#i just have.. feelings about doing theatre

[nonranghaes]

sometimes you think you hate jeonghan as much as you adore him. he's careful as he helps you into this costume. the perks of performing shakespeare with a production that's fully leaning into the renaissance costume is that you get to be a little up close and personal with... well, too many people at this point. jeonghan is simply your favorite of the costuming crew because he doesn't make it weird like some of the undergraduate students, who are new to this and get a little flustered over the lack of personal space. they'll get used to it in time.

"have i ever told you that you have pretty eyes?" he says as casual as can be while he's busy lacing your doublet into your joined hose. it's the kind of thing that nearly makes you choke on the little bit of water you're letting yourself have before the show: you'll drink more later since you have a costume change during intermission.

"funny thing to say when you're staring at the back of my doublet," you hum, capping your bottle. "my eyes are up here, i believe."

"can't i flirt with you without your comments?" but jeonghan chuckles anyway. "you do, though. i've been wanting to tell you, but..."

the two of you have held off on anything and everything until tonight: the last show of this production. there's nothing saying you can't date during it, but you didn't want to become this gushy showmance for the undergraduate students to gossip about.

"thank you, by the way." you can feel your face heating up a little. not everyone understands the way you work when it comes to theatre, dedicating everything into your performance and cutting out distractions where you can. even with your banter, you'd told jeonghan that if he wanted to take you out... he'd have to wait until after the show. "not everyone would wait."

he'd merely told you that he wasn't planning on it until then anyway. he knows how you work. other people get intimidated, but not him. he steps around, already working on the laces at the front of your jacket. "i'm just lucky you like me," he says with this cute smile on his face. "i like your passion. it's not waiting if i get to spend time with you like this anyway."

you crook your fingers for him to come closer, and he does. pressing your lips against his cheek, you lower your voice, "pick somewhere nice for us, okay?"

he just chuckles, and sneaks a little kiss against your cheek as well, "i will. break a leg. i'll watch from the wings."

(it's no surprise that you ended up giving the best performance of the entire run that night, as told to you by director seungcheol. you'll just have to kiss the smirk off of jeonghan's face after you strike the stage tomorrow... and maybe a million more times after that, if he'll let you.)

[no1whippedcreamenjoyer]

Do you have any headcanons about the spire gang (shadow milk, Truthless recluse, Candy Apple and Black Sapphire?) for example I have a headcanon that Truthless is actually a huge gossip once you get him going and that candy apple and black sapphire include him in fun minion activities.

So I DEFINITELY do, but they don't start out fun

I'm gonna label these the hurt, and the comfort

Trigger Warning for Candy Apple using 'autistic' as an insult in the comfort (she's autistic)

---- THE HURT -----

I think Black Sapphire and Candy Apple were kind of raised in the spire, that's why they're Shadow Milk's only cookie minions left.

Candy Apple claims that Shadow Milk created her.

And Shadow Milk also refers to Recluse as 'a new child of deceit'

Who are the other children of deceit? Candy Apple and Black Sapphire

I think the reason for Candy Apple and Black Sapphire's collective crashout in BY8 is primarily because;

They blame Pure Vanilla for Shadow Milk's neglectful behavior

AND they're scared he likes these new kids; Gingerbrave, Strawberry, and Wizard Cookie More than Them.

Shadow Milk made rooms for all four of them, Shadow Milk stopped being super cruel to the kids during the card game- Shadow Milk seemed fully intent on keeping the kids around

Even if they don't have a parent/child relationship- they both seemed to feel like they were being replaced.

I think if Truthless Recluse had stayed in the spire, he would have a hard time reaching out to them.

And I also don't even think Shadow Milk realizes that they See Him as a father figure. He's not a terrible father on purpose. I'm certain he /wants/ kids because of how he interracted with the kids prior to throwing them off a building. He's just an idiot who doesn't understand children (because he was never a child) and thinks they have a working relationship.

---- THE COMFORT----

Okay so I have an AU that is either going to be the ending of reluctant truth or a total seperate War Is Over AU/Domestic AU

With Pure Vanilla's help Shadow Milk ends up realizing he DOES have kids, and owning up to his mistakes- like- a lot.

Black Sapphire and Candy Apple move into the Vanilla Kingdom, and Pure Vanilla and Shadow Milk personally paint their rooms. Candy Apple's has a mural of an Apple Tree in it and Black Sapphire's has a mural of bats running a radio show (sort of like the one in texas chainsaw 2)

They both go to school at Pardaedia institute- And Shadow Milk apologizes to Latte to try to get them in

She says if he really wants to make it up to her, they're in need of a new theatre teacher

Cue Shadow Milk teaching actual children and not graduate students for the first time in his entire life

and unexpectedly? Loving the hell out of it

Candy Apple is proud to be the self proclaimed best actress in theatre class (Shadow Milk keeps avoiding giving her leading roles so it doesn't look like he's playing favorites)

Cream Puff Cookie offers to be friends first- and Candy Apple tries to be Mean About it. "I don't NEED friends- what are you autistic?"

"Oh- um- yes- actually?"

"mmmmmmmmmmmmm. That gross old man Pure Vanilla says I am too. Meet me in the auditorium at lunch. You can eat with me. Have you ever tried putting Syrup in your hair? I think you'd look pretty"

Princess Cookie and Knight Cookie spend a semester at the school because Princess is looking to improve her magic

This leads to Candy Apple being forced to apologize. Which makes her HATE Princess Cookie. Which then leads to a 'Well my dad could beat your dad' arguement and then-

'Well ANYONE could beat My Dad, Candy Apple Cookie, But I bet Your Dad Couldn't Beat My Grandpar!'

Shadow Milk is SOMEHOW dragged into a fight against Pitaya Dragon Cookie- And ALSO ITS A PEP RALLY????

Black Sapphire has major angst over Shadow Milk just Now realizing he's their dad, and Refuses to join Theatre. Pure Vanilla encourages him to join the debate club instead because he's always liked public speaking.

Black Sapphire and Walnut cookie are Debate Rivals turned partners- and despite Almond Cookie being the debate coach- Black Sapphire's fairly certain Walnut Deserves to be the debate captain.

Pure Vanilla still picks his kids and his husband up from School and Work- and when Shadow Milk has to stay late for meetings, or to grade assignments, Pure Vanilla takes the kids out to have fun.

Despite hating the idea of going to an amusement park at first, the kids are really delighted when they find out that Cream Unicorn's has a haunted house (It was designed for pumpkin pie cookie). They love forcing Pure Vanilla to go in with them because he still gets scared every time.

I have like 5 billion ideas about this au so feel free to ask more if you like it dhfjvjv

[wakayrd]

Question for your Theater AU!

How do you think an ecounter between canon Sif and you AU Sif would go.

By Acts for clarification.

I feel like Canon Sif MAY have a disaociative episode during later Acts if they were suddenly droped into a theater that confirms his growing detatchment towards his family, but what about you?

This was an interesting ask that immediately had my thoughts racing. I was thinking about where in the timeline was Curtain Call Siffrin when this sort of interaction was happening? And then on top of that how would it be different if it was multiple interactions each act? How would it be better / worse if it was not just Curtain Call Siffrin but the rest of the crew? Curtain Call Siffrin spends a lot of time at the theatre “alone”, once they got his own code into the theatre. Luckily the theatre owner Euphrasie is very kind about wandering souls like that, and doesn’t mind as long as Siffrin isn’t bringing in others from outside the company into the theatre (for insurance reasons) or using any power tools / doing activities that you shouldn’t be alone for. Euphrasie isn’t at the theatre often anyhow, so it’s a lovely quiet place to do whatever. It’d be so funny to have Siffrin show up then, but also just as fun if it was during a rehearsal. In terms of when in my timeline, it’s going to be exactly where I’ve been sitting so… in certain ways, Curtain Call Siffrin is going to seem a bit clueless. But isn’t it nice to be that way? It all makes me go teehee… I’ve written out my thoughts of what I would think would happen depending on the Act if Siffrin showed up at the theatre. Spoilers for the whole game ahead- and 2hats! This is a long post btw but there's art too so I hope it's all worth it? I tried my best to capture what I thought would happen but I am still trying to understand the characters and how they'd react so if you have different ideas about how certain things would happen feel free to let me know!

CC Siffrin = Curtain Call Siffrin Spirit = Spirit Of The Theatre (aka Loop in the theatre)

ACT 1

Siffrin isn’t that perturbed being there other than a typical “why am I here? Why is there another Siffrin here? What is all of this?” I imagine. It’s one of the lightest interactions compared to the other acts. It’s just a nice bonding moment between Siffrins- especially if this is before the crunch of the rock there isn’t much reason for there to be an issue or any worries other than "well I need to go back to fight the king with my friends" but Siffrin likely assumes this is a dream. Assuming that there isn’t hostility when they’re both like “??? hello?” I imagine they would talk about plays that have happened, where they are in their lives and the people that they know- allies, friends, whatever-you-want-to-call-them. A good time. We all know Siffrins need a good time and that’s this.

ACT 2

Siffrin is a bit thrown off by the fact that they’re in a theatre. From my memory Siffrin hasn’t really slipped that much into referring to their timeloops as a stage / theatre in Act 2, so it feels calming to be somewhere that they kinda enjoy- it’s a time to think about “huh, maybe I can see a play eventually after we defeat the king”. Meeting CC Siffrin is quite a shock. They exchange a bit of their stories. Siffrin tells CC Siffrin about the time loops and while CC Siffrin cannot relate, they do kinda offer his support to them. Siffrin asks to hear about the next play they’re putting on. If they see the rest of the crew, I imagine it’s bittersweet. It’s nice to know they’re happy and don’t have to deal with the King in another universe. … If they see Spirit, they call out to them. Spirit is a bit shocked, and obviously isn’t Siffrin’s Loop. They quickly dismiss the new Siffrin and tell them that they’re not who Siffrin thinks they are!

No art for Act 2... I just couldn't come up with anything. SORRY!

ACT 3 + 4

… Teehee. I’m only combining 3 and 4 because my brain is always foggy on where exactly it switches but I am pretty sure it’s after Bonnie… yeah. Still! They’re both pretty similar.

Act 3 and 4 Siffrin is where we start to see the dread and panic. At first, Siffrin thinks that the stage before them is a dream. When they see…. Themselves come onto the stage (because CC Siffrin was working on something backstage when he heard someone out there), reasonably Siffrin felt nauseous. It takes a long while for the air to clear between the two- if the others are there I can imagine it’s worse because Siffrin could have very well walked into a rehearsal. It’s kinda funny, in an awful way- walking into carbon copies of people you love, you love them so so so much- reciting lines knowingly and laughing as they flub up or accidentally go a bit off script. Siffrin hates it.

Either way, Act 3 and 4 Siffrin is not mentally okay enough for all this. It feels good to not be in the presence of the group- if anything, hanging out on the catwalks and pretending they’re a distant observer of this group of people makes it easier but also way way too familiar. Siffrin and CC Siffrin probably talk a bit- I can imagine it’s not easy for Siffrin, so CC Siffrin tries to fill the space with some things. Siffrin often zones out on him. If it’s intentional or not, CC Siffrin doesn’t know. Siffrin interacting with Spirit comes off a bit more desperate. Maybe this version of Loop can help them surely, surely the situation isn’t as impossible as it feels- but Spirit is uncomfortable. They kinda hate that this Siffrin knows that their existence is tied to the idea of time loops in some way! They’re quick to inform Siffrin that they’re not whomever he thinks they are- they cannot help.

ACT 5

Uh oh. Siffrin hates it. Hates every second of it. The only reason they vaguely keep up pleasantries with CC Siffrin is because maybe then they can get back to where they were away from these fakes, if they’re nice. He doesn't even want to think about why they're in this theatre or what happened for him to end up here. It’s so awkward because everything that rolls off of Siffrin’s tongue feels wrong. CC Siffrin quickly realizes that Siffrin really isn’t doing good, but thinks anything that he tries to do won’t help. It's kinda this internal "oh this guy is not okay" for CC Siffrin.

Siffrin just wants to get back. So they can defeat the King and get out of here. They hate the theatre. They HATE it. They want out. They probably dissociate for a majority of the time they’re at the theatre. Get them out of this blinding play! It’s worse if the others are there- there’s a longing there, a want to get to talk to them even if they’re not their family but they feel absolutely vile seeing them in this setting. It’s very much a “don’t look at me ever but also hug me so tight you crush me” I imagine. They need to get back, they're so close to getting out of these time loops! They don’t want to talk to Spirit. Can’t trust them.

ACT 6 

Still the same feeling of apprehension. When they see another version of themselves, it’s a bit of confusion but also the shock of seeing another him throws them back into reality. The two Siffrins talk for a bit about what's going on, which definitely tells Siffrin that the theatre is an OKAY place to be right now, and that everything is fine. He’s still a bit shaky about it, and is trying not to think too hard about it.

Siffrin retelling the story of where they’re from to CC Siffrin would be fun- CC Siffrin just sits there with wide eyes, it does feel like something out of one of the plays they know. Siffrin brings up nothing about the wishes. They exchange little stories, tell Siffrin about how they’ve been helping out with the theatre and that it’s been very nice to get to know everyone. Siffrin finds CC Siffrin a bit endearing, in the way that they clearly enjoy working with everyone and haven’t been tortured by their own wish like they have. It’s honestly fun and really cute to hear about how Odile is a stage manager, Isabeau and Mirabelle act most of the plays and how Bonnie helps out with snacks. If Siffrin does happen to bring up wishes, they get interrupted by someone clearing their (nonexistent) throat- Spirit.

The moment they spot Spirit they’re hit with another wave of confusion- I imagine the Siffrins are sitting on the stage, and Spirit is above on the catwalk. It's this long moment of silence- to break it, CC Siffrin explains that Spirit is the Spirit of the Theatre, and that nobody else knows they’re there. Siffrin and Spirit lock eyes, and Spirit shakes their head slightly at them. No. Don’t talk about it.

Siffrin requests to speak to Spirit alone. CC Siffrin is a bit confused by it, but obliges. Maybe this person means a lot to Siffrin. He goes off- they’re actually going to grab something for the two of them to eat because Siffrin looks like they should eat.

The conversation between Spirit and Siffrin is tense and awkward. I wrote an approximation of what I think would happen here (pardon my writing I haven't written fanfiction in years. I'm still trying to get a grasp on the characters personally... but I am trying my best). Siffrin probably comes clean right away about- “I know who you are, Spirit. At least, I do if you’re the same as the version from my world.” “...” “Do I need to say it?” “... No.” “...Is this er, this version of Siffrin” with a gesture below to the stage “aware of the time loops? They certainly don’t act like he is.”

“They haven’t started yet.”

“.... oh. How long, until…?”

“I have 10 more months to figure out how to stop him from ever suggesting that play, making that blinding wish and hurting everyone.”

“Stars…Well, we have some time to think about it. Maybe I was sent here to… help?” They spend a bit talking about Siffrin’s experience and how his wish was what caused this time loop to happen, and how they got out of the loops by talking to their friends- their family. Spirit can’t hide the anger they have. Clearly, this was a solution they never thought of.

Siffrin is a bit understanding. They explain what Loop was to them, and how he was saved by them and their help. That they can’t release the burden that Spirit is under and can’t relieve the pain they’ll go through, but they understand vaguely what Spirit may be feeling now that they know the truth about their Loop.

Siffrin does wonder why Spirit doesn't want to tell CC Siffrin about wishes at all, but if Spirit is trying to prevent him from making a wish in the first place, perhaps telling them about it isn't a good idea. “Thank you for being here, Spirit.”

“Well I don’t believe I can actually leave the theatre, so the thanks is mute-”

“Still, you may not hear it properly from your Siffrin, but I see what you’re doing and I want to say thank you.”

"I haven't done anything yet." "But you will, so thank you."

“...”

“...”

“...You know, my understudy believes I’m actually a spirit. They think I have no physical form at all. It’s kind of amusing.” “But then how do you keep the hat on?” “I guess he hasn’t thought that far.” They laugh about it. Some tension has been relieved. They talk a bit more about how the loops happen in the theatre (Spoilers! teehee.) Honestly it’s the most seen and real Spirit has ever felt. There doesn’t need to be a justification or explanation for their existence, and they’re with someone who understands as much as they need to without having to do the icky vulnerable part of it all. They're ignoring the jealousy for now that's rooted in them over the sheer bliss of being seen. Teehee. ACT 6 Siffrin is the most cathartic of them all to me. Plus, Spirit deserves it! I also tried using a new pen for the art and while i miss my bold lines, i think I really like this one more... I may experiment more with it all :)

[squishyhotaru]

HEAVY IN YOUR ARMS

— ♡ Jude Jazza/Female bodied Reader — ♡ ANGST AND FLUFF — ♡TW: Reader is "kidnapped" and almost killed and used against Jude, but has happy ending — ♡Pronouns: You, Princess, Woman — ♡Words: 2571 — ♡Ao3 Mirror — ♡MASTERLIST | REQUESTS Repost from my old blog

⤷ During a rare occasion Jude takes you out for a date, you find yourself in the hands of those who have it out for him and they decide to use you against him, without realising just how far he will go to protect you.

— ♡ Tag list: @nightghoul381

How long had it been since you’d first met Jude Jazza?

Your one month long stay in Crown Castle had come and gone many moons ago, and yet here you were, still at his side, hand in his as this had always been your life. Despite spending so much time with him, it could still be hard to understand him. For instance, he liked to keep your relationship private since he was worried people targeting him would come after you. You always tried to belay his fears, but he wasn’t wrong; you were defenceless compared to the others, and it was a rare day when he wasn’t hurt by some asshole who wanted him dead.

It was for that reason that you almost never went out in public together. Dates were had in the comfort of walls where no one would know you — and while you were glad to just spend any time with him, really, to be truthful, all you wanted to do was shout to the world about him. About you both. About how much you loved him, about how he was working on being kinder, only to you, and how his kindness was tender and so sincere that each time you fell in love with him more and more.

Perhaps he knew this, and that was why he’d asked you out on an actual date.

You’d assured him that it was okay, but he’d simply clicked his tongue and insisted that if he wanted to take his princess out for dinner, then he would absolutely do that. The possessiveness in his tone silenced all objections, and the gleam in his eyes that was familiar; the one he’d had when he’d promised you nothing would hurt you, nothing would take you from him.

The restaurant was entirely empty when you entered, and you had to bite back a laugh when you noticed the waiter was Ellis. Jude, however, snickered when he saw it. “Don’t get too into the role, I expect ya back at work tomorrow.”

“Did you book the entire place…?”

Jude shrugged as if it was nothing and sat down, motioning to the chair opposite. “Jude, you should pull her chair out-”

“If she wanted a fuckin’ gentleman then she should have dated someone else.”

This time, you laugh and shake your head, taking the seat. “I don’t know, I think you can be a gentleman at times.”

Jude sighed and shook his head. “Obviously you’ve spent too much time around us that yer perceptions getting fucked,” he said with a slight huff. “Order whatever, I paid the kitchen staff to make whatever yer want.”

“Wait, you-”

“Just order!”

Was it you, or was there a faint hint of pink on his cheek? You bit your lip before smiling and busying yourself with the menu. Of course it wouldn’t be a normal date; Jude thought kindness had to come with things only he could do, royal boxes for theatre performances, entire floors of hotels, and now apparently, entire restaurants and their cooks. It was mostly his way of being careful. It only took one person to recognise him, to describe you, and it only took them following you to find you alone, and, then-

Under the table you can feel his foot rub against yours and you glance up to find him watching you. His eyes are warm, an expression only ever you get to see, and your heart jumps. “What’s that expression, Princess?” he smirks. “Wantin’ desert first?”

“You are impossible, Jude Jazza,” you sigh softly, yet smile at him anyway. God you love him. So much that it feels as if each day that passes at his side you become more and more dyed in his colours. The darkness of his life has become so common that you doubt you know what it feels like to live in the light anymore, and yet-

As the food arrives it smells perfect. Ellis pours wine and then vanishes to give you both space. “Thank you, Jude,” you murmur, staring at him. “You always really do make me feel like a princess.”

He snorts, eyes dropping from yours. He does that when he’s bashful, something also only you ever get to see. “No woman of mine is gonna get treated like a pauper.”

“Jude, you know I’d be happy with you no matter what, right?”

“That’s cause yer happy to settle.”

“No, it’s because I love you.”

His amethyst eyes rise again to meet yours as you lift your spoon to your mouth. There’s no hint of coldness, only warmth that you could get lost in — and in that dark room, the room that’s getting darker, your head spinning —

“Princess…?”

You reach for him as he stands up but his warmth as he holds you is the last thing you feel.

Who knows how much time passes since then?

The sun had been setting when you’d left Crown Castle, and now, as a hard slap to your face rouses you from your slumber, there’s nothing but darkness and a bitter chill that bites at your exposed skin. There’s too much to take notice of as you look around, too many feelings, the cold is the most obvious at first — until your hair is grabbed and your neck exposed and something far colder than the night air presses against your throat.

You swallow.

Your hands are bound behind your back, your ankles tied, too making it near impossible to move. There’s water nearby, you can hear it but that’s all you can make out over the fear. What’s happening?

“I’ll fuckin’ kill ya if you lay a single hand on her.”

Jude.

You breathe and close your eyes, trying to steady and calm yourself. Jude is here. Jude will save you. He always does. You move your eyes to find him across from you, his jacket is gone and his white shirt is stained with red as he kneels amongst figures whose faces you can’t make out. His face is bloody too—

“Jude-” you croak out, fear gripping your stomach at the sight of him.

Is he getting hurt because of you?

“Shut up, bitch.”

A dangerous growl escapes Jude’s throat and you meet his eyes. The warmth is gone, there is only coldness, and a regret there that you know is going to torment him for the rest of his life. Doesn’t he know this is your fault? Here you were, dragging him down, no doubt if he didn’t have to worry about your life and safety, he could get out of this.

“Strange, I didn’t think the rumours were true that Jude Jazza had a fondness for such a meek woman,” the man holding you says.

“Get off of me,” you grumble, trying to fight his grip. His hand holding your hair relents, before it trails along your face to grip your chin and lift your head to face him. You don’t recognise him, you’re positive you’ve never seen him before in your life — but there’s a cruelness in his eyes that sparks genuine fear inside of you. “Don’t touch me.”

“If you fight back, we’ll rough your boyfriend up more.”

“Tch, I’ll really fuckin’ kill ya. Princess, think about yer safet-”

He breaks off when one of the others kicks or punches him or something — you can only hear his groans of pain. Your eyes sting and you furiously blink your tears back to glare at the man holding you. “He truly does value you more than his own life.”

“I value him more than mine, too,” you say back, though your voice isn’t as strong as you’d hoped and he laughs in response.

“Well, either way, I’m afraid it’s his fault you’re in this situation.”

“No, it isn’t,” you gulp, trying to ignore the knife digging against you more. Where is Ellis? Has he gone to get help? Can you stall long enough that both of you can get out of this? “If I wasn’t here you’d never get him.”

“You’re sure right about that, princess,” the man chuckles, the nickname feeling almost slimy as it falls from his lips. “Mr. Jazza.”

Jude grunts.

“This woman is entirely wasted on you, perhaps we could show her-”

“Go to hell, ya fuckin’ punk.”

The malice in Jude’s reply only calms you, especially when you feel the man tense up. Maybe they have him at a disadvantage, but they’re scared of him still; perhaps it’ll be enough to keep them from touching you. You silently beg for Ellis to hurry up as you’re hauled to your feet, stumbling without the free movement of your feet.

“Just hurry up and tell me how much money ya fuckin’ want!”

“Money?”

Everything seems to go silent, before a chuckle escapes the man behind you. “Oh no, no no, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood. I don’t want money, Jude Jazza, I want you to be broken inside.”

A strange feeling overcomes you as you’re tugged along, it’s as if everything is in slow motion. You turn to look at him, his eyes wide and almost frantic and you want nothing more than to rush to him, than to take him into your arms and tell him he’s okay, that you’re okay, but…. The feeling of foreboding only gets worse when you hear a clanking sound, when you feel something cold and heavy attached to your feet and then-

Jude jumps to his feet though is quickly restrained by the guys around him. “Jude-”

You don’t hear his reply as he opens his mouth. Your legs are jerked and pulled out from under you, and as icy water consumes you, suddenly you understand. Strange, you feel as if you should feel more concerned for your life — there’s no way you’re getting out of this alone, after all, and yet all you can think about is him.

Will he be okay? Will the others arrive and help him in time? He’s gonna spend his life blaming himself for this, and you don’t want that — it’s not his fault, it really isn’t — urgency wells up in you, the need to get to the surface to fill your lungs with the air they’re begging to miss more and more, and yet no matter of moving can do anything to free yourself. The light above the water seems almost beautiful in a way.

The longer you spend without air the more delirious you feel. Seconds feel like hours, but you so desperately don’t want to close your eyes — you can’t let… Jude get hurt, and yet there’s nothing you can do, and….!

When hands grip yours, when you find your arms free, you’re certain it’s nothing more than your imagination. That, perhaps, you’re so far gone to the other side that this is how it’s supposed to feel. Free. Then, when your legs are freed next you’re positive this is it. The weightlessness is from your life leaving you, the hands on you, the rough grip you know so well is just your brain comforting you —

The air that fills your lungs burns.

Burns so much that there’s no way this is imagination.

“Fuck it, Princess, breathe-”

Hands on your face, on your neck — another voice, deep, one you should recognise. It’s cold again.

“Jude…?”

It must be hell, there’s no angel in heaven who could have his voice or his touch.

“Open yer eyes, please.”

It can’t be real, after all his voice is too frantic with worry. There’s no composure anymore, that’s not like him.

Lips against yours, wet — and then you open your eyes, recognising the smoky and bitter taste of your lover. His hair is sopping wet, his shirt sticking to him and covered in blood and you’re clinging to him — both of you cold, shivering, and yet-

“You fuckin’ scared… the hell out of me…” he breathes, smoothing your hair back and frantically checking you over. “Don’t ever fuckin’ do that to me again, you can’t go anywhere-”

“It’s… not your fault, it wasn’t-” you croak out, voice sore, throat burning. You’re crying, you’re not sure when that started, perhaps when you felt his firm chest under your body when he crushed you against him as if to say you were never, ever leaving his side for the rest of the eternity you’d pledged to him. “I’m okay.”

“It is-”

“It isn’t,” you say firmly, gripping his shirt and shaking your head. “It isn’t. I’m okay… you’re hurt-”

“He’s fine.”

You recognise the other voice as Rogers, and the soapy scent that fills the air as something warm drapes over you. Jude’s jacket; the scent and warmth is welcome. “I’m sorry,” Ellis murmurs. “I didn’t take my eyes off them.”

“What happened…?”

Jude simply shakes his head, standing up with a grunt of pain and lifting you in his arms. He’s stubborn, you know he won’t accept if you protest, so instead you accept his silent kindness and nuzzle yourself closer to him. Now you wrap your arms around him, intent to hold him as close to you as you can. “I’m okay, Jude,” you whisper into his ear. “You’re safe, too.”

“You think I give half a damn about me?” he mutters back.

“But I do,” you respond, pressing your face against his neck, that spot you always fit so perfectly. “I’m… I’m so glad you’re okay, Jude.”

“You’re perception really is fucked.”

“Just tell me you’re glad to be alive, Jude.”

He remains silent, lips pursed and eyes narrowed as he walks. There’s a carriage up ahead, according to Ellis. Once you get back Roger will look over you both, and then — a warm bath, Jude says, and then you’re not leaving his side for days. Weeks.

“No, you’re wrong.”

“What?” he snorts, stopping walking to look down at you. “You think you can escape me?”

“No, that’s not-” you sigh. “I just meant it’s going to be me keeping you at my side.”

“I think she’s got you there, Jude-”

“Shut up, Ellis,” he mutters, hauling you into the carriage in his lap. The moment Ellis tries to pull himself in, he pushes him back out. “Fuckin’ walk home.”

“Jude, it’s cold,” he pouts.

“Shut up.”

“Jude,” you whisper, curling yourself closer to him. “You really are alive.”

“Of course I am,” he says indignantly, finally letting Ellis and Roger inside. “If you’re alive so am I. I ain’t ever gonna let some other bastard stay at your side, after all. Your arms are the only ones I belong in.”

At first, you’re not sure you hear the last few words, but when he places a few soft kisses to the tips of your fingers you’re positive you didn’t mishear him.

[rainsofcamelot]

christians on instagram are getting mad (as usual) because cynthia erivo was cast as jesus in a hollywood bowl's production of jesus christ superstar...

1. she will objectively be INCREDIBLE. that woman is tremendously talented, it doesn't matter what your opinion on the matter is, you can't deny that

2. why do people take this as a mockery?? why do people get SO offended by jesus being portrayed by a woman?? i've literally seen people say "he can't be a woman" but..... WHY can't he?? why is it so bad for a savior, who embodies all that's good and is a symbol of hope, to be a woman?

3. ESPECIALLY in this sort of work; jesus christ superstar is about HIPPIE JESUS SINGING ROCK- have those people ever seen the 70s movie??? i feel it's pretty, as they like to say now, woke. why are they surprised by this lmao

4. also they're getting mad at a hollywood bowl production when they're just a few performances 😭😭 it's not even like they're making a broadway production (which, if it was the case, they shouldn't be mad about either, especially because it's, again, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) or a biographical hollywood movie about jesus (which there's been a lot of and with white men cast as jesus, and i've heard no complaints about that....). and then they call other people snowflakes...

5. and obviously racism and homophobia also play a BIG part in here- people can't possibly conceive a black queer woman playing jesus. that's why they feel it's a mockery, because it's everything they hate. they preach so much about loving and accepting jesus but hate everything that's different to them. it's SICKENING. i even saw a person saying jcs was woke and bad!1!1! because it shows jesus defending the poor..... like..... what.

6. and of course, this is reaching non-theater people who have no idea about how common this kind of thing is- like when they got mad francesca amewudah-rivers was cast as juliet as if there hadn't been black juliets before and as if race played a big part in theatre casting, when, luckily, IT'S NOT THE CASE!! like, LOOK AT THE NOTEBOOK'S CASTING!!

7. lastly, they're playing the victim as if they were persecuted and hated by everyone.... white christian people. the jokes write themselves.

[calamitys-child]

Kinky boots is playing in town rn and every time I walk by the theatre I remember the time I saw it in London... oh, fuck, almost 10 years ago now? Me and my mate (both late teens at the time) got proper dirt cheap £10 a head last minute arses on seats tickets kind of on a whim, and while the two of us were looking through the programme pre show this woman maybe in her early-mid 20s sat near us on her own, after a bit asked if she could have a look through our programme bc she'd not been able to get one, we get to chatting, all very friendly, she ends up coming to sit next to us bc there were spare seats and it was a marginally better view. And the whole pre show she's going on about how she loves this musical and oh we're going to adore it and it's so special to her. And then at interval i turn to my pal and say man, once I've transitioned to a point I can confidently and freely feel up to it, I think I'd love to try doing drag. And IMMEDIATELY this woman goes EUGH and scooches like 8 seats away from us and doesn't talk to either of us again. And it's like... I think about her sometimes. What sort of a life do you live. Imagine loving not just musical theatre generally but specifically a musical about queerness and about drag and still having that visceral a disgust response to finding a queer person in the audience with an interest in drag. Like genuinely goes in the ocean complains that it's wet yknow

[yesimwriting]

How do you think Lestat and bestie!reader would get along exactly? Like, how Lestat views her and their dynamic 😪

I'm so glad you asked this omg. I have a few Lestat drabbles/asks in the drafts that explore their dynamic, but they're not ready yet, so here's some character analysis.

- - - -

Lestat initially hates bestie reader with the intensity that Armand wants to hate her with.

In Lestat's defense, let's look at the Louis and bestie reader situation from his perspective. He openly gives Louis his space for 77 years, and then when he reunites with Louis, the person he's most infatuated with isn't the man Louis has built a life with for nearly 8 decades, it's a random mortal girl. And then Lestat has to read a book all about Louis in which Louis discusses that girl and him for more or less the same amount of pages (Daniel was fs messy about the chapter distributions).

Also, Lestat has to read about Louis, who has been grappling with the implications of the dark gift since the very beginning, discuss how excited this random mortal girl made him about his existence.

I believe that the murder attempt straightened Lestat out in some ways. The fact that Louis and Armand came to him to basically rub their relationship in his face and Lestat was just like 'cool' shows a level of restraint that pre-lobotomy Lestat would have never been capable of. So, I don't think he's as jealous or as villainous to bestie reader as he would have been in the early 1900's. So, instead of trying to kill her, he's just very snarky about things.

Now, in bestie's head, Lestat is a villain. Louis couldn't tell reader much about Armand's actions for her own safety, so he just told her about every bad thing Lestat has ever done. Also, the fact that Armand is no longer going to be around has put bestie in an unreceptive mood (for obvious reasons), so she really doesn't want to understand Lestat. She doesn't want to like him.

She's also feeling a little insecure, because the second Louis leaves Armand starts telling her about all of the people Louis has let himself lose for Lestat. (Armand definitely brings up all the ways in which Louis let Claudia down in order to stay with Lestat.) So, for the first time ever, bestie doesn't feel like a priority in Louis's life.

When they do finally meet, there's something about bestie reader's anger and general disposition that reminds Lestat of Louis. He only sees it for a second, but it's enough for him to almost get the point of her.

However, when bestie immediately clocks him and hits him with a completely snarky and accurate read, Lestat is like 'no, I won't be doing this <3'. When Louis lets Lestat know that he will, in fact, be doing 'this' because she's not going anywhere, he dislikes her even more.

To her face, Lestat swears he doesn't need her approval, but also...his life would be so much easier if he had it. So, when Louis asks him to try to get along with her, Lestat is going full Lestat charm offensive. Not even in a romantic or sexual way, he's just being the fun, likable version of himself as a way of 'tricking' bestie reader into liking him.

And, because it's hard to not like Lestat when he's in likable mode, he does start to crack the ice a little. I can see them discussing certain theatre productions and pop culture. They'd also bond over teasing Louis about not wanting to go out to clubs/parties with them...but most of the time, they end their discussions with a flat reminder that they're not friends. (don't tell armand about this, he'll wait for the UV to hit 11 and then go outside)

It's important to note that bestie reader mainly starts giving Lestat a genuine chance because of how badly Louis wants her to. I believe that since early on in their friendship, Louis has secretly been dreaming of Lestat and bestie reader meeting.

I also think that in some ways Lestat and bestie reader are similar, which complicates them further. Lestat looks at her and sees the positive impacts he might have been able to have on Louis if he had been a little different. Also, I think something about her presence would remind Lestat of Claudia, which uneases him further. Bestie reader sees the true extent of what Louis is willing to forgive when he loves someone, and I think that makes her more wary of how she treats Louis.

In short, they're basically 'Girl, so confusing (ft. Lorde)'. Let's hope they work it out on the remix.

[paintedcrows]

Assorted Gravity Falls doodles!

[sunsetsandsunshine]

~ 𝚈'𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠…𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛. ~

💙👻🩵👻💙👻🩵

(𝙰𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚝 𝙶𝚋𝚘𝚢𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾 𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝𝙰𝚛𝚝)

̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙻𝙴𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝙳𝙰𝚈 𝟷𝟸: 𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*＊·̩̩̥͙

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙷𝚞𝚛𝚝/𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 (𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝙸 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎 💗)

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜: 𝟸,𝟼𝟷𝟾

𝙻𝚎𝚎: 𝙻𝚎𝚘 🐢🩵

𝙻𝚎𝚛: 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗 🐢💙

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕…𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔. 𝙰𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 (𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚎’𝚜) 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎, 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝙻𝚎𝚘 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚜 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚘…𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔.

(𝙰/𝙽: 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚞𝚢! 𝚃*𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚔/𝙽𝚂𝙵𝚆 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚜 𝙳𝙽𝙸!!!)

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚃𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜! 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚔 ☺️🫶🏾!!

𝙸.𝙸. (𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃 𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾): 𝚁𝚒𝚜𝚎 = 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗, 𝙼𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚑𝚎𝚖 = 𝙻𝚎𝚘!!!

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢😙🩷🙌🏾˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

“Yeesh…you have a deeper Raph chasm than Raph himself…” The red eared slider lightly joked as he caught a glimpse of his smaller counterpart. 

The younger counterpart in question didn’t even seem…remotely phased by the remark, looking over the city of NYC like it was going to be his last time doing so. 

But the smaller turtle felt like he was being slightly watched…(which, he in fact was) he then looked up and locked eyes with his older counterpart. “…Huh? W-Were you talking to me?”

“Nope. I was just talking to my imaginary friend Mr. Snoozle— of course I was talking to you.” Leon said sarcastically, raising an eye ridge at the other teen. 

Leo blushed slightly at the elder’s sarcasm, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “Sorry…I-I was spacing out…I do that a lot.”

“Yeah…no kidding. I’ve been talking to you for the past ten minutes and all I’ve gotten from you were six 'mhm’s', three 'yup’s' and seven 'dang that’s crazy's'.” The older one snorted, “If I didn’t know any better, it seems like you don’t wanna talk to me.”

“No! I-It’s not that!” The smaller turtle immediately protested, fiddling nervously with his fingers as he gazed at the streets of NYC once more. 

Which…was really the only thing he could do right at this moment. 

Besides…the city always looked so…pretty in the evenings. 

Well, if there wasn’t crime happening…

…Which was, like, a good 40-50% of the time but still.

“So…what is it, then? Why did you take me to a random rooftop in the smack middle of NY? 'Cuz, no offense…but I was having a nice first place winning streak in Fashion Famous before all of this.” The taller turtle said.

The honey brown teen raised a doubtful brow, “…You play Fashion Famous?”

“Psh…who doesn’t?” Leon scoffed, “But that’s a question worth discussing for another day…” He said as he leaned his shell against the rooftop guardrail as he looked up at the afternoon soon to turn to evening sky, “So tell me..what’s going on, dude?”

“…I…I needed to talk to you…” Leo mumbled. 

“I…can see that.” The elder giggled, “But, what did you wanna talk about?”

The younger fiddled with his fingers nervously again, picking at his thumb’s hang nail slightly as he avoided the other’s gaze entirely now, “…How…H-How do I become a good leader…?” 

Leon blinked in confusion, darting his eyes around the rooftop looking for someone else before letting out a humorless laugh, “Uhuh…whahahat?”

“I-I said…how do I become a good leader…?” Leo repeated, a bit quieter this time.

“…You’re asking me that?” The slider asked incrediously.

“Yes…!” Leo emphasized, getting off of the rail to look at the taller turtle, “How do I—”

“U-Uh…this is…flattering and all, b-but I reheally think you should talk to my Raph about…that.” The red eared slider interrupted, rubbing his arm anxiously and tensing up a bit as the other mutant looked at him with confusion and distraught.

“What? Why!?” Leo asked, getting up from the ledge to look fully at his older counterpart.

“Well, I’m not the oldest turtle in the family like you. I’m the second youngest. Raphalla has more experience, more wisdom and aaaaall that good stuff.” The lime green eyed turtle said as he grimaced awkwardly, picking at a hangnail as well.

Great minds think alike, I suppose…

The honey brown eyed mutant blinked, “I…so? Your still the leader of your team—“

“Welp…this conversation has been fun but I gotta go—”

“But—”

“I have a toooooon of stuff to do now that I think about it…”

“B-But I—”

“And besides, I’m sure your leadership skills aren’t as bad as you think they are—”

“PLEASE!!” The younger shouted as the older tried to leave, making the other flinch slightly at the sudden and random yell, “…Please. J-Just a small piece of advice! A-A hint…! Anything!” 

The taller mutant sighed inwardly, turning around as he crossed his arms— not in a malicious way…but it was really the only form of body langauge he could do at the moment other than picking more at his skin…

…Which, he promised Donnie he would try to stop doing…

“…Why do you want my input so bad…?” The lime green eyed teen asked, mentally cringing at how weak and fragile he sounded.

“I…I don’t know.” The younger mumbled quietly as he sat down against the ledge on the building, hugging his knees to his chest, “I just…figured you would know some stuff…”

“Some…stuff?” The other pressed.

Leo rolled his eyes, “You know what I’m taking about; being a good leader and all that shit!” 

“Pfft— HAH! Trust me, dude…I’m just as lost as you are with this whole 'being a good leader' thing.” Leon chuckled, sitting down next to his counterpart.

“…What are you talking about?” 

“I just became a leader, like…two-ish weeks ago? I dunno…the past weeks have been a complete blur.” The red eared slider explained, holding in an amused snort as he saw how genuinely shocked the other turtle was by his new lore drop. 

“My Raph was originally the leader of the team but after my family defeated the Shredder…my Dad was just all like: 'Blue, you’re the new leader now' and the rest was history…” 

“…Just like that?” The honey brown eyed teenager asked in pure surprise. 

“Just like that.” Leon confirmed. 

“Well, fuck me, then…” The smaller teen grumbled in defeat, burying his face in his knees as the other let out the amused snort he’s been holding in, “I’m good, thanks.” 

“You know that’s not what I meant.” The younger grumbled at the older’s immaturity. 

…He needs to make a mental note to himself to never let his own Mikey and Leon be in the same room with one another…

“I personally think you have nothing to worry about, though. You seem like you’re doing a pretty good job—” Leon tried to say. 

“But I’m not!” Leo exclaimed as he interrupted the older, mentally punching himself for making a loud outburst again, “I-I’m…not…”

“My brother’s don’t listen to me.” The smaller teen explained, his voice either demonstrating frustration or self-depreciation…

…Leon couldn’t tell.

“They always assume I want to be bossy or I want to be controlling but in reality I just wanna protect them!” The honey brown eyed turtle seethed, “I-I just want to be there for them a-and help!!! I knowthat we’re all the same age and I guess it seems like I’m babying them but I kinda have to because they aren’t responsible! They wouldn’t know responsibility if it walked up to them and punched them straight in the face!!”

The lime green eyed mutant rubbed his arm, tapping his fingers on his knees to try and calm himself down; getting overwhelmed was not a good look on him. 

Plus, it clashed with his autumn shade. 

“…Just, uh…trust yourself…?” The elder tried. 

“But I don’t!” The younger shouted, “I’ve tried and tried and tried to lead but they just. don’t. listen! I-I can’t lead people who don’t want to be lead!” 

“…Your Dad picked you to be the leader for a reason—”

“Well I don’t even know what that damn reason is! ” Leo seethed, burying his face into his arms, “My brother’s want Raph to lead…they don’t want…me. They want someone collective and strong and dependent as their leader; someone who they can be relient on…s-someone who they can trust…”

The smaller mutant let out a wet scoff, looking to the side of himself, “…I’m none of those things…” 

Almost on cue to the emotional moment, Leon slapped his younger counterpart upside on the head…hard. 

Leo let out a small squawk, rubbing the back of his head as he glared at the other. 

“What the freaking hell was that for?!” Leo seethed. 

“For saying a bunch of dumb shit!” The older seethed back, “Y'know that’s my job, right?” He said as he crossed his arms, glancing straight ahead as he saw the sun peeking out from behind a building….

…It was honestly giving the Attack on Titan intro and Leo wasn’t complaining one bit.

“Look…I’m not going to lie to you; being the leader isn’t easy.” The lime green eyed teen exclaimed knowingly. 

“Gee, I wonder what gave you that idea.” The other grumbled under his breath. 

“Just let me cook!”

“Well, right now you’re burning.”

Leon just rolled his eyes at the smaller’s sassy remark, continuing, “I get it, okay…? Being the leader is…challenging. Especially when you know the people your supposed to be leading don’t…want your leadership— or at the very least aren’t used to it.”

The lime green eyed teenager got up, brushing his legs off as he looked over the building��s rail, seeming like he was…trying to remember something, “It’s…a lot. Your still a kid but you’re literally forced to manage all of these responsibilities and high expectations everyone has for you…”

The older sighed, playing with his mask tails as he glanced at the ground, wishing it had an answer to his and Leo’s predicament, “A-And you don’t…you don’t know what those expectations are…” 

The taller mutant sighed, looking back at his younger counterpart, “But you just…gotta keep going…y’know? Your Dad picked you to be leader for a reason, I’m sure.” Leon assured. 

“But my brother’s—”

“'Want Raph?'” The red eared slider said, “Wehell, you aren’t Raph, now are you?”

“…no.”

“Exactly. So stop trying to compare. You’re Leonardo. Lead how Leonardo would lead.” The elder smiled softly.

God, he sounded so freaking…wise right now!!!

“But…I don’t know how Leonardo leads…that’s why I’m asking you…!!” The younger said. 

Leon snorted, “You gotta figure it out, then! Only you can determine how Leonardo leads. Yes…we’re both Leo’s in a sense but we’re different people…you feel me?”

“I…I-I feel you.” The honey brown eyed teen nodded slightly, “I just…I just don’t wanna mess anything up, I guess…”

“Hate to break it to you…but you 100% will. That’s the great thing about being, well…you. I don’t need to be an alternate version of you to know you fuck things up constantly.” The older Leonardo joked lightly, his soft smile turning to a smug grin as he saw how appalled his younger self got at the comment. 

“And you’re going to fuck up a lot of things when you’re leading your brothers…I’d be lying if I said you wouldn’t. But…overtime you’ll get better…you won’t be perfect…but you’ll get better.” The elder announced, looking over his shoulder to lock eye’s with Leo, “And sooner or later your younger brother’s will learn to trust you to lead them…but you have to trust yourself first.” 

Leo’s eyes widened slightly, looking back at his older self with nothing but…respect and compassionnow. 

His advice actually made…sense. Which is an actual shock because all the things he usually says is just plain old gibberish. 

“So, you gonna pay me?” Leon asked as he sat back down. 

“Huh?” The younger said as he tilted his head in confusion. 

“I said: Are you gonna pay me?” The older asked again, “Advice doesn’t come for free, y'know.” And in a result to the random question and statement, Leo scratched the side of his head, glancing away nervously, “I mean…I have some Jolly Rancher wrappers in my pocket if you’d like that.” 

The older Leonardo raised an unamused brow, biting back a genuine smile at the younger’s attempted transaction. 

“…I’ll…take that as a maybe…?” The shorter mutant quietly guessed. 

“I’ll pass…but I appreciate the offer.” The red eared slider laughed, wrapping his younger counterpart in a hug as he rested his hand on his side, squeezing it comfortingly, “With you and me as our brother’s leaders…there’s absolutely nothing we can’t solve!” 

The older mutant faltered, scratching his chin in sudden realization, “Besides girls…I still haven’t decoded them yet.” 

Leo randomly let out a laugh at the joke, shaking his head as a couple snorts and squeals followed. 

The older Leo raised an amused brow, chuckling lightly at the other’s giggle fit, “Ohoookay…it was never that fuhunny.” 

“Ihi nehehever sahaid ihat— snrt! Yohour hahahand!!!” The younger Leonardo squeaked, holding the other’s wrists loosely. “Oh.” The lime green eyed teenager hummed, his amused eyeridge raise now becoming…smug, “You don’t happen to be…ticklish, do you?” 

The smaller mutant gulped as his counterpart muttered out…the word; and so casually too?!

“N-Noho! N-Nohoh I’m nohot!” The honey brown eyed turtle squeaked out despretley, letting out a city-wide squeal as Leon pinched his hips with his free hand whilst still trapping/wrapping him in a hug. “Really? Well, last I checked, people who 'aren’t ticklish' don’t usually squeal when their hips are squeezed, bud.”  

“Ihihat’s— snrt! Juhuhust stahap!!” 

“If my memory serves me correctly, you said you 'weren’t ticklish', right?” The elder said as he wiggled his free hand near the other’s stomach. 

Which, in fact, was enough to keep the other boy completely howling with laughter. 

Leo screamed, twisting and turning to try and steer away from the tortuous fingers, “N-NohO nohOHO snrt WAHAIT-!!!” 

“Soooo…you obviously don’t mind this, right?” Leon smirked as he used his left hand to scribble around the smaller turtle’s tummy while his right hand wrapped around his shell and tickled his underarm. “IHI MIHIHIND! IHI snrt MIHIHIND snrt AHA LAHAHAT!” The younger mutant squeaked out in panic, flailing and shouting about. 

“But why~? You’re obviously not ticklish.” The red eared slider shrugged casually. 

“IHI SNRT SNRT AHAM!!” The smaller mutant suddenly confessed, pushing on the taller’s chest, “IHI AHAM SNRT  IHIHI AHAM SNRT SNRT IHI SNRT AHAHAM!!” 

“Oh! So…you lied to me?” The older mutant questioned as he clamped Leo’s thigh repetitively.

The complete audacity of this kid…

It was impressive, honestly…

Leo hiccuped, burying his head in the elder’s shoulder, “NOHO! IHI— snrt! GYAHAHA PLEHEHEASE!!” 

“Noho! You lied to me, you little twerp! Ugh…the betrayal! And here I thought we were having a nice little bonding moment!” The red eared slider cried dramatically as he stuffed his hands in Leo’s underarms.

The younger Leonardo loudly squawked, snorting up a storm as the elder continued to relentlessly tickle him to pieces, “L-LEHEEEEEEEHEON!!”

“Hm~? Yeah~? What is it, bud?”

“PLEHEHEASE!! NAHAT SNRT SNRT THAHAT!!!” The honey brown eyed mutant squealed, his yell bouncing off the walls of the buildings of New York. “Why~? Is it your tickle spot~? Your tickle tickletickle spot~? 'Cuz your tickle tickle ticklish~?”

“SHUHUT UHUHUP!!” The smaller turtle howled as Leon scribbled his nails along the other’s plastron patterns, “OHO MY GAHASH YOHOUR SOOHOH MEAN!!!”

“Mean?” The lime green eyed teenager repeated innocently, “I’m not mean~! I’m just asking you a couple questions.” 

“I-IHIHI CAHANT SNRT SNRT SNRT BREATHE!!” 

“That sounds like a yohou problem, but hey! That’s just me…” 

“OKAHAY!!!” The younger wheezed, happy tears pricking out of his eyes; awaiting to fall, “STOHOP! STOHOHAP!!” 

“Stopping stopping…” The elder teenager giggled, doing as he promised and stopping. He wrapped his younger counterpart in a hug, letting the shorter turtle snort and snicker in his shoulder once more, “You got this…okay?” He assured. 

“W-Whahat…? Whahat snrt snrt doohoo I snrt hahahave??” Leo questioned through his giddy laughs which Leon couldn’t help but huff fondly to, “The…Thehe leading thing, dude. You got it, okay? Just remember what I said and you’ll be fine.” 

“I dohon’t eheheven remember whahat yohou said toohoo beehee honest..” 

“I can tickle you again to help you remember—“

“N-NONOHO IHIHI’M GOOD!” Leo emphasized, hugging his middles and burying his head into Leon’s shoulder deeper. The elder just hugged him tighter, resting his cheek on the top of the younger’s head.

The two didn’t know a thing when it came to leading…

But they were going to try…they were going to try leading…

…Because that’s really all anyone could ask for…

Their best. 

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙵𝙸𝙽˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙ 

(𝙿.𝚂.: 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐!!!)

[grxceful-ly]

peter bringing mayday with him to do spider stuff because yeah, he had things to live for before--but now he has a child and he is going to raise this child and be there for her and maybe if she’s there, strapped to his chest, he’ll be more careful. he’ll consider his life almost as precious as hers. maybe bringing mayday to work is a precaution. 

[therealslimscreamer]

rage up the street dog on a leash

[starlene]

To the Finnish high school/community theatre doing The Addams Family the musical this spring, I say: I sincerely wish you the best of luck, the most broken of legs, the most sold out of performances. May Thalia bless your production.

To the Finnish publicly funded professional theatre doing The Addams Family this autumn, I say: FOR SHAME, if you even know what the word "shame" means, which I highly doubt, seeing how you're putting on the bazillionth production of The Addams Family the musical in this godforsaken country. With my taxpayer money. FOR SHAME!!

[caterjunes]

what is it about lesbian media that fills me with the heaviest & most profound sadness in the pit of my stomach, in my throat, under my heart.

[ivalice-tifalucis]

With the release of From The Rehearsal Room - Tokyo to Ramin's youtube I finally, finally, continue and finish this side project I'm doing.

Initially, I used AI to mastered it because the first version I got from bilibili were not in good quality but I wasn't satisfied and I found the much better quality. But with Ramin uploaded it to youtube, I re did all the mastering just with audacity for both Part 1 and Part 2. The Part 2 is still from the better version I found from bilibili, by the way.

What you need to do is just download the file and put it on your music player. The metadata is all completed as if it's whole legit album. Enjoy, guys!!

And I'm being weird so all the lyrics that are put there are from my listening although I still use what I found online but I still listened and compared. They made few ad-libs and changes and I notice because for the songs that I wasn't familiar, the lyric that I found online and what they sang was slightly different. Perhaps they sing the newer version of the lyrics or mistakes? Even each Sheytoons songs they sing one in both parts differ from the ones I found online.

Another sample from my favorite:

Source and Credits Part 1 | Part 2 (Ramin's upload) Album cover Photos

Vocal & Guitar: Ramin Karimloo, Hadley Fraser Piano: Ryohei Mori

[heartyearning]

i've been having an absolutely Hateful time lately but there are still some good things in life namely !!!!!!

-> my housemates in general but specifically them on the balcony with one of them cutting the other's hair which i can both hear a little bit (like in the background) but am also getting picture updates of on whatsapp -> having good interactions with people in stores. LOVE that shit. when u & the cashier r both in a good mood and you feel that connection 10/10 -> new pair of second hand jeans that i love. WITH an absolute slay belt. -> planning on making pancakes tonight (roommate birthday). slay.

[averlym]

some very very quick costume shorthands!