#fuck dude i love live theater

[aq2003]

i think it's so interesting also that david played macbeth's last line ("damned be him that cries hold, enough") like he was still a little scared and resistant at the end. he's resigning himself to his death, yes, but there's still a part of him that wants to keep fighting

[starstruckodysseys]

goddddd i love theatre and seeing people do what they love and having a good time and feeling a sense of community with the audience and losing ur mind alongside everyone else and being part of something greater than yourself even if it’s only for a moment

[spohkh]

my calling is most definitely attending a show of local punkmetalscreamoskarock bands and then chitchatting w the members afterward and getting their merch and also their instagrams

[heartfullofleeches]

Haven't talked about them in a few days, but I just adore Jellyfish Darling and Alien together because I imagine Jellyfish as this ethereal, angelic looking being with their translucent skin and tendrils - and then we just have Al who is this normal guy (on the surface)

This dork who lives in spaceship pajama pants pulling what has to appear God's gift to humanity solely over the fact they both glow.

-

Alien: My moms are religious, but personally I just can't picture God being real, unless they're the biggest asshole in the universe. If God existed and loved its creations then why the fuck do I keep dropping my keys down the exact same storm drain?

Jellyfish Darling: [exists]

Alien: I stand corrected.

-

Alien, talking to a coworker/friend at the theater they work at: Meeting them was the best moment of my life..... I mean I would've drowned if I had human lungs - which I do, but besides that it was still the best day of my life.

Coworker: Sick, I'm happy for you, dude. Got any pictures of them?

Alien: Ye- [Remembers that Jellyfish Darling is the finest thing to grace this earth - tossing their phone at the wall behind them] Well, I did, but as you can see my phone just broke.

-

Alien wears a shirt that reads "Me and the bad bitch I pulled not knowing how to swim" whenever they hang out with Jellyfish Darling soon as it comes in the mail

[hairmetal666]

au where Steve is a famous Disney kid and Eddie is a teenaged singer-songwriter. They get pushed together at events because they're close in age, but they just quietly dislike each other.

Steve's got a new show starting, a spinoff of the one that made him a household name. They hire a newcomer, Robin Buckley, to play his best friend and the two quickly become BFF in real life.

The show runs for two seasons but when it comes time to renegotiate contracts, neither star is interested. They're older now, ready to live life on their terms and not the company's, or in Steve's case, his parents.

As soon as the finale airs, Robin and Steve celebrate by going to a gay club. A few weeks later, an interview is released where Steve comes out as bi and talks about how his parents mistreated him; how they worked with the network to pressure him to be a perfect "all-American" kid even off screen.

Meanwhile, Eddie's an impossible level of famous. He's had number-one hits, won a Grammy, headlined an arena tour, achieved every dream he had for himself as a kid growing up in a trailer park in Indiana. He's not shocked by the news that Steve is leaving Hollywood, but he's flabbergasted that the guy isn't straight. When Eddie reads the interview, he gets this weird pang in his chest, almost like regret. But he never even liked Steve.

Steve isn't in the news again and Eddie doesn't think of him for a long time.

Steve goes to college. He loves it. Not because he's great in his classes, or anything, but because he's free to be himself for the first time. He makes friends and goes to parties and relaxes. He and Robin share an apartment.

After a few semesters, Steve decides to take a couple of theater classes, and is quickly cast in campus productions. In the vague anonymity of college theater he rediscovers his love of acting. No one has expectations of him, no one forces him to perform. He graduates and slowly starts appearing in small roles in Indie films, gathering critical acclaim. He feels good. Happy. Hopeful.

Eddie is blissfully unaware of Steve's career resurgence, experiencing his own musical highpoints, until the day where he's scrolling Twitter, sees a Variety headline that's getting a bunch of attention, "Steve Harrington in talks to star in Max Mayfield's first film." Eddie's livid.

"Maxine, what the fuck?" He growls when she answers his call.

They grew up together in the same Indiana trailer park. When she moved to Hollywood to start a career as a screenwriter, Eddie was by her side. And when her first script wound up on the Black List, his involvement on the soundtrack and original songs sealed her production deal.

She gives a long suffering sigh. "Munson," she grumbles. "I know you have a weird history with this guy, but I swear he's the right choice."

"He's a stuck up rich boy who's never been in trouble in his life."

"He's changed."

"Doubtful," Eddie sneers.

"Look. I'll set-up a meeting. Come hang out and you'll see what I mean." Before she hangs up she adds, "Call me Maxine again and I'll end you."

They invite Harrington to Eddie's recording studio. His hopes are not high for this meeting, so he's already a little thrown when Steve Harrington walks in, all grown up. He's in a crimson sweater, tight jeans, hair grown long so that it flops around his face in tousled waves that actually look genuine, windswept and golden. Eddie's eyes instinctively trace the scatter of moles on Harrington's face and neck, a pang of something hitting deep in his gut. Fuck, this dude is beautiful.

"Harrington," he greets, sticks out his hand. Eddie barely hears the answering, "Munson," because instead of a handshake, Harrington pulls Eddie in for a hug. Muscles bunch under the sleeves of the sweater, against Eddie's chest, and he's assaulted by the scent of cedar and sunshine and Steve. Eddie's not prepared for any of this.

They make small talk, Harrington sharing about going to college, falling in love with theater, Robin Buckley who he calls his soulmate. Eddie's head rings with how wrong he was about this guy; the pretty kid he grew up alongside who seemed to have the world in his hands. Max was right, he's perfect. Except.

"Let's get down to it, Harrington," Eddie says. Can't bring himself to call him Steve yet, feels that will somehow change everything and he's not ready. "I'll admit that Mayfield had the right idea about you, but can you sing? Play guitar? You have to perform my music, dude. That's not a small ask."

Harrington smirks, asks for a guitar. He gets it settled across his lap before he speaks. "I started taking piano lessons when I was 4. Voice and guitar at 7."

Eddie belatedly recalls that Harrington's parents were the worst kind of stage-parents, pushing their cute kid to perform even as he sobbed about wanting to play soccer with his friends instead of going to auditions. He has a moment of shame that he forgets as the other man begins to play. It's one of Eddie's biggest hits, a ballad about a teenaged broken heart from a kid whose name he can't even remember.

Harrington's hair flops in a swoop over his forehead, his fingers move across the strings with ease, skill. His voice is a rasp, close mimic to Eddie's own, but not quite deep enough. Goosebumps spread across Eddie's arms, his neck, and warmth pools low in his gut.

Steve finishes the song, looks up, cheeks glowing pink, honey eyes bright. Eddie's fucking gone for this guy. He wants so badly he might choke on it.

"Good?" Steve asks.

Eddie's embarrassed suddenly. Unsure. He tugs at his hair. "Yeah," he laughs. "Good."

He reaches out to take the guitar, the one Steve's already handing to him, and their hands brush. Eddie flushes. Their eyes meet and Steve smiles. Eddie's thoughts are consumed with the desire to kiss his plush pink mouth.

"You wanna get dinner? Just you and me?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, Steve," he laughs. "I'd love to."

🎬🎸🎬🎸

Fifteen Months Later

"Former Teen Heartthrobs Make Love Connection?"

Fans of musician Eddie Munson and former child star, Steve Harrington, were in for the surprise of their lives last night as the men arrived together for the premier of Harrington's new movie, Small Town Sins, written by up-and-coming screenwriter Max Mayfield, featuring original music by Munson. While Harrington's performance and the movie itself are garnering quite a bit of positive buzz, it's being overshadowed by gossip about Harrington and Munson's budding romance. They walked the red carpet together, pausing for photos as a duo, holding hands and flirting. When asked for confirmation of their relationship, Munson answered, 'we're bros,' before winking and pulling Harrington close.

There's a TikTok video embedded below the article, showing the men being interviewed on the red carpet. Their arms are loosely around each others' waists, and when their eyes meet they catch and hang for a beat.

"So, longtime fans of both of yours are going feral online right now because of the rumors that you two used to hate each other. Is there any truth to that?" An off-camera voice asks.

The men laugh. "We've always been great friends," Eddie answers.

"Eddie thought I was stuck up," Steve giggles.

"I did not." Eddie slaps at Steve, who gives him an affectionate smile.

"Liar," Steve answers.

Eddie leans into the camera like he's telling a secret. "Harrington here was afraid of me."

"Fuck off, I was not." They wrestle around for a couple of seconds.

Steve shrugs Eddie off, straightening his suit jacket. "Okay, maybe I was a little intimidated back then, but then this morning you found a pretty rock and cried about it."

Eddie shrieks, swatting at Steve until someone in a black suit and name tag shoos them down the red carpet.

Eddie walks off first, so he misses Steve withdrawing a hand from his pocket and saying, "Still have the rock, though." He flashes the red, grey, blue striped stone at the camera.

His gaze drifts away, landing somewhere in the distance, hazel eyes soft and heart-wrenchingly fond.

[rillils]

how do explain stucky from the moment they met to where they are now (together in each others arms) to my friend who knows nothing about marvel

ohh this is a tough one, honey! i think i've got two options for you:

the short answer:

stucky is a compendium of all the best tropes out there, and i'm sure i'm gonna miss a few:

soulmates? check! star-crossed lovers? check! battle husbands? super check! mutual pining? check! 'and they were roommates'? check! best friends to lovers? check check check! long-lost lover comes back from the dead? fuck yeah, check! temporary amnesia? check! dude in distress trope? check! 'they will always find each other and choose each other in every lifetime'? also check! identity porn? extra check! saved by the power of love? you guessed it: check! slow burn or childhood sweethearts? you decide!!! did they share their first kiss when steve was 16, as per a popular fanon theory? did they only confess their feelings during the war? did they only get together much later, when bucky was healing in wakanda? you can pick literally ANY point in their timeline, and it will still make sense! they're all equally valid! you can even have multiple different headcanons at once, i mean who's gonna stop you??? all you have to do is join in the fun! 💕

the long AF answer, aka:

STEVE & BUCKY'S LOVE STORY, UNABRIDGED SOMEWHAT ABRIDGED, part 1/3

all right, let's set the scene:

imagine two young kids, let's call them steve and bucky. they meet, they immediately take to each other, they become instant besties! and as they grow up together, facing many hardships, their bond deepens. not only are they best friends; they are also each other's family. they take care of each other, and they both know they can always rely on one another in times of need.

when steve's mom (and only remaining relative) passes away, bucky reminds him that he's not as alone in this world as he thinks he is: bucky will always be by his side. bucky will always love him unconditionally, will always be there for him, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, and he wants steve to know that.

in fact, he asks steve to move in with him, thus offering steve both a literal and a metaphorical home.

and steve says yes!

SO. they are each other's home, they're living together, they're getting by all right. but then war breaks out, and eventually it reaches their little home as well: bucky is drafted, and steve, due to his many health issues, and despite his best intentions, can't follow the boy he loves onto the battlefield.

it's a very difficult time for them both - so much so that they can't even bring themselves to talk about it.

they have no choice but to say goodbye for now, knowing that they might never see each other again. but here's something you might not know yet about steve: he's the most reckless, most stubborn fucker america's ever seen. he's not gonna let this stop him!!! instead, he goes and gets a very sweet, kindly scientist to fucking experiment on him, because screw it, he's going to fight in this war if it's the last thing he does. and that's how he goes from Smol Steeb to Lorge Premium Steeb.

of course, things don't go exactly as he predicted, and steve is made to be the star of a war propaganda-fuelled musical kinda thingie, which he resents (but he looks fucking precious in his costume)

BUT! he does get closer to the actual battlefield. which is where he discovers that bucky has been captured by the enemy (!!!!!!!) and is most likely dead by now. but steve isn't willing to give up so easily! he'll believe bucky's dead when he sees it with his own eyes. so, he embarks on this suicide solo mission in the attempt to get bucky back, even if it means wandering on his own. into enemy territory. where he would be shot. on. sight. with no protection for his dumb ass except for a bunch of theater props!!! but such is the power of love, y'all.

against all odds, steve finds bucky very much still alive! and as soon as bucky recognizes him, even as confused as he is, he pulls out this beautiful, ecstatic, angelic-ass smile, like he's just seen god or he got high on some real good edibles or maybe both idk, like my man here was having a serious Religious Experience™ you guys

and i just wanna say, they could have totally kissed here and it would have made plenty of sense. but that's true of like 90% of their scenes in this franchise, so *shrugs*

ANYWAY steve takes bucky in his arms (well technically yes he does) and brings him to safety, and on their way there, bucky proves once more just how hard he meant that "with you til the end of the line" from before

afterwards, steve is finally given the chance to fight, just like he wanted.

bucky, on the other hand, could very well leave the war behind and go home; but when he learns that steve is staying, he chooses to stay too, and fight by his side. and he tells steve so in this very intimate, softspoken, delightfully suggestive conversation, which can be summed up like this:

and so they walk right back into the heart of the fight, only this time together, as they were always meant to be!

but. during an especially tricky mission, they're surprised by the enemy, and as a result, bucky falls to his death into a deep ravine.

steve is devastated. overwhelmed with guilt, grief and rage, he vows to bring down the people responsible for his loss, even if it costs him his own life.

and um, it kind of does? cost him his own life?

victorious after his last vis-a-vis with The Antagonist™, steve still chooses to sacrifice himself to prevent the catastrophe set into motion by the aforementioned Antagonist™. he's flying a jet over the frosty expanse of the atlantic, and you know, from the outside, you could easily argue that he could try to save himself. if he really wanted to. but with bucky dead, and the people responsible for all this pain, either dead or captured, it seems like all the will to fight is gone from steve; and so he plunges the jet straight into the ocean, and himself with it.

is this the end of their story?, you might ask.

the answer is: of course not!!!! the best is yet to come, babes!!!

EDIT: here is part 2

[sonic-fan-01]

Probably not a hot take from me, but...

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is one of the best family films of 2024.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

It's not a perfect adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 by any means, but it cleans up a lot of the unessary stuff from the game.

Especially in regards to Maria and the ARK.

I LOVE that the Space Colony ARK doesn't exist in this movie. Because the movie knows it doesn't need it. All it needs to adapt is the research facility where Maria dies and the Eclipse Cannon.

Gerald Robotnik is an interesting character in the film for sure. He still has the same hatred he harbored for humanity in SA2, but with the added bonus of resentment for his grandson, Ivo because, in his own words...

"You're no Maria."

Gerald definitely is playing favorites, and I think it's abundantly clear why. He sees himself in Ivo, and it disgusts him. Whereas with Maria, he can only remember her innocence.

Speaking of Ivo, man, he's great. I mean, he's just all over the place in this film. He's good, he'd bad... and he sure as hell is funny. He and Stone are great, and I love how he finally admits his true thoughts about him during his sacrifice. Stone deserved to be validated for all the shit Ivo put him through over the years.

Now, I wanna move on to our meat and potatoes. Sonic and Shadow. They're phenomenal. Sonic is pretty much the same as he was in Sonic 2, with a little bit of added angst, which is due entirely to the film's themes about family, morality, and loss. Shadow is... jesus... he was amazing. He was everything I wanted him to be. Cool, dark, yet understanding. That being said, I wish they spent more time on Shadow dealing with the issue of what Maria wanted VS getting revenge on GUN with Gerald. I think extending Shadow's conversation with Gerald about their plan and Maria's wish would have done this perfectly and, in turn, better set up his switch to the good side so it's not as "oh yeah I guess we're doing this now."

"Live and Learn."

Okay, time for me to gush about Crush 40.

First of all, SEGA needs to pay Johnny G. what he's owed. Second...

HOLY FUCK

Live and Learn is everywhere in this thing. It's basically Shadow's theme for this film, playing in moments where he's either doing cool shit, or turning further to the light.

And when it played when Sonic and Shadow went Super on the fucking moon?! Oh my god, I would've screamed if it weren't for the fact I was in a public movie theater. You do NOT understand what this means for the next few films. We might actually get songs like "What I'm Made Of" or "His World" adapted for these movies if they keep doing well.

And I don't need a masters degree in Sonic-The-Hedgehogology to tell you how COOL that would be.

Speaking of Sonic, I wanna turn it back to talk about him and Tom. Dude. I love how Tom is immediately ready to join Sonic on his adventures. He loves this kid and wants to support him in any way he can, and I bet Sonic's so happy Tom wants to Hero with him.

"What did you do."

Tom's injury towards the end actually hurt me a bit. I didn't realize how much I cared about him until they played with the possibility of his death in this film. Also, I love what it meant to Sonic. We've seen in Sonic 2 that Sonic has some pent-up aggression for the echidna that killed Longclaw, that he never really properly expresses. The possibility of losing Tom, his best friend and father figure, the first person he connected with after years of isolation, it drives Sonic into a dark mindset. And. I. Love it.

This is what modern Sonic stories need. To give Sonic a wide variety of emotions, for him to act rashly if his closest friends and family are hurt, because it gives him more personality and shows us just how much he cares.

"What was his name...? Tom...?"

I loved everything about the scenes where Tom is hinted at being dead. I love how Shadow sees Sonic's reaction to Tom's potential death, and he has a small realization that he's become just like who he hated. I love watching Sonic panicking because he might be losing his best friend and father. I love how Maddie tries to keep a hold of herself for the sake of Team Sonic. I love the argument between Knuckles and Sonic about the use of the Master Emerald. I love the fight between Super Shadow and Super Sonic. I love how Shadow criticizes Sonic for letting his blind rage take over. I love how he wants Sonic to finish the job, and Sonic realizes what he's doing.

"The light shines, even though the star is gone..."

Sonic and Shadow's brief conversation on the moon is actually really sweet. They share a connection through their losses, and Sonic is able to guide Shadow to the light, by simply telling him to make the right choice. I think it's great because up until now, I think Shadow believed what he was doing WAS the right thing. But after seeing himself become like the GUN agents who ended up killing Maria... He starts to doubt himself. He goes to Gerald, who reassures him that what they're doing is justified, but Shadow doesn't believe that. Note how in that scene he asks if "this is what Maria would have wanted." Gerald responds by basically ignoring his question, saying that destroying earth is what deserves to happen to it. Gerald's own attitude led to his downfall. It's what caused Shadow to realize that he's on the wrong side of the fight by the time Sonic and him are on the moon, sulking.

"There are no winners with revenge."

I love this line from Sonic. It says so much about his past experiences from the last 2 films. He's seen revenge constantly ruin his life. So to be the one delivering it...? It goes against everything he's stood for, crosses a line he doesn't want to cross, and most importantly, sets him up for failure.

"Don't tell me you have a catchphrase.."

I like the comradery between Sonic and Shadow in the Super Hogs v GUN drones fight. They have a newfound understanding for each other that I think would have been able to make them better friends had it not been for Shadow's sacrifice, which will probably lead to the amnesia plot lines from Heroes and Shadow 05, which means it'll probably make Shadow a Sonic hater again. But then again, these movies keep surprising me, so who knows, maybe we won't go that route?

"What..? Who are you?"

Speaking of surprises.

FUCKING. METALIX.

And AMY MOTHERFUCKING ROSE.

Holy fuck. You all have no idea how hype this is. Unfortunately, I can say much in terms of predictions, but I think we'll be in for a treat come 2027.

[happypotato48]

Century of Love EP 2 Unhinged Tangent Thoughts

Ok let's get back to old man yaoi??? BL.

It's a very common thing for men your age don't worry gramp, i think, idk i'm not there yet i'm still a youthful young man full of vigor and what not :3 also the phrase they use here roughly translates to the cock (as in the bird) not crowing.

This old man still haven't realized that he's in a BL written by the OG Y girl Nu Wa. i know that bitch made her clay men kissed each other the first thing she did after making humanity.

Sorry grandma i'm still 50/50 on that it isn't scary sometime but othertime it fucking terrifying. i think that's how it suppose to be though.

Wow, whose is that going to be i wonder >_>

As a clumsy disaster of a man why is this never happened to me ever. i'm mad where my god dang BL moments!

Future husband future husband!. shhhh i'm manifesting.

We stan a communicating family, even when the thing they communicate is a old man wet dream :)

I probably have a relative like this somewhere that i never met. my extended family is pretty gigantic.

What in yaoi hell is this, god this show is ridiculous.

Kids are weird so meh i'm not bother by the willingness of Wee to go along with this.

K the show is smart for having someone stating the obvious solution.

This is kinda sad. San kept the place where the love of his life died unchaging, it's like he stuck in that moment for 100 years relive it again and again unable to move on.

Time only moves in one direction, san is literally frozen both physically and emotionally in time waiting to relive the happiness that long gone.

Back to being unhinged, Dude your fight scene is weaker than forking ironfist. good thing that this a BL show and not an action show cause my god this is Thailand we know how to do action!

The hair it's the hair like one look at that and anyone can tell that this mofo is suppose to be the bad guy.

My man that dude has a knife sticking out of his shoulder. is Wee a himbo?? verdict yes no ?

I liked this EP the pacing is very good and juxtaposition in the theater scene is immaculately well done. and here come the tin foil hat and clown makeup, i don't think Wee is Wad, even though all the signs pointed to that i really loved the the theme of moving forward and continue living past grief that Wee represent. and maybe that will be the case, finger crossed.

[quohotos]

Man, I really feel bad for the Dinotopia guys. They built this whole intricate, creative, enrapturing world, and it was going to be the next big thing. It was gonna be the next franchise. They got George Fucking LUCAS to make a screen adaptation of it. Yeah, the starwars guy. Then midway through production he realizes how much he loves making movies and decides to ditch your project and make the prequels instead. They say there's no bad blood but... man it would fucking kill me to go to the theater and see Naboo and think "Fuck, that coulda been waterfall city"

There still was a franchise. They did eventually make spinoff paperback novels and video games and there were even a couple screen adaptations, but they were done by Lifetime and Hallmark. The lifetime one is actually surprisingly good given its budget. It tells a story that mirrors the structure of the original picture book, two brothers get marooned on Dinotopia, one of them rides a pterosaur and then they have to stop a dude named Krab from stealing a crystal that he needs to make an ancient machine get him off the island... but it's not a reboot or anything, it's the same continuity as the books. I guess guys named Krab really do be stealing crystals every generation or so. It's not really that bad of a series but damn it could have been George Lucas!

I dunno, I just find myself thinking about it. It was a uniquely artistic and non-violent series for its time. All of the dinosaurs and people live in harmony. There used to be a steampunk cyber empire of capitalists who tried to replace dinosaurs with the coolest looking robots you could imagine, but then there was a revolution and they all live in communistic harmony with no real currency. Each according to their need, each to their own ability. All that Jazz.

I'm certainly more normal about it than I am say The Underland Chronicles but I still find myself thinking about those gorgeous communist dinosaur picture books. In another reality, Battleborn won over Overwatch, Galidor never got its budget cut and was actually a smash success, Warner bros actually did something with the TUC film rights, and Kids in the 00s grew up with Dinotopia instead of the Starwars prequels.

[copperbadge]

Hi Mr Starbuck! Some friends and I are moving in a few months and we're eyeing various places all over the US. Chicago came up as a relatively affordable big city (compared to LA and NYC) and I have to ask the resident Tumblr Chicagoan his opinion. As a resident who lives and works in the windy city, what's your big pros and cons of residing there (especially things you might not encounter as a tourist)? (also, how accurate is your "guide to chicago" still, since its been a few years!)

Well, I definitely have opinions!

The guide to Chicago is no longer accurate -- too many places have closed or moved, and the pandemic altered a lot (for example the Money Museum still exists but I'm not sure if it has regular hours even now). I should do a new one but like, I really don't get out much anymore so I can't talk about restaurants outside of a VERY local area, and I never could talk much about hotels, which just leaves points of interest mostly already covered by Atlas Obscura. :D At this point it'd just be kind of moot, others are doing it better than I am.

Chicago is inexpensive compared to New York or Los Angeles, but like, that's everywhere in America. Chicago is still a quite pricey city to live in, mainly because the taxes are so high -- 10.25% sales tax, for example, and my property taxes are also pretty steep. People joke about Taxachusetts, but I'm pretty sure Chicago at least has it beat (and 2/3 of the state's population lives in Chicago or the outlying suburbs). Housing is not at a premium in the way it is in NY and LA but depending on where you want to live and how far you want to commute it can still be very expensive. My housing was never less than half of my monthly income until I bought this place, and then ONLY because the job I'm in now came with a $10K/yr raise from my last one.

Chicago does have great culture, great museums, great food, and it's a liberal island in a pretty conservative region. It is however quite segregated, so if you are any race other than white, living here can get a little more complicated than I've portrayed it as a white dude. There is significant crime and particularly gun crime, but it's generally confined to specific regions of the city. That said, even if you discount crime, the Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck and uninterested in being helpful, so if you are from a demographic the cops enjoy harassing, it will not be different here.

I do love the city, warts and all. I like the water, I like the people, I like the midwestern vibe. I'd find it very hard to leave, especially because I have a network of friends here, but also because I just plain like it and I know it really well. There is a very short list of cities I'd consider leaving Chicago for, and most of those would have to have a well-paying job waiting for me. But it did take me time to fall in love with it -- it took a few years before it felt like home.

It's a little difficult to get more specific without knowing more about your situation -- what you do for work, what your budget is like, what your goals are in leaving where you are. Do you prefer to drive most places? (Parking and traffic can both get dicey.) Can you tolerate taking public transit if driving is inconvenient? Is the industry in which you work something that has a lot of openings here? Do you want to live in an urban environment, and if so are you prepared to live in a likely somewhat shitty apartment to do so? If you prefer to live in a house, are you prepared for a long commute? What do you like to do for fun and is there a thriving culture for that here? What is it important to have access to -- museums, concerts, theater, sport? Where do you need to travel to regularly (ie, I go to Austin several times a year) and how do you prefer to travel there?

Anyway, yeah -- like, I love it but I have few illusions about it. If you want to chat further feel free to hit me up by email, happy to answer more specific questions!

[werewolf4vampire]

i went for the express purpose of getting boosted and not only did they not have it, this was my first time going to the grocery in forever and not a SINGLE PERSON was wearing a mask. not even the people working at the fucking pharmacy. not even the people preparing food

came to the pharmacy specifically to get my booster (we called YESTERDAY and they said we could come) and we got here and he says they're out 😐

[moonlightisdancing]

Snowed in & Undone/ j.m.k

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x Female Reader

Word Count: 4515

Warnings: NSFW 18+ MINORS DNI, a teensie bit of yelling, being trapped(snowed in), soft josh, oral sex (m&f receiving), gagging, fingering, unprotected sex, breeding (lmk if anything’s missed!)

A/N: ‘U.P.’ is the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

𖤓

𖤓

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𖤓

Your mom is best friends with Karen Kiszka. This caused you to practically grow up with the Kiszka siblings, having weekly Sunday dinner with them after church for years. She had always hoped that you would “fall in love with the curly haired one” and insists that “he’s a nice boy, you’re just being stubborn.” But you couldn’t stand “the curly haired one,” Josh. He’s loud, obnoxious, very full of himself and worst of all a former theater kid. After graduation you had really hoped your mom would drop it. You liked Jake, Veronica and Sam, hell, even Sam’s best friend, Danny, was better to hang out with than Josh. You have made a conscious effort to avoid Josh since graduation, even taking a gap year in the off chance he would go to any real college instead of whatever the hell he was doing. You felt guilty for not liking him, but you had your reasons even if nobody else understood.

“Honey! The boys are going up to the U.P. this weekend for some skiing thing, Mrs. Kiszka said Ronnie’s sick and can’t go. She wants to know if you’ll go so she can change reservations, the pass is already paid for!” You hear your mom shout down the hallway into your room.

You have gone 6 months without seeing Josh, why the fuck would you WILLINGLY do it now? It was tempting though. A weekend getaway with the hot one, Jake? Naturally at the expense of the same weekend being spent with his weird twin brother, the thought of a weekend stowed away with Jake kept you thinking. You’ve always had a thing for Jake, ever since he sat behind you in preschool and complimented the red bow in your hair. He was a heartthrob in highschool, but somehow remained single the whole time. He plays guitar, he’s funny, he’s damn good looking and definitely out of your league. The more you thought about Jake the closer you got to caving in.

“Um… sure! I haven’t really seen Jake since graduation, so it might be fun!” You’ve officially signed yourself up for what could be the best or the worst weekend of your life.

You start packing a bag, with only 1 day’s notice it was a tough time digging through what might not even be clean clothes. You’d only been to the U.P. once when you were little, not even old enough to remember anything other than getting sick in the car from driving for too long. You toss through some clothes until you find ones you think will catch Jake’s eye in the cabin. It’s been instilled in you that red’s his favorite color. You never asked him but why else would he have complimented your bow so many years back? Excitement made it hard to sleep, you watched the clock hit 4:23. You were so tired you wouldn’t have remembered what time you started dozing off if it wasn’t Jake’s birthday. The excitement washes away and you’re finally asleep.

𖤓

“HELLOOOO!! WAKE UP!!” You heard someone right in your ear. It didn’t sound like anyone you lived with, and nobody who comes over is that fucking loud but one person, Josh.

“Dude, what the FUCK are you doing in my room?!” You start to open your eyes and turn towards who you presume to be Josh.

“We’re supposed to leave soon… your mom said to come wake you up,” he just stood bedside as if he belonged there, his presence shaking you to the core. He looked different, a good different. Haircut, a little stubble, did he get his eyebrows plucked…?

“Josh, I mean this kindly, get the fuck out of my room. Right. NOW!” You felt a little bad for yelling, but decided he deserved it for intruding.

You hear his footsteps leave your bedroom, Josh grabs your suitcase on the way out to start packing the Suburban. Feeling guilty for what happened, you slowly roll out of bed and get dressed in warm clothes to beat the December chill. You try not to let the situation bother you, this weekend was a spur of the moment and Mrs. Kiszka paid for your entire trip. You would finally get some time away from work and do something fun. Midway down the hall, your mom stops you to give you some money for your trip and a kiss on your cheek.

“I heard you yelling up there… Now you be nice to my future son-in-law, don’t scare him away, that boy will do good for you.” Was she seriously still on this?

“Mom, for the THOUSANDTH time, I hate Josh. Always have. Why can’t you root for maybe… his better half? Jake is so much cooler.” You’ve been begging her for years to drop this narrative, and yet she continues with it.

“Honey, Jake’s too quiet for you, and if I’m not mistaken he has a lady, or maybe I misheard Karen… You know he’s just- he’s an interesting boy that one. Not bad at all, sweet kid, he’s just a little odd, darling. I think Josh’ll grow on you.” She was adamant on you and Josh being together, but she was so wrong.

You head outside and hop into the van behind the passenger seat. You assumed the usual position, Josh driving, Jake passenger, Sam behind Josh. That’s how it had always been when you guys took trips together. Jake was the first one in, he got in the driver seat. Very odd, but no way Josh’s ego would let his 15 year old brother in the front seat. You would have to sit behind him but that’s not worse than next to him. Sam approaches the van, he’s getting into the passenger seat. ‘Not a fucking shot…’ You thought so loudly you were afraid you might have said it. Following behind Sam was Josh, speak of the devil and he will arrive. The devil gets into the seat behind the driver, making this the most unfortunate seating arrangement ever. You didn’t know how long of a car ride this was, but you knew every second spent next to Josh would be insufferable. Worst part was Josh brought an extra bag and instead of placing it between the two of you, he scooched himself into the middle seat and placed his bag on the seat behind Jake.

Halfway through and Josh still hasn’t really spoken to you. Your main source of interaction was little Sammy boy in the front seat, asking him how school was going and if he had any plans for college yet, how Danny was, boring older sister-esque stuff. You didn’t say much to Jake so he could focus on driving, the last thing you wanted was him getting into an accident with ¾ of the Kiszka kids and you, an only child. The Michigan roads weren’t as bad as usual, but still not the greatest with black ice and slushy snow. There was a silence in the van amongst the people, the only thing playing was one of their CD’s Sam put in for you to hear. He had just started making music with his brothers, which was just about the only thing 15 year old Sammy had going on, poor kid. Their music was probably the only bit of Josh you could stand. His voice sounds nice when he sings, so why is it when he speaks you want to tape his mouth shut?

Jake has been driving for who knows how long, looking at the clock would only make it worse. Staring out of the window you start to feel tired, this was uncommon for you but the lack of sleep last night was really doing a number. You start to drift off with the light sound of music humming in the background. You let your head rest against the seat, and slowly fall to the left. You’re so used to the original seating, you didn’t think about whose shoulder you would land on. Sam, right? You’d only done this one other time, and Sam didn’t mind too much until you started drooling and he pushed your head into the window so it had somewhere to lay. But this shoulder felt different then Sam’s, much more broad and definitely had less bone going on. You didn’t care, maybe it was his jacket, all you cared about was getting some damn sleep. You feel a cheek press against the top of your head, and you nuzzle into the feeling of comfort.

“Okay, we’re here guys. Just barely in time to check into our cabins. C’mon sleepyhead.” You feel a hand reach back and shake your knee to wake you up. Your eyes open to Jake staring back, his hand on your knee and Sammy peering over the passenger seat. Suddenly it hits you.

‘If Sam’s up there… who’s shoulder am I- oh my fucking god…’ You felt shivers go down your spine. You realized you had been asleep on Josh’s shoulder this entire time, simultaneously (and unfortunately for you) realizing it was the best nap you’ve ever taken.

‘He smelled nice, he didn’t push me off of him, he’s really warm, NO! Ugh’ You lift your head off of Josh’s shoulder to apologize to him, only to realize he had fallen asleep too. You wondered for a second if he thought the same thing, and you wondered why you felt so much comfort and content on his shoulder if you disliked him as much as you thought.

All four of you get out, grab your bags and head towards the check in area. You hear Jake mention two cabins to the lady at the desk. Your heart thumps faster at the thought of a cabin with Jake, quickly bringing yourself back down remembering Karen probably put the twins together, and the two youngest together. Bunking with Sam isn’t who you were hoping for, but he’s a good kid, the lesser of the two evils. Jake approaches the group with the keys for the cabins.

“Okay, me and Sammy are in 21, Josh and Y/N are in 22, sound good?” Another thought struck so loud you again felt people heard it. ‘No, Jake, it doesn’t sound good. Why would Karen break it up that way, this has to be some sick joke, maybe Ronnie isn’t sick at all and mom put this together.’

“Shall we?” Josh reaches his hand out for yours in a curtsy. All you could think was ‘What a dork…’ Instead you push his hand down, knowing if you grabbed his hand it would be accompanied with a kiss on yours. The group makes their way to their assigned cabins, the snow started picking up and made the 5 minute walk feel like eons. Once you reach the cabins, you wave a sad wave to Jake and Sam as Josh gets the door to your impending doom. He grabs your bag for you and enters the cabin, you follow slowly behind.

“You can pick which room you want.” He says quietly, completely not the Josh you know.

“Josh, are you okay? I’m really sorry for yelling at you this morning. I just- I went to bed late, I was frustrated was all,” you were on the verge of tears trying to make amends with someone you usually didn’t care about hurting. You hate to admit it, but your mom was right, he is a sweet boy. Maybe that’s why you feel so guilty, that and the fact he’s been different towards you since then.

“You know what? It doesn’t matter, it’s fine really.” His voice came out shaky, you knew it wasn’t fine but you didn’t know how to undo the past.

Trying to think of the right words to say, you begin lugging your bag into the direction of the smaller room. You figure it’s the least you can do after being so mean to him.

Each in your own rooms unpacking, you get deep in thought again.

‘Why do I hate him so much? He’s gotta know after 15 fucking years, there’s no way. Why’s he always so nice? Maybe it’s me.’

Your thoughts are interrupted by Josh tapping his knuckles on the door. You turn around to see him timidly standing in the doorway, probably because the last time he entered a room you occupied, he choked back tears.

“What’s up, Josh?” You try to approach him like a stray cat you’re trying to befriend for the first time.

“Jake just called me, him and Sammy are snowed in. I was gonna go help them, but we’re in the same boat, ‘bout halfway up the door…” He places one of his hands on the side of his head awkwardly fidgeting with his curls.

“So, what do you want to do then? I think I saw some board games under the coffee table. Or maybe a movie?” You were trying to make the best of an even more unfortunate circumstance. Not only were you stuck in a cabin with your least favorite Kiszka, but now there was 4ft of snow locking you in the cabin with him.

Josh’s eyes widened in excitement, “Wait, actually? Usually you don’t want… nevermind, I’ll be at the table when you’re done.”

‘Fuck. He definitely knows. I mean how wouldn’t he know. I can’t even talk to him without being a bitch. I wish I could like him. I really do.’ For once you actually feel bad for the consecutive years of poor treatment towards Josh Kiszka on your behalf. You decide it’s time to make amends, become his friend instead of his enemy. Hey, one day you’ll be married to Jake, right? Can’t have your brother-in-law hating your guts.

You try to stall putting your clothes in the dresser, just trying to figure out the right words to make this apology perfect. You have 15 years to make up for, that’s almost your entire lives, although you’d like to think you didn’t start hating him until the 6th grade. You walk out to the living room area, gathering the words and courage up. He made hot cocoa, started the fireplace and already had a game of Monopoly set up. He shuffled one of his playlists that had a mix of a bunch of old people you’d never remember the names to. You were met with his dorky smile as he waved his arms out and wiggled his fingers followed by “Ta-daaaa!” You tried not to blush, the sentiment was touching.

“Josh, before we start the game, can we talk?” You feel tension in the air, your palms growing sweaty.

“Sure, you can sit down y’know, I don’t bite… anymore…” You giggled because as far as you can recall, you don’t think he’s ever bit someone.

“I’ve been thinking lately about how I am with you. I feel bad for avoiding you and always making plans with Jake and Sam when you’re busy. You’re really sweet and fun. Maybe too much fun for me, I think I need to dial it up and we’d be okay. I guess what I’m getting at is I’m sorry, Josh. I’m sorry for always being a bitch.” You feel like you pulled words out of a hat and threw them together.

“Y/N, it’s okay. I try not to take anything personally. I just try to put the energy and positivity into the world that I’d like to get back. I’d hope that in and of itself makes us ‘okay’ not the fact you feel bad. Please, I just want what’ll make you happy.” All you can think is how he captures the essence of the sun perfectly. He radiates warmth and love, you finally realize that it hasn’t been Josh this whole time, it’s been you.

You get up and walk towards Josh, reaching for a hug. He gladly stands up and takes you in his arms. His body against yours feels warm and you’re fully engulfed in his scent as you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck.

“I felt particularly bad when I fell asleep on you and realized I liked it.” You were afraid of ruining the moment, but Josh giggles at your statement.

“I felt particularly bad when I thought about moving your head to stop you from drooling on my shirt, but I wanted you to be comfortable. I was trying to avoid being a Sammy 2.0” You couldn’t even be mad at him after all the shit you’ve put him through.

Josh is still holding you tight in his arms, soaking in the first good interaction you’ve had in an overdue time. Can’t Help Falling in Love comes on shuffle, you hear Josh start humming only making you want to stay there longer. He starts to gently sway with you. You move your arms up from around his shoulders to around his neck as you pull away to look at his face. Taking in all of his features, you realize how gorgeous Josh really is. His coffee eyes sparkle with hints of amber and his light winter complexion paired with his curls gently resting across his forehead. His perfectly sculpted nose sat above his plump, deep colored lips. Had you spent any of these years getting to know him you’re afraid you would have fallen in love. Josh’s been looking at you this entire time and you’d wondered if he was thinking the same things.

“What’s going on in there, gorgeous?” He broke the silence, having you melt in your spot with widened eyes.

“You’re the gorgeous one,” You blushed, feeling it was the wrong thing to say, but remembering he started it first.

Josh’s cheeks grow rosy, “That’s two firsts in one sentence…” you raised your eyebrow at him before he continued “… being called gorgeous, and being complimented by you.”

It’s like his body was calling you, you cradle his face with one of your hands. Rubbing his cheek with your thumb, you start to lean in for a kiss, hoping it’s the right move to make. Josh leans right into you as if this was a familiar occurrence, making it feel as if your lips belong to his. The room around you feels as if it’s spinning, a feeling of ecstasy fills the space around you. He moves one of his hands from your waist to the nape of your neck, tangling your hair between his fingers, he pushes you in gently. You let out the tiniest moan, the feeling of his fingers on your neck sending shivers down your spine. You slowly inch forward forcing Josh backwards toward the couch, you’re yearning for his touch more than you ever thought. He plops down onto the old couch and you fall straddling him making sure your lips never leave his.

You knew what you wanted but you weren’t sure how Josh was feeling. Hesitantly, you pull away from him to ask, “Do you want to do more…?”

Josh looked at you with thin eyes for a second before he realized what he thought you were implying. “Wait like by more do you mean, it.”

You giggled at his terminology. It. “Only if you want to, I’m okay with this, too,” you say reassuringly, you’re afraid maybe you pushed your luck.

Josh doesn’t speak, but the expression on his face says everything. He has a fiery look in his eyes, his cheeks red to the touch. You start kissing him again, feeling him against you through all layers of clothing. Even if this was as far as it got, it was much farther than you ever imagined with either of them.

Josh slides his hand down the small of your back past the waistband of your leggings. He drags his finger tips across your asscheek making you whimper into his mouth. You grind forward on his clothed cock, eager for some sort of relief.

“Josh, please,” you’re begging him to do something at this point, you knew you needed more.

“What do you need?” You can’t tell if he’s being serious, or if he’s really gonna make you ask for it.

“You, I need to feel you.” You barely managed to whine out what you hope he wants to hear.

Josh decides not to waste anymore time. He taps your thighs signaling you to stand up.

“Take those off,” he says pointing to your pants, “and take that off too.” He moves his finger up to point to your shirt.

Josh begins standing up from the couch removing all of his clothing. He’s standing in front of you entirely naked leaving you in your undergarments. You stare at his cock in disbelief of the size. Without hesitation you get down on your knees infront of him, mouth wide open letting him take the reins. He grabs your hair into a makeshift ponytail as you work your tongue around his tip. He’s so big you’re not confident it’s going to fit in your mouth, let alone other places, but you try to take him entirely. You rest him on your tongue and brace your hands on his thighs, slowly working him down your throat. You drag the fingers from your left hand up his thigh and cup his balls. Josh bucks his hips forward in pleasure, causing you to gag, your eyes filling up with tears. He reaches his free hand to your face and wipes away the tears before removing himself from your mouth.

“I wasn’t done!” You teased him.

“Your eyes are watering, I’m not gonna do that to you.” He said gently before lifting you off the ground.

He holds you close to his body in a sheltering hug as he unclasps your bra. He follows this up with a strange question.

“Heads or tails?” You raise your eyebrow in confusion, because what the hell does that have to do with anything?

“Heads?” You say as you see him reaching for a coin.

He flips the coin and catches it, flipping it onto the back of his hand.

He sucks his teeth, “Sorry baby girl, tails.”

He signals you to the couch, you sit down on it but he flips you over, your breasts touching the back of the couch, knees sinking into the cushions. ‘So this is what he meant…’ you think to yourself.

Josh is standing behind you, you feel his hands on either hip, and his breath at the small of your back. You feel his teeth grab your panties as he pulls them down. Josh is on his knees, staring right at your heat, panties around your thighs. You feel him spread your asscheeks, getting a full view, and then you feel his breath again. He licks a stripe from your clit all the way to your entrance before dipping his tongue into you. You let out a moan at the anticipated relief you’d been searching for. He starts lapping at your clit like his life depends on it, working two digits into your entrance. It feels so good you feel like you might cum before the best part happens.

“Are you ready?” He asks, pulling himself away from you.

You didn’t want him to stop touching you with his tongue, but you wanted him more in a different way. You shake your head yes to him, but deep down you’re nervous if he’ll even fit. Josh lines himself up with your entrance, his hands spreading you wide open for him to see. He places his tip at your entrance before slowly pushing in. He moves his hands to your hips. You’re breathing halts, the sensation sends a fuzzy feeling across your entire body.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

“More.” You could barely speak through the high but you still knew what you wanted.

Josh pushes himself deeper until you feel his pelvis touching your ass, he lays across your back, arms around you and plants a kiss between your shoulder blades. He stays there for a second as your slick covers him. As he begins working at a slow pace, he reaches an arm down to toy with your clit. He starts to thrust at a normal pace, working you down to nothing for several minutes.

“Are you close?” He whispers into your ear.

“Uh-huh, are you?” You ask back.

“Yeah, but I want to see that pretty face when you do.” He lays you down on the couch, facing the ceiling as he works his way on top of you.

He wraps your legs around his waist, he shoves his cock back into your dripping pussy, tucking his arms under yours and around your shoulders. He nestles his face into your neck and digs his fingertips into your shoulders. You’re scratching up his back so hard, you’re anticipating open wounds and bloody nails. You feel Josh’s pelvis rubbing against your clit, making you tighten around him again.

“Are you on birth control?” He frantically asks, but you’re assuming for good reason.

“Yeah, IUD.” You respond through sharp breaths, fighting the urge to cum without him.

“Oh, okay, good.” He chuckles a little.

“Josh, I’m gonna cum.”

“Yeah, me too, c’mon show me what ya got.”

You start to moan through shortened breaths, digging your nails deeper in his back, body twitching under Josh’s, you can feel yourself tighten around him as you reach your climax. Following your release, Josh starts to slow down, taking longer, deeper strokes, pulling you down onto his cock by your shoulders.

“Josh, cum in me.” You never thought those words would ever leave your mouth.

He starts to kiss all over your collar bone between low register moans. He thrusts into you one more time, filling you with his cum, followed with a deep sigh. He immediately pulls out and goes to get something to clean you up with. He comes back with a roll of toilet paper as a temporary fix until you make it to the shower.

“Holy shit man, I can’t believe that just happened.” Josh says while wiping his cum off of you.

“Yeah, me either.” You admit.

Josh helps you sit up on the couch, and he places a kiss on your glowing cheek. You get up to get into the shower, barely able to walk and unable to figure out where to go from here. Do you try to take it further, and let your mom be right about the boy you fought years denying? You decided that was something you could figure out later, right now you just wanted to get cleaned up and watch a movie with Josh. You spend about 20 minutes in the shower before strolling out in a pair of pajamas Josh grabbed for you from your room. He made a makeshift fort and had ELF ready to play with some fresh hot cocoa and popcorn that was just popped. You snuggled up with Josh for your little date night, and let all the future explanations wash away as you fell asleep in the warmth and comfort of his arms.

[oonajaeadira]

In honor of Catfish Day, may I ask a question? What is Frankie's best line of dialogue in TF? (also every time i consider deep and evocative world-building, i think about your stories and wanted you to know)

My Megan, my Cheese. You are a lovely soul, did you know???

I will admit that I've only watched Triple Frontier the once, but of course "We gotta fly over the fuckin' Andes, man!" is iconic.

This movie was what I VERY LOVINGLY call "Bro Fare" and is full of boys-being-boys, full of drugs and violence and military and bad decisions. And while I applaud the fact that it kept me gripping the back of the couch in a half escape, afraid for all of them and what could go wrong next, it wasn't really my kind of movie.

And now I'm gonna say something that may raise some hackles around here....other than Pedro and Oscar, I don't really remember the other characters. I know a lot of folks like Garrett or don't like Ben or whatever, but at the end of the day, I felt like the other three dudes were just playing your run of the mill military dudes.

But Oscar's Santi had a LOT of subtext. He was fighting against blaming himself for anything that happened because he called them all there and he didn't want to drown in it before they were out. There was a morally grey center to all of them, but I really feel like Oscar did an amazing job holding down the one that was the furthest from the light even if he was also trying desperately to protect them all. (Come after me if you want to say Tom was the worst, but that guy was just a damaged idiot. He's almost not even on the same scale.)

And on the flip side, I was amazed at the choices Pedro made to play the opposite end of the scale. You give a man a role like this, most of them are gonna play the military bro. These boys have seen service and it's easy to just play that stereotype (which, sorry, is what I felt the other three kinda did.) But Frankie is almost too soft of a heart to be there. His personality doesn't scream military in the Hollywood sense...because Pedro made a conscious choice not to play it. Any chance he could have swung into macho, he went the opposite direction, and listening to his lines and imagining how they are, flat on the page in a script, that role could have easily become that. He actually read his lines and found a different Frankie under them, chose to play someone who made bad choices and regretted them because he'd hurt people he loved with those choices. He isn't the loudest of the bunch, he's more a wallflower in the group because he's there to support, not be supported by them. And when Pedro asked himself, why does this man say yes to this with so much on the line? His answer was obviously love. He loves his brothers. He's at the fight not because he loves the fight but because he loves his friend. He hates saying no to Santi when he's asked to go because he doesn't want to disappoint his friend and you can see it in how he pussyfoots around his (very valid and nothing to be ashamed about) excuse. He ultimately says yes out of love and loyalty even if it hurts himself, even if it turns him back into the monster he wish he never was and Pedro made that choice to make it make sense to himself. And then he played THAT guy.

I love Pedro just as much as the rest of you, but I make a living in the theater and beyond his looks and his killer personality, I respect Pedro's acting chops and his choices and his deliveries so very very very much. I'm wowed by him on a nerrrrrrdily technical level. It's what drew me to him in the first place--when Din took off his helmet and told Grogu it would be alright and barely held it together, when this big tough warrior showed his face and that actor was not afraid to show that emotions in no way weakened his strength and could exist in a warrior in harmony, I was like WHAT IS THIS FRESH CHOICE WHO IS THIS FUCKING AMAZING ACTOR AND WHAT ELSE OF HIS SHIT DO I NEED TO WATCH NOW.

And now I can't unsee it. I love falling in love with his characters because they are so multi-dimensional, so nuanced, so real because he does the work and makes good choices. Every time a new role shows up, I'm a true Gemini: one half of my brain is squealing like a little girl because dur dur pretty Pedro boy and the other half is squealing like a little girl because OH MY GOD THAT'S A FKN AMAZING READ WHERE DID THAT CHOICE COME FROM.

He's amazing. And what makes Frankie amazing to me is all the easy choices he turned away from and yet made the harder ones look like childsplay.

[nekrosmos]

ive been trying to catch up on my dash because ive also had a rough few weeks so im using your blog as a distraction because it brings me joy in return i will give a distraction back:

ive been dipping my toe into writing graves mostly to practice his voice and try to see how i feel about him to try to include him in other works, any headcanons or specific things about him you like?? trying to get some inspo lol

Q!!! Thank you so much for your lovely tags on my art !! You know it always brightens my day <3 I'm glad my silly little drawings are able to bring you some comfort !!

As for Graves, I think my favorite thing about him is his energy. Dude is always going BRRRRRRRRR no matter the situation, too much energy in this little blonde guy. He's a fun character to write honestly, I only wrote him once before but it was just fun to do, he's so not serious and always 100% into something.

I also think he loooooves the attention, he loves being a leader (and he is a great one at that), loves having all eyes on him. It's natural to him, with his enthusiasm, his accent, his general attitude, he's used to entertaining a room, for sure. Dude would have made a great theater kid in another universe.

He makes friends easily but can also be way too much for people to handle, especially when he's trying to find partners. That man has been turned down more times than he can count.

I think I've said this one a long time ago but in my mind he has that "supportive but slightly confused straight guy ally" energy, even though this man is extremely bisexual to me. Like he's queer but never really was part of any queer community, but he's trying his best at being respectful. (I ship him with an OC of mine who is transfem and intersex and it just leads to funny situations LMAO). He's a little confused but he's got the spirit !!

This one is pretty random but I think Graves is the kind of guy who struggles with the idea of aging. To me, he was a pretty boy as a young guy, always used to being complimented on it by both men and women, and those compliments have changed as he grew older. Obviously, he's still very handsome but he definitely struggles with the change and has been getting more and more expensive products for his skin. He haaaaaates when he wakes up and can feel his age and definitely will want to party or do something stupid just to prove to himself that he isn't getting old :3c

Also dude lives in a fucking villa because he has way too much money, for sure

Also, obviously, Graves is EXTREMELY american and will pass away if you say the word Celsius or meters in front of him. He also knows how to work a grill alright !!

Also, fuck it, have some NSFW headcanons as well:

This man is a BRAT. He has an insane degradation kink and is just begging to be manhandled. Man or woman, it doesn't matter, he's into everyone as long as they dominate him <3 Loves to be chocked, slapped, spit on, tied up, gagged, he wants it all. He talks shit only so he can be punished in return.

Also it's probably a popular hc for him but I don't care: that man definitely was very popular when he was still a young recruit in the army. He knew how to use his mouth and he made good use of it alright. Dude got very popular reaaaal quick <3

[fleshengine]

Rocky Horror Picture Show: I didn't like it

Here's the thing, I was mostly paying attention to the puzzle in front of me while I watched it, so I don't think I can call it disjointed and nonsensical in good conscience. When it comes to the actual content I feel like it's somewhere between what people who grew up in the suburbs desperately want to have happen to them, and what their parents are terrified of happening to them. A lot of perverts who don't really have an "in" into sexual communities want to be swept off their feet by a group of people in a sex dungeon. They don't want to have to give consent, they just want things to happen to them. At the same time, being enticed into a house with the promise of safety and being sexually assaulted and raped is something that a lot of conservatives and shit scaremonger about. Neither of these things really happen irl, if you want to be part of a kink scene you have to talk to people and very few people would even consider doing the shit Frank does without prior consent. It's a situation that's both hot and terrifying and is equal parts fantasy and nightmare. In this way, the story is a trans woman.

Anyway heeeyyyyy let's talk about that transmisogynistic stereotype huh? Frank N Furter who I will just call Frank now is like... everything about the stereotype. Intense makeup, evocative dancing, revealing outfits, rapist, violent, seductress, broad shoulders with a thin waste. It's really hard to fully articulate but basically Frank is everything people who fetishize transwomen want about us, and everything people who demonize us hate about us. Look, even down to the name he goes by being a joke about sausage.

It doesn't help that everyone in my life who has expressed a fondness for the movie hasn't been transfem, and I think that's because it makes us feel viscerally uncomfortable. Like, hey look there goes Mr. Transmisogyny raping a married couple and killing a man woohoo I love seeing what the wider public thinks of my existence! At the same time it's held up as a fucking... pinnacle of queer story telling, I've heard there's live productions on pride, and fucking monthly public viewings at theaters. It's ridiculous. I don't care if it was groundbreaking when it was made, or if it holds importance now, it has been made obsolete by the progression of queer rep. We don't have to enjoy transmisogyny anymore, we can just enjoy being trans. I know this is sort of shouting "stop having fun" at people, but I think this movie is harmful to have in the queer cultural zietgiest. I think it should belong in history, not something that you show to everyone you can because "it's so gay, you have to see it." It doesn't help that I saw it right before I saw Psycho for the first time which is also transmisogynistic and demonizes mental illnesses (that I have). No hate to the guy whose house I was at, but those were a combo my dude.

[emmg]

you ever just think about raphael realizing that tav/durge is more than just some pathetic mortal he can easily trap into a contract. thinks so highly of himself when they finally sign his stupid contract only to find out that his favorite client doesn’t play by his carefully constructed rules.. how does he deal with his own ego after getting absolutely dog walked in battle by his favorite client. i’d imagine he’d start recalculating & plotting ways he could make their soul his. but in the meantime. while her soul is free for the taking.. would be pretend to be unbothered or crash out and make sure everyone knows its his soul for the taking

Ooh, this is such an interesting concept! I actually took some time to think about it because the psychological depth here is absolutely fascinating to me.

First off, I feel like Raphael’s ego is far too fragile to ever pretend he's unbothered. This is a devil whose entire identity is built around control, mastery, and power; there's no way he’d just brush off the fact that his carefully laid plans didn’t go as expected. That being said, he’s not the type to become reckless either. Raphael is meticulous, he thrives on precision. Everything he does is painstakingly calculated. He’s the type to cross-reference, analyze, and plan everything down to the smallest detail. If something doesn’t go his way, the fallout won’t be impulsive, but it will be brutal.

When he realizes that Tav or Durge isn't just another mortal caught in his web, but someone who can slip through his carefully constructed rules, I imagine it would sting deeper than most of his failures. Raphael lives for contracts, laws, and order. They give him power. So when someone dares to outplay him, it’s not just a break in the contract—it’s an assault on the foundation of his identity.

He’d probably react with disgust, that signature wrinkle in his nose when things don't go according to plan popping up. Sort of like when you break into his house after signing the contract and he catches. He's so disappointed and angry at that.

As much as I love making fun of him for being a theater kid with a flair for the dramatic, we can’t forget how dark and vindictive Raphael really is. This is a dude who’s been tormenting Hope for who knows how long now?? He’s got a sadistic streak, and he’ll absolutely use it to his advantage. So when Tav or Durge bends or outright breaks his rules, he’s not just disappointed. He’s livid, and he’s going to make it everyone's problem.

That’s where the legal loopholes come into play. You can bet Raphael has woven an obscene number of clauses and traps into that contract. He’s the type of asshole who lives for the fine print. And when someone doesn’t play by his rules, he’ll fall back on those clauses, using every loophole and technicality to make their life a living nightmare.

He wouldn’t just make Tav or Durge’s life miserable; he’d be smart about it. Every step of his retaliation would be cloaked in legality. Idk, I imagine him pulling all the stops and straight up isolating her, maybe get the people around her into contracts of their own, until she has no choice but to come see him to renegotiate.

So let's say this dude, despite being angry as all fuck, actually wants her romantically/sexually/whatever (that's a debate for another time, whether he's capable of emotions like that). Let's say he's made her life a living hell, affected the people around her, cost her opportunities, etc etc. Now he's this boogeyman she can't stop thinking about because he's in every aspect of her life. He’ll create situations where she has no choice but to come crawling back to him, desperate for amendments or (and this would probably make him cum in his pants) his pity. And when she does return, maybe bruised and beaten by circumstances he orchestrated, he’ll toy with her. Maybe say some shit like, “You didn’t play fair, but since I’m feeling oh-so generous, let’s renegotiate. I’m sure we can find a solution that’s mutually beneficial.”

It’s classic narcissist behavior: isolate the object of their obsession until there’s nothing left but them. And Raphael? He doesn’t even hide it. He straight-up says when you meet him, “until I’m the only option left” (or whatever the exact quote it.) It’s not just about cutting off options. it’s about making them need him. He erodes their independence, makes them doubt themselves, until they feel like he’s the only constant in their unraveling world. He was going to do it either way, whether Tav is just a favorite client or a favorite client and someone he wants to fuck. It's just that the latter "betraying" him would most likely make him go more nuclear.

tl;dr: He’d basically turn into Faerun's sleaziest lawyer

Now, this is entirely my own interpretation. The beauty of fictional characters is that they're fictional so my take is just that, mine.

I love over thinking this stuff