawling all sexy towards him. When she gets to him, she starts rubbing her hands all over his chest and homeboy is stressed. She calmly removed his hood and two police with guns immediately get on stage. On Box 5, Madame Giry and her daughter peak out and are looking really scared for Phantom, they enter Box 5 expecting him to be there and are confused for a moment when they don’t see him which then leads them to look super stressed out at the Phantom (my personal headcannon is that Madame Giry went there to warn the Phantom to run away before the guards could shoot him whence why she looked so scared when it was too late and he was already on stage, she’s also holding Meg to her chest super tightly). Phantom then sings his part and when he reaches the “Anywhere you go”, he removes his own mask very calmly. The only person that reacts to his face is Raoul who is taken aback by it, Christine doesn’t flinch nor move. They don’t have him putting a ring on Christine, but he does go down on one knee. Side note: on the last night I saw it, which is the night I’m unsure if it was Georgia Wilkinson or Bridget Costello singing the role, Christine was fully nodding her head at the Phantom as he sang the All I Ask of You lines, she was fully ready to be with the Phantom and stay with him, she was nodding and smiling which made the Phantom smile as well, I don’t remember at all Christine doing this on the other nights (the nights where I’m certain it was Georgia playing the role). The curtains, however, open to reveal a very dead Piangi with a sword sticking off his chest and everyone starts screaming, Erik looked absolutely devastated at the interruption. The Phantom snatches Christine’s hand and starts running away from everyone just as Raoul jumps from his box to the stage and starts running towards them. They are able to flee, so Raoul picks up the mask and rushes towards Madame Giry who is now one of the few people on stage looking very sad at dead Piangi. Carlotta at the same time comes screaming onto the stage saying to the managers “How could you let this happen” and rushes towards Piangi to cradle his body.

Final lair

Down once more they go down the stairs. As the Phantom finishes his “Why?”, the door in the middle of the stairs (that they used to get to the rooftop) opens and Raoul and Madame Giry step out. At this point I have no ideia how this is possible, I’m going to assume that the Phantom ran with Christine to the mirror and somehow Madame Giry knew about something on the lower floor that had access to the door at the stairs. Much like the Italian production, Christine is wearing the PONR dress during the final lair, unlike in Italy, she doesn’t even grab any sort of wedding dress, it is never explicitly said that the Phantom wants her to marry him (remember, he never gave her a ring during PONR). Christine sings her lines sitting on the boat, much like the first lair she refuses to exit the boat and this is not a Phantom that will drag her or be violent so he just lets her make a fuss inside the boat. During the line “Joys of the flesh” Christine shakes her head and turns her back to the Phantom disgusted.

Raoul randomly shows up on these stairs that we have never seen before that are behind the lair set, I was only able to see these stairs on the opening night when I sat on the left side of the audience, on the other nights those stairs were completely obstructed. Raoul is singing his “Free her!” lines whilst on the stairs still, which is odd like nothing is stopping you from getting down and seeing her. At this point as well, Nadim got absolutely mad man and he was laughing nonstop, at one point he randomly pulls out a knife from his pants. It did not look like a knife at all, I thought it looked like a light bulb and my brother thought it looked like a wand, so do with this information whatever you will. Eventually the Phantom says “Be my guest sir” and Raoul finally descends the stairs and goes to the set. I half expected him to pretend to be swimming before he stepped into the set, since he has to walk on the “water” for a bit, but he doesn’t. He has to pass in front of the Phantom before getting to the boat and he’s so scared and nervous. He hugs Christine and she starts getting the paddles to get the fuck out, but oh no, the Phantom knows his way around a rope, so Raoul gets choked by the rope that the Phantom used to dock his boat. Finally, Christine exists the boat and goes to Raoul and I guess realized that the Phantom has impeccable rope tying skills because she just stares at Raoul completely dumbfounded instead of undoing the rope. Finally, Nadim gets violent. He snatches Christine and pushes her away towards the right side of the stage (Raoul is on the left) so he positions himself in the middle. Fun detail, when the Phantom sings “This is the point of no retuuuurn”, he puts one foot on top of the piano stool and ends up looking like a model taking a very awkward picture. She screams “tears of HATE” on his face so he ends up sitting on the stool and at this point, Nadim is shaking so much. The Phantom is just in absolute shambles.

When Christine sings “You deceived me”, she sits on the stool and picks up the music book, sort of offering it up to him. When he finishes saying “You try my patience”, he snatches one of the music sheets from the book and cripples it in his hand, something he immediately regrets and tries to straighten the music sheet again (fun side note: on the second viewing, Nadim ripped the page out but it fell on the ground so he couldn’t catch it, it ends up looking more violent than it did the other times since it just looks like the Phantom is super pissed). As Christine sings “Pitiful creature of darkness”, the Phantom is trying to fix the sheet and straighten it out again. She puts her hand on his shoulder quite soon and he’s looking at her as she finishes the “You are not alone” part. Christine then gives him a very brief kiss and, after pulling away, starts putting her hand on his scars and trying to look into his eyes – their foreheads almost touching. The Phantom straightens himself before going for a huge hug. She hesitates for a bit, but then hugs him back until the end of the instrumental part. The Phantom uses the discarded knife that was on the stool to cut Raoul’s ropes and, whist screaming for them to go, pushes the boat away. Not before Raoul, who I’m guessing had the mask in his pocket (men’s pockets am I right?) tries to return the mask to which the phantom pushes it away. He then falls on the ground whilst screaming and sees the monkey music box so he crawls towards it and sits crossed-legged on the ground cradling the music box whilst winding it up, he looked so much like a little traumatized kid, like hugging the monkey was a coping mechanism.

The joke, however, was on me because I ended up the one being traumatized since there was no ring return at all. He’s crying and hugging the box and I’m looking around wondering if I’ll see Christine mimicking swimming on her way to the Phantom or showing up on the stairs to drop the ring from above, but no. In fact, there was no ring to be returned since he never gave it to her during PONR. The Phantom just cries for longer whilst the instrumental of the ring return plays out and randomly says the “Christine, I love you” which came absolutely out of nowhere, nothing triggered him to say that. They start singing All I Ask of You and it causes the Phantom to stand up and place the monkey on the stool. When he first heard Christine, he smiled, I think he thought she was coming back for him, but then he heard Raoul and looked really sad. He sings his final line and, where in the instrumental he would usually hide, the Phantom just picks up the music book and looks to the audience while the set slowly slides away from the audience into darkness. We see old man Raoul on the left holding the Phantom mask, we see Christine in the Masquerade outfit on the right holding a ballet pose and, for last, we see the monkey music box on top of the stool. And that’s it.

Opinions

It’s a totally different production and obviously, comparing it to the original will lead to overall disappointment. This Phantom isn’t so much intoxicating and alluring as usual, instead he has a rather more human approach to the matter. It seems like he truly just wants someone to sing his music, he’s in love with Christine, yes, but it isn’t that he’s infatuated – he’s simply in love with the idea that someone so beautiful and talented would care about his art. That’s all very well, but, unfortunately, it’s where the book and lyrics really come to ruin the experience. Some lines that he sings are really out of context in this Phantom – “touch me, trust me” and “joys of the flesh” are some of the examples where they don’t really work anymore. Christine also ends up losing some of her agency when it’s not her removing the mask from him during Point of No Return, but in my opinion, I like that he removes his own mask since this Christine is not really dragged around the way other Christines are. Raoul also played a much more naïve part in this story. It’s not a matter of being mean to Christine or gaslighting her, this Raoul just truly is blind. More often than not when it comes to the Phantom, he’s trying his best to protect Christine but ends up ignoring her in the process, which leaves Christine alone in the matter, needing to fend for herself – which in my opinion is why they had Christine doing what she did before Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.

In regards to the actors, Nadim is really good but in the Final Lair, he switched too much. He started straight up laughing in Raoul’s face and waving a knife around when, at no point, was he shown to be that sort of angry Phantom. Nadim also has a very sweet voice, he played Raoul for many years and, it’s not that his voice isn’t fit for the Phantom, it’s just hard to explain. His Phantom feels, at times, imitations of other Phantoms without being able to shine on his own. He had really amazing moments, the standout for me being Wondering Child where he truly let his voice shine through and my god, I felt it in my bones. He was screaming out his care for Christine and explaining to her how much she hurt him and meant to him, it was truly amazing. I was able to wait for him at the stage door on my last time seeing it and he was super kind, he thanked us for waiting and apologized for having taken so long (he took about 20 minutes, we waited almost an hour for Ramin in Milan), so I really want to recommend everyone to check his Phantom out and form opinions by yourselves because I think he truly has the potential.