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darkcomedies · 2 years ago

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there a lot of great, detailed replies in the notes of this explaining the connotations of You/Thou in Shakespeare’s time, but very few analyze the significance of Hamlet + Horatio’s changing use of the pronouns throughout the play beyond “gay” (which, yeah. same. very that.)

my interpretation: it’s to chart their relationship throughout the play (among other stuff)

so. the first, often ignored cut line that Hamlet says to Horatio is: “Horatio— or do I forget myself?” and Horatio responds: “The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.” (1.3)

my bold claim here is that Hamlet uses “you” to refer to Horatio at first for two reasons. Reason 1: he doesn’t know Horatio that well.

as a gay Hamlet truther myself i know this is extremely controversial. i personally think they might be, at most, the equivalent of work/school friends— sharing a lot of the same spaces, being around each other for years, but not really having deep conversations. we don’t have much evidence beyond how immediately comfortable Hamlet seems around him to suggest otherwise…

…here’s what we know from the text: they’ve definitely known each other in some capacity for a long time. (Something… I don’t know what… tells me Horatio potentially knows Hamlet more than Hamlet knows Horatio) they canonically attend the same university. they’re friendly with each other, they even joke a bit. Horatio traveled to Denmark from Wittenberg to attend King Hamlet’s funeral, so he either knows that the King passed away through the news/gossip mill, or heard that Hamlet’s father died through their friendship. (Horatio states that his reason for attending is “I came to see your father’s funeral.” which feels slightly more personal.) Horatio states that he thinks he’s seen the King once before, but this is very likely just him revving up to tell Hamlet that the one time he did see the King was the previous night. as a ghost.

so, Hamlet maybe uses “you” for Horatio because he just isn’t comfortable enough using “thou.”

“but hamlet still calls other lower class characters they he doesn’t know ‘thou—” Yes! He does! which brings me to Reason 2: Hamlet respects Horatio.

Horatio is definitely not of royal blood and potentially isn’t even that upper class (his cohort group, at this point, has essentially been guards/servants, he even calls himself one.) YET. Horatio is incredibly intelligent and well spoken (he speaks in verse!). He’s a fucking scholar of philosophy. He’s respectful, he’s calm, and he’s logical— Hamlet is in a fuckin tornado of emotions right now, of course he respects those traits. Enough so to use language that would let Horatio know that Hamlet views him as an equal.

“but if he respects Horatio so much, why did he switch to thou?”

okay so i’ve got a heartwarming interpretation of this, and an upsetting interpretation. i genuinely believe the “””””true””””” (⚠️THERE IS NO SUCH THING⚠️) interpretation lies somewhere in the middle depending on the production/my mood when i read it.

let’s start with the upsetting one: emotional manipulation.

yeah:( if you’ll notice, Hamlet starts using “thou” after his big long “Horatio you are fucking awesome” speech. which is followed by him asking Horatio for an insane favor. after that, Horatio does become something of an errand boy (with a hint of treason!) to Hamlet in a way, so “thou” would naturally slip in if Hamlet starts viewing him as another servant. if your read of Hamlet is particularly conniving, using “thou” is definitely going remind Horatio of his place in their relationship. (what are you gonna do, say no to a prince? the future king, if we play our cards right? if you do this ooooone thing for me…)

moving to heartwarming: Hamlet realizes how much he likes and trusts Horatio.

if they don’t know each other well, the two have immediate chemistry— a lot of shared lines and fun banter. Horatio is the only other person who’s “equal” to him who believes that Hamlet’s dad was murdered. Hamlet lowkey doesn’t really have anyone else beyond Horatio— he is alone. Hamlet loves to talk to himself, and Horatio doesn’t seem to mind being talked at, so he’s a great troubleshooter who swore not to tell anyone anything Hamlet says regarding treason stuff. Horatio is deeply loyal to Hamlet in a time where it feels like everyone he loves is betraying him. he’s loyal to Hamlet BEFORE being loyal to Claudius, the current king. (you get the idea that Horatio is really into feudalism by how he acts, so this is huge.) if your read of Hamlet is more gentle, perhaps Hamlet switching to “thou” is his way of indicating that Horatio can be more comfortable around him.

so here’s where i get… mid. i don’t know if i have an original, detailed thought regarding Horatio’s switch to “thou” post Hamlet’s death. very popular, very common interpretation is… gay. which, yes. “sweet prince” is very personal. “thou” is very personal. suicides for love are very common in Shakespeare’s work. yes. who among us has not been in AP Lit while gay?

for the sake of the sake of it: consider the philosophical, mortal concerns Hamlet (the play and person) have. when Hamlet dies, he isn’t a prince. he isn’t a king. he isn’t a person. He is the “quintessence of dust.” he’s the same as Horatio would be if he got to drink from the cup— dead. as cliche as it is, death is the great equalizer. he’s “thou,” now, because he’s dead.

so, long tdlr; Hamlet uses ‘you’ for Horatio, because he doesn’t know him well, but respects him. he starts using ‘thou’ because he starts to view Horatio as less than him, or because he realizes he close he feels to him. Horatio uses ‘thou’ because he’s gay, or because death is what finally made Hamlet his equal.

thanks for letting me pretend to be a professor on your tumblr post. or sorry. ah.

can someone who knows about you/thou divide in shakespeare help me out bc I just skimmed through all of horatio and hamlet’s interactions to find that hamlet consistently refers to horatio as “you” in act one, but starting with his very heartfelt speech in act 3 scene 2 praising horatio, he consistently uses “thou” until the end of the play (which does, sadly, imply that “o, I could tell you— but let it be.” is not actually directed at horatio…) more interesting to me is that horatio only ever uses “you” to refer to hamlet until after hamlet has died, when we get “goodnight sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” does this have to do hamlet with hamlet being dead? or?? what are the general connotations of you/thou at this time (bc I know it has changed over time). why did the changes happen as they did or does literally none of this matter ?

#disclaimer 1: if any of this is off-base i started writing this while drunk out of my mind and got progressively more sober as it went on #disclaimer 2: characters do not act with free will all of this has a big implied ‘SHAKESPEARE MAY HAVE BEEN IMPLYING….’ around it #disclaimer 3: i will never be over these two. EVER.#hamlet #shakespeare

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niurd-main · 4 days ago

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re: the random location game

people seem to be so squeamish about "encroaching on indigenous territory" or whatever? like yeah when the government or landlords do it, it's obviously bad, but we're literally talking about a scenario in which you get spontaneously teleported to a random location against your will.. i'm pretty sure the hypothetical coffee farmer near mauna loa would still be down to help you. ALSO extremely interesting that everyone is complaining about how sylt island is an overrated rich people vacation zone, but it's literally also gentrified land 🙄

i sincerely promise that setting foot in a bazaar in morocco, even as a gay, trans, generally gender non-conforming person, etc, is not going to spell your doom. the amount of people reacting this way about getting locations in africa, the middle east, russia, eastern europe, even china and ENGLAND.. it's insane. have you never spoken to another person in your life? if the premise of this game is that you're a lost traveler just trying to go home, there are people in every country - friendly, kind people - who will help. completely jaded and absurd to think of everyone from a certain region as being a monolithic entity, out to destroy you specifically.

i guess the previous two points both fall under the category of "grow some common sense and stop thinking of poc as completely uninterested in anything but their own issues"

im genuinely disappointed that nobody recognized the point of the "high school production of cats" one, was that everyone using tumblr is probably in their undies so it'd be incredibly sus to be randomly teleported into a high school looking like that

also, this is a little detail that a weird amount of people seem to misunderstand: YOU NEED TWO OARS TO ROW A CANOE

#personal #i'll try not to post abt this anymore unless smth really poignant comes to mind

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qnewsau · 27 days ago

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Whether you’re a cat or a dog person, PupNPussy and Amex have you covered

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/whether-youre-a-cat-or-a-dog-person-pupnpussy-and-amex-have-you-covered/

Whether you’re a cat or a dog person, PupNPussy and Amex have you covered

We’re proud to partner with American Express to spotlight LGBTQIA+ inclusive businesses across NSW – including PupNPussy, who’ve been serving pet owners in Sydney and beyond for thirteen years.

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Gay-owned and operated since it was launched thirteen years ago, PupNPussy is a curated store specialising in all the essentials for both dogs and cats.

Whether it’s food, bedding, clothing, harnesses, leads, toys, collars or medicines, PupNPussy has got everything canines or felines might need or want – with a difference.

“We stock all the regular items a big pet outlet like Petbarn might carry – but we also have several key points of difference,” explains Gerard Caradonna, who owns and operates the vibrant Surry Hills store with his business partner Tim Yarar.

“For a start, our name is a bit risqué,” he chuckles. “That’s definitely a drawcard and it drives a lot of customers instore and online.

“But more importantly, we aim to offer a unique selection of products. We always ensure we have points of difference in all categories.”

Highlighting some of the most in-demand offerings, Gerard hones in on the natural treats they sell.

“Our all-natural treats for pets are very popular. Some we make ourselves and some we buy from wholesalers, but that’s an example of what we offer that’s different.

“Another thing we pride ourselves on is that we’re an extremely friendly environment for the LGBTQ-plus community,” he says.

“The original owners Bruce and Shane were a gay couple, and both myself and my business partners are gay, so this is a very welcoming place for members of the community.”

Gerard, who is the proud owner of a French bulldog and two miniature bullterriers, says community involvement is another key feature of PupNPussy.

“We strive to support other small businesses and to really get involved in our local community, which is something that was very important to the original owners, Bruce and Shane,” he tells QNews.

“They made it easy for us to step into that role. And so, we support the small businesses around us, we’re involved in events like the Dog Show at the Beresford Hotel, we always celebrate Mardi Gras and any event that’s on the gay calendar, we’re part of it,” he says.

That local focus has been richly rewarded, with the store becoming a hub for animal lovers in Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.

What’s perhaps more surprising is that PupNPussy also has a strong following across Greater Sydney – and beyond.

“Of course, we have a large number of customers living in the local area but we also entice a lot of people from other parts of Sydney,” says Gerard.

“We have regular customers who come from interstate, who’ve heard about us online or through friends or other travellers, and we even have some customers from Singapore and Japan,” he says.

“PupNPussy is safe and inviting for everyone, not just locally but much further afield too.”

PupNPussy is located at 185 Campbell Street, Surry Hills NSW. For further details or to shop with them online, visit pupnpussy.com.au.

This article is proudly backed by American Express.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

#American Express #business #sydney

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noisycowboyglitter · 5 months ago

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Blending Identities: Merging the Colorado Flag with LGBTQ+ Pride Symbols

The Colorado state flag, reimagined through an LGBTQ+ lens, represents a powerful symbol of inclusion and diversity in the Centennial State. This vibrant adaptation retains the iconic elements of Colorado's flag while incorporating the rainbow colors synonymous with LGBTQ+ pride.

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This fusion of state identity and LGBTQ+ representation speaks to Colorado's progressive stance on equality and human rights. It symbolizes the state's commitment to fostering an inclusive environment for all residents, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The flag serves as a rallying point for LGBTQ+ Coloradans and their allies, often seen at pride parades, equality marches, and community events throughout the state.

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Moreover, this reimagined flag embodies the intersection of regional pride and LGBTQ+ advocacy. It celebrates Colorado's natural beauty and outdoor lifestyle while affirming the state's diverse population. From Denver's vibrant LGBTQ+ scene to the inclusive communities in mountain towns, the Colorado Flag LGBT design represents a state where all are welcome to live authentically and proudly.

When considering good gifts for gay guys, it's important to focus on the individual's interests and personality rather than stereotypes. Like anyone, gay men have diverse tastes and hobbies.

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lastoneout · 4 months ago

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"But [New Farming Sim] includes combat!!" Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon came out for the Nintendo DS in 2006 (and Harvest Moon DS had mine dungeons as did Magical Melody, which both came out in 2005)

"Okay but [New Farming Sim] has you save the town from an evil company!!" Harvest Moon: Save The Homeland came out in 2001

"What about using the copper/bronze to silver to gold system for upgrading tools and crop/animal product quality?" The Olympics first used bronze/silver/gold as a medal system in 1904, and crop quality has been a thing in Harvest Moon since A Wonderful Life in 2003, while animals could give gold eggs/milk in Save The Homeland

"But there's a weird traveling merchant!" Yep, just like in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

"Well those games are for kids SDV is the first one to have adult themes!!" I mean SDV took it a bit father than the genre had before, and I appreciate that, but uh....In A Wonderful Life your wife can leave you if you suck too much and you die at the end of the game. In the early HM games there's bars, characters die, your animals can get sick and die. In one of the DS games you can kill the entire town, and in I think a GBA one you can let your dog kill the mayor. Also in one of the handheld ones if you build your fence out of golden wood apparently everyone in town starts insulting you all the time. The newer entries are much more tame and family friendly but the early games? Whooo boy.

"The junimos-" May I introduce you to the Harvest Sprites from Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, who in Harvest Moon DS can even be hired to work your farm for you!

"Well you have to complete tasks or offerings to save the town and/or it's magic" *points at the Harvest Goddess from Harvest Moon DS, DS Cute, Magical Melody, ect. ect.*

"But the four seasons and growing crops-" Okay, are you sure you actually want to play another Farming Sim? Because that's basically a foundational part of the genre itself, all of them are like that. We gonna attack Animal Crossing next??

There are a lot of things SDV did for the first time. Plenty to praise it for, no doubt. 'Farming Sim' as a genre title wasn't used all that much before SDV, and SDV let you be gay when HM/SoS and RF didn't(except in like one game kinda but only the Japanese version and you had to be a girl), we wouldn't have a lot of newer games in this genre without SDV not only becoming so popular but also making it so accessible....but please STOP acting like it's the first Farming Sim ever made when 1) it absolutely is not, and 2) when Eric Barone himself, the guy who made it, talks openly about how heavily he was inspired by Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons and Rune Factory, and for the love of god stop getting mad at Coral Island(or any other new original Farming Sim) for standing on his shoulders or god fucking forbid getting mad AT HARVEST MOON/STORY OF SEASONS AND RUNE FACTORY for making new games and "copying" when they CREATED this genre in the first place!!!

"[New Farming Sim] is copying Stardew Valley!!" Harvest Moon came out for the Nintendo 64 in 1999

Edit: My apologies, Harvest Moon came out for the SNES in 1996

#sorry this doesn't matter at all I just love Farming Sims and they deserve better than to all be accused of copying this ONE game #that only exists at all because they did it first

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covenlegacy · 3 years ago

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Hoseok personality reading??

A lone creative wolf.

He is handsome, attractive, sociable and kind. Friendliness, benevolence, gentleness and courtesy come from him. He thrives in a warm environment and greatly appreciates love, friendship, and good professional relationships. He is sensitive, tactful and attentive to others. He has a subtle ability to give and take. His smile and kind word are able to act on others simply therapeutically, liberating and instilling confidence. It also often happens that he is characterized by an increased curiosity for other people, a sincere interest in them without any special reasons (less often - in self-knowledge). This person enjoys reading all sorts of psychological notes and puts them into practice. He can do practically nothing, be silent, be dressed somehow - all this will go unnoticed. But at the same time, people will say that he is an intelligent, neat, kind and sociable person. It is very easy to project what you want onto him, hear words that he did not say and attribute feelings to him in accordance with your expectations and desires. It always has an element of mystery, mystery, but not tense or disturbing. Rather, this is due to the fact that sensitive and creative, he always remains a little secret for himself. He is not at all characterized by typical male self-confidence in the spirit that I am my own boss, I know everything about myself, an open book. He knows that there is still a lot in him with which he can surprise both himself and those around him.

It is difficult for this person to decide on a profession or relationship (and sometimes with sexual preferences as such). He is not malicious, but does not differ in stress resistance, as he takes everything to heart, and is easily frightened of difficulties. This is just the type of "beautiful person" who does not have to get drunk.

He personifies such traits as romance, sensitivity, dreaminess. Even if he lies, he does it, believing himself in what he says. Calculating cynicism is absolutely alien to him (but there is more than enough imagination, cut off from life). In general, this is a very bright person, kind and affectionate. He is happy when he is surrounded by friendly attention, and to his credit, he knows how to not only consume this attention, but also give it to others. He is always ready to render a service, to do something good, and suffers if his motives are misunderstood. He is the first to press the button in the elevator, not because he curries favor with his superiors, and he gives flowers to a woman not because he is sexually preoccupied. He is elegant and amiable, not because he is gay. Gallantry is in his blood. This is a seducer, a comforter, historically a courtly ladies' man. Spiritual independence, following your own path, on which there are no fellow travelers, the search for your own truth (and not socially desirable). He is characterized by a desire to escape from life, to withdraw into himself, but the reason for this is not fear, but the thirst for knowledge and finding oneself. This is productive loneliness, immersion in one's inner world, isolation from material reality, from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the needs of civilization. It is well “encrypted”, and it is useless to look for it on social networks - at best, a non-binding and formal profile will be found there. This person carefully hides his face from those around him, does not seek to make contact with them, fearing that his loneliness will be violated. He seems to be born with the knowledge of the existential truth that we are all alone, birth, death, pain, revelation - it all leaves to itself. At the same time, loneliness awakens his thought, brings depth and peace, and is one of the most inspiring states. For those who are not adapted to these energies, this seems simply impossible. Helplessness, disappointment or despair are alien to him. He understands who he is, and knows what he is doing and why - or, at least, this is the state he is trying to come to. Important qualities: prudence, prudence, insight, seriousness of thoughts, prudence, the ability to pull yourself together in time, the ability to control your emotions. Security, independence, spiritual independence and self-sufficiency. Wisdom, secrecy. Strictness, seriousness. Patience, imperturbability. Emphasized invisibility (such a person, even having outstanding external data, will consciously do everything to “dim out” the effect). He is generally not particularly concerned with socialization. Its adaptation to society can be generally very superficial - for example, at the level of a screensaver for a "desktop". It looks like it is generally accepted, but when you try to open any file, it turns out that the extension is non-standard or either does not open at all, or the language is not quite readable, and the user clearly lacks some kind of connection to download all this … and boot all this. He projects the blurring and closeness of his physical and social essence during the lonely path of spiritual ascent.

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thedoubleclicks · 4 years ago

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Let’s Go Shopping

HI! I miss going to conventions, artists alleys, and malls. It’s almost time for holiday shopping. I asked twitter for some suggestions of small businesses to check out, and some incredible suggestions popped up!

Take a walk through the virtual mall with me! And then we’ll go to the food court and the arcade until my mom picks us up.

Check these places out if you want to have a fun evening of thing-scrolling instead of doom-scrolling! Patronize these places when you need to buy things (because you have stopped helping billionaires, right?)

Tweet at me if there are more cool creators I should see!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NecromanceHollywood - skulls in jars and on pins and stuff

https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/jadegordon?sort=new - you can order curtains, fabric, all kinds of amazing stuff made of Jade’s fabric!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/stasiab - amazing art prints of cats and mushrooms and ladies

https://www.secretplanet.ca/collections/shop-all - space travel posters, delightful pins, gifts

https://paolaspixels.com/ - the BEST D&D art, notebooks, pins, clothes

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFaerieMarket - flowers and leaves made of fabric, v pretty

https://crystaldrawsstuff.com/ - “going to therapy is cool” sweatshirts

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SoundArtKC?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=825140170 - custom album cover art - these are cool

https://tenderlovingempire.com/ - Portland makers (food, housewares, gifts, everything)

https://shop.maidenvoyageclothing.com/collections/patches - Cryptid Gifts

https://littlerooms.com/ - space jewelry

https://hanselfrombasel.com/collections/womens-socks - cute socks

https://everydayloveart.com/product/light-in-the-dark-mug/ - art prints, kids books, mugs that are wonderful

https://shoptrashqueen.com/collections/best-sellers - amazing retro styled brightly colored extended sized clothes

https://milkandcardamomsweets.com/ - CAKE

https://fromagination.com/ - CHEESE

https://www.monkeyminionpress.com/collections/books - books, posters, magnets and more!

https://lunaseastudios.storenvy.com/ - books, posters, werewolf plushes!

https://mokuyobi.com/ - colorful backpacks and clothes

https://www.binarywinter.com/product-page/stellar-symphony - geeky ties and space cat art

https://www.unicorncraftsart.com/ - cute geekery and mask chains

https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines - anarchist and feminist zines and stickers

https://www.eclecticclay.com/s/shop - clay dogs and dragons

https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchcraftArt - cute stitchcraft

https://phoebewahl.shop/ - feminist folk art

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WristedDevelopment - jewelry (ukuleles and unicorns!)

https://itsbodily.com/ - post-pregnancy gifts

https://littlefeminist.com/product/baby-feminist-book-gift-box/ - baby gifts

https://otherwild.com/pages/about-otherwild-ny-la - a collection of art, eco-friendly, queer, homegoods in LA. gifts for everyone. truly magical hippie-ass shit.

https://www.geekyteas.com/ - board games, dice, tea

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LkMichiganBookPress?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=535562545 - sketchbooks

https://www.etsy.com/shop/binkysgiftys?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=742920323 - notebooks

https://decomposition.com/ - notebooks - truly the only gift I ever want

http://www.pavelspuzzles.com/ - puzzles and books for NERDS

https://thebookishtype.co.uk/ - queer bookstore for kids and adults

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCHomos - pride flag merch by and for queer folx

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TomkaStore - really pretty flower/leaf earrings

https://www.sugarandsloth.co.uk/ - CUTE stationary things and gift boxes

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NecroticPixies - queer goth nerd shirts and stuff

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SevenishMagpies - cute and clever queer nerd jewelry

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FunnyFriendCardCo - greeting cards from your funny friend

https://www.suzywebberartist.com/new-products - pretty paintings

https://www.stanleychesteralbert.com/ - skull pots, gritty ornaments

https://topatoco.com/ - merch from all your favorite webcomics and b(r)ands!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/grrrlspells - witchy gay art and accessories

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TwistedStringJewelry - guitar string jewelry

https://thedemigodexperience.com/ - self-defense weapons, gems, and sage

https://www.instagram.com/jennykayart/ - pour painting commissions :)

https://ironcircus.com/?product_cat=all-products - indie comics publisher who makes amazing gay smut and other great things!

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3laxx · 3 years ago

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Built to Last - Chapter 1

Amity hadn't dreamed to spend her summer like this. She had just graduated from a prestigious private school and had hoped she could escape to her own little adventure until her scholarship at the college starts, but instead, her parents decide to pimp up her résumé and make her a supervisor at their newest little project, a mansion in the middle of nature. She would rather be anywhere else, yet as she meets Luz Noceda, she finds construction work very interesting, all of a sudden. And that's totally not due to the fact that Luz is all her gay dreams coming true.

Heya people! I'm back with a new story!

One of my bigger projects at the moment and one of the reasons why I haven't been uploading for over a month xD I started working in my new job! Also got my first paycheck already! And I've been writing A LOT ever since the start of September! So yeah, this is kind of inspired by my work and I've written quite a bit for this already. It's basically just Luz being hot, Amity being gay, and a lot of mad blushes x)

Ao3 / FF.net

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As Amity’s car came to a stop, she sighed, before pulling the handbrake and looking up to the mansion that was standing in front of her.

Or rather, the structural work she could see. While the shape of the mansion was already erected, with the base and all the walls out of sturdy concrete standing, there was still a lot to do.

Her parents had decided to build a giant new mansion in the middle of a huge land they had purchased, full of forest and beautiful scenery, and it was on her to oversee the construction.

It wasn’t that Amity had any idea how construction worked.

Her parents were on a business trip, like almost all her life long, and her siblings were in the middle of their studies, and focusing on this was of the utmost importance in the Blight household.

Amity was twenty now and had just graduated from an expensive private school her parents had sent her to, to enable a scholarship at a very renowned university.

So, essentially, her summer had been meant to be free and be spent by maybe relaxing for once, maybe even traveling a little, but since her mother detested holes in her résumé, she had to be kept busy somehow.

This meant that her position in overseeing the progress on their new mansion project was registered as “construction project management” and she was required to at least show up once a day and stay for a few hours.

She knew exactly what her parents' plan was.

They believed workers worked twice as fast and neatly when the customer was standing right behind them and monitoring their progress personally.

In short, her parents believed in intimidation.

It really wasn’t Amity’s style to be a fearmonger and do nothing more than to annoy the workers and create tension in their workspace. It was an issue of trust, that Amity had in the companies her parents had hired, but her parents didn’t and she couldn’t understand why.

After years of being monitored down to the littlest detail, she knew out of experience that someone breathing down her neck wasn’t something that helped along with productivity, quality, or speed.

But her parents had put her name on the project, it was all over everyone’s plans and she was an official member of the board overseeing this construction.

It wasn’t mandatory for her to show up to the site in her job description, nor was it mandatory for her to oversee any progress. But her parents had made sure to let her know what they expected of her before they had left. Amity hated that she was so intimidated by her parents to fulfill their wishes even if they weren’t here, even if she wasn’t sure if they were still on the same continent, but she was and so she had driven up here every single day and seen the mansion be built up completely in a matter of a month. Well, construction had already started when she had still been in school, so she hadn’t seen all of it.

Her parents had done that, of course.

Sighing, she got out of the car and headed up to the mansion, located on a little hill, towering above the giant property. It was a holiday getaway, her parents had insisted, even if she believed it was more to house some high-ranking guests, maybe some politicians her parents paid, to get in their good graces.

She mostly had that theory because she couldn’t remember the last time her parents had taken a genuine break from their work. Granted, sometimes they traveled to some holiday homes or some luxury hotels, but even these were sprinkled by meeting someone, having a friendly round of golf to discuss business and such things.

Her parents never acted without their business in the back of their heads.

Shaking her head, Amity freed her thoughts of her parents. She didn’t want to think of them. Coming in a few months she would move far away from them, actually near where they were building this mansion right now, and start her studies. And then she would only have to deal with them whenever they cooked up another business thing and roped Amity in, or at family holidays to keep the illusion of a happy family. She was just glad her siblings would be there with her.

Today, the interior design team would start.

The structural work was done, as far as it went, as were all the systems in place like heating, water, and gas.

Now, they had commissioned a fairly small local company building luxury interiors to do all the decorating in the entire house with floors, walls, ceilings, doing all the interior design of the sanitary rooms and kitchen, as well as all built-in furniture and whatever else Amity could think of.

It wasn’t that Amity knew what was necessary for the installation of everything, but she had self-taught quite a lot of theory through videos online due to a personal interest of hers and at least had an idea of what they were talking about.

Not that she let them in on that.

Whenever she had been there overseeing construction of the structural work, she had done her best to make herself appear as clueless as she could without sounding dumb, so they would be able to relax a little more.

If someone was looking over your shoulder who had no idea what you were doing anyway, it’d always feel more relaxed.

She hoped to at least relieve some of the intended intimidation meant by her parents.

Approaching the estate, she already saw some of her colleagues looking in her direction, some of the actual project managers, and a new site manager that she didn’t know yet. She had long black hair and a relatively tall statue, as well as a rigid posture. She was wearing a suit, too.

Did someone tell her Amity was coming?

If so, and she had decided to wear a suit just for her, that’d be embarrassing.

She appeared to acknowledge her arrival but turned back to another site engineer that Amity hadn’t had the pleasure of being introduced to yet. She looked very similar to the other one, only that her hair was really long, gray, and in a rather messy ponytail.

She also wore work pants and a simple shirt with the name of the company printed on the back and, smaller, on the chest. Amity immediately recognized the symbol on the woman’s chest as the one printed on the van next to them as well, which was a stylized owl, and read Clawthorne Sisters beneath it.

Amity had been excited for them to arrive. Now that the concrete was in place, all the drywall installations were finished and all the necessary cables and pipes were installed, the interesting part would begin. Making everything look like a home, instead of a palace of concrete and ugly pipes.

Or, well…

A house. Make it look like a house, instead of a skeleton. This mansion would never become home to anybody.

Finally arriving at the front door, Amity greeted all the project managers, engineers, and architects she already knew, who didn’t show up every day but had only come here to oversee the start of the interior design, before turning to the tall woman with a clipboard and strikingly green eyes.

“Good morning, my name is Amity Blight.”, she started and held out a hand to the woman, whose eyebrows shot up at the mention of her last name. Apparently, nobody had told her that she would be coming and Amity felt relief flooding her veins when she realized that this site manager had not dressed up for her.

“Lilith Clawthorne, it’s my pleasure.”, she greeted back and they shook hands, before she turned to the other, an equally tall woman next to her.

“This is Edalyn Clawthorne, site engineer and master mechanic of our company. You may direct any questions you have about plans, time management and schedules at me, and any technical questions at her.”, Amity nodded to that and shook the other woman’s hand as well. They seemed to be the sisters after which the company was named.

“Alright, good to know.”, she said but didn’t continue any further, so she just listened to the project managers talk for a while, before looking around and finding the master mechanic missing.

The site manager seemed to notice this.

“If you like, Miss Blight, we can head inside and oversee the progress since this morning.”

To that, Amity nodded, although a feeling of dread pooled in her stomach.

This meant producing the stress her parents wanted. They had explicitly instructed the project managers to inform their workers not to address them or interrupt their tour in any way.

In Amity’s experience, this had always resulted in tensions.

But Ms. Clawthorne was already heading inside and everyone else stepped back to let Amity in first, so she followed.

Just after the door, they each took a helmet from a prepared stand and put it on, since there would be overhead installation going on and the Clawthorne Sisters company had insisted on everyone, without exception, to wear a helmet. That had just made them all the more attractive to Amity, while she already held them in high regard judging from their portfolio and versatility in interior design and luxury decorations.

As expected, the conversations between some workers installing a floor in the entrance area quickly died out and they hunched over, focusing on their task ahead. They stopped as Ms. Clawthorne began explaining how these natural floorboards would be imported for them, ground and finished to feel natural yet soft, while Amity began looking around.

There were a lot of new faces around here since the Clawthorne Sisters had brought all their workers and replaced the construction crew almost completely, safe for a few left-over workers who cleaned up the last of their work and deconstructed some equipment they had used.

Amity mostly noted how young most of them were.

The entrance area was manned by two boys, maybe even younger than her, who were doing some of the easier tasks, managing wires to be hidden by the floorboards by tying them together and treating some sealed pipes. Down the hallway she saw a girl, around her age, managing some wires in the walls and making sure everything was neat and orderly for the wall decorations to be installed on top.

Taking a few steps away from the planning team, she peeked into the main lobby and saw three more people, two boys, and a girl, rearranging some supplies and equipment they had brought to be stashed in the wide space and not be in anyone’s way, looking just a bit older than her.

“Huh…”, she felt herself mumbling, before turning back and feeling all eyes on her as she returned to the group, immediately feeling a blush rising.

“Is everything to your expectations, Miss Blight?”, Ms. Clawthorne asked and she was quick to nod.

“Oh, yes, everything is alright!”, she was quick to assure, but the piercing eyes of the site manager quickly realized there was a question forming, so Amity seized the opportunity, “Just… I’ve seen a lot of workers my age. Do you usually employ younger workers?” To her surprise, Ms. Clawthorne smiled at that, something she hadn’t expected to see today when she had seen the slight scowl she always seemed to wear on her lips.

“We’ve had a few workers leaving the company for their retirement lately, and my sister and I strongly agree to encourage and support the younger generations to get an education in handicrafts. We have assembled a strong team of young employees and trainees for our company and they’ve proven to be very reliable, you can be assured.”

Amity nodded at that and quickly jumped in to reassure that her question wasn’t meant as a critique or concern.

“Oh, I wasn’t worrying! I think that’s very progressive.”, she quickly said and earned a nod from Ms. Clawthorne, giving her the feeling that she had just risen in her respect before the group continued walking through the mansion. Ms. Clawthorne pointed out a few things, explained some others, and they gradually lost more and more project managers and architects to discuss plans in more detail, until just Ms. Clawthorne and Amity were left to walk through the upper level, talking about some decoration elements that would be installed up here in the master bedroom, their conversation having turned rather relaxed and almost amicable after they left all the workers and other project planners behind and had some time to get to know each other better.

Until someone came stomping up the stairs rather loudly.

Ms. Clawthorne, Lilith, as she had assured her, immediately stiffened up and Amity turned to locate the commotion, seeing a tall girl her age come barreling up the stairs with some boards on her shoulder, a wide grin on her face with white teeth that shone against her dark skin in the contrast, as she jogged up the last few steps.

The girl turned, the boards swinging around, and suddenly, Amity saw the boards coming her way, right at the height of her face.

Seemingly just before impact, the girl gave the boards a nudge while Amity was already ducking her head, and a cheerful voice that sounded like it was laughing a lot in her life, sounded.

“Whoops! Duck!”, she exclaimed and the boards went right over Amity’s head, bonking her helmet, before she dared to look up again, watching the girl stopping right in front of her, still turned sideways not to have the boards that she was balancing on her shoulder trying to decapitate Amity again.

“Woah there, that was almost bad! You good?”, the girl chuckled, her not-so-scrawny shoulders shaking in delight, before giving Amity’s helmet a knock with her knuckles. Her ears were almost ringing from the knocking and she ducked her head again, only then did the girl let off, “That’s what the helmets are for!”

Amity managed a nod but the girl was already walking past her, whistling a happy tune, while waving her hand back at them.

“Sorry again!”, she called, before rounding the corner and apparently finding a coworker of hers with which she began talking, her voice carrying away the further she went.

The young Blight was embarrassed to admit that she had stared after her toned forearms and biceps, her slim calves, and her back long after she had vanished behind a wall.

Slowly, Amity could relax her shoulders again and straightened back up, adjusting her helmet, and turning back to Ms. Clawthorne. To claim she was furious was probably an understatement.

Her entire face with a rather fair skin tone was flaming while she looked after where the girl had gone and she was shaking in anger.

Turning away from Amity, probably to shield her from her voice, she yelled after the girl, raising her fist.

“LUZ NOCEDA, COME BACK HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!”, she yelled and Amity couldn’t deny she had flinched before the melodic voice with the slightest Spanish accent called back.

“Just a moment, Lily! Be right there!”, she faintly called, but Amity couldn’t focus. All she could think about was her name that she had just learned, and she swore she wouldn’t forget it.

Luz Noceda.

“You wanted to talk to me?”, the girl, Luz, grinned as she came back, this time without boards, and propped her hands upon her waist. Only now, Amity could get a proper look at her.

She felt her heart speeding up when she took in her whole appearance. Luz was wearing worn-out safety shoes, some loose-fitting shorts, and a dark pullover with the company’s logo printed on her chest with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, as well as a toolbelt and a helmet on her brown, sweaty, and very messy hair.

Her face was cute and looked like she was a lot of fun to be around, her brown eyes sparkling with joy about something she had just experienced, maybe a joke with a coworker, judging from the volume at which she had been laughing downstairs and down the hall.

Well, Amity had known she was gay, but that gay?

Gulping, she took in the girl in front of her that was about half a head taller than her, then she flinched at Ms. Clawthorne’s voice winning in volume again.

“Luz Noceda! First of all, workplace safety! You know exactly to check your way when carrying big loads. And second of all, you apologize immediately! Do you know who-”

Luz seemingly shrunk more and more with each word her boss was yelling at her, and since she couldn’t bear watching that bubbliness being suppressed like this, Amity acted unthinkingly and cut into her tirade, holding out her hand.

“I’m Amity. Pleasure to meet you.”, she quickly exclaimed, a little louder than planned to interrupt Ms. Clawthorne, but her speaking up had an immediate effect.

The older woman next to her gulped the rest of her sentence and switched her gaze from Luz down to Amity, staring silently.

In contrary to her boss, Luz was apparently delighted. Immediately, her shoulders straightened again and she took Amity’s hand after taking off her glove, grinning.

“Luz. Sorry for slamming the boards on your head, I’ll take better care next time. You the architect’s intern or something?”, she replied while shaking Amity’s hand and she giggled, shaking her head, paying Ms. Clawthorne no mind while she started getting angry again, ready to make Luz three heads shorter.

“No, I’m-… Doesn’t matter.”, she laughed, waving it off, “A-And, uh, don’t worry about the boards, that’s why we wear helmets.”

Luz gave her the finger guns and clicked with her tongue, before pulling on her glove again.

“Alright then, have a lot of fun planning or whatever you guys do, I’ll do more interesting stuff.”

She winked and Amity could’ve sworn she was flirting with her. Which completely distracted her from the fact that Ms. Clawthorne’s eyelid was already twitching in uncontrolled rage.

While Luz sauntered off, Amity caught the attention of her boss again, eager not to let her be too mad at her employee. Trying a careful approach to change the topic, she softly clapped her hands together, winning back Ms. Clawthorne’s attention.

“So… I believe we haven’t talked about the bathrooms yet, am I correct?”, she inquired and Ms. Clawthorne immediately switched back to her polite way, nodding stiffly.

“Yes, Miss Blight, right this way.”, she offered Amity to walk ahead and led her down the same hallway Luz had gone, and she couldn’t stop herself from peeking inside the room Luz and a coworker of hers were preparing to work on, catching a glimpse of Luz’s toned calves flexing when she stood on her tiptoes to mark something on the wall.

Unfortunately, the door went by quickly and she couldn’t see much more of her when she had already walked past, before having to turn back to the topics her parents wanted her to discuss. Which was a lot drier planning and listening and trying to visualize complicated construction plans.

It really wasn’t that Amity wasn’t interested in learning all of this. She loved hearing about construction projects and planning where to put elements to create a harmonizing room.

But now that she had seen Luz?

Well, it wasn’t that Amity was overly starved of seeing attractive people. There were a lot of attractive people in her close environment, some of her friends for example and she couldn’t deny that most of her family’s acquaintances were fairly good-looking as well.

But something about Luz had fascinated her.

The way she moved, the way she was covered in dust and sweat and had still smelled kind of good. The way her eyes were sparkling and how she was so comfortable in her own skin, walking through her life as if she was exactly in the place where she wanted to be.

Amity was fascinated by the honest and self-assured way she was moving, behaving, and acting.

And, well, there was the fact that Luz was just ridiculously attractive to her.

She sure as hell wouldn’t forget the way her white teeth shone against her dark skin and how her muscles moved and-

“I’m afraid I must ask you to excuse me, Miss Blight.”, a firm voice suddenly interrupted her thinking and she looked up from the plan Ms. Clawthorne had spread on a nearby table, only then hearing the ringing of a phone. Mutely nodding, Amity took a step back to grant her some privacy and tried to look back at the plan, making some sense of what she saw. It was some kind of cover for the bathtub, she believed. Or was it for the sinks?

Internally groaning, she shook her head to herself. If she hadn’t spent dreaming about Luz the entire time she would have an idea of what Ms. Clawthorne had been explaining to her and she’d be able to work out what the plan was about.

But, as luck would have it, she got off her phone and turned to her with an apologetic face.

“I’m very sorry, Miss Blight, but I’ll have to cut our tour short here. Some of my workers have started laser measuring the walls downstairs and I’m afraid I have to join them and the architect to work out the plans for that. Do you need me to bring you back to the front door?”

Her chance!

Quickly, Amity shook her head and smiled.

“Oh, no thanks! I will look around a bit more and get back to you before I leave, thank you.”, she excused the woman and without missing a beat, the site manager nodded and left her to her own devices.

It wasn’t that Amity had wanted her to go, but now she could maybe sneak a peek at the attractive worker, Luz, again…?

Tempted to slap herself, she furrowed her eyebrows.

Spying on workers?

How shameful. She shouldn’t do that.

Humming, Amity turned to wander out of the bathroom-to-be and down the hallway again, hearing voices getting louder the closer she drew to the room where she had seen Luz starting her work. But instead of spotting the ridiculously attractive girl, she was met by her rather sturdy coworker with slightly chubby cheeks, a kind face, and dark hair, along with the dark-skinned boy she had seen in the entrance hall already. They both talked quieter when they noticed her wandering past and Amity picked up her pace to be out of their hair as quickly as possible again.

She wondered where Luz had gone.

Maybe she had gone downstairs again to get more boards?

Amity decided that checking it out wouldn’t hurt, so she walked downstairs, past some more surprisingly young workers and some of the management board nodding to her politely, before stepping out of the entrance area again into the fresh air and breathing through.

Behind her, the work was picking up and she began hearing a drill hammering into some concrete, as well as a saw somewhere around the mansion, but she didn’t think much of it, the air was feeling way too nice after walking through the dusty construction site.

Wait a minute…

She had seen Luz carrying up boards from below. Maybe she had cut them to length?

More out of curiosity than anything, Amity stepped off the porch and rounded the mansion, peeking around a corner, only to spot the very same girl she had found herself losing her concentration to upstairs, standing by some trestle legs on which she had placed boards, cutting them with a circular saw. She looked very concentrated and was wearing some ear protection now, as well as some glasses to protect herself from the saw dust.

Amity clenched her hand around the corner of the house when she felt her heart speeding up, licking her lips when she saw how Luz was leaning forward a bit more, the muscles on her elbow coming out.

She wasn’t overly muscular or anything, and Amity didn’t like bodybuilder types anyway, but it showed that Luz had worked in this field for quite some time already, and with being on constructions like this one, she probably got all the workout she needed just by working.

Humming, Amity finally decided to stop being a creep and pretend to be on her phone like a normal human, pulling it out to pretend and tap on it a little while walking out from the corner.

She did her best to appear busy on her phone, but Luz didn’t even acknowledge her.

Better for her, because she could keep staring.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Amity could see the saw dust covering Luz’s forearms, giving them a slight sheet of dust, and she wished she could be closer to watch her cutting those boards in more detail.

But this was getting really creepy. She should stop.

Shaking her head, Amity groaned and looked up to the sky, before shooting Luz one last glance and walking back to the entrance area, putting her phone away.

Maybe she could talk to her someday. Or just listen to her again.

Grumbling to herself, Amity did one last tour of the whole house, waiting and hoping for her confidence to build up again to talk to the cute girl, but when she had walked past Ms. Clawthorne a second time, she supposed she had to wave that wish goodbye.

Bidding her goodbyes to all the members of the project management board, she walked back to her car and sat in the driver’s seat, defeated.

Now she had had the chance to have normal conversations here, the entire mansion was full of young workers instead of moody old men, and she had blown it. She could only hope Luz would be there tomorrow.

Sending a last, longing gaze to the now-abandoned saw sitting on the trestle legs, she started her car and put it in reverse.

Either this had been it or she would have another chance tomorrow.

For now, this was enough for her. But this evening she would deeply regret leaving without having tried anything because when she lied down to sleep, the pictures of an unfairly attractive girl working at the site wouldn’t leave her mind alone.

---

“LUZ NOCEDA!”, a voice yelled from downstairs just before the evening and the young woman currently handling the last of the wires listened up.

“Oh, that sounded like Lilith.”, she noted and Willow snorted.

“Ya think?”, she asked and Luz grumbled when she got up, shooting Willow a look.

“I don’t need your sass right now, Willow.”, she shot back at her friend who just snickered, shaking her head before going back to drilling holes into the boards for tomorrow.

“COME DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”, made both of them flinch, causing Luz to duck her head.

“You better go, she sounds seriously angry.”, Willow shooed Luz with a handwave, putting her drill into position again.

Luz quickly made her way out of the room and down the hallway towards the stairs, where she already saw Lilith standing at the base of them.

Gulping, she made her way down and Lilith glared at her, making her grimace.

“Uh, yes?”, she sheepishly responded, already scared of what she had done wrong when Lilith turned and waved her to follow. Oh, this was bad.

If she didn’t want to scold her in front of everyone, she was going to get the harshest yelling she had ever gotten. Lilith led her outside, before turning back to the young woman and holding out her finger, her face uncharacteristically red.

“Do you have any idea what you did today?!”, she hissed and Luz pulled up her shoulders, eyes wide.

“Did-… Did I, uh, what did I do?”, she carefully asked, but that only seemed to explode Lilith’s rage.

“You embarrassed us IN FRONT OF OUR CUSTOMER!!”, she finally yelled and Luz could already feel all eyes on her while her coworkers gathered on the windows to watch where the yelling had come from.

“O-Our customer?”, Luz ducked her head more when Lilith got redder.

“YOU SLAMMED BOARDS ON HER HEAD, YOU IDIOT!!”, she screamed and Luz’s heart dropped into her pants. So that fancy-dressed had been because she had been the customer.

Oh.

Oooooh.

She had… She had bonked boards on her head and then knocked on her helmet. On their… On their million-dollar assignment customer.

Gulping, Luz sunk into herself more. She had absolutely blown their assignment, hadn’t she? She had just lost the company a couple Million dollars, she had gotten all of her coworkers fired, she’d pay compensation for the rest of her life, she would-

“You’re lucky she wasn’t hurt!! This could’ve gone very differently! I don’t know what kind of guardian angel you blackmailed to look over you, but if this had been Odalia Blight you would’ve been dead and the company along with you!!”, Lilith got closer to her and her screaming suddenly dropped to a very dangerous whisper, “If this hadn’t been the daughter of our customer, I would’ve killed you on the spot. You’re lucky she’s a lot nicer than her mother.”

Gulping, Luz leaned back a little.

“I-I’m not fired…?”, she tried and Lilith finally found back to her normally pale skin color, adjusting her suit.

“Your mother and my sister would have my head if I fired you. Also, Miss Blight was very forgiving and didn’t cancel our assignment, yet. We’re allowed to continue working for now. Until that’s not clear, though, you better not step too far away from the hanging tree, because I will personally put the hangman’s noose around your neck if the Blights terminate that job. Is that understood?”, Lilith got dangerously close again and Luz gulped, rubbing her neck.

“Very graphically understood.”, she mumbled and Lilith glared at her one more time, before straightening back up and walking back to the construction site.

“If you speak to her again, it will be an absolute emergency and you will do so politely and with some respect and dignity. And now clear up your things, we’ll leave at five sharp and if you’re late you’ll sleep here.”

Grumbling, Luz patted her chest to attempt and soothe her beating heart, before running a hand through her dusty hair and shaking it out. This had been shorter than she had anticipated.

Once again rubbing over her neck, she then followed Lilith inside and sighed. She was looking forward to the days where the jobs would be mundane enough for Lilith to stay in the office and let Eda handle the coordination. Having Eda as her superior instead of Lilith was absolutely preferable.

Well, if she was lucky, she would have to focus on work so much she wouldn’t even have time to acknowledge Miss Blight anymore. Maybe she also wouldn’t come back tomorrow, after all, the rich and wealthy had other things to worry about, right?

Especially their customers, who were paying for this giant mansion.

Humming, she entered the building again and ignored all her coworkers looking at her, before starting to pack up the tools she had used and collecting her personal stuff, like her gloves and jacket.

Willow shot her a sympathetic glance and Luz clapped on her shoulder to reassure her that she was okay for now, then they all gathered around their bus to be taken back to the company so they could end the day.

The whole evening, though, Luz fretted going to work the next day, fearing the possible encounter with the Blight girl. Hopefully, she wouldn’t show up so Luz wouldn’t risk her head, her financial stability, and her dignity for all eternity.

---

Let me know what you think! <3

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lady-divine-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Kurtbastian one-shot - “Confrontation” (Rated PG13)

Summary: Things get heated at Blaine's first post-quarantine competition when his father and his old coach make a surprise visit. (2397 words)

Notes: Warning for homophobia. Blaine friendly.

Part 68 of Outside Edge.

Read on AO3.

"This is not happening... this is not happening... " Blaine mumbles, pacing back and forth, arms wrapped tight around his torso but carefully so as not to dislodge any of the hundreds of crystals Kurt had applied by hand to this new costume he'd made especially for him.

A costume so intricate and lovingly crafted that Sebastian turns green every time he's in its presence (even though Kurt has made him close to a dozen of his own).

"It's going to be all right," Kurt says, trying his best to calm Blaine down. He reaches out a hand to stop him but decides against it. He understands the pain of suffering from this level of anxiety. Standing still when you're about to rip out of your skin can be the worst feeling in the world.

"I'm not doing this... " Blaine decides, tapping his right fist against his left elbow. "I'm not---I'm not doing this... "

"Too late, champ," Sebastian teases, tucking his button-up into his slacks and joining the freak-out already in process. "You've already skated. No backing out now."

"No jokes!" Kurt hisses. "That's not what this is about!"

"Then what is it?" Sebastian asks, growing concerned when Blaine starts to curl in on himself. Sebastian steps in front of him, feeling a need to shield him from prying eyes wandering by. "I was in the can for all of three minutes. What in the hell happened?"

Kurt leans into Sebastian's side and whispers, "His father's here. And his old coach."

"What the fuck?" Sebastian turns in a circle, half looking for the men in question (even though he's never seen either, so he has no idea who he's looking for), but also searching for a place they can hide, get Blaine out of the public eye. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"I... I don't know. I don't know how they even knew I'd be here," Blaine replies.

"They'd had to have Googled you," Sebastian says, eyes darting back and forth over the crowd.

"Why would they do that? My dad said he never wanted to see me again! So what's the point?"

"I don't know," Sebastian admits. Would it be too much to ask that it's because the man actually cares about Blaine? Sebastian doesn't know a thing about him other than he punched his son and threw him out onto the street, so he can't answer that question, but from the outset, most signs point to no.

Sebastian hopes the man proves him wrong.

He isn't one for seeing the good in people. He'd rather believe that most are self-serving assholes, that way he's not disappointed when he's right. But this is Blaine's dad. And regardless of Sebastian feeling a bit jealous of his relationship with Kurt, Sebastian secretly prays that one day Blaine and his dad can make amends.

Sebastian spots a line of locker rooms, the doors painted to blend with the walls. They're about the size of the average closet, but hunkering down in a cramped room is better than waiting around for the inevitable. "Come on, guys. We can duck in there."

Kurt takes Blaine by the elbow as Sebastian leads the way, barking out a frustrated, "Excuse us. Excuse us," to the skaters yet to perform, who have opted to do their off-ice warm-ups smack dab in everyone else's way. Sebastian frowns when he remembers that used to be him once upon a time - constantly showing off, always in other people's space. His coach had told him it was an effective intimidation technique.

It's not.

It's just annoying.

Blaine sighs as they reach the blue metal door, relief in sight.

It turns out to be premature.

"Still under rotating those triples, I see."

Blaine sighs again, but this time it's a sound of utter defeat, and something inside Kurt snaps. He whirls around, putting himself between Blaine and whoever might be behind them, saying, "Don't you have anything nice to say?" before he comes face to face with two older men trying way too hard to appear important in their expensively tailored wool suits, out-of-place with everyone else around them bundled up in jeans, sweaters, and puff jackets. They can't even wear simple cloth masks, opting for those overpriced dome things constructed of 'space-age materials', clear so people can see the entirety of the wearer's face.

From the corner of his eye, Kurt sees Blaine turn slowly, as if he would rather be anywhere but here, which sucks because Blaine had an amazing skate! A skate Nathan Chen would have been proud of! But that's about to be ruined by the presence of these two a-holes!

"Nice about what?" the same man retorts, and even though that sounds like the sort of remark one would expect a coach to make, Kurt just knows that this man - with the same dark hair as Blaine's, glued to his scalp with a tremendous amount of product, sucking in his lower lip as he grins - has to be his dad. "His lackluster choreography? His offensive song choice? This fruity costume? Or those skates?" He pops his lower lip in disgust as he gestures down to the black Edea skates Kurt customized with rainbow crystals. "Jesus, Blaine! Why don't you carry one of those rainbow flags out on the ice with you! Or tattoo one to your face! That way everyone knows!"

"Most people already do!" Blaine argues, surprising his friends. But it delights Sebastian more. Despite his 'dapper charm' that he lays on thick as oatmeal, Sebastian suspected Blaine couldn't be as meek as he seemed around him and Kurt. Looks like he was right. "And guess what? No one seems to have a problem with it! And if they do, they have the courtesy to keep it to themselves!"

"That's because you're a figure skater. You're surrounded by gays, aren't you?" he snarks, shooting a pointed glance at Kurt. Blaine's old coach (Simon, if Kurt remembers correctly - supposedly a huge deal though Kurt has never heard of him), who has yet to say anything, has the dignity to look embarrassed by Mr. Anderson over that remark.

"Has he always been this much of an ass?" Sebastian seethes. "Or is he doing this for our benefit?

Blaine's first instinct is to defend him, even after everything the man has done. He is his father after all. But he stops himself, gives Sebastian's question a solid think.

And his answer is yes.

Yes, he has.

He's always been an ass. To him and, to a lesser extent, his mother. Nothing has ever been good enough for him. Gold medals, sponsorships, scholarships, endorsements - not a single thing that has come from Blaine's skating has his father ever been proud of.

"What you see is what you get," Blaine says diplomatically. Mr. Anderson's thin-lipped grin drops like a lead weight, and Kurt snickers.

"Your edges have improved," Simon puts in haughtily. "Don't know how that happened."

"It's called practice," Kurt says, "dedication... and the perks of finding a better, more supportive coaching team."

Simon's eyes travel from Kurt's face to a smug Sebastian, and the man rolls his eyes. "I'll bet."

"So, is this what you gave your family up for?" Mr. Anderson asks, waving a hand towards Kurt so vehemently he nearly smacks him. "Or are you still waiting in the wings?"

Blaine's cheeks burn, speechless that his father held on to those words he overheard and is now throwing them in his face, especially since he never told Kurt about the phone call that got him kicked out. Not entirely. And as far as he knew, Sebastian hasn't either, confirmed by the confusion on Kurt's face.

"You're talking to your son," Sebastian growls. "You haven't seen him in over a year, haven't talked to him during a global pandemic even once to find out whether or not he's okay. He just won his second gold medal of the night. But you're stomping over here like you have every right, and all you care about is his sex life?"

Mr. Anderson raises a stern finger. "This doesn't concern you."

"Yes, it does! Because after you pulled your little homophobic stunt and blackened his eye, he started living with me. In my house." Sebastian stops himself from clarifying further when he notices they're attracting attention. He didn't mean to out Blaine's abuse. Sebastian had no right to let that slip. But with the tunnel of red obscuring his vision, he'd started to forget there's anyone else around. He's got to apologize but now isn't the time. "He owes me nothing. Happy to have him. But you? You owe me plenty."

"What?" Mr. Anderson scoffs. "Do you want me to write you a check?"

"No. But a little gratitude, knowing that your son was in good hands this entire time, might be nice."

Mr. Anderson laughs through his nose. It's as unattractive as it sounds. "Never happening. I offered to take him back. He felt he knew better. If Blaine chooses to live in a den of sin, that's his business."

Sebastian shakes his head in disbelief. Blaine's father isn't talking about pre-marital sex. Hell, if Blaine was kicking it with some busty blonde cheerleader this whole time, his dad would probably be ecstatic.

He's referring to the fact that the three of them are gay.

Some people.

Well, if he wants to be an epic jackhole, fine. Two can play at that game.

"You know, since you're so concerned with who your son is being intimate with, since that matters so much to you, it might interest you to know that he's not just screwing Kurt here. He's fucking me as well." Sebastian pauses, lets those words sink in, and soaks in the delicious fallout. He doesn't know whose reaction he likes better - the men in front of him scowling like he farted in their masks, or the boys standing beside him, staring at him wide-eyed and growing pale. "Oh yeah," Sebastian continues, fueled by the conflicted awe in Kurt's eyes specifically. "The three-ways are plentiful, in every position."

"You... you little liar!"

Sebastian shrugs. "I mean, that's what it's all about, right? What do you think's been going on at my house while he's been living there? He's gotta pay the rent somehow."

"You're disgusting!" Mr. Anderson sneers.

"You're one to talk - a middle-aged man whose only concern about his son's welfare is where he sticks his dick! Give this a lot of thought, do ya? Talk about it over dinner and shit?"

Mr. Anderson takes a step forward. Blaine and Kurt take a reflexive step back - social distancing and all. But Sebastian doesn't budge. "You listen here, you... !"

"Is there a problem?" a man dressed in a red, white, and blue windbreaker emblazoned with the name of the rink they're in, asks. They'd been so engrossed in this pissing contest, no one noticed the man cut through the crowd to reach them. Mr. Anderson steps back, aggressively straightening his jacket. Kurt thinks he hears a seam pop, and he flinches on behalf of a thousand-dollar sports coat.

"No," Mr. Anderson answers quickly, annoyed by the interruption. "No problem."

Seeing a way to put an easy end to this, Sebastian speaks up. "Actually, there is. These men aren't coaches or skaters. And they're harassing us. So could you please... ?"

Mr. Anderson chuckles. "Right. Good luck with that. I have no intention of going anywhere."

The attendant shakes his head. "I'm sorry but... " He turns to Mr. Anderson "... I'm going to have to ask you gentlemen to leave. We need to keep this area clear."

Mr. Anderson's eyelids narrow to slits. "What?"

"We have a capacity limit." The man points to a sign posted nearby. Neither Mr. Anderson nor Simon looks. "Skaters and coaches only. Everyone else has to go back to the bleachers."

"Are you kidding me!?"

"Unless you have a pass... "

Mr. Anderson looks at the three boys. They lift laminated tags attached to lanyards hanging around their necks. Blaine's says 'Skater' in neon green letters, Kurt's says 'Assistant Coach' in bright orange, and Sebastian's says 'Coach' in yellow. Mr. Anderson and Simon have no such lanyards.

Technically, they don't even have tickets to the event.

Simon used the clout he has left to get them this far.

"I'll have to call security if you don't leave," the man interjects, reaching for his walkie.

Mr. Anderson sniffs, tries to retain his composure, but he's not a man used to taking no for an answer.

Or being bested by teenagers.

"I'll be seeing you boys again," he says low, like a threat.

"Absolutely!" Sebastian says. "Stop by Westerville Ice-plex anytime so my uncle can serve you that restraining order Blaine should have filed the first time around!"

Mr. Anderson doesn't look the least bit amused when rink staff leads him away, glaring venomously at them over his shoulder as he's escorted to the double doors. The three watch, waiting till he's completely out of sight before they breathe easy again.

"That was fun," Blaine says brightly, trying to make light of this newly tense situation.

"Loads," Kurt agrees.

"I'm so sorry about that. He had no right to talk to you guys like that. Especially you, Kurt."

Kurt smiles. It gets lost behind his faux Chanel mask, but luckily it reaches his eyes. "You don't need to apologize."

"Look, Blaine," Sebastian starts, "I'm really sorry for bringing up... "

"Don't worry about it," Blaine cuts in. He'd happily forgotten about that. He wants to drop it. "It shouldn't be a secret. That's how people like him get away with doing what he did."

"Still, it was kind of shitty."

"Yeah, but that wasn't your fault."

Sebastian puts a hand on Blaine's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. It's the closest thing to a hug he can offer.

"Come on." Kurt puts his hand over Sebastian's. "Let's go get Blaine's medals and head home, hmm?"

"Sounds like a plan." Blaine turns to Sebastian, disarming mischief in his hazel eyes. "So... about that three-way... "

"You mean you, leftie, and rightie?" Sebastian winds a possessive arm around his boyfriend and ushers him quickly through the crowd towards the medal stand. "Be sure to tell us all about it in the morning."

#Kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #sebastian smythe #kurt hummel #figure skating #blaine anderson

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passionate-reply · 3 years ago

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This week on Great Albums: one of my favourite “hidden gems” of the mid-1980s, Blancmange’s *Mange Tout* is about as extra and in-your-face as it gets, full of dense arrangements, gender-bending bombast, and musical instruments from Southern Asia.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! This time around, I’ll be taking a look at one of my favourite hidden gems from the mid-1980s, the sophomore LP of Blancmange, entitled Mange Tout.

Despite their relative obscurity today, particularly in comparison to many of their contemporaries, Blancmange weren’t total strangers to the pop charts. Their first full-length LP, 1982’s Happy Families, would yield the biggest hit of their career: “Living on the Ceiling,” which peaked at #7.

Music: “Living on the Ceiling”

While it never got to be a chart-topper, “Living on the Ceiling” is still an unforgettable track in its own ways. Perhaps its most distinctive feature is its use of the traditional Indian instruments, the sitar and tabla. While 80s synth-pop is certainly full of Orientalism, most of the references you’ll find are pointing to the Far East, and the perceived aesthetic sophistication and techno-utopian futurism of China and Japan. Aside from certain works of Bill Nelson, Blancmange were pretty much the only ones engaging with South Asian musical themes. Blancmange’s instrumentalist, Stephen Luscombe, grew up in London’s Southall neighbourhood, which had a high population of immigrants from Southern Asia, which led him to a lifelong interest in Indian music. Combined with electronics, it makes for a totally unique sound, which ends up sounding better in practice than it might in theory.

While any time White European musicians turn to alternative cultures as artistic tools, there’s a valid cause for some degree of criticism and concern, there’s also an artsy, left-field un-hipness about Blancmange, who seemingly drew from Indian music not only alone, but purely for sonic enjoyment. Unlike the exotic fantasies spun by groups like Japan, none of Blancmange’s songs seem propelled by any specific idea or ideology about India, but rather seem to tackle common pop themes of love and heartbreak against a seemingly *non sequitur* musical backdrop. While we, as listeners, might have strong associations with particular sounds, this is ultimately more cultural than innate, and there’s really no reason why a composition with Indian instruments must revolve around some theme of “Indian-ness”; it isn’t like people in India don’t also fall in love. However you feel about these influences, the role of Indian instruments is only increased on Mange Tout, where they appear on multiple tracks, including the album’s most successful single, “Don’t Tel Me.”

Music: “Don’t Tell Me”

On Mange Tout tracks like “Don’t Tell Me,” not only do the instruments return, but so do the session musicians who had performed on “Living on the Ceiling”: Deepak Khazanchi, on sitar, and Pandit Dinesh, on the percussion instruments tabla and madal. “Don’t Tell Me” is a track with a lot of pop appeal, lightweight and singable, which makes it a bit surprising that it was actually the final single released from the album. It certainly impresses me that Blancmange managed to create such bubbly and finely tuned pop, given that neither of their core members came from any formal or technical background: Luscombe had had a history in avant-garde music ensembles, and vocalist Neil Arthur became interested in music via the DIY culture of punk. Their first-ever release, the 1980 EP Irene & Mavis, sounds more like Throbbing Gristle than Culture Club, but they somehow managed to arrive at something quite sweet and palatable in the end. That said, it’s also possible for sweet to eventually become too sweet--and this line is provoked on the album’s divisive second single, “That’s Love, That It Is.”

Music: “That’s Love, That It Is”

In contrast to the lighter “Don’t Tell Me,” “That’s Love, That It Is” is utterly bombastic, with a vicious intensity. The instrumentation and production style is dense to the point of being borderline overwhelming. By this point in his life, Stephen Luscombe had recently discovered that he was gay, and his time spent in nightclubs that catered to the gay community provided another pillar of Blancmange’s signature sound: the influence of the queer disco tradition, which is almost certainly the source of this tightly-packed instrumental arrangement style. Blancmange never seem to be mentioned in the same breath as other stars of queer synth-pop like Bronski Beat, Soft Cell, and the Pet Shop Boys, presumably due to the combination of their overall obscurity and the fact that Luscombe was never the face of their band, but I see no reason not to include them in the same pantheon of camp. Speaking of queerness, it’s also worth noting how Blancmange played with gender, particularly on their cover of “The Day Before You Came.”

Music: “The Day Before You Came”

A solid eight years before Erasure’s iconic Abba-Esque, Blancmange offered their own interpretation of an ABBA classic with “The Day Before You Came.” In their hands, it’s a languid dirge, and a meditation on quotidian miseries for which the titular event seems to offer little respite. The unchanged lyrics, portraying the narrator working in an office and watching soap operas at night, are subtly feminine-coded, but the deep and unmistakably masculine voice of vocalist Neil Arthur seems to muddle those connotations. While it is a cover, I’m tempted to sort it into the same tradition as Soft Cell’s “Bedsitter” and the Pet Shop Boys’ “Left To My Own Devices,” as a work which musically elevates the everyday life of a campily self-obsessed character to the sort of melodrama the narrator perceives it to have.

I’ve spent a lot of time praising the instrumental side of their music so far, but it’s also true that Blancmange wouldn’t be Blancmange without Arthur’s contributions. The presence of his rough and untrained voice, with the added gruffness of a Northern accent, draws a line between these tracks and a typical pop production, and he sells us quite successfully on the gloomy, ominous feeling of tracks like “The Day Before You Came” and the album’s lead single, “Blind Vision.”

Music: “Blind Vision”

On the cover of Mange Tout, we find an assortment of seemingly unrelated items, which form a sort of graphic wunderkammer against a pale beige backdrop. Perhaps the best theme that could be assigned to them is that of travel--we see several means of transportation, such as a boat, a motorbike, and an airplane flying above a map, as well as items that can be taken as symbols of exotic locales, such as a North American cactus, and an elephant and Zulu nguni shield from Africa. Only the harp is clearly evocative of music itself--and this instrument won’t even be found on the album! The album’s title, “Mange Tout,” suggests that we are getting “full” Blancmange, or “all of” Blancmange. Taken together, the cover and title seem to imply that this album is stuffed to the brim, and contains a whole world of musical ideas. I would definitely agree that that’s a major motif of the album: it’s audacious, explosive, and free-wheeling. It very much feels like an album that was put together on the back of a first initial success, with a pumped-up budget and bold creative vision, and hence pulls no punches. Perhaps the most compelling feature of Mange Tout, and the primary reason I recommend this album so highly, is its unbridled enthusiasm for what it’s doing. Even in its ostensibly experimental moments, Mange Tout feels not like an album that is “trying” something, but rather one that boldly and assuredly proclaims the things it does, and embraces a kind of “more is more” maximalism.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see Mange Tout as the creative as well as commercial peak of Blancmange’s career. Their follow-up release, 1985’s Believe You Me, is far from the worst album I’ve ever heard, but it definitely doesn’t feel quite the same as the “classic” Blancmange works, adopting a more middle-of-the-road, radio-friendly synth-pop direction, with less of the South Asian influences and experimentation that really set them apart in the saturated synth-pop landscape. While not a work devoid of merit, Believe You Me was a relative commercial dud, and the duo would split soon after, chiefly citing personal and creative differences--though they did have a brief reunion in the early 2010s.

Music: “Lose Your Love”

My favourite track on Mange Tout is “All Things Are Nice,” which, alongside the neo-doo-wop “See the Train,” would be classed as one of the more experimental tracks on the album. Full of tension, “All Things Are Nice” alternates between eerily whispering vocals from Arthur, and a variety of samples from other media--which was still a relatively cutting-edge technique for the time. “All Things Are Nice” is almost certainly the most conceptual track on the album: as samples discuss world war, and Arthur whispers that “we can’t keep up with it,” the song is probably to be interpreted as a commentary on the runaway nature of technology and so-called “progress” in the modern age. The titular assertion that “all things are nice” seems to be ironic--or perhaps it embodies a sheer love of chaos and unpredictability, for their own sake, which would certainly fit the album’s mood. It also feels like it might be a sort of defense of the album itself: like I said, *Mange Tout* is serving us “all of Blancmange,” and isn’t it fun to get to have all of something? That’s everything for today--as always, thanks for listening!

Music: “All Things Are Nice”

#music #great albums #blancmange

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