#finally figuring out some kind of camera setup for posting these

[spiralshells]

Blue phase

Ink, watercolor and acrylic on basswood, 2023

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/30/2024

a good 60% of my brain is screaming in unemployment terror at all times so these will be somewhat abbreviated until that situation resolves itself

listening

sleeping on the ceiling by friday pilots club. this is a song by a five-piece alt-rock band from chicago that could EASILY open for mid-aughts fall out boy. i would like to think it is from the point of view of a freshly-turned vampire. listen this slot isn't about the best song i heard this week it's about the one that got stuck in my head the most

Hey, I swear I'm okay Honey, I been sleepin' on the ceiling all day Yes way, like hey I swear I feel great Looky, looky, love the feeling of being okay Yes way

spotify.

reading

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and the Amulet of Power by Mike Resnick. it was in a dollar book bin and i got it as a joke gift for a friend. mike resnick is a remarkably prolific writer who's done a lot of tie-ins. i don't have anything particularly notable to say about his star wars books but they are a sort of minimum viable product? they feel star warsy and don't annoy me on every page.

this book was published in 2003 and treats the people of the Nile delta and their beliefs with all the delicacy you might expect from a 2003 video game tie in novel. i do think the twist is being telegraphed way too hard. perhaps i should say instead of sending a telegram mr resnick has simply set the telegraph office ablaze as a signal fire. the titular triangle-pointed woman herself ms croft is VERY insistent she's just as good as the boys. this is pretty on par for my experience of 2003 empowering womens' feminism AND my experience in a male-dominated field so i can't really ding it too hard? aside from the racism, in the notably racism-free fields of archaeology and video games and archaeology video games, this book is aging a little strangely overall. i do not know if i will finish it before i mail it out to my friend, but despite its sins it is a very fast read.

watching

watched the four dungeon meshi episodes. it's cute! ProzD was an unexpected delight! it made me want to make something fancy for dinner but alas i still have to go food shopping!

some posts on my dash were talking about how the episode with the mollusks inside the living armor really got them hooked and i have to agree. i also saw the full potential of the show's speculative biology unspooling before me. i don't know if i currently have the brainwidth for the manga but it is going on my reading list for after i finish berserk. which is kind of like saying i'm going to watch chopped after i finish up hannibal

playing

forgot i had an original gen switch, given to me through a complex series in a complex series of friend barters back in uhhhh late '21? early '22? i got through 3/4 of the divine beasts the first time around and then could not crack the camel. it was well past time to create a new switch profile so i could start a new game without losing the old one.

omg twinnsssssssss

i did forget how goddamn big the map is. i have just now unlocked the camera and the memory quests, i have not really. done much more than basic tutorial and beginning of game stuff.

making

anxiously junebugging between a whole bunch of shit. finally figured out the correct charger/extension cord setup for my bedroom. replaced all the fluorescent lightbulbs and took them to be recycled. fixed the hall door enough so it latches closed and an irritated cat can't claw it open. tidied up the balcony and patio and repotted the surviving houseplants.

in textile news, started this cross stitch. this is a Bless This Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy Star Wars themed sampler, i have made two as gifts and had to throw out a mostly-completed one i made for me bc of the moths. but i now know exactly where this will go in this apartment and i already have the frame and i bought all the floss pre-being fired, so might as well? the real bitch of the situation here is backstitching the buildings. it's so start and stop. it's so much tan. i talked about this on the weekly siblingchat facetime and now my brother has requested one lmao. that's his christmas gift settled. i suppose.

i had somehow forgotten how loadbearing textile crimes are for me. i haven't done much of anything since the moth debacle, and that was almost two years ago. last night i found some suspicious holes in a camisole and i'm really really hoping it's just cat claws and not moths or carpet beetles or any other fun things that eat clothes.

[piastrinorris]

Kurt Kunkle headcanon because you know I had to 😘

All that man needed was to have a girl pay attention to him for two seconds and give him a little validation, and then no one would have died. He could have been easily fixed by seeing my some boobs.

Anna you know more than anyone that I love a good "but I can fix him" when it comes to Kurt lmfao

okay but imagine before he succumbs to The Lesson, he's just an ordinary Spree driver going about his day

on certain days, he stops by the drive thru bc he's figured out when his favourite server is working

(it's you, you're his favourite server)

he likes you because you don't give him the monotone everyone else does. he likes that you always sound happy to see him, and that you eventually place his regular order to his voice before he can even tell you. sure, figuring out your shift pattern was probably a little obsessive on his part, especially for someone he hasn't seen before, but he's doing it for love

in the time you save by being able to order for him, you get to ask him what his plans are for the day and he tells you all about kurtsworld96

when you get off shift, you follow his account and start liking his posts. he's a cutie in his own way, and you can see he's really trying with his content. since he doesn't get much engagement, it doesn't take much for him to figure out that this new follower is you. he is floored by how you look. devastated that you're wasted on a job behind a speaker. maybe he gets off to you a little too, who's to say

irl, however, he starts getting more nervous to talk to you, even through the speaker. you can kind of tell its because he's a little intimidated which, honestly? confidence booster 3000

so you take to DMing him. just a little praise for his videos, which he takes super enthusiastically. you ask about his idea process, his filming setup, his editing software. he refuses to accept any praise about himself, though.

as the night goes on and you start to get more comfortable with talking to him, you go back to trying to compliment him. he again starts to deny it all, so you decide to try and condition him. you send him a suggestive selfie, telling him that for every nice thing he can say about himself, you'll show him how much you appreciate him. After the first one, you take off your shirt and send another selfie. kurt's reply is full of typos, which he's hurriedly apologetic for, but you gently reassure him that it must be difficult only typing with one hand now, since the other must be preoccupied

he gets more confident with his compliments, both towards you and himself, as the night goes on, but once he's gotten his release from seeing you, he gets all self-deprecafing again

so you simply keep at it. sending suggestive messages and photos and promising more only if he praises himself first

once he's actually started to show some real improvement, you can hear it in his voice when he comes round to order. you tell him he should come and pick you up when your shift is over

you try to adopt the same mentality into kurt irl, straddled over him in the drivers seat telling him to be nicer to himself, but the poor, pathetic lil man that he is, some topless dry humping is all it takes for him to cum right in his pants

the first time he can finally hold put long enough to actually get to fuck you, after he cums he cries, but you know it's not a reflection of either of your performance. he's just craved intimacy for so long. for someone to just want to recognise him for him

and as a bonus for any voyeur pals reading this, maybe the cameras still end up getting installed in his car after all, but for a whole other reason~

[planeoftheeclectic]

Oh, do tell more about "Columbo: Turnabout's Fair Play".

oh geez ok I don't know how much I can say because I have been trying so hard not to spoil the mystery but let's go.

There are a few people who know how it will end/what the twist is, most of whom don't care much about Ace Attorney and were unlikely to ever read it in the first place and one of whom cares negatively about spoilers. This is because I was very anxious that the twist leading to the break in the case was too contrived and I wanted an outside opinion.

This was because I began writing TFP before I finished playing Bridge to the Turnabout. All subsequent worries about "realism" and "physics" and "the laws of science" have since been summarily dismissed.

I am currently working on some things that are very close to what will go in the epilogue and I really can't say more than that or I'm worried you'll figure it out immediately. Suffice to say: I like mirroring.

In the past 24 hours I have discovered two musical themes from AA4 that I will absolutely be using as writing ambiance because they are exactly what I've been looking for. One is Phoenix's theme, one is ostensibly the Gramarye's theme but honestly might as well work for Phoenix, both are embedded below for your convenience.

Honestly, the name of that second one is perfect for Phoenix. Man I can't wait until we get there.

Hmmm...I think the only reason I can get away with writing this fic is because I am very good at mimicking other people's vocal patterns - to the point where I have come home from Shakespeare plays speaking in iambic pentameter. (In fairness, that's less hard than it sounds - English is made for that kind of thing.) But Peter Falk is so integral to the concept of Columbo that if you can't nail his patter, your work is just going to be missing something, imo.

Hmm, what else...I think you in particular will be delighted by the ending, which is why I had to stop talking about it with you the moment I realized what it was going to be lol. Which is infuriating because I love our talks and value your contributions so much but I can't and it's driving me insane ahhhhhhhh!! That said! I relish the look on your face when you finally get there, and that expression (multiplied by the other people who read it, which is way more than I expected when I first posted it tbh) is what keeps me going. It's going to be so good. I can't wait. Why isn't it done yet. What do you mean I have to write it first.

I'm still desperately tempted to write the alternative setup I initially proposed, aka "Maya Fey hires her friend the retired detective to get those idiots together it's been like 20 years guys, geez." I probably will write it as totally separate from TFP but man can you imagine.

If I ever write the jokingly hypothetical Klapollo sequel it will be after we've finished at least aa4 and possibly the whole sequel trilogy. Which is probably for the best, given I have palutena trap to work on. That said, I've grown exceptionally fond of Klavier. Possibly because I keep murdering his brother and making horrible things happen to him. ...Sorry about that, buddy.

I somewhat doubt that Phoenix has an official breakdown sprite (excluding the head-on-desk and nervous sweating varieties) but I need to start picturing it, because that scene is coming up sooner than I can imagine. And also farther away. But at least there's only one more Edgeworth chapter forecast. That should help contain their combined loquacious verbosity to a manageable length.

I may have said this before, but I am trying very hard to write everything from the narrative point of view of the TV camera. That's defining chapter breaks, POV's. information delivered, and general tone. It's very fun, and an excellent writing exercise. I get whiplash whenever I go back to palutena trap, which has a much more standard 3rd person limited view (the character's). I would definitely recommend this sort of thing if you want to experiment with your writing style!

Hmm, now for a fun fact to end it on...well, this isn't TFP specific, but I'd like to imagine that Gumshoe is on vacation at a beach somewhere and brought one of his metal detectors and finds a buried treasure chest that is for once not connected to a murder and so he strikes it rich and can finally retire to live a life of luxury eating slightly fancier instant ramen and that's why we never see him after the 7-year gap.

[metroidprimepics]

More miscellaneous observations, mostly from Corruption.

Prime etc.

Since there may be Switch remasters of these games on the way, I’d like to clarify that this blog is not an accurate representation of how these games look on console.

For one, I do bump up the resolution, which makes smaller details much clearer. (The base textures are unchanged, though I believe there’s a fanmade HD texture pack for Prime. Which admittedly could kind of use it.)

I also often tweak the lighting in post - usually brightness/contrast, sometimes white balance. (On top of that, I turned down bloom by 10% on Corruption, because it’s a bit much.) This is about as much I would edit a photograph which I took of real life.

Finally... Keep in mind that these games were originally meant to be played on a component video output hooked up to a CRT, which (as you may or may not know from personal experience) is a very fuzzy experience.

That being said, all I’m doing is adding extra polish - Prime games look decent under any condition. (My actual play setup is trash...) So these remasters, provided they exist, have a lot to live up to.

Moving on.

This is what it looks like inside the morph ball. So... now you know...?

Activating two cutscenes at once means they play simultaneously.

It seems Gliders were originally going to be used as platforms at some point. It is very difficult to get on top of one without noclip, but as you might hope, Samus can totally ride on them. Whee!

There’s no issues with sliding off or anything, either - you’re clearly meant to be able to stand on top. (Wish the same was true for my sad attempts to boost onto Quadraxis’ flying head without stunning it first - water off a duck.)

Apparently there’s even an unused scan image depicting this exact scenario, which more or less confirms it.

This applies to some midsize harmless flying enemies in the rest of the main trilogy as well, specifically the drones in Sanctuary and the cargo carriers in Skytown, both of which speedrunners ride to get out of bounds. Perhaps they’re using the same code...? Or maybe those are programmed like “crates that move” and the fact that they’re also flying platforms is a coincidence, who knows. It’s all platforms, always has been.

Different game entirely, but bear with me. These statues in front of Elun reminded me of this statue in Prime 1, specifically with the robes/armor. Might be a coincidence, though, especially since the main series basically ignores Prime.

Echoes

I love Echoes, but I don’t have much to say about it this time.

Spoopy.

The regular human corpses are about the same size as Samus, but when Ing-possessed they get... bigger. (Morph Ball is about half her height - when unmorphing, she comes up to the armpit.) So that’s weird and kind of gross to think about!

Corruption

The MPT version of Corruption seems to have significantly better load times than the Wii release, though it takes longer to boot up at the start.

The Pirate Phazon storage that Dark Samus reconstitutes herself in during the opening cutscene (left - sorry for terrible angle, it’s hard to fight the cutscene camera) isn’t one of a kind. It’s the same room model as the Phazon storage/processing room that you pick up X-Ray Visor in much later (right).

...gonna chuck that one on the right in the queue, actually...

It’s really impossible to overstate just how tiny humans* are in the Metroid universe, compared to almost every other species. Other humanoid species are generally at least as tall as Ghor. So if you’re looking for an in-universe explanation for all these conveniently morph-ball sized vents... Uh, I guess those are still pretty small for most species.

*or, in this case, Gandrayda badly impersonating a human - though she’s the exception, being about the same size as Samus anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if they use the same model.

Speaking of Gandrayda. This isn’t a new discovery, but I figure it’s worth mentioning that there’s some otherwise unreleased concept art in her body texture. Seems someone was using it to colorpick...

Feeding my statuary addiction with these busts on Bryyo Fire.

This save room in Skytown has a mysterious solar system model. My pet theory is that it’s home. Like, the lore on the nearby Cyrlic tree is that this Chozo tribe bioengineered it and brings it from place to place (you also see this exact species on Tallon IV). So maybe if that tree is from home, this model is depicting home? I don’t know.

There are a lot of assumptions there and an environment artist probably just stuck it there because it looks cool. Just kidding! This is approximately canon.

While it seems odd that the HUD is a 3D element in the world, it does let it interact with lighting, like this orange glow. It’s subtle, but a nice touch.

...now that I know you can make it invisible I’m turning it off though... Invulnerability cheat doesn’t work in this game, so whatever happens happens I guess!

Quick look at the dying parasite queens in the Skytown Xenoresearch Facility elevator wall. Which is... You know. A completely normal place to store your dying specimens.

If you’ve ever wondered where exactly in Samus’ body her Phazon growth is located, wonder no longer: it is located above whatever Leviathan seed she happens to be in! (In this case, Bryyo. Blue things on the walls.) Hope that helps. 😔

In the drop cutscene, two Spire pods are loaded at the same time, though you’d never see them both with a normal angle.

You might have to take my word for this, but the text in the biohazard scan is once again basically keysmashing. All homebar too, very classical. There’s one word on here, “extra”. And some numbers, 123123, @@@, etc.

Finally. (deep sigh) Shoutouts to the artist at Retro who decided to give the Reptilicus about 6 polygons of lizard bulge. Maybe they can hang with the artist at Mercury Steam who kept giving a bunch of ZDR critters detailed bolas.

[flightlessangelwings]

The Interlude: A Marcus Pike Love Story

Chapter 1/7 (complete, more in masterlist, story also tagged)

Marcus Pike x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Tags/warnings: none right now really, no use of y/n, reader’s bf is a douche (it’s not Marcus don’t worry), Marcus is a sweetheart, pining, romance, fluff

I was nervous about this, but @tintinwrites “gently nudged” me into writing this ;)

Marcus Pike couldn’t believe how quickly six months went by since he moved to DC for his new job. He buried himself in his work to deal with his heartbreak over Lisbon, which actually did help. It didn’t give him the time to stay stuck inside his own head and as a result, he had never been more successful in his job. Marcus didn’t even entertain the idea of going on a date or anything, and instead chose to be married to his work.

However, the case he was currently on hit a roadblock. Marcus and his team had been after a prominent art thief for weeks now and they didn’t have a single solid lead. The guy was so elusive that they didn’t even know exactly what he looked like. Somehow, the thief always managed to avoid cameras or any other type of identifier, and it frustrated the hell out of the art theft team.

But, Agent Pike had an idea. It was risky, but he felt backed into a corner and didn’t see any other options. He got in contact with a prominent local artist and got him to agree to set up a sting at his next art show. It would be too tempting for the thief to pass up, and Marcus banked on an appearance from their slippery friend at the show.

It was mid afternoon when Marcus and his team arrived at the gallery to meet with the artist and get themselves set up.

“Johnny Luna?” Marcus asked the man who stood in the middle of the room.

He turned around from the portrait he focused on and greeted the agent with a wide smile, “Agent Pike, I assume?” he extended his hand, “Nice to meet you in person.” Johnny was the definition of tall, dark and handsome, and he had a smile that lit up a room. He had a kind face and flawless skin, and Marcus found himself envious of the man at how effortlessly charming he was.

“Nice to meet you too,” he replied cheerfully, “Thank you for letting us do this. It means a lot here.”

“Happy to help,” Johnny looked around the room, “Just promise me nothing will happen to my babies.”

“We’ll have agents posted throughout the whole gallery, and we’ll stick around all night,” Marcus took note of his team in the midst of their set up, “Nothing’s gonna happen to any of your paintings. You have my word.”

Johnny was about to answer when a figure approached behind him, “Hey Johnny,” your voice broke into the conversation, “Sorry to interrupt, but I need your opinion over here real quick,” your eyes met with Marcus’ and they lit up, “I just need him for a second, I promise,” you added with a quick wink.

Marcus nodded as he watched the two of you walk towards the large painting that was the centerpiece of the collection. As he studied you, he felt something awaken within himself that he tried so hard to keep dormant. You were so beautiful, and there was just something about you that immediately pulled him in, even after just a few words. But as much as Marcus wanted to make a move, he reminded himself about what happened last time and he forced himself to refocus on his work.

“Agent Pike,” Johnny’s voice knocked him out of his thoughts, “Let me introduce you to the best event planner in DC,” he introduced you with your name and swung an arm over your shoulders as you extended your hand to the agent.

“Call me Marcus, please,” he took the opportunity to really study your face, and he couldn’t find a single thing that he didn’t like. He hoped his gaze didn’t linger too long, but he didn’t want to look away from you.

“Marcus,” you repeated his name with a wide smile. The two of you stood in silence for a moment with your hands still connected until you felt the need to talk to him more, “So what drew you to working in the art department?”

“Big fan of art I guess,” he shrugged as he reluctantly let go of your hand and suddenly felt nervous under your soft gaze, “What drew you to event planning?”

“I saw The Wedding Planner when I was young and it sparked the party planner in me,” you replied with a giggle, “Although I have to say I’m a big fan of art and history as well. Federico Andreotti is one of my favorite artists.”

Marcus’ eyes lit up, “The Interlude is one of my absolute favorites,” he felt as if he could run in every direction at once with how much life filled his veins at how perfect you were.

The smile on your face only grew and you felt your heart pound in your chest, “I love that too! Serenade is my personal favorite,” you opened your mouth to say something more but just then, a member of your staff called your attention, “Excuse me gentlemen, duty calls.” You bit your lip before you slowly turned away from the agent and got back to your work.

The two men watched you walk away, and Marcus couldn’t help the question that left his lips, “Are you two… together?” he motioned between you and Johnny and found his heart beat faster in his chest.

“Nah man, she’s my best friend. Known each other forever,” Johnny replied right away as he faced him, “You’re more my type anyway,” he added with a wink. 

Marcus chuckled at the comment, “I’m flattered, but she is more my type,” he retorted playfully. 

Johnny smiled brightly at him, “I knew it!” he laughed as he clasped his shoulder, “And honestly, I know we just met and all, but I can tell already you’d be so much better for her than Tom.” He watched your whole interaction silently, and it made an idea pop into his head. Johnny knew you well enough to know when you liked someone, and he definitely knew you liked this agent.

Marcus’ face dropped, “So she’s with someone?” He couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Yeah, a huge douchebag if you ask me,” he scoffed. 

Clearly there was more to the story than that, but one of Marcus’ colleagues walked up then and wanted to go over some details with them. They spoke for a while, and the entire time Marcus snuck glances over at you across the room.

“One thing we have learned about this guy is he seems to take a liking to the ladies,” the other agent said, “The few images we have of him, he’s always talking to good-looking women at galas when he comes to scope it out.”

Agent Pike scanned the room and studied his team and he found himself wondering when so many men were on the art theft team. The only two women were much older, and he knew he couldn’t use them for the setup. Chatter filled the space around him as everyone put in their opinions and ideas; everyone knew that they couldn’t blow this opportunity to finally catch this guy.

“What if I help?” your voice chimed in from behind him.

Marcus jumped and turned around to face you and he wondered how long you had been standing there. “No, this is something for my team to handle. I can’t ask you to do something like that.”

“No offence Agent,” you quipped back, “But your team is kind of a sausage fest. Besides, how much risk can there be in the middle of a crowded art show with a whole FBI team here?” you were light with your words, but held firm in your stance.

Marcus turned back to his team, who all seemed to be in agreement. It was unconventional for sure, but no one saw a better option. With a sigh, he turned back to you and extended his hand once more, “You’re right. I guess you’re an honorary agent for tonight,” he used his humor to hide his nerves before he went through the plan with you and his team. You were to arrive early and wear a wire and a hidden camera while you talked to several men at the show to give them a better shot at identifying their thief. 

Once the plan was set, you left with a nod so you could get ready for the evening. Marcus felt a similar feeling in his chest as he watched you leave. Johnny stood by the door to lock it behind you and he shot Marcus a knowing smile when he turned around and caught his eye. He looked away and pretended to be occupied, but he could still feel Johnny’s gaze on him.

The afternoon flew by and before he realized what time it was, you were back at the gallery, all dressed up. Marcus stopped in his tracks when you walked through the doors in your little black dress, your hair and makeup styled to perfection. You greeted Johnny before you looked around, and your face lit up when you met Marcus’ gaze.

“Wow,” he breathed out when you made your way over to him, “You look stunning,” Marcus complimented you as he felt himself get flustered. But he kept it together; he had to be extra focused now that you were involved in the sting here, “You ready?”

You nodded with a fierce determination in your eyes, “I’m ready, Agent Pike.”

Marcus felt a tightness in his chest at your bravery. Beautiful and brave, he hardly knew you but you were already a dream come true for him. And Marcus found that he wanted to do anything to get to know you more, not to mention he felt a fierce determination to keep you protected during the art show tonight. 

He pinned a small hidden camera to your dress and handed you an earpiece so he could stay in touch with you throughout the evening as he explained his plan. You were to float around and chat up men in hopes that they could get enough to successfully identify their culprit once and for all.

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be close by,” Marcus said in a soft voice, “I’ll watch over you.”

“I know you will Marcus,” your voice was equally as soft as you gave him a look that he couldn’t decipher the meaning behind.

Marcus’ fears were soon pushed aside as the show started and people filtered in. You moved throughout the crowd, and made sure to take the time to talk to any men who lingered. The tech team went right to work and analyzed the images from each of the men you spoke to and so far came up with nothing. And true to his word, Marcus was always close by just in case something went wrong.

As you made your way around the room, you approached a tall thin man who studied the centerpiece of the collection.

“Hey there,” you broke him out of his trace as you cleared your throat. You seemed to startle him, and you couldn’t see his face until you were right next to him. Immediately you became suspicious.

The man soon recovered, however, and he grinned at you, “Well hello there,” his voice felt like ice and you wanted to back away from him. Yet, you stayed determined. “Shouldn’t you be hung on these walls too? Because you are a piece of work.”

You forced a chuckle at the terrible line, “You’re too kind, but thank you,” you shifted yourself to make sure that your hidden camera got a good look at the man, “This is real art though. You can really feel the emotion the artist put into this piece,” you of course knew just how much your friend poured into the painting before you, but you kept that to yourself.

“For you sweetness, I’d buy it in a heartbeat,” he leaned in close to you.

“You don’t even know me,” your reaction was genuine, “Besides I couldn’t ask someone to spend that much money on me. I’d feel too guilty.”

“Well maybe I won’t actually pay for it then…” he spoke under his breath. When you looked at him in surprise, he shook his head and changed the subject, “I mean…” for the first time he seemed unsure of himself, “There’s things other than money that can buy affection. If you get my drift.”

At that, you visibly cringed and took a step away, “I…. I have to go. Excuse me,” you turned around and walked away, suddenly very uncomfortable. You scanned the crowd for a familiar face and you let out a sigh of relief when you saw Marcus in the distance and you all but ran to him.

“You alright?” Marcus asked in concern as he placed a hand on your shoulder.

“I’m fine,” your voice didn’t convince him in the slightest , “He just seriously creeped me out. I did not get the warm fuzzies from him at all,” you made yourself laugh for a moment at your words, and Marcus relaxed along with you.

“You did really good tonight,” he said your name with admiration, “I think we got what we need here so you can enjoy the rest of the show now,” he paused and looked you over once more, “Thank you.”

At his words, your nerves completely disappeared as you looked into his soft, kind eyes. You let yourself exhale as you handed the hidden camera pin back to him. Once your hands connected, neither of you pulled away for a few moments, and you let your touch linger with his. You were about to close your hand around his when a voice called your name.

You jumped and turned around to find your boyfriend, Tom, walked up with a scowl on his face. He was taller than Marcus, and had a lean, muscular body, though he was not as handsome as Marcus or Johnny. “There you are. You haven’t answered your phone. I’ve been looking all over for you,” there was more annoyance than concern in his voice as he spoke to you.

“I’m sorry,” your once confident and sparkly demeanor changed as you suddenly became a shadow of yourself, “I told you I’d be here and I’d be busy.”

Tom sighed as he ran a hand through his light brown hair, “Well, are you ready to go then?”

“Yeah, just give me a few minutes?”

He nodded with a huff and gave Marcus a disapproving glance before he turned and walked away. You turned back to Marcus and tried to smile, but it didn’t reach your eyes like before, “Sorry, I gotta get going. Is there anything I need to do before I go?”

Marcus watched the whole interaction with a subtle frown on his face, but he softened his expression when you turned back around, “No, you’ve done more than enough,” he paused. He didn’t want you to go so he tried to think of a reason to keep you in front of him for even a moment longer, “Here’s my card. It’s got my cell on it so give me a call if you ever need anything,” his breath caught in his throat when your fingers touched again as you took the card from him, “I’ll probably need to follow up with you if we successfully ID our perp.”

You were about to pull out your phone when Tom shouted your name again. You let out a shaky breath before you decided not to irritate him further, “You can get my number from Johnny, just tell him I said it’s ok,” you lingered for another moment, “I’m sorry, I gotta go.” With that, you rushed to meet your boyfriend, who put his arm around you the second you were close enough. But it wasn’t a comforting or loving embrace, and he seemed to treat you more like an object or a possession than a person. And it made Marcus furious.

“I see you’ve met Tom,” Johnny’s voice came from behind Marcus, “I told you: total douchebag.”

Marcus nodded in agreement, “Is he…” he cleared his throat as he struggled to find the words, “He’s not hurting her or anything, is he?”

Johnny shook his head, “What kind of best friend do you think I am? I wouldn’t let her stay with him if he was.”

Marcus sighed as he watched the door in the futile hope that you would walk back inside. The two men stood together in silence for a moment before he remembered, “Oh, she told me I can get her number from you. I need to follow up if we get a lead,” Marcus said.

Johnny smiled widely, “I would love to give you her number.”

Meanwhile, you sat in the passenger seat of your boyfriend’s car as gazed out the window as he rambled on about himself yet again, not even bothering to ask you about your day. But then again, he rarely did. You were brought back to the present when your phone buzzed, and you looked down to a text from a number you had just saved in your phone.

It’s Agent Pike. Thanks again for your help today, the sausage fest art department appreciates it. I’ll be in touch. :)

For the first time since you got into the car, you smiled.

~

Notes: I’m not sure how long this is going to be, but right now I’ve got it at about 5 or 6 chapters. Most likely though, it’ll end up longer. Thank you to @tintinwrites for encouraging me to write this and for giving it a read over for me! And thank you @thirsty-flygirl for your help on this as well! Taglists are open so let me know if you’d like to be added! :)

Everything taglist: @thirsty-flygirl

Pedro Characters taglist: @tintinwrites @ollypopp @starwarswh0re @emesispo @mrschiltoncat @perropascal @shadow-assassin-blix @huliabitch @randomness501

[writersrealmbts]

Christmas: LIVE (for charity)

Description: You’re a middle-of-the-road youtuber, not super famous, but not unfamous. Golden Closet and V are much more famous, and they’ve agreed to meet up and do a charity live-stream with you! 

“For the Christmas requests would you be able to do a Youtuber au? Where like Tae or Kookie do a charity stream with Y/n? Sorry it came so late it 😭😭”

Warnings: Fluff and stuff

Posted: 12/22/2020

Tags: taekook x reader

2,159 words

A/N: For anonny, here’s your request! Hope you like it! and it didn’t come late!

You kept working on your streaming setup, preparing for your guests for the charity stream. You figured more people were coming for them than you, since you weren’t as big as them on YouTube.

First was V, from Tiger Vante: real name of Kim Taehyung. He did gaming streams with your other guest, and published music now and then that he had quite the following for. Thoughtful videos and compilations of photos, and videos of projects he worked on. He even had a fashion line and made videos about other fashion things, like his fashion through the week. Other fashions, reviewing music and such, as well as doing projects using antique equipment. He was doing a photo study with different old cameras as he was able to, and he posted a lot of inspirational videos.

Your second guest was Jungkook from Golden Closet productions. He did a lot of gaming, was technically a professional gamer, and he also did music and video production. He did everything: art, singing, dancing, gaming, photography, video production--and he was constantly experimenting with new things. But his gaming was the big ticket.

You were a smaller YouTube channel. You had a few covers, and you did a parody song a year or so ago that garnered some attention. You did reactions, and you did some gaming streams, though not as many as your guests. You did a lot of chill games, with other games interspersed. You also did some makeup stuff, mostly stage makeup stuff that you carried over from college. Cooking. You did cooking streams, and sometimes you failed, other times you were successful. But cooking streams were some of your favorites.

You’d started doing the videos as a sort of...accountability. Your therapist recommended it to help you feel like you were doing more, because despite working eight hour workdays five days a week, you still struggled feeling like you were getting anything done and you sometimes lost track of days. It had helped, you were able to keep better track of things and you’d tried new things because of it. And somehow your fanbase had grown to let you cut your hours at your office job and relax a little more.

But today’s stream was to raise money for kids in the hospital, which was why you had V and Jungkook coming. The three of you would be doing various activities together and doing challenges to raise more money.

You arranged the snacks as well as you could, and then put on your elf hat. You’d already raised two hundred dollars just by wearing an elf costume for the stream.

“Hello?”

You stood up and smiled. “Hello! Nice to meet you, I’m y/n.”

“I’m Taehyung when I’m offscreen, I’d be happy if you called me that. Offscreen anyway. Thanks for inviting me today! Oh, this is Jungkook!” V introduced the other gamer.

Jungkook sort of dipped his head, looking awkward.

You smiled at both of them. “Nice to meet both of you. Thanks for agreeing to do this with me. I know you probably have better things to do.”

“No way, this is for charity!”

“It’s a good cause,” Jungkook added, sort of looking at you strangely.

“Oh, the outfit. Someone donated 200 dollars if I would wear an elf costume for the stream. My choice for the costume, look okay?” You asked, reaching up to adjust the hat.

“It’s super cute,” Taehyung gushed, then looked over at the setup. “Ooh! Nice! That looks great! Can I set up over there?”

“Go ahead, do you need help bringing in equipment?”

Jungkook shook his head. “Our hyungs are here to help us set up and carry things. We’ll be ready to go in no time.”

“Great, I’ll just stand out of the way.” You backed up and they signalled their group to bring in their equipment.

Between the seven boys, all of the equipment was set up in no time and the three of you were settling down for the stream.

They wished you three a good stream and then scattered.

The three of you sat down, syncing and getting your own set ups going.

“So, we’re going to start, give it five minutes, and then we’ll start playing that game you suggested over chat?” You asked, making sure you had that linked and setting things up so that you wouldn’t have to worry about anything once you were actually streaming.

“Yeah, sounds good. That camera is filming all of us, and then we have our individual ones, right?” Jungkook nodded to the carefully mounted and angled camera.

You nodded, handing cords to both of them for the camera connection. “Took me a while to figure this set up out. Here.”

Taehyung eagerly took it and plugged it into his computer and then let you quickly set it up.

Jungkook had it set up before you finished with Tae.

“Alright, it’s almost time. Ready?”

“Yeah, so...who’s starting things?” Taehyung asked, looking at you.

“My idea, so I can open it if you prefer,” You offered, checking how you looked on camera and then sighing. You couldn’t do much about it now.

“Ok, now, do you have any extra fun holiday stuff?” Taehyung asked, flicking the bell on your hat.

“A santa hat and reindeer antlers headband, and various other more girly things for me to alternate with throughout the stream.” You gestured to a bag and got everything ready. “Set the stream to start on the hour?”

Jungkook nodded then grabbed the santa hat. “Solidarity.”

Taehyung happily put on the antlers headband. “So cute! Okay, now it feels even more festive. How long did it take you to make the background?”

“Oh, I spent a couple hours, no biggie. I did something similar last year for my christmas stream. I just spiced it up a bit this year. One minute.”

They pushed their chairs closer to yours, all three streams using the camera that got all three of you.

You watched the timer tick down, hoping that it was successful and that you raised a lot of money for the charity.

The first fifteen minutes were nothing too special, it was interesting playing with other people while they were in the room and Jungkook kept mumbling thanks for donations in between decimating you and Tae, and Taehyung had a constant conversation going--partially with you--while he played.

You gave everyone a brief update since you hadn’t streamed in a couple days and people were asking about your puppy. “He’s fine. He’ll be home soon.”

“What happened to your puppy?” Jungkook asked, not missing a beat and decimating you in the meantime.

“Nothing serious, he got hurt while we were walking in the woods. They removed his dewclaw on the one leg and stitched him up. He’s already almost ready to come home. I’ll have him home for Christmas. Thank you for your donation, bluegrey613!”

Jungkook glanced over. “Hey, we probably have some requests right now. Since you’re dead can you check the chats?”

“Sure. Let’s see...they want V to do aegyo.”

Taehyung quickly did some, just barely escaping death.

“We don’t have mistletoe, sorry, guys,” You told Jungkook’s chat. “Besides, I kind of doubt they’d want to--”

“Who needs mistletoe?” Taehyung asked, pausing the game.

Next thing you knew donation signals were popping up on all three screens as the boys planted kisses on either of your cheeks.

You stared at the screen, blinking rapidly and trying to recover as both of them went back to their game like nothing had happened.

You swallowed hard and tried to focus on the requests that were flying up your screen. “Um...thank you...agustD for donating...after that request. Um...hopeworld requests that we...all do cutesy poses? He’s offering 50.”

“Make it 100 and it’s a deal,” Taehyung responded, finally getting annihilated.

You scanned the comments, waiting for a response from the same and making faces as requested. “Ooh, while we’re waiting they want to know how we met. Tae, you should tell them that saga.”

“If they’re going to make us do something cutesy, then they better be offering more than a hundred,” Jungkook grumbled.

“So...we started talking online, played a couple of games together recently--offstream so that we could discuss the fundraiser, I think we all have some clips from that game that we’re compiling and that will be posted later,” Taehyung started explaining, checking you and Jungkook for affirmation. “Then we actually met in person today! That’s about it! It’s not much of a story, but it’s a good start, don’t you think?”

You exchanged a curious look with Jungkook after witnessing the wink Taehyung threw the camera. “Snack time?”

Jungkook nodded. “Before he calls himself a snack.”

Your nose scrunched up before you could stop it.

Taehyung laughed, booping your nose. “Not me. But she definitely is.”

You shook your head. “No snacks for you.”

“Hey, hopeworld agreed to 100. Pose,” Jungkook intervened as Taehyung started to fake pout.

All three of you managed to do some cutesy pose and hold it for a couple of seconds until the donation alert popped up with many names.

“Ah...okay...that was popular,” Taehyung said, looking a little stunned as more notifications rolled in.

“Blame Jungkook, he avoids it usually so it’s rare,” You informed him, smirked at Jungkook.

He shrugged. “If I didn’t hold back the world would fall to my cuteness.”

You snorted and turned back to the comments. “RM is requesting that you guys...and I lost it. Whoops.”

“Ooh, here’s one from JinJinJara, he wants us to make couple-y poses--like exaggerated couple pictures!” Taehyung chuckled. “Lets do it!”

“I don’t need to relive prom, thanks, I was fine missing it the first time,” you joked.

“It’s for charity,” Taehyung pouted.

You groaned and then complied.

Not that you were complaining internally about two hunky guys taking mock couple-photos. There was something nice about being held by someone stronger.

The rest of the stream passed by pretty quickly, doing requests from the boys channels since only four people were requesting on your stream--the same five. It was hard not to feel like it was out of pity, the longer the stream went the viewer count on yours went down, and went up on theirs. You double checked your stream but it was fine.

But it was for charity. You didn’t mind being less popular as long as you raised enough money to do some good.

“We should do this next year, and more often! Ooh, could we do a New Years stream?” Taehyung enthused toward the end. You guys had reached your goal while playing another game, and were trying to casually close the stream.

“We…can discuss it…later. Anyway, thank you everyone who was watching and who donated. The donation links for all three of our channels will be open until the 26th! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas from Santa’s workshop!” Taehyung added brightly. “Remember to have all grandmas avoid reindeer crossing sites!”

“And be nice to the elves! They’re doing their best,” Jungkook added, cracking a smile as he flicked your hat.

You rolled your eyes and waved to the camera, then all three of you ended your streams.

“Man. That was intense,” Jungkook murmured.

“So, my five requesters, they’re the friends waiting outside, aren’t they?” You guessed, having done the math.

“What? No. Of course not.”

“Why would you think that?” Jungkook asked.

“Because you guys jumped at every request they gave, usually egging them on for more money, but you were more reserved with every other request given to us. That usually indicates a personal relationship.” You leaned back in your chair, taking off the hat and smoothing your hair.

Taehyung shrugged. “They were going to donate anyway. They just wanted to get their money’s worth. They were technically on all of our streams, but you’re better at reading comments and playing the game so requests on your channel got through better.”

You rolled your eyes. “Boys.”

“We did really well,” Jungkook said softly. “We make a good team. We just need to improve your playing on a couple games.”

You smiled. “Maybe. Alright. So, as far as new years goes, I’ve got a few games we can play while being in different places if that would work better. But also do it at a different time than when people would normally be partying because otherwise it would be a bust.”

“Okay!”

“Sounds good. Want to go grab some food with us? My treat?” Jungkook offered, smiling at you.

You pause, but then nod. “Sure. That sounds great. We can come back after to get your stuff if you like.”

“Sounds like a magical plan to me!” Taehyung grinned at you and then kissed your cheek again. “You really should have put some mistletoe in here. That would have made it extra festive. I’ll go tell hyungs the plan.”

You definitely weren’t blushing.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 7x06: Reclamation

Hello everyone, like FTWD 7x06: Reclamation? Before we get into it, a quick personal note. You guys will have to forgive me for my posts this week. They're going to be short and I'll probably do one today for Fear, and then tomorrow for TWB. This week is too crazy with the holiday going on, so after Tuesday, I probably won’t post any more theories until Friday. Just FYI.

***As always, spoilers abound below for this episode. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

This episode is essentially Al’s story, and while we didn't have many massive events in the plot, I do think this is a setup for something in the future, which is kind of intriguing.

Throughout the episode, we see parts of a video in which Al is in front of the camera rather than behind it. We slowly come to realize over time that it was probably Isabel taking these videos.

So, we begin with Al in the MRAP (her van). She says she's leaving it behind for now, because there's no gas. She has a really interesting line here. She says, “I'll come back for you. A 50-ton nuke couldn't take you out. Just an empty gas tank.”

That feels very thematic to me. On the one hand, it foreshadows the end of this episode with Al and Isabel. “I’ll come back for you.” Which suggests a separation followed by a reunion sometime later.

Second, the gas theme has been a TD thing in regular TWD since S4. We don’t know what it is, but there is something about a lack of gas that plays into Beth being left behind. We know that not only because we’ve seen this as a symbol so often, but because at the beginning of 5x10, when TF leaves the white van behind, they say it’s run out of gas. But Abraham says, “it’s just like the other one.” Which implies that the other one (probably the blue suburban) ran out of gas. And we don’t know what exactly happened or why that’s at all relevant, but that was said right after Beth disappeared, so….

In terms of Beth, I think you can substitute “50-ton nuke” with pretty much any disastrous situation. Just something that SHOULD have taken it out, but didn’t. So, if this was being said to Beth, it would be “a gunshot wound too the head didn’t take you out. Just an empty gas tank.” See what I mean?

Moving on.

Al hears Morgan on the radio, but the transmission isn't good. She can't get a decent signal. So, she leaves her van to go try and get a better signal.

While she's gone, Morgan finds the van. She's not there, but he figures she’ll be back since all her gear is still there. He makes part of the video for her. Just then, some CRM soldiers arrived via helicopter. Al hides under the van. Once they leave, she thinks they took her camera. Morgan is hiding on top of the van and he and Al finally connect.

Apparently, Al was supposed to go back with the rest of the group (Sarah, Lucy, and the others) but she didn't. Morgan tries to convince her to come with him to find Grace, who is also out for Al. She doesn't want to.

Al and Morgan leave together, but the CRM reclamation team is following them. There’s a part here where they hide between some cars and Morgan looks up to see a blond, female walker in the front seat of one of them. It looked just like 5x09, and I’m sure that was meant to be a Beth clue. But overall, I think it’s just to show that this whole Al/Isabel episode is a parallel to Beth’s arc.

After being under fire, Grace finally picks them up. Al tells them she's going to do one thing, but she's has her own plan. She lures the CRM soldiers to a house that has a Civil War cannon at it. She plans to kill them, even if she dies in the process.

Unfortunately, things don't go well because the CRM soldiers get a hold of Morgan and Grace. She tells them to bring Morgan and Grace to her and she'll tell them where Isabel is.

The idea is that Isabel defected from the CRM to help Al and airlift the group from the irradiated zone. So now, the CRM are out looking for her. If they find her, chances are they'll kill her.

Morgan and Grace put up a fight and manage to get away from the CRM soldiers. They drive in the van toward where Isabel is and soon a helicopter is following them. Al sets up a trap with a walker being attached to the cannon’s fuse, but it goes wrong. Al creates a diversion until Grace can drive out of the way and they manage to blow up the CRM soldiers with the cannon.

Morgan then interviews Al, just as she always did with most of them. We come to realize that she basically gave up on being with Isabel because she was afraid. She's determined to go out on her own and to stay away from Isabel so that Isabel is safe, and the CRM doesn't find her. She leaves Morgan and Grace and heads back to the house with the canon, looking for maps and drop sites that the CRM soldiers might have had on them. While doing this, Morgan returns to ask her one more time to reconsider.

I thought it was a little weird that they did it twice. They had the scene with him and Grace and Al, where he found her, and then they came back to basically have the same conversation again. They did attribute it to the fact that Al and John Dorie, Jr. never gave up on Morgan, but I also think there might be something foreshadowing in this. From a story telling standpoint, it simply wasn’t necessary for them to do the scene twice. I'm just not sure exactly what it foreshadows, though.

While there, the CRM gets on the radio and calls out to the reclamation team. Al answers, pretending to be the reclamation team since she’s already killed them. She realizes the CRM has tracked Isabel to somewhere close to her location and they're probably going to find her.

So, Al goes to Isabel and says that she wants to go with her now. She smashes her camera and says, “We will find something new.” (New Dawn theory.) Isabel asks, “And if we don't?” And Al replies, “then at least we gave it a try.” We’ve seen this “trying” theme a lot in TWD as well.

So, the short of it is that we have a situation where Al and her love interest were separated for a time, but eventually find their way back to one another. It’s not a coincidence that she finds Isabel at a cabin in the woods. It felt very Still-ish to me.

This is also another good example of the theme I’ve been constantly harping on around Daryl, where he chooses one thing, then changes his mind, and doing so leads him to Beth and romantic happiness. That’s exactly what we saw here with Al. And remember that when Al and Isabel first met, that episode had tons of callbacks to Still. So, they’re definitely be used as a proxy couple to Bethyl.

If I dug a little deeper, I’m sure I could find tons of details in conversations and symbols and foreshadowing, but I’m not going to go into all that because it’s all stuff you’ve heard me talk about before.

The biggest thing here, I think, is that they are setting up something for the future. I felt like they were preparing for a future storyline as I watched this, but I couldn’t be sure. In the “Inside the Episode” segment, the showrunner confirmed that this is the last episode Al will be in for the season. Not just for the first half, but for the entire season. 

So, yeah. So, they’re kind of tucking Al and Isabel away for now, and I’m sure they’ll pop up either in a later season or perhaps even in regular TWD. But we’re definitely seeing some planning ahead here. Which I think is pretty exciting. I always like to see them planning ahead with the CRM storyline.

So that's really about all I have for this episode. It was an enjoyable episode to watch, but not as deeply steeped in symbolism as many of the others. What did everyone else think?

[mysweetgirl2-love]

Livestream~ (corpse_husband x reader)

Alright, I’ve skipped ahead a few prompts because I’ve been just too excited to write out this idea and I was falling behind... so I will be going back, but I’ve skipped to my day 9 prompt. Slight (SLIGHT) exhibition. To reiterate the title, this is a oneshot about you and Corpse. I want to just say that this Corpse is him as a character and not him as a person. Think of a “fanon” version of some sorts. I know that the real Corpse is a very private person (obviously) and I would hate for him to be uncomfortable if he were to ever find this. I am really just writing this for comfort and the enjoyment of others. So, without further ado, enjoy!

Word Count: 5,958

Day 9 - Exhibition (Implied)

“Yo! YO! It’s Corpse! It’s fucking Corpse, holy shit-“

“What? Literally how?”

“I- fucking- I saw you legit go into electrical with pewds, leave, for me to then go up and find his body right next to the vent.”

“He was doing the upload task, I think, cuz’ I left him there when he was alive. You definitely self-reported.”

“Toast, you gotta believe me, it’s fucking Corpse.”

The arguments while playing this game were some of the most frustrating and yet exciting conversations you’d had in ages. Especially when it came down to the final two. That was the jackpot.

“Ah… nah, Fable, you’ve been super sus this entire round. There’s no way you did card swipe that quickly-“

“WHAT?!”

The two dings from your headset indicated that the remaining players had voted which only left you. Since Toast didn’t believe you, Corpse had this round in the bag. God. Damnit.

“Fucking- Fine. Thank god for your detective skills, Toast,” You grumbled bitterly, pouting on camera as you voted for the black avatar. Corpse’s avatar.

“You’re just mad that I figured you out..” The streamer teased, you rolling your eyes in response to his unmatched “knowledge.”

“Yeah, yeah, totally… Corpse is just too fucking good at this game, I swear to god,” You continued, definitely a little irritated that the match turned on you so fast.

It didn’t help when all you could do was helplessly watch from the other side of the screen as your purple avatar launched out into space. Oh well, it was over.

“Heh… I’m just glad you admit it,” The deep voice filled your headphones making you roll your eyes.

The screen suddenly darkened, a red gleam appearing as two characters stood next to one another. Spedicey and, who would’ve guessed, Corpse. Shocking.

“What?!” Toast exclaims.

“I can’t BELIEVE you didn’t think it was him!” Lily speaks up.

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Toast,” Felix almost groans, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Seriously…” You comment, smirking slightly at the groan of confusion from the man in question.

“What? Fable, you were so sus that entire round!” Toast stressed, your headphones filling with laughter as you clicked to play again.

“What do you mean?! I Iegit just scanned my card and you’re trying to call me on it! For NO good reason!” You retorted, wanting to facepalm so hard.

“I didn’t think you could do it that fast!” He yelled back, “I thought you were faking it, there was no way!”

“The only one who really struggles with card swipe here is Corpse,“ Jack cut in, you erupting in laughter at his words.

“What?- Uh- Come on, don’t do me like that…” He essentially growled into the mic, your arms erupting with goosebumps at the sound of him once again.

“That’s not true either! Jack, you know how hard card swipe is!” Valkarae stood up for the deep spoken imposter, “…but you guys both won anyway. So, whatever…”

You all simply laughed along with one another at that, the frustration fading as you mentally prepared yourself for another round of this thought-provoking game. Or… so you thought.

“Hey, can we actually hold off for a second? I need to use the bathroom-“ Lily asked, you smiling at how gentle her voice always was.

A stark contrast to the one that followed.

“Yeah, same here. Gamer bladder,” Corpse followed.

You shook your head at the later comment, clearing your throat as before leaning in towards your mic, “So, 5 minute break then?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds good!”

“Sure, I’ll just be here.”

Felix, Rae, and Jack responded.

“…Sykunno?” You asked, having not heard his voice in awhile.

“He left to use the bathroom after he finished his tasks in the last round, texted me saying something about getting a snack,” Toast replied for him, you nodding to no one in particular but your chat.

“Got it,” You pressed the mute button for discord and turned to your face cam, “Guess I’ll run to the restroom as well, stay tuned!”

You clicked a few things to allow an ad to run across your stream, labeling it for around four minutes before reaching for your headphones. You placed them on your desk and sighed, leaning back in your chair.

You heard the door in the hallway open, smiling gently to yourself before standing from the chair. You turned towards your own closed door, taking the appropriate amount of steps to open it before peaking around the doorway.

“Hm…” You walked out slightly, turning towards the closed bathroom door and smirking before creeping out of your room and over to his.

Corpse’s room. Your boyfriend.

You and Corpse had started seeing each other a month or two into quarantine during the pandemic. Having known each other a year or two from both of your professions bringing you together under the circumstances, it seemed appropriate.

He was a real-life horror story teller, taking people’s information by email and anonymously telling their tales. You? You told mythologies of all kinds through your own renditions of the stories with art. You also managed to make the stories more light hearted and funny with a few jokes now and then, and people seemed to appreciate the humor you found in some of the topics.

Your channel name had always been Fantasized Fables, a little odd but it got your content across. Since your channel hit, your name was no secret but people liked calling you Fable.

You honestly thought it made you sound a lot more badass than you actually were.

Either way, somehow you got connect through a couple of friends and instantly clicked. Corpse was… well, Corpse. You didn’t know that you’d helped him so much when he actually told you what was going on. The endless nights where you would both be up at an ungodly hour and just dm-ing one another. It started after a few nights you both saw each other online, quickly progressing into something much bigger than that.

It got deep all the time. You both had so many thoughts about life and each other’s and your own… you felt so safe when telling this faceless internet friend all your deepest, darkest thoughts. But, you knew Corpse had more. He always told you more, you almost wanted more to comfort him over. The feelings started to fester and grow… there was no stopping how you felt about him.

The day you two actually met was never going to be forgotten, by either of you. It was unintentional, almost straight from a movie. You had, at this point, exchanged contact information and had been now calling for the majority of May. Not to mention, you both found out you lived in SoCal, only progressing  On this particular afternoon, you texted him that you were going on a coffee run to Starbucks… him saying he was going out for the first time as well.

Masked up and muffled, you of course could tell it was his voice from across the street. The slightly amplified “oh fuck” was the biggest giveaway you could’ve imagined. Your eyes looking up to find a man, dressed in complete black, chains and earrings, shaggy black hair- there was so doubt in your mind.

You called his name, his eyes looking up to find yours across the way… traffic laws weren’t going to stop the saint up to him and into his arms. A big, long, well-deserved embraced you knew the both of you needed. He had always been so kind… and gentle… him being physically there was just so… relieving.

The rest is history, and you honestly moved into his apartment as quickly as you could. You couldn’t stand him living alone like that anymore, and he obviously let you in without a second thought.

You both were extremely happy to have each other, and it just kept getting better from there.

You gently shut the door behind you, creeping over to his setup and sliding into his chair, humming softly as you watched the endless chat messages buildup along the screen and peering at the number of viewers he had now achieved.

JEEEZUS christ, 200k?! That’s insane! You thought, widening your eyes at the number on the screen.

Your streams only ever reached 90k, which was a lot more than you had expected. The number was slowly growing now, though… ever since Corpse blew up on tiktok for just posting videos of his hands.

Wild.

You clicked through a few comments, watching super comments flash along the chat as well as mods trying to attempt to get slow chat to work. You couldn’t help but slightly laugh at the struggle, turning back towards the game as a few of the avatars began bouncing around with one another. People were getting back to the game.

You were about to shift around in his seat, reaching for the keyboard to type something in game when two larger hands came gently down on your shoulders. They pushed you gently down against the chair, causing it to lean back with your body. A face moved next to your ear, lips grazing against the skin.

“Whattup Baby?~” That low voice growled, you gently flinching at the rumbling next to your ear.

You turned to find Corpse grinning down at you, his hands easing up off your body and reaching for your face. His right hand came in contact with your cheek, gently squeezing against it as he slowly walked around the chair and crouched down. To be right beneath your eye level.

“Hi..” You hummed, leaning over to press your lips against his forehead before leaning back to look in his maroon-like eyes.

“Why’re you in my chair? You need to get back to your own stream, silly~” He hummed, beginning to stand as he reached for your arm to pull you out of the chair.

You grinned, your head falling back begrudgingly as he easily pulled you from the comfortable seat.

“Wait…! I just wanted to see you…” You lightly whined, him chuckling in response as you stood on your two feet. Him replacing the spot where you had sat.

“Uhuh… and why’s that?” He teased lightly, you couldn’t help but scoff gently while your heart rate increased. He always had that effect on you.

“Well, I mean… I wanted to both congratulate and bother you about your… fucking imposter round-“ He erupted in laughter, you grinning along with him with a simple eye roll, “hey! Let me finish, it was a good round, I’ll give you that… but you threw me under the bus while doing it…! For no reason!”

He raised his brow lightly, his laughter coming to a soft chuckle as he shrugged, “I mean, I gotta keep my title as ‘too fucking good at imposter.’ Sorry, princess…”

You playfully glared in his direction, a stupid smirk spreading across his face. Your lower lip jutted out from your upper one, crossing your arms as you simply pouted in response. He huffed in response, his smirk turning to more of a smile as he reached back out for you.

“C’mere…” He grumbled, his hand grabbing your arm as he pulled you back down to the chair.

“Wait- Ah!” You almost fell against him, barely able to catch yourself against the arm rests on his chair. You looked up, slightly panicked from the sudden fall, to find Corpse smirking right back.

“Wait for what? You’re not ready for affection?” He asked softly, his hand reaching up to push a few loose strands of hair behind your ear.

“N-No, that’s not it…” You mumbled, letting your gaze fall to his chest, seeing the definition of his body through his baggy sweater.

You felt fingers press against the underside of your chin, pushing your face up to look back towards him. You felt your face flush in embarrassment, smiling nervously as his smirk had never faltered.

“You don’t look very sure of yourself…” he whispered to you.

You gently bit at the inside cheek, shrugging quickly, “C-Cuz’ I’m not…”

He chuckled deeply, leaning in slightly as he grabbed you by the lips, gently humming against your mouth as his hands gripped your sides.

You whimpered softly against him, beginning to kiss back as you readjusted yourself in his lap. You quietly wrapped your arms around the back of his neck as you leaned against him.

He chuckled softly, moving his lips against yours as his hands gently slipped up beneath the sides of your shirt and lovingly stroked at your now exposed skin.

“God, you’re so beautiful…” he whispered against you, catching your lips quickly as he continued, “You’re too perfect, fuck… too fucking perfect…”

“Corpse, I-..” You kissed him again, one of your hands reaching up towards his head as you tangled your fingers into the back of his hair.

He hummed against your mouth, squeezing your sides gently as his smily broke out into a grin. The tip of his nose pressed against yours as he sighed, “Yes, princess?~”

“Careful, we need to get back to the game…” You whispered, growing a little nervous as he chuckled.

“They can wait…” He sighed, leaning back in to press his lips back to yours, kissing you deeply once again.

You squeaked lightly, timid as ever before you kissed back. You felt his teeth grazing against your lower lip, gently nipping at the skin. You couldn’t help but slightly moan, pulling away from your lips as he trailed light kisses down your chin and along your jaw.

He was going for your neck, getting there before you could express any protest. You sighed loudly as his lips connected to the skin right below your ear, gently growling against you as you felt a slight wet sensation lick against your earlobe. You shivered, the side of your face falling to the top of his head as he continued his attack on your neck.

“Fuck, Corpse~”

“God, you sound so beautiful baby… you keep acting like this and after the stream? I’ll have no choice but to-“

The desk behind you started vibrating in loud, long buzzes. Both of you freezing in your spots as you turned over your shoulder to find Corpse’s phone lighting up with a phone call.

You quirked your brow, “Who’d be calling you this early in the morning?”

It was 12 pm, you both had woken up at 10 am to actually get ready in time to stream. It wasn’t early for the world, but it was early for this apartment.

“I don’t know… weird,” He leaned forward in his chair, you holding tight against his chest as he grabbed the phone and brought it towards the two of you.

You both looked down at the contact name on the screen, your eyes widening at the name that read.

“Why- hm…” Corpse quickly swiped to answer the call, holding the speaker up to his ear, “Hey Rae, everything okay-“

He stopped suddenly mid sentence, his eyes widening as his cheeks lit up in a bright red. It had to have been the most embarrassed you’d ever seen him, his eyes falling to yours as you read the panic within them.

“R-Right- shit… s-sorry- I-I’ll turn it down now… bye,“ He quickly brought the phone away, immediately hanging up as his eyes flashed towards the chat function on his stream.

“Is… Is everything okay…?” You asked hesitantly, leaning over slightly to read for yourself what people had to say. Did something happen in chat while you guys were preoccupied?

Corpse didn’t respond, his eyes just scanned what the letters read on screen. You frowned, you confusion growing by the second. He hit a button on the keyboard, did he just unmute?

A strained laugh left his mouth, falling back in the chair with you still in his arms. His eyes found yours, his lips slowly turning to a grin before he laughed one of the hardest laughs you had yet to hear from him.

Your eyes widened, completely baffled at this point.

“Corpse, please- What happened?”

“We- We- AHA! We were unmuted!! That ENTIRE time!” He cackled, his hand landing on his chest to almost support him in some way.

You, on the other hand, went from complete befuddlement to absolute humiliation. There was no way THAT was just heard by hundreds upon thousands of people. No fucking way.

“Wh-What??” You began to panic, reaching for his broad shoulders and gently holding onto them, “Wh-What are you even t-talking about?!”

He gently gripped onto you in return, readjusting you against him as he held you there. His laughter died down before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against your nose.

You both were open that you were in a relationship, people knew… but, that doesn’t mean you necessarily wanted them to hear..

“Hey, baby, don’t worry… it could’ve been a lot worse… We’re fine~” he reassured, your brow still tensed from your worry. You knew the worst had already happened when he blew up, but how would they use his voice in that kind of tone…

You didn’t want to think about it too much. Not jealous, more just… weirded out. Who knew how people would use your voice in that tone either? You didn’t dwell on it.

“Ah, o-okay… yeah, nothing we need to worry about now,” You nodded with him, his gentle features turning to a warm smile. He brought his hand up to your cheek, his thumb gently swiping across your skin as he hummed.

“Mhm, all is fine… I promise,” He mumbled to you, leaning in softly to press his lips back against your forehead.

You sighed, pausing against him for a moment before leaning away, “Well… p-probably shouldn’t keep them waiting m-much longer…”

Corpse raised his brow gently smiling sadly in agreement with a slight nod. He gently reached for your hips once again, holding them gently as he helped hoist you back onto your two feet. You yelped softly as you let yourself be lifted, extending your two legs to meet the floor.

You stood still for a moment, your eyes meeting his as you timidly smiled, “S-Sorry about the mic thing… I should’ve stayed in my stream.”

You nervously laughed, his smile never faltering as yours broke out into a grin. Your slight guilt written all over your features.

“No, no, you’re totally fine… don’t apologize,” He hummed, his thumbs gently pressing against your hips as he kept reassuring.

“Okay, haha… now we’ll never forget to check our mics,” You winked softly, your hands grabbing onto his larger ones and squeezing them gently in return.

“Haha… never,” He nodded softly, tilting his head gently to the side as he simply watched you.

You sighed, begrudgingly pulling his hands from your hips as you took a small step away. You gently bounced on the balls of your feet, awkwardly putting your hands together behind your back.

“Hm… well! I- uh… will see you in game…” You smiled, his body turning in his chair as he leaned his chin against two of his fingers that you had freshly reapplied black nail polish that night before.

His brow raised quizzically at you, the damn smirk playing at his lips once again. His fingers flexed slightly, his hands following the motion. You could see the veins running down his wrist from where you stood.

He briefly chuckled, “Yeah… I’ll see you there, baby…”

With that, he turned back towards his screen while you didn’t hesitate towards the door. You walked over and grabbed the handle, briefly turning back to the darkened man on the screen, clicking away at the bursts of notifications he was getting from discord.

Oops.

“I love you-“ You flushed, his eyes pulling away from his screen to find you in the doorway. You could see the tint of pink along his cheeks in the darkness of the room.

“…I love you too. Hurry though, Rae is flipping out-“ He laughed, you not wasting a second more to close the door and bound back over to your recording room.

You shut the door behind you, looking up towards your brightened monitor and feeling your breath catch in your chest. You could see your chat blowing up from here, your phone lighting up with MULTIPLE notifications… God, what an unfortunate mistake for Corpse to have made.

You quicken your pace back to your chair, sliding in and putting your headphones back atop of your head. Your camera had come back on in the time you were gone, giving the device a nervous grin before turning towards the game.

“S-Sorry guys, didn’t mean to take that long- uhm…” Your eyes scanned over the chat, not surprised to find it full of caps-locked comments screaming about what happened on Corpse’s stream.

You sighed nervously, your eyes now finding your discord application notifying you that you had… almost fifty notifications?! You mentally had to roll your eyes, quickly turning back towards the camera with a sheepish smile.

“I- uh… I have to go for another minute- B-Be right back!” You laughed, turning on another ad before mentally cursing at yourself. God damnit- your eyes scanned over the viewers on your stream.

What the shit- when did I get 30k viewers?! What the hell?! Of course this is when your viewers decide to spike.

You groaned to yourself, your head falling to your hand as the other reached for your mouse. You clicked to your discord, slowly… but surely, un-deafened your mic.

“OH. MY. GOD. You FUCKING dumbass!” Rae yelled as soon as you unmuted, flinching at the pitch to her tone. It felt like you were being scolded.

“What?! I can’t show my girlfriend some love?!” Corpse replied, not yelling but a definite inflection in his tone.

“No! Nothing wrong with that! But CHECK your MIC next time!!” She laughed loudly. Oh my god.

“Jesus Christ, dude… or at least lower the sensitivity significantly…” Jack spoke up, almost sounding disappointed.

“Ey, welcome back, Fable-“ Felix spoke up, the cheeky grin evident in his tone.

What a fucking asshole-

“FABLE!”

“Oh my god-“

“You guys can’t wait til after stream?!”

“Wait, what am I joining into…?” A new voice intervened, interrupting Rae, Toast, and Lily.

Charlie, what a man, coming in at the worst time.

“H-Hey Charlie…” You spoke up in a greeting.

“Wha- Wait! Answer the question, Fable!” Lily squealed, a groan leaving your mouth as you fell towards your mic.

“I’m sorry! I-I really didn’t mean for it to happen! I had no clue-“

“Yeah, wait, this isn’t on Fable. She just went to go visit Corpse in the other room, guys, chill…” Felix actually stuck up for you, your face lifting in surprise as his words.

“Uh- yeah, actually, I guess that’s fair,” Jack commented, you nervously laughing in response.

“I… am so sorry to all of you,” You apologized softly, a gentle chorus of laughs following your meek apology.

“No, no, no, you’re so fine. You guys weren’t trying to broadcast whatever… that was…” Sykunno hummed awkwardly, you laughing lightly at his uncertainty.

“It was a poor mistake on my part, I’m sorry, Fable…” Corpse spoke up, you grinning at the sound of his voice.

“N-No worries… hey, we already went over this in person. Can we get back to the game?” You grumbled, another fit of laughter through the group at your excusing of the situation.

“Ahaha, yeah let’s get back into it,” Toast replied, the sound of his mouse clicking lightly being heard in the call.

You sighed, deafening yourself once again and turning back on your stream, “Hey everyone, yep… yep, everything’s fine. No worries, I promise, haha. We took a break for a little longer than expected, but we’re back!”

You un-deafened and were met with sound of a very very confused Charlie, “Wait… so… no one’s going to explain to me what happened?”

You all erupted into loud laughter, you falling back slightly in your chair as you cackled. The first voice to come back was Rae, shockingly.

“Don’t worry, Charlie… we’ll tell you later,” She snickered, you laughing along as you came back to your keyboard.

“So… we can start now, though?” Toast spoke up once again.

You began to give confirmations of “yes” with soft ‘yeah’s and ‘mhm’s. Lazy, but it got the point across.

“Cool, starting the next round…” He clicked play again and the countdown began.

“Alright, everyone, remember to MUTE your mics!” Jack spoke up, you rolling your eyes in response as Corpse’s laugh raised above the rest.

“Will do. Thanks,” He chuckled, a louder laugh sounding through the call once again from all mics.

Your screen turned dark, the red avatar of the Among Us character moving to shush you from the screen. You sighed, watching it turn dark again.

“Yeah- yeah, you’re welcome!” Jack played along, grinning softly at the joke as the screen began lighting up once against.

Your screen displayed your avatar next to Corpse’s, the bright red letters of “Imposter” reading across the computer. You raised your eyebrows, making sure you were completely muted on call before chuckling.

“Oh… Hell yeah. Let’s go…”

[vividracing]

New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/first-look-introducing-the-all-new-2024-gmc-hummer-ev-suv/

First Look: Introducing the All-New 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV

The GMC Hummer EV electric truck was unveiled to the world last Fall and it looks as though General Motors stayed true to its word of expanding the lineup. Introducing the Hummer EV SUV because, well, not everyone favors a pickup. GMC showed off the 2024 Hummer EV SUV earlier this month during the NCAA’s Final Four telecast in a new commercial narrated by LeBron James. The SUV version will offer many of the same capabilities and off-roading features as the Hummer EV pickup, making this duo the most “capable and compelling electric supertrucks” ever produced. 

“The new Hummer EV SUV is the next chapter, offering more options for customers to tailor the truck to their lifestyles, while continuing to encourage them to forge new paths with zero emissions,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Buick and GMC.

Browse All Hummer Parts Here

The all-new Hummer all-electric SUV is expected to arrive in the first half of 2023 as part of GMC’s 2024 model year lineup. So far, we know that the Hummer EV pickup will go into production at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck later this fall. GMC has about 10,000 preorders for the pickup, which starts at $112,595. Subsequent editions will come out starting in 2022, but the cheapest edition still starts at nearly $80,000.

GM has also announced that the Hummer EV SUV will be built at Factory Zero as well, and it goes on sale in early 2023. At that time, it will be a fully loaded Edition 1 model priced at $105,595, which is slightly lower than the pickup Edition 1’s price tag of $112,595. Subsequent SUV models will follow, namely the EV2, EV2X, and EV3X. Consumers who want to get the full power of three electric motors can wait until spring of 2023 for the 3X with a starting price of $99,995. The price for the two-motor version (EV2X) is reduced by $10,000 and is also scheduled for spring of 2023. The base Hummer EV2 will take a little longer and will not arrive until spring of 2024 with a price tag of $79,995. 

In both cases, the limited-run trim called Edition 1 sold out in about 10 minutes after the order books opened up on October 20, 2020 for the pickup and April 3, 2021 for the SUV. This just goes to show that people flocked to the Hummer EV website and reserved a truck or SUV of their own with a $100 refundable deposit on those two dates. That’s pretty impressive, but we are not surprised given the looks, spaciousness, performance, handling, and special features of these next-level, all-electric vehicles. 

This revolutionary Hummer EV combines the significant features of the pickup with the versatility of an SUV. The SUV boasts a rugged design that includes a new rear end with a mounted full-size spare tire. The SUV is a bit shorter than the truck on which it’s based – GM cut off 20 inches in total length as well as 8.9 inches off the wheelbase. In fact, the Hummer EV SUV has a 126.7-inch wheelbase that delivers “best-in-class off-road proportions” with a tight turning circle of just 35.4 feet. According to GM, not only do these measurements give the SUV a more muscular and stubby aesthetic, but it also allows the vehicle to have more agility in the trails. Expect the SUV to be an open-roof off-roader like its pickup sibling and sized somewhere between a Tahoe and Suburban. 

Inside, a similar five-passenger layout from the Hummer EV pickup truck remains and includes a large and useful rear cargo area. You can fold down the rear seats to open up 82 cubic feet of additional cargo space, with even more room available under the load floor. The cabin also features the pickup truck’s easy-to-remove Infinity Roof sky panels, which can be stored directly in the frunk for when you feel like transforming your Hummer SUV into a 4×4 convertible. Other interior elements include a dashboard a 12.3-inch Driver Information Center and a 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment center. From this system, you will be able to engage the EV’s Super Cruise hands-free driving and use its new trail mapping, accessible through the myGMC app. 

Driven by General Motors’ next-generation Ultium Platform, the new Hummer EV SUV has an output of 830 horsepower and 11,500 pound-feet of torque, enough to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. That’s certainly an impressive figure given the burly body of this off-road beast. These numbers are for the EV3X and the Edition 1, which have a trio of motors (one up front and two at the rear). The EV2 and EV2X have the dual-motor setup that delivers an estimated 625 horsepower and 7,400 pound-feet of torque. 

The Hummer EV SUV launches with the exclusive Edition 1, which gives customers the choice to equip the beast for optimal driving range or maximum off-road capability. The Edition 1 comes standard from the factory with 22-inch premium wheels, assist steps, and floor liners. You can also opt for the available Extreme Off-Road package which adds 18-inch wheels and 35-inch-OD MT tires, underbody armor and rock sliders, front eLocker and virtual rear lockers, heavy-duty ball-spline half shafts, UltraVision2 with underbody camera views, and more! 

Standard features on 2X, 3X, and Edition 1 models include 4-Wheel Steer with CrabWalk, which allows diagonal-drive functionality, as well as Adaptive Air Suspension with Extract Mode. You may have seen some videos surface of this so-called “crab walk” which is a revolutionary setting that utilizes the Hummer’s 4-Wheel Steer that lets the rear wheels turn up to 10 degrees in either direction. This allows the vehicle to drive diagonally at low speeds, helping it to traverse tight trails with a capability that no other SUV can brag about. Meanwhile, the first-of-its-kind Extract Mode helps the Hummer get over tough spaces with added height using the Adaptive Air Ride Suspension to raise approximately 6 inches. 

Additional highlights:

Master of maneuverability, with a 126.7-inch wheelbase giving it expected best-in-class off-road proportions with impressive departure and break-over angles, and a tighter turning circle of only 35.4 feet (10.8 meters) with 4 Wheel Steer standard on 2X, 3X, and Edition 1

An immersive interior puts the driver at the center of every moment, including customizable, multisensory user features and an open driving experience with the standard Infinity Roof with removable Sky Panels, I-Bar, and rear drop glass

GM’s Ultium Drive System offers up to 830 horsepower and up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque (GM estimated) — enough power for super-fast 0-60-mph sprints in approximately 3.5 seconds with Watts To Freedom

New tactical technology via the redesigned myGMC app including Energy Assist

Great degree of customization via My Mode, auxiliary buttons, and nearly 200 accessories available at launch

Next-gen electric, with a 20-module Ultium battery system offering up to a GM estimated 300-plus miles of range on Edition 1 (with standard equipment)

New automatic lane changing feature, where the system can determine when a lane change is optimal and initiate the maneuver, while following signaling protocols

Super Cruise6, an available driver-assistance technology offering hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles (approximately 322,000 km) of enabled roads

To see the reveal of the 2024 Hummer EV SUV or place a reservation, visit GMC.com/HummerEV.

[rideonwings]

The Enevitable Cliche Quarantine Story

Chapter 2

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid

Summary: Stranger-Neighbors lean on each other during the quarantine

A/N: See, I told you all, I never start posting WIPs because I feel too guilty when I don't update them. Now here I am, weeks later, feeling like I've left you all hanging. This one is short and sweet, but hopefully worth it? Hoping everyone is staying safe and healthy out there.

AO3 Link 

Astrid: “Okay, guys, only 30 more seconds, keep those hips up! 30 seconds is nothing, then you’re done for the day!”

Astrid felt silly, talking to her phone camera like it was a crowd of people, but this was currently her source of income, so she was willing to be as enthusiastic as she possibly could.

“Okay, time! Great work everyone, go ahead and come down to your stomach, then shoulders back, stretch out those abs in a cobra.”

As she finished up the stretch routine, Stormfly took the opportune moment to come to rest under her chest. Astrid laughed, turning her head to rest her head against the cat’s soft fur.

“Thank you to everyone who participated today, thank you for taking the time for yourself, be safe, wash your hands, and stay sane! See you tomorrow!”

She reached over to stop the video, Stormfly protesting beneath her as she shifted on top of her. She then collected her yoga mat and weights and stacked them back in the corner of her apartment, wiping her brow as she went.

Settling on the couch, Astrid started reviewing the video. The lighting in her apartment wasn’t great, making the video shadowy and not particularly detailed. She’d have to figure out a better location for the future, because unfortunately, she needed as many people as possible to watch her videos, lest the gym decided she wasn’t worth keeping on the payroll. Still, she made some quick edits and posted it to the gym’s YouTube channel and Facebook page with a peppy message she wasn’t really feeling.

She was already sick of her apartment. When Astrid had decided to live here, she hadn’t been particularly picky, seeing as she normally spent a significant portion of her day outside its walls. Now, every flaw and inconvenience was right in front of her constantly, and she was over it. She had heard Hiccup leave the apartment this morning, presumably to walk Toothless, and was instantly jealous that she couldn’t join them. She vowed to go for a run later, to break up the monotony.

Grabbing herself a mug of tea and one of her books for her thesis, she found her way back out onto the balcony. Hiccup wasn’t out in his area, which she was surprisingly disappointed about: she’d enjoyed their chat yesterday. Still, she didn’t spend too much time on it, instead copying her position from yesterday with her legs pulled into her sweatshirt and delving into her book. She made notes along the margins and nocked pages as she read, finding key quotes she could later incorporate in her writing.

It was cloudier today than the day before, and the breeze was making her slightly uncomfortable. She was about to give up and head inside when the sliding door to her right opened and a messy head of hair poked out. He turned to look at her and smiled, the tiny gap in his teeth clearly visible even from this distance. Toothless slipped out between his legs and darted towards the railing to say hello to her.

“Hey!” He said exuberantly. “I was just checking to see if it was warm enough to bring my stuff out here to work. Are you cold?”

Astrid curled her legs in closer to herself, putting her mug on the ground. “Yeah, it’s not as nice as yesterday. I was thinking about going in.”

Just then, a particularly harsh gust of wind whipped through, making her shiver. She rose from the chair and began to collect her things as Hiccup winced, closing the door a bit to prevent air from getting into his apartment. “Yeah, probably a good call for now. I might come out later for a drink, if you'd want to join me?” He sounded oddly hopeful, which tugged at Astrid’s heart.

She hugged her book closer to her chest and nodded, smiling a little. Hiccup’s smile widened and he waved slightly before ducking back inside, whistling for Toothless. Astrid ducked her head and suppressed a chuckle as she made her way back inside, settling on the couch with her book.

Hiccup As he got up for the umpteenth time to stretch, Hiccup cursed his furniture choices for the hundredth time in two days. The chair he had at his desk was not exactly conducive to good posture, and his back was aching from being hunched over his monitors. As lucky as he was to have this kind of office setup in his apartment, he’d never really had to use it long term and had picked a fairly cheap office chair from a local big box store. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time, but he was regretting that choice now. He felt like he had to get up every twenty minutes and shake out some kink in his back or hips.

Every time he stood up, Toothless jumped up too, following him around the apartment, obviously hoping they were going for another walk.

“Sorry, buddy, not yet,” he murmured, running his hand over the dog’s silky ears. “Give me another hour and we’ll go out.” He stretched his arms over his head, releasing the knots in his shoulders and neck. The motion twinged something lower in his back, making him sigh in frustration. Finally, he flopped onto the floor, laying flat on his back and straightening out as much as he could to align his spine.

He stared at the ceiling for a few moments before Toothless’ head appeared in his vision, obviously perplexed at why his owner was copying his signature nap position. The dog sniffed around his hairline, checking for signs of distress, before he began to lap at Hiccup’s cheeks with his tongue, making Hiccup squawk in distress and curl into the fetal position.

Toothless barked excitedly, thinking they were playing a game, and pawed at Hiccup’s back to get him to re-engage.

“Toothless, no!” Hiccup cried, swatting his arms blindly to shoo the dog away.

After a few minutes, Toothless fell into his play position, forelegs flat on the ground and rear in the air, tail whipping almost dangerously as his human rolled over to glare at him. Hiccup’s face was sticky and smelly, but he couldn’t hold a grudge against his buddy for long. He reached out with both arms and tackled the dog, pulling him against his chest and rolling around as Toothless yipped in excitement. Their tussle didn’t last long before they were both flat on the rug, both of their mouths open wide in humor.

Suddenly, Toothless’ ears perked and he jumped up and darted to the sliding door to the balcony. He’d started doing that whenever Astrid opened the door, looking to greet his new friend. The habit made Hiccup smile for more reasons than one.

Honestly, since the quarantine had started (had it only been a few days?), he’d come to realize how much of his social life had depended on his job. He had very few friends outside of work, and though he felt somewhat isolated in his apartment, he couldn’t think of anyone he really wanted to talk to. He chatted with Fishlegs while he was working, and exchanged a few messages with a few other friends, but he always struggled to come up with new topics.

But he really liked talking to Astrid. Their conversations hadn’t exactly been in-depth or long, but she seemed quick and funny and he needed that kind of conversation in his life right now.

He walked over to the balcony window, trying to get a glimpse of the blonde. From what he could see, she was wearing heavy leggings and a zip-up hoodie, and her cheeks were flushed as she leaned over the balcony railing. He slid the door open and poked his head out.

“Hey,” he greeted lamely. As she turned to look at him, he saw the glistening of sweat on her brow and noticed the shirt under her quarter zip was dark along the neckline. “Go for a run?” He asked.

Astrid nodded, still slightly out of breath. “It felt so good to be outside,” she said, popping one of her legs onto the railing to stretch. “I wanted to keep going forever.”

Hiccup’s eyes widened a little as he took in her long, toned legs in her running shorts, but forced himself to meet her gaze again and relax his expression. “I know the feeling. Those walks with Toothless are never long enough.”

“Still working?” She asked, gesturing to his open sliding door as she switched legs. He nodded, shrugging a little.

“Toothless keeps bugging me to go outside” he said, suddenly remembering that he was just nearly licked to death by the lab and he probably looked like it too. He absently ran his hands through his hair, finding it still wet.

“Oh, I could’ve taken him! I didn’t even think to ask!” Astrid said, bringing her leg down and settling into a crouch by the railing closest to Hiccup’s balcony. Toothless shoved his head through the bars as far as he could reach, forcing his eyes closed comically.

“That’s nice of you,” Hiccup replied, smiling down at the dog. “I’m going to go in an hour though, so he’s fine. Maybe some other time if I get caught up in conference call hell.”

Astrid nodded, picking up a water bottle from her chair and taking a drink. “I’m going to take a shower. Can I bug you later for dinner ideas?” She asked, smiling cheekily.

“Sure thing,” Hiccup said, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. Interacting with Astrid made him feel a little bit like a schoolboy with a crush. She was definitely more attractive than any girl he’d ever been with, and seemed friendly and sane enough. He could definitely see himself being friends with her, and then… who knew?

As she turned to re-enter her apartment, she smiled over her shoulder at him.

Hiccup smiled weakly back, turning to go back inside himself. He paused with his hand on the handle, half looking back in her direction, smiling to himself a little more confidently, even as his stomach flipped.

Who knew?

[sadbirder]

A Comparison Of Contemporary Landscape Photography With Traditional 19th Century Landscape Painting

The aesthetics of both contemporary landscape photography and traditional 19th century landscape painting hold much the same purpose, the objectification of nature as a servant to human kind. Both practices give misguided representations that nature is something which is ours to have. This way of seeing is an anthropocentric hangover that has no place in contemporary aesthetics because the belief that nature is ours to have because it belongs to humans is outdated and no longer practical or realistic in today’s world. 

19th century landscape painting is from a time when all people believed all of everything on Earth was here exclusively for humans to exploit, consume and dominate as they please. There were scientists and thinkers during this century who began to consider that perhaps nature was not here for us. Alfred Russell Wallace wrote in his book, The Malay Archipelago, that he noticed that very large fruits grow on very tall trees throughout the region. He suspected if one of these large fruits should fall on a human from such a height, it would likely kill them. He questioned why and if these plants were truly put there by god with exclusive reference to human kind. I am guessing that at the time, not many Europeans had seen large fruits growing on incredibly lofty trees.

Another figure, who had thoughts like this in the same era, was Henry David Thoreau. His book Walden explores what it is to live off the land without exploiting the land or the creatures on it. He did not hunt or keep animals and he grew a permaculture-esque farm/garden. He did this as capitalism was still growing into the dominant way of living in the western world. It is incredibly compelling to read the experiences of someone rejecting the latest fashion trends, a glamorous life based around financial assets and the need to eat meat on a daily basis in the context of that particular moment on the timeline of human history. The themes central to this book examine the state of the world and the ways in which people live on it and engage with it, the observations Thoreau makes are pertinent to scrutinising how we exist today.

Sunrise - Claude Monet

Landscape painting from this time does not share the same progressive thinking. At least, if it did at all, that is not why the paintings are cherished today. The 3 examples I have chosen, each show a romanticised view of a landscape that has been largely altered by the domineering presence of humans. The views also show people working or give the idea of work. Work is an unnatural process exclusive to humanity, it is the method and process of human domination of nature. In his book, Future Primitive Revisited, John Zerzan refers to this as the division of labour. Zerzan explains that there is a symbiotic relationship between the division of labour and domestication of humanity and nature that perpetuates negative cycles in human social structures.

Monet’s Sunrise shows what is still celebrated today as a beautiful sunrise scene. In reality it is a factory. Based on the era in which it was painted, it is presumably full of workers in poor working conditions. The factory is causing a great smog which is completely altering how the view of the river before it appears. The painting beautifies the cancerous smog as scenic and romanticises the factory as if it is something other than an eyesore, filled with miserable people. By extension, it celebrates the idea that humans and nature are here purely to serve capitalism by being functional workers. Humanity, in this painting, is not shown as a part of nature but as a tool for its subjugation.

The Hay Wain - John Constable

The Hay Wain by John Constable gives us a peaceful view of a man working the landscape of his farm with his horse and his dog. This painting is renowned for its beauty. Constable’s paintings have been so celebrated, that the entire area where they were mostly created is still preserved to this day as the Dedham Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB). This so-called beauty is the farmed landscape of south-east England. This area was once, in its entirety; ancient, deciduous woodland but is no longer so due to the consequences of work and human activity.

This molestation of an entire habitat is something the British government seeks to preserve for tourism and capital gain. This is done under the guise of maintaining the lie that the quiet countryside of little England is; A: a reality available for all to attain B: a beautiful thing because it is still in it’s natural state. Again, within a painting celebrated for its beauty in depicting nature, we have ugliness and artificiality. A destroyed habitat, forced animal labour of the horse, a dog breed (Border Collie) selectively bred to exploit obsessive behavioural tendencies and forced to work. Here again, humans, animals and the land represent the means of the domestication of nature in order to create an artificial, human-dominated landscape. This painting tells us that nature only has merit if it has a purpose in serving the functionality of the human world. Nothing about it is natural, or beautiful.

Ivy Bridge, Devonshire - JMW Turner

Ivy Bridge, Devonshire by JMW Turner is similar to the previously mentioned landscape paintings. The natural landscape is sliced by a bridge being crossed by a horse-drawn cart in an area of England densely littered with ANOBs. I am not certain if each of the artists’ intentions were necessarily to celebrate these altered and artificial landscapes as natural beauty in their works. It is said that Turner wrote a poem of his experiences working on the Devonshire commissions revealing that the landscape raised questions about morality for him. It could be that Turner and the landscape painters of the 19th century were attempting to expose the fakeness of the setup. Nonetheless, the paintings are today incorrectly treasured as depicting the beauty of the world in it’s natural state.

The foundation of the idea that these paintings display to us natural beauty come from the views of people who lived in an era when it was conventional to believe that the Earth and nature were there for humans to sculpt in whatever way they liked. This essentially means that to celebrate these paintings today as natural and beautiful is to celebrate human domination of Earth and the domestication of its people and creatures. This celebration preserves two great lies. The first lie is that the Earth, as manipulated by humans, is in it’s natural state. The second lie; This manipulation, caused by human domination, is beautiful.

Thomas Heaton

All of the contemporary-traditional landscape photographers I have looked at are well known on instagram and each of their posts boast thousands of likes, often in the name of conservation. When I look at their photographs, I feel uninspired. How could this be so? Nature is inspiring. They are technically spectacular photographs of incredible scenery but post-production techniques such as the over-saturation of the colours create an unrealness. This is uncomfortable because it presents nature as having to be more than what it actually is to be considered a sight worthy of seeing. While thousands of people do engage with these photographs online, what does it do now for changing how we intereact with nature? How does it change the fundamental way we see the world and does it seek to change the anthropocentric viewpoint that the world is here for us?

Daniel Kordan

This style of photography has not progressed much since Ansel Adams pioneered it last century. Someone told me that this kind of photography is important because it shows people what we stand to lose if humans continue on this path of domination and extraction of nature. I ask the question then, is this tactic flawed? This method of revealing the beauty of nature in photography is not new. It has been a somewhat ubiquitos model for conservation and widespread awareness of nature in photography since Ansel Adams began his career in the 1920s. While this has achieved some huge successes in protecting wild landscapes, these very landscapes are still under threat.

Ansel Adams, Cathedral Peak and Lake, Yosemite National Park, 1938

Climate change, habitat & biodiversity loss are not known as entities who recognise borders and boundaries. Our activies outside proctected areas affect what is within them. I view this kind of photography as a green-washing activity. Consciously our not, these photographers play into the narrative that the landscape is something to be conquered. This is reflected in the corporate funding these photographers receive to travel the world and take these spectacular shots and then share them online with generic captions such as “Get out there and live it.” 

The consequnece of this tactic inspires swarms of amateur photographers into contributing to destructive tourism practices, not to mention the volume of iphones and camera gear purchased. These tourists flood the landscape and attempt to recreate, often successfully, the style of their favourite landscape photographers’ work. They too can share the images on social media and receive kudos for how in touch with nature they are, compliments are given to their highly technical photography. 

This style of photography ignores at large the impacts of current ways in which the human world engages with nature. These photographers leave the inevitable cigarette-butts, food packaging and other litter spread throughout almost any natural landscape out of frame. They might not even see the trash, it is hard to see human waste in a landscape when you do not want to see it. If photographs dealing with conservation of nature showed us the real way in which we interact with nature, would humans therefore be able to finally see nature?

This raises the question of what makes the professional a more worthy artist than the amateur recreationists? The method is also boring, old fashioned and it does not work. Why is climate change etc. getting worse if the tactic of showing people what we might lose is successful? This is because it is not, truly successful. It creates a narrative that the world is our pretty little thing to look at and this objectifies it. Photographers are asking people to look, but not see. In essence, professional landscape photographers whore out to us 5-second-views of a world that really requires vast amounts of time invested in multi-sensory observation to actually see. This tactic does nothing to push for a fundamental shift in how all humans interact with the more-than-human natural world because it does nothing to ensure that nature is seen. If nature is not even seen, how can we challenge the ways which humans see it and engage with it? The practice of how nature is represented in art must change in order to facilitate a change in the ideological practice of seeing nature.

Psychescape - Terri Loewenthal

Photographers like Terri Loewenthal speculate that perhaps the views of nature offered from art is a gendered issue and that we are too used to male-dominated views of the world. She seeks to reject technically-accurate recreations of landscape through photography by choosing to explore imperfection with her photographic practice. She does this in her Psychescape series of works by using a hand-built optic that manipulates the colours and shapes in a photograph at the moment of shooting. She is changing how her camera sees the world, in order to ask us to change how we see the world. Loewenthal intends to achieve this, unlike Ansel Adams and so many after him, by not keeping the human world out of shot. To show views of nature that include humanity which are beautiful in their coexistence.

Contemporary landscape photography and traditional 19th century landscape painting share a similar view of the world in both aesthetics and ideology. They continue to feed a narrative that the human-world is outside of the natural world, that the two are separate.  The practice of doing so has led to a great un-seeing of nature from humans in art and lived experience. We know that we need to change the ways in which humans live and interact with the world in order to ensure that humans can continue to exist in the world. We know that it is necessary for humans to coexist with nature in order to take steps in dealing with climate change and other such natural world catastrophes of the contemporary era. For a long time, landscape painting and landscape photography has refused to play a role in changing how we see nature by showing human dominated views and misleading interpretations of the way that nature is before us. Artists are now seeking to show that humans and nature are part of the same whole. Rejecting views which celebrate the human domination and domestication of nature by bringing the interconnectedness of humans and nature into aesthetics is key to fundamentally shifting the role of art in shaping how humans see nature.

[logical-little-lies]

Your Boyfriend’s Cute- Little Vlogs (pt.2)

a/n: I love the fact that this is already receiving support on tumblr and here, and I posted the first chapter like less than twenty four hours ago! it's giving me lots n lots of motivation to brainstorm the plot to this story. just so yk, it's boutta move FAST (aka: lots of timeskips).

chapter summary: Virgil and Roman go to Patton's house for the first time, and Virgil starts to realize why Roman has a crush on Logan. Also, Patton and Virgil film a video for Patton's channel.

--

Virgil exited the Hot Topic with an extremely positive attitude. He had hit send on a list of things he wanted Roman to get for him, and he was ready to meet Patton. The mall was an outdoor mall, so he quickly scanned the 'workers only' parking spots for Logan. He spotted him, in a dark blue t-shirt that read 'Eldenridge Bookshop' with a little book logo on it. Virgil caught himself admiring Logan's body and face from afar, before snapping out of his (slightly gay) daze. He waved, catching his attention. Logan smiled warmly, and Virgil crossed the parking lot.

"Hello Virgil," Logan held his hand out, and Virgil shook it lightly.

"Very professional," he teased, smiling to show that he was just playing. Roman was right. This man was definitely cute. Logan chuckled.

"Yeah, that's what Patton said," Logan opened the door to the passenger seat on his car, motioning for him to get in. Virgil climbed into the vehicle, the door closing behind him.

Logan walked around the back of the car, getting in on the drivers side. "Buckle your seatbelt, honey," Logan instructed, following the directions himself before starting the car. Virgil did as he said without question, willing himself to stop blushing at the casual use of the word 'honey'.

"How far do you live?"  Virgil questioned after a few moments of silence. Logan had pulled out of the parking spot, making his way to the exit of the outdoor mall.

"About ten minutes. Roman wanted to be there when you met Patton, but no doubt, we'll beat him there. Patton's waiting at home,so I'll just record it, yeah?"

Virgil nodded at Logan's words. He had a very caregivery tone, in a stern, but soft way. He could understand why Patton liked him as a caregiver, and why Roman had a crush on him. "Sounds good to me," Virgil smiled.

"So, how was work?" Logan turned onto the main road, tapping his finger against the steering wheel.

"Good, just another day of selling twenty one pilots merch to twelve year old wanna-be emos," Virgil shrugged, causing Logan to laugh lightly.

"I'm guess you used to be one of those emo kids when you were younger?"

"Bitch, I still am. The only difference is that I'm technically an adult."

"Language!" he scolded lightly, speaking in a playful tone.

There was a few beats of silence, Virgil taking the opportunity to look out the window and admire the beautiful weather. "Patton's very excited to see you, he has so many ideas for stuff to do with you."

Logan and Virgil continued on the conversation, distracting Virgil from his excitement for the time being. Suddenly, Logan turned into a neighborhood, and onto a small side street. The two-floored yellow house Virgil saw in many videos was at the end. There were flowers in the front yard. Patton sat on the front porch, and he jumped up when Logan entered the driveway.

"You stay here until I motion you out, I want to make sure I catch this on video," Logan put the car in park, pulling his phone out of his pocket and getting out of the car. Patton awkwardly stood by the door of his house, Logan holding up his phone. Virgil unbuckled, excitedly jumping out of the car when Logan made the motion.

Virgil almost tackled Patton to the ground when he hugged him, jumping into his arms. Right then was when Roman pulled into the driveway behind Logan's car. "I can't believe this, you're actually...here, i-it's crazy."

"I know kiddo, I'm happy to see you too."

Patton held Virgil in a tight hug for at least a minute straight, running his fingers through his hair. Patton was slightly chubby,wearing a very soft light blue sweater. Therefore, he was very cuddleable. Roman and Logan made sure not to interrupt their moment, not speaking until they finally pulled away.

"I'm so happy right now, you have no idea," Virgil smiled, turning and approaching Roman, hugging him.

"Yeah, and this little emo here doesn't get this excited unless he regresses. He tries to keep up his angsty  exterior, but he's really just soft."

Virgil playfully glared at him, pretending to be mad at him for the silly teasing. "Come inside," Patton was quick to open his door, welcoming the couple into his home.

"Like I say whenever we video chat, your house is nice as hell," Virgil admired the home.

"Yep. There's so many rooms that we have a normal bedroom, the little bedroom that you see in most of my videos, and a set of extra rooms. Seriously, this place is perfect," Logan sat down on the couch as Patton spoke. Patton disappeared, going up the stairs.

"Where's he going?" Roman pondered, sitting on the couch near Logan.

"Probably to grab the vlogging camera from the little bedroom," Logan replied as Virgil sat down next to his boyfriend. Virgil could've sworn he caught Logan's eyes lingering on Roman before he spoke again.

"Uh, Roman, how are you?" he stumbled upon his words lightly.

"Good," Roman smiled. Virgil saw Patton stop at the bottom of the steps, holding a small camera.

"Logan, is it okay if me and Virgil hang out upstairs? You guys can do whatever you want down here..find some common interests or something."

Logan gave Patton a look Virgil didn't get the chance to decode, automatically fixing his face when Roman looked at him. "That sounds good to me. I get that you guys have known each other forever, and I understand if you wanna spend some time alone," Roman smiled at Patton softly.

Patton came over, grabbing Virgil's hand and pulling him up. He didn't let go, leading him up the stairs. Neither of them said anything until they were in Patton's little room. "First of all," Patton closed the door behind him, moving to pull his tripod out of the corner of the room, "Your boyfriend is cute as hell. Like I knew that before but seeing him in person just confirmed it."

Virgil laughed, "We're all so gay, I swear to god. Your boyfriend is cute too, at least Roman thinks so."

"Roman's poly right? Logan and I are...kind of why I left Logan down there, he's lowkey been crushing on Roman since forever," Patton motioned Virgil over, patting a spot on the edge of the bed, facing the tripod he had set up. Virgil took his spot, watching Patton attach the camera to the setup.

"Yeah, Roman's polyamorous. And that's funny, because Roman has a crush on Logan too," Virgil revealed. The two of them looked at each other and did a fangirl-ish squeal that only best friends could successfully do in sync.

"So, what are we doing for the channel?" Virgil questioned, motioning towards the camera.

"I figured we could just talk about like, how we became friends and stuff. This how thing feels unreal, and I kinda want a video to look back on so I remember how I felt during all this."

Virgil quickly agreed, and without a word, Patton started the camera.

"Hey Kiddos, welcome to my channel: eat a second cookie! Today, I have my friend with me. I've talked about him on my channel before, but this is the first time I actually have him here in person. Please welcome, Virgil!" Patton spoke in an enthusiastic voice, motioning towards Virgil, who waved awkwardly. There was a beat of silence before Patton nudged him.

"Here's where you plug your tumblr and stuff," Patton instructed, breaking the silence.

"Oh," Virgil laughed at himself, "Uh, follow me at anxiousbabey on everything."

Just like that, the two filmed an unscripted video, talking about the first time they talked, telling quite a few stories. It all lead up to the end of the recording, where they talked about how they met.

"Now that we know we live so close, hopefully he'll be on my channel lots n lots. Right, Virge?"

Virgil giggled, nodding a bit. "I hope so! I'm really glad we realized this, I'm so happy y'all have absolutely no idea!"

"Well, I guess that's all for today kiddos! Bye princes, princesses, and enby royalty, please check out my tumblr and instagram, all under eat-a-second-cookie!" Patton held out the word 'cookie' so that his statement rhymed. He finished closing out the video, turning off the camera.

"Y'know, I've been waiting for the day we'd get to finally film a video together."

There was a second of silence before Virgil engulfed him into a hug. "I feel like my life was good before..and now it's perfect. I'm so glad this happened," Virgil mumbled.

"Let's go check on my nerd and your boyfriend," Patton caused Virgil to laugh, taking his hand softly and leading him down the stairs. Virgil didn't know why this act of affection made him blush, because he knew Patton was just generally affectionate, but his cheeks were definitely burning.

"Hey, Vee," Roman looked up from the laptop him and Logan were watching something on.

"Did you guys film anything?" Logan questioned softly, pressing the spacebar on the laptop and closing it.

"Yeah, just a video about like our friendship," Patton shrugged, taking his spot next to Logan. Logan automatically wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"That's surely gonna be an adorable video," Logan praised, and Patton smiled lightly. "So, you guys are welcome to stay for dinner, or even spend the night if you want to."

Patton nodded in agreement and excitement with Logan's statement. "Ro!" Virgil tapped his shoulder lightly, tilting his head, "Stay pleasee?"

"Is that your little voice I hear?" Roman teased, causing Virgil to pout lightly, shaking his head.

"Awe! I think it is," Patton cooed, "But, can you guys stay, pleasee?"

"I don't know," Roman sighed, "Virgil has work tomorrow."

"Okay? And I can give him a ride in the morning, seriously, you're welcome to spend the night."

Virgil gave puppy dog eyes, pouting to convince his carer. "Stop with the pouty face, I was gonna say yes anyways," he sighed, causing Virgil and Patton to cheer.

That night was gonna be fun.

A/N: There's gonna be a timeskip, like a one-month type gap, where the four leave the awkward stage and they're all kind of close. I don't wanna write all that out and I WANNA GET TO THE GOOD PART.

Tag list: @stimmingsides @smollilsanderssides @novacloudcat @analogical-agere @fairyhuman2000 @aphandgflover @softastarlight @littlesapphygem @softflowerinmyheart 

please ask/reach out if you wanna be added to the tag list

[thevondoom62]

One Year on Tumblr

Yeah, so uhhhh, I just realized that as of June 23rd I’ve officially been on this website for over a year. I meant to write something about it, but as with many thing I just kinda forgot. Oops. This might be a bit late, but here’s some thoughts on that.

I started this blog out of necessity. Previously I used to post my toy pics onto Imgur and share the albums privately among friends. I didn’t think there was a greater audience for my photography beyond them. However, Imgur’s rules changed and some of my albums were flagged as inappropriate, falsely so might I add. Made it so you’d need an account to view them.

I had it with Imgur, so I needed somewhere else to post my pics. Not many good alternatives were out there, so I came to Tumblr. Smart, right? Leave a website for falsely flagging your content as inappropriate, then come to a website that is INFAMOUS for doing so. Not to mention that many users that have left over a purge of such content.

So, why did I come here? I was talked into it by a friend. Like I said, I didn’t think there was an audience for my pics so it took a lot of convincing on his part for me to finally do it.

One year later, and I can see that I was wrong. Many of my posts have gotten dozens of notes, and some even over a hundred. Still, to see a post get even one like makes me smile.

I’d like to thank everybody who has supported this account. I really can’t say enough. Whether you’ve followed, reblogged, or just liked a post I really appreciate it. 

I’ve always wanted to run a toy blog like this, similar to other blogs or reviews sites I’ve seen. That’s the kind of vibe I’ve been trying to go for.

So what’s next for this blog? I don’t know. One day, if nothing else, I’d like to get something that can take better pictures than the old crappy camera I’ve been using. Barring that, I’ll probably just stick with this same camera and setup for the foreseeable future.

That’s about it, I guess. Got some new figures not too long ago I need to take pics of, so hopefully I’ll get around to that soon.

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

The Backstage Pass (Out)

Hey everyone... this is still not an update of Do You Wanna Dance? but another pathetic attempt of me to provide you with PJ-related reading material... Sssooo, there was this post of @gardenofstoney... and I’ve always taken tags verry seriously. I felt addressed since the situation she described sounded absolutely like a perfect fanfic material so I ended up playing with the idea. One thing led to another and a Stone Gossard one-shot happened, which I hereby share with you (with her and @mookiebaelock’s consent). Disclaimer: may contain traces of Jeff Ament!

Ps. I solemnly swear I get Judy out of the shower soon.

„Are you sure you don’t want to move towards the side of the stage? These Vedder-fanatics seem pretty dangerous, I’m not sure I want to be here when they go wild…” Mel asked fidgeting with the setups of her professional camera.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m fine here…” Maggie answered leaning her forehead against her arms that were resting on the barrier. She was dog-tired; she and her best friend, Mel were cueing the whole day to get there at the show of their favorite band, Pearl Jam. Actually, Pearl Jam was their second favorite band but it was the rock group that brought them together. They saw each other’s introduction in the “Pen Pal Wanted” column of Footsteps, the band’s fanzine and the rest was history... And finally, they were there, standing at their precious front row places, waiting for the show to begin…

They agreed on standing in front of the center of the stage since they both had different preferences… Mel was dying to make close shots of her bassist crush (and maybe steal a few smiles and glances from him), while Maggie was interested in the other side of the stage… to be more accurate, in the person who regularly ruled it. Stone Gossard. The absent-minded, aloof alien who played the rhythm guitar parts and who, unfortunately, wasn’t the most responsive member of the band. He was said to be a sarcastic, hilarious and nice guy but at shows he just… didn’t give a shit about the crowd. He was usually absorbed in the songs, following the rhythm with his entire body, marching to the beat or just bobbing his head… but that was all. No interaction, no communication, just the chords. If Maggie had been alone there, she would have picked his side and stayed there as if she had been pinned to the ground… but Mel wanted to stand near Jeff so they made a compromise. Of course, Mel tried every kind of dirty trick to lure her closer to Mike’s and Jeff’s territory and Maggie begged desperately with her irresistible sad puppy face to move in the other direction, after all, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad… and Jeff would bounce around, anyways, she argued. But neither of them could convince the other one so they were stuck in front of the place of Eddie Vedder and they knew they would have to fight hard to be able to keep their position.

“You will defend me, I know.” Maggie cuddled to her friend, letting herself be pulled in a bear hug. She was short and slim, the top of her head barely reached the level of the tall Mel’s chin, that’s why they often joked about themselves being two dogs coming from different species but being allies and best friends forever.

“I’ll defend you just… not now, oh my god, ohmygod, they’re here, that’s him!!!” Mel suddenly let her go frantically taking one picture after another of her main target.

“Okay, I can’t win against Jeff Ament…” Maggie shook her head with a forgiving smile only to discover the object of her admiration appearing on the other side of the stage, walking around with a deadpan on his face. She couldn’t help chuckling when she noticed he was wearing a black socks-dress shoes combo... with light brown shorts. She’d already got used to these weird testimonies of his terrible fashion sense but he always managed to surprise her with a newer unacceptable outfit.

When the singer finally showed up too, the crowd moved forward, pressing the girls against the barrier… and from that moment on, they only had some rest during the slower songs. Not that they wanted to complain, they were singing along the lyrics, screaming, laughing, crying or just squeezing each other’s hand making sure they were not dreaming, they were finally together, having the time of their life, really living their favorite songs. Mel was overly contented with seeing the bass player’s manly moves in the tight tank top he was wearing and the passionate solos and dazed-off moments of Mike pleased both of them too, even if they were within the spitting range of Ed. But as time went by, they both started feeling the depressing thought that this would be over soon, even if they tried to fight against it by bouncing and screaming twice as intensely as before…

When Stone started playing the opening chords of State of Love and Trust, the crowd went completely nuts and Maggie had to tighten her grip not to be drifted… the pressure behind her eased for a second but at once, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and lost the touch with the outside world…

***

Mhmmmm… what are these bright lights? I must have died and got in that shining corridor about which people who experienced clinical death always tell…

“Jesus, I go blind…” I mumble… or am I just hearing my own thoughts? Shit, this splitting headache, I’m definitely alive, I must have fallen asleep after taking in my migraine pill.

“Do you prefer low light?” a nasal male voice asks and as I look around, I find myself lying on a couch but I’m not in my own apartment, I don’t know this place. Oh, so I’m in a dream, nice, let’s see where it’s going…

“Yes, please!” I groan covering my eyes.

“Clouds roll by… sorry, bad joke, here, is it better his way?”

I take away my hand from my eyes and let them adjust to the pleasant half-light provided probably by a standing lamp somewhere out of my sight. When did I learn how to change the setting of my dreams? Cool… The owner of the voice takes place opposite me only to make me realize, I’m in a Stone dream, moreover, this time it’s a new one.

“Are you okay?” he’s checking me with the inquiring but still expressionless stare of a toad.

“More or less…” I mumble helplessly. Interesting, I’ve never had such a vivid dream about him, it’s somehow different, like I was in charge, I’ve never felt like this before while dreaming… Familiar melodies provide the musical accompaniment, I have to listen for a few bars until I recognize Yellow Ledbetter… but he’s here… and the music comes from…?

“Are we… at a show?” I ask suspiciously, I’m afraid that despite the realistic surrounding, it’ll turn into an incoherent screenplay written by my subconscious.

“Yes, we are…”

“But how come you’re not playing? You should be on the stage with the others…”

“I don’t feel like playing… I mean in that song, I have basically not much to do, I strum the same chords as Mike, it’s boring. At sound checks, sometimes I beg until I can play the drum parts, I’m a desperate drummer but I love it. But the rhythm guitar part is just… nah. Plus, I had to pee, anyways.”

“Fair enough.” I snicker. He’s such an awkward dork, even in my dreams. “Well, that happens if a musician is too busy with drinking beer at gigs instead of playing”.

“Excuse me?” he startles offended. That’s my favorite thing in dreaming, I can do and say what I’d never dare in real life.

“Do you think we don’t notice when you’re just fudging, walking around with the guitar and use the change of amplifier setups as an excuse to take a few sip of your booze? That doesn’t really count as musical contribution.”

“Ugh, busted. I try not to drink before the show though. Right as soon as I get onstage I start drinking. But come on, I never belch out of key, what’s this if not musical humility?”

I snort shaking my head and keep grinning from ear to ear. If he’s such a hilariously funny guy in my fantasy, how adorable he can be in the reality… I know he used to be an annoying, sarcastic little shit but when PJ got really successful, he mellowed down and made himself to the main target of his irony… The mixture of this down-to-earth humbleness and calm confidence was one of the main reasons why he became my favorite member in the band; in the band that only consists of great, relatable people, by the way.

Maybe I should use the occasion to have a chitchat with him, I could ask him questions about stuff I’ve always wanted to know… even if the answers are only the products of my mind…

“Do you see the world in yellow?”

Okay, maybe that’s not the best start but the colored lenses of his spectacles somehow distracted me and it just slipped out. He reacts with that short, amused eyebrow twitch I love… good job, Maggie.

“It’s a good question! It’s funny, nobody asked that before… but to answer it, I do, it’s like being trapped in that moment of sunset when everything is glowing in that golden light… but to be less poetic, it makes everyone look as if they were Lego figures, they have yellow head, y’know…”

The mentioning of my favorite toy brings back old memories about the times when I was building my own town with eclectic houses that served as the scene of the made-up action stories crafted by my cousin and me.

“I you were a Lego figure, you’d be a bad boy.” I remark with a timid smile and try to ignore the fact that my cheeks are in flames.

“Only if I were a Lego figure? That’s offensive. I was the member of the gang Newton Street Boys. We were the most dangerous guys on whole Capitol Hill, we terrorized the district by taking protection rackets from kindergarten pupils. They were scared to death when we showed up riding our bikes, I liked the banana-seat ones with the high handlebars - maybe a card in the wheel could have been part of it.” he chuckles playfully. “Anyway, why a bad boy?”

“It’s because of the scruff.” I giggle and reach out to pinch his neck but he leans away.

“Please don’t touch me.” he grunts.

Hey, brain, we had an agreement: if I behave decently enough in real life, you won’t throw any obstacles in the way of my naughty tendencies at nights. So if I want to touch Stone’s perfect neck, I’m gonna to do it. Period.

“I said no!!!” he repeats this time angrier when my fingers approach his skin again. What the hell???

“Sorry. I… I just wanted to say that there were those bearded figures… and you could get them mostly from the pirate or the police station series.”

“You mean they had an attachable Lego beard?” he inquires confused and excited at the same time; I’m sure he’s already forgotten the embarrassing intermezzo and is now desperately trying to recall the look of the little yellow dudes.

“Haha, no, it was just painted on their face. There was the moustache, the regular beard and the scruff that basically meant black dots on their face. And the scruffy guys always played the role of the bad boys in my stories. You know, the bank robber, the fleeing prisoner…”

“… the fucked-up musician… we should definitely have a Lego party once!”

“We should…” I repeat and we’re smiling silently at each other for a few seconds… I clear my throat and swallow hard since my mouth got completely dry, shit, it must be that damn gum-shield I have to wear at nights to prevent myself from gnashing.

“You want some water?” he asks walking to a fridge standing at the door.

“Fuck, yes, I’m dying of thirst.” I moan and I mean it.

“Here.” he hands a small bottle to me while he opens a beer can. I rather don’t make any remarks, the show is over, after all… But now that I think into it, maybe the other band members will show up too… I can’t wait!

I lower my head and press the ice cold bottle against my forehead. It feels incredibly good, that blinding pain is still pulsing in my head. As I direct my gaze onto the ground, I can’t help laughing again when I spot his dress shoes and the black socks tucked into them. The hem rolled down around his left ankle making the socks look like they were unmatched.

However thirsty I am, I can only take small sips since I’m already snorting at the next part of this weird vision.

“Anyway… before the others would arrive, there’s one thing we have to discuss.” I begin when I finally manage to force my facial muscles into a serious expression.

“Something that stays between us? Like a dirty little secret?” his face lights up with a boyish smile.

“Kind of, if your socks are dirty…” I roll my eyes. “It’s the footwear.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Of course yours, mine is normal. Matching boots, a totally adequate choice for a rock concert. But yours is just… criminal.”

“Don’t be rude with my shoes, they look good and they are comfy as fuck!” he circles with his feet comically.

“They do but man, look in that mirror!” I point at his reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. “You look like the mixture of an elementary school boy and a bachelor dressed by his mother. Shorts with dress shoes? How? Why? It’s an obvious no-no!” I scream.

“I have only these ones, sneakers and flip flops with me, which doesn’t leave much variation.” he shrugs briefly.

“You should have chosen the sneakers… as for the “f” word, I’m not even willing to pronounce it.”

“I always wore hiking boots in the earlier times, they were the most comfortable choice but they weren’t compatible with the heat on stage. And then, I got introduced in the magical world of orthopedic sandals but the band somehow vetoed them, I don’t really understand why... I was only allowed to wear them between shows and at soundchecks but at gigs, I had to wear the boots… Once, before a show, maybe in Atlanta, I can’t remember exactly, the sole of my boot separated so I could only wear my sandals… the guys freaked out about my velvet shorts-sweatpants-white socks-sandals outfit and obliged me to wear Jeff’s shoes during the show.” he recalls but I can barely listen to him, his hand talk and the fidgeting alien fingers are definitely more appealing than the image of Birkenstocks worn with socks.

As my eyes are glued to him, I involuntarily start playing with my hair but my fingers land in something sticky. I check them and glance at him helplessly, as if he could help me find out why blood is the next nonsense feature in this scene.

“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you’re bleeding?” he shouts and rushes to the fridge.

“Because I didn’t know…” I mutter and can’t form further coherent sentences since he steps back to me with an ice bag and presses it to the back of my head… and he keeps standing opposite me with his arms laced around my neck. I’m desperately trying to look at the ceiling, the ground and the four walls at the same time, anywhere but him…

“This is too embarrassing, I want this to finally end… this is terrible.” I whisper in pain, fixing my gaze on the ugly shoes and working on calming down my hyperventilation with all my nerves.

“Hey, I just wanted to help! Just for the record, we don’t often let passed-out fans in the backstage, you were in bad shape and…”

“No, I mean, thanks and all but this dream… it’s going nowhere, it was funny but you entering into my personal space creates a tension that needs resolution, like a hug or a kiss or anything, this makes just no sense!” I blurt out, basically arguing with myself, the director of the movie.

“What? That doctor could finally arrive, you must have a concussion!” he gently tries to push me back onto to the couch but I shake his hands off me.

“What doctor... wait… the pain… the blood… is this… real?” I flail still hoping he doesn’t exist and suddenly disappears or turns into my real crush or Edge from U2 or whatever.

“You got hit with by a half-empty beer can and you passed out so the security personnel fished you out of the crowd. Since I came back anyway, I suggested that they should lay you down here until they get a doctor. You got a backstage pass by passing out. A backstage pass out.” he tries to ease he situation with a pun but I’m not really in the mood.

“No… the scruff… the shoes… the ki… I can’t believe I said all this bullshit, this is worse than a nightmare…” I bury my face into my palms completely mortified and stumble back towards the couch dizzily. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice… Mel!!!

***

“I’m not going to repeat this again, my best friend is in that room so if you won’t let me in immediately, I’m going to fuckin’ sue you!!!” Mel pointed with her index finger outraged at the huge guy standing in front of the door of the dressing room. Actually, instead of suing, she wanted to headbutt him in the chest but she knew it would feel like running into a concrete wall. She’d already been arguing with him for like fifteen minutes but the guy was just standing there with folded arms, stoically bearing the threats and the various spells casted on him by the furious girl.

“Hey, Ernie, I think you can let her in, her friend has just woken up, it’d be better if she’s with her when the doctor arrives…” a top of a head with ruffled hair peeked out of the door. The security guard obeyed and silently stepped aside.

“Maggie!!!” Mel shouted and tossed the young man in the door away to get a free way to her friend. “I was so worried about you!!!” she captured her into a rib-breaking hug.

“I’m… I’m okay… Stone took care of me…” Maggie mumbled against Mel’s chest trying to point at the guitarist under her friend’s arm.

“Stone???” Mel screamed making both of them turn around without breaking the hug.

“Yup.” the guitarist waved clumsily with one hand at her, digging his other hand deeply in his pocket.

Maggie managed to tiptoe enough to rest her head on her friend’s shoulder, which allowed her to saw the door opening… only to recognize the other members of the band arriving back from the stage. The small group was guided by Jeff who stopped at the door exchanging a surprised look with the embarrassed guitarist standing in the room.

Maggie started silently shaking of laughter because she could already imagine what’d happen next…

“Uhm… Mel… I’m choking… please let me go…” she acted patting her friend’s back a few times. “I think you should turn back… slowly…” she recommended biting her lips to hide her amusement when she pulled away to see the girl’s reaction.

“Why… what…?” Mel looked back over her shoulder and… due to the bassist’s excellent reflexes, she didn’t land on the ground but in his arms. Jeff stared shocked alternately at the unconscious girl and the other ones, begging for help with his eyes.

“Jesus, not again… “Stone sighed facepalming.” She’s yours, I’m out.”

[chibimyumi]

That Demon, Seducer

Dear @gisellehexen89,

First of all, thank you for your kind words and interesting ask!

Indeed, the musical version of this scene is quite different from its 2D counterparts for several reasons. The shortest comparison I can make is that the musical version is, as you say, more unsettling, whereas the 2D counterparts are creepier.

But! I think nobody ever sends me asks because they think I’m good at short answers (if you did, I hope y’all learned by now that I just am not XD), so here comes another loooong post to live up to my notorious reputation!

This post will be a three-parter:

Manga and Anime

Musical - Noah’s Ark Circus 2.1. Step 1. Listening 2.2. Step 2. Connecting 2.3. Step 3. Advance

Conclusion

1. Manga and Anime

In order to understand the difference, let us first look at the manga and anime before we compare it to the musical.

In chapter 28 Beast is very upset. Sebas sneaks up on her, and the first thing he does is touch her scarf. Beast is understandably enraged at Sebastian’s assumptions of her feelings despite not even having had a proper conversation yet. “What do you understand!?” she challenges, and Sebas makes a countermove: “nothing, yet,” basically announcing that he is going to pry Beast open.

When Beast fights back, the demon immediately grabs her by the wrist and arm, pulling her closer.

Sebas gives her no time at all to consent, and already puts a hand to her belly, moving upwards presumably past her breasts before grabbing her by the most vulnerable part of any animal, the throat. Hereby, Sebas has demonstrated to Beast how the power-balance is entirely on his side, leaving her entirely at his mercy.

Sebas’ anime counterpart takes it even further. We see how Beast tries to run in episode 6, but Sebastian uses the fence to his advantage, blocking Beast’s body between the metal and his own body.

Beast attempts to fight Sebas off, and just like in the manga, Sebas yanks her arm to stop her escape. Anime!Beast offers more resistance than in the manga, and Anime!Sebas also responds with greater aggression. Here we see him not only grab her arm, but also seemingly pulling it behind her body, almost like how a police officer arrests a suspect.

The camera starts low and tilts upward in a suggestive metaphor of ‘moving up her skirt’. Sebastian’s hand does more than just holding Beast in place, he is touching up on her.

More explicitly thanks to the animation, we also see how Sebas is caressing Beast’s skin while she wears an expression of terror on her face. Just like in the original, Anime!Sebas also dramatically banks the power balance to his side.

Touching Beast’s scarf may not seem much of a deal on surface level, but this scarf was wrapped around her by Joker. And judging from how Beast immediately pressed her face into it, the scarf symbolises some type of comfort to her.

By touching that scarf unsolicited, Sebas was making an uncalled move on Beast’s last comfort.

In the manga, this assault on Beast’s metaphorical comfort was taken to yet higher levels by showing us how the scarf drops to the ground. Here, Beast’s comfort was metaphorically undone, literally leaving her exposed to Sebastian’s advances.

2. Musical - Noah’s Ark Circus

Now we have studied Sebastian’s advances in the manga and anime, it is time to move on to the musical.

First of all, the setup of this scene is incredibly different and therefore also calls for different approaches from the performers. This scene in the musical can be split into three parts.

Step 1. Listening

In the manga and anime it is mostly Sebas who does the talking, making advance after advance. In the musical however, most lines were given to Beast, while Sebas is the listener and only speaks in response.

In my opinion, this choice is by far the most clever change, because Beast would naturally not be interested in Sebastian’s rambles; all she wanted was to be heard. Sebastian’s goal in turn, was also to win trust and information from Beast.

I very much doubt anyone would open up to someone who imposes himself onto them the way anime and manga Sebas did. Had the target been someone who’s already horny beyond reason, seeing such an attractive seducer MIGHT have been enough, but that was not Beast’s situation. She was already emotionally vulnerable, and therefore I suspect what manga and anime Sebas did would only cause someone to shut close even further.

In the musical version, Beast starts her emotional pour-out, stating: “no one could ever understand my pain.” Yunbastian’s lines differ from the manga: instead of shutting Beast down with the line “I don’t understand anything, yet,” he actually accepts the woman’s words, and simply replies: “shall I wipe away your tears?” in the softest, cooing voice ever leaving his lips.

Beast does not humour Sebastian’s offer with a reply, and instead continues to pour out her frustrations and pain. Sebas continues to listen silently until Beast says that she’ll “only get hurt,” to which he replies: “I shall help you forget.”

In stark contrast with his manga and anime counterparts, the first time Sebastian touches Beast, it was in a gentle, assuring manner, only touching her shoulder as a sign of support.

Step 2. Connecting

Beast’s singing becomes more frantic, and she turns to face Sebastian. As it turns out, Sebastian had been listening so well that the moment she faces him, she hears him say the very words that she had been building up to: “a one time liberation.” There. The ‘understanding’ she previously believed the man incapable of giving. Their minds connected.

Yunbastian backs away to give her space, indicating that all he does is make the offer, but that Beast is the one who has the say in whether she grabs this ‘liberation’.

Now that Beast knows that she is being respected, she literally and figuratively moves towards Sebastian.

Even with full confidence that his prey is now in his hands, Yunbastian still does not touch Beast’s body, fully respecting her autonomy. Yunbastian merely follows Beast’s steps, never interrupting her. This was a very important action, because Sebastian needed Beast to feel like she can talk to him; “talking to him”, after all, was exactly what he wanted her to do.

Here ⇊ is a zoomed-in, slow-motion capture of this ⇈ moment where Yunbastian shows the audience how he knows he’s been successful in luring in his prey. His eyes communicate very clearly his inner thoughts: “hook, line, and sinker.”

Beast and Sebastian’s dance duet begins, and we see Beast being the one to make the first move while Sebastian follows. This too is a very important nuance, because by following Beast instead of making her comply with him, Sebas shows her that SHE is the one who matters here, that SHE is the protagonist of their story.

Step 3. Advance

For the first time Yunbastian makes his advance. Here he also follows Beast in her movements. He does not take Beast, but gently guides her hand into his.

Once Beast grabs hold of Yunbastian’s hand, the music plays up and they engage in a synchronised dance. Still here, Yunbastian only touches the hand and arm Beast had given him herself.

Then suddenly, Beast seems to think better of it, and attempts to walk away. Alas, it is too late, Sebastian’s already got her.

Unlike in the manga or anime, this is the first time Yunbastian touches Beast’s scarf - her symbolic comfort. He does not try to undo the scarf or pry away the fabric to touch her skin however. His hand is firmly pressed onto her throat, but the hand that is in Beast’s vision tells a different - albeit misleading - story.

Where the 2D Sebastians tighten their grip over their prey, Yunbastian loosens his. The effect however, is the opposite. It is like Beast is entranced by the demon, and can’t help but walk straight into the trap despite being fully aware that it is one.

It is like it had sunken into Beast’s mind what Sebastian is after only now. The moment the man moves, Beast grabs for the hem of her coat, pulling it down in an attempt to protect herself.

Now Yunbastian loosens his grip in his other hand which held her throat as well. It is only now that Beast relaxes and let’s go of the hem.

Yunbastian guides both Beast’s hands into his own, and pays immaculate attention to their height difference. He bends down and holds the woman’s gaze from below her. When he made sure that she would not resist, he made his final move.

“Skilfully, sweetly, silently...”

These were the keywords to Sebastian’s tactics, and it is indeed exactly what Yunbastian had done.

This part of the song is the reprise of the demon’s theme at the very beginning of the musical, ‘contract’. We see a man making a romantic advance on a woman, taking all steps to respect the her autonomy. But in the end all these respectful actions were but a means to an end.

This reprise should be understood as non-diegetic: obviously Yunbastian was not actually loudly betraying his manipulation tactics to his prey. He was singing the audience. Therefore he had dropped the angelic high tone he used to coax Beast and returned to his usual low voice. By giving **these lines to Sebastian and have him sing this in reprise of ‘contract’, it is like he is warning all of us against the pretenses of kindness.

Beast finally lets her guard down entirely. Sebas turns to the audience, grimacing “just as planned” so triumphantly, it would make ‘Death Note’s’ Light realise that Sebas is the actual OG here.

**TLN: These lines were originally William’s.

Now is where Yunbastian’s specialty comes in; the skin-crawling demon. Right after showing us Just-As-Planned!Sebas™, he makes a show out of pulling that concerned face before turning back to Beast. He won’t allow her to suspect that he is anything other than concerned for her well-being.

This ⇊ compassionate face is the only face Beast would know Sebastian by. Until she later learns of the truth of course, but then it was already too late...

Before this scene blacks out, we catch a last glimpse of Yunbastian pulling his leg backwards preparing for a descent to his knee. This tells us that he is going to carry through with this respectful and compassionate act, all the way until the end.

3. Conclusion

Now I have made an extensive comparison between the three media types, we can produce the following chart which compares the tactics between the Sebastians.

As I said in the introduction, I personally find the 2D Sebastians ‘creepier’, as he represents aggressive masculinity. The achievement the 2D Sebastians made did not necessarily require a demon’s skill; all it seemed to take was exceptionally good looks. It is beyond my understanding how he would have succeeded in getting Beast to talk (other than using actual demon powers, a.k.a. Yana’s divine decision).

The musical version is much more ‘unsettling’, because Yunbastian employs his experience from studying humans over the course of centuries. He knows the mechanism of ‘fear’ in and out, and is capable of bending this inborn protection mechanism all us humans have TO HIS advantage.

Yunbastian presents the face he wants you to see, masking the monster he is underneath. Instead of using brute force, he uses a far more insidious power. Yunbastian was the aggressor, but in the end, it still looks like it was Beast who talked to him, Beast who gave him her hands, her body, and Beast who chose to trust him.

Please click here for the AWESOME behind the scenes facts of this scene!

I hope this analysis was not disappointing. Thanks for reading this loooooong post until the end (*´▽｀*)ノ