#devlin definitely knows how to dance

[lavendersden]

You bewitched me~

this is for an art trade I did w my bsf aka the one who introduced me to gba aka @pycth <3

we already have so many scenarios made up about all of the characters i cant wait to draw ;;;

[ramenwaitr3ss]

My personal headcannons for Characters and listeners from some of the fandoms I’m in!

(Because I’m bored)

Redacted Headcannons^^^

David has a photo of him and Angel in his wallet, whereas Angel has a photo of them and David as their wallpaper.

When Damian gets flustered he also lets off steam slightly.^^

Milo will make SH coffee in the morning in the way they like, with a small note telling them to have a good day at work.

My freelancer has a stomach tattoo that’s under their navel of a heart. And Gavin loves to kiss it^^

Sam and Vincent catch up over tea and wine on occasion, and they mostly talk about their partners lol.

Sweetheart takes naps in the most uncomfortable places, but makes it work somehow.

Baabe and Asher do skincare together every night.

Good Boy Audio headcannons!!

Personal headcannon that the Guardian and Mirin have a noticeable height difference with Mirrin being a foot shorter than them.

Adding onto that I see the Guardian being around 7’ 0-7’ 1 and Mirrin being like 6’ 8-6’ 7

Faithful will sing Karrano to sleep sometimes and Devlin will listen in with a small smile

Albus and Hipswitch are drinking buddies(I don’t know if Hipswitch can even drink, but if he can’t he just is there for the vibes lol).

The Guardian kept a Souvenir they got with Zed when they left, and keeps it in good shape.

Makkaro and his wife, have slow dances on special nights.

I’ve always imagined for me, that Pandora likes to sleep a lot and they’ve fallen asleep on Hades’ shoulder countless times, and now with her having Cerberus she’ll fall asleep with them on occasion.

Escaped Audios!

Jean and intern literally could not keep their hands off each other after everything that happened. Badabing and Badaboom kept saying “Ewwww” each time the two would cuddle, kiss, or anything cutesy.

Benji has a tattoo of his and his wife’s anniversary^^

Crow liked having his hair played with.

Raven constantly plays with her hair as a nervous stim or subconsciously when she’s sitting down watching Tv, or reading, working etc.

Alphonso was one of those really cringy emo kids, and is definitely embarrassed about it lol.

Personal headcanon for my Intern is that they were a singer and dancer, before the events of New Jersey rats.

I forget her name since I’m still new to the series- But the listener for Der Wolfsjäger, is terrified of dogs, and is learning how to deal with them thanks to the series lol.

[bellarosethefangirl]

Happy Halloween love! :D

May I please request headcanons for Atem, Joey, Seto, and Duke reacting to their female S/O dressing up as Bayonetta and dancing like her?

Yes I love this request ! thanks for your patience I'm sorry its so late had a bit going on.

You decide to surprise your bf by inviting him to a costume party alongside you. The party is for a friend of yours. Their birthday party they’re hosting is costume themed but your bf doesn’t know your plans.

Your best friend so happens to be a huge fan of Bayonetta. In fact the game is their number favorite game of all time. You planned a big surprise for them.

You got your hands on a Bayonetta costume based on her outfit in the first game.

You’ve practiced for several weeks to emulate Bayonetta’s dance moves so you can surprise your friend with the dance moves. You know your friend knows it by heart and will most likely dance as well while you perform.

At the party your bf may or may not recognize your costume. Either way you impressed him.

You’re looking forward to his reaction to the surprise you have planned.

Atem/Yami

He would be one of the guys familiar with your outfit. Atem enjoys playing video games with Joey and Yugi. He’d know who Bayonetta is but I don’t think he’d play it due to the fact he enjoys puzzle games and such.

Ever the gentleman he’d compliment your costume and would give you a gentle kiss on your gloved hand.

Atem would go dressed as a vampire or perhaps a prince. Whatever he think would impress you more.

At the party he keeps to himself drinking a canned soda. He waves as you’re setting up the surprise you have in store for your friend.

To his surprise you play music and begin dancing for all to see. The spotlight is on you and your bestie is sitting nearby in excitement.

They cheer you on with the rest of the party. Your friend begins dancing the exact same dance moves as Bayonetta does.

Your moves are so sensual yet confident much like Bayonetta. You move effortlessly across the dance floor.

Atem is speechless and bashful watching you dance. He thinks your dance moves are lovely as is your outfit.

He’s cheering you on but absolutely embarrassing

Afterwards he’s embarrassed talking to you. You have such a big affect on him. It’s absolutely adorable.

If you flirt it up with him or making a comment or two about how sexy he is as a prince and/or vampires he’s putty in your hands.

Joey Wheeler

Joey is instantly a fan boy. Of course he'd recognize your outfit! He's definitely played Bayonetta before. He beat all three games. He'll throw you several compliments. He's instantly all over you.

Joey would be dressed as a werewolf or Frankenstein's monster. Whichever he thought he'd have more fun with.

At the party he's at the table grabbing snacks and chugging down punch.

He's giving you a thumbs up while shoving chips in his mouth. Your getting the music and spotlight ready.

When you begin performing he is extremely impressed. He's as starry eyed as your bestie. His fan boy moment is iconic. If he dressed like a werewolf he howls. If not he's cheering you on.

Your friend is impressed and dancing alongside you. Joey is thinking about how sexy and breathtaking you look. He's feeling like the luckiest guy in the entire place. He's going to take pictures with you and of you after.

He's hoping you'll want sexy time afterwards when you're both at home. If you flirt with him he's totally for it. He'll be all over you.

Duke Devlin

Duke owns a game shop and enjoys games as well. He knows about Bayonetta and the videogames. He's heard of them but he doesn't strike me as the type to play all of them. He probably played the second game since its the most popular and he saw many of the infamous trailers.

He's going to compliment the costume itself praising how accurate it is but he will also appreciate how it accentuates the curves. He's going to caress you and give you one of his pick up lines.

Duke would dress like a mummy or butler. Whichever he thinks would impress you more. Either way he's showing a lot of skin for his sexy dressed girlfriend.

At the party he's doing all kinds of tricks to impress people around him while your off getting ready for your performance.

Once the lights and music are ready you're dancing for all to see. Your friend shouting with glee and copying your dance moves. Duke is stopping his parlor tricks to gawk at you. He's grinning ear to ear cheering you on. Ever the supportive partner he goes over to the small crowd and cheering. He's now your number one fan boy.

Afterwards he'd be so joyful while complimenting your dance moves. He's hoping to see you dance as you did before. He would throw endless compliments.

He might want to make out with you later.

Seto Kaiba

Kaiba isn't so keen on going to a party but he wants to spend time with you and meet your best friend. His first reaction to your costume one you wouldn't expect. He's impressed especially if you made it. Of course the infamous Seto Kaiba knows who Bayonetta is.

Kaiba adores video games so he's played a couple of the Bayonetta games himself. He'll praise the costume and give you a compliment or two about how well you look in Bayonetta's outfit.

Kaiba doesn't wear costumes so the most he'll do is wear a suit with a masquerade mask. Thankfully the outfit turns out well for him. If you kiss him or compliment him he'd blush.

At the party he will be at a table sitting by himself while on his phone. While you're getting ready he will throw you a small smile as encouragement.

With your friend seated for their surprise they're the first one cheering upon hearing the music. Your dancing captures everyone's eyes. They cheer as your friend copies your dance moves.

Kaiba is shocked but he's not sure what to think. He sighs but is smiling in amusement. He will be a bit flustered about the whole ordeal since he never knew you could dance so sensually. He's going to be flustered about it for the past couple weeks.

Afterwards he won't know what to say. He's going to be grumpy and awkward about it. He will express how talented you are but it's all you're getting from him.

Unless you decide to flirt with him that is. He'll get so embarrassed and try changing the subject unless you get handsy with him. He'll be shocked but in the best way possible.

[leopoldainter]

Lifts on the one pillow note the entire boat or game

Query:low speed of internet says high usage at play Maybelline

Isn't maid or mistake I found some poop on football pitch

Perfume? Or toss it?

The other was in Delores boit had cootees

It's like sleeping on a cloud because that's life

See o then now sleeping bag for nooks then like slide Saber or French laid

So dance a bit,I've seen the order they're up there's no way anyone elsel tell which was part wait laugh with office

Blow holes a mamal thing

I'm drinking milk in the coffee

See how trades are confusing for players too. I'm like duh he's on ss anne to have butterfree not get some pokemon. He caught a caterpillar or ..Yeah see misty doing her sundmDial dance I hate bugs! but uts nit bug, it's on oakFace right. Remember the craBowl and he's like 5 minutes it'll look alot closer to Gary's. Nevermond it's Elton qualude

See he knows it. Unod uodArab si Inkore.lSeptor says HI scout just rolled something for yeRpach Clap .totalBadass

Notticement of all blanc.

That's a thief?

Some k8nd of high jakman took our every other game tutorial website in english do t you new kiss

There's ign then there's a good chance yourroCop printers not the same Lexar as fauci's theLOAMk

It's not bacon or Canadian bacon at any point

She tried to go to sleep how's there a way up, if course the Luxury Cruiser opted for those pool ladders against the wall between the floors there's a captain of homehandoff yes cut

So maybe laters gonna be to darktentomon

SEX! k just foam lucy upc whoa for practice drop agloe glint ours were to wise for divorce we used the cornerstone. Or the stump

Maybe flavor shakers weren't liked first to rotor

Who needs a jacket to keep it reel? H.mmm

At last and a pink butterfree blast off island to be

Island of

The Roller coaster rail

Some robotic oversize anomalies. The cat andmouse duo

I raped a Garydos ok

Let it go

It's a paddleboat inside there what's this then?

House this foyer going tonight. Staaawp

There mostly in Minnesota, I have no money do you guy pick up change on the way or something

Wait a minute this reminds of home

He had a water wheel we had an indoor pool

By all means hop in. STRYok!E

Believe it or not that's way high

Where's everyone drown eau wow remy

Wait tell us how that Mercury you see there between those lines a Celsius dream

Aidarate

.ratata.ma ga

Ash swears he caught the pidgot

ISALTS Pidgy8 the first guy I skipped was Italian

You are nit trying hard

I just got the mushroom crab

Fuck that thus hatched

Because hewalks past the guy on.theroof bye no body that got latte weedle 1as caught

Rember that's no way to say not yet. Not even close not even close Glencoe. I will try the varnish but I say dietmountan do clap a lil

Duke Devlins theme in the yugioh almana is SEXYBACK because he was the creator of dungeon dice monsters yes, the creator

Yo Misty, it's P.Price

Elmo got robbed in white

Open sesame is the sigh of Green

Go on and be well.

A group of girls instand crawl nuclear shoulders lochness monster cheered it with pom poms.

She is lying but she's right, they aren't saying wait fat And that's going in the slambook

Hard knocker mama. Lookit up. BREAKFAST!

Wrong room potion. Whipe your face please your stupider. A your back, now that your here lets play it

And now that's she's old enough for beauty sleep kings of Leon of all things lament doob breath day!fishya I got shelves in the shower and potstand

Should we to to the roof

I shriek no so everyone's safer...no jason

Is that a traditional Iranian name

Jeez before I get lynched achmed am I right no, then I'll hand it and bills return pop it in JChilds

Si that makes Carmen San Diego the ambassador of coreillian cruiser. Cam we please stop by the washroom now

I want them taken a live

Ok so imlike

Hey stud

Aren't you A little short for that outfit?

Booizüp

What who said that

Then just this one washer I found

Damn, there's definitely something wrong with basement antenna,can you jump. Fuck hire the Irish guy

There hiding with garbage

This is a handout!

Things look different in laundrybasket

In Britain authorities are looking into this ac identity ad quite possibly the death of diance the prince who shouted most gold tidings from the ferry ride thing that upset no body at all not even those jerks in the French everglades of couple agree

Someone at Tumblr got started on the upload you said we banned but we did not so denied as we can and have all round proven

Ellen's stuff was not as good as Oprah's stuff was because at the time it was that or Rachel Ray does stand and channel seemed doing this hour bar

How hots space bars get in air conditioned environments. Over heating laptops become a thing of the past introducing Social Distanceong if you notice our hierarchy of sneeze garden fails to promote youth for race. General Surgeon warnings aren't true 8f you don't put d9wb things you know, only the things you want people to see but by then who'll remember you right. My employer has to what. Texas and what was older than panamalaskan me order more coffee

[unfortunate-arrow]

Happy FFWF!! Some headcanons of William and Prim during their engagement ball aka the formal way to introduce a couple that will eventually marry? Esp if it includes the detested Lord Archibald making everything worse

-William and Prim are told to wait to make their entrance, and William absolutely hates it. It’s not the first time that Prim has seen William’s frustrations with being punctual, but it does seem to worse this time.

-It’s just awkward. William doesn’t exactly know how to dance, having only taken a small handful of lessons with his step-sister, Louisa. Prim clearly knows all of the steps like the back of her hand. There’s a lot of stepping on toes.

-This is definitely William’s first ever formal event, and he did not know what to expect or how exactly he was supposed to act. He just wasn’t taught the stuff that others in his situation would have been.

-Picking up on that rather quickly, Prim did her best to make him comfortable. It didn’t exactly work, as William just is not comfortable being the center of attention.

-Lord Archibald is heard loudly discussing the future groom. He’s saying things like “Isn’t it fascinating how much Mr. Devlin looks like Lord Carlisle’s father?” and just fueling the rumors. William knows these rumors, and while they sting, he’s found that they’re a good excuse to slip out.

-Prim doesn’t actually bother looking for William until their supper dance. What’s the point of making them both miserable? Although, she does wish that he hadn’t gotten charcoal streaks on his gloves and the hems of his sleeves.

FWFF

[mysticqueen-bee]

Gwevin headcanons(reboot edition pt 2)

So I have mixed in so far little tidbits that I like to think about along with the bits of content that the show has provided along with unofficial teen & older domestic life drabbles to add here - Gwen had known how precious finding that asmr CD was to Kevin (because of his plaguing troubles in his home life previously and most failed father figures to fill that gap and treat him properly) so she stocked up and bought a bunch of blank discs to burn for that specific one properly while he had temporarily taken refuge while sleeping in the rustbucket (just winging it on this), just in case the main one gets scratches & stopped playing so Kevin can have backups to ensure he gets proper sleep and doesn't end up going almost a week without rest again - He was anxious about the main secret poem that he had made about gwen bringing him some light in the darker moments that he had to grow up with (having a drunkard neglectful father/guardian etc. and a mother that worked long hours to support the family which left him lonesome for a long while) being spoken before he could properly finish it along with the previous poem reflecting that excruciating inner pain he's dealt with so far to that point so he wanted to channel other forms of his poetry until the other is completed, he usually recites mini haiku's and other drabble related things to express himself around her which gives him some stress relief for the most part (but he tries to make sure Ben is distracted with some activity when he's in the mood to pull out his book and have some fun) - Sometimes Ben has joined in to watch some lucky girl with the two but most of the time they caught up watching most of the airing shows with some more privacy and admire what the episodes will entail, Kevin's most favorite parts during the event is the pure joy on Gwen's face and the mini conversations that reflect the subject at hand (in the future they meet the actor herself and he makes sure the complete box sets and merchandise will be well kept in fine condition into their upcoming adulthood and beyond) - When Gwen had shown off her transformation to the lucky girl attire that appeared in "Cyber Slammers" to Kev he was speechless for at least a few minutes in complete awe before saying that it brought out the cuteness in her (despite that she was still adorkably cute to him for a long while), he did try to hide his apparent blush though when she thanked him for his compliment - Although her robo cat suit was short lived and he had been dealing with getting revenge on FK's lies & constant belittlement towards him at the time he did think later on that she looked cute in it, once in their teen years and Phil recreated the suit again to accommodate for her current age & physical build he was stunned & was a blushing mess (he blames his hormones for making him more awkward around her than he already was to begin with) and says she looks beautiful (even if she's beautiful to him with being herself regardless) - A few years later both make sure they have their privacy set for a special moment they've wanted to experience together - Kevin was upset that he was turned into a baby when he was trying to confess his feelings to Gwen (though aside from his antics he enjoyed the brief moments of her holding him despite than after the events & before changing back that the cramped feeling of sharing room with little Ben & Max had gotten on his nerves which resulted in the shoving shown later), later on he was able to tell her how he feels about her - They were going to have a little leisure drive courtesy of glitch though Gwen had a moment of uneasiness (due to the events of Buggy Out) even if she honestly didn't want to have it brought up when things are much different now & what he was getting through during then, which results for them walking for a while and her telling him why she felt uneasy at first and felt guilty about such but he told her that it was alright for him to be aware of it so it helps him know what bugs her so she can feel comforted. After hugging one another Glitch catches up to both of them and escorts them back to the RV, during the ride he non verbally consoles her which prompted a soft smile which he also did the same. - During their early adulthood and her being pregnant with Devlin at the time they both watched some reruns of older Lucky Girl episodes and enjoyed their quality time together, while Kevin was getting some groceries due to her craving she had slept and had a nightmare that she had lost him to an accident. She was uneasy for a while until he had returned home and reassured her that he'll make sure nothing bad would happen to him for both their sakes. - When it comes to which aliens that Gwen is fond of she would say she likes them all since they come from someone that she's grown to adore whom adores her back, she enjoys how sweet and cuddly Kev's Bashmouth is and loves to give him hugs since it is a good stress reliever for the both of them - Once he finishes his special poem he thinks up of going to a nice restaurant that she's been mentioning for a while, while they were ordering her food he goes and recites the entire thing to her, once he reaches near the end he proceeds to bend on one knee & finish off with a proposal as the ring she's liked when she skimmed a ring store in the past (which he earned a lot of money over time for this to be possible) popped from the end of the poem page & into his hand. She looked into his eyes overjoyed with the marriage proposal that she accepted, for once the two didn't mind an applause from the other patrons surrounding them at the restaurant - The couple had spent some time with her family (mostly a lot after their twins Krystal & Kaleb were born) & spent time having play dates with Ben's kids so they can have some interaction outside of home for a while - On a date to a theme park based on Adrenaland the two see a place that has plushes based on Kevin's aliens (since people recognized what the group had done of their heroic efforts) and Kevin decided to win a plush for her (which he won & received Bashmouth and gave it to her as a gift), she enjoyed the gift he gave as they kissed and shared an embrace. - Gwen & Kevin took time to enjoy a snow day and decided to do some activities while having the time of their lives, they grinned at one another while making snow angels - While her hair was starting to grow out she wanted to keep them from getting tangles & knots so after dong her hair she asked Kevin to give her some braids (he's been learning about doing it for a while), he obliges her and makes a few braids with his own flair - Being fans of Lucky Girl they like to think they are the characters in the story (their children in the future follow suit on the role play), since Gwen would be lucky girl Kevin would be whomever would be the mamoru/darien of that show and be proud to be by his sweetheart's side - Both are proud & doting parents to their children, Gwen shows her abilities & powers to them along with their lucky girl stuff while Kevin tells his kids how proud he is of them & lets them play with the array of alien plushes he owned (Devlin chose Quadsmack, Kaleb chose Bashmouth & because Krystal kind of wanted to choose him before her baby twin did she compromised and chose both Dark Matter and Bootleg) he doesn't mind in the slightest if his little girl wants to have both plushes - While putting on some music they decided to enjoy slow dancing together, while they both gazed lovingly at one another (even if they've done it before they definitely enjoy doing it again) - The picture that was taken during his time with the Tennyson's at Adrenaland Jr. before they were banned from the park was one of his most cherished pictures that he laminated in a frame that was a part of the decor of his and Gwen's home - Since it would be a while before someone would take the time and give Kevin some swimming lessons in safer waters the he and Gwen spent some time together wading through the water with his giraffe floatie - Although Kevin had thought he got the highest score in the newest Sumo Slammers phone game, Gwen had schooled him at the game sometime later in her free time. He was flabbergasted at first but he was impressed that she took the crown in such a short time. - At a point of time he playfully teased Gwen once calling her 'Carrot top' he did it to be endearing (aside from his usual princess nickname he gives her) he tries to not tease her as much as he teases her cousin, she knows and appreciates it but tells him to tone it down to a few times when the mood strikes - Before Gwen was his girlfriend,fiance and wife along with Ben being his brother in law they were his first and most treasured best friends that he ever had, even if he had a tsundere like attitude towards it and that his relationship with the two was a bit rocky at first and he loves every moment that he doesn't feel alone in the world - If he went back to human form when he was still a baby he would've clung to Gwen because he trusts her, though he would probably grumble and growl at Ben sometimes much to Gwen's displeasure - A few years later the Tennysons & co would pay a visit to Simon and the others and would note about if Kevin was Gwen's boyfriend considering how he acts around her, both their faces had never been more red that day though he sees her as his girlfriend until they made it official later - Based on a twitter post during Digital Quality in a AU sense Kevin & the Tennysons had combined their efforts through a song to fight against Lord Decibel - They both care for another if ones gets ill (but take proper precautions as well before and during it) and appreciate each other for doing that as they grow closer - When either is down they are there to cheer each other up and comfort one another (if Gwen was feeling down and he was Bashmouth he would be right by her side and just be his cute doggo self which brings a smile to her face, even if she would be crying/having a sad expression on her face) - If Gwen wanted to be able to see things and some people were too tall for her to get a good glimpse at something Kevin would change into Dark matter and place her on his shoulders for her and him to get a better look (or another alien if she needed higher elevation) - While watching a load of monster/horror movies they decided to binge, Gwen notices some similarities Kevin's aliens had in correlation to those movies which to her teetered it being between either coincidence or being intentional in some sense - Since she liked his free styled rap in what rhymes with omnitrix they went ahead and did a duet for the fun of it and had a great time - Kevin enjoyed their campfire stories and could imagine to interact with Gwen during those segments of the stories, his favorite would be when she gives him her galaxy brownies to eat -Gwen may make quips about Kevin’s mullet but she does like the way he wings with it compared to others that make it look like really messy bad hair

[eeveevie]

15. Catching the other before they fall for Bryn and Fiona, please?

falling

Fiona literally cannot with her feelings. Brynjolf’s grand romantic gesture only further complicates matters. Falling in love is inevitable, it seems.

:D play on words! :D 

Brynjolf x f!Dragonborn (Fiona)

2524 words (under a cut) | Ao3

“Never thought I’d ever see you without ol’ Bryn attached to your hip!”

Fiona’s ears perked at Vex’s teasing voice, watching as the Breton slid into the vacant seat next to her at the Flaggon bar. There was something else in her tone—a little more taunting than playful, but Fiona chose to ignore it, knowing better than to take the bait Vex was trying to lay. Instead, she motioned for Vekel to serve them another round and smiled at her Guildmate.

“And where’s your shadow? Did Devlin decide to leave you alone for once while you bathed tonight?”

Vex breathed a laugh, taking a short swig of her ale. “Only because I threatened to depart him from his most valuable jewels if he followed me to the river,” she explained, gesturing to the dagger on her belt. “Delvin is different. I don’t want his attention. You and Brynjolf on the other hand…”

“We’ve been though this before,” Fiona grumbled as she took a long sip of her drink.

“You two sure have an interesting relationship,” she grinned, obviously noting Fiona’s discomfort with the word. “We all get a kick out of watching the two of you dance around each other, flirting.”

“And?” Fiona probed, wondering where Vex was leading this conversation.

“I’m curious to know if you had any intention of…taking it seriously with him or not,” she replied.

Fiona raised a brow, lowering her tankard slightly to peer at the other blonde with skepticism. “Is this some sort of pep-talk? ‘Break-Brynjolf’s heart and I’ll kill you?’” she asked. “Or…are you jealous?”

Vex huffed in offense, rolling her eyes. “No. Most definitely not either of those things,” she began again. “I’m asking so you don’t accidentally hurt yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“We both know Bryn’s reputation, how many women he’s—”

“Yes, we’ve been thought this before, as well!” Fiona repeated, voice curt, teeth clenched.

She liked Vex, respected the shit out of her. Hell, even called the woman a friend. But Divines—she was a stubborn bitch sometimes. Yes, Fiona was perfectly aware of Brynjolf’s repute of a ladies’ man, but she was in no position to judge, or to be jealous. He was a handsome man, with an excellent physique—whatever he wanted to do with said body was his choice. Fiona had her fair share of fun and while that had slowed since her arrival in Riften, that didn’t mean everybody she knew had to stop having sex.

“Why are you bringing this up again?” she questioned.

“Look, I’m only saying this because I like you and I want you to stick around and not be scared off by his stupidity,” Vex sighed, eyeing the contents of her tankard. “Did you ever think that maybe Brynjolf really is after one thing with you?”

“Yes,” Fiona answered, surprising Vex. “I’m not daft.”

Before she could continue to explain that it wasn’t what she truly thought, at least not recently, Vekel came by with a refill for Vex. He was shaking his head, lips poised in a pensive frown.

“Have you given any thought that perhaps ol’ Bryn has changed?” he asked.

“Pfft,” Vex waved him off as she practically inhaled her second ale.

Vekel peered at Fiona with a softer expression. “I’ve known Bryn a long time and Vex is right about one thing—we enjoy watching the two of you,” he smiled warmly and something about it that made her cheeks flush. “But because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bryn act so…carefree. Around anyone, let alone a woman.”

“Ugh,” Vex groaned, clearly unhappy with Vekel’s sappy comments. She continued to drink.

“I also see and hear everything that happens in these Guildmember’s lives, regardless if they like it,” he made a lingering glare at Vex as she silently mocked him. “And I haven’t seen Bryn sneaking off to be with anybody since you’ve arrived. No rumors or gossip from the Bee and Barb or the bunkhouse either. Taking in the time before, that’s a considerable dry spell for him! Must account for something.”

“Sure, air out all of Bryn’s sex issues,” Vex mumbled.

“He’s not getting any younger,” Vekel continued, ignoring the other woman. “Not one’s first reason for wanting to slow down and rethink how to go about love and romance, but perhaps he’s outgrown the wild days of his youth.”

“That’s a load of horseshit and you know it,” Vex argued, face scrunched up.

Fiona meanwhile felt her gut clench at Vekel’s use of the word love. He probably didn’t even realize he had used it, but it had resonated so deep within her that the rest of their conversation fell away. All she felt was an overwhelming sense of dread. Sure, she liked Brynjolf—really liked him. She liked having his attention, his flirtations, his company, and everything in-between. But the thought of anything more, was terrifying. The thought of anything less—being reduced to just another roll in the hay? That was somehow entirely worse. What was so wrong about keeping their dynamic the way it was?  

Without another word she stood up, the sharp squeak of her barstool causing the two to stop whatever they were saying to stare at her in confusion. Fiona shook her head—she wanted to say something to fill the quiet, to offer some excuse, but her mind was so muffled that all she could do was sigh and walk away, defeated. She hoped the two wouldn’t read into her silence as she departed through to the Cistern.

It was out of habit that Fiona tried to find Brynjolf as she crossed through the walkway, her eyes darting across the waterways to spot the familiar auburn of his hair. Vex and Vekel’s words would continue to cause her turmoil until she could see him, speak to him about all of this. Either directly, or by some other means. Maybe it would put her mind at ease. Or ruin everything. The contingency plan Fiona always thought of when her anxiety flared flashed through her mind—run—but she pushed away the idea. She was past running away from her problems. Well…sort of.

Instead, all she found were the usual Guild members and Delvin, who was perched up on the counter next to the alchemy lab. He was flicking through a small notebook, lips twisting up into a smirk as he noticed Fiona approaching.

“Ah, there’s my favorite girl,” he greeted.

Fiona chuckled, shaking her head. “Your favorite? What, this week?”

Calling his bluff, Delvin copied her laugh and shut his book to give her his full attention. “Hmm, but I can tell I’m not the man you’re looking for,” he said pointedly. “Bryn isn’t around, unfortunately. Left this mornin’ on a job for Mercer.”

While Fiona tried not to react to this information, she must’ve frowned enough for Delvin to notice, his eyebrows perking up curiously. “Why? Upset he didn’t take you along? Mercer didn’t really give him the option—”

“Nothing like that,” Fiona interrupted. She understood that there were some jobs that Brynjolf had to take on his own, being the Second for the Guild. As she was still working her way through the ranks and proving her worth to the Guildmaster, she couldn’t expect to always be by his side on every job.

Delvin leaned forward, still interested. “Then what is it?”

Fiona reluctantly divulged the basics of the situation to Delvin, carefully observing his features for even the slightest hint of humor or mockery. She trusted Delvin—maybe more than anyone else in the Guild besides Brynjolf—and valued his opinion, even if he was the most lecherous of them. In the months that she had known him, he had always offered the soundest advice in a straight-forward and blunt way—something she appreciated. Hopefully now he could do the same when it came to affairs that were a little more delicate.

“Well, well,” he sighed with a grin, reaching up to scratch at his jawline. “I must say my little Vex is being quite the sweetheart looking out for you, even if she’s completely baseless.”

Fiona widened her eyes, slightly shocked. “What?”

“There’s some truth to what Vekel says,” he started. “Bryn’s been acting…I wouldn’t say strangely, just differently. A good different.” Delvin’s smile grew as he thought of his friend fondly. “I’ve known that bastard longer than anyone here. If this new side of Brynjolf is here to stay, then good.”

“Even if it makes him a big ol’ romantic softy,” Delvin continued.

That alarmed Fiona. “Delvin, do you know something?”

“Hmm?” he shrugged. “He’s been going on about doin’ something nice for you, after all the good luck you’ve given us—grain of salt dear, we were about six drinks in when this topic came up.”

Regardless, this information didn’t settle right with her. If anything, it only made her feel more anxious than before. Of all the times for Brynjolf to not be in the Cistern or Riften. But he had only just left and maybe she could track him through the forest paths—she’d always been good at that. Delvin only flashed a knowing smile as she slinked away, headed for the graveyard exit.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Fiona paused, an unpleasant shiver crawling up her spine as Mercer slowly stepped to prevent her leaving. She faced him with a neutral expression, holding back the urge to shove him out of the way. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with the Guildmaster, but she knew that Mercer was not a man to be trusted. Her instincts hadn’t failed her yet when traveling Skyrim, but she had to be careful now that she was seeking refuge in Riften.

“I have a job from Delvin,” she lied, knowing he must’ve seen her speaking with the Breton. “Falkreath. Should be back—”

“It will have to wait,” Mercer interrupted. “I have some work for you here in the city, so you won’t be leaving.”

Fiona didn’t appreciate his tone. If only he knew that she could tear his body to shreds with one simple shout from her lips. It would be so satisfying, but ultimately her undoing. Instead, she breathed out and nodded, taking the missive from his hand.

“We’ll be watching you.”

A threat that only had Fiona feeling more conflicted than ever. She exited the Ratways into the misty evening of the Riften courtyard, eventually finding her way to the Bee and Barb. She ordered a hot meal and mulled over her limited options as she read over the list of menial tasks Mercer wanted done. By the time she was finished, she decided to spend the evening in one of the available tavern rooms. She was aggravated with Mercer, but there was that lingering feeling that while Brynjolf was away, the Cistern was not the safest place for her to be. Dragonborn or not.

It was the middle of the night when Fiona awoke, suddenly sensing that something wasn’t right. She could hear the quiet sounds of the tavern downstairs—nothing sounded amiss—no brawls, no panic, yet her heart was hammering in her chest. The room was practically pitch black, save for the sliver of light coming in through the bottom of door. Fiona squinted, noticing the light was obstructed. Something—someone was outside her door.

She exhaled and slowly began to move. Feet on the ground,she first reached for her dagger on the nightstand before silently creeping towards the door. An assassin? Would Mercer really stoop so low to remove her from the Guild? Worse thoughts wormed their way through her mind. Had destiny finally caught up to her by sending the Greybeards to fetch her away? There was a special irony in finding them more frightening than assassins.

Fiona carefully removed the chair she had wedged under the doorknob (she never trusted tavern locks) and then quietly unlocked the door. She jerked the door wide open but before she could drop back into a defensive stance a body came tumbling through the doorframe back-first with a loud yelp—a familiar body. She scrambled to catch Brynjolf, dropping her dagger, but the combined weight of his body and the sheer shock of his appearance had them toppling to the ground.

Fiona leaned herself up and looked down at him—flat on his back, wide eyed but smiling that ever-ridiculous smile. Her eyes flicked to where his hands were clutching a bunch of parchment wrapped flowers. Her chest tightened and she gulped. Her heart was racing again, this time for an entirely different reason.

“Brynjolf?”

“Help an old man up, will you lass?”

She forced a smile and pushed herself off the floor, reaching down to tug on his free hand to pull him to his feet. Simultaneously she moved to light the oil lamp on her nightstand while he closed the door. Finally, she snatched up her night-coat from the storage-chest tugging it across her shoulders much to Brynjolf’s disappointment as she covered up the exposed skin her nightgown showed. His eyes still flickered as he looked over her form, silently drinking her in.

They met halfway, standing near the foot of the bed. Fiona didn’t feel uncomfortable, per-say, just nervous. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said. Her gaze danced across his arms where the bundle of flowers was, and he softly laughed. “I brought you these, I hope they are to your liking.”

She gasped when he handed them over, their color visible now in the light. Yellow-mountain flowers. Incredibly rare and her absolute favorite. Fiona racked her mind trying to recall when she had ever told Brynjolf about them when she was hit with a sudden wave of collected memories. Falkreath—months ago now, when they barely knew each other, and were making an effort to learn more. But they had been drinking, and she didn’t think that he was paying attention, let alone that he would remember.

“Brynjolf, I—” she breathed, overwhelmed. “I don’t know what to say.” When she looked at him again he was smiling, a mix of self-satisfaction and wonderment as he watched her reaction. She found it incredibly difficult to focus on the shine of his eyes. “This seems like quite the grand gesture, even for you, Bryn. Where did you even find them?”

“It’s a secret,” he teased. “I’ll take you there one day.”

All of Fiona’s earlier emotions came crashing down, causing an incredible ache to her chest. She blinked hard to prevent the sting of tears that threatened to develop, not wanting to cry in front of him. Not over something like this.

“What are you doing, Bryn?” she asked, bluntly. She decided direct honesty would be best this time. “Whatever it is, I like what we have now. I don’t want that to change.”

Brynjolf’s demeanor didn’t change, as if he hadn’t just been rejected—to some degree. He shifted closer, hands covering hers. She didn’t pull away.

“I think it’s a little late for that, lass.”

The worst part was that he was right.  

[doomedandstoned]

Chrome Ghost Give Emphatic Close to the Decade with ‘The Diving Bell’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

There's always been something endearing to me about the sound of Roseville, California's CHROME GHOST. Their last two EPs are decades-long favorites of mine, chiefly due to the bittersweet comingling of earnest vocal harmonies with punishing low-end. Each of their releases has brought unique and unforgettable moments and I've long contended that they would stand up well as openers for the likes of Alice in Chains or Tool, Yob or Bell Witch, in terms of how they compliment and contrast elements of both bands.

'The Diving Bell' (2019) opens in classic Chrome Ghost fashion, with a steadily unwinding ballad with a Lovecraftian twist. "Waltz in the Shadow of the Hillside" will hook you for the long haul. It definitely passed the "hum test" for me, in any event, as I've been thrumming the main vocal theme for days now. "Halo" follows this by unleashing a torrent of pent-up tremors, followed by a calming mantra accompanied shortly by an ascendant guitar lead.

"The Diving Bell" presents a solitude and stillness that is rare, even in genres like depressive and funeral doom. Sadly serene, the song is like the calm leading into a storm, for minutes in a march-like rhythm and growling vocals announce the approach of something awful. Then like intermittent patches of downfall, the storm clears and gives way to a warm, confident stride with dreamlike lyricism. I dare say you don’t need to know the words (at least not on first hearing) to get the full effect of this 14-minute wonder, for on a sonic plane it taps into that mysteriously intuitive musical language we all seem to relate to emotionally. On a compositional level, I’m quite impressed (and satisfied) by how the band has developed to this point in their career. Like I said, deserving of much more mainstream attention.

From ascendant to transcendent, the record closes with the cavernous "Visions." There's something about it that reminds me of Gregorian Chant. Certainly the layer-upon-layer effect of the complementing vocal harmonies aids in its sacred vibe. Unexpectedly, the tempo quickens towards the end of the song, as though a great window to the heavens had opened and Jacob's dream of angels ascending and descending like an escalator is before us.

Regardless of how you interpret it, revelations abound in The Diving Bell, which releases this Saturday, November 30th (pre-order here). And now, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to present the worldwide exclusive debut of Chrome Ghost's most accomplished effort to date. A triumph.

Give ear...

The Diving Bell by chrome ghost

A Listener's Guide to 'The Diving Bell'

We're grateful for the opportunity to visit with Jake Kilgore (guitar, vox), Jake Hurst (drums), and Joe Cooper (bass) of Chrome Ghost, who recently gave us the low-down on their most accomplished effort to date, taking us on a tour from the inside-out.

Art

The cover art was painted by Sacramento artist Molly Devlin (@devlinmolly on Instagram) She has an incredibly sensitivity to her work, and the way she works with elements of nature and organic stuff blew my mind. We are extremely lucky that she was into the idea, and honestly the album cover influenced the way I felt about the whole process. I like to have art done before the recordings are done for that exact reason.

Recording Process

The Diving Bell was recorded in May 2019 by Patrick Hills at Earthtone in Sacramento, California. Patrick has recorded all Chrome Ghost releases to date, as well as CHRCH, King Woman, Tera Melos, and more. We have developed an extremely strong working relationship with Pat, and we tend to understand each other with minimal discussion. Half the time we’re not recording, we are getting through the day by watching stupid youtube videos while files are rendering.

The album tracking was spread out over three days, drums, bass, and guitar, with vocals tracked at home. No click tracks were used throughout the process in an attempt to give the record a more organic feel, and to give us the ability to push and pull the tempo as needed. It goes without saying that this method is way harder, and we definitely punished ourselves with long work days trying to get things right.

We were originally slated to track the album in February 2019, but I (Jake Kilgore) ended up breaking my wrist right before we were meant to go into the studio. The injury not only delayed our plans, but sent me into a spiral. Unable to work, I spent most days on the couch, feebly trying to find positions to hold my guitar so I could keep practicing. In some ways, this benefitted the band by really narrowing our focus. We would rehearse with no guitar, only bass, drums, and vocals. I’d stand there and sing the guitar parts when necessary and it became something of a thought exercise for all of us to stay in sync while only imagining what we were supposed to hear.

General Themes

This record was meant to be personal and introspective, but I also wanted to incorporate more classic gothic themes. Instead of being as blatantly autobiographical as Chrome Ghost has been in the past, I got a little more abstract and started to incorporate images and moods that resonated with me in some way.

Jacob and I share a fear of deep water, and I couldn’t shake the image of a primitive Diving Bell from my mind for months. The idea of being totally submerged, surrounded by a small pocket of air, was so claustrophobic yet serene, and it helped direct the mood of the album quite a bit. Always contrasting the heavier and suffocating music we make with the lighter, more reflective stuff.

Photo by Kevin Carpio

"Waltz in the Shadow of the Hillside"

The opener was inspired by a Lovecraft story called Whisperer In The Darkness, which starts off with reports of massive floods sweeping away strange alien bodies. I was struck by the thought of bodies washing through floodwaters, and it sparked from there. That idea met with this mantra I'd had cycling in my head; Wild Rose, Dog’s Blood. Something beautiful and something terrible, side by side. That sense of duality might be cliché at this point, but it seemed to fit very well in the sense that the water in this song is an element of destruction, but obviously water is an element of life.

We built this song around that clean fingerpicking guitar part after the heavy intro, which I originally wrote while I was still in high school. Everything else was added to accent those voicings and melodies present in that sequence. Exploring that very primitive and repetitive 3/4 rhythm, and twisting it around in different contexts, was a lot of fun to figure out. The droning, experimental part in the middle is probably my favorite because we got to use a bunch of studio tricks on the drums, and I got to use some rad guitar pedals to get those washy reverse guitar parts.

LYRICS

night falls shadows bloom rise slow dance in the hillside

shifting earth hums below outstretched arms drag through the water

soft glow of eyes that shine dark cold shrouds all who wander

obscured shapes draw near long black hair drags through the water

hark! now comes the flood slow rain crushes the hillside

pray they will rest well see them all dragged by the water

wild rose dog’s blood pray all rest well

all that once was is gone from here whispered laments fall on deaf ears

washed clean of all but memory swollen in death and revery

wild rose dog’s blood pray all rest well

"Halo"

Halo was a strange one to write, because the lyrics kinda just came to me in a flurry and I wasn’t aware of what they meant until after the record was made. I sometimes suffer from debilitating panic attacks, and Halo ultimately became an ode to my wife, who in these moments has shown compassion and cared for me to the best of her ability. The song is about that paralyzing feeling of sickness that can render you temporarily dead to the world, but more importantly it’s about the debt that we owe to those who are there for us.

This is our attempt at a pop song. It’s the only song on the record with a chorus that repeats, and it loosely follows a verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula. Other than that, we got to stretch our limits a little bit by making this the fastest song we’ve written.

LYRICS

healer weakened by the dark

wild rose cloven from the torn gently as the wind had blown resting high upon your crown

frail in your arms aching from the warmth bound to remain here suffer evermore

suspended in this moment of loss every nerve severed and raw the door’s nailed shut chained to the bed i’m so tired my eyes shut again

halo

"The Diving Bell"

The mantra Breathe Deep anchors this song, returning multiple times to reinforce that claustrophobia. This song explores the peak of a true panic episode, catatonia, helplessness, etc. The feeling of being out-of-body, and calling out into the void for help.

Obviously this track is a sort of centerpiece for the album, musically. There are repeating phrases and motifs that let you feel like you’re hearing something new, but in actuality you’re just hearing a different version of something from earlier in the song. This track was meant to showcase the most extreme distance between the heavy and light elements of the band.

Pat Hills also did the dual guitar lead part with us, and that is one of my favorite things we’ve ever recorded.

LYRICS

breathe deep the only way out espaces me

sinking lower in a slow dive

lay here motionless alone

breathe deep in waters of purity lungfuls of what is to be

sinking in waters of purity lungfuls of what is to be

lay here in waters of purity lungfuls of what is to be

quiet weightless catatonic eyes unblinking mute and empty bury me in silt

the pain comes in distant waves echoes of what once were hidden wounds voices cast out through still air listen for me calling home

breathe deep

"Visions"

The lyrics to Visions were meant to give it finality, as the end of the album. It’s about accepting death, and the darkness that follows some of us throughout life. It’s also about holding on, even in our final moments. Asking to be “buried slowly”, to let us all have time to think and work through some shit before we have to call it a day.

This track is a sort of mashup between a spindly clean riff that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard might use, and a powerful seasick drone that a band like Yob might use. Visions has a very chant-like, almost Gregorian element to the vocals, and when that’s laid over almost tribal drums, we knew we had something interesting on our hands. That sorta didgeridoo-like sound during the choruses is an electric bass with two strings being played with a bow. That was 100% Jacob’s idea and he executed it perfectly.

LYRICS

sickness floating in the eye of all men

fallen tears in the well poison the crumbling earth rose in bloom thorned red and gold baby’s breath like cancer, grows

fading light casts a glow over my face alone when I go bury me slowly when I go bury me slowly

visions

Shallows by chrome ghost

Reflection Pool by chrome ghost

Choir of the Low Spirits by chrome ghost

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[shemakesmusic-uk]

INTERVIEW: Janet Devlin.

Amidst the closure of venues across the world, Northern-Irish singer songwriter Janet Devlin has announced her 115th ticketed live concert on the streaming platform StageIt. Two performances will take place tomorrow, March 26, with virtual tickets available from Janet’s artist page HERE.

As is evident by the number of concerts Janet has already performed on the online concert platform StageIt, she is ahead of the curve with the oncoming trend of artists performing concerts online. For a number of years Janet has been treating her most supportive fans, often referred to as the ‘Do-Crew’, to live performances from her studio, with two streams on each designated day enabling fans in Europe and America to catch concerts convenient to their time zones.

StageIt combines facets of ticketed gigging and busking by allowing viewers to purchase Pay-What-You-Can digital tickets to streamed concerts, whilst also allowing for monetary digital ‘tips’ paid during performances. This alternative stream of income has been hugely beneficial for independent artists like Janet, who not only see the online concerts as a way to get closer to and engage with fans, but also as a way to fiscally support their continued career. Janet has proven this by using the funds raised from StageIt gigs to pay for recording sessions making her upcoming album Confessional.

Whilst the intended use of StageIt has been explored by Janet for many years, a new unexpected turn in the global environment has prompted many to ask what can be done to minimise loss of revenue when artists are no longer able to tour due to mandatory social distancing. Platforms like StageIt can provide viable ways for artists to monetise performing, whilst providing a unique live experience.

Janet’s most recent release is the single ‘Away With The Fairies’, a fairy-tale folk-pop song that brings light to shade, and follows three dark, defiant releases leading up to her eagerly-anticipated studio album Confessional, out May 1. To coincide with the release of her album on the same day, Janet Devlin will publish her autobiography ‘My Confessional’ through Omnibus Press. Pre-orders the book HERE.

We had a chat with Janet all about Confessional and StageIt amongst many other things. Read the interview below.

Hi Janet! Times are a bit strange and unsettling right now. How are you dealing with the current situation and being on lockdown? “Yes, the world is a little bit upside down right now! I thought I was doing alright but I think it only hit me today. As someone who has their fair share of mental health issues - my routine was something that made them manageable. So I’m just working at building new routine to make everything feel a little bit more normal again. Luckily I’ve got my health - so I really can’t complain too much!” You're gearing up to release your new LP Confessional in May. What can you tell us about the record? What were your influences for the album and what does it mean to you? “Yes, we’re getting incredibly close now! This album holds such a special place in my heart as it’s my life in album form. It runs in chronological order to my life events, which in turn, runs in order alongside the book. Every song is a confession or admittance of an event or affliction that has shaped the person I am today. So I guess you can say the influence was me!” 

The sound of Confessional seems much fuller with more instruments incorporated compared to your very acoustic based debut Running With Scissors and you can also hear the strong Irish musical influences. Was this a natural progression? Were there any changes in your songwriting process?

“It was part of the concept really. A lot of the stories are based around my life in Ireland, so it made sense to me to pull on those roots for inspiration. I had a lot more time to record this album in comparison to RWS. I had years for this where as I only had six weeks for RWS. This didn’t impede on my old method of songwriting however - everything is always written around one core instrument and then from there I build them up later on.”

What do you hope fans will take away from Confessional? “I hope they’ll understand me more as a person. But I also hope they enjoy the ride!” You have your 115th ticketed live concert on the streaming platform StageIt tomorrow and have been performing on there for a while now. How did you discover StageIt? “I think it will be my sixth year come April! My digital manager found it! I didn’t know how it would go - but at the time, hadn’t a penny to my name. After doing my first show, I knew it was something that I’d continue to do. I realised that it was helping me mentally to stay in such close contact with the people who cared about my music. Once a month getting to hang out with an amazing community of supportive people, really reminded me of why I do it!” With multiple show cancellations across the world right now, StageIt would be a great thing for other artists to join. I know that it wouldn't be quite the same as performing to a live audience and the atmosphere that that creates but it must have it's benefits. Why do you love the platform?

“Oh absolutely! It is certainly different and took a bit of getting used to - performing to an empty studio - but you get the hang pretty quick. The live chat box is where everyone pitches in and interacts with each other and it's so much fun. There is a real community feel, and it allows people who can't travel or who are on the other side of the world, to access my shows and my music! We don't take things too seriously, it's all about having fun and sharing music and laughs.” How do you want people to feel when they leave your gigs/online concerts? “I hope they feel like they’re a part of a community. Or at the very least, that it was just a fun way to spend an hour!” You have been in the industry a long time now, kick-starting your career with the X Factor back in 2011. What challenges, if any, have you faced as an artist in the music industry? And how did you overcome them? “Too many to list if I’m being honest! But at the end of the day, I’m not saving lives. I’m just here to express myself, make art and live a creative existence. If it stopped being fun, I’d stop.” If there was one thing you could change about the music world today, what would it be? “Solely from a listener's perspective, I would want more variety in playlists. If I go on a streaming platform and there are multiple playlists, I’d love for them not to have the exact same songs in them. It feels as though it’s a copy and paste of the top 40. If I want a “dance in your pants” playlist, I’d love to hear songs I’ve never heard before!” We would definitely have to agree with that! Finally, what are you passionate about outside of music? Do you have any non-musical goals for the future? “I’m pretty passionate about Olympic weightlifting and a goal of mine would be to snatch my bodyweight. But I’m a long way from that! I’d also love to make a head start on my next book.”

Confessional is out May 1.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep 24 S3: Blimp’s Ultimate Form

So, I realized as I sat down to the blog today that I’ve been doing this for like...a year and half now? I think? So I figured...how many of these have I MADE? Cuz I thought...I MUST be getting close to the 100th recap pretty soon, and guys, the answer was shocking.

This is, in fact, the 121st recap (including Season 0). That is a LOT of content. I don’t think I have that many pages for my own webcomic (which basically only tells you how long and physically exhausting the drawing process is more than anything else). Along the way I realized I was a.) really bad at numbering episodes, and b.) reaaaaally bad at spelling Kaiba at the start of this series, really cringey how I used to spell everyone’s name, I can’t really look back there.

Anyway, in case you are curious, the 100th episode was the “Pharaoh turns Karibo into a rainbow for some reason” episode. So, unfortunately it wasn’t that extraordinary. I forgot to write down which episode was 69, which is a colossal failure on my part.

So that being said, this is the last episode of this arc! Honestly, this arc could’ve been a lot shorter because at this point the only resolution left is for Noah to be a decent person once in his life and for Kaiba Sr. to die (which he’s already done, so...mission already accomplished)

Noah recently came on the PA system to inform us that he accidentally decided to kill everyone (congrats, recently reformed Noah), and so he’s going to do the decent thing and let them know where the exit is without actually doing a damn thing to make a portal to get them to said exit.

Guess where the exit is?

I don’t know why the hell this show keeps going back to the local Dave and Busters where Tea got attacked on a dance machine.

At this moment, Gozaburo decided to turn into some sort of giant red ghost devil.

Yes. Exactly what it sounds like.

Apparently this was a thing he could just do this entire arc.

(read more after the cut)

The fact that Seto’s Dad can just morph into a giant red demon is like...not even a problem for anyone on this cast. He literally goes back to his side of the field and goes right back to playing cards. Cuz youknow. Cards.

It’s basically a "Anyone with a millennium item can shoot lasers but never actually does” but demon format. Gozaburo *could* turn into the hulk but like...why?

Meanwhile the rest of the cast are playing cards against the card monsters, that are really just 3D models that Gozaburo had on file. He could have used...literally anything to throw at these people and he went with cards. He could have just dropped a boat on them but...I dunno, maybe he didn’t know where the boat folder was.

Yugi trying really hard to not acknowledge the annoying as hell Joey face and give it any more attention than it already has.

Tea and Serenity scramble to the exit largely unscathed, dragging Tristan with them because he is too small to hold a card hologram and is too monkey to be at all useful back on the front lines.

And they just wake up. Just like that. Just like they woke up from a simple nap or something.

And voila, Tristan is no longer a monkey, his brain is back to normal, the writers were like “we really have to focus on Noah right now, please forgive us if we just pretend line all that brain damage Tristan went through, his brain being 5 DIFFERENT PEOPLE at the same time, having his brainwaves turned into an actual monkey, and then back again within the space of a few hours- just pretend he’s fine now. 

It’s fine. Tristan’s fine.

Tristan wasn’t really...all that bright to begin with so...he’s fine.

And so, as our B team is getting back into the real world, Noah sees this little post-it note on the side of his computer that says “PS, Yugi is a main character and must be present for the finale although he will serve little purpose there” and so Noah pressed that intercom mic button to say:

And it’s at this point that Noah says “I’ll just make you a portal and warp you right there” and then I guess everyone standing around Noah kind of looked at eachother and was like “NOW you do that? NOW? AFTER the chase through the monster copy-paste factory?”

The show is desperately trying to convince me that Noah is now fully a good brother but ehhhhh he’s not. Like, I’ll be honest, they give him the best send off they could have possibly given to such an irredeemably evil character. Like, Seto himself is such a bag of pistachios that you really have to stretch Noah pretty far into evil territory to make Seto look like the good guy in comparison, and it sort of made me not really buy this whole Noah redemption arc.

It’s more like a prequel to a redemption arc that apparently won’t even happen in this series of Yugioh. He comes back at some point, and I only know that because I had to do a google image search of this kid for some reason and it was like ah, yeah, this is definitely a screen cap of a later, glossier looking Yugioh. But, for now, I’d say that Noah’s arc isn’t so much about him coming closer to his family or turning towards the ‘light’, as Pharaoh put it last episode. It’s more about Noah finally letting go of his Father, which should have been the arc of Seto Kaiba.

Instead, Seto did absolutely nothing to let go of his Dad, to the point that Seto is now fighting a computer that just kind of looks like his Dad during a missile strike aimed at Seto’s own face, and Seto did not stop till he won, because of his own damn pride.

Like I think I mentioned this in the last recap, but if they wanted to have Seto show any changes in this arc (which he hasn’t done) then he should have walked away. Instead, he’s very clearly still using his past trauma to fuel the obsessive reasons why he’s playing cards in the present.

Oh, and PS, Yugi’s here, I don’t know why he is, but it does make for some good scenery shots for the commercials so you know, why not.

Gozaburo decides it’s about time to turn into a 50 ft rage monster, and he pushes them to a ledge. Ah, dangerous ledge trope, it’s been a while.

And, finally, as was hinted basically since S1, Yugi gets Seto to jump directly off a ledge of a very tall structure. It finally happened.

Don’t think about it.

And into a portal? That gets them to the exit? Like y’all...this is a kid’s show and all so I shouldn’t question any very convenient plot devices but like...what?

Anyways, they’re fine now, don’t worry about it.

And so, now for a brother pow-wow between Mokuba, who is either still very, very much in Stockholm Syndrome Territory or maybe just doesn’t know that Noah dropped a rocket on his face while Moki was AFK.

And so Noah walks off into the fog cloud because he is the only person on this entire show who would rather die than share a brain (and you know Moki would’ve been down. Moki/Noah as the next Yugi/Pharaoh could’ve been a great thing but youknow, also very much way too complicated for this already complicated show).

It was very melodramatic.

And TBH, I will miss Noah a little bit, he had a fun, insane sort of snobby sass, but I can understand why they might not want to keep even more villains around on this show that is already like...dozens of villains, just so many villains.

Anyway, remember that they woke up in a lab and not in a blimp, so they still have to like...get off this damn boat.

Lol nearly forgot this was an anime. Glad Noah got a magic girl moment before he kicked it.

Also, I’m pretty sure it was shirtless Noah in this glowing yellow farmer’s tan that got this episode flagged for Adult Content when it was still in my drafts folder. Tumblr’s bot got super excited to shut this one way down lol.

And then what follows is like one of the best animated loops in Yugioh. One so good that you bet your ass I clipped it to view for my own leisure.

Mokuba, sensing he’s slowing down for no reason makes the mistake of telling his brother “I’m not going to make it” and so, as an unsuspecting Duke Devlin reaches out and says “grab my hand,” Kaiba does...THIS

when the entire time Kaiba was strong enough and had enough jumps to do THIS

Like he could have easily picked up Mokuba but youknow, any chance to throw a kid at Duke Devlin’s face shoe-first, I guess.

Maybe this is why Moki wears a puffy vest?

And so it was here, as the flames encroach on my wonderful blimp baby that I was getting ready to say goodbye, but guess what, she ain’t dead because...of a completely insane reason we’ll get to in a bit.

Oh, and PS Kaiba’s Dad is a flame monster now. Because of...technology?

It’s probably supposed to be metaphorical flames but youknow, apparently Kaiba had the foresight that someone at some point would become a flame demon and try to devour his entire blimp, and so he made a feature you can add onto what ever blimp you decide to buy from him just so you can outrun fire people attacks.

And it turns out Blimp was the real Magical Girl all along.

Blimp lore is getting pretty wild y’all.

Imagine playing cards on it now...

And then everyone collectively decided that Noah WASN’T DEAD. It was very unhealthy! Thanks 4Kids!

The irony about this exchange is that it is Bakura who is the one who’s uploaded to a flash drive, not Noah--Bakura is on a flash drive around Yugi’s neck but they have never discussed this. Like I’m pretty sure no one even has still picked up that Bakura died and that’s going to be the thing I look forward to the most next episode. If they even address it. Which they might not.

And so, Kaiba looks at the wreckage and the rocket parts that he now has to explain to the UN (and probably not for the first time) and he says:

And thus ends the Kaiba’s Kojima-esque War Crimes arc.

Oh man, next time we get to go back to Marik.

Man oh man.

I don’t even REMEMBER what was going on in that arc guys. It’s been like...man.

I might have to read my own blog to refresh myself haha, I honestly have forgotten a lot of details.

Anyway, in memory of when the blimp still looked like a blimp, I guess this is the last time I can ever post this song:

And here’s a link to read these recaps from the beginning in chrono-order

[zenruption]

Seattle’s Smokey Brights: The Only Band in the Building

by: The World’s Luckiest Music Lover, Brian Mckay

Over the Treefort weekend, I had the pleasure to meet and watch the Smokey Brights on more than one occasion. This is a band that is more than just a simple concert review. They are worthy of their story and what lies ahead being known. That story that is represented in their songs and stage presence. It is a band I intend to follow and anxiously await their upcoming album. Judging from the crowd’s response, I am not alone in this assessment.

Fronted by Ryan Devlin (guitar and vocals) and Kim West (keys and vocals) and accompanied by Nick Krivchenia (drums) and Luke Logan (bass). The band’s story is compelling. As a couple, Ryan and Kim bring their synergy and strong love to the stage in both their harmonies and stage interaction.

The band was officially born out of necessity, due to some very underfunded bank accounts, insufficient for gift giving, going into the Christmas season as a couple. The incredibly talented Nick, came along via Ohio from a family of musicians. Grooving away Luke, is via Alaska with a background of singing folk songs with his family and is a great third for an always perfect harmony.

You can see a slight punk, influence pulled into a signature Seattle sound with, what can only be described, as their own genre. While comfortably in the alt rock category, it’s obvious that Smokey Brights will take whatever they feel or find interesting and make something new and totally their own out of it.

Again, it is the experiences that shape this band and probably my best candidate to interlace a review, pictures, video, and an interview all mixed together. Considering their amazing mixture, I hope they like it.

Interview conducted Saturday, September 25th at Neurolux

So el Korah tonight is so retro cool that it’s awesome. The sound is really good and the time you play is kind of after main stage…

Kim: Dude, I’m stoked.

Ryan: I feel really honored we got moved to that slot. Eric (a Treefort founder) was out at the Neurolux show about a month ago and we were going to play Humpin’ Hannah’s at 10 and that ended up not working out as a venue for Treefort so they bumped us over to el Korah, which is a bigger room, great slot and I am just swelling with gratitude that he trusts us enough to put us in that spot.

 Indeed, el Korah ended up being the perfect spot for Smokey Brights to play. Having had the honor of playing the first concert at the Record Exchange in 18 months on Thursday, a 9.30 pm slot at el Korah on a Saturday turned out to be an absolute perfect fit.

For a Treefort with smaller crowds due to COVID, the room was the busiest I had seen it during Treefort. The first thing you notice of Smokey Brights is an energetic, open crowd that immediately jumps in with both feet. Check it out:

 So, I’ve always gotta ask, what do you think of Boise?

Kim: We love Boise. Big fans. Big Fans!

Nick: Boise loves us back.

Ryan: Boise is a live music town with venues and great people and a great history of bands and we can drive to it from Seattle, which makes it Valhalla for a West Coast musician. It’s amazing.

Boise showed Smokey Brights its love at both the el Korah and Hideout stage performances. Dancing was common, as was extensive cheering. The one time that I heard the crowd just singing along with the band at Treefort was the Hideout crowd singing to the I Love You but Damn chorus as the band closed out the set. Our photographer, Greg, said, “I don’t really know the song but feel compelled to sing along.”

Smokey Brights brought their amazing energy and Boise responded, “We love it!”

 On your song, I Love You but Damn, I think, wasn’t it that song you mention Reno and then it also looks like you’re going to Reno soon..

Ryan: In less than a week we’ll be in Reno.

So, can I assume you kind of like Reno too?

Ryan and Kim: We do like Reno. (with laughs from Nick and Luke)

Ryan: Reno is like scrappy. I grew up in Seattle and Tacoma and like my friend that grew up in Tacoma with me, he’s always like, “Reno is just Tacoma with gambling.” And that is what it feels like to me. There’s kind of a blue collarness to it. Kind of a punk rock fuck it attitude, but it’s also like their working hard to make it cooland kind of a good hang place.

Kim: It’s like the dirtier, more scrappy version of Vegas.

Ryan: I want to hang out in Brooklyn, not Manhattan or Oakland and not San Francisco and I want to hang out in…

Kim and Ryan in unison: Reno and not Vegas.

 This is a great way to define Smokey Brights. Everyone’s band with an affinity for all the punks that have come and gone. Ryan’s punk past is alive in every show and strongly influences his amazing talents on the guitar.

If you are in Reno for the Offbeat Music Festival on Friday, October 1st, check them out at 7pm. Having once lived in Reno, they fit the place so well and will light it up. After watching much of the Freakout Records lineup on Sunday, I’m thinking that watching Smokey Brights and the rest of the bands on November 11 in Seattle could be amazing.

So, what have you guys mostly been up to during COVID?

Ryan: Writing.

Luke: Staying busy. Writing, Rehearsing. You couldn’t get in front of crowds but we could be with each other so we kept working looking forward to the time we could put on a good show.

 You’ll notice that most of the bands here have albums coming out. In fact, a couple came out this weekend. A lot of people, like, they wrote a lot during the pandemic but their whole tone was impacted by it. Esme Patterson last night, who is amazing, really had some songs that reflected a lot of loneliness and were written during the pandemic. How do you guys think it impacted your writing for the next album?

Kim: It definitely impacted our writing.

Ryan: For this record, which is not out yet… and I tease it too much because it could be another year but like, even when we’re not writing about the sensation of going through this diminished life, I feel like that tonality pokes through. We’ve got a song, it might be called, I’m Not Through this Yet. Kim sings it and like the first lines are “I’m not through this yet, can I learn to love this mess, can I reassemble myself from the parts that I have left”. And like, every time Kim sings that, that feels like the state that a lot of us are in right now.

 I really love the song 72. That is spectacular.

Kim: Thank you.

I also love, I Love You but Damn, was amazing and what was it, Save Us Sarah was spectacular.

Ryan: Right on! There’s three songs you can get into.

So, Unity…

Kim: That’s coming out in October.

So, tell me about that one.

Kim: So, Unity and Honey Eye are two songs we recorded. They are coming out October 29th. And they are two songs we recorded during I Love You but Damn, and they didn’t quite fit on that record but they fit really well together and so we just sort of held on to them and decided to release them this fall, which feels like a really good moment for them. They are really about kind of just working together and giving a shit. You Know. And the chorus of Honey Eye is “I wanna rock the world with you, before it splits in two, don’t know what else to do”. That’s kind of a thesis statement for, I feel like, doing anything right now intentionally. Who knows what the hell the future holds because as we have all seen with the traumatic events we have lived through the last 20 years, nothing’s guaranteed.  It’s been insane, all you can do is do as good as you can and be as intentional as you can and be as kind as you can and give a shit while there’s still shits to give.

  Smokey Brights are the embodiment of a band that gives a shit. You can sense the caring for each other and the cohesion of the group as a whole. Most importantly, they give a shit about their crowds and no show will ever be neglected, no crowd will ever leave less than completely fulfilled.

 I Love You but Damn, was obviously kind of your tour song.

Everyone: yeah, yeah

Like, did you guys all kind of write that together?

Ryan: I mean, Kim and I co-write lyrically everything to the point where when we get done with a record, it’d be very difficult to use a highlighter pen and say who did this one.

Kim: And the songs are definitely like, it’s the unit that makes the song a song and the arrangements and…

Nick: Production wise, we came into the studio not knowing what were going to play really besides the chordal structure.

Ryan: Well, we knew the cords and the melody.

Nick: Andy the producer kind of like plugged in a drum beat and said, “Okay, play to this”.

 So, was that right after tour because it kind of reflects that weariness and loneliness?

Ryan: I mean, that one is specifically, that one’s kind of coming from my point of view. It’s talking about the first couple months when Kim and I started dating. How many years ago? 13?

Kim: Yep

Ryan: 13 years ago. And I was touring in punk bands and I was on tour in a van 3 out of the first 6 months we were dating. You know. We would be on again, off again. I’d come back into town and things would be good and then go back on tour and we’d break up and it was just like, we are touring in an old junky Dodge van that would break down too. And just like coming to some realizations that I might be in love with this person I might need to treat myself better. I might need to think of my life in a different way.

That’s a big chunk of romantic love is recognizing that someone cares about you. You should probably keep yourself in okay condition too.

 I Love You but Damn closed out the Hideout set for Smokey Brights and closed out their Treefort. Watch the fans and you’ll see why they need to become a Treefort staple and Boise regulars.

   So you’ve been together since about ’13?

Kim: So we started… I guess the vague conception of Smokey Brights began about 2011, which was when we recorded a demo in our original bassist’s mom’s house in Olympia. We put out our first recorded a couple years later in 2014. I would say it was kind of 2016 when Luke joined the band and we just got really intentional that this is what we want to do. This is what we want to be when we grow up. And we want to tour and we want to play live and we made our minds up for that to happen.

I really feel like, you know, Smokey Brights has been a band in the sense we are now since 2016.

 Okay last question. Do you think that Seattle needs to bring back the Sonics?

Everyone: Yes!

Ryan: Bring our Sonics back!

 About the title: So why are Smokey Brights the only band in the building? Watch the crowd. When they are playing, that crowd might even think they are the only band in the world.

I loved meeting them, look forward to more shows, and couldn’t recommend catching this band more.

Look out for their two new songs, Unity and Honey Eye, on October 29th and a new album, umm well, sometime.

Thank you Smokey Brights for helping make Treefort the best festival anywhere.

[mamaneedsadrank]

Can't spell Karma without Ha!

Sunday Funday Drinking buddays! MMM. That sun. She feel good on the ole fleshbag! #amiright? Nope. Not up for debate, so kindly keep opinions in your gobs.

This may have a diff feel because I need to just spew the Sam-botical feels errrr something. As of late, it seems there is more judgement on one's age. Maybe its another millennial rant. Maybe its just a rant, that happens to be written by another millennial.

"Wow, you can't really be 31, can you?"

What does that statement even mean? Please. Are there age restricted clothing items now? If I want to roll out of my house in a Shark Tee and leggings, does this automatically make me not 31? Is it my 5"3' stumpiness? Red Hair? Big beautiful cheek bones? Or is it the fact that I didn't take 100% of my time to put myself together today?

I stupidly ask as nicely as I can, "What do you mean?"

"You Just Act SO Young."

Blankitblankblankblankstares

How would you have responded to this cashier?

I felt my insides hulkafy. I was offended, though it did not show on my youthful face.

I smirked and replied with, " Well, I am sorry you can't be as lucky."

The woman stared at me dumbfounded. Verbally Fishslapped was this broad. Good.

She rang up the rest of my things in utter silence, and I bid her a good day.

Might I have overreacted? Hell yes.

As of late though, I have felt very uneasy. I am not even sure that's how I would describe it. Others often like to interject in my life, and give unwanted/unneeded guidance. I understand that to an extent. Coaching/guidance is/can be a very positive thing when it is needed/wanted/accepted. However, when it is not wanted by the individual, it can feel belittling, and can cut down on confidence. Confidence to just be whomever they want to be.

I am definitely guilty of this though. Especially, when it comes to raising a spawn. At times, I find myself asking her questions that can cause her to question herself. I can sometimes see the defeat in her eyes, and that's when I feel the most awful. I hate breaking her spirit even if it's for a few moments.

SO- can we all just be kinder, more open to one another, and less judgmental? I am going to work on this myself. Patience, and thinking before injecting my-oh-so-wiseness.

Whew. Rant Over. Had to get that off my chest.

This calls for a beer of the super light shitty nature. And of course

Rock Music!! WHICH brings me to the Eargasm. An Eargasm of the Harder Rock nature by these charming fellas:

ATLAS HOUR

Atlas Hour formed in 2019 out of Dallas Texas. And you know what they say about Texas.....

Oh. I really actually don't know what they say about Texas!

These 4 formulate an appetizingly scrumptious sound leaving your ears craving for more! Parker Devlin, the band's lead vocalist, crushes it with the lyrical game.

Check out their song Reality. Its been added the Maiden of Musical Mixes playlist on Spotify.

The song Reality was written about Parker's own tastes with anxiety and the pressure felt to move his artistic passion forward. As he compiled the lyrics, he created a dialog in the song, calling himself out, and admitting to his own flaws in the chorus.

Well, Mr. Devlin and Friends, the song slaps, and is now one of the most rotated songs on my own current playlist! I cannot wait to hear more.

Also check out their rendition of Dancing with a Stranger. Mmmm. Soy good.

Until Next Time my drinking buddies, be kind, and don't do meth.

Or do. The choice is yours.

[musicmixtapes]

June 6, 2018 Mix

Hey everyone,I haven't been as timely with the mixes as usual because it's summer and there's way more distraction, but I love finding old music and making it new again and I really feel that this week with some of the selections. 

Spotify Playlist 1. Where Did Your Truth Go? by Girl Skin - Listen carefully especially in the beginning to the laughing conversation, the city sounds etc, its such an interesting layering behind the simple guitar and piano. The words are very philosophy based around conformity in society and wearing a mask to fit in. 2. Dancing In The Moonlight (It's Caught Me In Its Spotlight) by Thin Lizzy - A classic that I will always sing and dance to, but I listened to this because I first heard the Alt-J slowed down version (featured on a previous Music Mix) and wanted to hear the original which is amazing in its own right. 3. Africa by Weezer - I was so excited when I saw that Weezer took on this icon of a song originally done by artist 'Toto' and I was definitely impressed by their garage rock take of it, although some portions still remained true to its 80s original which I loved as well. 4. Shake Your Lonely by Twin Peaks - When they sang in beautiful harmony "I know I'll be the only girl to shake your lonely heart" well, I really felt that on a relatable level. The chilled out indie folk vibes I get from this is so beach and summer feels, love the horns featured too. 5. Cigarette by Marika Hackman - I felt like I was listening to this in a small dimly lit bar with Marika sitting on a stool with this song. It just gives you those feelings and I love the minor chord progressions that go on throughout, especially the line "lit a cigarette and gave it a kiss" it's just very perfect. 6. Night And Day by Fred Astaire - The story behind my discovery of this song is me listening to Beatles Sirius XM in the car and hearing Ringo Starr do his version of this classic and then them playing Astaire's croony lulling version right after. And obviously I fell in love with the jazzy vintage vibes, especially the trumpet. 7. I Won't Hurt You by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - I treat this song as a spoken poem because it's so beautiful that I think it needs to be read while being listened to simultaneously. It's essentially about the speaker wanting someone to appreciate and love them because they feel dissociated from the world. Also there's the sound of a heartbeat throughout the entire song which is amazing. 8. One Day Like This by Elbow - Shout out to my girl Devlin for showing me this brilliant gem that I had never heard of before the other day! I love this one, it takes you through a relationship going through tumultuous times but one party wanting to just forget about it and move on to a better time. But the truth is that life isn't like this, all the speaker wants is just one beautiful day to appreciate love. 9. Thirteen Sad Farewells by Stu Larsen - I've definitely been getting back into the folk genre recently, I think that the lyrics here are so story-like, so they're very easy to follow, but they definitely make you think as well. I'm not sure what the significance behind 13 is, but perhaps alluding to the unluckiness of the number and his bad luck in relationships and that he has no more goodbyes after that. 10. Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac - I guess I'm putting some iconic songs on this mix, but icons deserve to be recognized every once in awhile too, not just obscure weird songs. Then again, this song is pretty edgy what with it's clear meaning of a woman who frequently does cocaine and how it affects her and her visions. The woman this song is about will never change her ways and it does note bode well for people to love her because they will become broken. 11. I Want To Break Free by Queen - Happy Pride Month! Had to include a song that celebrates people who quite literally need to break out of the typical and express who they really are. Mercury was one of the first male singers/icons to come out, especially for the time period in which Queen was performing, it was quite bold. This song you will sing along to whether you like it or not. 12. U + Ur Hand by P!nk - This. Song. It means everything to me and whenever I get nervous to go out to a party where I know people will be judging me or thinking that I'm there for them, I listen to this. P!nk knows what's up and the fact that she is leaving a man who has wronged her and treated her badly with his hand to soothe himself, makes me feel like I can do the same. 13. Make Out In My Car (Sufjan Version) by Moses Sumney - A super simple song that is sung by Sufjan? I'm not really surprised, but I am so in love with this little tune that should be in an independent movie. The sentiment that the speaker doesn't want to sleep with the love interest, but simply just kiss is SO romantic and slow going and sweet. 14. Beige by Yoke Lore - A song about wanting to see someone's bad parts, the realest part of a person, what's going on inside of them rather than what they portray to the world. That is a beautiful sentiment. Also this is an interesting music genre cross over because it begins as a folky song but then becomes kind of electro-folk? I love it, it's pretty original. 15. Ya Ya Ya by You Won't - People getting together over having shared issues with their parents? Sounds like it would make an interesting song, and it totally does in this one. This gave me serious Father John Misty vibes with the interesting chord choices and simple voice with cool words sprinkled in. This was released a couple years ago, but they're a seemingly unknown band so they deserve the hype. 16. Poem by U.S. Girls - You might think this was an 80s song if I didn't tell you otherwise. U.S. Girls are very individualistic, with their electro-indie-pop tunes and their obvious affection for poetry, which drew me into them, because I also am a huge poetry fan/poet myself. Kind of reminds me of some Imogen Heap songs so if you're into that, definitely listen to the rest of this album. 17. Jmy Attendais Pas by Clea Vincent - Another electro-pop song, except more fun because it's in French! I actually translated the lyric page so I could see exactly what the song was about and I highly recommend you do the same if you don't speak fluent French because the sentiments are so sweet in addition to it being such a fun song anyway. 18. Halloween Party by Soda Club - My friend Maeve's cousins' partner is the drummer in this saxophone driven dream pop band which is currently on a tour in which they are playing songs from their EP and also some other fun tunes! They are amazing live, but I specifically connected with this song and how the speaker repeats the phrase "who am I supposed to be?" to take it further than it just being about a costume on Halloween, but goes into the existential sense which I love. 19. Ruin Your Night by Sorcha Richardson - Everyone needs to have this in their feels/alternative/driving playlist because everything about it is the quintessential alternative song that belongs in your life. I love the message driven feeling to this song that the speaker is bad for the love interest and knows it, but will pursue the love anyway and ruin things. 20. All These Things That I Have Done by The Killers - This is in no way an underrated song and is generally hyped up enough, but I feel like I got away from it for awhile and was focused on a lot of other songs by The Killers and kind of forgot about this one. The buildup of this song is everything, like the fact that it starts with one sound and becomes a whole chorus of people singing by the bridge part of the song. Amazing. Iconic. Hope you enjoyed this week's mix! I'll probably have 1-2 more mixes out before I embark on my journey to France for my poetry course! Stay tuned in and rock on Xoxo,

Julia

[the-fangirl-way]

It’s In The Water It’s Where You Came From

Okay so this is(n’t) my first Harry Styles fanfic however, it IS my first time posting here and honestly I was going to just make it a one shot but I have a habit of rambling on for fear of it sounding stupid if I don’t so it ended up being the first chapter to a story that I now realize is going to have to go way longer than the quick smut I intended on. I may not even get any hits on this and may end up taking it down and if that’s the case then oh well, it was worth a shot. If you do read this, and like it, or don’t like it, ect. give me some feedback, I can take constructive criticism! Enjoy! 

“I just want to take a second to talk to you about this guy, you only light the menorah for eight days, but this guy gets lit for ten.”

I snickered at the TV, watching my best friend and the incredible Harry Styles as he filled in for James Corden on The Late Late Show as James and his wife had just welcomed their newborn baby girl into the world.

Harry was a hit, of course, the segment was “dogs in sunglasses” and of course the audience ate it up, it was mostly Harry though, the females went wild over him.

I finished watching the episode right as a text came through from Harry himself, it had actually been over for four hours but he knew because of the time difference I would just now be watching it.

“How did I do?? Did you like it??”

I smiled cheeky at my phone, of course he did fantastic and of course I loved it, I loved watching him do anything, he was so insanely talented and I was so proud of him.

“You smashed it as always!”

I sat my phone down and retreated to the kitchen to get a water out of the fridge when I heard my FaceTime tone going off, Harry was calling me.

“Hey!” 

“Avery!” Harry said excitedly into the phone grinning ear to ear. “Did you see the show??” 

“I did! You did awesome, as always.” I said opening the water and taking a swig, he was in the backseat of what looked like a cab still wearing his suit from the set.

“Are you getting an uber??”

“The cast and I went out for drinks after the show. They’re great. I’m glad you liked it, I’m heading home now.” He said and street lights were reflecting off of his eyes which danced with excitement and alcohol, I could tell, after fifteen years of knowing him, I could always tell when he had a little too much to drink.

“Have you been drinking??” I asked and he waved his hand.

“Only a little, you know a few beers with the crew, I’m fine, really. Hey, listen, I didn’t just call you to talk about the show, I’m coming for a few days.” He said excitedly.

“Coming? Where to North Carolina? What for?” I asked quizzically, I lived in North Carolina currently, I had actually been born here, moved to London when I was seven for my Dad’s work, he worked on airplane models and we moved around a lot, that’s where I met Harry in the third grade, he was a mopped haired boy with a lopsided grin, but he made me laugh and shared his stickers with me on Valentine’s day; we had been best friends ever since. We grew up together and hung out together everyday, I had even sat in his garage many days after school watching his band “White Eskimo” play and knowing then that he had talent and some day would make something of himself, who knew that a few years later he would audition for the X Factor and forever change his life, and mine. We stayed in touch as much as possible and I moved back to North Carolina a few years ago when my grandmother became ill and needed someone to take care of her, she passed away that spring and I just stayed with my family, eventually my parents moved back and settled; it was definitely a change of pace for my family and myself. Which brought me back to my original question of why Harry would be traveling to this tiny state, I had flown out four times in the past three years to see him in London or LA but he hadn’t came here.

“I’ve just got a few days off and thought it’d be nice to come see you.” He said.

“Really? Harry that’s awesome! I can’t wait to see you! When are you coming?”

“I leave tomorrow morning, I should be there by that evening.” He said and I could hear his phone vibrating vigorously.

“I’ve got to go that’s my mum calling, talk to you soon? Love you.” He said waving. “Call me tomorrow before you board, love you.” I said and disconnected the call.

I smirked at my phone when a message came through from Harry a few minutes later.

“Uber drivers are nosy, wanted to know if you were my girlfriend.”

I giggled, the never ending life of Harry Styles.

“Tell him it’s none of his business. Goodnight Harry, love you.”

“Goodnight Ave, love you xx.”

The next morning I found myself waking up earlier than usual, I pinned it on my excitement that Harry was flying in today.

I called my other best friend Devlin and told her the news.

“Harry’s coming here? To North Carolina? What for?” She asked.

“He said he just had a few days off and wanted to see me.” I said and she laughed.

“Right, well, have fun, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Devlin was and had always been a wild child.

“There isn’t much you won’t do Dev.” I joked.

“Exactly.”

We got off the phone and I started straightening up my house for his arrival, not that he would care if it were a mess, Harry never cared about mundane things like that. He just enjoyed good company.

I wondered what we were even going to do, there wasn’t as much to do here as there was in London or LA even, I hoped he wouldn’t get bored.

I finished cleaning up the house and got a quick shower and got dressed when a call came in from Harry himself.

“Hello Harold.”

“Hello.” He greeted but I could practically hear the smirk on his face.

“At the airport?” I questioned.

“Yes, I’m about to board the plane, I just thought I’d let you know that I’m fixing to spend seven hours on a plane to see you and I’ve got Pretty Woman, Love Actually, and The Notebook to keep me company.”

“So what you’re saying is, you’re going to be a blubbering mess when you get here and to hide the wine?” I giggled into the phone.

“Ha-ha very funny, actually, leave out the wine.” He said semi jokingly and I rolled my eyes laughing again.

“I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“Seven.” He agreed and we exchanged ‘love you’s’ before hanging up the phone.

The rest of the day went by in a blur and before I knew it I was fighting traffic in the queen city to the airport to pick up Harry.

I headed to the terminal where he would be coming off the plane and waited patiently, they had just landed.

The gates finally opened after what seemed like a century and I started scanning each passenger as they came through.

Finally I caught sight of my tousled haired best friend and I all but launched myself at him.

“Harry!”

“Hey-” He said but I cut him off by crushing myself into him, he was so warm and he smelled like expensive cologne and Harry, and suddenly I felt more at home than I had in years.

“How was your flight?” I asked pulling out of his grasp.

“Oh, man, tell me you’ve got that wine?”

“Was it Allie and Noah again?”

“The old people dying gets me every time.”

I laughed and he extended his arms out pulling me in for another hug.

“It feels like ages.” He said into my hair and I nodded.

“It practically has been.”

We checked his luggage out of baggage claim and hurried to my car before anyone really caught sight of him, although it wouldn’t have been hard to do in his loud colored button up shirt, he always had a way with style, but fans were everywhere and once one saw him, it would spread like wildfire.

We hopped into my car and he smirked.

“New car?”

“Yes, I just bought it what? A month ago maybe?”

“Nice. Highlander?” He commented and I nodded.

“Yeah, the thing cost a fortune but man it’s a lot nicer than my old clunker.”

“Hey I loved that car, did you sell her?” He asked, that car being my very first car a vintage VW beetle that I adored, but she had seen her better days and when the parts on her started costing more than buying a whole new car, I decided it was time to give her up.

“No, I still have her in the garage at my parents house.”

“Ah, your parents. Did they know I was coming?”

“No I haven’t called them yet, I figured tomorrow we could drop in a surprise them?”

“Great idea, I love surprises.” He said waggling his eyebrows.

“I know you do.” I turned on the radio where my Kings of Leon CD was still playing.

“Nice, classic.” Harry said tapping his fingers to the music and grabbing my CD case from the dashboard where he began flipping through it.

“There’s a lot of great CD’s in here.” He mused. “Only the collection I’ve had since I started driving.” I said and he nodded.

“I love that you still use CD’s everything now is so smart phone based everyone practically uses bluetooth.”

“Yeah well, not me.” I said and he smiled.

“Ah, this one is a legend.” He said and I looked over to see him pointing to his own CD, tucked right there before the start of the other five CD’s One Direction had made.

“Of course I bought it, and all the others, how are the guys by the way?” I asked.

“They’re good, Louis being a dad, Liam’s being a dad, Niall’s, well, Niall, busy golfing and making his own music.. I haven’t spoken to Zayn in a little while, last I heard he was working on new material.” “Nice, any more on the hiatus?” I asked and he groaned.

“Not this question again, it’s bad enough the paps ask it as frequently as they do.”

I laughed.

“I know, I know, “we won’t rule out getting back together but we are enjoying doing our own things.” I said quoting quite literally all of them.

“Yeah, so stop asking already!” He said playfully and I rolled my eyes.

“So how have things been with you?” He asked returning the CD case to the dash.

“It’s been going. I’ve been busy working mostly, writing,”

“You’re still writing?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I know I quit for a while but I really do love doing it, I hope one day I can make something out of myself.”

“You know I could help you.” He said and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh no, I don’t need you helping me, I am perfectly capable of doing things on my own thank you.” I said and he shook his head.

“Somethings never change, you’re still a pain.” “It will never change.” I said laughing.

We arrived at my house around nine and when we walked inside Harry smiled looking around.

“Wow, this is lovely.”

“Yeah, okay, compared to the places you’ve been.” I said rolling my eyes.

“No, sincerely. Sure it’s nice to go to big expensive places but honestly the simplicity in this, and your decorating skills, you’ve outdone yourself.” He said smiling, he was always like this, as long as I can remember, fame hadn’t changed him one bit, he was the same lovely caring person he always was and that’s what I adored about him.

“Well, make yourself comfortable, and I’ll get the wine. Did you eat anything on the flight?” I called out from the kitchen.

“Some bizarre meat they called food, mostly peanuts.”

“Would you like me to order in some takeout or a pizza or something?” I asked returning with the bottle of cheap moscato, it was my favorite, and two glasses.

“Whatever is fine.” He insisted and I poured him a glass.

I ended up ordering takeout and as it would have it Titanic was on TV when we flipped it on.

“Can you handle this or have you had too much heartbreak today?” I asked and he laughed.

“No, I think I’ll manage, you just may have to hold my hand in a few parts.”

I snorted and we settled on the couch with our food and began watching the movie.

“You don’t suppose they both could have fit on that door do you?” Harry asked, we were a bottle and a half in to the moscato and had both taken the liberty of kicking off our shoes and getting comfortable, his feet were propped up on the coffee table while I sat cross legged on the other end.

“Of course not, they tried remember? And they almost sank.”

“But that raises the question of why he didn’t find something else to float on. I mean come on mate, I’m sure there are other things to hold on to, push someone off.”

“Harry!” I said and he flashed a cheeky smile.

“What??”

As the movie ended we finished the second bottle of wine and I felt my cheeks flushing with the alcohol.

“Did I tell you I’m writing again?” Harry asked and I sat up sitting my glass on the table.

“No? New album?” “Sort of, mostly I’m just working on a few things here and there, see how it goes, I might have another album out by the end of the year.” He said happily.

“Harry that’s wonderful, really, I am so proud of the things you are doing. I always knew you would.” I said and he smiled and looked down at his hands.

“I’ve missed you a lot, it feels like ages since we’ve just spent time together, you really are my best friend.” He said looking me in the eye and I felt a pull on my heartstrings.

“The feelings are mutual darling, you know I’ll be behind you always.” I said and he nodded.

“Oh, the award show is being held in May and you know I told you Dunkirk has been nominated for eight Oscars,” Harry said finishing his wine in his glass, “I was wondering if you’d like to attend it with me, you know as moral support.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“But won’t people think we’re like, a couple?” I asked, we’d always kept our relationship under the radar for that very reason, and so that crazy fans wouldn’t threaten my life, I liked having a peaceful life, even if Harry Styles was my best friend.

“So what? Fuck em, they think every female I’m even spotted speaking to is my girlfriend, it’ll be something new and fresh for their tabloids.” He said and his eyes gleamed with mischeive and a tad bit of alcohol.

“We’ll talk about it.” I said getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen.

“It would really mean the world to me if you’d go.” He said behind me making me turn to face him.

“Well, I’ll think about it.” I said and he smiled again, the cool brazen Harry Styles smile I adored.

It was going on three in the morning and I was tired, and no doubt Harry was, he had jet lag and I could tell it in his face.

“Let me show you to your room.” I said and he nodded following me to the guest bedroom.

“Very cozy, although I will miss sharing a bed with you.” He said laughing and I was instantly reminded of all the nights he snuck over or I snuck to his house and spent the night talking all night long until we either fell asleep or left early the next morning before our parents found out. Harry and I had always shared a unique relationship and truthfully from the outside looking in you probably would have thought we were a couple, we were always hugging or cuddling or holding hands, but it was a comfort thing more than anything; Harry’s touch always reminded me of a warm and safe place and time in my life, and I him.

“Yeah well, if you need me you know where to find me.” I teased and he nodded and then pulled me in for a goodnight hug.

“See you in the morning, tomorrow we go have some fun?” He asked and I nodded.

“Definitely, goodnight Harry.”

“Goodnight.” He said and I departed his room to my own where I crawled into the bed and due to the wine and late night hours was out like a light in mere minutes.

[salemspointgossip]

Well now that the Masquerade Ball and all of its juicy drama have literally gone up in flames, we think it’s time for a gossip run down of all the great things that happened during this little shindig. Prepare yourselves. A lot happened in just one night of fun.

                 Here’s What You Missed In Salem’s Point

So we’re not even going to pretend to be anything less than absolute garbage for the pairings we saw break up, make up, and get started at the ball. We’ve also included some general drama just in case you’re not loving the soap opera that this whole town is becoming.

Break up rundown first! Seems one of Salem Point’s longest standing couples have gone their separate ways in one of the most heartbreaking splits we’ve seen in months. Goodbye, Dawson Woodruff and Mackenzie Hale, you were truly one of our favorite fucked up little ripper duos and we’re so sad to see you go. Though it appears Dawson isn’t having any trouble shifting his feelings to a different, albeit crispier, fledgling. Who says all’s fair in love and war? Next comes the ill-fated and completely predictable end of Thalia Levesque and Jamie Knight. It was pretty apparent from the beginning that one party was far more invested than the other, we just didn’t think the late, great Jamie would go right ahead and spill the beans in the middle of a crowded party. Not that Thalia helped with all of her tattle-tailing to anyone with a listening ear. Yikes!

One notable make up worth mentioning? The epitome of “together without commitment” appeared to have put their differences aside for the night, oh how we love to watch beloved Finley Darius melt the infamous Devlin Clery’s ice cold heart. How close were you saying the big three words, old man? It’s only taken you almost a year; talk about an exhausting slow burn.

The revelations tonight, people. Was anyone else paying attention?! Wren Delore and Diana Knight finally came closer than they have in twenty-something years to admitting what the rest of us all know, and that’s how much they’re disgustingly in love with each other. Seriously, it’s gross. Get a room before we all vomit from the romantic tension. Hailee Sparks and Derek Hendricks seemed to be dancing a thin line between just friends and something a bit more flirtatious, we’d kill to watch them heat up at a gun range together. God knows Derek needs help with his aim, especially now that he doesn’t have a sister to teach him. And perhaps the biggest reveal came in the form of Zeke Callen and Lenore Mercier, who took their secret little union into the spotlight with a very public display of affection on the dance floor. We’re waiting for Zeke to sober up long enough to understand how much hypocrisy he’s just revealed to everybody in town. Is there an oath loophole for pretty witches? Probably not.

Notable twosomes tonight?

Jeremiah Ainsworth and Tatum Delore shared a rather intimate dance if we do say so ourselves. We wonder what Danny Acoba has to say about such a flagrant display of sexual energy, though he can’t help being completely in the dark about Tatum’s obsession with him.

One duo we think would be utterly disastrous, Caitlyn Thompson and Clark Roschell. They spoke for a mere ten minutes, but we could definitely see some regretful late nights in their future. Jeremiah doesn’t have to find out, after all what’s a little secret furniture breaking amongst friends?

Here they come: Marnie Briggs and Alexander Kowalski. We want it and we don’t at the same time, only because we think Marnie is a bit too much of everything for our dear secretary. Then again we also adore watching our hunters seriously question their oaths as they catch feelings for the supernatural beauties in town. Oh, but where is Jordan Darius to win back his former flame? We think a round of old fashioned fisticuffs are in order.

MEGA DRAMA ALERT:

Cassidy Gautier was sober as hell tonight. It’s weird, we don’t like it, and when is she going to reveal that there’s a little mongoloid baby living inside of her? Just make the announcement so we can send it bottles of wolfsbane already.

Poor, sweet Anastasia Johnson was the victim of yet another game by one Cassius Valentine who opted to use her as both a personal juice box and napkin on the dance floor. The whole thing was simultaneously embarrassing and hilarious to witness, we just hope her ego isn’t as damaged as her shoulder.

Last, but never ever least... Another Original vampire seemed to have tormenting glee as well when Callista Valentine preyed upon cupcake vampire Caitlyn in the form of her destructive maker. The whole experience was probably harrowing for the baby fanger, but we couldn’t help ourselves as we quietly rooted for Cal’s menacing impersonation.

---And that’s what you missed in Salem’s Point drama for the Masquerade Ball. Hope you enjoyed this round up and let us know if there’s any additional news we should be dishing out. 

[cassxtaylor]

The Blackmail (A Post-Para): Philippe & Cassandra

@philippexlinwood

Philippe Linwood: Philippe leisurely strolled around Harvey Nichols, his fingers gently trailing upon the racks of high-end branded clothing fabulously displayed. The luxurious store only catered to the high society of London, which was why he found himself drawn to the place, as it served as the perfect setting for his mischievous plan. The best part of it all was that he knew the place was foolproof, and it would allow him to get some shopping down as well. Two birds with one stone, always.

No doubt she would be here, he thought, as he walked around at a relaxed pace. The Masquerade event was in three days, and she surely would need to pick up a few items from one of her favourite shops. And right on cue, he found her by the accessories area, looking all pristine and as gorgeous as ever. Indeed, it was show time.

Without hesitation, he walked up to her, a bright smile on his face, before speaking out, “Oh, Cassandra. It’s been ages…”

 Cassandra Taylor: The planning had been both a learning and a yawning experience. She was thankful that Devlin held the same views about the society soiree as her for if Cass had to keeping planning for events to entertain his acquaintances, she’d have surely lost her mind. Nevertheless, the masquerade ball did have her shred her disdain for pointless interactions and as she strolled around Harvey Nichols, she could even confess that she was actually looking forward to it.

Finding herself in the accessories area, her eyes catching sight of a gorgeous earring, she couldn’t resist the impulse to look at it closely. Its intricate pattern was a piece of art and though a year ago, Cass wouldn’t even have walked in this extravagant store, she now found herself craving for that purchase. Though rarely allowing her own indulgence, even she knew the need to enjoy and pamper herself once a while.

The earring was certainly to be blamed though, as being focused on it made her unaware of just who was approaching from a distance. By the time he came upon her, it was too late to escape and resisting the impulse to bolt, she turned around plastering a bright smile of her own “Philippe. It has. I almost thought you had fallen off the planet. What an unexpected surprise” And an unwanted one too. But she didn’t air that thought

 Philippe Linwood: “My dear Cassie,” Philippe greeted her, a glint of evil twinkle in his eyes as he smiled, “that would be Charlotte who have vanished. I, however, remain here.” It had been ages since the last two had spoken, and the time span had not changed the ill feelings he had towards her. Glancing at the gorgeous pair of earrings she had been looking at, the man could not resist but take a closer look, peering down at the display case. “Ah, they’re lovely. They would look beautiful on those ears of yours, Cass.” He said, slowly straightening up. “I’m sure Devlin would be more than happy to get his wife such an exquisite beauty.”

 Cassandra Taylor: A string of curses clouded her mind. If only she had been paying more attention, she could have easily dodged him. Nothing good could come out of this encounter, especially not if he was smiling in that way and a flicker of unease rested on her heart though her polite was as friendly as it possibly could be “Charlotte yes. Where is she?” Cass inquired resisting the urge to bite her lips. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing had since she had gone behind their back and committed the cardinal sin of falling in love with their enemy. “Well thank you! I should really get these and be on my way. Lots of things to do you know. With the upcoming event and all” Her eyes flickered to see if there was any shop assistant around but none seemed close enough. Pulling her eyes back closer, she inched further away from him “I am sure you have your own shopping to do. See you later Philippe”

 Philippe Linwood: When Cassandra posed the question on Charlotte’s whereabouts his way, the man merely smiled. He was not going to be answering her question, lest she relayed it onto Devlin. He was definitely not letting their enemy know that the Red Queen was currently preoccupied elsewhere. Plus, it was she who needed to do some answering, and not the other way around. Noting her attempt to evade him, Philippe casually stepped to block her path, using his whole body to prevent her from taking another step. “What’s the rush, Cass?” He asked her, before dropping his tone. “Scared of your own past?”

 Cassandra Taylor: His smile was beginning to grate on her nerves. Of course he wouldn’t tell her, she wasn’t one of them now. And she wasn’t one of the Strix either. It wasn’t the first time she threw that existential question of just where she belonged up in the air, only to have tangled webs thrown at her in response. She could almost feel her sandcastle starting to crumble and being powerless to do anything about it shattered her soul. She had never not wanted power, a simple tool to decide her own destiny and when she had finally found it, the price she had payed suddenly seemed too much, too final, too irrevocable. Cass wasn’t all that surprised when Philippe blocked her way and not letting the chaos of emotions show on her face at his words, she laughed quietly “My past was me living on the streets with garbage and poverty and drugs and mindless passing faces for company. Why would I be scared of that?” She knew he didn’t mean that past but the past he was referring to had become her current present nightmare

 Philippe Linwood: Her feeble attempt at lying was laughable. Poor Cassandra never did quite have that dark side inside of her, never knew how to stand up for herself. She was always only pretty, clever, maybe, but dark? Definitely not. “We all know that that’s not the past I’m referring to.” He sweetly replied, before turning to the rest of the jewels behind the display case. “Say, how about you pretend that you’re browsing still, and maybe, just maybe,” producing his iPhone from his pocket, he showed her the screen, “I won’t hit send on this photo of us to your dear husband.” On the screen was a photo of the three of them, Charlotte, Cassandra and Philippe, hugging each other tightly in a candid shot, the trio mid-laugh on the frame. “Can you just imagine if he sees this?” Philippe taunted.

 Cassandra Taylor: She had been gearing to physically push the man out of the way to get away from the situation when his words stopped her cold and her eyes flicked towards the screen. It seemed almost like that scene never happened, like that closeness had never existed, like that once tight friendship had not blown away in this manner. She could still remember Philippe and her arguing with Charlotte over her decision to send her out as a spy, but Charlotte won the debate, she always did. Cass wondered for a moment what would have happened if she hadn’t been on the mission. Would they have now been plotting against destroying and ripping the Taylors apart? That reality was too grim to contemplate and instead she turned towards another earring with a slight shrug “What of it? Anyone could say it was photoshopped. No one really knows except us and I think my dear husband would have a good laugh at that picture” she retorted nonchalantly. She really didn’t know if Dev would actually be laughing at the photo but one thing was certain, showing Philippe Linwood fear was never a good idea

 Philippe Linwood: Of course she would not go down without a fight. But Philippe knew her all too well, as he simply swiped on the screen, before tapping it so, thus playing the video. On his screen played this: Cassandra and Charlotte, gleefully laughing, the same setting and the same day of the previous shot, while Philippe spoke on the background. A song played on, the two girls dancing around, before Charlotte made a reach for the camera, such that she vanished into the frame, and Philippe entered, his arms wrapped around Cass’ as the two giggled, before he planted a swift peck on her cheek, with Cass sticking her tongue out at the camera. The video halted then, as the man raised a brow in her direction. “Still think it’s Photoshop?”

Cassandra Taylor: She swore under her breath almost reaching out to snatch that offending device off his hand. Of course he had a plan. He was nothing if not efficient and while at the Royals, she had appreciated that quality, now it simply brought a bitter taste to her mouth. Cass tried seeing it through Dev’s eyes, seeing his wife being on super friendly terms with his enemy. Could her past be downplayed? Could she tell him they had all been friends at one point and had a falling out because Cass did not agree with Charlotte’s ideals? It sounded like a believable explanation. Expertly covering up the rising unease in her expression, she turned to give Philippe almost a nonchalant look “Okay well not Photoshop but not everyone’s past is stellar. Devlin will think I probably had a few questionable connections. That’s all”

 Philippe Linwood: He had to give it to her, the lady had grown tougher under Devlin’s care. Normally, she would have cracked by now, but it seemed as if the Taylors had influenced Cassie to be unfazed, unlike before. “Really? You think Devlin wouldn’t think twice about his wife singing along and hugging the Red Queen and the Royal Prince?” The man commented, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “What about the hundreds more of photos and videos that we have, Cass? What about the messages, e-mails, and phone calls to your phone? What about the file folder we have of you detailing everything there is to know about you, Cassandra De Salva?” Philippe hissed the last two words, leaning in ever so slightly.

Cassandra Taylor: She should have known it was a lost case but she wouldn’t back down without a fight. It was why instead of revealing fear, she simply crossed her arms, bristling and a tiny bit unnerved at the use of her maiden name. It had been ages since anyone had called her that, but she knew he had won this round. There were e-mails and she didn’t think Devlin would take it lightly. He not just loved her, he trusted her and to have that rug pulled away from his feet would be a fall she really didn’t want to witness.  “What do you want Philippe?” Cass almost growled “You do know it goes both ways don’t you? If you attempt to destroy me, I have the equal amount of ammunition to destroy you. State your purpose and go your merry way”

 Philippe Linwood: That simple act of her crossing her arms was the confirmation he needed. She may not show it, but the man was successful in finding a detail to get under her skin. Straightening up, he smoothed his outerwear jacket, casually going on as if he was not threatening the woman just now. “I know, but you won’t use it now, will you?” Glancing up to her, he rested his hands behind him, standing in a power stance. “My sources tell me that the Strix had a new shipment of weapons. How on Earth you lot managed to find another weapons dealer is beyond me,” Philippe shrugged, uncaring, “but, the question remains: where is it? Where are the weapons, Mrs. Taylor?”

Cassandra Taylor:  You Lot That just spoke of where he considered her to be. A part of the Strix and she would have perhaps if she didn’t have a death knell of a mission hanging over her head. She didn’t reply to his rhetorical question, merely raised her eyebrow enough to indicate that she could and she would. Even if it killed her. If they attempted to destroy her, she would not go down without a fight. At his inquiry, her brows furrowed in confusion “Weapons? What are you talking about? Last I know they had signed a deal for TM and are celebrating the success. Devlin trusts me yes, but I am not an official member of the gang to be privy to all information. Sorry I couldn’t help” she deadpanned and turned to try on an earring. Where on earth were the staff members when you needed them?

Philippe Linwood: “Cass, don’t lie to me.” The man pouted, feigning the innocence of that of a child’s. “You know, Charlotte may think that you’re still on our side, but I damn well know that you’ve fallen for that husband of yours.” Philippe could see it, because he knew the look of love when he saw it. Heck, she wore the same look that he used to wear around Marie. You could just pick up on it, even from miles away. “See, I wonder what happens if we just cancel your mission right here, right now. You know, since you’re obviously working for them now by refusing to give me the information you were sent for.” Truth be told, he was getting sick and tired of how long this exchange was going. The Taylors had succeeded in influencing Cassandra, by turning her into one of them. She could deny it all she wanted, but he saw right through her act. “I’m getting tired.” He told her, his tone dangerously dropping to an undesirable level.

Cassandra Taylor: “I am not lying. I honestly have no clue what weapons or dealers you are talking about Philippe. Maybe you should ask your source for more information. If they got it once, they’d get it again” She turned to look right in his eye willing him to believe she was being honest, neither blinking nor covering in fear or uncertainty. Her face still had its polite friendliness, not even reacting to his very correct observation of just how much she had fallen for her husband nor to his comment about cancelling her mission. She wanted to get away but their destinies now were so tangled, she doubted any of them would come out of it unscarred. “So am I. Look here…if you want to know who the guests are for the event, I can give you that list. That’s the only information I have in hand. Now if you’ll excuse me” she pushed past him cursing that she couldn’t make a run for it

Philippe Linwood: No longer amused with their little charade, Philippe grabbed Cassandra’s arm, a tight grip on the delicate limb underneath. “Frankly, you’re still working for us. So it’s either you cough up the information, or you’re fired.” He seethed, his chocolate-hued eyes no longer kind, as they roared with fire. “And trust me, you know what happens to ex-employees who are too much of a liability to the gang.” Narrowing his eyes, he kept his hold on her, completely confident despite the public setting they were in. “Are you sure your husband can protect you the moment you step out of this building’s doors? You might not even be able to step one foot out, Cass.” Because he never travelled alone, the man had managed to secure three of the Royal assassins, positioned just outside at various points, waiting for his cue. “I’d start talking if I were you.” He was not above killing her anymore.

 Cassandra Taylor: Her eyes widened momentarily not expecting to hear what she was hearing. She had always been under the impression that no matter what, Charlotte or Philippe wouldn’t kill her. She wasn’t like any other member on their payroll. She had been their closest friend but now, looking into his furious eyes, she knew the lines had been crossed and frankly she couldn’t even blame them. But the fact that she could be killed rested heavily on her head, though she simply didn’t know how to react to that. Her eyes looked away from a moment trying to spot where their cams would be. What kind of high security shop wouldn’t have assistants all around? Biting her bottom lip she looked at him trying to be as earnest as possible “What happens if you fire me? I have no clue about the weapons. Why on earth would Devlin tell me??” She knew how important that was to him, he had talked of nothing else for days and her heart twisted at the thought of sabotaging it all

 Philippe Linwood: Philippe’s brow quirked, as if daring her to challenge him even more. Ever since Charlotte had decided to go away and leave it all behind to him, it was safe to say that the man had succumbed to the role he played, acting more and more like the evil genius of a leader he always ambitioned himself to be. “Fired employees make for dead employees.” He merely stated, a twitch of the corner of his mouth turning upright. “Now, let me ask you again: tell me where the location of the weapons is, Cassandra.” This time, his voice was stronger, more forceful, as his grip on her arm tightened.

Cassandra Taylor: She visibly flinched at his grip, knowing it would bruise and knowing she’d have to come up with another spew of lies to hide just what was happening. “I don’t know the location. I swear of my mother I don’t” Cass erupted trying to pull away. The fact that she had even mentioned her mother Catalina should be proof enough that she wasn’t lying “I know the date. That’s all I know. He keeps all information in his safe. No one knows the combination except him. I am not lying. I just know the date. It’s the 21st of July. Whatever is happening will happen then. That’s all I know…having me killed won’t serve any purpose” she insisted quietly tugging at her arms. Granted she had lied about the date too but Philippe would never really know that. Philippe Linwood: She was fighting, struggling to get out of his grip, but Philippe was far stronger than she was when it came down to it. “Well, well, well.” She was starting to cough up facts now. “A safe? Where is this safe? I know for a fact that you know where it is, Cass. Come on. Spill it out.” He sing-songed, boring his intense gaze into hers. “You know I won’t stop or tell them to back down lest you tell me.”

Cassandra Taylor: His grip was really starting to hurt and she contemplated screaming bloody murder for a moment but one look at his thunderous expression and she knew he’d quick likely kill her and pay people for their silence. She was digging into her lips almost drawing blood thinking fast. Devlin always locked his office and there was security everywhere plus she could warn him to keep more security around too. Philippe would get the information but he won’t be able to do anything with it “His office! Underneath the couch cushion” another lie who Philippe wouldn’t know that “Now let me go!!”

Philippe Linwood: Maybe it was because he knew that he was hurting her enough, or that he had threatened her life, or the fact that under duress, he knew Cassandra could not lie, but either way, Philippe finally loosened his hold, before completely letting go. “See, that wasn’t so bad.” He murmured, as he straightened up, before taking another peek at the display case they had been peering at a while ago. “Really, Cass, you must get those earrings.” With a turn of his heel, the man began to walk away, speaking into his earpiece for the assassins to back off. “Ta-ta, De Salva. ‘Till next time!” He waved good bye, back towards her still, as he strolled off into the exit, particularly pleased with himself, as he got what he came for.

 Cassandra Taylor: Her knees almost buckled as she clutched the counter and shut her eyes tightly. This had to end. She couldn’t go on at all, hurting the ones she loved and that safe contained almost all secrets Dev ever stored. She would have to think of something, anything to salvage the situation, her eyes darkening at Philippe’s happy exit. She wouldn’t let the Royals win, they were her friends…correction, they had been her friends but now that was well and truly over. Almost slamming the earring on the counter, she rushed towards the car and to that one person whose trust she didn’t deserve but was hell bent on preserving. Even if it killed her.