#can't wait to see how they play in DT!

[myreia]

✦ F F X I V L E V E L 9 0

—compendium

[bluberryfields]

This is what happens when you're raised by TV and trained in literary analysis

Beyond the crushing heartbreak of that finale, one thing in particular has stuck with me when I look at it in the context of S2 as a whole.

He lays out their relationship, "We're a team, a group. A group of the two of us. And we've spent our existence pretending that we aren't."

He then turns his head away and says, "I mean, the last few years, not really."

He pauses here, facing the interior of the bookshop. Really looks it up and down.

Turns back, "And I would like to spend" before choking on his words and looks toward the window. He can't finish saying something like "And I would like to spend eternity with you" because that's too much, too fast, for both of them.

But it's that "last few years" bit that has firmly lodged itself in my very broken brain.

According to Gaiman, it's been "a few years" since the end of Season 1. Armageddon has been averted. Heaven and Hell have reluctantly retreated. Crowley and Aziraphale have been effectively cut loose from their "sides," leaving them to form their own side.

So at the start of Season 2, we get a glimpse of the “fragile existence” they have carved out for themselves. To me, the biggest difference that we see is how they exist together in front of others. Going to the coffee shop, the pub, and the other shops along the street that Aziraphale has lived on for over 200 years. And don’t forget how they act in front of Nina, Maggie, and sweet, dim Muriel.

At the coffee shop, Aziraphale stammers a bit when Nina asks who Crowley is, but he still seems to have affection in his voice when he says, "We go back a long time."

Compared to Shakespearian "He's not my friend! We've never met before. We don't know each other!" panic, this is an incredible difference.

Of course, each time, Crowley is cool and cheeky and does nothing to indicate that they aren't a pair. Though, of course, he does deny it when Nina asks about Aziraphale being his side piece. “He’s not my bit on the side! He’s far too pure of heart to be anyone’s bit on the side.” And refers to him as an “Angel [swallows]I know.”

When they go the pub, Crowley's joy at doing something together in public that they do not normally do is super cute, including his cheeky order for Aziraphale's sherry. Then, when bringing the drinks over to the socially trapped Aziraphale, he greets Mr. Brown with a truly adorable, "Hello" and a signature DT smile. Then upon hearing how “excited” Mr. Fell is to host the meeting, he looks down and says, “Oh? You astonish me.” while Aziraphale sips his sherry and squirms.

We also watch as Crowley follows Aziraphale as he goes to each shop and talks to the owners about the meeting/secret ball. In theory, Crowley has no reason to tag along, and he certainly doesn’t help sway anyone who doesn’t want to/can’t go. He goofs around at the magic shop. He splays out on the bench, chin on hand, looking for all the world a husband waiting for his wife to pick out a dress at the department store. They are so married it’s ridiculous.

Finally, their behavior in front of Muriel while inside their sanctuary. Crowley sits on the arm of Aziraphale’s chair, somehow looking supremely comfortable on the old-fashioned furniture. He folds up those gloriously long limbs and presses himself as close as possible.

He smiles and plays along with Aziraphale’s coaching of Muriel in her disguise. Calls him Angel and asks to speak in private. And at the end, during the awful wait while Aziraphale talks with The Metatron, Crowley cleans up the shop and tells Muriel that he and Aziraphale will need some “us” time after all this. No beating around the bush. 

Without oversight, they can be openly together and happy. But Heaven just can’t let that happen. 

[deadqueerboys]

Makeout & grinding headcanons with dt? 🤭 - 🧌

Yes yes yes

Dteam x reader!! (Dream x Reader, George x Reader and Sapnap x Reader, separate).

NSFW DTEAM HEADCANONS

Dream

He loves grinding, but he never moves first. He likes to see you bouncing on his lap, grinding against his thigh and moving your hips, trying to reach the relief. He's professional. He can do that for hours and hours without getting tired - or at least until you cum.

Dream likes to be in control, grabbing your hips and making you stay on his lap. Sure, he's hard like a rock, but he wouldn't say a word about it. He loves to be dramatic while you ride him, moaning like a bitch and whispering compliments in your ear.

He likes to have you close to him, sometimes he wraps his arms around you and lays his head on your chest as you move, he can tell you're getting close, so he puts his hand under your shirt and grabs you possessively. He also wants to make you feel safe on his arms.

"You're doing so well, love.." Dream smiles, kissing your neck and watching as you grind against him. He's hard, bucking his hips up too. A little bit too needy, but he loves it. He can feel himself getting close, so he focuses on making you stay on your lap, wrapping his arms around your waist, forcing you to be his for once.

George

He doesn't really like it, but he loves seeing you being submissive towards him. He offers his body for you to use, his hard-on against your crotch, grinding and moving with necessity. He finds himself liking it, grinding more than you because he can't control himself.

George is usually the submissive. Even the times he wants to be a top, he fails and becomes the bottom. He loves his partner with all of his heart and dick, so even when he's inside you, he ends up being the bottom.

He loves seeing you like this, so desperate for his cock that you can't even wait until he takes his clothes off. Your nails scratching his chest as you both moan and grind. The next day, he will have hickies and red nail shapes on his body. George loves being marked, it makes him comfortable.

Does faces and expressions when you're grinding against him, giving attention to his dick while you do. He can't help but whimper and grab the sheets, tears falling from his eyes because of how sensitive he is.

"My- god.. Love, wait!" George whimpers, bucking his hips up. He's fast and aggressive, his dick feeling sensitive and weak, almost cumming on his underwear. He's big, and it totally bothers him, but it was so good he couldn't deny his partner's love.

Sapnap

Sapnap is fast. He loves grinding. He lives for it and would do anything to see you riding his thigh. He needs you above him any time of the day, especially when he's needy. He can wait to fuck you, first, he wants to see how much you need him.

His thigh is tick, and it gets even better when your thighs are around his. He knows his sentences start to disappear, and his thoughts don't make any sense when he sees you grinding against him. He loves it, it makes him feel so good, and it makes you happy too.

He grabs you in place, not allowing you to get out until one of you cums. He's angry, furious moves as he lets you do your job. He palms himself under his pants, making it easier for you. He offers his body for you every single day, he doesn't mind being used as long as you're next to him.

"Babe, you're so perfect like this." Sapnap moans, biting your neck and shoulder, drooling on your body as he watches you grind against him shirtless. He can't deny he was looking at your chest with lust. He also loves to play with your nipples in this position, licking it.

[magical-oppas]

Now that the season is over, here are my predictions as to what will make it into Drive to Survive.

!Disclaimer! DTS was my entry into this sport. I think the show is great in its own way and an excellent way to reach new fans, this is mostly just for fun. (If you can't make fun of the things you love I'm the wrong person to have on your dash)

Here is my list in no particular order

HAAS: They love a HAAS focused episode, partly because it brings Steiner into the picture. I personally never got why people like him but if it works it works I guess. Expect many "Suck my balls" jokes. Otherwise we are scheduled for our regular viewing of HAAS being absolutely washed on track with Guenther calling Gene every five minutes.

Qatar: Things they WONT cover about Qatar; the drivers collapsing and passing out from heat exhaustion, the tracklimits and tyre fiasco. Things they WILL cover about Qatar; the mercs crashing into eachother on lap 1 (with THAT clip of Lewis playing like 50 times), Oscar winning the sprint. I imagine them spinning it in a way that makes the sprint a huge deal (cue clip of Will Buxton talking about how essential the sprint is for F1 as a sport and almost more important than the grand prix itself). This brings me to my next point

Civil wars: We have the real civil wars and the fake ones. I imagine them using the Qatar gp to make up a war between Oscar and Lando, framing it as Oscar as a rookie getting a win before Lando. Not sure who they are gonna make the villain here, probably Lando. They could also fabricate one at Ferrari given how this car suits Carlos more than Charles, will probably blow Monza out of proportion. Merc civil war might get a whole episode(be honest, we all know that one is a competitive car away from blowing up). The french civil war is the one I'm looking forward to the most because BOY do those two like to play it dirty. I'm frothing at the mouth already to see the backhanded compliments, the jabs, the shady comments they have probably been giving in the dts interviews. Speaking of Alpine

Alpine vs Mclaren(Oscar): This is a must because they made that whole thing last season. Episode will start out with a really smug Alpine team but we will get to witness the horrible car crash of a season they are having with the amazing dts editing. Can't wait to see the Silverstone part where they show the double DNF side by side with the Mclarens celebrating a p2 p4.

Singapore: The only non Redbull winner so I will be surprised if they don't feature it. They also love a dramatic crash and Lance's one in Singapore qualy is probably the most intense one we had this season. Will probably also use the onboard footage from Lando to show the tyre skirting by him to really amp it up.

Red bull: Will it be about their amazing achievements as a team this year? No. Will it be about Max and his fantastic race craft and the way he hasn't put a single foot wrong? No. It will be about Checo and his struggles. Will also have interviews of Christian defending him that become fewer and fewer the longer into the season we go. The win streak and the domination will be mentioned only in contrast to Checo. I also have a theory that red bull might drop checo and if they do I promise you the reveal in the show will go exactly like this:

Christian: We have given him time and patience, but at some point we need to start looking elsewhere, Mclaren have an amazing pairing, Mercedes have an amazing pairing even Ferrari have really started to get into their groove. He really left us no choice.

*Dramatic music, cut to black*

"Hi I'm Daniel Ricciardo and I'm a driver for Red Bull racing. Fuck, that felt so good to say *big Daniel smile.*"

Las Vegas: Will be shown as the most epic race this season with all drivers hyping it up (Might be able to include Max in that one with enough editing). What they WONT cover: all of the thursday/free practice shenanigans. What they WILL cover: The fact that the race was a banger.

Alpha Tauri: They have the perfect angle for this set up already. Nyck was talking himself up big time last season so they are just gonna overlay that with Nyck having a mare on track. They're gonna make whole "I'm back bitches" thing with Daniel. Then they're gonna make his accident real tragic (they could also make it into a Thing that it was Oscar that Daniel tried to avoid when putting it in the wall). Not really sure what they're gonna make out of Liams short stint.

Ferrari vs Mercedes fight for p2 is gonna be HELLA dramatic. They are going to drag out that race and insert radio messages where they don't belong. I also think they are gonna make it look like Carlos was closer to Lewis in the race than what he actually was.

As I said, these are just my speculations. based on the way the show has been and are mostly just for fun.

[wine-dark-soup]

EYYYY WELCOME TO THE DAWNTRAIL EXPERIENCE it loves to grab you by the collar like that. may i ask what you think of Sphene now you've seen all we have of her so far? you have interesting insights on characters.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely ADORE sphene. she's a fascinating villain.

to me, she's like if emet-selch and elidibus were fused into one entity, except as i said a bit earlier today, that does not feel like some sort of uninspired nostalgia bait. she's her own person with her own motivations, but she shares their burning desire to restore what can't be restored, and to become the ultimate protector of her people, even if that means losing what she is in the process. with another key difference being that she's all alone, a bit more like meteion for this. at least ascians had each other (even if they were the first ones to criticize what the others were doing lmao).

and she feels SO out of place. she's that fairytale-like princess in the middle of a futuristic city. and in spite of this it's so normal for everyone. she's TERRIBLY uncanny at first. in a way it shows how she's trapped in her endless role, how she's just a recollection of memories: she has to keep her current appearance, she can't even wear modern alexandrian clothes.

to what extent did we see the real sphene? i believe her kindness was real, but how badly was it condensed to make a too-good endless sphene? she's the most idealized version of someone who already seemed to be an ideal ruler. it must have burdened her deeply, and she had no say in it. In the same way, the scientists recreated a semblance of alexandria; but made it look like a theme park, when it was maybe closer to a medieval city. (the game pointed to sharlayan for the resemblance, but like, i disagree, i saw more of the 13th, personally) All in all, she and her kingdom are obviously fake and strange. She's like alexandria-gone-wrong personified and vice-versa.

i also really loved how she kept trying to connect with the wol in particular, seeing us immediately for what we are (maybe she sensed the key reacted to us or whatever, or maybe it was just a gut instinct), i.e someone who could potentially be a menace or the savior of her kindgom; but always her attention has to be redirected elsewhere; and it culminates with wuk lamat interrupting our fight with her. it's WUK LAMAT's time. it's wuk lamat who successfully reaches her, not us.

and it makes sense on all levels: on the micro level of DT, she and sphene got close and understood each other (to various levels, but still, there was respect all along), and alexandria is now in tural, so ofc it's wuk lamat who has to take care of everyone.

on a more macro and meta level, the wol couldn't have done that, plain and simple. we already swore to so many people we would uphold their legacy. one more would have been redundant and i don't think people would have liked it. it's now the role of wuk lamat, now all grown and wise (as wise as the vow of resolve can be lol), and it completes her character arc (which mirrors ours). with the knowledge she has to keep the past in mind and honor it by living to her fullest (instead of just idolizing an unchanging past, like sphene), she's now a perfect ruler.

sphene's preoccupation is that she's too weak to accomplish anything; and i guess in a way that's *true*: she has to strike a deal with zoraal ja to survive. but her own kindness was a massive weapon of destruction in the end. she was so nice new people joining the dome were ready to merge with alexandrian culture of their own volition! and technically i would stop there saying fine, but they didn't know zoraal ja was playing with their souls and ultimately stole them, they didn't know maybe they'd wait years before becoming an endless. she asked wuk lamat to become a citizen of alexandria and im sure she meant it; but it was to strenghten alexandria with new aether (and a new soul to replenish the stock). she was ready to assimilate the whole world to let alexandria (which, again, is mostly made of MEMORIES, although it has a lot of living people too) survive. and it's fucked up! and she did it by being genuinely so nice!

i'm also a big fan of sphene's character design. a new color scheme! woah!

[displaykitkats]

(Count)Down To Dawntrail: Day 7 - Free Day Dedicating the last day to my bestest of friends, @emet-sulks. We both started playing back in 2.0 and I can't wait to continue this journey together in Dawntrail. I would consider myself lucky that I have a friend like @emet-sulks because being able to talk about a game that I love with someone, who also loves the game - I really couldn't ask for more. When we're playing together we're also having adventures together, laughing together, and even ugly crying together. Without FFXIV, I think we wouldn't talk as much and might even have drifted apart, ending our childhood friendship. Now we talk nearly every day, even though we're on totally different time zones! Anyway, that's my take on how much this game means to me, because without it I would be going on adventures without her.

ARR - HW - SB - ShB - EW - DT

I had lots of fun doing these prompts this week and getting hyped up for Dawntrail. Thanks to @gatheredfates for setting this up! We’re at the final stretch everyone - see you in Tural!

[writingmeraki]

hey stupid, I love you !

a lee kangin drabble !

genre : fluff ( tooth rotting ver. )

pairing : lee kangin x gn!reader, established relationship.

warnings : kisses, talks about love, not really anything particularly triggering but let me know if there's something i should add !

author's note : damnn look who finally posted ?!? that too with kangin ?!? i think i really need to start writing again...i miss it a lot but also it's terrible to be in this slumpy state of mind :/ so sorry for the long long wait and thank you for your patience and support 💖 let me know what you think of this hehe ^^ i had fun writing this tbh it's something that was inspired by that one tiktok, idk if you have seen it, but i saw it on Twitter and can't seem to find the video :( anyways enjoy !!

word count : 2.4k ( i got a little carried away )

💖 special dt : @kpdlvr2 ( the one who motivated me to post ily !! )

🤎🎧 recommended song : hey stupid, i love you by JP Saxe !

Growing up, you'd been someone who preffered sharing your love with actions. In other words, your so called love language was always in ways of physical affection.

A helping hand when your siblings really needed your help in their academic studies or a gesture of giving a flower to your mother when you would notice the damp mood she had, the bruises on your knees and scrapes on your hand being worth it after digging through the neighbour's mini garden for the perfect sunflower, especially when you'd see the smile that took over her face and the several kisses she'd shower you with for this, murmuring loving words of how she loved you so so much.

You don't think anything makes you happier when your love language is reciprocated by someone in their own unique love language. Be it gestures, gifts or even sweet words. You had a lot of love to give and surely you'd always give it in huge bulks especially to those who held a special place in your heart.

So when you found someone like Kangin in your life, you definitely felt like this was possibly the one of the best things to have happened to you.

Lee Kangin.

Your boyfriend of nearly 10 months, 2 weeks and 3 days. Yes, you kept a countdown which you memorised. It was your own way of counting how many lucky days you'd had since well, you met him.

You and him, in many or less words, were a simple cliché. Being in the same college, him being the forward striker of your college football team and well you being the captain of the volleyball team.

Seeing as how you both held a great love for your respective sports, you'd instantly bonded over your passions. In one way though, you knew you played because it was somewhat of a hobby, granted a hobby you loved and surprisingly good enough to be a whole captain of, you still knew you weren't sure as to whether to make it into a whole career.

But still you were grateful to have been in the team, happy to play. Maybe in the likely future, it could turn into something more but for the time being you were happy with it and really what else matters right?

Unlike Kangin though, you knew he was likely to begin playing for the national levels in no time, given this was his drive. His passion. Something that was definitely more than just a hobby. You could see it, him being a huge football player in the coming days.

Nonetheless, you were always supportive of him since you got together and him being the best boyfriend you'd had, was equally if not more supportive of whatever you'd want to do in your life ahead.

Showing up to his matches cheer him on, proudly wearing his number 19 jersey that he specially gave you and him making sure to scream the loudest whenever you would score in your own matches, making your cheeks warm whenever you'd spot him in the crowd with the biggest smile on his face as he cheered you on.

He'd always been the sweetest with his words especially which you quickly learnt was his love language, words of affection. They do say opposites do attract don't they? One whose love language was more of physical affection and the others being loving words, a perfect balance.

Actually he'd been the one to ask you out, he'd been the one to first confess and you were able to give back all his love with your own until he said the first I love you.

Kangin didn't mind at all though, he knew you. He knew every thought you'd have, and he even knew you wouldn't say it back just yet.

But well this was his way of showing his love. Declarations of it in those three little words. And you knew that, you of course did. You think before your mind admitted to this, your heart already knew. Your heart was already deeply and wholly in love with him.

And when you both were able to get a free day amidst your hectic schedules, you wasted no time in planning the perfect date.

A movie you'd been dying to watch since it came out was definitely one of the top things in that date, and who was Kangin to say no to his lover who asked him with the cute sheepish smile and the fact that you already booked them in advance out of pure excitement.

Besides he actually had planned to take you out to watch it first knowing how much you simply loved the particular movie series.

You'd worn a cute outfit, choosing a jacket over a white top and a pair of jeans you found comfortable yet fashionable. He came to pick you up, wearing his own white t-shirt and black coat, unknowingly matching with you.

You grinned at him when you realised this, seeing his own slight surprise at how you both matched,

"Ohhh, look at us, we're definitely telepathically connected." You giggled as you scanned his figure, the jacket definitely sitting perfectly tightly on his broad shoulders and the white t-shirt making him look the more attractive than he already was.

Kangin smiled at your words, turning towards you and grabbing your hand which had previously been sitting on your lap into his, entwining them and immediately warmth engulfing your colder hand, feeling relief at the feeling.

“Hmm whatever you say.” He said softly as he brought your hand up to his lips to place a soft kiss on it, your heart fluttering wildly at the simple gesture.

"I never did as well, I always have a good sixth sense of these types of things you know, a secret superpower in a way." You jokingly said with a smirk as you looked at him and laughed again at the way he rolled his eyes at your words ( affectionately )

“Of course baby, I'd never doubt you.” He said playing along to your little act making you wheezed a bit through your nose.

"But we really need to get going though, or else we'd miss the first few minutes of the movie." He finished as he saw the time on his car display, now only a few more minutes until the show timings.

"Right let's go then!" You said hurriedly putting on your seat belt because of course road safety and your safety came first.

Reaching the movie theaters, you both quickly got out, your hand instinctively entwining with his, a habit you always had whenever you would go out, a small smile forming on his face due to your giddiness. Really it felt as though it was also spreading to him and how could it not when his lover was so happy.

Having entered the theatre after getting snacks of, you both quickly made your way to your seats and sat down, the lights dimming after a few minutes and you immediately going into a trance as you stared at the beautiful cinematics of the film.

Even though Kangin wasn't quite a huge fan as you were of the particular movie series, he found it beneficial when he could just stare at you, in a cute way, and observe your reactions to certain scenes which really made you look the more adorable to him atleast.

In that moment though, he did know, he loved you a lot and he wouldn't have it any other way with any other person because you were his and he was yours.

"I love you." He told after seeing a pout on your face due to his observations, it was out of no where but he really couldn't help it, the simplest of things just made him fall more and more.

You turned towards him, slightly out of focus due to your attention being towards the film, but nonetheless you heard him and certainly you felt it.

You heart fluttered at his confessions despite it not being the first time but truly it meant a lot more to you than just three words. Three very heavy words but a type of weight you could carry for as long as your heart would allow it to.

Softly chuckling, you neared him and cupped his face, the only light being of the film, illuminating his cheeks and eyes holding reflections of the flashing scene, it was dark but you could still see part of him and it was enough.

"I know." You whispered gently and caressed his cheeks with your thumbs while giving him a peck on his lips. Kangin moved forward when you leaned back, wanting more. The action making you giggle as you shushed him telling him to focus on the film and to let you focus as well.

He wanted to whine but upon seeing your focus go back, he decided he'd take his own revenge later. You side eyed him once again, seeing the small pout on his face and held back your giggles.

Cute. He's so cute.

Soon enough, much to your sadness but Kangin's delight, the film came to an end. You were left with that bittersweet feeling of wishing it'd never end and though you knew Kangin didn't like the movie, you could see he tried to understand how you felt and kept interest in what you said about it afterwards.

It was considerate of him though, and that only made you happier with him more and more.

As you both began walking out of the theaters and were near the exit, you spotted something sitting on the corner of the left side.

It was a photobooth, the logo 'PHOTOS' being lit up in a bright white colour and you immediately felt inclined to go there.

You grabbed Kangin's hand which was tucked in his coat, looking towards him with excitement and pleading eyes.

"Can we please go there ? I really want to take some photos with you at a photobooth!" You asked pointing toward the booth and Kangin looked towards it and back at you noticing your excitement that you tried to keep within you but you couldn't help it and grinned at him as you thought of the different poses you could do.

"Of course. If it makes you happy, I'll do whatever." He said, a small smile on his face when he saw your grin getting wider.

"I've always wanted to take photos in a photobooth, but rarely were there any back home." You told as you began walking towards it now, hands still holding each other.

"It's good that there's one here and even better that you're the one who'll take photos with me." You pushed aside the blue velvet curtain as you entered the miniature room.

You both sat on the small bench, making sure the curtain was closed and only the light from the LED screen lighting up the space.

"Hold on, I have change we can use." Before you could say anything Kangin slipped a bill into the machine and the screen saver changing to a camera screen with instructions on the side.

"So we have around six photos we can take and there's a 10 second interval between each to change poses as we wish." You read out loud, and looked at Kangin who seemed to be already looking at you, nodding and humming, to tell you he heard.

Besides the screen there were also some headbands, and you looked back at him, him seemingly knowing what you were thinking and just nodding again, smiling once more at you.

"Yeah we can take with those, I guess. BUT only like two max." You already had reached and grabbed the two which seemed the most cutest, a greenish frog headband and a bunny one.

Handing him the bunny one, you grinned even though he glared at you, it was harmless of course, but you did it on purpose, knowing he's get irritated.

"Oh hush, besides you said two photos only anyways!" Putting the headband on, you moved closer to Kangin.

"Okay, so I think a good pose would be putting up peace signs ? For the start, it's a simple pose, well decide the others later." You got into position, putting a peace sign near your face and looking toward the screen as Kangin did the same, looking at the camera.

You pressed the button on the screen and a timer of 3 seconds went off before a flash blinded you slightly.

Blinking a bit to make sure you handle gone blind, you turned towards Kangin,

"How about I kiss you on the cheek now?" "Sure."

He replied with no hesitation whatsoever making you chuckle at his eagerness and you lightly smacked your lips, making sure you still had your gloss on.

Kangin turned towards the camera, slightly flushed, as you placed your lips on his cheek, they felt soft and just…right. You grinned as the timer went off.

Another flash went off, and you pulled away. Seeing Kangin remove the cute headpiece made you pout a bit but if it was what he wanted to do then you'd do it.

Placing both of them back in their original places, you patted down your hair and asked him "Do I look okay now?"

"Baby, you look good always, beautiful in fact the most prettiest person I've ever seen!" He told you with such determination, you felt like your heart could burst them and there.

"Kangin." Before he could say anything, you spoke up,

"I love you."

You said softly, feeling warm and your mind flowing with many thoughts and emotions.

A bright light flooded the room as Kangin processed what you said, the photo taken being of you smiling warmly and him being in shock, a contrasting comical expression and surely a memorable photo.

"Do you, wait-" Before he could say anything, you grabbed his face, scanning it seeing the little angel kisses littered beautifully across it, the one near his eye in particular being the most prettiest one in your opinion.

You pressed your lips to his, shutting your eyes, Kangin coming back to his senses just before the photo was being snapped, as he pulled you impossibly closer by your waist.

"I love you too, and always will." He said as he pulled away, his eyes speaking more than enough for you to know he meant those words by his whole soul.

You giggled lightly, placing a soft peck on his lips,

"I know my love, I know."

all written works as well as images and edits (unless credited) belong to pri. do not plagiarise, repost, re-edit or claim as yours. pics mostly found on pinterest.

writingmeraki Ⓒ 2023

links : main navigation !

[obsidianbaby]

men's polo shirt - a poem | m.s

we stay up talking to the same moon two different conversations, im small town grunge you're california coastin',

same melodic chord progressions but our bluetooths not connected.

two pieces split from one fallen star as strangers, never thought your light would be such a heartfelt danger.

button up my men's polo shirt yeah, i can play your type, would you notice me now, nonchalant, under all of your hype?

since i saw you, my dreams have been haunted, ocean eyes, smile dripping honey oh darling how you taunt me.

broken down my walls, sticky fingers on my heart, forgot to ask me my name first, just say "your mine" when you call.

and i'll be waiting my love but not by the phone, you don't have my number so just ring me through my bones.

and my skins buzzing getting itchy, scratch at the dial tone,

shit now there's blood all over my men's polo, you can give me yours to loan.

and look what you've done to me now baby im such a mess, if i act like i don't know you play it cool will i somehow pass your test?

but you've got me obsessed with your lack of attention, yeah, a fully codependent dedication to your empty affections.

and when they all cry out for you, do you even weigh all your options? or do you already have your sights set on some model crop top walking caution?

but shit, if she can rock a men's polo shirt she can give you what you want, is it all about looks to you? I've got a closet full, how else can you be bought?

a girl with dreams and ambitions of her own, where do I apply? Send my audition tape in the mail just for you to condone,

but i see myself too deeply in you if my mind was a reflection you'd think I was your clone.

and first impressions are hard when your ego can't look past my curvy outlines, chipped and rusted outer shell but I swear the treasure insides worth all of your time.

such a shame the cosmos have cursed us a good fortune, not too late to open your heart to me, don't make me commit extortion.

And when I talk to the moon about you, does she go and spill all of my secrets? Do you know of my sins, all the crimes I've committed?

if you see me in my men's polo shirt will it be the key to leave this all unwritten?

_______________________________

dts - @6ix9inewiturmom

[ingravinoveritas]

irvinis replied to your post "Hi maybe I'm stupid. but could you explain what "i,...”

Maybe it's just a game (although even the game gets weird), but it's still weird as hell. More like an obsession. I mean, if Michael had just played "Michael possessed by DT" he might have been more skillful with his expressions. This increasingly raises the question “what do you want to say, man??”

This is an excellent point. I think what we could also be seeing is how blurry the line is between where Aziraphale ends and Michael begins. It's something Michael himself has talked about on more than one occasion, to where he doesn't seem to distinguish (or doesn't care if other people distinguish) between him and Aziraphale when writing these Twitter replies. It also make me think about the GO 2 selfies he's posted thus far, where he's in costume, but you can clearly see it's Michael peeking out in his expressions, and it makes you wonder if he feels more like himself or Aziraphale in that moment. Or both...

So in thinking about all of this, as well as the fact that these replies are so ambiguous, that brings us to the question you posed, which is "What does Michael want to say?" Perhaps there is something he wants to say as himself but can't--for any number of reasons--but that he can say when it crosses that line into the fandom world. And again, all of this could be tied into the SAG strike and the fact that he can't talk about GO 2 openly yet, but that itself could be an excuse for him to talk about certain things he can't talk about as himself.

It certainly is a lot to consider, but I love thinking about Michael's tweet from these other vantages. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what chaotic reply he tweets next...

[sunsetwaltz]

[Rough Thoughts on Finale - General Spoilers]

FIN at around 110h. (Minus an hour or two spent in photo mode or leaving the game idle lol)

And I'm STILL missing 2 achievements 😩 At least only one of them requires more exploration.

Warning: Mainly negative impressions below.

More than anything, I think I'm relieved the game's finally over for me. Unfortunately I stumbled on a number spoilers on the way (my fault tbh), so things didn't hit as hard as they could've. It's fine; I just wish the music had been more intense and emotionally stirring. The scenes could've really used that extra oomph - the voice acting and visuals alone weren't enough imo. It's a bit sad when the "best" part of the music was the recognisable DAI tracks.

Although the final fight(s) and ending were more definitive than the Inquisition's (base game) finale, I felt kind of...idk ambivalent as I watched the last scenes roll? Like "That's it? Hmm. I see." I couldn't muster the joy or celebratory mood or even bittersweet feelings I'd expected to come with closing a nearly decade-long chapter.

Honestly it felt a little surreal. My whole playthrough had been laced with an undercurrent of (unsurprising) disappointment and "it could've / should've been like this" thoughts, so maybe I should thank my stars the ending didn't bring any more disappointment.

Part of me can't help but remember the emotional reactions I had after finishing DA2, DAI / Trespasser, ME3 or even other games like FFXIV (incl DT). Now those games had elicited strong emotions. They had higher highs and lower emotional lows; any disappointment I had with those games was felt more keenly because the journey had been full of surprises and many joys. Whereas with DA:V, my journey has mainly been like a steady line? There were things I liked in DA:V and everything else was lacklustre tbh. It was missing the emotional rollercoaster and adventure I'd craved from Thedas :/

Don't get me wrong I did enjoy playing DA:V - I wouldn't have continued otherwise. But would I recommend this game at full price? No. I don't regret playing it but I can't in good conscience suggest someone else do so when at its core DA:V is missing the essential "DA" ingredients - compelling nuanced writing, world building and party characters.

DA:V may borrow names from the DA world of Thedas but it doesn't feel like Thedas - these names feel little more than set dressing or props. Like many have expounded before me, by "playing it safe" with the writing the devs stripped away the immersive things players loved about DA. Too many times did DA:V's script feel too superficial, too casually modern and too insincere(?) in regards to the previous games' established worldbuilding. Quantity over quality, new player experience and cinematics over roleplaying seemed like BW / EA's main priorities. Y'know instead of the DA fans who have been waiting ages for this game after being left on a major cliffhanger. Everything elf-related (incl. the veil jumper Rook experience) felt like a "token effort" at best; I can't imagine how much worse it'd be to play as a qunari or LoF.

I could go into the specifics of what I liked vs. disliked and properly discuss the major story beats (or even Act 3 alone), but I'll stop now. Time to head to bed and maybe later I can think about watching the game's other possible endings(?), romances, etc. It'll be interesting to see the other choices - and if Neve still feels like the game's deuteragonist (or the devs' pet favourite) when she's not y'know "chosen".

TL;DR I'm annoyed some of the appearances / transmog are bugged (i.e. locked despite having completed the requisite quest, etc). I hope they actually fix it and add a golden nug feature too 😔

[paradox-n-bedrock]

Hey! I saw throughout some of your tags that you got to see both Macbeth and The Enfield Haunting! (to which I'm insanely jealous, please hand over your memories to me at your earliest convenience!) What did you think of them??

Oh hi!!

The Enfield Haunting was enjoyable. Reviews for it have been overly harsh, for the most part, and I think part of that might be the genre bias horror often faces. The dialogue is clunky, particularly in the beginning, but I can say it's a fun show if you're a Conjuring, Enfield Poltergeist, or general haunted history fan. It presents the supernatural influence vs troubled children aspect in a balanced way, as is necessary for this plot. It also builds tension rather effectively once it gets going, while letting Catherine punctuate it with moments of lightness and her usual impeccable timing. There are some really good parts where a theme seemed to come together of this overwhelmed woman dealing with a rotating cycle of overbearing men (invasive investigators, infatuated neighbor, disrespectful ex-husband, and the poltergeist, of course) making nuisances of themselves in her home while she's just trying to push through each day without losing herself or her children to their collective unhappiness. If the theme had carried through more cohesively, it would have been a strong play. Unfortunately, I was left yearning for a bit more of that story, as it gets messy and lost maybe two thirds of the way though when the focus shifts to the investigator. But mainly, Catherine is so, so talented. She carries the whole thing on her back, with some help from the young actress who plays a very creepy Janet. It's hard to take your eyes off of her as Peggy, even when she's harried and anxious or reacting in furious silence to the action happening on the other side of the stage. She just... draws your gaze. And when she steels her spine to stand up for her family and her space, she's positively luminous. Plus there's an unexpected delight in a couple of scenes where Catherine sings Only Wanna Be With You--very sweetly, just a bar or two--and my heart felt like it was going to fucking burst. Hello, her voice... I need her to do another musical, preferably one we get a soundtrack to.

And she's so kind at the stage door. It was a two show day and she had a con the next morning but she still took the time to speak to every single person that was waiting there.

__

Macbeth, I wasn't carrying even the slightest hope of seeing but then I was able to get a standing ticket in my cart while on the flight there (though I had to let it go) and realized my years of stalking concert presales were about to come in handy. Ironically, my partner was the one who did snag the tickets two days later. I... actually ended up with a first row seat, though she was in the standing section. But that's just me rambling about the process because I still can't believe it worked out the way it did.

I'm not even sure what to say about the show itself. The whole cast is phenomenal. The production is conceptually very cool. The audio tricks they play with the witches--via a headset for each audience member and the eerie sense of movement and foreboding conveyed by bilateral audio--plus the starkness of the empty white stage and simple dark costuming just work. The contrast of the blood when David is centerstage, distressed and panting as he washes it away, feels poignant rather than pretentious. He's captivating the whole way through, but especially then, when he temporarily strips away the ambition along with his stained clothes to reveal the broken and guilty thing underneath. There's nothing like how DT delivers Shakespeare--the meaning flows out of him as naturally as the words themselves and it's incredibly approachable without losing any of its gravitas. The dynamic between the leads is atypical in a really lovely way. David's Macbeth and Cush's Lady Macbeth come across more like codependent partners and ruthless accomplices than a greedy but hesitant royal and his calculating wife egging him on. He looks to her for support rather than a push to kill Duncan, and the adoration between them is palpable, even as they each deteriorate in their own ways. I walked out of this show feeling so deeply affected, it was like a religious experience.

(Macbeth also feels very gender, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's a fan of DT's Benedict, though this is obviously in a very different way. As does Malcolm, played by Ros Watt--who's non-binary--and Ross, played by Moyo Akandé. I adore the whole cast, honestly.)

[pancake-breakfast]

Trigun Book Club! (I'm glad some of you are enjoying reading the nonsense I've been writing up for these things. Thank you very much!) I know some characters I'm highly anticipating are coming up, so let's get to it!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for Trigun Vol. 2, Chapter 1 below.

Chapter 1: Blood and Thunder

WOLFWOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

I love how intense he looks compared to Vash, who seems to be smiling just a bit. Of course he would. He has a buddy to fight at his back.

"More than just shoes," huh? What, does he make crazy strappy leather body suits, too? Hmmmmmm???

Dramatic Vash title page pose!

Oh, shoot. I remember that fountain from '98. That's... a bad sign.

Meryl: "What a lovely day...." Me: "Not for long."

I do appreciate the pigeon floof, though. Wait, how did pigeons get here? Did they import them? Are these actually not-pigeons but are more closely related to Thomases? Are... are they a type of WORM??!??!!

Oh, Vash. He wants to rest, but he's keeping one eye open.

NM, he's decided rest is the best option.

OMG, this page! Rem with the halo imagery over her. The way her form dominates the page but blends into Vash's, as if she's a bigger part of him than he himself is. The way he seems to be falling through the panels. Gorgeous.

Aaand the moment's gone.

At least they're apologizing?

Wait, there's no water in that fountain, is there?

Goshdarnit, Vash! Don't put that in your mouth! You don't know where it's been!

Yeah, you're not gonna be able to talk while pulling off this maneuver. But I'll allow it.

Hahahaha, once they've properly apologized, he decides to reward them with ice cream. Or maybe just reward himself and reward them as a byproduct, but whatever.

VASH THE STAMPEDE!!! You, of all people, do NOT get to tell Milly (OR ANYONE ELSE) she is not acting her age! Freaking dork....

I love how calmly Meryl is like, "Here's the cash. Get us all ice cream." Although I'm only counting five??

Oh.

Meryl just won like 500 brownie points for that move.

There are few things in life that can't be made to seem at least a little better if one has ice cream.

Vash looks deeply saddened that the girl left.

But it seems like he's moved on pretty fast. No point dwelling on it, right?

Shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

Gods, I'm sure people have debated his designs in both '98 and Stampede, but here? Legato looks like a twink. A twink hiding in a big emo jacket with shoulder pads he stole from the '80s and then fed steroids.

Annnnd he's eating a hot dog. I'm not gonna read too much into that. Too late. And now you can, too.

Seriously, though. Of all the foods to import, you'd think someone would leave hot dogs behind. Or not. They do make use of the junk parts of the animal, and I guess you can't be too picky when you live in a desert wasteland.

The way they're having this conversation is suspicious.

Fountain confirmed empty.

Milly's danger sense is tingling.

I just want to point out that, when Milly says Vash's face looks frightening, this is the last expression we see him showing.

He's putting on the glasses. It's serious time. He might have to shoot someone, and he definitely doesn't want anyone else to catch a glimpse of his intentions here.

Wow. The level of force Vash shows in his wording here. It's like he's playing a card that says, "I know I'm superior to you, and given the situation, I'm going to make dead sure you know it, too."

"That monster," huh? Harsh words. Justified, perhaps. But harsh. All of this is harsh coming from such a staunch pacifist.

I just want to point out that all of this is happening after the July incident. For no reason whatsoever, I'm sure.

Legato... PLEASE don't make shitty decisions with your life. What you're suggesting is not the sort of thing likely to end in a win scenario for you....

Ok, so I'm sure some of this is because I've watched '98 and have a better feel for Legato than some... but I LOVE the imagery of him handing food to a hungry child and giving them a pat on the head. It's wrong on so many levels... but it's also a good reminder that people who are capable of absolutely terrible things are also capable of at least presenting a veneer of simple kindness.

Glad that scene upset Vash quite a bit, too.

Assuming Legato isn't bluffing, even Vash would struggle to contain that much slaughter in such a short span of time, I think. And right now, he's got a whole fountain in between him and Legato.

Vash has been gradually losing his mask through this whole conversation. Milly noticed it first, but the kids and Meryl have noticed it by now, too.

This outfit needs more straps.

Yyyyeeeaaaahhhh, if they fight in the busy town square there, the casualty number is gonna be stupid high.

WTF, he gave Vash a quest?? I don't like this quest. This quest is gonna be full of Bad Things.

I LOVE how they're all in silhouette behind Legato there, but with all their forms blended together to make this ominous amorphous blob of eyes and limbs and darkness. I want a clean version without the text balloons.

Sir. Sir, your bag is leaking. Sir, you might want to take a look at that. Sir.

Ok, now I have legitimate questions about the Shoemaker instead of bullshit ones.

I, too, would panic if someone I knew suddenly literally lost their head. Not sure I'd go screaming into the town square, but I would definitely be out of sorts.

Nightow didn't even have to show us what was in the bag to make his point.

Dude, that's an American coin. Hang on a second.... Ok, found it. I'm just gonna put some information on it here if anyone wants to go through it.

I'm pretty sure I recognize that silhouette...

Thinking on the title of the chapter again. Thunder is often seen as the first sign of an oncoming storm. Fitting.

I wanted to go through more than one chapter, but I feel like I have a LOT of notes on this one, and those pop-out posts inevitably take a good chunk of time, so this will do for tonight.

[otherworldseekers]

6.55 and onward to Dawntrail!

And so Endwalker is officially at an end and the months until Dawntrail stretch out before us. It's going to be a difficult wait.

Spoilers for 6.55 msq and DT ahead.

Personally, I've been excited ever since they announced our destination for the new expansion. There's little I love more than exploring new places and getting to know new cultures and Severia is the same. The set up of "participating in a contest for the throne" I've been more or less neutral on. I knew my response would depend entirely on the characters involved so I've been eager to know more. Having now met Wuk Lamat, I can confidently say that Severia and I would do anything for her.

I know some people have worries about the so-called conflict within the Scions, but from the information that Wuk Lamat gave us I think the whole succession issue is more about competition than "conflict" except for that one mysterious contender that she says cannot win. (Can't wait to find out more.) It seems highly probably that Koana, the miqo brother she mentions who studied in Sharlayan, is another contender and is the one that Thancred and Urianger have agreed to help. That leaves two unknowns. I'm going to make a prediction that Estinien ends up in support of a third Mamool Ja contender, who is not the dangerous one. I don't know how Y'shola and G'raha are going to fit in, but I have every confidence in the writers' creativity.

I am also intrigued by the little mentions of Garlemald in this patch. Alphinaud and Alisaie want to come specifically so they can gain knowledge that will help Garlemald. The "conqueror" Wuk Lamat warns about is interested in taking advantage of Garlemald's weakness. We even get to help some Garleans kick back and relax on our Island. As someone with an interest in Garlemald (for reasons), I am hopeful that this is an indication that Garlemald's future will continue to concern us in the future and that we can do something about its current state.

It struck me, now that we have our WoL's party set up, that it is meant to call back to our initial journey to a new city in 2.0. Alisaie and Alphinaud were there then too, though we did not know them. And Erenville, who travels for a living, could be said to take the place of the merchant. I believe the reason that they had a stand alone side story for the 6.x msq rather than the pattern that we are used to, is that 7.0 is meant to feel like 2.0. It's the start of a brand new story introducing us to a brand new world where we have no connections or history or baggage and are essentially back to being just adventurers again.

While Yoshida has joked about this being the WoL's vacation, I'm hoping that the tantalizing mentions of the City of Gold will lead to some fun Indiana Jones-esque adventures. But I am definitely most excited about delving into Solution 9 and learning its mysteries.

As usual, I am always hoping and praying that Nero will become relevant in the new content again. (Come on, SE, there are a million ways you could use him and he improves every single thing he's in.) However, even if he's not, I plan to drag him into the story in my own headcanons and writings. Severia's not leaving her man behind this time, not when he would be so eager to explore a whole new potential source of technological discoveries. How exactly he'll fit in I will leave until I actually see how the story plays out.

All in all, I am very excited and looking forward to more exciting story to experience this summer!

[cherryaxiel]

Astra Nexus

Character: Chester Lake

Description: You have psychic abilities and get called in by the SVU to help them catch a suspect.

Rating: Mature - Strong language, suggestive, "toys" are mentioned.

I'm not normal. I already know that. People think I'm crazy or weird. But this is me and I won't change it. I have had these psychic abilities ever since I had that car accident when I was a kid. A semi-truck hit the car I was in, killing both my parents. I should have died, I always wished I had, but I survived. I was in a coma for a couple of weeks, my head was impacted during the accident. I guess it opened my third eye. I stayed with my aunt, Lily, after that. It took me a while but I got used to my powers. I tried to make sure no one knows about my abilities, other than my best friends, Soren and Dylan, who have been with me ever since I met them after the accident. They were the only ones who understood me. We live together now in our own apartment, Soren and Dylan started dating each other about a year ago. I'm very happy for them but it does hurt my heart a little. Knowing who I am and what I'm capable of, will I find a love like theirs?

It's a Wednesday morning and I'm trying to relax on my day off. Soren and Dylan are at work while I'm playing with my cats. I heard about a young kid that was murdered last night on the news. The killer is on the loose. Hearing the family sobbing on TV....I can't get my mind off the case. My cats are playing cutely but my attention is elsewhere. I have to help. I have to find the person who did this. I stopped playing with my cats and got on my laptop, seeking information on the case. The suspect is a white male in his 30s. I close my eyes. I have to get to the crime scene. In the darkness, images start flashing, images from the case that I saw online through multiple articles. I pinpoint a specific image, the location where the dead young kid was dumped which was an abandoned junkyard. Let's start here. My body stays where it is, in the apartment, but my soul is at the location. I have to be careful not to get caught trying to walk through the crime scene because people can see me. I see the young kid nearby. Or his spirit at least. I walk towards him.

"Hey..." I spoke kindly, maintaining my distance"

"...You can see me?"

"Yes, I can. I'm here to help."

The kid approaches me. "Really? How can I trust you?"

"Believe me, I'll help find who did this to you. Just hold my hand." I extend a hand to him.

"...Okay." He hesitates but eventually holds my hand. My eyes close and my mind plagued by visions, the events that led to the kid's death.

I see him, the man that killed the kid. He's strangling me. I try to focus on the vision and look around. The kid's in...a barn? I see hay and a couple of animals....I revert my gaze to the man. He's not wearing a mask. I know what he looks like. Such anger in his eyes. For a child?

The vision ends and I'm back to where I was, my hand holding the kid's hand. "I know what happened to you and who did this to you. I'll help you." I reassure the kid and he nods. I close my eyes and I'm back on my couch. Well, my spirit is, my body has been here the whole time. I needed to let the police know but they cannot figure out who I am. I need to wait till it turns dark.

Once it's dark, I put on black sunglasses, a hoodie and sweatpants. Nothing that could identify me. I walked out of the house and took a cab far from my home. I found a payphone and I called the NYPD'S SVU tipline to tell them what I know but not tell them who I am to remain anonymous. From there, I walked home, taking the subway and tried to hide from plain sight, from any cameras. Once home, I was exhausted so I crashed on the couch. I have work for the next two days.

It's Friday when two SVU detectives came to my workplace. They called for me specifically. I tried to maintain my composure as I walked towards them.

"Hello, I'm Detective Tutuola and this is Detective Lake." Dt. Tutuola shows me his badge. "We have some questions for you, could you follow us to the station?"

Not wanting to cause a scene, I agree to it. I followed them to their car where they brought me to their station. Once I'm in the SVU office, they put me in an interrogation room. They wanted to talk about the case of the young kid that got murdered. Apparently, I was seen on a security camera. I guess I didn't disguise myself very well.

"Yes, that's me." I confessed, deciding that there is no use in lying.

"And how did you know who our suspect was?" Dt. Lake asks.

"Intuition." My face is serious. Dt Tutuola scoffed.

"Sorry? Intuition? So, you're psychic?" Dt. Tutuola asks in disbelief.

"Yes, I can prove it. Just hold my hand." I extend a hand, open for either one of them.

Dt. Lake holds my hand. My eyes close. Visions of his past go by quickly, learning of his tragic backstory. I recall what I saw in my visions to both of them. Dt. Lake retrieves his hand away from mine quickly, appalled by the amount of information I gathered about him.

"Bullshit, you probably read my file." Dt. Lake

"How the fuck would I be able to do that? I'm a civilian? I don't have access to that." Both of them look at each other, knowing that I am right.

After a tireless interrogation, Dt. Lake and Dt. Tutuola had to let me go since they had nothing on me and could not keep me for further interrogating. I left the precinct and once I got out, I let go of a breath I did not know I was holding. I walked home, thinking that that would be the last I see them.

Weeks go by and Dt. Lake calls me, saying the SVU needs my help with another case and thinks my skills can be put into good use. I hesitate as I don't want my abilities to be exposed but I agree to help, thinking about the victims affected in the case. I walk down to the station, being greeted by and introduced to the team once I get there.

"So...a psychic?" Dt. Munch asks me. I nod in response, I explained to them how I got my abilities and what I could do. I demonstrated it to them, using Dt. Lake as part of my demonstration. I sat down in the lounge with the detectives looking at me. I close my eyes and focus on astral projecting. The spirits show me the way to Dt. Lake's apartment. Flashing past the city in my visions. I arrived inside his apartment.

"I'm in Dt. Lake's apartment right now. Surprisingly clean...I see a bookshelf full of Hemingway books near a window. There's leftover Chinese takeout in your fridge. I'm in your room now. Your queen size bed is still unkempt and you have a desk in front of the window. I'm going to look through your closet. There's....Oh...Well, that's interesting..." I chuckle. The detectives raise their eyebrows, curious about what I found.

"Am I even allowed to tell y'all what's inside-"

"Okay! I think we can believe them. Everything's been accurate so far. We're done here, right?' Dt. Lake tries to shake me out of my astral projection. I return to my body, my eyes opening at the interruption.

I chuckle before speaking, "Seems like Dt. Lake likes to get down and dirty..." I tease him, smirking and leaning back in my chair. The detectives snickers while Dt. Lake gets embarrassed. While they are still not entirely trusting me, the detectives agree that I might be a good asset for this case. We work on the case the entire day. I aided by using my abilities to gather information from astral projecting to crime scenes and places the suspects and victims have been to as well as from my visions when I look through evidence of the case. I worked closely with Dt. Lake since this was his case.

"So, about what's in your closet..." I brought up the topic to him late at night in the station as we worked on the case alone. The other detectives went home to rest.

"What?" He looks at me from his desk.

"The...toys...that you have in your closet..." I trail off.

"That's...personal." Dt. Lake's gaze is on his paperwork.

"Right, sorry." I go back to looking through evidence. "Just saying, I'm not judging you...It's perfectly fine to have fun..you know..." He nods shyly, going back to his research and looking through surveillance camera clips.

I can't help but feel bad for invading his privacy. "Dt. Lake, can I make it up to you? I understand that it feels awful to have someone find out something so private about you..."

"You can call me Chester." He pauses. "How are you going to make it up to me?"

"I was thinking we could have dinner? Just the two of us? I'll pay!"

He chuckles. "Free dinner? Sure, why not?"

"Great, we'll plan one after the case." Chester nods. We refocused our attention on the case, spending the rest of the night together.

After some time, we head home to get some rest. Chester offered to give me a ride home and I accepted. I got into his car from the passenger's side and we sat in silence, his eyes focused on the road as I watched the passing lights of the buildings from my seat's window. The silence was oddly...comforting? I didn't feel like having to start a conversation or small talk. Being so tired, I accidentally fell asleep. I felt a nudge on my shoulder and my name being called in a soft whisper. I woke up disgruntled and confused. I noticed we finally arrived in front of my apartment building. I looked over to Chester, who was slightly leaning towards me with a small smile on his face. The lights from the street lamps illuminating his face. He looked....handsome...I didn't realize I was staring until he cleared his throat, bringing me back to reality.

"We're here," he says, in such a calm tone. I'm starting to hear the way he sounds, like, actually hear him. His voice was so alluring to me. A mixture of honey and forest wood. Does that even make sense? My heart was starting to beat faster and my cheeks were getting flushed. I look away and wipe my mouth, fearing that I was drooling in my sleep. Did he notice? The way my breathing quickened and my cheeks getting red? I hope not.

"Thanks for the ride, have a good rest," I said as I got out of the car and headed up to my apartment building's door. I took a glance behind me to see him one last time for the night before he drove off. I walked up to my apartment, locking the door behind me before walking into my bedroom and crashing onto my bed. I take a moment to gather my thoughts, the way he looked flashing through my mind. Now, my mind was infested with his face, the way the light sculpted and highlighted his features in the dark of the night. How his eyes were glistening. Each time I close my eyes to sleep, I see him and each time I do, I find a new feature or detail in the image, leaving me frustrated and cursing at myself. After a while, I managed to fall asleep.

A few weeks pass by, and we manage to catch the suspect. It was a painfully tiring and long interrogation but we were able to get evidence that he did his crimes. He got the death penalty and will be spending the rest of his life in prison. I was so relieved when I heard the verdict. Over the course of the few weeks, Chester and I got closer having spent more late nights together in the precinct to solve the case. However, this meant that I was getting more flustered around him, my feelings for him developing. I would notice new things about him because I would be unconsciously staring or observing him like how his biceps looked when he crossed his arms. I would snap back to reality when he calls my name. Oh god, I love the way my name rolls off his tongue. I can't help but catch butterflies each time. I hope he doesn't notice it though, the way he makes me feel. All he does is chuckle when I get out of my dream-like state. We're at the courthouse when I approach Chester, feeling a bit sheepish.

"Hey..." I start. Chester turns to look at me. "So...about that dinner..."

He smiles, "I know just the place, we can head there right now? We're done with the case anyways."

I nod, a tad too enthusiastic. "Sure! Let's go."

We head to the restaurant that Chester picked out. We got to our table and looked through the menu. I looked around the place, noticing the atmosphere was quite....romantic. A candle was lit in the middle of our table and the lights were dim. The food on the menu wasn't so expensive though, thankfully. We ordered our food and we sat there awkwardly for a few moments until he spoke.

"I noticed you've been staring at me more often," he smirks.

I started freaking out, my eyes widening, "Um, well...I..." I tried to come up with an excuse, but I couldn't figure out how to explain my behavior.

He chuckles, "It's fine, I'm not mad, but if you have something to tell me, I'm all ears." My face turned red and all I could do was avoid his gaze. He leans in close, his two fingers grabbing my chin and bringing my gaze to his. "Come on, doll, what is it?" The use of the pet name...if my face could get any redder than this, I would look like a fucking tomato. My lips part, wanting to say something but no sound comes out. He runs a finger over my bottom lip. His eyes darted from my eyes, to my lips, then back to my eyes. That was when an ounce of courage grew within me, leaning closer to him with a hand moving to cup his cheek, and pressing my lips to his. He doesn't move back, instead, he reciprocates. It lasted for a moment before we pulled away.

"Does that answer your question?" I joked. He lets out a small laugh in response. Our food comes and we spend the rest of our dinner joking about how I was so obvious that I had a crush on him while we worked together, shameless flirting, and deep conversations about our backstories.

At the end of the dinner, I pulled out my credit card to pay but Chester stopped me. "Dinner's on me."

"But this is my way of making up to you? I promised."

"It's okay, there's another way you could make up to me." He smirks and butterflies form in my stomach when I realize what he means. He paid for dinner and we left the restaurant. "Wanna head to my place?" He opens the passenger side of his car. I nod, smiling with my cheeks all flushed as I get into his car. I buckle my seatbelt as he closes the door and gets into the driver's seat, buckling his seatbelt before driving off. It's going to be a long night.

[the-physicality]

here in the phoenix mercury if there's one thing we don't do it's stat pad

remember when we blew seattle out by 20 all game [when we beat them last] and their starters were playing until the end? [and then someone got a tech? bc they were upset in another game that the opponent didn't pull their starters?]

nate...... these rotations....does he know we don't play until Friday?

i didn't realize until now how much i hated this announcer

what is the point of pulling someone who is banking 3s bc of foul trouble if you aren't going to play them the rest of the game?

i guess we decided not to try and draw fouls in the second half?

i've said it before and i will say it again, you need to start celeste

i understand that we're trying to make a playoff push and solidify this team as a unit but not everybody is a celeste taylor

maybe the game wasn't "winnable" but it didn't need to be a 24 point deficit

if the zone isn't working you have to take them out of the zone....

celeste had a stunning assist [highlight reel dt type assist] at either the end of the first or the start of the second [she had 2 in this time frame and nothing on the wnba website will load so i don't know which one it is *upside down smiley face*

the first game celeste played i said "oh she cannot leave the floor" that still holds true

i don't know what's going on but it seems like many people not longer know how to make the right basketball plays? like so many times they would be inside and want to kick it out instead of forcing the foul? and that caused so many turnovers [which we actually had fewer of this game]

and like sophie was getting forced out on a drive to the net which caused an out of bounds turn over when she could have just done the dt and bounced it off a storm body

and then there was another time it was in the 3rd i think after that very fast paced portion when no one was moving off ball. and there was a look that was like "fucking move!?" cause you can't play static basketball. and it's stuff like that that make me think they have lost their offensive identity. and i don't want them to wait for bec to get it back

can they all go see the sports psych pls? i feel like there is so much happening mentally rn that needs to be cleared away

so time to dissect here: if you look at the 1st quarter, it was fine that we weren't defending well because we were returning each shot with another shot [and drawing fouls]

in the second: we were 3/13 plus 2 trips to the line and 1 technical shot [6/7]. storm were 12/24 plus one trip to the line [0/1]. that's what we call not taking care of the ball

3rd q: we're 8/17.. in our little 9 point [it wasn't even a run] back to back to back successful possessions, DT was involved in all 3 plays- either scoring or assisting

[i'm bored with this now... my point i think is that i need dt and celeste on the floor together and i don't understand why you would give up halfway through the 3rd @ nate

[nyaawn]

Graphics Update & Derplander's face: A Research

or My Shallow Attempt to Make Sense Why That DT Derplander's Face Look So Oddly Different. For Science.

(Ok I know the benchmark has been out for more than a week and a lot has been said about it, but I was busy and only had time to mess around with it recently. Tho actually no I didn't have time and I really should sleep rather than spend my remaining braincells mulling over freaking fictional character's face. But pesky part of my brain would keep bothering me about it otherwise. So let me try putting my finger on it)

On last Live Letter broadcast they open with benchmark trailer. I thought, "Oh nice. Since I also play a Derplander I can just watch their trailer to see the graphic update on his fac---"

.

.

.

"... ...... .....Who is that?"

This Derplander was so confused and as Derplander main I was left deeply concerned.

What the heck happened?? Is it the update? Is it the new hair? Hair change can change his face so much? Why he look so off? Whhhyyyyyyyy-------

Benchmark downloaded, I embarked to find the truth *insert dramatic bgm here*

First thing in my mind, well we see that in livestream, of course streaming quality would made it look bad. Hence I start with running the benchmark right away with default character setting. The result, now I have better image quality, I can clearly see his skin texture etc and he does looks better, but still so different than what I used to. Oh dear am I doomed with this graphic update.... Well let's see how he fare in character creator next. I put in the usual Derplander/Ardbert face setting: Hyur, Midlander, medium build, Face type #5 or #7.... Hmm wait they touch up Face#7?

Yep, Face#7 isn't simply 'Face#5-with-stubble-slapped-on' anymore. There's plenty of contouring going on now. It's like make up, tho irl people use it to look flawless, here they use it to make him more flawed lol. Frown lines, dark and bright smudges to increase the rugged appearance. That highlight on his forehead almost distractingly so. It sure make his brow bones look like they jut out a lot more. Maybe that's why his forehead look so bright and prominent in that trailer? But all in all they do give the face more dimension and suitably older without changing the face model itself, which is smart. Other than contouring, they only change the eye shape a bit with sharper corner. Oh and thicker eyebrows, for some reason...

Alright, that cover the face type. Moving on with the rest of his face: Eye#1, Nose#1, Lip#1. No big change with them, at least none that I can see. Next, color: eyes blue, no lip coloring. Done!

The result... is still the Derplander that I know and familiar with. Older and more rugged, yes. But that's him alright.

WAIIIIT,,,, everyone else complain that their character look off in Character Creator but look alright in benchmark cutscene, why I'm the opposite?? I think he look okay in CC but look different in cutscene. Wth happened here?

Still scratching my head, I throw him into benchmark and...

Oh. Oooh, I see now.. Apparently, they didn't use that setting anymore...

I made wrong assumption that they use Derplander usual character setting as default WoL like in previous benchmarks. Then further assumed the change I saw was chiefly because of graphic update. But as you can see, for default they use different nose and jaw. Add those to the change with face type I mentioned above. It's not that the DT trailer Derplander's face feel different. It is different face.

*headdesk* OKAY PROBLEM SOLVED I GUESS (ﾉಥ▿ಥ）ﾉ彡┻━┻

.........

Naaah, I already staring at his face for so long only to reach such anticlimactic conclusion. Let's stare some more! *sunkcostfallacy*

Well, ignoring the new hairstyle and its floating sideburns (kek), now they use jaw#4 and nose#5, I think? And tho it can't be seen clearly in that gif quality, they also change his eye color. Before I thought it's just because of lighting, but they really change them to green hue rather than his previous blue (you got Mako-juiced bro?). I think I understand why they made those change tho. When paired with his old face, that new hairstyle can make his lower face look strangely short/squished (which was my concern when they unveil that hair in cg trailer. Even in real life that kind of hairstyle could mess with head balance). Hence the change to wider, longer jaw. And to balance that jaw, bigger nose. Dunno what with his eye tho.

It's not very noticeable but there's one more change they made, however it's one I completely onboard with: His skin color. After giving his CG counterpart a tan (hooray!), finally they also give his in-game model a (veeeeerrry sliiight) tan (still HOORAAY!). I've been saying for years that he look too pale. WoL supposedly running around under the sun all the time, why in tarnation he was still as pale as milk. This time, though I only eyeballed it, from various comparison pic I think I can say with some confidence they had moved quite a few step down that skintone table:

I would prefer they also take a step to the right (which is the skintone that I give to my own WoL, and even with that I still often think mine's too pale. But to change it I need to pay for another fanta, so I left him be), but hey baby step. At least he's more strawberry milk now rather than just milk.

Anyway, others might not think he look that different from before. But maybe since I played with him for thousand and thousand of hours, even a slight difference can cause uncomfortable sense of wrongness. This is also the case for numerous players who complained that their WoLs looks off, I guess. Though their case certainly isn't a dumb character setting mistake like mine, that graphic update sure can change character's vibe. Fortunately after scrutinizing it for some time, I think I can live with it? At least for most part..

The update change lighting and texture across the board, and maybe some modeling too? For characters, one of most visible overhaul is their skin. In that skin, well, look even more like skin, for better or worse. In face type#5 /#7 that Derplander use, his laugh lines and sunken cheek are fairly discernible now.

Same chara setting, very similar angle and lighting, across different builds. With the new lighting shadow falls more naturally, in effect giving a rounder, less dramatic impression. But more than that, those visible facial lines along with further detailed eye wrinkles make him seem a looot older. While the guy in the left might go "I'm going on an adventure!", the man in right look tired of all worldly affairs..

That said, I don't mind it that much. I want my WoL to look older with time, so I'm okay with this. Players who also use this face type but don't want their WoL to suddenly turn into middle aged man might feel different, however. Not to mention the more realistic facial lines could push it towards uncanny valley. Will need some time to get used to it, that's for sure.

But one graphic update quirk that I'm less enthusiastic with is: eyeline. I wonder, it seems there's something going on with how this new lighting interact with eye area, in that when eye rim fall under shadow of something the eyeliner immediately goes wild:

See his left eye? Nothing else change here, just his hair. But when his eye fall under shadow of sidebangs, bam. Thick eyeliner make its glorious appearance and suddenly he look super evil (Tho to be fair this shot is hardly flattering and most WoLs I saw look highly menacing there. It's just those dark rims brought him an extra malm). Maybe this is why many Viera players complained about weird eyelines? Thankfully in other lighting/ non-closeup those eyeliners seems to go away. In other scenes all version of him looks okay enough.

.............

So TL:DR I made mistake assuming the odd difference I saw was because graphic update, while in reality it's because they use different face setting altogether. I think I'm going to be fine just using Derplander's old setting going forward as thankfully the update didn't change him too badly. Imo for most part I think the new graphic looks superb even.

But yeah that eyeliner man. I hope they can tell it to chill down a bit. I'm looking forward to the further adjustment they said they'll do. Hopefully Derplander can retain his fairly nice guy, slightly derpy look that we know and love, and less looking like a guy who's ready to start his villain origin story.

........or maybe he already started? 🤔

oh well thanks for glancing at my TED talk. Ima going to sleep now...