#his microexpressions are important. to me

[starscelly]

tyler seguin, bit of a playmaker

van@dal 3.25.23

[actiaslunaris]

- How’s Kusanagi?

...

- He’s grateful to his best friend.

[spookieloverslittlemind]

Their favourite part of you (physically)…

includes: Michael Myers, Pinhead, Brahms Heelshire, Art the Clown, Sun and Moon (fnaf), Marta (Outlast 2)

tw: some nsfw (mainly Art - who’s surprised)

Michael

Your face and your waist/stomach; Michael likes being able to read your every micro expression and communicate without your words as well as his own (something about him not needing any words to understand you is satisfying to him - instinct responding to instinct), often rests his head on your stomach when cuddling regardless of whether his mask is on or not, and is usually holding your waist when getting freaky with you. Likes being able to pick you up by your waist and just place you down wherever he feels inclined to, that sense of control.

Pinhead

Impossible to answer. If you ask Pinhead this question and insist he answers, he will pace back and forth before disappearing through a portal to Hell, incapable of dissecting what he believes to be the masterpiece that is your body in favour of choosing one specific part of it over the rest as his favourite. Will literally debate it in another realm for 100 years before returning to you (where approximately 3 minutes have passed in our time) to tell you he has made a choice: your heart. You roll your eyes and tell him that doesn’t count, but he already has the perfect answer prepped because he knew you’d query his response:

“Your heart is what powers the rest of you, my dear. Without your heart, you would be an empty vessel. A beautiful one, but empty. Your body is most beautiful, living, and it is your heart that ensures such a state of being. For that, your heart is my favourite part of tour body.”

Brahms

Will sulk in the walls and refuse to talk to you if you ask him to pick a part of your body and I’m so serious; he literally adores you. When you explain that he can give different answers for different reasons (such as sexually/romantically/what part of you he’s most innocently attracted to) he’s more inclined to think about it. At that point, he’s happy because he can give more than one answer - that’s more fair, Brahms thinks. So, romantically he would say your lips. Innocent attraction, he would say your eyes. Sexually?

“…Every part of you I��ve been inside.”

Art

Easiest question you’ve ever asked him. His answer is one simple gesture: 👌🏻

It’s your hole. Any hole you’ve got. That’s his favourite part. If there’s one thing Art loves more than anything else, it’s playing with something dark, wet and warm that he can stuff fingers or his own cock into.

If you asked him for a more in-depth answer that sounded slightly less like you’re his own personal fleshlight, Art would pause, then go: 👉🏻😃👈🏻

Your smile, because he likes seeing you happy. He’s not exactly a romantic, but he is very playful.

Sun and Moon

Surprisingly, both Sun and Moon are in agreement that your face is their favourite part of your body, but it is for very different reasons; Sun likes holding your face, cupping your cheeks, tracing your cheekbones with mechanical thumbs; Moon likes your face because yours is the only face that gives Moon kisses. They are also both capable of reading your expressions incredibly well (they have images of your every microexpression stored as vitally important information in their systems), and they treasure doing things just to see the reaction on your face. Backflips, magic trucks - anything to see your eyes light up.

Marta

Your womb - okay, hear me out on this one, because before you jump to conclusions I’m not suggesting anything relating to hardcore fisting. Marta’s favourite place to touch you is your lower abdomen, her fingers splaying over where your womb rests in a protective gesture. To her, that is the purest part of you, that she protects from the foul seed of men. It is a sacred place in which God plants children, but your path of purity (lesbianism x) renders it an unspoilt treasure. It is rare Marta would kneel before you, but whenever she does, it is usually to place a kiss over the skin of your tummy, where your womb resides.

[actual-changeling]

No Nightingales

or: the one time they are actually on the same page

Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner—we once again find ourselves in the final fifteen because I am far from done with them.

I already dove deep into the potential meaning of that phrase, you can find the meta post here, but regardless of what it stands for, the important part of today's post is their mutual recognition of it.

During their entire argument, they are on two different levels of understanding, and while Crowley is somewhat aware of that, Aziraphale very much isn't. But then, right at the end, Crowley invokes the nightingales, and suddenly they find themselves on the same plane of communication.

Let's start from the beginning. Well, not the beginning beginning, but rather the beginning of the end of their conversation.

Aziraphale is visibly upset, there's a strong undercurrent of genuine anger within the hurt, and he reverts back to an almost petulant expression when he tells Crowley "there's nothing more to say".

The movement he is doing with his mouth—maybe biting his cheeks from the looks of it—is the same one as at the end of their very first argument of the season. In the back of the bookshop with Jimbriel being the centre of their discussion, he eventually tells Crowley "but if you won't, you won't". When he sits down and throws his little temper tantrum, it's the same expression of 'I am kicking you out, go leave'.

In episode 1, Crowley does indeed leave, although we all know he comes back later that evening, but not this time. He knows Aziraphale, he knows exactly why he is doing what he is doing, why he is saying what he is saying, and while it broke his heart, it also means he is out of patience and energy.

For six thousand years, he has been trying to get Aziraphale to understand—and he simply refused to do the work necessary for that, preferring to stay in his cognitive dissonance framework of the world.

They are as done as they can be in that moment, and yet Crowley stays and tries one more thing: No nightingales.

"Listen, do you hear that?" is not a question Aziraphale expected, which is quite obvious in his annoyed reaction.

(side note: If someone I love were to talk to me the way Aziraphale responds to Crowley here I'd slap them and walk out. The absolute disrespect in his tone is appalling and Crowley deserves a reward for putting up with it.)

"I don't hear anything," and he isn't getting it just yet, still angry and petulant, still upset.

But then that changes. "That's the point. No nightingales," and Crowley is looking at him like it means something, begging him to listen, to understand—and Aziraphale DOES.

Look at the change in his expression, all that angry annoyance is gone and replaced by a sad dawning of understanding. If you compare this expression with his earlier one, the shift is as obvious as a blinking neon sign on a dark road.

Whatever the exact meaning of 'no nightingales' is, it is unambiguous and a fundamental part of how they communicate about their relationship with each other. Aziraphale has his oh moment, he is forced to confront the entire argument they just had and what it lead them to, what it destroyed.

That is what Crowley tells him, what hits Aziraphale hard enough to completely push him off-balance, to make him sad and visibly hurt instead of angry and upset. Michael 'microexpressions' Sheen strikes again.

Focus on the look in his eyes, the small, almost imperceptible shift, the shame that appears, and the tears it brings. He averts his gaze at first and then raises it back to Crowley because he understands now, he finally realised what Crowley has been trying to tell him the entire time.

No nightingales. It means we're done, we're over. It means I cannot come with you, I have to leave and safe myself. It means I love you, I know you love me, but it isn't enough.

It means we could have been us—but not anymore. Crowley sees him understand, and THAT is why he calls him an idiot; it's not about him returning to heaven or any of the other shit he said. It is about Aziraphale not listening to Crowley, of being so caught up in his bullshit he did not understand the simple message he was being told.

"You idiot. We could have been us."

I love you I love you I love you but now we are ruined and I blame you. If you had listened we could have been happy together, but look at where we ended up instead.

Aziraphale is still staring at him, but once those words leave Crowley's mouth, the tears begin to rise. Lips pressed together to keep himself from crying, the little wobble disturbing them, the pure, distilled pain etching itself into his face.

Shame. Guilt. Anger. Blaming Crowley, blaming himself. Aziraphale is confused, forced to make decisions without getting the space to breathe, to think, and he fell back into the easiest option—be a good angel and do what heaven says.

A part of him KNOWS all of that. It knows what he just did, what he ruined, how much they ended up hurting each other. So the tears come, and when he can no longer keep himself from crying, he turns away.

Crowley understandably combusts at that because really? Really? You dare to turn away from me after all this? I ripped myself open in front of you, and when I FINALLY manage to make you understand you turn your back on me?

He is desperate and hurt, heartbroken beyond repair, and there are six millennia of hopeless love spilling over—so he kisses him.

Hear me, listen to me, understand, I love you I love you I love you, I am losing you, I don't want to lose you, we're done. I know this won't change anything. I know what you will tell me, but I need to try. I need to make sure you know how much I love you.

I need you to understand what you are leaving behind.

There is no secret conversation happening, there's no trick, otherwise this moment of realisation would not exist.

But it does. It is right there for everyone to see.

After everything, this was probably the most painful moment for me, because you see him get it. You see him process, you see him understand, you can practically taste the chaos unfolding in his mind.

Aziraphale understands, but it is too late, and so he finishes what he started and leaves anyway.

[quin-ns]

jj w a virgin reader and he has to be gentle w her but he’s like holding himself back from fucking her into oblivion the entire time and it’s really obvious

I can’t believe it took me this long to write any kind of obx smut… definitely changing that soon lol

Hold Back (JJ Maybank x Reader)

Everything had been leading up to this. At least, that’s how JJ looked at it.

All of the flirting and touches and late night talks and him finally, finally getting the courage to ask you out and you actually agreeing instead of your long time friendship being ruined.

And now you were together, and everything was perfect.

You were his best friend, and now you were his girlfriend, and JJ couldn’t have been happier. It was simply meant to be.

The two of you pretty much did everything couples did before you called it official (although JJ still really liked being able to call you his girlfriend). The only thing missing was sex, because that doesn’t exactly fall under the “just friends” category.

It wasn’t like it was the most important thing in the world to JJ, but when you told him you wanted to, he about had a heart attack from the excitement. His thoughts about you hadn’t been all innocent while the two of you were friends, after all.

Now you were gripping his arm, nails digging in, gasping a little as JJ held himself above you and pushed his way inside of you. He made sure you were ready, but you were tense and hadn’t had any kind of experience.

As hard as it was to do so, JJ slowed down.

“Are you sure?” he asked again, not wanting to hurt you.

You nodded at his question, voice catching in your throat and making it too difficult to speak.

JJ would’ve stopped if you asked him to, but he was relieved that you didn’t.

JJ continued to push into your tight body, stretching you with his cock. The choked moan that came from you made him want to slam himself into the hilt just to hear it again, only louder, but he fought the urge.

It was your first time, and as eager as he was to feel you squeezing around his entire length, he didn’t want to ruin it for you.

You looked so beautiful beneath him and JJ tried to memorize every microexpression on your face as he moved slowly. Gently.

It took a lot of effort to be careful when his mind was crowded with thoughts of making you scream with pleasure and show you how good the two of you could be together.

“You can move faster,” you said suddenly, voice low. “I know you want to. I’m not made of glass.”

JJ took in your words and watched your face. You meant it, genuinely giving him the green light.

He gave a rough, experimental thrust, and watched your reaction. No pain, no doubt. You liked it, and JJ liked that.

The moan you let out when he picked up his pace only spurred him on, forcing your body to tremble with pleasure beneath him. He wouldn’t have it any other way, and even though JJ couldn’t speak for you, he was damn sure you felt the same. He made sure of that.

That night he gave you everything he had, and you took it.

In the morning you could hardly move from the bed, but that didn’t stop you from pulling him into a searing kiss and asking to go again. JJ was already climbing on top of you, not wanting to keep you waiting.

[komorihailey]

Haileyyyyy!! <333 I don't know if you take requests (if you don't please ignore this!! <33) But can I ask for a Reiji and a Kanato version of that post you made recently with the diaboys comforting an s/o who's having an anxiety attack? <33

Imaginary Monsters.

Summary: Some of the diaboys comforting you when you have an anxiety/panic attack.

Characters: Kanato Sakamaki, Reiji Sakamaki, gn! reader.

Tags/warnings: hurt/comfort, fluff, mentions of anxiety.

Author's note: Hi Bubble and first of all, thank you for your request! I really do not take requests, but I will always do so for my moots and friends, so thank you very much for giving me the chance to write this, truly! It's my first time writing for these two diaboys, I apologize if they do not seem in character. Regardless, I hope you still enjoy this 💜

❀ Kanato Sakamaki.

“The softness of silk dresses on porcelain dolls, a sweet cup of chocolate, the melody that breaks the overwhelming silence at the eye of the storm.”

While Kanato couldn’t deny that many a time, glistening tears looked cute on you, he never wanted it like this.

Your shaking hands, crumpling the dress he made for you; tear tracks down your cheeks, like a broken doll, forgotten in the muddy rain.

It makes him angry. Not at you, but at the dark thoughts that dare plague your mind.

It’s in moments like these, however, when you can see a softer side of Kanato, almost innocent in the way he sits beside you.

He will let you hold Teddy, while he wraps his arms around your form protectively, his head resting on top of yours.

If you feel like it, he’ll feed you his favorite cake or candy, it always makes him feel better, so he hopes it has the same effect on you.

And, amidst the cold anxiety that seeps into you, like suffocating ashes filling your lungs, it’s his voice that breathes air back into you.

“But Kanato, you don’t have to-” You begin, images of his bitter expression and bleeding vocal cords flashing through your mind momentarily.

He tilts his head to the side, that unadulterated smile he reserved just for you tugging at his lips.

“But I want to.” He says, his thumb running over your lower lip, soothing the sting from having bitten it out of sheer nerves. “Only you get to hear my singing, dollie.” Are his words as the melody from him to you alone begins again.

You rest your head on his shoulder, holding Teddy a little closer to your chest.

Kanato’s arm tightens around your waist.

The closeness of him and the aftertaste of raspberry pudding on your tongue shine a little sunlight in your cold despair.

❀ Reiji Sakamaki.

“The calming surface of a warm cup of tea; the hypnotizing tranquility of the steam that rises from it, the unpredictability of a new aroma either lulling you into peaceful rest or making sparks dance behind your eyes”

Honestly, for all his stoic and composed manners, Reiji is exceedingly quick at noticing the microexpressions that cross your face when you try to hide your worries.

And he won’t confront you about it directly at first, he just shakes his head like ‘honestly…’

In truth, he wishes you could confide in him. 

How you’re feeling and what scares you… Even if he may not verbally express it, it’s important to him.

So to try and take your mind off things, Reiji keeps you distracted.

He asks for ingredients he needs for his research; has you sort out some of his books and makes you arrange his fine china for a tea party for two (that means he trusts you a lot, for him to let you close to his tea sets).

That was just his excuse to prepare a tea with calming properties, of his own invention of course, only for you.

Your hands tremble, and the fear of dropping the cup adds to the spiral of dark thoughts that forever goes down.

Reiji can see it from the corner of his eye, as his lips taste the hot beverage in his own cup.

And because Reiji Sakamaki is unpredictability incarnate, is the liquid burn of his lips by the side of your neck that pulls you out from your endless pit.

Right when you were drowning at the edge of Phlegethon, the flame of your terror almost turning your soul to ashes, he pulls you out. And even though the sensation of his fangs tugging on your lower lip is more searing than the River of Fire itself, you welcome it; in the same way you embrace him, sins and all; in the way Reiji is not afraid to delve deeper into your Fields of Asphodel.

“Honestly… What even were you trying to achieve shouldering those troubles all by yourself?” The vampire pushes up his glasses, that devious smile you’ve come to adore present on his handsome face. “Did you think I would not notice?” He whispers, softer, as his arms wrap around you in an usually warm embrace.

[sgiandubh]

Hi sgiandubh! Happy weekend!

Have you seen the clip of the interaction between Sam, John, and Cait at the New York Comic Con photoshoot? It seemed like Sam didn’t like how John was behaving towards Cait and got a bit possessive.😉 Obviously all was well a few minutes later when they walked out on stage for the panel 😊, but it seemed like a purely instinctual reaction by Sam to get a little possessive of her for a second.

You seem to really have a knack for analyzing body language so that’s why I wanted to ask! Thanks for answering!

Dear Interaction Anon,

I am sorry for the delay. I am in the middle of a very busy week: while it is true I took the bulk of my leftover paid leave and I am currently at home, I also have some very important and urgent things to sort out, so it is what it is.

I think you can find some very decent explanations on some other blogs and I also think @the-sassynach did a fabulous job with her more than clear gifs (https://www.tumblr.com/the-sassynach/764677465702645760/lmfao?source=share).

Particularly this one, if you ask me:

You may think of any number of reasons why that photoshoot looked a bit 'off' (jealousy, possessiveness, uxoriousness, being drunk, being sassy, etc). The fact is that despite the 'look relaxed and spontaneous' brief, they managed to show us the exact opposite. They looked tense and fake, completely unlike what they were supposed to do. Why?

Because you can control many things in life, spare Paul Ekman's facial micro expressions. There are 7 of them: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, & surprise. And all of these are universal, which means you can't fool anyone on this planet, regardless of the culture the person hails from - they would get the schtick of it immediately. And they are impossible to control, because they express an emotional, immediate response to an outside stimulus, the person might even be completely unaware of.

The most interesting game would perhaps be to see how many of them can you see in @the-sassynach's gifs? Once you do this, boom: the story writes itself.

Here is a very useful breakdown of Ekman's theory, illustrated: https://www.osc.org/microexpressions-universal-language/. I think you, along with many, will find it very useful and perhaps enlightening. And while some might think it's bullshit, let them: reading body language is a core competence in business intelligence, for example. I know what I am saying, because let's say I am no stranger to it.

[inkblot22]

Can You Keep A Little Secret 3

Someone call somebody, because Epel beat my ass while I was writing this chapter. I thought I had it drafted perfectly and then I reread what I had and was like what is this?? So this is maybe the most edited thing on this blog, hooray! Real talk, though, his rabbit suit is the cutest thing ever and I want to put flowers in his hair. Dividers by @/cafekitsune.

This fic is aimed towards sort of everyone, but the reader possesses afab features. This is important in this chapter, but as it is a reincarnation fic, the fic is aimed at anyone who can handle it. Reader is referred to with they/them pronouns!

TW for threatening behavior, mention of death, violence (reader gets tossed around a bit), strangulation, semi-shy reader, AFAB reader, NONCON, DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT, pregnancy mention, degrading language used towards reader

Link to previous chapter here!

Epel doesn’t even mention it. You keep your interactions professional, go over your lines at home, and this proceeds for the first week. 

He’s called you a few times, sent a few messages. You changed his name in your phone to “Epel Fucko.” It makes you giggle, at least. That’s about the only funny thing.

Over the week, you ignore every single call and message from Epel. On Thursday, it feels like he’s finally gotten the message, since he stops trying. When he’s at work with you, the two of you are hardly alone, if ever. He’s as sweet as pie as long as there’s at least one pair of outward eyes on your interactions. You sleep alright on Thursday and Friday.

As usual, on the weekend, your new mother comes by, but this time she isn’t alone. She’s got groceries with her, and attached to the groceries is Epel, who she seems absolutely taken with. She’s beaming as she walks in, and when you go to help her with dinner, she shoos you away.

“Go entertain your guest! I can handle myself in here.”

He’s not your guest, but you don’t want to find out what she’s like when she’s annoyed, so you go to the living room, making sure you’re seated within sight of the kitchen. The apartment isn’t big, but you’re not taking any chances.

Epel smiles sweetly at you and shows you his palm, “Lemme see your phone?”

“Why?”

“You ain’t been picking up. Just wanna make sure I don’t gotta get you a new one.”

“It’s not broken.”

Epel’s face twitches, that little microexpression that you notice but can’t observe. He smiles and leans back, resting his ankle on his knee.

“I get it.” You’re certain he doesn’t, but you don’t get the chance to retort when he continues speaking in that overly-innocent tone of voice, “Your mom’s real sweet.”

You have half a mind to think that might be a threat, but surely it couldn’t be. Threats are for fantasy stories, best left in books of espionage and diplomacy and magic. You nod, sighing.

“I think I’d be dead without her, haha.”

“Mmm.” Epel hums, as though he’s disinterested, and changes the subject, “It’s odd to see you not all dolled up.”

“Uh…”

“It’s nothing bad. I think it’s a good change, really. All of this is.”

“Thank… you?” You don’t know how to respond to any of this.

“You’re welcome.” He glances at the wall and squirms in his seat, “You, uh, haven’t replaced your television yet.”

You didn’t know you had a television. It dawns on you, as you shake your head, that Epel could literally have made up anything and is testing you, but you shake that thought off. It’s more ridiculous than the idea of him threatening your mother. 

Speaking of, she exits the kitchen with some amazing looking stir-fry. She hands you your plate and frowns at your proximity to where Epel is sitting.

“You can sit closer. I don’t judge. My, it almost makes me miss your father… and then I remember what he’s like, ahaha!” She jokes, walking back into the kitchen.

Epel smiles, but he’s looking at your plate. He looks confused.

Your mother fills the air with chatter. Since you don’t know much about her, it’s very welcome. At least her talking gives you a distraction from the unwanted guest in your home.

You don’t know why Epel decided to visit you today. Well, slight correction- you do know, you just don’t understand his audacity. What gave him the right to barge in like this, especially after you were very deliberately ignoring him?

Your mother heaves a sigh and gathers the dishes, “Well, let me clean up and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

You stand up and try to help with the dishes, half-hoping to convince the woman to take Epel with her when she leaves, but she shoos you out of the kitchen again. It figures that you’ll have to face your problem head on.

Epel looks about as comfortable as can be, sitting on your couch. He has a tendency to look somewhat stiff in public, but right now he’s leaned back, his legs spread and his toes wiggling in his socks. His eyebrows tick upwards as you stop right in front of him.

You swallow warily, “Uh, it’s getting sort of late.”

“It is.”

You know he understood what you meant. You can’t really trust your mother to be on your side here, however, so you refrain from telling him to stop acting smart, “Yeah, uh… early morning tomorrow?”

As Epel smirks at you as though you’ve just told a very adorable joke, your mother breezes out of the kitchen, “Ta ta, kids! Don’t have too much fun without me!”

About as soon as the door closes, you feel like you need to leave if Epel won’t. Although common sense would tell you not to poke the bear, you don’t have much of a choice, “Epel, it’s time for you to leave.”

Epel doesn’t respond, not immediately. He flexes his hands, cracks his knuckles, and rests his ankle on his knee before his lips quirk into a smile, “You remember the last time we were alone like this?”

The words freak you out more than they have a right to. You can feel your face cycling through various expressions- you’re confused, you’re scared, you’re angry, you’re distressed- and Epel laughs.

“I know you don’t.” He says, standing up. He’s not much taller than you, but he’s somehow looking down the bridge of his nose at you. “If you did, you’d have left with your ma.”

You don’t like that smug, smirky look on his face. You don’t like the way he acts, you don’t like the way he treats you. You don’t like him, point blank period. Your eyes narrow and your lip curls, and you can’t help the scowl, “You know, you’re right. Have fun in my apartment, Epel.”

You take two steps back from him and fight back a shiver when he begins giggling. You walk backwards towards the door and he just watches you, laughter peppering the air. As soon as you have your back against the door and your hand on the knob, his laughter dies down and he sighs.

“‘Course.” He drawls, taking a step forward. “I mean… any pretty thing like you would probably not want to be in a room with me after what I did to you.”

“Wh-what?”

Epel’s eyes narrow in some slight disbelief, “You really don’t remember?”

“I-”

His expression twists a little further, then smooths into neutrality. He hums, thoughtful, “What college did I go to?”

You furrow your eyebrows, twisting the knob a little bit. Epel’s expression grows more and more confused.

“Hmm. Somethin’s off about you. Has been for a little while now.” He mumbles, shapely lavender eyebrows furrowed.

“N-no, I’m me, I just-”

“How long have we known each other?”

You don’t have an answer. You have no answer. You balk and Epel grabs you by your collar and drags you away from the door. You kick and struggle, clawing at his hands, but he’s unfortunately stronger than he looks as he dumps you on the floor of your bathroom then crouches to get in your face.

And then he’s standing and scrubbing a hand down his face, his back to you as he mumbles to himself. He stalks to the mirror and wrenches it open. You didn’t even know it did that.

“You only took one.” His voice is cold, and he turns to pin you with a glare, “But you’re acting a lot better than you was.”

“O-one what? Epel, you’re scaring me. I’m gonna call the cops.”

Epel laughs in your face and stalks towards you. His posture is all wrong, he looks like some kind of feral animal, and then he grips the front of your shirt and yanks, “What would you tell them? I’d love to know.”

“Y-you’re threatening my wellbeing by acting erratic!”

He looks unimpressed, jostling you once, “I’m acting erratic? I used to be the polite one! And now you… you don’t got none of your memories and you’re sweeter’n pie. People don’t change like that, honey, not without a little help. You’re smart enough to know that.”

“What are you talking about? What did you pull out of the medicine cabinet?” Your voice is warbling, like you’re trying to speak to the tune of a theremin.

Epel shoves you back, your back hitting the bathtub, before picking a weekly pill case out of the medicine cabinet. His slender fingers pull out a pearlescent pill from the case and hold it up to the vanity so the light frames it. He’s very picturesque, but this isn’t something sweet or wonderful. You’re absolutely certain he’s going to fuck you up tonight, and you don’t know how you’re going to get out of this yet. You shuffle so you’re standing, and Epel turns to you, an eerie smile on his pretty face. He’s in-between you and the door.

“Do you know what these are?” He shows you the pill.

You shake your head. You don’t know what that is. Epel clucks his tongue and mockingly pouts.

“This,” He takes a step forward and places the pill in his palm, looking down at it, “is what your daily multivitamin looks like. I remember, because you made a big deal about it when you were first put on them. Do you remember?”

You don’t answer. It’s not like you needed to, really, since Epel is once again carrying the conversation.

“Of course you don’t. The self-centered brat I know would never miss an opportunity to make themselves prettier at the cost of actual beauty. And you are not the self-centered brat I knew. You’re someone else.”

“I-”

“Don’t worry. Let me finish, and then I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.” He shows you the pill again. “This is not your daily multivitamin. If you were the person who lived here, the one I’ve known for five some-odd years, you would also know that I went to NRC.”

“The mage school?” You ask blankly.

“Mmm-hmm. Very good. I was placed in Pomefiore. It’s a dorm there, bunch’a frills and shit, all obsessed with beauty… and poison.”

“Y-you-”

“Ah-ah! I ain’t done, sugar. Now, I knew something fishy was going on when you weren’t wearing a pound of makeup last week, but I figured it was what I intended to be a… soothing powder, of sorts, at work. Now that I know you ain’t been taking them, well…”

“Y-you poisoned them?”

Epel’s eyes narrowed sharply at you. Normally his features are very soft and welcoming, but his piercing blue gaze is nothing but dangerous now. “So you admit it.”

It’s not a question. It’s a blunt statement, the only fluctuation in his voice having been placed there by his accent. You inch along the wall and he turns to watch you. As you reach the door, you think he’s maybe going to lunge at you, but instead he delicately covers his mouth and snickers. His shoulders shake and he begins to giggle, which evolves into full blown hysterical laughter.

You twist the handle and over-estimate, falling a bit backwards as the door swings open. If you survive tonight, your neighbors are going to be pissed. You quickly scramble to your feet and rush for your phone. There is no house phone here, and you wonder why you didn’t bring your cellphone with you when you went to the door.

You don’t make it to the living room, since Epel tackles you to the floor. His laughter echoes in your apartment like some kind of haunting song, the tolling of the bells before a funeral. You shriek, your eyes filling with tears as his arm curls around your neck.

“E-Epel, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that whoever I was acted mean to you, I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me-”

His laughter rises, “Shut the hell up and stay still.”

You do as he says, despite you wanting to keep pleading, because his arm has constricted around your throat and you’re choking. The guttural noises escaping you are a combination of your terrified sobs and broken gasps for air. Epel wrestles you so you’re standing and then drags you into your bedroom, shoving you so you’re splayed out on the rug next to your bed.

“I always dreamed of seeing you… the real you with that cute look on your face, the one that screams, ‘Oh, help me! Anyone, save me!’ Distress. Like your little heart is breaking.” He straddles you and puts his hand over your face, grinning. “I always wanted to see you like this. Too bad you’re just the unfortunate bystander to years of rivalry, huh? Guess it makes sense that you seemed spacey.”

“E-Epel- Epel, p-please don’t do this. I’ll leave you alone, I promise, I-”

“What is ‘this’?” His voice is teasing, a cruel little smirk on his face as he leans so his hands are cuffing your wrists to the floor. “What do you think I’m gonna do?”

“Y-you’re gonna kill me again…?” You sound so small. Like a mouse, or something of the like.

Epel covers his mouth again as he laughs, eyes shutting in mirth and then he leans close to your ear. You can hear him moving, hear the saliva in his throat as he swallows, and the moisture on his breath hits your ear, making your skin prickle, “Do you want me to kill you again?”

You shake your head, desperate for this second chance at life. You already died, and there was nothing until you woke up. You didn’t even realize it, thinking you were just asleep before. You’re stressed out, but you want the chance for things to get better.

“Mmm. Good.” Epel draws back a bit and places his hands on your waist, his thumbs pushing a bit too hard against your skin, “Here’s what we’re gonna do, honey. I am going to fuck you-”

“No! No, no, no, please-”

Epel smacks the rest of your plea out of your mouth. Your cheek stings and he lowers his hand, smiling sweetly, “As I was saying, I am going to fuck you until we both know you’re pregnant. We’re going to announce that we’re together, we’re going to be together. Because you’re not who I knew, I like you more than the person I knew, and you need me anyway.”

You sob, your voice loud as Epel braces a hand around your neck and makes quick work of your shorts. You squirm and wriggle and he uses the other hand to drag up your shirt, pinching your nipple before he pants and starts pulling his slacks open.

“You need me, you know that? I’m the only one who knew the real you, the you before your little accident.” Something burning hot presses against your thigh, and you shudder, “Do you understand? Tell me you love me if you understand.”

“N-no, no, please, Epel, I don’t-”

“You don’t what?” He seethes, angling his hips and pressing against your entrance, “You don’t understand or you think you’re gonna be okay on your own out here? Those other motherfuckers, they don’t give a damn about you. I’m giving you a chance to heal your public image, bitch. You’d best take it.”

You don’t get the chance to hysterically decline, as Epel slams into you with a lusty grunt. He stays still for a moment and you hear your voice before you realize you’re speaking.

“-this to me? Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me?” You babble, your tears making your voice thready. Epel flexes the hand around your neck and you stop talking.

“I always thought you was pretty. You know that?” He almost sounds vulnerable, but the wild look in your eyes and the sudden jerk of his hips makes you remember that Epel is not someone to think of in a positive light, in any capacity. Pity counts. 

He moans and lets his arms loose, his entire body still casing you in as he rests his forehead on the plush rug you’re sprawled on, his hips undulating as he snickers meanly, “Always thought your personality was shit, though. Mmm, I like you so much better like this.”

He’s hot, on top of you. His body temperature is making you uncomfortable, and you’re not sure if that’s your sweat or his sweat that’s dampening your skin. His fingers are a shocking cold, however, as they come up to harshly tweak your nipple.

You yelp, coming back to yourself and squirming again. He sits up so he can clamp a hand around your throat again. The lights are all still on, the room is bright and although there’s a shadow clinging to his front, you can see Epel’s features plain as day. His hair is a mess, it must have fallen out of the tie he had it in. The lavender waves spiral over his pretty face like an ornate picture frame. His cheeks are a pink that would maybe be cute if he wasn’t trying to forcefully fuck a baby into you.

Like always, Epel looks like he’s maybe about to cry. His eyebrows are furrowed, his lips clamped unnaturally tight, his eyes glistening. But behind the shine in his eyes, behind the rosy cheeks and the upset expression, there’s an eerie air of disturbia.

He releases your throat for a moment, then clamps it down again, watching your skin ripple with the force of his thrusts, “I don’t want to kill you. I didn’t want to kill you the first time. So you are going to have to do something for me, so I don’t decide to kill you.”

You gasp, choking for air. Epel tilts his head and smiles, looking more worried than conniving.

“You need to stay still. You don’t have to enjoy it. It’s more about my pleasure anyhow.”

You hate him. You thought you disliked him, but as you nod so he’ll stop strangling you, you decide that you hate this man, you loathe every fiber of his being and the very thought of having his child makes you long for death again. This second chance is not worth this.

Epel coos and kisses your tear-streaked cheek, then lets your throat go, bracing his hands around your head. He’s framing your face as he smirks down at you, his hips rutting into yours. His eyes narrow a bit and he reaches down to tilt your hips further up, one of his hands hooking in the crook of your knee, which he presses as far up as he can go. 

And then he bows his head and lets out a whisper of a groan, his hips stuttering to a stop. You shiver and cry, feeling somehow numb despite being overly aware of every single touch on your body. You feel the carpet beneath you, but you don’t. You feel Epel’s weight on you, but you can’t. You can hear yourself crying, you feel Epel’s lips peppering your face, kissing the tears away, but you refuse to live in this moment.

Epel gets off of you and stretches, then starts unbuttoning his shirt and rolls his slacks the rest of the way off, but leaves his socks on. He hums to himself as he walks out into the main area of the apartment, leaving you in a heap and alone in the bedroom.

He returns with a pair of mugs, one of his cold hands rubbing your belly as he smiles down at you and puts the mugs down.

“Don’t tell me you’re all spent, sugar. It hardly ever takes on the first try. We’ve got another few rounds before we can go to bed.”

You can’t respond.

[ingravinoveritas]

I saw someone mention this on Twitter and absolutely felt the need to write a post about it, because...dear god.

This moment is from episode 3 of GO season 2, where Crowley is demonically fibbing to Muriel about humans and how best to ascertain whether they have fallen in love. In this gif, David as Crowley is saying "Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any other questions about love, Inspector Constable" and Michael as Aziraphale is...doing that.

The that in question isn't just shamelessly looking David up and down, or the breathy exhale that follows--both of which would be more than worth talking about as deliciously delightful acting choices on Michael's part. What really caught my attention here is that in this moment, Michael's pupils are noticeably dilated.

"Why is this important?" You may be wondering. Well, it's important for two reasons: 1) That dilated pupils signal a change in emotion, most notably arousal and attraction to someone; and 2) That it is an involuntary response to stimuli:

Actors can do many amazing things. They can convey a myriad of emotions with vocal tone, gestures, and even the tiniest of microexpressions. But one thing you categorically cannot act is unprompted arousal. Michael is a brilliant actor, but there is no possible way for him to have summoned an involuntary biological response on command. In short: This is not Aziraphale reacting to Crowley. This is Michael reacting to David.

The same thing occurs in the aftermath of The Kiss in episode 6, where we again see that Michael's pupils are absolutely enormous:

Obviously, this is a very emotional scene, so it would make sense for Michael to react to it on a deep level. But the fact that his pupils are this big right as he's touching his lips and thinking of David kissing him is too powerful to ignore.

As I have said before, I will never tell anyone that they have to ship Michael and David. I do ship them myself, and have for the last four years now--despite the pushback/occasional hate Anons I have received--because I have noticed so many little things like this over and over again. But what I would say to folks who are anti-RPF or folks who have noticed similar things but are afraid to say so out loud is: Isn't it time to maybe consider acknowledging what Michael has been telling us (both in words and very clearly with his body/expressions) about his feelings for David? To put aside the rationalizing and the qualifying just for a moment to look at what is actually in front of us? There are a lot of terrible things in this world, but someone falling in love with his Scottish best friend--even if said Scotsman is married, even if it is complicated, or messy, or inconvenient--shouldn't be one of them.

Michael has said that so much of what is on screen in GO season 2 is the result of his relationship with David off-screen, and everything that has happened between them since season 1. Nowhere is that more evident than in the two moments above, as well as countless other little moments (even wordless) between Aziraphale and Crowley. I'm just so grateful that Michael and David have shared that love with us, in whatever form it may take...

[fantasticalleigh]

season 3 part one thoughts:

ok ok i did finish B S3 pt. I and it's GOOD and i was really happy with it but now that my pulse has gone back to normal i'm realizing i have a lot of nitpicks/concerns with the storytelling but ngl the carriage scene was fucking BONKERS and my mind will be in the gutter for the rest of the weekend

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!! bc i have a ton of thoughts on season 3 so far and have to get them out:

THOUGHTS:::::

-i could not stop smiling. my face hurts still.

-i don't get people whining about colin and the threesome. when the brothel threesome scene was leaked people were losing their goddamn minds about colin not being a virgin on reddit. y'all. he spent a LONG time traveling solo around europe--did you really expect him not to experiment the entire time? the fixation on this was kinda weird i gotta say. also i really liked that in the second brothel instance it served as growth to show colin was realizing it wasn't those women he wanted to have sex with, but penelope.

it seems every bridgerton lad needs a whoring about subplot in their respective season and colin was obviously going to get one if his elder brothers did, so i wasn't surprised at all. i thought the scenes were hot, personally. overconfident and super flirty col galavanting everywhere suddenly being reduced to a pining, thirsty af insecure boy was so gratifying to watch and those scenes had a hand in showing us that.

-i hate portia's costumes this season. hate. hate. hate. she looks like she was ripped right out of DIsney's Descendants set from the costume rejects pile. woof. she was stunning in s1 but s2 were her best looks and now she looks awful. why???

-i think the mondriches are ok and i like them but their story did not need expanding here. i'm happy for them but that storyline was boring and time taken away from more important characters. i know this sounds harsh but this season was already packed with storylines. across these four episodes there was a severe lack of Lady Danbury. one of my favorite aspects of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton was her friendship/mentorship with Penelope. that instantly made her one of my favorite characters. why not keep that in the show??? i'm so disappointed but with part 2 yet unreleased maybe it will still come?

-speaking of lady danbury, something about the way her brother is presented and how she treats him makes me worry for Violet, that he might disappoint her later. idk it's just a vibe i get.

-Luke's acting is fucking incredible. all the microexpressions and the lingering stares and subtle movements. nicola is a great actor in her own right but fucking hell, every time Luke teared up on screen I was mirroring him.

the carriage scene, when he's on his knees in front of Pen and she cups the side of his head and his eyes do THAT thing and the look he gives her? i rewatched that two second bit on repeat for a minute. amazing. (that's exactly the kind of devotion i picture when I wrote dark Dramione in TEOAL towards the end)

-we get it, benedict is a slut. he fucks. i'm over it. i'm not interested in who he's fucking. i know the consensus is Lady Tilley will somehow tie in to Sophie but i just do not care about Benedict rn. he is pulling focus.

-hyacinth's actress is so stunning! all the actors are obvs but every time i look at her i see Brooke Shields. anyone else?

-i had higher hopes for Lord Debling. genuinely kind of disappointed. he's boring and feels fickle. also the abruptness of him going 'i need a wife to tend to my estate so i can go travel for 3 years so be warned that i can't love you' to 'you have feelings for another man? i'm done-zo.' like what. you just said you can't love her and will never be at home with her but it's a fucking problem that she likes someone else? even though she's is clearly willing to get over it by marrying you??? bro. bro.

-hate what they did with Colin's hair for most of his scenes. why flatten it all out and take out the adorable curls he had in the first episode????????????????? episode one hairstyle was god-tier. everything after that makes him look like he's wearing a bad and stiff wig. still hot tho. also on the hair note: please stop giving eloise bangs. please.

-people on reddit were near to rioting when they learned Kanthony was only in the first ep due to leaks. i was bummed but ultimately don't mind it. did we deserve to see more of them thanks to how badly s2 was handled?? absolutely. but if it's only sex scenes bc they're now trying for babies then i'm good for now. also glad that edwina and mary don't come back bc ngl they pissed me tf off in s2 thanks to how badly they were written. plus like i said, this season has FAR too many subplots to keep them in. the writers really should have trimmed things down. violet meeting Lady D's brother was also not necessary imo.

-i went from loathing cressida to actively sympathizing and rooting for her to snatch up debling in the latter half. well done, writers.

-all the featherington scenes were gold. pru and phillipa are incredible when in scenes together and i'm so glad we got more of that. albion finch is a treasure, too. i really think they should have spent more time on penelope and her mother's relationship bc it's a big part of the book with how portia assigned pen to be her caretaker for when she got old and that being pen's burden/reason to want to bug out and marry rather than stay with her abusive mother, not her sisters' heirs taking charge of the house. they leaned too much into the comedy with the featheringtons and forgot to remind us why penelope is so miserable at home too--the problem stems from her mother, too, not only her sisters. we got two tiny clips of that and that was it. not enough to really establish that. the featheringtons are funny yes but they are not good people (sans Pen). Portia is neglectful and rude and dismissive toward Pen and there is not enough of that so far.

-i haven't read fran's book yet so had no idea what to expect and thought i'd be bored. she is adorable and i'm rooting for her. i like john better than the other guy. but i'm not that invested in her plot. i have no true emotional attachment to her. she needed her own season or to be pushed back to s4.

-still don't like eloise but i'm warming to her. a third season straight of her being condescending to almost everyone outside of her family/friends does nothing to endear her to me. she still blames Whistledown for "ruining" her when she ruined herself by ignoring everyone's warnings and running around town doing socially unacceptable things. she still has a right to be upset with Whistledown/Pen but she needs to take accountability for her own shit. but her understanding and patience with cressida was really surprising and i liked that a lot so far. i can see why people are shipping them now!

-HOW HAVE PENELOPE AND COLIN NOT EVEN DANCED ONCE YET WHAT THE FUCK jk i'm sure we'll obvs get that in part 2 but i'm so accustomed to them having a dance in one of the first few episodes that this truly threw me.

-colin's wet dream. loved it. ngl i was fully expecting a masturbation scene in his bed and not only bc i wrote one into my fic lmao

-i fucking called it from the start that the first kiss would be in the featherington garden based off that screengrab. everything about it screamed romeo+juliet. that was my favorite scene so far it was so beautifully shot and the way he goes for the lightest kiss at first and then hesitates and then GOES BACK FOR MORE???? when he realizes he's super into it???? i collapsed. i fucking squee'd like it was 2003.

-i've been complaining on reddit that the makeup in the promos was fucking awful and way too heavy. it comes across much lighter in the final product/show and i'm so relieved because i was truly worried about that. nicola is a stunning stunning woman and i can't help but admire her every time she is on screen and the awful makeup they put on her for those promos were overtaking her face.

-two major changes i truly appreciate (bc i'm normally very critical about shondaland's writing)

1: the journal scene. i loved that colin had pen hide in his study. i really wanted them to get caught there. i love that the journal fight wasn't as huge as it was in the book because the book made it go on for too long and colin was unreasonably mad about it. i'm so glad it was a minor thing here and that they still showed that colin was really pleased when pen praised his writing and he said he'd consider letting her read more and left it at that.

2: the carriage proposal. my biggest issue with the book bc colin was borderline abusive when he pulled her out of the carriage and made her fall. hated that so i'm glad here he was pleased and still mischievous and held out his hand for her and proposed and wasn't rude and impatient like he was in the book. also the carriage scene was hot as hell and i did not fucking expect colin to fucking finger her right then and there with the goddamned WINDOWS OPEN. tbh i was expecting boob action like in the book but that was a surprising change.

-pacing. too many storylines makes for a too-quickly paced episode. i feel like we were catapulted into everything and my head was spinning. this is a show that, because it insists on such a large fucking cast, would immensely benefit from a 12 or even 20 episode run rather than eight. but we know netflix is a cheap bitch so that will never happen and shows this dense suffer for it.

-music. i do not care about covers. i just don't. it makes no difference to me who is added to the soundtrack or the easter egg hunt of finding which song was used in which scene. the original scores made for the show are beautiful on their own and don't distract like the covers do and that's all i'll say.

-already seeing reviews online from people complaining polin have no chemistry??? idk what show they're watching but it ain't this one. this has been a slow slow buildup and if you can't feel their chemistry then idk what to tell you bc it is there. (and this is gonna be a hot take and unpopular opinion but personally out of all the main couples so far i found daphne and simon's chemistry to feel really forced and kind of cringey so take my opinion as you will but pen and colin have LEAGUES more chemistry as friends to lovers here)

BUT: one could also blame this on the awful pacing of these first four episodes so far. it really would have been nice to have more filler time of col and pen doing the flirting lessons since that was cut too short too soon.

phew--.

i will most definitely have more to say later on but these are my immediate thoughts and i had to get them all down . if you got this far down then bless you and thanks for listening and lmk your thoughts! i'm dying to talk about this.

[my-mt-heart]

Thoughts on The Book of Carol Teaser and Sneak Peek.

Melissa McBride is the highlight of this show. Period. Her performances in both the new teaser and sneak peek establish a clear drive for Carol, which is to find the man who means the world to her. Though I assume the separation will span most of the season, I think Carol's arc will attempt to keep the special bond between her and Daryl alive through conversations with other characters and gimmicks like the crossbow and the bike. I'm all for that. However...

I'm worried lazy writing choices are going to drag her down. For example, I loved the vulnerability in Carol's V.O. where she says "Daryl's the only family I have left," but that line is weird. I believe Daryl is the most important person in her life. I believe he means everything to Carol. I believe she feels very lonely without him. Why not phrase it that way? Why say that Daryl is her "only " family? What happened to everyone at the CW? To Lydia? These are rhetorical questions because I know Zabel can't be bothered to do his homework and yet I'm still floored every time he shows a deep misunderstanding of these characters.

Melissa and Carol aside, the promo and sneak peak are confirming my biggest fear that the story is going to be totally lopsided, like Melissa is doing everything to honor Caryl, which goes hand in hand with honoring Carol's individual arc, but no one else is meeting her halfway. If this is "The Book of Carol," if we're supposed to be excited about a Caryl show, then why is the very first image one of Daryl and a character who isn't Carol? Why is there such a big focus on that family unit (Daryl, Isabelle, and Laurent) and not Caryl? Why does the sneak peek start with an entire Daryl sequence before jumping to Carol? The positioning is all wrong.

It makes me feel really sad for Carol because she's so broken up by the thought of losing Daryl, but there's no indication of how he's feeling about her unless we reexamine his microexpressions in a scene about pigeons. There's delivering angst and then there's being reckless with the characters, causing them and their fans pain without any concern for relieving it. It's so devastating to me that such beautifully-developed characters, characters I relied on for comfort for many years had to fall into the worst hands possible.

I said I needed to wait until the promo circuit kicked off before I could get a sense of what we're in for and now I think it's pretty clear that Daryl's arc will continue to relentlessly shipbait and minimize Carol's importance and that's not what I signed up for. Settling for Caryl crumbs in what's supposed to be a Caryl show is not what I signed up for. Gaslighting and abuse from the misogynists and ageists at AMC and in TWDU are not what I signed up for. I love Carol and I want to support Melissa after the shitstorm she's been through, but I can't turn off my emotional investment in Daryl while I do that. As I've said before, his story resonates with me on a deeply personal level as much as Carol's does. I didn't have any male role models growing up. Daryl was it. And since I can't focus my excitement on one half of my favorite pairing while shutting out my dread for the other, how do I watch this show? How do I invest my time and money in a story EPs and AMC have repeatedly shown me I'm not welcome to? Those aren't rhetorical. I'm really at a loss.

AMC, you couldn't even let us hold onto the "To Find Home is to Find Each Other" tagline? Really, nothing?

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Pee Peerawich Can FUCKING ACT

Alright, I have not been seeing enough praise on my dash for the sheer acting prowess that came out of episode 10. Everyone was great- Copter had the most expressive face I have seen from him the entire show, Suar broke my motherfucking heart, Title was a BEAST with his microexpressions this episode (and could, frankly, use a post all on his own), but it is time to talk about Pee Peerawich Ploynumpol and his acting in this episode. 

The micro and macro-expressions that man was pulling? Exquisite and worthy of praise. 

Car Ride

Tai asks to stay at Patts place that evening, with an immediate implication of #gaysex

Despite the fact that Pee has not moved that much (considering he is literally buckled in to a chair) you can see and feel the excitement radiating off him in this moment. Patts is pumped. Patts is locked and loaded. Patts is ready to commit traffic violations if it gets him to that dick faster. Pee makes that excitement legible to the audience by making his eyes wide, turns that eye shine up, the way he moves his lips, the way he holds his body, the tone he places in his voice. 

gif by @liyazaki

Tai Ride

There are not enough gif-makers watching La Pluie, I need more people to watch La Pluie and know how to make gifs to watch La Pluie so that I can have immediate and easy access to an entire episode’s worth of gifs, because this screenshot does not give enough information here. 

What I want to highlight in particular in this scene is that Patts *swallows hornily* when Tai steps towards him. It’s fun for me to see a bit more of a role-reversal here with Patts and Tai. Title is portraying an aura of utter surety in the way that he carries Tai in this moment, and Pee is carrying the excited, yet nervous and cautious energy that Tai usually brings to their emotional connection. 

Then of course, we get the easy chemistry between Patts and Tai in the bed scene. I’m probably gonna have to do a separate post about the hands in this episode, so I won’t talk about them here. But we always have to appreciate the way that Pee is able to portray desire. 

For the sake of time, I am going to link to my Episode 6 and Episode 7 posts about hands, so you can see how good Pee is at making his hands relaxed and natural in these scenes. (What do I mean by that? I mean, if you compare Pee’s hands here to say, James in Bed Friend, you will notice that oftentimes James’ hands are very stiff, like he’s trying to remember how he’s supposed to hold them). 

If you asked me to pick one moment from this scene that I thought was the best part of Pee’s performance, it’s a quick, easy, no contest answer for me, because Pee absolutely crushed the line delivery of “May I?” He makes his voice so soft and kind, and strained/broken. There’s a gravel to it that he doesn’t usually have. Because of it you can tell how important this moment is for Patts. 

The Calzone Betrayed Me? 

Tai and Lomfon are spotted and a picture of them is sent to Patts, Patts who has been told by Tai that they can’t hang out on Sunday because Tai has work he needs to do. Patts calls Tai to check on him, and it is at this point that I honestly believe that if Tai had told Patts the truth, Patts would have been okay with it. Patts is giving Tai an opportunity not to lie, and Tai chooses to double down. 

And it feels like a slap in the face, and Pee nails this moment, this flash of anger and heartbreak that Patts feels when he hears Tai lie to him. And he’s able to switch it so suddenly to Patts’ acting, not Pee’s, when Patts makes his voice cheerful and says that he misses Tai.

He hangs up the phone, and there is not even a second of time between when that phone call ends to when Patts starts spiraling. Again, there are not enough gifs of this show at all, which makes it hard to show everyone the very impressive acting beats, but Pee has a whollllleeeee internal monologue happening throughout this entire scene. Pee makes it so easy for the audience to read Patts’ mind here just in his physicality, in the way his face drops, in how quickly his eyes move. 

The anger and frustration is starting to build. 

Patts trusts Tai, Patts does not want it to be true that Tai is lying to him, so Patts goes to Tai’s place to check on him. He knocks on the bedroom door, and for a split second there is a smile on his face before he processes that  it’s actually Tien at the door. 

Lomfon Gets a Shiner (aka Fight Scene One): 

This is the point in the story where the explosion start, and it is in these moments that Pee really shines in his performance. Lomfon needs to have consequences forcibly beaten into his skull, Patts needs to grapple with all the frustrations he has had with Tai over the last two years of silence, Patts has been patient, graceful, and nothing but kind, and he deserves to McFreakin’ lose it. We know from Patts final conversation with Nara that Patts can have a temper, we know that he is not abusive (Nara’s interactions with Patts and Patts feelings for Nara would be very different if that were the case), but his temper is a flaw Patts himself is aware of. 

Pee has a very difficult job here, because he has to make sure that Patts is allowed to get violent, get loud, and remain sympathetic. Because Patts is a good person, a kind person, who is reconciling with years of unresolved frustrations around Tai and Tai’s silence on top of waiting for Tai to feel comfortable and secure in his connection with Patts, and Lomfon is coming in here to tell Tai something that has the potential to undo all of the months of progress Patts and Tai have been cultivating.

Anyway, Patts wailing into Lomfon is uncomfortable to witness, I am not satisfied by watching this boy who kept disregarding the feelings of every single person around him for the sake of figuring out his own, finally get a face full of consequence because of how blinded Patts is by his rage. Anway, let’s get into the fight itself. Pee handles this scene expertly, the size and severity of Patts unbridled rage oozes through the screen. He makes this fight scene uncomfortable to watch. Now, I’m a simple bastard, right? Normally, I love when a rude character (like Lomfon) talks shit and gets hit. And as much as I have been saying for weeks Lomfon needs to be beaten up, Patts wailing into Lomfon (still holding back because that man did not have bruises and we know there is enough budget for a makeup department to give him bruises if they wanted to, cause they did so for Patts and Tai on the mountain). Anyway, Patts wailing into Lomfon is uncomfortable to witness, I am not satisfied by watching this boy who kept disregarding the feelings of every single person around him for the sake of figuring out his own, finally get a face full of consequence because of how blinded Patts is by his rage. 

Pee lets himself be ugly, he lets himself be intense, and over the top, and aggressive, he lets Patts feel all of those things. I have seen multiple posts circulating over the last week defending Patts and his anger, and I think part of the need people feel to explain Patts stems from a fear that people will hate this character after this street fight. Because Pee did his fucking job and did it so well that the violence feels real. His anger leaves shrapnel everywhere and you truly truly get the blind rage that Patts is experiencing in the way that Pee does not allow Patts to be detained, in the way that Pee does not let Patts process a single thing around him. 

AITA? (aka Fight Scene Two)

(sorry, this is kind of a self indulgent picture, y'all know I'm a slut for hands)

Now, the verbal sparring match between Patts and Tai immediately following this fight with Lomfon and Tai’s rejection of destiny, is something that has to be handled very precisely by these actors. Too intense and there may not be a clear path to reconciliation, too reserved and Patts’ justifiable anger at everything is undermined, and we don’t want that. Patts’ motivations for beating Lomfon up and our need to still feel sympathy for Patts, us wanting him and Tai to be together at the end does not work if you undermine the logic behind Patts’ behavior. So Pee is toeing a very precarious line here. He has to balance expressing a lot of anger and not making his character irredeemably violent. 

And GOD, I mean, a gif or a video clip is one thing, you can watch the scene play over and over and over again, and you can analyze it that way, but I actually want to just put a couple of screen caps in here because well…

Pee embodies that rage. These screen captures are a split second of time, a brief moment, when I take them I take hundreds of them because I am never certain what I am going to get in a singular moment. But every single frame I have of Pee’s face during this confrontation is just the most open and obvious manifestation and portrayal of anger that I have seen in quite some time. 

EVERY

SINGLE

FRAME

From a body language perspective (surprise, surprise WKA is talking about body language in a TV show again, how original..) Pee has set his jaw. Pee has set his shoulders. This man is tense, he is stiff, he is using so much goddamn energy. He slouches forward when he’s confronting Tai, leaning in, getting closer to him but still maintaining a distance. They are within arms reach of each other, but Patts is not fully up in Tai’s face. Which I think is important for the audience in maintaining the idea that Tai is safe, and that Tai feels safe with Patts, despite his anger. Which I think continues to hold because Tai is pretty even-keeled in his responses and it is obvious that Tai is not in distress or actually scared of Patts when confronted by this side of Patts. 

BUT when Tai responds with “Patts, I can’t understand what you are asking” ohhhhhhh ohhhhhh the way Pee leans back, the way Pee’s shoulders go straight. Like, seriously, look at the second and third image in this set of four (“who do you choose” \\ “Patts, I can’t understand what you are asking”) can you spot the differences in the way Pee holds his body in those two screenshots? Let me know what you see! 

[Oh and hey! Would you look at that! A barrier between them…]

Thai walks away, leaving Patts in the rain and this is the critical moment, because Patts breaks down. Patts screams “FUCK!” and just swings his body around like he is trying to forcibly expel all the anger from his body. 

gif by @liyazaki

And this is where Pee really starts to crush his performance, because he shifts Patts’ rage to fear and heartbreak in an instant. He is balancing Patts’ anger and Patts’ insecurities on a knife’s edge, and he is wielding it with expert precision. 

Fundamentally, (and if anyone as an audience member has not picked up on this theme yet, Patts will state this explicitly at the end of the episode so I am confident in talking about it now) Patts’ biggest hurdle to being with Tai is Tai’s silence. Patts waited for years for Tai to talk. He was patient for years. He has been navigating this relationship with Tai very smoothly. He is understanding of Tai’s hesitations and respectful of Tai’s boundaries. But he knows how easy it is for Tai to slip away, and Patts is OVER waiting for Tai to break the silence. He wants to talk, he may be angry here but he wants to resolve the issue. He is confronting Tai’s behavior, Tai’s lies head on, and he needs to hear assurances from Tai that Tai does not have feelings for Lomfon. Or rather Patts just needs to know what Tai decides, and Tai won’t talk to him about it. 

Patts is terrified of being left alone in all of this. Patts is terrified of losing Tai to another “soulmate” because he knows, or knew, that there was still some part of Tai that believes or wants to believe that that is real, and he knows how easy it may be for Tai to get confused, or Tai to overthink, or Tai to retreat and leave him because Lomfon says they are soulmates. What Patts is grappling with here is two years of reaching out over and over and over again only to be met with silence. Patts lost his relationship with Nara because of his connection to Tai. And Pee needs to be able to show the audience the part of Patts soul that this anger is coming from. 

Because it starts as him being infuriated by Lomfon not respecting Patts. It starts at him being lied to repeatedly by Tai. The anger starts there and the longer and longer the conversation goes and Tai refuses to just FUCKING SAY that he chooses Patts, Patts spirals further and further in to the part of himself that has been breaking from the moment his soul mate decided not to reply. And Pee 

NAILS

THAT

SHIT

gif by @liyazaki

I know I have already used this screenshot but I am placing it here as a visual comparison for where Pee ended with Patts and where he started with Patts in these scenes from the fight with Lomfon until Tai walks away. 

(I am curious what similarities and differences people see between the gif above and the screenshot in terms of Patts' body language)

Correct me if I am wrong @bengiyo but I believe you had mentioned in one of our sidebars that they only had enough money to really run this truck once, so every scene was done in one take. It’s not a single shot, there is time to set up and take things down, cool yourself down or amp yourself up, but if is is indeed true they only had the money to run this once per angle, then we really really need to be appreciating Pee’s performance here, because Patts has been a happy, smiley, calm, and patient person for the entire show. Pee and Patts both deserve the emotional catharsis they are getting from a scene this big and complicated.

An Intervention for the Hopeless Romantic (aka Fight Scene Three): 

Patts gets drunk and goes to continue the conversation he started with Tai in the rain and Tai does not want to entertain that conversation, knowing that Patts is drunk. Suggesting they hold off on that convo is the smartest thing that Tai could have done imo, because he knows there is a high possibility of a bad outcome from the kind of conversation he would have to have with Patts (though I also do think Tai would have had extremely similar responses to Patts’ questions either way but I digress)

Patts has had some time to process what happened in that earlier fight so he is capable of calming down, but he is also drunk which means that Pee has to navigate behaviors and physicality of someone who has calmed down about a sore point, but who has also #releasedhisinhibitions by getting drunk and therefore making it harder for himself to moderate his physical responses to his fluctuating emotional state. 

While I personally do believe that Patts would still be angered by the conversation he is having with Tai even if he was sober, I also think having some time and space to process would have enabled him to manage his responses more and allowed him to make more rational versus reactionary decisions if he was sober. But that isn’t what happens. So Tai is his typical, conflict avoidant, fed off of romance novels-self and is therefore infuriating to have a real conversation with to work through everything that happened that day.  

gif by @liyazaki

(Fun Fact: I am pretty certain that pointing is considered to be extremely rude in Thai culture)

This conflict scene is interesting to me because Title is giving a master’s level of microexpressions to his performance as Tai, and Pee is giving a master’s level of macroexpressions to his performance as Patts. I like the dichotomy of the character’s reactions in this scene. I like how Title and Pee are able to root their character’s personalities so heavily in to how they react to and engage in conflict. Tai runs from it, sure, but similarly to Tien he is able to temper his temper, he is pretty good at remaining, or appearing to remain, calm, cool, and collected, in the face of explosive, loud, and large emotions because Tai has always been a shy, introverted person, who intentionally created silence for himself. Patts is the first one to talk in that soulmate link, Patts was frequently the one who reached out, Patts is older, he’s been in relationships before, he knows how they work, and he understands the realities. So naturally, Pee’s going to play Patts with more obvious, easily readable, and intense emotion. 

A (not-so) fun parallel in this scene is actually the way that Patts swallows in the following gif:

gif by @liyazaki

At the beginning of this post I mentioned that Patts and Tai seemed to almost change personalities, where Tai was confident and certain and Patts was nervous? Yeah, Patts swallowed hard there (more out of nervousness and horniness) in a similar way to how he swallows hard here before he loses his grip and has that little burst of anger. Patts here, is trying to swallow his anger, but he’s drunk and tired of the bullshit so it doesn’t work. (Pee has some great microexpressions in the moment above too, I want to know what people think is running through Patts' mind based on the small face movements you can see)

gif by @liyazaki

Tai puts up a test. “let’s break up” thinking this might give Patts an opportunity to pause and re-evaluate his behavior right now. Tai is offering a test of Patts’ love for Tai. If Patts really loves Tai he would just inherently know what Tai is thinking and feeling all the time without ever needing to ask. If Patts really loves Tai, he would never break up with him even if he was mad. But, in a drunken, heat of the moment bout of anger at Tai’s sheer inability to navigate conflict rather and refusal to answer what Patts thinks (and I think too honestly) is a pretty simple, straightforward question about who Tai chooses and agrees: 

“Alright you said it! Let’s break up” 

(not the best screenshot I've ever taken, but I just needed everyone to see the second time Patts points to Tai.)

Pee does an absolutely phenomenal job of letting Patts process his own words a second too late to stop them. Like????????

Pee lets Patts be angry, loudly angry, physically angry but not dangerously so in these scenes. Tai again is not scared of Patts being here. 

(it is so interesting to me because I feel like ^this photo makes Pee look younger)

The legibility of feelings in Pee’s performance from this episode is truly incredible. You can see the moment Patts realizes what he just said, you can see how quickly Patts cycles through his own stages of grief and regret at what he just said. 

Patts knows he just fucked up. Patts knows exactly how badly he just fucked up. And just as quickly as he is able to fall from the anger to the regret, Pee is able to fall from the regret to the fear. Patts is trying so hard to apologize to Tai, Patts wants to take it back so badly. And my heart is breaking for him. 

gif by @liyazaki

He is begging, he is pleading, he knows what happens if Tai closes that door and he is desperate to stop that from happening. 

And I think it happens a little bit earlier in the scene than what the gif shows but there is this millisecond in that movement of Tai pushing Patts out the door where Pee switches from panic to heartbreak. 

(when I say this change happens in a millisecond, i mean that I literally had to slow the video down as slow as it could go and then just rapidly pressing the spacebar to pause and play and pause and play to creep to it frame by frame for this shot, he switches so fast).

Pee demolished this episode, he left no survivors. 

Wet and Pathetic 

I have said it already but I think it does bear repeating, due to the themes that were explored in Episode 10 Pee, hands down, no contest, has the hardest job in this episode. Because Patts gets violent, because Patts’ anger is explosive, because Patts’ anger this episode leans more toward unrestrained which can make him come off as aggressive. The way the audience engages in the rest of Patts and Tai’s story falls almost entirely on Pee’s performance this episode.

Once again, because his anger, his violence, his rudeness, and lack of restraint have to be legible as stemming from a deep wound that Tai caused. We have to be able to see Patts as someone with an angry streak but not someone who will turn to domestic violence. We have to be able to see Patts as someone worthy of compassion. If Pee had failed to deliver a performance that was not only legible but heartbreaking, then why would anyone hope they will find a way to work through this. If Pee does not manage to make us feel bad for Patts after having us bear witness to a decently brutal beating (decently brutal here defined as I thought Patts would probably deck Lomfon once, Lomfon would stay down and the rest of the angst would unfold as a result. I truly did not expect a full smackdown with Patts in so blind of a rage that he didn’t even register Tai trying to stop him) the story ends here. But he didn’t fail…he flourished I mean, look at him: 

gif by @liyazaki

For the second time today he starts breaking down, first because he so desperately wants Tai to choose him. He desperately wants to be chosen. Second, because he wants to keep Tai in his life, he doesn’t want to lose Tai, and he knows that by agreeing to break-up, with the way Tai approaches conflict and romance, that Patts very well may never see Tai again. I think everyone’s reaction to a heat of the moment agreement to break up will be different, I think there is a world where Patts could have a partner who would recognize Patts didn’t mean it, and would open the door to continue the conversation. But Tai isn’t one of those people. Tai locks Patts out like he locked Patts out in his head for two years. 

Sure Patts decked Lomfon (but #lomfondeservedit), sure he grabbed Tai a little too hard, sure he yelled, sure he wasn’t able to manage his emotions better, but Pee was able to deliver a performance that made the rougher parts of Patts’ character go over easier, and goddamn it if my heart wasn’t absolutely shattered seeing Patts sobbing, clawing desperately at the door to be let in.

gif by @liyazaki

Trying to get this out before Episode 11 airs, I just want to state for the record that I agree with @bengiyo, and @ginnymoonbeam, and @lurkingshan that in the grand scheme of the entire situation Tai is in the wrong here. He lied and then he lied again, and then he refused to communicate, and then he pulled some Nora Roberts logic on a real life relationship, and Tai needs to be the one that apologizes to Patts and the one who tries to re-initiate the relationship. I love Tai to death, Title too did a KILLER performance (but is harder to write about because there are not enough gifs in this fandom for any and all of his microexpressions) I get why Tai conflict style is the way it is, I get where he is coming from, I get where Patts anger is coming from, I get where his pain is. But by lying and then refusing to communicate about it, Tai is in the wrong and Patts deserves an apology for the way Tai treated him, and he deserved to be intentionally, enthusiastically pursued. 

Anyway, Pee Peerawich acted his little heart out in Episode 10 and he deserves more praise than I have seen him get.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk!

[dreanner95]

You know what annoys me the most of the people with their long metas about how Imogen is a terrible person and Imodna is either boring or unhealthy? These metas sound so self-important. Like they cracked the secret interpretation of these characters and relationships. Seriously, they say stuff like how the most development for Imodna was in all the microexpressions Laura and Marisha did (while completly ignoring all the other takes and metas about why their relationship actually is seen as so great) while at the same time they misinterpret all the actions Imogen takes in the most negative light and at the same time lift people like Imogen's father up and try to make him some kind of complex character when all we know is that he was a bad dad. Sure, he was is a terrible situation with Liliana leaving him alone and not knowing how to deal with his daughters powers but his inaction lead to Imogen feeling allinated from a whole village.

I am pretty happy I blocked most of these people already. I mean sure, they can have their own takes on characters and relationships. But the way they talk about it is inconsistent and relies on a lot of misintepretation and ignoring of canon events. They can't just seem to be able to say that something isn't to their taste.

[ilovemylawyer]

hiii, im back <3333

i was just thinking about how doyoung kind of remains mysterious in his rituals, like i for once never seem to fully understand what tf is going on inside in his mind maybe i just didn't put enough effort in understanding his microexpressions, still ive been thinking about him winding down for the day lately and every trivial aspect of him like getting out of bath and using body oil or something, bonus points if it gets anomalous teehee because unlike some allegations of him being greasy i think he takes his hygiene very seriously!! atleast whenever he could. sooooo could you pleaaseee maybe sometime write about him just indulging himself in his unwind routine and getting ready for his next day, it's just very important for my mental health i think...yeahh and it doesn't matter which part of timeline it's set in, possibly somewhere in ep 6? im not being serious here, i never was.

lots of love byeee 💗💗💗

hihihi welcome back dear <33

doyoung is totally mysterious! i think it is absolutely intended by the show to make us, the viewers, not privy to the interworkings of his mind. this makes it easier for us to sympathize with dongsoo (to a point..) and it makes it easier for us as viewers to write doyoung off as a psycho criminal killer and NOT understand him as an inexperienced lovesick fool. i think this is totally intentional so i don't think you Missed anything by not scrubbing every scene <3

re: hygeine. HMMMM... so i am more of a greasetruther. at least up until the silver jacket gets replaced with suits and such. but all of that, the fashion upgrade for dy and his men, i see as a direct result of ds' desires. pre-suited dy and gang, his hair is noticeably like. greasy. it just is. i think if he cared about hygiene/appearance on his own, he'd keep his hair shorter and maybe own more than one pair of pants.

BUT! in ep6, he does change to become Cleaner. so your timing here would be correct. like i said i think this is only because of dongsoo. he realizes just how important status/respect/appearance* is to dongsoo, and decides to make himself more desirable by slicking his hair back and dressing like an adult. but i unfortunately do not think he would ever make this decision if not for dongsoo's high standards.

if i do this i think i can make it ep6, a little pre-funeral prep sesh. here are my problems: this would be totally doyoung centric, doyoung pov doyoung brained solo doyoung alone in his big borrowed house. this is AWESOME in theory, but i THRIVE with dialogue, back and forths and quips and spoken lies and stuff. i do not feel like i have a strong, detailed voice for bathtime relaxation. but also ep6 is a rocky dyds episode, ds is supposedly leaving for good and never coming back, dy knows his (ds') mom is going to be executed, dy has already said his would-be final goodbyes... this is tough.

and this: "im not being serious here, i never was." i think (and i could be wrong, i don't quite know, this is only my best guess) that you're trying to say something like "haha jk... unless?" but i am not entirely sure. but i take everything (EVERYTHING) very very very seriously even in our extremely fast paced irony-poisoned world. my friends call me "serious" all the time. there is no need to be anything but serious w/ me! otherwise i actually get pretty confused (which may be evident rn) but plzzz never feel any kind of shame or embarrassment for any kind of ask to me! FR!

i take this show and my contributions to it like, deathly seriously. that is the only reason i cannot 100% guarantee u that i can pull this off. i have started a doc and jotted down my initial notes/thoughts, so it is there! but this will not be my main focus rn. the longer i think on things the more ideas i get, so this request might just take me some time to mull over/break down/work out. and maybe it'll turn out like super radical gnarly awesome cool. this is something that we will find out together!

MUCH LOVE ALWAYS! thank u forever for ur ask and i promise i will think some more on this and see if i can't figure it out <33

[interstellarspacecadett]

DINNER DATE

WARNING!

Do not read if you're not 18+ years old.

Contains strong language

Allusion to sex and bdsm

Control

Alcohol consumption

That day has come. I'm going to eat at the most exclusive restaurant in Gotham city. What an experience! Everyone is talking about this. At the moment, there's nothing more important than "The Experience." Harvey, my colleague and guy I'm seeing, has invited me to have dinner with him, I think this is the perfect time for him to ask me to be his girlfriend. We have known each other for quite a while now, and he likes me. He doesn't even hide his feelings. As for me, this can be a good way to go on with my life after what happened with Bruce. Still, it feels strange to have a partner who is not the one and only Prince of Gotham. He made his choice, we parted our ways, and I don't think there will ever be another story like the one Bruce and I share. As I get ready, I receive a message from Harvey

>> Looking forward to our date tonight :)

I smile, reading the message out loud.

He called our hanging out "date", this is definitely a step forward. I text him

>> don't be late ;)

He's always late, and has always a good excuse. To be fair, he is the most important figure in all Gotham that frightens criminals without wearing a mask. I admire him so much.

At 8 o'clock, I arrive at the restaurant, and to my surprise Harvey is already there, looking handsome and really elegant.

He greets me, kissing the back of my hand. I smiled shyly.

"Ready for the most exclusive experience of out lives?"

"Ready." I answer holding his arm.

We enter, and one waitress guides us to our table. The place is as magnificent as the tabloids describe it. It's luxurious, combining new and old styles. The music is great and the people there are all from the elite of Gotham. What a breathtaking atmosphere.

We sit and admire the interior, and Harvey still looks at me. I smile with wonder, and my eyes brighten up.

As I was admiring the place, my eyes lock with Bruce's.

God, what is he doing here? I ask myself trying to look away. Jesus Christ! His eyes are like magnets pulling mines towards his. My heart starts beating fast, and the palms of my hands start ge sweaty.

I feel agitated, a fish out of the tank. He's not alone. There's a tall blonde girl by his side, another one of his conquests.

He finally calls for me. I immediately paralyse as my temperature is rising.

"Bruce." I mumble, trying to look indifferent, but my voice sounds weak and frightened.

"How have you been?" He asks me.

"G-good." I say forcing a smile.

"T-this is-" He stops me and puts his hand forward to shake Harvey's.

"Harvey Dent. What an onor." They shake hand vigorously.

"I should be the one honoured. Wow, Bruce Wayne, Prince of Gotham, here." Harvey smiles sincerely. I didn't know he was a fan of Bruce.

"We should talk. We can try to put these two tables together." He says, looking at me.

"I don't think we can. This place is really strict with rules. I don't want to be kicked out." I say, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"You shouldn't worry about that. I own this place." Bruce says this with such a simplicity, like it is common for a man to own the most exclusive place in Gotham.

Bruce, with a gesture of a hand, calls for a waiter.

We soon are all together. Bruce is infront of me, next to his his blond bombshell. Harvey is next to me still processing the fact that he met Bruce.

"See, Mr Dent, I'm a fan of yours. Your work means a lot to Gotham. We need more unmasked people bringing justice to light and not a caped thug roaming the streets at night." He says, sipping his water. He looks at Harvey, studying his face, looking for microexpressions, to see if he's as honest as he wants to appear. I know that look very well.

"Well, Mr Wayne, if I should name someone that inspires me, I would lie if I didn'tsay Batman. He made me think that I could do it. He's a silent presence hidden in the shadows to make sure that Gotham is safe. I would give a million dollars to meet him and congratulate him." Says Harvey smiling.

"I mean, a masked man fighting in tights... that doesn't seem like the type of hero this city needs. This batman dude is not the type of justice we need."

I starte to come back to my senses. Not frightens anymore, not liking the scene Bruce is fabricating.

"Maybe you're scared of batman because you're hiding something." I remark, pouring champagne in my glass.

"Quite the contrary. I'm a public figure. Nothing about me for the public is private anymore.."

He says, sipping more water. He looks through me.

"Batman is doing much more than buying hotels and hanging out with prima ballerinas. You should learn from him and admit that without Batman, this city would have imploded a long time ago." I say irritated. I then proceed to drink all the champagne in my glass.

He seems amused knowing how his presence is driving me crazy.

Harvey and Bruce start talking again, while to hide my real emotions I keep on drinking.

How can he look so handsome?! If only he didn't have that cold manipulative attitude, maybe we would still be together.

The dinner goes on with Harvey and Bruce talking about politics and new laws, while the blonde girl and I look so miserable. Suddenly, Harvey's phone starts ringing. It's one of those calls he can't ignore. He excuses himself and goes talking at the balcony.

All the alcohol I drank makes me tipsy, and little by little, I start to feel very hot.

Bruce keeps looking at me, burning me with his blue eyes.

"You look so beautiful tonight." He says in a low dark tone.

"Not as beautiful as your friend." I say pouring water in my water glass, hoping to sober up.

"You beat her in every category. You're beyond your own understanding, or you wouldn't be saying stupid things like this." He says. I don't look at him. Not anymore. I'm afraid to fall back into one of his traps. It's always like this with Bruce.

Under the table, I feel one of his feet caressing my calve. I try to hide my feet under my chair, but he finds me there with no hesitation.

I smile, finding it cute and nostalgic.

But I'm on a date with Harvey, Bruce has nothing to do with it.

"Bruce, stop." I whisper.

"Is this a date? You and Dent?" He asks me concerned.

"Yes. Why do you care?"

"You're still wearing my ring. That's not a simple ring and you know it."

"What does this have to do with it?." I ask, irritated.

"It does. Since you belong to me and that ring is the undeniable proof that you know that what I'm saying is true." He explains calmly.

Maybe it the alcohol, maybe it's my anger, but I pull off my finger the ring and I give it back to him.

"Here, it's your ring, after all. Keep it. Give it to another girl." I say.

Bruce doesn't seem amused at all. He's frowning, and his fist is firmly closed, turning his hand red.

"We're done." I say grinning, winning once.

He smiles. It confuses me, what the fuck is he smiling for?.

He leans over, and he gestures to me to do the same. I do it, hoping he admits his defeat once for all.

"Baby, come back to me." He says with a sensual tone. I have goosebumps everywhere and I bite my lower lip.

"I miss you, baby. I miss fucking you, raw, on every surface, balls deep inside that tight pussy of yours for hours and hours." Oh, God what a sweet torture! He looks at me straight in the eyes and I can see his eyes burning with desire.

He doesn't touch me, if he would he'd probably burn himself because I'm getting hotter and hotter.

"Tonight, be mine. I wanna give it to you just one more time, baby." I crush my legs. He's so domeering and has this power on me that I can't explain. He's got me on the palm of his hand, and he can do whatever he wants with me.

"Sorry for taking a while. I'm really sorry, but there's a matter I have to deal with." Harvey starts go get ready to leave.

Bruce gets up and he's ready to get rid of him. Maybe he's the mastermind behind all of this.

I hug Harvey, then he shakes Bruce's hand, and leaves. He's gone, disappeared.

The blond girl says something in Russian, and in no time, she's gone as well.

They left me alone with Bruce, and not just any Bruce, but a horny Bruce who wants to devour me.

His eyes are back on me. He's more than amused.

"Where were we?" He asks.

"Would you like something sweet to eat?" Asks the waitress. I get thrown back to reality.

"I'll take this soufflé au chocolat." Says Bruce keeping his eyes on me.

"Honey, is there something appetising that you'd like to eat?" He asks. He's such a pervert. He doesn't refer to any dessert but him.

"N-no, I'm fine." The waitress goes away taking all the plates with her.

"Harvey is not the man for you. You deserve me, a man who can take care of you, who can put the world under your feet. Someone who can make you cum every time you need it."

"I don't deserve you, Bruce. You're not the man for me. You only think about power and dominance, but never about love. Love is all I need. You can't give me that. Not a genuine one, at least." I say, playing with my glass.

"We can try, again. To see how it goes." He look hopeful.

"I don't wanna try. Not with you anymore." I say, feeling all the sadness of my words.

"You sound scared." He affirms putting one finger on his lower lip to caress it.

"I am. I don't want you here. Tonight was just for me and Harvey. He wanted to ask me to be his girlfriend, and you just slided in like a snake to kill a romantic night."

"The night is not over. We can have a romantic date, you and I, here."

"I don't think that's a good idea. We didn't talk for months, you didn't even try to reach me. You closed all your doors, and soon, there wasn't enough space, even for a friendship. There was nothing. And whatever this is, quit it. Stop it." I say, looking at him with begging eyes.

"There wasn't a minute where you weren't in my thoughts. You were the only one in my head. I dream of you almost every night."

"What do I do in your dreams?"

"You tell me you love me, then we have sex, and you end up pregnant with my baby. We're happy, the three of us."

"You always say have sex and never make love. This speaks volumes about how you see me as a person, Bruce. You have sex with someone you hook up with, not someone you love and care for."

"It's a rough session. In bdsm there's no space for lovemaking. And as far as I remember, you like being tight up and spanked. Fucked right until you're a fountain cumming all over my expensive bed sheets."

"Okay, I got it. There's no need to be THIS specific." I say, rolling my eyes.

He laughs. God, I missed his laugh. It's so contagious that I end up smiling.

"I'll make love to you tonight if you let me."

"Bruce, it's better if we don't. We should move on. And I've found the right person to be happy with."

"We can talk about this tomorrow morning over breakfast. I'm sure it'll be a nice conversation I'd love to engage myself in."

The waitress interrupts us, bringing Bruce's order to the table.

"You won't give up, uh?" I ask, taking his plate with the soufflé.

I take a bite of it. It's delicate and delicious.

He passes his tongue on lis lower lip, looking at me eating the dessert.

"No, never. Can I have my soufflé back. I can order a new one for you."

"Order it for yourself. Yours is sooo good."I say, provoking him. I eat sensually moaning at every bite.

"Don't torture me." He says, leaning back on his chair.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just enjoying this delicious soufflé. Do you want a bite?" I say as innocent as possible.

He says yes with his head. We both lean closer to each other, like to magnets. I bring my spoon with on the dessert, and as he was to bite it, I pull my spoon back, eating the soufflé au chocolat.

He smiles.

"Sweetie, you gotta be faster than that. Let's try again." He tries to move fast to eat it, but I'm faster, and soon enough, I'm enjoying another bite.

"One last time." He says. His eyes were shining.

I do the same movement, and he plays his part perfectly, but instead of eating the dessert, he kisses me. Just one small peck to leave me breathless.

God his lips are so good. I missed them.

"This is better." He says pleased.

I smile.

"I want more. All of you."

He's going to be the death of me.

"I have a room. The view from up there is breathtaking. Stay with me tonight."

"I'll give you an answer after finishing MY soufflé." I say, starting to provoke him again by moaning and exaggerating my eating process. He enjoys himself, he's amused, and keeps his blue eyes on me. I put my front zip down to reveal a little bit of skin, well actually a good part of my breast.He moves his eyes, following my hand as I do so. He bites his lower lip, and then he licks it.

"Bruce, what do you think of my dress. Do you like it?" I ask, passing my hands through my hair.

"I adore it." He says, keeping his eyes on my breast.

"Do you like my new haircut?" I ask while bouncing a little bit on the chair.

"I love it." As he was saying so I started to put my slip down

"And what about my perfume?" I extend my folded hand. waiting for him to take my panties and sniff them.

"It's divine." He says after sniffing his fist.

"Do you want a taste?"

"Yes, baby."

I slide my index inside my wet cave, moaning to the pleasure.

I bring it to his mouth and he licks it.

"Fucking good." He says passing his tongue on it once more.

"I just hope your bed is comfortable."

"The best in the world."

"Glad to hear that. You're gonna sleep tight in it, all alone." I say getting up.

Bruce tilts his head, not understanding what I'm doing, but I'm ready to leave.

He gets up, trying to convince me to stay.

"I thought we were playing. We were having fun, why are you leaving?"

"You don't play with people's feelings, Bruce. You did me wrong, and I can't forget that. Harvey will call me sooner or later."

"Can I at least take you home?" He asks. It's a wrong idea. We can not be left alone together, I could give in and lose the power that I have on him.

"I can help you put your panties back on." He proposes smirking with his playboy attitude.

"You can keep them, I have plenty at home, place where I'll drive myself to. Goodbye, Bruce." I say before walking fast to the exit.

These games between us need to stop, I can't keep going on like this. We can't be together, I have Harvey who will take care of me.

As soon as I get in my car, I start to cry. Too many emotions I can't comprehend and accept. Bruce and I share a lot of history. My heart and body hurt, all of me. I start to tremble, feeling trapped between what's right ( moving on with Harvey) and what's wrong (go back to Bruce and try again to work things out).

I clean my face with a tissue, and I drive back home, hoping just to sleep and find peace.

[chowtrolls]

Moving Day

Dia moves into his first apartment!!! :D His favorite rust moirail comes to help! Google Docs

---

Jodiah really, truly, did not have nearly as many belongings as he thought. He pondered on this as he carried another box inside the rather crappy apartment. There was so little to his name. Even the things he kept at his father’s, the things from his old bedroom he was allowed to take with him. Clothing and tools, mostly. 

The box is set on a coffee table- not originally his, but one his well-meaning moirail insisted on giving him. Said well-meaning moirail stumbled his way into the room shortly after Dia, arms shaking as he struggled to carry two boxes on one trip. 

“Dude.” Dia’s mask did little to hide the amusement in his voice, though he made no motion to help Festur as the scrawny rustblood toted the boxes in. He sets them down rather harshly next to Dia’s box, panting with exertion. 

“M-Maybe…You should’ve asked your…other moirail…to move you in.” Fester all but wheezed, doubling over with his hands on his knees. The lime shot him a sympathetic look and patted his back lightly. 

“I’m not ready for Tori to start sugar-lusus-ing me just yet. You good?” 

Festur looked up at his moirail, seemingly unaware of the trickle of ruby ichor dribbling from his nose, mixing with the sweat above his lip. Dia used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe it away. 

“Why the…fuck…are those…so heavy?” 

“I think you grabbed my box of impact and torque bits.” 

“...Your what?” 

“Tools, Fes. You grabbed a box of tools.” 

The rust’s brow furrowed, a microexpression that spoke volumes to those who knew how to read him, “...There’s a toolbox in there?”

Dia sighed, a sound not autotuned by his mask. He reached into his stolen boots for a hidden knife - a gift from his father, naturally - and cut the box open with ease. To his surprise, there were no tools. 

“Oh, it was paper.” 

Festur stood upright, peering over Dia’s shoulders with curiosity and annoyance, “You have a box of paper?” 

Dia resisted the urge to elbow his already wounded moirail in his already busted ribs, “Important papers, dumbass.” He rifled through some, pulling out examples. Letters, wriggling day cards, holiday cards, drawings from his siblings,  awards, certifications, palmhusk pictures printed on printer paper, pages torn from books. 

Festur joined in, taking a small handful of papers to nose through. He didn’t bother questioning why Dia had these. He always knew the lime was sentimental. Hard to be sentimental in space. It was amusing to look at everything Dia had saved. Older cards had fingerprints from where Dia had held them, rereading the messages over and over. Fold where he had tucked drawings into pockets for safekeeping. Handwritten letters from his father and mother, tucked safely in their original envelopes. Setting one card down, he noticed an oddity. 

An unopened letter. New- the stamp was expensive, still shiny, and dated recently. The return address was some random Fleet port, with no name to send to. The envelope was neat, a gentle lilac shade, with a strange floral embossing. Festur turned the unopened document around in his hand, investigating it closely. 

“...Are you saving this?” 

Dia’s ears perked up slightly, then dropped again, “Hm? Oh, no. They were sent to the wrong person. I keep forgetting to return them to sender. Here- see?” He gently turned the document over, pointing to the name in the center. 

In a curly cursive handwriting, written in dark indigo ink, was the address of Her Beloved Annihilation. But right above said address was a name that made Festur’s brow furrow once more. 

Little Cristo. 

“Little is an…interesting name.” 

“And Festur isn’t? Who are you to judge, Mr. Septic?” 

Festur’s frown sank deeper, though not from the insult. A seed of worry had seated itself in his chest. He couldn’t quite place it, nor could he shake it. Some deep paranormal concern that the contents of this beautiful lavender letter were not as lovely as it looked. 

“Is this the only one you got?” 

Jodiah shook his head, unaware of his moirail’s growing concern. He rooted through the box of books and pulled out two….three…..four……..five…………six………………..seven. 

Seven more letters. All unopened, all addressed to Little Cristo. All with different dates. And sent from different Fleet ports. 

Wordlessly, Festur opened one, ignoring Dia’s complaints. He unfolded the crisp letter, holding it above his moirail’s head to read. Dia only tried to grasp it a few times before giving up, and waiting for an explanation. 

As usual, Festur’s face remained unchanged. He raised his brow in a faux amusement before folding the letter back up. With a perfect monotony, he said simply, “You got someone’s love letters.” 

“Are they at least juicy?” 

“No. Bland, boring. Old guy language.” 

“Ew.” 

“Mhm. Here- There’s a drop off by the House of Restoration, I’ll take them for you.” 

With a remarkable amount of casualty, Festur collected the other six letters, tucking them into his waistband for later. Dia had no complaints. They would go on to unpack a few more boxes, then Festur would say good day. He made Jodiah promise to lock the doors on his way out. 

“Paranormal paranoia. Watched a lot of trolls die from not locking their doors.” 

Dia rolled his eyes. 

Festur opened the remaining six letters on his walk hive. He scoured over the meticulously handwritten pages, noting how they were, in fact, not love letters. The language was flowery and poetic but deeply sinister. The author waxed on about meeting The Littlest Cristo (as it turned out, Little Cristo was not their name) only a handful of times, but knowing they belonged to each other. The letters would vary from violent in descriptions, to nearly sickening in how loving they were. Descriptions of ownership, of leashing one like a bad dog. Of painting the walls with their illegal hue, of washing them in violet so they knew their place. 

Either these letters belonged to a truly disturbed couple, or the true recipient was in danger. Festur wasn’t sure which he preferred. He knew one thing for certain- even if he knew the letters weren’t for Jodiah, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something very bad was about to happen.