#first time i ever heard of wicked was on TV

[beatrice1979a]

Wicked - Ugly Betty (2007)

Eden Espinosa (Elphaba), Megan Hilty (Glinda) & Kristopher Cusick (Fiyero). Also cameo of actress Marlo Thomas (That Girl)

Popular - I am not that girl - Defying Gravity

[paniniani]

“support him from under the desk!” : kiri x reader! nsfw

thanks for the suggestion <3 hope you enjoy! i loved the other options in the poll as well so stay tuned for more 👀 pls send suggestions!

"DENKI HELP WHERE ARE YOU" kirishima screamed into his mic as his fortnite character, appropriately his own skin, attempted to sprint away from his attacker. you could feel his muscles tensing with stress from your position behind him on the couch, your head on his shoulder as you witnessed what could have been the worst teamwork you've ever seen.

"oops sorry man..." you heard echoing from his headphones, rolling your eyes at denki's avatar, who was now dancing on top of kirishima's dead body. "denki. bro. i know you can do better than this. we're not gonna stand a chance against sero and mina if we don't get our act together." giggling at how much he cared about this, you pulled him back against you, wrapping your arms around his stomach.

"aw come on kiri, don't be so hard on yourself! it's just a game!" you whispered into his ear, making sure to point his mic away so denki wouldn't make fun of him later. he leaned into your touch, sighing with contentment as the stress of the game faded away.

"yeah, i guess so. maybe the next game is gonna be the one!" always the optimist, he smiled back at you as the round began, re-adjusting his mic. he'd been playing for hours, wasn't it time for a little break? he was so focused on the tv that he hadn't even noticed how needy you were for him. teasing your fingers at the hem of his shirt, you traced your hands up and down his chest, taking your time over every hardened muscle of his abs.

still no reaction? you didn't realize he cared so much about this dumb game... taking it a step forward, you ghosted your pointer finger into the waistband of his sweatpants, toying with the elastic as you pressed a soft kiss to his neck. as much as he tried to remain focused on the game, his deep sigh and dip of his throat gave him away. you almost had him.

"kiri baby?" you whispered in between kisses, causing him to shiver. "yeah?" he choked out as you sucked extra hard on his neck. "gotta win this one y/n.. need denki to actually help me-" pressing your soft lips to his, you groaned into his mouth as you looked at him with needy eyes. "let me help you instead?" his stomach dropped with desire, he wanted nothing more than to bend you over on the couch and take you right there. "baby i gotta finish this game, i promise i'll take good care of you a-af-" pulling his sweats down, you slowly traced your hand down his bare thigh, causing him to barely close his mouth in time before a moan escaped.

"come on love.. you're distracting me with all this teasing.. can't take it anymore". a wicked grin on your face, you gently wrapped your hand around his pleading cock, stroking it up and down so lightly that he could barely feel it. "you can take it" you murmured into his ear, causing him to buck up into your hand, whining your name. looking up at the screen, you saw another duo approaching and slowed down your motions. "uh oh baby.. whatcha gonna do?" squeezing his eyes shut for a second, his hands moved across the controller rapid-fire, switching guns rapidly. as he killed the first person, you gripped his dick again, pumping up and down.

"a-AH... p-please y/n... can't focus.." taking pity on him, you pulled away, standing up and moving around while he took care of the next opponent. holding back giggles, you waited for him. as his enemies dissolved on the screen, he let out a sigh of relief, letting his legs spread wide open and head fall back with relief. seeing movement in the corner of his eye, he looked over to where you stood...now completely naked, and looking at him like you were going to devour him whole.

"ohmygod" he choked out, eyebrows drawn together in desire. "holyshitbabyi'mnotdoneyet", you slowly walked over to him, settling between his knees on the floor so that you wouldn't block his view, smirking at how much his cock was leaking all for you. "oh yeah? thought i'd give you a special reward for doing so good..." not even letting him get a word out in reply, you gripped his dick again, ripping a groan from his throat. taking your time with him, you slowly licked the tip, letting your tongue trace around every vein on his massive dick.

"mmhh... baby please don't stop" he whined as he shifted his hips back and forth, seeking out any friction he could get. your core pulsed at his need, feeling yourself get wet with slick at his sounds. you tried to wrap your lips around him, but he was so big that he filled up your entire throat, causing you to choke on him as you took him one excruciating inch at a time. "f-fuck... baby.... pleaseplease suck me like that.... look so fucking beautiful y/n..." keening from the praise, you moaned around his dick, watching him attempt to keep it together enough to at least finish the game. suctioning down on him, you pumped your hand faster and faster while you worked the other half with your mouth, tasting his addictive salty pre.

"y/n y/n y/n y/n gonna- i'm gonna- can't hold it in- please please baby been so good for you please let me-aaAH" he came with a gutteral groan, eyes rolling back and thighs shaking rapidly, encasing you between them. feeling his warm cum flow down your throat with ease, you slowly pulled yourself off him and looked at the sight in front of you. abs twitching, panting like he'd just run a marathon, he gazed at you like you were the most incredible thing in the world.

"holy shit." "yea-" he was cut off by a scream from his headset: "WHAT THE FUCK BRO OH MY GO-" ripping it off his head, he turned off the game at lightning speed. oops. guess he forgot to mute.

[crazylittlejester]

What kind of movies/shows do you think the modern boys would like? I personally think Sky would LOVE Studio Ghibli and War and Wild would enjoy movie musicals

OOOH!!

You’re absolutely right Sky would love Studio Ghibli, and he’d like those older animated disney movies like Cinderella and winnie the pooh. He’d also love those plotless lifetime and hallmark movies, because it’s really just people walking around and its always the same five actors doing the same 2 plots over and over again and he’d love making fun of them and ‘predicting’ what comes next akdmdkd. I think he and Sun would like watching the christmas themed ones together. Also you can pry his nature documentaries out of his cold dead hands

WARRIORS DRAGGED TWILIGHT TO SEE WICKED WITH HIM, BAWLED HIS EYES OUT, AND THEN MADE HIM GO SEE IT WITH HIM AGAIN. He’s a theater kid in theory, he’s not the worlds most talented singer (if you ask Twi he’d say War can’t sing at all and that him “screaming to lady gaga” is “the most horrific sound ive ever heard in my life, War, you’re gonna make my ears bleed”) but he has the passion and borderline obnoxious energy, he just never had the time to do musicals in school. War also really likes dramas and reality tv. When he’s really sad he’ll throw on something like Dance Moms and then just scream at the tv or sit there in absolute shock because how in the name of the gods did this air

Twilight LOVES weird mystery/thriller shows, which is hilarious coming from the guy who at age 11 was so scared of muppets most wanted he broke down sobbing when his dad stuck a picture of kermit the frog on the fridge (and also several other locations in the house) and now has a lifelong fear of the muppets (though its simmered down to more of an anxiety now, he can watch the muppets but he WILL jump if he unexpectedly sees kermit). He’s a big film guy, he really appreciates looking at how frames and scenes were shot and how that adds into storytelling, he doesn’t have a genre he sticks to he’s just biased towards mystery stuff. He loves Knives Out, and does genuinely think the first Twilight movie is a cinematic masterpiece (hence the nickname, ‘Twilight’), and he appreciates a good movie musical as well

this was a fun question to answer!! thanks for asking it :)

[johnwickb1tsch]

bittersweet ~ a yandere!John Wick x fem!reader sunshine/grump coffee shop AU... Part 38 all chapters

WARNING: NSFW, SEXUAL CONTENT, VIOLENCE, YANDERE SH!T. Plz take care. I luv u all. 😘

38. the honorable thing

“Jonathan.” 

“Winston.” 

This is the first the hotelier has seen the former assassin leave his room for any kind of sustenance–how telling, that his first stop would be the bar. The older man lowers his voice, leaning in. “Not that it’s any of my business…but did you give that lovely young lady an engagement ring on false pretenses?”

John sighs, looking down into his bourbon. “Not because I don’t want to marry her, Winston.”

“Naturally.” 

John growls low in his throat. “I’m just trying to do the honorable thing.” 

“Presenting a lady with a ring without intending to actually marry her is certainly honorable.” 

“You don’t understand.” 

“Enlighten me. Or better yet, enlighten her. If your aim is to fool the Camorra, a believable fiancée she does not make.”

John resists the urge to bang his head on the polished oak bar.

“Or, don’t,” muses Winston. “I’ll finally be able to rent out the rooms next to yours. You have gotten more noise complaints with that woman in the past week than in the entirety of your time staying with us in previous years.”

John does hang his head in his hands at that.

“Winston…”

If Winston didn’t know any better…he would have almost thought the notorious assassin was embarrassed. 

“Just fix it, Jonathan. Otherwise, I promise you’ll regret it…” 

As Winston walks away John calls after him, “Do you ever get tired of being right all the time, old man?”

Winston chuckles, raises a hand in acknowledgement, and goes to greet another patron. 

***

You took the ring off for your training session with Mariko. When you returned to the room hours later, it was gone from the bathroom counter–and your first reaction was relief. 

John says nothing about it, when he returns from wherever he’s been. You decide not to either. Maybe the cleaning staff helped themselves. 

Good riddance and Enjoy. You’re tired of agonizing about it, and you want things to go back to the way they were before. 

He kisses you hello on the cheek, seemingly in a better mood than he has been all week. “Let’s have dinner downstairs tonight,” he proposes. This is news to you. You’ve heard tell of the legendary restaurant of The Continental, and of course the room service has been excellent, but it’s just not the same as dining in.

“Are you sure?” you ask, intrigued but suddenly wary. 

“Yes, if sounds good to you?” 

“I…would love that,” you admit, suddenly excited. It will mean getting dressed up–the opportunity to see John in one of his evening suits will make the fuss all worth it. Watching him get dressed here has become one of your favorite pastimes; it’s way better than anything on TV. 

***

Dinner is everything you’d hoped for and more. The food is out of this world, and better yet, John is sweet to you, tucking you in the shelter under his arm in the booth and speaking softly in your ear between courses. It reminds you a little of that beautiful dinner you had in Venice, before everything…changed. 

He looks handsome as the very devil in all black in the low light of the dining room, the reflection of the candle on the table in his dark irises glinting like hellfire. You cannot look away, be he god or devil or something in between, so utterly lost you are to this man. 

The wine is very good too, which is only part of the reason you clutch at his arm afterwards, trying not to trip over your new Louboutins and beaded Valentino gown. The sleeves are long, better to hide your bruises from training, but the high slit in your skirt is rather daring, and helpful for movement. He says he wants to show you something, which makes you giggle knowingly, but he doesn’t lead you back up to the room. You take a side corridor, finding it lets out to a narrow dark balcony on the fourth floor. You are in shadow, and you can watch the street below nearly unobserved. The skyscrapers beyond are lit up like birthday cakes. Maybe the city isn’t totally your speed, but it is interesting–for a little while. 

You are more than ready to return to your mountain, if ever you can. 

But for now, you are happy with the view, and the warmth of John’s arm around you–until he produces that damned little black box again. “Oh, John…” 

“Wait, y/n.” 

You sigh. “I’ll wear it when they come, ok? If…they ever fucking show up.” 

“I want you to wear it tonight.”

“Ugh.” 

You turn to go, suddenly exasperated and exhausted, until he pulls you back against the hard line of his body, claiming your mouth in a fiercely probing kiss. With his forehead pressed to yours he says through gritted teeth, “I’m asking you to marry me, y/n.” 

Maybe you can blame the wine, but it’s only then that you realize he’s serious. Your fingertips turn to claws, digging into the arms of his suit jacket. The flesh is so solid underneath. This is not a dream. 

This is not a drill. 

“John?” 

If you’re misreading this situation–again–you will lose your fucking mind. 

“I love you with every bit of my black, broken heart, y/n. I know I don’t deserve you, but I will spend every second we’re together trying to make up for what I did to you. Will you marry me?” 

You don’t answer him immediately, standing on tiptoe to press your lips to his. He’s the one who draws back first, searching your face desperately for the answer to his heartfelt question. 

“Yes! Yes, you dummy.” He nips you a little for that, but soon it turns into another long and sultry kiss, your arms flung around his neck, your bare back pressed into the wrought-iron railing under the fury of his ardor. 

Later, with his arms around you in a tight embrace, he grumbles, “I’m sorry I made this so painful.” 

You laugh a little, at yourself, and him. “How else would we go about anything, John?”

“Very funny.” You kiss his ear, snuggling into the bend of his neck again. The warm, spiced scent of his cologne and his skin is nearly as maddening as his kisses.

“Can we go upstairs now? I have something I want to show you.” He chuckles darkly at this, sucking at the skin of your neck, winning a shudder and your clit singing out with approval. 

“What a coincidence, my love.”

You decide you’ll never tire of hearing that. 

***

You cannot stop kissing. 

You are practically joined at the lips from your little enclave of a balcony, through the halls, and the elevator, and the whole walk to your room. Once you make it through the doorway John presses you up against the door as soon as it’s closed, his hand finding its way through the slit in your dress to cup your ass. 

You’d be a liar, if you said you hadn’t thought of that, when you’d selected it earlier. 

You do not rip each other’s clothes off though, like in some bosom-buster romance. You both are seeming to savor this closeness together, making out like teenagers, grinding against each other through your nice clothes. You moan as John takes mercy on you, sliding one of his muscled thighs between your legs, smiling against your mouth. 

“Wicked man.” 

“You love it.” 

“I love you. And–I’m going–to ruin your nice suit.” 

“Please do.”

What is the American version of noblesse-oblige?

You are so pent up that you nearly cum like that, riding his leg with his lips on your neck, sucking the tender flesh like he means to devour you. 

You see scarves in your future. Lots of them.  

But then he is moving you across the room, practically picking you up with an arm around your waist, guiding you down onto the couch. 

“I messed up again,” he muses, kneeling before you. “I was supposed to get down on my knees for you. Want a redo?” You laugh breathily as he pulls the scrap of silk that passes for panties down your thighs, his lips gravitating to the inside of your knee. He nips you lightly, making you jump. 

“I think…this more than makes up for it,” you sigh, as he kisses up the soft flesh of your inner thigh. The ring on your left hand glints in the low light as you run your fingers through his raven hair. The slit in the skirt wins again, making it so easy to sweep the fine fabric aside, leaving you spread bare before him. The hunger in his dark eyes lights your world on fire, and when his tongue touches your clit you think you might see God, or at least, your own version of heaven. 

The world is golden-edged, and maybe it’s stupid–but in that moment you feel like nothing bad can touch either of you.  

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Hazband 2: Band AU

Buckle Up, Buttercups. This is gonna be looooooooooong.

-"Insider Bands" playing on VH666 streaming services on a computer monitor / TV screen sitting on the desk against the far wall-

Charlie: (laying on her belly on her bed and chewing her nails like a cartoon goat chews through a field of grass as she watches the TV)

Riff Rascal: Alright, dudes, dudettes, non-duders, and rock-aholics! That was Simple Plain's newest single "Why Are We Kids?!". Coming up next, our guy, our big shredder, our big bad-

????: Dammit, Riff!!!! Just get on with it!!!

Riff Rascal: Yo, sorry, boss lady! Coming up next, we have our expert in all things metal and shredding, Axel Steelgrave, conducting a super secret, super exclusive interview with one of Hell's latest and greatest! Stay tuned!

Charlie: (whines and plasters her face into the comforter) Fuck! I really messed up! I shouldn't have released that album, guys! What if Vaggie doesn't like girls outside of the metal scene?! Then I'm just the creepy, stalker, pop diva who messages her on Sinstagram every once and a while! And likes all of her posts! And comments on each picture! And-

Razzle: (trying to finish polishing Charlie's hooves after a full pedicure and hoof care) Baap?

Charlie: So? It was only ever mentioned once in a tabloid that she was once in a poly ship with a man and woman before. Nothing set in stone. Who listens to tabloids anyway? She said she was a lesbian in her last interview with Angel Metal Monthly.

Dazzle: (brings up a wide array of nail polishes) BaaaAaaAp?

Charlie: Yes! She messages me back almost immediately after every message I send her, but that doesn't mean the's interested in me. She hasn't been online in a week! (rolls over and flops onto her back, covering her eyes with her arm) Not since Katie Killjoy did that whole news segment on my new single music video and album.

Dazzle: (painting Charlie's hooves in a deep red hue called "Wicked Sinister") Baaaaaaap. BaaaAAaaap. Baap. (clicks his hoof in a way that's supposed to look like a sassy finger snap and blows heated air over the paint)

Razzle: Baap! (scowls) Baaap. Baaa. Baap!

Charlie: Thanks, Razzle. No, Dazzle. I really don't think this is some kind of rebound. I really started liking her during the Battle of the Bands gig over at the Jackpot Hotel and Casino. She was the first person who didn't openly laugh at me being there even though I was the only pop singer there.

-VH666 blares back with a heavy metal guitar riff-

Axel Steelgrave: Hey, good evening, everyone. How's it going? Tonight, we have a very special guest. (camera pans out to show Vaggie sitting next to Axel in an interview chair) Lead singer, guitarist, and rocking girl, Vaggie the Steel Vagina from Fallen Angels.

Charlie: WHAT?!?!?!?!?! (crocodile death rolls around in her excitement and falls out of bed, completely wrapped in a burrito, and worm crawls over to the TV) RAZZLE!!! DAZZLE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

Razzle: (salutes) Baap! (grabs the remote and turns up the volume)

Dazzle: (sad bleats as he looks at the mess of nail polish everywhere) baaaaaap.....

Vaggie: (trying not to snarl at the name) It's just Vaggie, Axel.

Axel Steelgrave: Oh, sure. Sure. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to come and see us. Not gonna lie. We were shocked to hear that you were coming out with a new single so quickly.

Charlie: (plasters her face to the screen) New Single?!?!?!?!?!

Vaggie: (blushes slightly) Well, I figured after hearing the Princess's new album and call-out, I should work on a reply.

Angel: (from behind the camera man) You wouldn't have had ta write and record a whole new song and music video if you just sent 'er a video of you jacking it all week! I've never heard dat vibrator work so hard in its life! I swear I smelled smoke last night!

Charlie: (squeals, gasps, and shrieks all at once and falls backwards)

Vaggie: (jumps up from her seat) Angel! What the Fuck?!

Axel Steelgrave: Well, well, well, I guess that answers my next question. I take it this new single is going to be good news for the Princess?

Vaggie: (still steaming as she sits back down and tries to compose herself) I know you have the video on hand. Why not play it and let the fans see for themselves?

Axel Steelgrave: I couldn't have said it better myself. (to the camera) With that being said, let's take a look at a sneak peek of Fallen Angel's new single: "Dear, Charlie - For Somewhere Better".

-Video cuts to some random point in the music video where Vaggie is standing in black leather skirt that has the leather ripped into strips in a hoola-skirt style, black halter tank top, thigh high leather heeled boots, and black fingerless gloves, holding and shredding a guitar. Angel is a pink, fabulous gay disaster on drums while one set of hands works a keyboard.-

Vaggie: (singing) We'll ignite. Still dreaming wide awake. On the hunt for "Somewhen brighter". Pull me close now, and I'll dream until my dying day. Till we create a new "Somewhere better". The promise of a life. Like a thousand suns inside my broken heart. I can see through your eyes. And embrace the flame that guides me through the night.

-Video Cuts back to the interview-

Axel Steelgrave: (freaking out excitedly) Wow! That's quite the statement! Good on you, Steel Vagina!

Vaggie: Vaggie.

Axel Steelgrave: Before we end this exclusive, is there anything you want to say to the Princess in case she's watching?

Vaggie: (Face falls briefly as her eye widens and a blush colors her face) Oh.... (shakes her head to compose herself, looks into the camera, and makes a telephone gesture) Call me~

Axel Steelgrave: (laughing) Alright! You heard it here first, folks. "Dear, Charlie" will be available on HellTunes tonight at midnight. Thank you all so much for tuning in. And, as always, stay rocking.

Charlie: (finally managing to unravel the blanket and sitting on the floor with a bright red blush) C-Call.... Her.... She wants me to call her... (jumps up and down like a teenager in a bad "not another teen movie" while holding Razzle and Dazzle's hooves) SHE WANTS ME TO CALL HER!!!! (pauses) How?! I don't have her number!

-DING!-

Charlie: (dives for her phone on the floor and opens a new Sinstagram message)

FallenAngelVaggie: Hope you got a chance to watch "Insider Bands" tonight. Talk to you later? Maybe over coffee? XXX-XXX-XXXX

Charlie: (takes a deep breath) SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Vaggie: (leaning against the wall of the VH666 studio, holding her phone against her chest, and taking a long drag of a cigarette)

Angel: Hey! I thought you were quitting! (yoinks the cigarette and plops it between his lips)

Vaggie: Dammit, Angel! I said I'd be done once my case is empty! (digs in her pocket and pulls out an angelic steel cigarette case) It still has four left! I haven't even lit up in nearly six months!

Angel: I know! Proud of you for that. That interview rile you up that much that you gotta wreck six months of hard work?

Vaggie: Ugh! (slams her back into the wall) You think Charlie got the message?

-squeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Angel: (looks up at the sky towards the Morningstar Mansion where it looks like fireworks are going off on one of the balconies) Oh, I think she got it~

[elect1z]

...' Starred Guest '..

Batboys x Mr.Puzzles!Reader

Summary: When trying to find a missing member turned wrong..

cw: Reader implied as Mr/Mx

"Oh, don't fear me, my friends! I'm not here to harm you.." As you said those words with a grin splattered on your screen. Currently, your so-called 'friends' and you are in your own head; twisted portal, with thousand of TV's surrounding it, the environment feels odd, but it gives you warmth. "Harm us? You already kidnapped us in the first place!" The young one in the group shouts, If you remember correctly, his name is Damian. "I believe I did, but I need to get your attention somehow!" Looking down, you could see their tiny forms in front of you, grinning widely as you feel happy that you finally captured them for your plans.. "You see, I have brought you guys here because you have something that I need..." As you were saying that, the sound of static could be heard until it slowly stopped. The oldest of them went forward with their bright blue bird symbol. "What are you planning to do with us?" his voice filled with stern and seriousness, but his face remained the same. "Great question! You see, I'm here in Gotham to make myself a STAR! And with that, I need something that will gather my audience's attention. So... In order to make that come true, I need you to-.." Your speech was quickly interrupted: "To become pawns for views.." The red-masked said, You believe his name is Red-Hood.. But deep down, you know they're real names.. Your screen glitched a little with the sudden interruption. "Correct, Red-Hood! Or should I say Jason? But I prefer the term 'starred guest.'" Your screen came back to that wicked grin of yours, and all of their faces went into a shock. "How.. did you know my name.." Now he was pissed his voiced laced with venom that threatens to kill you. "Oh! I know ALL of your names. I've been watching you guys from the start.." Then, the TV's around them showing their everyday lives, routines, adventures, missions, etc. "I know every. single. detail." The TV also shows the time before they got captured by you. Nightwing was investigating suspicious activity in a warehouse, but nothing could be found but an old TV on a table, unknowingly he got sucked into it. A few days later, Tim tries to search for him, and when he finds the last place he went to, he also got the same fate as him.. And so did others while they were trying to find them.. As you smile at the footage, your screen changes into a shocked face as you realize you haven't.. "Oh! Where are my manners?, I clearly have not introduced myself properly." You straighten your posture, your screen changing into a smile. "Ehem.. My name is Mr/Mx.Puzzles! Heh, no need to introduce yourselves. I already know who you are." Your chuckles echo through the void of your mind. All of their expressions turned a lot more serious than last time, thinking that they were dealing with something big. Jason already pulls out his gun, Tim already in his stances with his bo staff, Damian seethes out his katana, and Dick pulls out his staff. All ready to fight. Realizing their gonna attack you, your screen changes again into a devious grin. "Oh, you're getting nowhere with that.." As you spoke, the sound of a faint static could be heard. One by one, they tried to attack you, using their stratergized moves. Throwing grenades, birdarang, etc. The moves they're doing seem to be working, as your TV head explodes, leaving nothing but your body. When they think it's over, it isn't. Tim realizes that it should be over and all of them would return back to the warehouse, but they're all still inside this weird hell of a place. Soon, the others realize that too, looking back at the threat's headless body, a chuckle starts to emit from it. The TV head grew back into place, looking as new as ever. "You really think you're gonna get out of here so easily?" The annoying smile was still plastered on the screen. "My head-" You lightly hit your head, making the TV echo the clanking sound. "My rules.." Looking down at their panic-hopeless faces, you started laughing in amusement. Your manic laughter echoes the void, hinting at the heroes that there's no way out.

A/N: In addition that Mr.Puzzles is coming back to SMG4 again, I'm thinking that I can make Mr.Puzzles!Reader bc i think it would be super awesome

[itsthesinbin]

Ooooh could you do a continuation or the likes for that one Ice King x Reader?

https://www.tumblr.com/itsthesinbin/728472237009780736/okay-but-how-do-ice-king-and-reader-meet-did

By the sounds of it the two knew each other before :>

i did a sort of continuation here, but i am MORE than glad to do more of this lil au. this got. a lot longer than i thought it would. but maybe they Did know each other. just a little.

Ice King (Adventure Time)

Dating the Ice King was... odd, to say the least. He was hard to be with at first. He was clingy. He was manic. He could be a little aggressive- not dangerous, just cranky- if you ended up ignoring him for too long; too long being subjective to his needs that day. He was unbelievably frustrating.

But at the same time... he was, strangely, the nicest guy you've ever dated. He'd get cranky, but once he saw you weren't leaving him he didn't push you. He was clingy, but it was because he was lonely. He was manic, but you knew it wasn't his fault. He brought you gifts ranging from flowers to gems to even making ice sculptures in your likeness. It was flattering.

He had made a little ice elevator to get you into the castle easier, when you visited. And by Glob he was always delighted to see you. Every time he heard the elevator chugging its' way up the mountain, you could hear him.

"Gunther they're coming- is there anything in my beard?" he'd ask, followed by a little "wenk". You'd come up just in time to see the little penguin pecking something out of his master's beard. Then Gunther would waddle over to you, making Ice King screech in surprise and try to rub whatever food was in his beard out. You bit back a snort as you picked up your favorite little guy.

"You look fine, IK, calm down," you laughed. He grumbled, flustered and fixing his crown. You grinned as you set the penguin down. You gave him a hug in greeting, and as always he was a little tense before returning it tightly.

"So, what'd you wanna show me?" He had asked you to come over cause he found something "wicked sweet". That seemed to click the lightbulb on.

"Oh yeah! C'mon, sweet thang," he laughed as he yoinked you up like you weight nothing. You yelled in surprise, holding onto him as he flew through the castle. You couldn't help but laugh as well, enjoying the short flight.

"This is my "the past" room- you are the ONLY person aside from Gunther I've let in here," he explained as he set you down. You looked around at all the old stuff in awe, recognizing a lot of it immediately from your time period. You heard him fiddle with some things as you picked through the items.

The old suit jacket he'd give you to wear when you were cold- which you immediately put on as per usual. Some old books- a few of which were written by a Simon.... Petrikov. That sounded familiar...

Then it clicked. You used to live just down the street from him. You used to attend the same book club together, before he stopped coming due to his research. You remember him showing off a book he had gotten published to the group before he stopped joining as often. You'd make him food and check in on him, when Betty couldn't.

"Where is that damn thing?" you heard Ice King mutter. You looked at the jacket you were wearing, turning the book over. A picture of Simon, wearing the exact same jacket.

While your boyfriend was busy, you sifted through the junk pile. Newspaper clippings covered in mad scrawling that spelled out pleas for help and forgiveness. Multiple pictures of Simon and letters written by him to various people. A picture of a young, but now familiar, girl with writing on the back. You stared at another newspaper clipping, a ball of ice in your stomach unrelated to the cold of the ice kingdom. Simon stood next to a sickeningly familiar crown that sat upon a cushion, smiling as wide as can be at his discovery.

A familiar jingle jolted you out of your thoughts and you dropped the article. You whipped around to see Ice King standing next to a cracked tv that was now playing Cheers. He waved his hands in a "tada" motion.

"I got a bunch of old junk from WAAAAY back in the day, so I thought you'd like a little marathon! I can go make popcorn," he offered with a grin. Your mouth hung open as your eyes darted from him to the old tv show. You tried to speak, but all that came out was a soft sobbing noise as realization set in. Immediately, his face fell.

"Oh- What, do you not like this show? I can, uh... I'm sure I got something-!" You cut him off by nearly tackling him in a hug. You held him so tight, knuckles turning white as you gripped the fabric of his robe. Your knees felt weak, giving out and making him drop to the floor with you.

"M... Man, if I knew you liked the show this much, I'd have done this sooner," he tried to joke, not really understanding why you were crying. Thankfully, he just held you and scooted around so you both could see the tv. Not that you really watched it, being too busy reeling from your newfound knowledge.

Gunther, sweet as can be, brought in popcorn and plopped his little self in your lap. You could use the extra comfort. You felt Ice King's hand run up and down your back, and new he was taking glances at you to see if you were alright. For his sake, you pretended to watch the show and forced down some popcorn. He seemed to relax a little, thinking you were fine. You were anything but. However...

What could you even do?

[glindafication]

WICKED ON THE WEST END!!!

I went to see a matinee performance of Wicked on the west end today, meaning I can now add Alexia Khadime and Lucy St. Louis to the list of incredible women who have altered my life and ruined my mascara (slight exaggeration but it sounds good) through their portrayal of my favourite gay witches.

Also: I missed NOMTW and had to watch the Wizard and I and half of what is this feeling on a shitty TV feed because of transport issues- Fuck TFL

Here is a collection of thoughts/ observations from the performance:

-I haven't seen the musical live since 2019 and I forgot just how amazing it is live in general. If you ever get the chance to see the show in person it is WELL worth it. The lights, the music, the costumes, all so incredible. Particularly when the lights came on for the emerald city at the start of one short day. I don't know what it was but it was just so amazing. Also the costumes look so much better when you can actually see them in front of you. The little twinkles in every single one of Glinda's costumes that you just can't see on camera and then it gets even better in act two. (side note, there are DEFINITELY holographic sequins on the bubble dress and they're gorgeous)

-One thing I remember from seeing the show when I was 11 is that the Oz head was so UNGODLY LOUD. Every time it came on stage after I heard it speak for the first time I covered my ears until it was gone. Idk if my noise tolerance has gotten better or if the Oz head has actually gotten quieter, but it wasn't nearly as bad this time. Like, I remember when he called the guards, the 'Yes, your Ozness' was actually louder than the head itself

-I always thought that the popular dress didn't have a matching purse the way the shiz and one short day costumes do but maybe it does??? She was definitely holding a bag during the scene when she was getting ready with Pfannee and Shenshen and I'm pretty sure it was a unique one. But then she only had it for that tiny scene so idk

-The bubble wand does seem to be different on the West End to the one on Broadway. It's more like... 3 dimensional? If that makes sense. It kind of projects outwards around the centre in more of an orb rather than the bits all sticking out in more of a disc like on Broadway

-There are a few minor changes to the script on the West End. Mostly just English-ifying it slightly. The only things I noticed were Glinda saying 'we all went to uni together' instead of 'school', Madame Morrible said 'sorcery tutorial' rather than 'seminar' and Glinda said 'thanks awfully' to Fiyero rather than 'thanks plenty' in thank goodness

-Lucy St Louis is VERY GOOD at that thing where you make it sound like ur about to cry (idk if there's a word for it) and her Glinda made me very sad at all the points where it's supposed to- I almost cried during thank goodness, for good and the finale. Also she held 'Because' for quite a while and she went very high with it- sounded absolutely gorgeous

-On the topic of the singing, both actresses were just so amazing. No good deed and for good were standouts but they sounded incredible for the whole show

-I was pretty sure that when I saw Wicked for the first time in 2019 (6 years ago yesterday, in fact) that during march of the witch hunters, when Morrible and Glinda are talking/arguing/whatever that interaction would be called, I saw Morrible grab Glinda by the wrist and fully yank her hand off the railing. I remembered being quite shocked by it in the theatre because something about it just seemed so violent. I wasn't sure if I was misremebering it because I hadn't seen any other Morribles do it but I think it might actually just be another West End thing. When I saw it today, not only did this happen, but it was actually worse than I remember it being. Morrible held onto her wrist for some time, and then moved her hand back and forth to forcibly make her wave to the witch hunters. Then she practically threw her hand back down. So, yeah, 11 year old me was right about that and it was actually more messed up than I remember it being. (I know this isn't that violent but it is kind of alarming to watch, like something about it is just so unsettling)

[lillywillow]

Queen of His Heart

Summary: Bucky unexpectedly meets one of his idols

Written for: @the-slumberparty

Words: 1948

Square Filled: G1- Meet Cute

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Actress!Reader

Warnings: Bucky dressed as a Frank Frazetta barbarian (Come on, you know this is a warning)

A/N: Set in a modern AU. I had way too much fun creating this fictional fantasy series XD

Bucky didn’t fit the stereotype of a nerd. He was tall and beefy with long hair. Most people are surprised when they find out about his special interests. Bucky loved D&D, fantasy novels, cosplaying and LARPing. His favourite book was his copy of The Hobbit which he had since he was a boy. Another favourite of his was a series called Maidens of Wrath.

…

There was so much about this series that Bucky loved. He loved the strong female characters, from the wicked Sister Nimsay; high priestess of the Order of Bulgraith to the kind hearted Isra who ran a local tavern that the characters frequented. His favourite character by far was Queen Ranlova. She was the eldest of seven siblings in this matriarchal society. While five of her sisters each ruled a kingdom of their own and her brother was a royal advisor, it was the duty of Queen Ranlova to keep the peace between the kingdoms. She didn’t always get along with her siblings but she could be kind and just while also being a fierce warrior. Bucky also enjoyed the relationship between Ranlova and the barbarian prince Yarreth. The prince admired the queen without pathetically pining over her while at the same time, respecting her boundaries. Not once was Yarreth disrespectful towards Ranlova should she turn him down.

When Bucky first heard that they were making a TV series out of the books, he was excited, yet reserved. For example, The Lord of the Rings movies were absolute perfection (even if they did leave out his favourite scene; the Tom Bombadil one). The Hobbit Trilogy was okay but the Rings of Power series was abysmal in his opinion. Bucky counted down the days until the moment until the show aired and when it did, he was pleasantly surprised. It was everything he could have ever hoped for. They got all the details right and he especially loved the way the actress playing Queen Ranlova portrayed her. The series used a lesser-known actors, only casting the big names for certain characters. After the first episode, Bucky was hooked.

…

Bucky was excited about the upcoming fantasy convention. This year, the cast of Maidens of Wrath would be guest stars on the panel. He had his Prince Yarreth cosplay all ready to go and tried to think of any questions he might want to ask them. Now all he had to do was earn a little extra money so he could go.

Bucky was working his usual shift at the café. It was the same people with the same conversations and the same orders all over again. The only thing that was getting him through the day was the thought of going home to re-watch the latest released episode of Maidens of Wrath before heading to his shift at the restaurant. While working, he came across a new customer. He didn’t really see her face as she kept the cap of her baseball hat low and wore sunglasses. Something about this woman seemed familiar to him but he didn’t say anything. He would just have to keep an eye on her.

The whole time this mysterious woman was at the café, she didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. She just sat and drank her coffee like anyone else would do at a café. When Bucky went to clear up her space when she was finished, he noticed that she left something behind. Picking it up, it was a copy of the newest Maidens of Wrath novel: Metal Machine. This hadn’t even been released in the US yet. Whoever this woman was, clearly had special connections and Bucky knew if he had left something like this behind, he’d want it back. Bucky ran out the door with the book in his hand.

“Excuse me! Miss!” he called.

Bucky tried going after her but she was too fast. He wanted to go after her but felt like he’d look like a total creep chasing some poor woman down the street. Bucky thought if she was a fan like he was, she would come back to the café to pick it back up when she noticed it was missing. Until then he would take good care of the book.

…

Bucky had the next day off but informed all his coworkers what had happened and asked them to call him immediately if the woman came back for the book. Unable to help himself he started reading Maidens of Wrath: Metal Machine but forced himself to stop when he got to the neatly placed bookmark. As much as he wanted to devour the whole thing (and he easily could in a single night) he decided it would be a courtesy not to do so. If he went any further, he might accidently spoil something for someone in his excitement and he didn’t want to be that guy. This way, he might be able to discuss everything that had happened so far in MoW; Metal Machine with this woman. That is, if she would be open to it. Bucky was so engrossed in his reading that he nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone alerted him of an incoming message.

Nat: She’s here ;)

Bucky grinned at the message and immediately rushed to the café.

…

As soon as he arrived, Bucky looked around for this mystery woman. He spotted her sitting at the same corner booth she was yesterday, looking around nervously. Smiling, Bucky headed over to her and presented the book to her.

“I believe this belongs to you,” he stated, handing the book back.

The woman smiled and carefully tucked the item away in her bag.

“Thank you so much.”

“Anytime. You’re so lucky to get an advanced copy of Maidens of Wrath. You must have some pretty special connections,” Bucky rambled.

“You could say that,” the woman replied, lowering her sunglasses a little.

Bucky could have fainted right then and there. It was really her. Y/N L/N, the actress who played Queen Ranlova on the show. He realised his mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it, taking a seat across from her.

“I take it you’re a fan of the series,” she continued, pushing her sunglasses back up.

“Yes, ma’am. I love the way you bring Ranlova to life. You were a perfect choice for the role,” Bucky gushed.

“Well, thank you,” Y/N smiled, looking a little flustered.

Bucky started a conversation with her and it wasn’t long before it felt like they were old friends. He came to find that Y/N had a few acting roles before Maidens of Wrath so she wasn’t too well known yet but with the series boom in popularity, it was becoming her biggest one yet. She was really easy to talk to with a kind of country girl air about her. Bucky bonded with her over their mutual love of the fantasy series. Y/N’s favourite volume was book two: Crimson Glory whereas Bucky’s favourite was book five: Midnight Moon. Eventually Y/N’s phone pinged, indicating a message which informed her she needed to go.

“Will I see you at the convention?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he smiled.

Bucky couldn’t wait.

…

Finally, the day of the convention arrived. Bucky proudly examined his cosplay that he had worked so hard on. He wore a faux fur loin cloth, faux leather boots, and a gold circlet on his head. Over his left arm, Bucky had slipped a sleeve that looked like armour that had a strap to cross over his chest. Feeling good about himself, Bucky picked up his warrior axe walked out of his room for breakfast.

Bucky’s roommates Sam and Steve gawked at him as he sat down at the table.

“What?” he grumpily asked.

“Nothing… just didn’t realise Conan the Barbarian was joining us for breakfast,” Sam grinned.

Bucky grumbled under his breath.

“Leave him alone, Sam. He’s been really excited about for this,” Steve chided.

“Fine, fine,” Sam huffed. “You sure you want to leave the house like that though?”

“What’s wrong with my cosplay?” Bucky questioned, suddenly feeling doubts.

“Nothing at all… but if you get flocked by hordes of thirsty woman, that’s all on you,” Sam shrugged.

Bucky finished his breakfast in a hurry because 1. Sam was annoying and 2. He was excited to see Y/N again, grabbed his backpack (which kind of ruined the image a little but needed it nonetheless) and left for the convention.

…

By the time Bucky got there, the event was in full swing. There were cosplayers everywhere, vendors selling their goods and various demonstrations being held. Bucky was in geek heaven. He looked at the various displays people had, deciding what he may really want before buying anything, had his photo taken by many other attendees and somehow ended up in a group shot with other Yarreth cosplayers. Bucky was having the time of his life.

Finally, it came time for the event he was waiting for. A large crowd of people flooded into one of the buildings for it. Normally, Bucky hated crowds but for something like this, he would make due. When the Maidens of Wrath cast members walked out, they went wild. After they had taken their places, people asked their questions. Some were insightful, some were a little dumb while others were downright insulting. Bucky really wanted to throttle the ones who were disrespectful to the female cast members.

After the Q&A session, they aired a brand-new episode for the public to see. It was everything Bucky could hope for. They got every scene from the book right. Once the viewing was over, the cast went on to do pictures and signings. Bucky patiently waited in the line to meet Y/N. He would have been in that line anyway, even if he hadn’t had meet her a few days before. As he moved closer, he could hear her talking to the other convention goers, complementing them on their cosplays and giving words of encouragement. Finally, it was his turn at the front of the line.

“Hi, I don’t know if you remember me,” he began but she cut him off.

“Bucky, from the diner! Of course, I remember you! Your Yarreth cosplay is fantastic!” she beamed.

Bucky smiled brightly. She remembered him.

“I really enjoyed meeting you and I can’t thank you enough for returning my book.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help,” Bucky smiled.

Y/N sighed a photo, flipped it over and scribbled a message.

“Let’s take a picture together,” she encouraged.

Bucky got into a warrior stance and Y/N also posed.

“I hope to see you again,” she smiled, handing him the autograph and the photo.

Bucky walked off with his items so other people could take their turn. He couldn’t stop smiling as he read the message on the autograph.

Bucky, I normally don’t do this sort of thing but I really enjoyed talking to you the other day and had a lot of fun. I can’t wait to hear from you.

Love, Y/N

With the message, she had written her phone number. Who knows? Maybe one day they could have the same kind of relationship of Queen Ranlova and Prince Yarreth did. It was the kind of fantasy romance one could only dream of.

[psionotic]

My Favorite Culture 2024

Another year, another reminder that it is art that makes life worth living. Here are a few (dozen) of my favorite things.

—Film—

I saw over 40 films this year, most of them for the first time. My favorites were:

I Saw the TV Glow: The best movie of the year is a queer, Lynch-ian, love letter to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and ‘90’s adolescent television. I can’t say that I enjoyed this movie—it’s consistently horrifying and has one of the most depressingly downbeat endings I’ve ever seen—but I’ve thought about it constantly for months afterwards. A real accomplishment.

Anatomy of a Fall: Not a perfect film—a couple of unlikely late twists bruise the peach—but a fascinating exploration of how language, nationality, and gender inform our personal and legal relationships and battles. An all-time performance by Sandra Hüller.

Inside Out 2: Who has two hemispheres and was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (twice) and ADHD this year? This guy, who loves the hell out of these movies.

Dune part 2: This adaptation is more willing than previous ones to take the novel’s critique of fundamentalism seriously, and—I think bravely, for a big studio picture—to make everyone’s favorite boy-changeling into a monster, all while demanding audiences pay double price for the double bill. Villeneuve is in a class with Bong Joon-ho among my favorite working directors.

I also enjoyed: Love Lies Bleeding, Wicked part I, The Green Knight, A Quiet Place: Day One, Lady Bird, Will & Harper, Mad Max: Furiosa, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Baby Driver, Deadpool & Wolverine, Catherine Called Birdy.

Classics I watched for the first time include The Raid, Looper, Gravity, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Starship Troopers, Suspiria, Possession (WHY HAD I NEVER HEARD OF THIS INCREDIBLE FUCKED UP THING!), Blow Out, Die Hard, Michael Clayton, Baby Driver, the recent-ish Planet of the Apes trilogy, Her, Prisoners (Villeneuve again).

—Books—

This was the year that I discovered sad/funny audiobooks performed by their author, which I love because they do the voices and pronounce the foreign words correctly. Am I becoming one of those sad nonfiction dads? There are no Civil War or WWII books here, so looks like I’m safe for now.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: The internet’s favorite co-dad reviews everything. Thought provoking and hilarious (audiobook read by author).

I’m Glad My Mom Died: This is very funny and very sad and very angering and very funny and very sad (audiobook read by author).

The Measure: A delicious high-concept premise—one night every adult in the world receives a box with a string inside, indicating exactly how much life they have left. The world is subsequently transformed in both wonderful and worrisome ways. I don’t think this is a great book, but it hit at the right time for me: I turned 50 this year, and have been thinking a lot about how much time I have left, how much time my loved ones have, and what to do with however much string we have remaining. I’ve also been thinking about how our world can be made more nurturing and less rapacious, and the election and recent assassination of an insurance CEO (as well as the subsequent cheering) suggest that many other people want the old liberal order to end (again, for better and for worse), a theme that is explored in some (not always satisfactory!) ways in this novel. Serendipity Spoiler!: this book includes a scene where a reactionary presidential candidate is nearly-assassinated, a scene that I read—coincidentally or kismet-ically—the very same day that a reactionary presidential candidate was nearly assassinated. Books, man.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: A cosmos-crossing story of revenge and reconciliation written by Tom King and gorgeously illustrated by Bilquis Evely. Too big and bold for the cinema.

I also enjoyed Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, ADHD 2.0, Hello Molly! A Memoir, A Study in Drowning (my first go at ‘romantasy’), Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood.

Classics I read for the first time include The Eyre Affair, Hearts in Atlantis, Children of Men, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Dispossessed, The Martian Chronicles, Foundation, Driven to Distraction, Guitar Zero, Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead, Born a Crime, Between the World and Me, The Sirens of Titan, Stories of Your Life and Others.

—Games—

This wasn’t a great year for AAA studios, one where the industry faced a series of brutal layoffs and cancellations. It was, however, an excellent year for indies. My favorite plays:

Balatro: A poker-themed puzzler perfect for 5 minutes on the bus or 5 hours while the rest of your life slips amiably away. A great game for those who don’t play games, now available on phones.

Tactical Breach Wizards: A grid-based tactics/puzzle game, with really delightful characters and a timely story about repression and revolution. Surprisingly touching.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree: The expansion to the best game of 2022. I’ll play it again and again, and there’s a new multiplayer spinoff thing-y to look forward to in 2025. FromSoftware’s conquering of the world was really the best thing that could have happened to everyone, and by everyone I mean me.

Silent Hill 2 (2024): I never played a Silent Hill game until this year, but bloody hell I get it now, I do. This thing scared the pants, shirt, and increasingly-worn beanie off me; and yet the ending (that I got, I’ve heard there are several?) was surprisingly touching.

I also enjoyed Neon White, Helldivers 2, Brotato, No Man’s Sky, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Fallout 76, Lies of P, Another Crab’s Treasure, Rise of the Ronin.

—Music—

This is the year that I became both Bey- and Tay- pilled, I guess? (Though you’d never know it by my Wrapped-Thingy, which is dominated by the one album my neurodivergent son demands we listen to on every car ride.) Anyway, my favorite albums of the year were:

The Cure: Songs of a Lost World. 16-years-in-the making, the new Cure record is devastatingly somber and downbeat. The easy compare-and-critique is that it's another run at the glory days of Disintegration. But the instrumentation (crunchier guitar tones, softly struck piano keys instead of sustained synths) here is very different, and while lyrically Disintegration is angst-y and depressive, the new record is much more ruminative—it’s an elegy, not a Munch scream. Songs of a Lost World is an old man’s record, and I mean this in the best possible way.

Lin-Manuel Miranda & Eisa Davis: Warriors. Miranda will always be mostly known for the second thing he ever did, and so he could have been excused for sitting on his millions and churning out Disney songs for the rest of his life. Instead he decided to stealth drop a… gender-flipped musical theater (for ears) adaptation of a 70’s cult-classic youth-gangs-will-take-over-the-world exploitation film? It’s a big swing, and it really connects: every song is great, there is a delightful mix of musical styles as our heroes cross the five boroughs, and Miranda and Davis somehow coaxed Lauryn Hill out of retirement for “Can You Dig It?”, a standout. Kim Dracula’s glam-y take on the villain is delightfully unhinged and the featured love song “A Light or Somethin’” is really lovely. I could go on and on but I have a bus to catch.

Beyoncé: Cowboy Carter: Ignore the debate over whether or not this is ‘really’ a country album: that’s a trap that she has set for the skeptical. However you classify it, this thing kills. I’d never listened to a whole Beyoncé album previous to this (I was one of those heretics who preferred Destiny’s Child to the solo offerings, don’t shoot me!), but Cowboy Carter came out in March and I’m STILL listening to it (I started it up again this morning before coming to write this!). A celebration of the Black contributors to and creators of country music, and a really strong collection of genre-exemplifying and -subverting songs.

I also enjoyed St. Vincent: Born Screaming, Kim Deal: Nobody Loves You More, Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department, Chappel Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Original Soundtrack: Wicked part I, Original Soundtrack: I Saw the TV Glow.

Bonus! Favorite musical moments: Taking my daughter to her first show (Melanie Martinez in Oakland), and a summer roadtrip that included three tween girls in the backseat scream-singing the entire Chappel Roan album. The kids are all right.

—Television—

Fallout: The best way to describe this show is to quote Jack Black, staggeringly out of context: “It’s just so funny and violent, and the soundtrack kicks fucking ass”. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were able to take what makes the games great—their satire of American capitalism and exceptionalism, their environmental storytelling—and added what the games don’t do well—interesting, relatable characters. They were clearly given an enormous, expensive sandbox to just go nuts with. And they did. I’ve watched it twice, and will be revisiting it again before the second season drops. Of course, the same creative team started strong with Westworld, like this a gonzo sci-fi western with literary pretensions, but they kinda lost their way after the first season there. If this happens with Fallout I will ghoul-ify them both, but in the meantime, I for one welcome our new Ella Purnell (also in Arcane and Yellowjackets) overlord.

Blue Eye Samurai: There is a lot of very good animation for adults being produced right now. This show has some of the best fight scenes around, but also is able to tell a very human story about empire, (not-) belonging, justice vs/and revenge. It’s also a visual feast.

True Detective: Night Country: This was better than the first season--incredible cast, claustrophobic atmosphere, featuring a case that starts small and personal but comes to stand in for larger forces both economic and (possibly) supernatural. I find myself in the strange position of, after many years of this not being the case, wanting more TD.

Agatha All Along: Is this a Marvel spinoff show, or a hallucinatory musical romp about gay witches? Oh, both, excellent. Kathryn Hahn is an American treasure. So is Aubrey Plaza. They play snippy ex-lovers. That’s all you gotta know.

Delicious in Dungeon: What if anime Dungeons & Dragons but the party includes a chef who cooks all of the monsters they kill? And—in some ways like last year’s under-seen Scavenger’s Reign—it includes ruminations on ecology and our place in the natural order? Then this show, basically. Also, for an offering whose premise sounds like a Saturday Night Live sketch, it gets surprisingly dark.

SHOGUN: The quintessential Dad Book gets a cross-cultural adaptation so good, it manages to make translation thrilling television.

The Beyoncé Bowl: Forget the Super Bowl halftime or the Oscars or sporting events or Trump sleep-farting his way through the debate, this was the best live TV event of the year. Luckily it’s on Netflix so you can watch it even if you missed the game it instantly eclipsed, and then (if you’re anything like me) you’ll immediately restart it and watch it again and then probably a third time and then….

Interview with the Vampire: I'm gonna say it. This show is better than the books. Don't throw me into a pit with a sun hole overhead.

I also enjoyed Resident Alien, Taylor Tomlinson: Have it All, Rachel Bloom: Death Let Me Do My Show, St. Denis Medical, Cabinet of Curiosities, Make Some Noise, probably other stuff I’m forgetting: there’s a lot of TV out there!

—Streaming—

New-to-me YT channels that I devoured this year include Jenny Nicholson (whose 4-hour opus on the aborted Star Wars hotel dominated the culture for a month), The Elephant Graveyard (a series of hate letters to the worst in stand-up, with memorable videos on the new Joe Rogan special and Jerry Seinfeld’s atom-thin skin), How to ADHD (which is what it says on the tin, winningly hosted by former child almost-star Jessica McCabe), and Bobby Fingers (who makes disturbingly lifelike dioramas of the world’s most horrible people and then buries them, all while pleasantly swearing in a thick Irish Brogue).

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

you are so correct about ur chris ryan and sean f takes. i am curious if you listen to any other ringer podcasts?

the short answer is my ringer pod rotation includes the big pic, the watch, midnight boys, & house of R, plus prestige TV if they're covering something i'm watching, and once included and probably will again include rewatchables but i've been off it for some reason despite finding bill simmons a very entertaining podcaster perhaps not despite but the fact that he's such a doofus bro. i am not a completist about any of these and my willingness to listen to these people discuss something i straight up have never seen is generally pretty low with the exception of things like when a bad superhero movie comes out and they all take their turns trashing it, or when chris and sean explain a horror movie to amanda, etc. the long answer is i'm combining this with this ask (possibly from the same anon? would be a little wild if i have two ringerpilled anons) i have been saving for a metaphorical rainy day:

which day has come in the form of coming down from a migraine such that my head is no longer being drilled into by an ice pick but i still feel too woozy to do anything of substance and too sensitive for anything that requires the intake of aural information. hence: ranking! only including podcasters i feel i know well enough to have an opinion on and so leaving out for example juliette who seems fine but i've only heard like 5 episodes from ever including the one where her job was to be Podcaster Who Likes Wicked and yas who honestly fucking CRUSHED IT on the hot frosty big pic ep but i feel like the premise of bandsplain is not for me.... but for the record in this house, unlike on certain subreddits, we support both passive aggressive canadian and Actual Film Critic adam nayman and slightly incoherent podcaster with some baffling but wonderful prose writer wesley morris, & feel like sam esmail has a weird energy we're not into and also that his movie was kinda bad. also i assume you meant guys in the gender neutral usage

11. sean

so, when i first got this ask sean and amanda were battling it out for the bottom because i was on a big pic downswing after some various annoyances had led to me taking a break because they were both getting on my dang nerves (the final straw was going on the subreddit after finally seeing anatomy of a fall because i loved it so much i knew i would be more annoyed than entertained by the ep if their takes were bad and seeing that sean's view was that sandra huller's character was basically a sociopath made me feel like the joker). however since then two things happened: (1) i picked them back up for whatever desperate chores-related circumstance and (2) the ringer has pivoted to video. and i'm gonna be real for sean and amanda SPECIFICALLY, video is a huge, huge likability upgrade. their mutual affection (which is much of the appeal of the pod) is even more palpable when you can see that they're spending the whole time giggling at each other cutely and being able to see their faces also takes some of the edge off some of their wilder takes because it's easier to perceive that they're honest but in a way that's also doing a bit, or that they're just generally not taking themselves that seriously at the moment. that said i still put sean last because he's the ringer guy most likely to annoy me and also because with him i just find it irritating that in some ways he acts like he takes film so seriously with his giant blu-ray collection and his watching 800 movies a year and he clearly like "knows" "a lot" in terms of having seen a shit ton of movies and read a lot about film, and yet, like... none of this ever translates into anything he ever has to say about movies, like, at all. i have been entertained by sean a lot and sometimes i have found his conversations interesting for the bigger ideas they bring up... but i honestly cannot off the top of my head remember a time i heard him say something interesting about filmmaking. or even about a movie. which is crazy for a guy who watches literally like 600-800 movies a year. (i'm not being facetious with that number btw for anyone inexplicably reading this despite not listening to these guys... those are the stats he has shared. 600 was a low year because he was like the parent of a toddler or whatever and he expressed he wants to move it back up lmao.) also he watches so many movies but his taste is really normie and boring... i miss the sean who was willing to say inception wasn't that good...

10. rob... mahoney i think? whichever one is doing severance & white lotus with jo on prestige

new addition to my ringerworld because of how he's doing two of my shows. he has a very pleasant energy and seems like he would be very easy to do small talk with, and also like he is decently smart. i like him but don't feel like he has much to differentiate himself... he's simply a guy good at talking on mic about TV shows. which is valid!

9. steve & jomi

ranking them together both because i think of them as a unit and because they are tied. i like that jomi vibes more with an emotional moment than the other midnight boys do (still appreciate him for correctly saying that the only good episode of loki season 2 was good, in conflict with the other takes...) and it is simply always funny that part of steve's job is being good-natured in response to being dunked on for being the only white midnight boy.

8. charles

everyone complains about charles but as someone who, like charles, does actually in my heart love and respond to select texts of Nerd Culture in a real and meaningful way, but also, like charles, thinks that basically everything these people are putting out these days falls somewhere on the spectrum between "is mid" and "sucks ass," i support him speaking the fucking truth! on the subs everyone's like "charles is such a hater, he doesn't even like superheroes, blah blah blah" but i stand with charles and fully believe that he'll be happy to give one of these studios their flowers the second they put out something that's Actually Fucking Good, because, again, literal same.

7. van

i didn't mean to rank the midnight boys together in a smush but here they are... also the fact that individually they are all in this chunk of the list i think speaks to the fact that their chemistry is a real greater than the sum of its parts thing. anyway van can also be annoying but he's good natured about being clowned on and tbh he makes me laugh probably more than anyone at the ringer... sorry but it's just true. that man will say Anything and that can be an issue but often it's very very funny. also i was just listening to their versies episode and i loved when we got to the heartthrob category and he was like "i know a bunch of you haven't watched interview with the vampire but (a) the objective correct answer here is lestat and (b) it's a really really good show." go off, king...

6. amanda

as mentioned above, has benefited hugely from the pivot to video, such that now i find most of her weird idiosyncrasies cute and endearing rather than annoying as fuck. there are a bunch of things i enjoy or appreciate about her, such as how cute i find her parenting talk (tbh this is also true for sean, he is never more likable than when he's in girldad mode), how much she's willing to own her taste, her soderbergh partisanship (same), her willingness to keep clowning christopher nolan for writing screenplays that make it seem like he's never met a human woman (she's wrong about the third act of oppenheimer IMO... but she's right about emily blunt's character...).... that said i'll be real and say if i answered this a couple months ago she would have been lower and if you ask me this in the future she may sink back down, but right now her standing is being bolstered by the fact that one of the first things she did when she came back to the pod from parental leave was to be like "we have to talk about how much wicked sucked. here is my itemized list of grievances" like ok SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! big pic in general really racking up points all awards season long for being on the anti wicked train....

5. mal

love mal!! love that her husband used to buy her jewelry until he got to know her better. love that she always looks like she got dressed in the walmart boys' section. love her unrelenting thirstiness and the fact that if there's a dick shot you KNOW she's gonna talk about it. love her chemistry with... everyone tbh? love the segment on the top gun rewatchables she initiated by being like, "do you think she waited until she got back inside the house to masturbate after tom cruise came over and they didn't have sex"... top tied podding... do sometimes get like a little bit tired of how easily she is in the tank for some really exceptionally mediocre to bad stuff because it features Her Guys. i don't mind it when she has fun at the movies and i actually thought it was funny when she said a complete unknown was the best cinematic experience she'd had all year such that she had to watch it again immediately and then when sean asked her if it was a five star movie she said no because it wasn't a movie. but sometimes she's talking about how such and such thing was so profound and moving and again i am not immune [gestures towards my own username and the sebastian stan icon i have had for over a decade at this point] but like girl is it really ALL so powerful? like ALL of it? are we really SO easily pleased? i mean, she is, clearly... which is part of her charm... but sometimes i do weary just a little...

4. bill

now here's the thing. i think if i had to have an actual real life conversation with bill simmons, i would jump out the window within ten minutes. this is not a person i would care to know or hang out with. he is, in many ways, absolutely dumb as fucking rocks. however, my favorite line in all of community is troy saying, "i may be stupid, but at least i don't pretend i'm NOT stupid," and to me bill simmons is, like, the human embodiment of that. (on pop culture podcasts. i have no idea what his deal is in the sports world and, frankly, don't care). he's just a dumb guy who figured out a way to make money for his business by, among other things, running his mouth with his friendployees about his favorite legal thrillers, and as someone who is always into podcasts for the vibes much more than i am for any kind of meaningful insight or analysis, i gotta say, he's really good at that. i don't know what it is. i don't know exactly what makes someone good at podding. but he simply has the juice. i just enjoy hearing him run his dumb mouth. also i think it's funny that a significant chunk of the business he runs is now devoted to nerd culture and yet every time anything nerd culture related comes up he's like "uh huh. pass."

3. andy

love andy. love takes from daddington island. love his little vignettes about his travels abroad and being an old man in a midlifed man's body. love his self-deprecation about all topics but especially about the fact that he gets paid to do a podcast about TV but watches almost no TV. wish his career were taking him in any other direction but writing for the HBO harry potter show but at least we get more Andy Takes Britain stories from it. love that he is actually quite astute and insightful when cooking, enough so that i forgive him for being really deluded about how good the white lotus and industry are. it's fine. we all have our things. (industry is better than the white lotus btw. i... think andy would agree?) can easily imagine myself striking up a conversation with him as the two most visibly uncomfortable people at a party and having a great time. he's been right about severance all season and i believe he (we) will be vindicated more and more as time goes on. everyone says he's too afraid to criticize things because he's in the industry but then complain when he's a hater... fuck them, andy! do your thing. even when your thing is comparing two different people to rimbaud in your 2003 book about emo music. i mean he's not beating the allegations, it's true. but i don't care! fly your dorky brown alum flag high!

2. joanna

jo is so great. easily the person at the ringer i could most see myself being friends with (with andy probably number two, which i recognize does not say good things about my personality, but i'm 37 so i don't care). she has the fucking range: she loves a comic book movie, she loves a theory show, perhaps even a theory show i personally think is dumb as fuck (all of them, at this point?), but she can also do prestige TV succession coverage where she gave me the really great framing of watching a show like that not rooting for these terrible people but rooting for the idea that the poison doesn't have to drip through, which is one of my favorite things any of these clowns have ever said. she can do the BTS gossip angle and also dig in on archetypes and myths and the kinds of big picture storytelling stuff that is in fact a big part of the success of these big broad stories when they do work. does she objectively have the same too-soft-on-nerd-culture issue that mal does... yes but i find it less annoying coming from jo. why? because i am fickle and unfair. also she has a very listenable voice and on a shallow level i just think she's sooooooo cute. one time when agatha show was airing i emailed their show podcast being like "it would be cool if the stuff with [already forgot his name] winds up resolving in a piranesi way" and she sent back an email reading in its entirety "PIRANESI SLAPS." so true queen. i would kill someone for her to pair up with anybody at all to do live IWTV coverage next season. please bill simmons and the spotify corporation america needs this

1. chris

i mean, there was only ever one option for the top slot... it's gotta be CR. again, i don't know what it is that makes someone good at podding, but as everyone at the ringer constantly acknowledges, CR has it possibly more than any human being who has ever lived. it's just crazy. he has instant chemistry with anyone, whether it's his BFF since teenhood or some interview guest he's interacting with for the first time. he is so likable listening to him talk feels like taking drugs or being pleasantly brainwashed. has he ever in his life had a bad take? i feel like he must have but i literally can't remember because whatever it was i liked hearing him say it too much to be mad. meanwhile his great takes are legion. when he named as his 2018 scene of the summer both the bathroom fight in mission impossible fallout and the pool party scene in eighth grade? taste upon taste to recognize those two stylistically opposed masterpieces!! he is sneakily well cultured in ways he does not draw attention to but occasionally reveals through off-handed remarks (still remember his "great work begins" joke...) and also despite positioning himself very much as Dude With A Podcast is prone to dropping some real insight when you may or may not be expecting it. i still think about the time he said that part of what he loved about star wars as a kid was that it was the first thing that made him interested in and excited by the concept of adult emotions, which is maybe the smartest thing i've ever heard anyone say about what's actually good about watching star wars when you're eight. his note that villeneuve kept shooting timmy from lower and lower as dune 2 went on was actually what prompted me to realize i had never once heard sean fennessey actually articulate an idea about filmmaking lmao. all this and he loves a bit. cr now cr forever! undisupted GOAT and for once the consensus is 100% correct.

[eirian-houpe]

Dies Irae - Chapter 1

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold Characters: Belle (Once Upon a Time), Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Wicked Witch of the West | Zelena, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Grumpy | Leroy, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Grace | Paige (Once Upon a Time) Additional Tags: AU, Angst, Violence, archeology, psychic questing, Religion, spirituality, Magic, Supernatural - Freeform, Romance, Smut Summary:

A strange man confronts Doctor Belle French after one of her lectures, and claims to need her help. He also claims to know that she is troubled, and can offer her protection. When events transpire that lead Belle to take up that offer, a desperate search begins to find a series of ancient artifacts, and Belle and her friends - both old and new - face increasing danger as they try to secure the artifacts for the powers of good before they can fall into very wrong hands, and possibly threaten every living thing in Storybrooke and beyond!

Chapter One: Ēvincere

Etymology of the English word evince (v.) c. 1600, "disprove, confute," from French évincer "disprove, confute," from Latin evincere "conquer, overcome subdue, vanquish, prevail over; elicit by argument, prove," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vincere "to overcome" (from nasalized form of PIE root *weik- (3) "to fight, conquer"). Meaning "show clearly" is late 18c. Not clearly distinguished from its doublet, evict, until 18c. Related: Evinced; evinces; evincing; evincible.

"And I cannot stress hard enough…”

He didn’t move.  While all around him in the lecture hall, those gathered in unspoken conspiracy seemed to squirm and shift uncomfortably in their places on the long, hard wooden benches, he remained immobile.

“…that if you are coming into archeology with dreams of… fame and fortune; of glory even, then you have been sadly misinformed.”

He sighed - perhaps the first sign of life since he entered the hall - and moved his hands with slow, measured precision, to turn to collar of his black, woolen trench coat up as if to defend against a unwelcome draft. He’d heard this before, several times, and as she continued, almost syllable for syllable, matched her litany.

“Treasure comes in many forms,” he muttered as she spoke, “and it isn’t always - is rarely as a matter of fact - gold or precious artifacts.” He recitation was lifeless and without the passionate inflection with which she spoke.

“But is something more precious still…” She gave a pause then, and in his line of sight, the watcher could separate those that had been caught in her spell, and those that were merely along for the ride. The former leaned, slightly, toward the front of the lecture hall, where the diminutive Doctor Belle French held court, and finished with all the mysteriousness it seemed that she could muster, “Knowledge.”

If she might have continued, he would never know, as the bell signaling the end of the alloted time sounded, and the ever impatient students began stuffing backpacks and tote bags with notebooks and textbooks; wooden boxes full of sharpened pencils and depleted ink pens, and hurried to rise and leave.

Still, he sat immobile, one booted foot up on the desk-like shelf in front of him, the other splayed slight to the side, toward the aisle.  Others along his row shifted impatiently; pointedly waiting for him to take his foot down at least, so they could sidle, inconvenienced, past this apparent miscreant. He didn’t move. He didn’t even respond to the irritated murmuring; never once took his eyes off French as she too began packing away the lecture notes into folders, then the folders into piles on a table already replete with books and other papers.

“Are you gonna move y’foot, mate?”

Apparently, the patience of the nearby attendees had worn thin, or at least their courage had thickened, one or the other.

“Go around,” he said, his voice low and full of gravel, as well as gravitas. It was all he said, and neither did he make any attempt to remove his foot from blocking the way. 

After another moment of immobility, and with the press of other students behind him, the one that had spoken tried again, more threatening this time as he grumbled, “I said move yer foot.”

With the grace of a highly trained dancer, and turning as he did indeed move his foot to stand, he turned to face the student, towering over the younger man as he said quietly, and with patience that somehow held a deadly quality, “And I said, go. Around.”

The student opened his mouth to make a third protest, but as he shifted slightly, something seemed to change the younger man’s mind and, muttering something not quite audible, but he was certain was unlikely to be very complementary, did indeed turn, and pushing the other students ahead of him, moved and exited the row from the other side.

The students were already forgotten though, and he turned his attention back to Doctor French. She was slowly clearing the table in front of the podium of all the books and papers littered there, packing them away in her already overstuffed messenger bag, paying absolutely no heed to the room around her, nor - he guessed - the energies in it. 

When he felt the moment was right, just as the light descended enough to case a beam across the lecture hall and illuminate the dust that had yet to settle, he spoke.

“It isn’t true, you know?” he said. Though his voice was still soft he pitched it so that the acoustics of the hall carried it clearly to the professor. She started slightly, then looked up at him, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the light that concealed him.

“I beg your pardon?” she shot back, her voice terse, a challenge.

“Granted,” he said, and began to slowly descend the steps that flanked the tiers of seats.

“No, that’s not—” she began, slightly flustered, before annoyance got the better of her and she demanded, “I’m sorry - who are you?”

Once he reached the floor, he strode across to her, his trench coat almost billowing, cloak-like behind him, and once close enough held out a hand in her direction.

“My name is Jefferson,” he told her, “And I need your help to do something that I can’t.”

-------------

Belle blinked, then with a slight scoff, and ignoring his still outstretched hand said, “Well you have a very strange way of showing it!” Then she returned to packing her bag.

“In return,” he continued, apparently unmoved by her response, “I may be able to assist you.”

“I don’t need your help,” she snapped. The tone in his voice made the small hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. Had he been watching her?

“There are powers in this world, Doctor French, who have no regard for the living, nor respect for the dead. I suspect you know the type, if not the very ones of whom I speak.”

She looked up at that, fixing her eyes first on his face, undeniably handsome, but clearly more than a little haunted behind the seriousness of his expression, and then traveling the length of the sombre-clad figure that stood before her, seeming to know more about her than a stranger should.

She couldn’t help but notice the small pin that graced his otherwise unadorned lapel: an equal armed, red cross, their width narrower at the center than they were at the ends, set against a white background that was stark against the black of his coat.

“Now you listen, Mister Je—.”

“Just Jefferson,” he corrected.

“I don’t know who you are, or where you came from,” she tried for indignation, but even to her own ears, the tone spoke more of fear, “or even why you’re here, but—”

“I told you,” he said, his voice soft, “I need your help.”

She frowned, and couldn’t muster an answer, just stood and shook her head.

He raised his long forgotten, outstretched hand to her again, and as if by magic, though she was certain it was slight of hand, he produced a velum business card and held it out to her, clasped between his index and middle finger.

“There’s a man, his name is Mister Gold,” he said. “If you have cause to change your mind, all you have to do is go to him. It’s very important you tell him what’s been going on. He can protect you, but you must tell him exactly what’s been happening. He’ll know what to do.”

He nodded then, just once, to the business card he still held, and hesitantly, she reached for it, and glancing down at it, saw the words that graced the center of the otherwise unadorned card.

“Gold - Antiquarian,” it said, and then in relief around the edges, words that she had to turn the card one way and then the other in order to read. Latin words.

Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

When she looked up, Jefferson was already gone.

[theclearblue]

MORE QUESTIONS because more fun

feel free to skip any you dont wanna answer btw

Has there ever been a media that you really liked, but then went downhill, but you see a lot of potential in/would wanna rethink it/rewrite it yourself?

Favourite instrument sound in music?

What's the last song you heard/song stuck in your head right now?

Do you like video/board games, if so do you have a favourite? What's the oldest one you remember playing?

Media I really liked that went downhill?

So many lmao. I would say Voltron and Game of Thrones tv show are the two big ones for me. Voltron especially hurt cause I was there since the beginning pretty much and was SUCH a big fan of the first few seasons, I think I could easily rewrite some of those later seasons to be better. Also on the lower key side but Attack on T/itan as well. Like most of it is fine I don't mind the ending like a lot of people do, but season 4 truly presents the most clumsy and poorly executed historical allegories I have ever seen in my life with the Eldians in Marley. I wouldn't say I dislike the series entirely bc of it but it definitely soured my feelings towards it and I end up not talking abt it really at all even though at one point I was really obsessed lol.

Fave Instrument sound in music?

I do have a soft spot for trumpet bc that's what I played for a long time <3 But a good French Horn or a clarinet specifically for jazz is sooooo great too.

Last song you heard/stuck in your head?

Been listening to the Wicked soundtrack again so been listening to a lot of What Is This Feeling (happy pride to those two lesbians fr) and For Good as well

Do you like video/board games/favorite/oldest one u remember playing?

LOVE video and board games! I don't really talk about it much here but it is my other big hobby/obsession lol. Fave video game is probably Hollow Knight or Hades or Super Mario Galaxy or the entire Zelda series really (by amount of hours though I've played over 1400 hours of Overwatch 💀). Fave card/board game would be Love Letter/Betrayal at House on the Hill. Oldest board game I remember is probably Sorry lol and oldest video game is probably Mario Kart Double Dash on the GameCube <3

[darkmaga-returns]

By guest author Ryan Howard.

On a recent episode of the Old Glory Club’s Pony Express Radio, host and OGC President RedHawk and company talked about the James Bond franchise which stirred up quite the conversation among the panelists. The idea of an OGC Stream focused on James Bond was very appealing to me, and it made me think about the importance of Bond in my life. I would consider myself to be a superfan of the franchise. I own the movies and have seen all but one of them (No Time to Die) multiple times. My fandom did not stop with the films, though, as I read the Ian Fleming novels, played the video games, and even played a few sessions of the James Bond 007 role-playing game published by Victory Games in 1983. Bond has been ever-present throughout my life, but what stands out to me most about the franchise is how I was first exposed to it.

The first time I heard the name James Bond was probably 2001–02 when I was five years old. I was putting on a suit for the very first time, and my father said to me: “You look cool, son. Just like James Bond.”

My father then took me over to the family computer and did a Google search for James Bond pictures so that he could show me what he was talking about. Immediately, he pulled up pictures of then-current Bond Pierce Brosnan as well as those of the Bonds of his childhood, Sean Connery and Roger Moore. My father explained to me that James Bond was a secret agent, 007 of the British Secret Intelligence Service. He carried a gun under his jacket in a shoulder holster, he had an array of gadgets to help him on his missions, and he fought diabolical madmen with odd gimmicks like a mouth full of metal teeth, a bowler hat that decapitates people, or a golden gun assembled from a pen, lighter, and cigarette case. Just a few short years later, my father deemed me old enough to watch my first Bond movie on TV. He and I turned on AMC for one of their innumerable Bond marathons and watched Goldfinger, which he taped so that I could finish it the next day (as the film ran past my bedtime). Goldfinger was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The Aston Martin DB5 was surely just as cool as the Batmobile. The Walther PPK became an iconic weapon in my imagination, complete with suppressor for covert work. The beautiful women, the wicked Auric Goldfinger, the brutish mute Oddjob, and, of course, the swaggering, self-assured masculinity of Sean Connery all came to life in my imagination. Bond had me for life.

[xsetxsailx]

@xdarnxskippyx asked: @ Mel & Vic, have you ever fantasized or even dreamed about Geri in an inappropriate way?

INSTANT FREEZE from Vic as soon as she heard the question, followed by a sigh and a roll of her eyes. “What is this? Another press angle? Look, just because I said on live TV that Geri told me she fancied does NOT, I repeat does NOT open the press up to ask us about our sexual fantasies, okay?” Eurgh, that was gonna be misconstrued as Victoria DODGING the question. Which, in the press’s defense, wouldn’t actually be them misconstruing the facts: IT WOULD BE RIGHT ON THE MONEY. “Look, what happens in my dreams is between me and Becks. And Brad Pitt when I have the time to throw him a bone.” Except that wasn’t true… Was it? Geri had a, uhh… way of doing things. That most people would deem INAPPROPRIATE or even a little bit CRAZY. Even before the Spice Girls exploded onto the scene, back when they were just four teens (and one 21 year old) sharing a house in Maidenhead, Geri held a penchant for the same affection and sexuality she displayed on a regular basis on LIVE TELEVISION. The kisses. The touches. The spanks. The gropes. The grinds. The winks. The hugs. They weren’t some manufactured gimmick for a quick buck. They were quintessential, immutable, unstoppable Geri Halliwell, at her purest & finest. (Probably not the words she should’ve been using to describe it…) And YES there was a freak incident when Vic was fucking herself silly that a vision o f Geri just so HAPPENED to pop into her head when she pushed herself over the edge into a mind-numbing, spine-arching, body-electrifying, toe-curling ORGASM. But it wasn’t like it had happened again… While… While she was with a guy… Or… Oh, shut up. It was NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS ANY-FUCKING-WAY. It wasn’t even Geri’s fucking business. And she was NOT about to give her the ego-stroke and ammunition of admitting it on NATIONAL TELEVISION. 

For Melanie C… Things were far, far, far, more complicated. And thank GOD Vic had called out the press on her behalf, because Sporty was not in a position to even confront her sexuality within the safety, comfort and privacy OF HER OWN MIND. Let alone publicly in front of the entire fucking WORLD. Truth was, she’d had a very turbulent time figuring out her sexuality, not helped AT ALL, by the permanent light at the end of her fuse, constantly testing her wick, her embers, if a little extra fuel, a little extra heat, a little extra oxygen, could ERUPT Melanie in a blazingly gay flame. (Err, phrasing.) Geri meant well. At least, Mel C assumed. Girl was all about SELF-LOVE & HONESTY & TAKING CARE OF ONE’S MENTAL HEALTH. And given Melanie’s current state of mind, she evidently WASN’T doing that, but where did she even begin? For her entire life, Melanie C had been one of the BOYS, all except for her sexuality. She played footie with the lads, and had a few relationships with some of the boys. In 19 years of her life she hadn’t even REMOTELY seen women as a viable love interest… Until… Until… GERI HALLIWELL. Sigh. This was exactly why she couldn’t answer THIS question. Not now. Not ever. At least not before she’d figured out what was real and what wasn’t. What was CONFUSION and what was REALITY. And what both she herself wanted from life. And what GERI HALLIWELL wanted from HER. All of which was hard to figure out with such a BUSY NON-STOP SCHEDULE. “I think I reckon that if you asked Geri this, she’d claim that we’ve ALL had sex dreams about her. But then she’ll also be the first to tell ya not ta believe everythin’ you hear. So, there ya go.” 

[smoshsfavoritepizzaplace]

for the favorites of the year:

smosh video: we had some GEMS this year but my top 3 are smosh vs aliens, dream phone, and the most recent moose master (my favorite genre of smosh is games video that gets a little out of hand)

song/album: love direction by the dip! they’re a kinda smaller band but I love putting people on to them!

movie: WICKED! i’m unapologetically a theatre kid and it was the first broadway musical I ever got to see, so that was cool!

tv show: definitely agatha all along!

The games videos that are off the rails are always the best. I love when they’re chaotic, the more chill ones are good too, but the more crazy the better imo. I’ve never heard of the dip, I think this is my first time. I decided to listen to the song just now and it was pretty good. I liked the beat and it kinda sounds familiar like a song I’ve heard before but I’m not sure. I am self admittedly one of those annoying people who don’t like musicals, so I don’t think I’ll ever watch wicked, but never say never. With all the hype and how popular it is (pun intended) I’ll MAYBE give it a chance, but we’ll have to see about that