#i miss pigeons dude

[blizzardfluffykpop]

why the fuck do i miss pigeons

[c6jpg]

continuously getting zhihua's "good sign" daily commission is making me anything but a lover

[astonmartinii]

it must be a sign | oscar piastri social media au

pairing: oscar piastri x fem deaf! red bull engineer!reader

when the two most unbothered people in the paddock combine their joint powers to be the it couple

request sent by the lovely @bibissparkles xx

author's note: heyyy so many of you won't know but i am actually deaf - i am 50% deaf in both ears and wear hearing aids so i love requests like this! (all i do most of this stuff as a deaf person, turning off your hearing aids >)

MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, oscarpiastri and 302,446 others

yourusername: you can't complain about the dutch national anthem when you can just turn your hearing aids off

view all comments

user1: the way max's engineer is as sick of that damn song as us

user2: turning off her hearing aids makes how bored she looks during podiums make sense

yourusername: it was a banger during the mercedes dominance but would it kill someone to play the australian anthem

danielricciardo: i knew you missed me

yourusername: sure, jan.

user3: her and max signing slay to each other will always be so personal to me

maxverstappen1: gonna pretend you didn't just say that

yourusername: boo hoo babe, you gotta lose something sometimes

user4: babe? are the flowers from max?

maxverstappen1: would rather choke on my own spit and fall into a pit of snakes, hope this helps ❤️

yourusername: rude! i wouldn't want flowers from you either :(

user5: i swear we get into this argument every weekend, i think people will still assume they're together until their married to other people

liamlawson30: stop using me as a messenger pigeon please and thank you

yourusername: but i thought red bull gave you wings?

liamlawson30: do not use a pr answer against me 🤨

yourusername: no comment

liamlawson30: choke.

yourusername: idk what's going on in the red bull junior academy but spit in helmut's coffee not mine

user6: y/n consistently giving all the red bull guys shit is my favourite thing ever

user7: the amount of times the sky broadcast has caught her waving them off or taking her hearing aids out lol

oscarpiastri

liked by yourusername, landonorris and 782,309 others

oscarpiastri: switched four tyres for two this weekend

view all comments

user11: you can't distract us with your slutty bike pics WHO THE FUCK IS THAT

landonorris: A WOMAN? A WOMAN? IS THAT A WOMAN OSCAR JACK PIASTRI?

oscarpiastri: yeah i'm pretty sure

landonorris: don't play smart with me buster - why was i not informed?

oscarpiastri: i don't ask to be informed of every time you get rejected in the instagram dms

landonorris: FAKE NEWS

oscarpiastri: okay buddy

user12: i be seeing the sign language book, oscar you are so real for that

user13: that's my king, i need a oscar and y/n link up in the paddock - my unbothered queens

user14: she's in the likes !!!!!!

logansargent: oh we've entered the soft launch phase i see

oscarpiastri: and what?

logansargent: someone is feeling defensive this morning, dude i won't tell i've already kept it a secret for so long

landonorris: HE KNOWS? DOES BEING YOUR TEAMMATE MEAN NOTHING?

oscarpiastri: he's my childhood best friend?

logansargent: there's levels to this game norris

landonorris: @oscarpiastri consider yourself UNDER SURVEILLANCE

oscarpiastri: okay girly

user15: oscar has the patience of a saint, the mystery gal may want to rethink it before having to deal with them all

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, danielricciardo and 381,044 others

yourusername: unrelaxed, unbothered, moisturised ✨

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user18: queen SHIT THAT AIN'T SHIT

user19: but this mystery man IS

maxverstappen1: yeah sorry about that... but at least boyfy has made his instagram debut?

yourusername: about time, he's too sexy to gatekeep

maxverstappen1: well i'm not going to agree out of respect for you

yourusername: so you don't think he's sexy? i might not be able to hear but HE CAN MAX BE NICE

maxverstappen1: first of all it's a text, second of all i've been way too nice to him

yourusername: he beat you in padel fair and square you're just SHIT AT IT ❤️

maxverstappen1: you know that's a sore subject WHY WOULD YOU BRING IT UP

user20: my queen was really like you wanna tell me to fuck off? oh here's my sexy boyfriend

user21: jos verstappen really didn't know who he was tangling with that gal may be chill but she doesn't take shit

user22: she's like a female version of oscar lol

user23: i knew there was a reason i liked her

this comment was liked by yourusername

danielricciardo: why am i left out of everything these days?

yourusername: snooze you lose

danielricciardo: I AM AWAKE REPLY TO MY TEXTS

danielricciardo: I JUST SAW YOU PUT YOUR PHONE ON DO NOT DISTURB

yourusername: protecting my peace

danielricciardo: i'm on to you buster

oscarpiastri

liked by maxverstappen1, yourusername and 1,209,455 others

tagged: yourusername

oscarpiastri: overjoyed to get my first (proper) win in formula one and even more overjoyed to have my amazing girlfriend (and even better engineer) up on the podium with me

view all comments

user27: so this was the special occasion?

user28: so this is why she said she wanted the australian national anthem over the dutch one?

user29: this is now my roman empire

yourusername: babe is so fucking good and i'm so fucking proud

oscarpiastri: i'm so glad to have been able to share this moment with you

yourusername: you deserve this and more, i love you

oscarpiastri: i love you too xx

user30: wait so oscar knows so much more sign language than i thought

user31: he looked so excited and even mark knows some

logansargent: he forced (we were happy to do so) me, mark and his family to learn as soon as he secured the date lol

oscarpiastri: and now we're all so cool because of it

logansargent: cool and able to chat shit without people knowing what we're saying

yourusername: best bit about it tbf (everyone please learn, it's a beautiful language)

landonorris: I KNEW IT

oscarpiastri: no you didn't

landonorris: no i didn't :( i'm hurt

oscarpiastri: if it's any consolation, we didn't tell many people, max and logan are exceptions

landonorris: WHY WAS I NOT AN EXCEPTION???

yourusername: boo hoo

landonorris: i'm not gonna say anything back to that you kinda scare me

yourusername: good ❤️

yourusername

liked by fernandoalo_oficial, oscarpiastri and 529,778 others

tagged: maxverstappen1 & oscarpiastri

yourusername: me and a racewinner (and our world champion third wheel)

view all comments

user32: fave trio in the paddock no competition

logansargent: logan erasure

yourusername: we love you logan, sunday roast at mine this weekend ❤️

logansargent: SCORE

user33: every time you post there's a new plushie

yourusername: we usually get one to commemorate a big weekend and we both got one for osc's first win

user34: that's so FUCKING CUTE

oscarpiastri: it's all fun and games until you don't fit in the bed because y/n feels too bad to put any of them on the floor

yourusername: they have FEELINGS OSCAR

oscarpiastri: she cried one time when max set off the smoke alarm cooking breakfast and the bed alarm shook so bad that all of them were thrown to the floor

yourusername: it was HARROWING but it also did wake me up so at least we know it works

maxverstappen1: actually my favourite couple to third wheel, but enjoy it while it's here osc, i won't lose again

yourusername: yeah sorry osc it's actually my job to help max win so you're gonna have to wait for him to retire if i have anything to do with it

oscarpiastri: not even for me :(

yourusername: sorry not sorry (i'm really sorry, i love you so much)

oscarpiastri: i love you too even if you won't sabotage max for my race :(

maxverstappen1: okay i know i said you guys are cute but that's enough for today

yourusername: we ARE cute thank you

oscarpiastri: the CUTEST

fin.

note: heheheheh i hope you enjoyed this, i love requests like this xx also on the comment about the bed alarm i had one in uni halls and when the alarm went off that baby SHOOK it was kinda scary

[octuscle]

The ghost of Beta Rho Omega

Jeff and Scott were standing in front of a hovel. It must have been an impressive house once. But the broken porch, the half-collapsed roof, the broken windows, it was all pitiful. And all in such an excellent location. The university campus was around the corner, with a few remaining fraternity houses in the neighborhood, but the majority of them were investment properties such as student residences, boarding houses and office buildings, with coffee shops and co-working spaces on the first floors. Not exactly their world. Jeff and Scott were the children of laborers, their children were laborers. In their minds, students were freeloaders and ne'er-do-wells. And in many cases, even voters for the Democrats. As I said: Not their world!

Their job today was to clear out the wreckage, tear down the porch and prepare the construction site for the excavators that would arrive tomorrow to clear the way for a new Starbucks or something. They didn't need to unlock the door, and they didn't have a key anyway. A powerful kick was enough. And the rotten wood gave way with a crash. A cat fled screaming from the dark room, which smelled musty. The young colleagues would have put on face masks by now. Wimps, Jeff thought to himself. They shone flashlights around the room. It looked as if a farewell party had been held many years ago and then the building had been abandoned. Beer bottles and weathered pizza boxes could still be seen in the thick dust. The furniture was covered in droppings from pigeons, cats and other animals. Scott went to a window and forcefully pushed it and the shutters off their rusty hinges. Fresh air! Thank God! And light that offered an even better view of the chaos. Part of the ceiling had come down. Water damage. The wallpaper was hanging in shreds from the walls. The only thing that looked surprisingly clean and intact was a large banner above the fireplace “verum homines olet, verum homines amant odor verus hominum”. Scott asked what that meant. Jeff replied if he looked like that, would he speak Spanish.

The two of them searched the first floor. The stairs leading upstairs didn't look like they could withstand two massive workmen. They would need a ladder. The kitchen smelled like rotten food and animal droppings. There were pictures hanging in a hallway. Some of them were a little yellowed. But surprisingly, the frames of the pictures were dust-free. On the frames were brass plates with names on them. And in front of each one was always the same: “Bro of the Month” and a date. Some of the plates were from the 50s, some from the 70s, some from the 90s. There must have been many more pictures in the past.

The shadows of the missing pictures could be seen on the wall. The last two Bros of the Month whose pictures were still hanging were called Jeff and Scott. And the Bros, who, like the other shirts, had BPO printed on them, clearly looked like what Jeff and Scott would have looked like if they had spent their high school days in the gym and on the football field. Jeff and Scott turned pale. Pale like the freshly painted wall behind them. Shit, Jeff had to throw up, was there a bathroom around here? He opened the nearest door.

White tiles, urinals, toilet boxes. Jackpot! He opened a box and broke into the toilet bowl. Shit, shit, something was wrong! Yes, there were puddles of piss and obviously more than one guy had jerked off here. But everything was in good condition. “Bro, everything okay in there?” Was that Scott? His voice sounded different. Younger. Deeper. ”Dude, are you jerking off? Or why is it taking so long?”

Jeff went back to the hallway. The guy standing there was probably Scott. With longer hair. And somehow… younger! Had he changed his clothes? Or had he been wearing the overalls all along? And damn it, why wasn't he wearing a helmet or a T-shirt. And Scott stank! Of sweat and musk. Shit, shit, shit! Scott raised an arm and scratched the back of his head. Like the Scott in the picture “Bro of the Month.” He inhaled the stench from his hairy armpit. A deep cave between large pectoral muscles and impressive biceps and triceps. Was Jeff seriously getting a boner? Scott began to knead the bulge in his crotch with the hand that wasn't scratching his head. “You like what you see, bro?” Why did Scott talk like that? “Bro,” that's what young, stupid college students called each other. Not workers. Like Jeff and… Were they workers? Scott had been his buddy since high school. Most successful quarterback in ten years. And he himself… Wasn't he… Right, the linebacker. Shit, maybe he'd just had too much to drink yesterday. Jeff flexed his pecs. He knew that made Scott hot. ”Of course I like it, bro! How about you? Do you like it?” On Jeff's naked chest, beads of sweat glistened in the chest hair. Scott lowered his dungarees and freed his cock from the yellowed and encrusted jockstrap. With one hand he jerked his cock, with the other he worked Jeff's right nipple. Jeff moaned, unbuttoned the waistband of his trousers Scott pushed Jeff back to the toilets and pushed him against a wall. He spat on his dick and began to insert it into Jeff's ass. Shit, why couldn't the two of them be together for half an hour without having sex?

Last night's party had gotten out of hand again. Like almost every party at Beta Rho Omega. Jeff and Scott were on garbage duty this time. Damn, a few of the chairs in the dining hall had been broken. That happened quite often, too; the BPO members were the biggest guys on campus. The alumni were used to writing regular checks for new furniture. The guys from Rho Epsilon Epsilon Kappa across the street had really overdone it again two years ago; their house had to be completely renovated. But hey, that was the neighborhood: a bunch of frat houses where big, dumb guys competed to see who could throw the best parties. A few went to college. But they were just a few nerds.

Pics by @ki-kink, inspiration by @rowdy317

[sparkles-and-trash]

dabihawks silly, birdy fluff!

"Next week we're moving into the PLF mansion," Dabi said drowsily.

"The PLF mansion," Hawks repeated.

At first, Dabi figured Hawks' little habit was just a way to confirm intel. It was quite annoying, but the intel he got in return was good, so Dabi ignored it for the time being.

But then, as they moved into the PLF house and Hawks started being around more, Dabi realized it definitely wasn't an intel thing, and worse so, it seemed like he only did it with Dabi.

Dabi would say something like;

"Move over Pigeon, big ass wings don't give you the right to take up the entire couch."

And Hawks would chuckle and repeat;

"Big ass wings."

Dabi just rolled his eyes. It was just banter, after all, which was sort of their whole thing.

Until it wasn't.

The night had started out normal enough, just Dabi and Hawks being the last two to sit around the in one of the lounge rooms in the LOV part of the mansion, the casual vibe oddly disarming.

They're watching some stupid reality show on Sceptic's account (that he has no idea they have the password to), and Dabi, as usual, could not keep his mouth shut.

"You cannot tell me you think that guy is there to find someone to marry?!" Dabi exclaimed loudly as he gestured to the TV, and Hawks chuckled.

"Why else would he be there?" the hero asked,

and Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Fame and attention, obviously," he replied.

"Obviously," Hawks repeated and Dabi huffed.

They're quiet for a few moments again, just watching the show, before Hawks speaks up again.

"Why would people want fame and attention, anyways? It kinda really sucks, no?"

Dabi looks over at the hero for a while, trying to decipher if this is genuine or not.

"Thought you love your fans," Dabi says with a side eye, and Hawks shrugs.

"Most of them are nice, but I'd love to just be..." the hero trails off for a second.

"Just be?" Dabi asks, and Hawks nods.

"Just be."

Dabi cleared his throat to buy him some time before he figured out how to pry a little further.

"Maybe when we're all done here, you can," he finally says, and Hawks lights up at that.

"Maybe when we're done!" he repeats, and Dabi looks at him for an extra beat.

"Okay, what gives dude?" he finally asked.

Hawks just looked at him with those stupid, wide eyes.

"What gives?" he asked, and Dabi threw his hands out in frustration.

"Why the fuck do you always repeat something I say back to me?!"

The realization hit Hawks' face so suddenly it almost made Dabi feel bad.

Golden eyes widened, freckled cheeks blushed, and his pretty mouth fell open slightly, before he somewhat got himself together and and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.

"You've noticed that,

heh?" the blond awkwardly asked, and Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Kinda hard not to."

Hawks hummed, but didn't elaborate right away.

"It's... it's a bird thing, alright?" the hero finally admitted, and now it was Dabi's turn to be taken by surprise.

"A bird.. thing?" he asked.

Hawks nodded and chuckled awkwardly.

"Mimicking is like, a natural part of my brain?"

Dabi huffed.

"Then why do you only do it with me?" he asked, and Hawks sighed.

"Dude, I don't know, okay? It just happens."

Dabi looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm gonna google it," he finally decided, and Hawks laughed.

"Sure, do that Hot Stuff."

Hawks went back to watching their show, and Dabi googled. It was quiet for a while, before a smirk started growing on Dabi's face.

"Birdie," he said, getting the hero's attention.

"Hm?" the blond said, not looking away from the tv.

"Are you like... courting me?" Dabi asked with a grin, and Hawks whipped his head around to look at him.

"What?!" he squawked, and Dabi laughed.

"Mimicing is a way for birds show their potential mate that they find them interesting and -"

"It does NOT fucking say that!" Hawks gasped as he threw himself towards Dabi to grab his phone, but Dabi was quicker and moved away in time.

"Yes it fucking does!" Dabi laughed, not missing the way Hawks' face was turning very pink again where he was laying half way over Dabi's lap in his failed attempted at grabbing the phone.

"Well I am NOT courting you!" Hawks huffed as he sat up and pouted slightly, face growing redder by the second.

Dabi felt a weird warmth in his chest that he wasn't quite ready to decipher.

"That's a shame then, pretty bird," he said with a slightly softer smirk, and Hawks looked over at him with a mix of embarrassment and curiosity.

"Why?" he asked, still slightly pouting.

Dabi smiled.

"Maybe I'd be a little flattered by a traditional bird courting," he said with a shrug.

Hawks finally looked over at him properly again.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked with a small smile.

Dabi laughed softly.

"Oh definetly," he said with a grin, and Hawks rolled his eyes.

"But... I also kinda mean it," Dabi added, and Hawks's face lit up slightly again.

"Good to know," he said in a failed attempt to sound chill, and Dabi chuckled as he moved a little close to the hero and brushed his hand up against his wing gently.

"Good to know," Hawks chirped back, and for once Dabi didn't find It annoying at all.

[moralesmilesanhour]

okay okay, i have had this one thought in my head about a platonic gender-neutral (or male/masc-leaning) reader fic. this is for either miles (more so 42 than 1610 bc i can imagine his face of exasperation). imagine just being his dumbass friend, like yeah your smart enough to be in visions, but goddamn!! you leave your braincells in your school locker once the final bell rings. your self preservation instincts are questionable at best and the only reason you're not dead yet bc you're proving that quote "you can't kill stupid" as a true fact. at least you bring homemade food over everytime you visit his home and his mom likes you, so you're not completely hopeless in life. (i've had this rotating in my brain for days and still haven't written it myself) -☁

a/n: I went the masc route with this one with a sprinkle of gender envy if u squint

You thought doing homework on a rooftop would be a nice change of scenery.

Dangling off of the rooftop? Not so much.

A tiny group of pigeons had been hanging out near the edge, and you had the idea to try and feed them with the bag of sunflower seeds you'd brought with you. Carefully, you step forward toward the flock, until some unknown force of nature causes you to trip over your own feet and sends you careening over the edge.

Somehow, you manage to grab hold of the railing of the fire escape just below, but your palms are sweaty. You heave as you use all of your upper body strength to hold yourself up while desperately trying not to look down.

It's not enough.

Just as you lose your grip, a strong arm catches you. It's covered in purple leather, ending in a familiar clawed hand.

"Again?" Asks an amused modulated voice as wind rushes past your ears.

"You make it sound like a daily occurrence."

You feel a jolt as the masked figure swings and lands in front of an alleyway before putting you down. As you adjust your crooked glasses, the mask whirs and splits in two before receding, revealing the smirking, deep brown face of your friend, Miles.

"What happened this time?"

His voice is low and nearly too soft to hear, a stark contrast to the tinny high pitch of your own. No amount of lowering your larynx or whispering could ever get it like that. Part of you wishes you could steal it sometimes, or borrow his voice modulator, at least.

If only.

"Tripped," you answer, rubbing your upper arm as a side effect of the claws' tight grip. "Dunno how you always manage to catch me."

"Easy," Miles explains as he unzips his black duffel bag. "I see that ratty ass gray hoodie you always got on and swing right over."

With a whir and a clank, he removes the claw on his right hand, then his left, tossing them into the bag.

"How does carryin' those around like that not damage them?" you blurt out suddenly. Miles snorts.

"You gonna fix 'em for me, genius?"

"No."

"Thought so."

Finally, he removed the grappling hook strapped to his back and tied his jacket around his waist.

You say his catchphrase before he does: "Let's bounce!"

This earns you a burst of laughter from Miles as you make your way out of the alley.

"What, I say it wrong?"

"No, it's just..." he catches his breath and claps you on the shoulder as he passes by. "You make it sound so friendly."

"Whatever, man."

-

"Yo, pay attention, dude!"

You feel Miles' hand yank you backwards by your hoodie as a car horn blares past you. Once you look up from your phone, your eyes widen.

"Oh, shit."

The car had barely missed you.

The streetlight across from you finally turned white, and the two of you crossed. Miles keeps glancing back at you until the short journey to the opposite sidewalk is completed.

He stops, crossing his arms. "How many times are you gonna almost-die today? Lemme know so I can adjust my schedule."

"Until someone finally finishes the job," you joke before remembering something. "Ah fuck, I hope the brownies survived."

You swing your book bag off of your shoulder and kneel to open it, revealing a small Tupperware container filled with home-made brownies stacked on top of your textbooks. Thankfully, there is only a bit of chocolate smudged on the sides; the pastries themselves remain (mostly) intact.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "You know taking the textbooks home is optional, right?"

Zipping your bag closed, you reply with a shrug,"I like re-writing my notes. I need to access the source material."

"I need to access the source material," Miles mimics you in a nasally voice before strolling past you. "If I were a worse person, I'd shove yo' ass in a locker."

You laugh, breaking into a jog to catch up to him with your 'source material' weighing you down.

"Just for that, I'm telling your mom the brownies are just for her-shit!"

A piece of cracked and lifted cement trips you up and scuffs your sneakers. Your hands shoot out to break your fall, planting themselves onto the ground. Your glasses aren't so lucky.

"Aw, man, I just got these!" You frowned as you dusted off your khaki shorts with one hand, holding your glasses in the other.

One of the frames now has a crack right down the middle.

"That's tough, buddy," Miles remarks.

He had spun around as soon as he heard you yell in case of another near-death experience, but was now trying desperately to hold back laughter that escaped through his nose as he walked backwards towards his destination.

"It's not funny!"

"It's a little funny. You're like a Looney Tunes character."

You laugh, "If an anvil falls on my head, it's your fault."

[mcbride]

Daryl Dixon Rewatch S1E05 - Deux Amours

i know i am late on this one, but life is hard, so the delay absolutely has nothing to do with fandom shenanigans and/or Zabel's words, which i will also address later in this post cause i love to prove him wrong as i unmask his own bag of tricks. stay with me! lovely carylers of mine, if you're wallowing in negativity, that is your prerogative, but this post is not for you.

this ep starts with the song "j'ai deux amours" (i have two loves), which is mostly about multiculturalism in a way you embrace the differences and become stronger together. Daryl is not quite there yet... he does not believe in God or faith, he only relies on himself... more after the jump...

Daryl is trying so hard to teach Laurent everything he can to help him survive this world. he is right, the kid is too sheltered, it's a miracle he hasn't become walker food.

Taking a break from my rewatch to address the elephant in the room. Zabel's interview. first we don't have the context of the question he is answering because what it sounds to me like he is saying is that he ain't changing the Caryl narrative, he ain't taking the romance route out of nowhere, he is just simply keeping up with the characters and honoring who they already are, who they seems to want to be and how important they already became to each other.

No, caryl isn't gonna fall in love cause they reunited after being separated for couple of months, their relationship is much more than that. they ain't gonna kiss and bang cause that's easy. there's so much history there. they are already completely irrevocably in love with each other. it's clear, but you have to rely on what the show is giving you. it's right there in front of your eyes.

as for not playing the TV's book of tricks, i am gonna pretend the "happy ending " voiceover and the talk about pigeons always returning home for the one (a gf) who waits never happened. so let's focus only on this episode alone, and expose Zabel's own CARYL book of tricks:

Daryl misses "a lady named Carol," she's different from all the people mentioned before, she is special, cause she is a lady. i see what you did there, Z.

Laurent says Daryl misses Isa too. BANG. bait, bait, bait. Carol vs. Isa. IS THIS the typical trick to mislead and misdirect, causing doubt in the viewer... i may not like it, but there's nothing more stereotypical in that book of tricks, than Daryl having options (and there's plenty: Connie, Isa...), but only one woman (Carol) truly holds is heart.

in flashbacks, Daryl meets a young man TJ who is also working for fuel so he can go back to his girlfriend (not to his mother, or sister, or business associate!!). WHAT A COINCIDENCE Daryl also getting fuel so he can go back home (to Carol!) and guess what, TJ's also planning to runaway with his girl, but they are going to California instead of New Mexico.

Azlan tried to convince Daryl to embrace the people he met and their cause, but he be like "I MADE A PROMISE" and causes just ain't his thing.

Daryl can't sleep thinking about the last time he talked to Carol on the radio... which was like two weeks ago! stop being so dramatic!

finally, it is revealed Daryl promised Carol to come back home asap on the radio, but not after asking her THREE FUCKING TIMES if she was okay. dude, we get it, your Carol-sense was tingling with worry just cause she sounded contemplative. she's fine! but she misses you. HE PROMISED CAROL he'd be back!

the most cathartic scene comes next, (well played Norman Reedus!) Daryl is livid, furious, and downright abusive to Laurent after he cut off their boat, delaying his delivery to the Nest, and Daryl's hope of keeping his promise. it ain't pretty, but it's viscerally Daryl. he stops himself from going down that hole, and hugs the heck out of that kid.

Laurent has no doubt that as soon as Daryl finishes his mission, he will leave. no matter what.

when it's revealed TJ is now a walker and will never see the love of his life ever again (tragic plss!), that Daryl hero complex comes out - he did not help TJ and bad things happened - and he punches a dude. and now it's his turn to not make it back to his girl cause he ends up on a fucking boat to France. i see what you done there, too, Z.

it's the end of the ep and i didn't even sweat to make everything happening to Daryl about Carol.... sometimes things are exactly what they seem.

Daryl is captured again... that happens every other episode FFS!!

Genet's voice over Daryl facing dead as he's entering the arena and flashback to almost turning into walker fodder on the boat: "We have all felt lost at times, far from the life we knew. Deprived of the people we loved [....] But we did not give up. In the name of all those we loved." Daryl will fight for his life, and he will fight for Carol, in the name of the promise he made to return home. and that was beautiful...

and that's it! (my apologies if my thoughts got a bit messy, but my brain is total mush! i dunno if i explained it as well as i wanted to, but i tried!)

so, i kinda loved this episode, it was just a bit tooo long for me! PS. i am going to finish by saying something what most people don't want to hear/accept. Melissa is a grown ass woman capable of making her own decision. she straight fucking left the whole spinoff, no one forced her to do anything (who says otherwise is lying to you) so do not think for one moment she didn't come back on her own terms. with that said, whatever is meant to happen or not happen in terms of caryl, i sleep really well knowing it is exactly what they want to happen, both Norman AND MELISSA! and i would watch the platonic buddy adventures of Carol and Daryl for fucking forever! except that's not what i think is happening, and no, i ain't reading interviews (good or bad!), i'm just paying attention to what is being shown on screen. feel free to tl;dr me!!!

see y'all next week for ep 6!!! THE FINALE!!!

28 days left until the premiere of THE BOOK OF CAROL!!!!!

[imthepunchlord]

And the girls also seem to be getting akumatized much more often than the guys in the show. Yeah, you have the pigeon dude with 70+ akumatizations but he's esentially a gag character and only 2 of his akumatizations got episodes dedicated to them. When it comes to the secondary characters Chloe, Lila, Kagami, Juleka and Alya all got akumatized around 6-10 times and almost all of their akumatizations got episodes dedicated to them, while when it comes to the boys in class or the hero team the most someone has is Nino at like only 4 akumatizations total. I can't help but think this plays on the "women are much more emotional that men" stereotype.

Oh it definitely does. Like, the creator himself defines Marinette's issue is her being emotional, but not Adrien’s, who can be just as emotional, and incredibly immature with it. Only difference is his feelings matter while Marinette's doesn't.

It also adds to the stereotype when only girls have rivalries and much of it comes down to a boy. And most of the focus of girl time centers around said boy and getting invested in the crush.

And honestly, I think including these can be fine, you just need to shake it up and spread it out.

It's fine to have the girls get together about crushes, but they also need to do more outside of it.

It's fine to do the trope of rival girls fighting over a guy, especially if you cam do something different or fun with it; but I also expect the guys to get something too. Like, Kim easily could've been Adrien’s adversary because s1, Kim was a bit of a bully, and he likes Chloe. Who does Chloe like? Adrien. Realistically, competitive Kim should see Adrien as his biggest competition to take out and win. Which actually could've been really funny to see play out, and there could've been this whole arc of them becoming bros. We missed out on a bromance of shenanigans!

And if we had gotten a Chloe redemption, could've balanced out her and Marinette becoming friends.

And you know, I'm good seeing girls and guys getting emotional, especially characters that are 14-15 in age, teenagers are going to be emotional. The big issue is them not balancing out the response to them being emotional. Mindful, it can all be circumstantial, but there are times I feel characters need to be allowed their outbursts, need that comfort or to have their feelings treated seriously; other times it feels like they're being a brat and need to get over it, especially when it's not the time or place for it.

Unfortunately they didn't do so, though I feel it would be obvious to do so, but no we expect too much. Now we just eyeball what we get with dissatisfaction.

[reaperlight]

The Other Host

[Post Venom 3 au, after Eddie rescues Venom from the military with help from Cletus, Carnage, and Shriek...]

[*strange beeping noise*]

Eddie: Uh, why are you beeping?

Venom: Oh, that's just my partner...

Eddie: Partner?!

Venom: Oh no, I've gotta go. Flash needs me!

Eddie: Flash?!

Venom: Eddie, he's in the middle of a very important mission--I can't say, it's classified, but he'll die if I don't. Thanks for the rescue... really. All of you. [To Cletus] Uh, sorry again about the whole uh.. eating your head thing. You understand I was very hungry and needed a big brain, so...

Cletus: ...I'll take that as compliment.

Venom: You're not such a bad guy, thank you for taking care of him. [To Eddie] I'm so sorry, but, I-I gotta go.

Eddie: V, don't...

Venom [pained]: Eddie... I... goodbye.

Eddie: V, no!

[*Venom seaps into a pigeon and flies away. *]

Eddie: Who the fuck is Flash?!

[Later, Eddie stewing furiously while staring down at the veterans parade through town featuring Flash Eugene Thompson--the man of the hour ]

Cletus: ...Jealousy does not become you.

Eddie: I'm not jealous!

Cletus: Eddie, I know a murderous glare when I see one.

Eddie: Are you going to tell me to let him go? He's wearing my husband likes he's just a... a fucking Kevlar jacket.

Cletus: Oh hell no, we just gotta figure out how you're gonna win him back.

Eddie: I don't want to kill Flash.

Cletus: Hey, I wasn't suggesting that.

Eddie: You? Not suggesting murder? That's a first.

Cletus: I didn't need to, you're face was suggesting that just fine without my help.

Eddie: [*Flips him off*]

Frances & Carnage: [*cackling*]

Cletus: Actually I was going to suggest poetry... 

Eddie: [snorts] Yeah, right. When he has Mr. Perfect War Hero with the stupid perfect hair and the winning smile... How the hell am I supposed to complete with that--

Frances: Maybe you need to woo both of them?

[*All turn to look at her*]

Frances: Just a thought.

Cletus: You know... this is made all the harder because they're hunting us anew for trying to rescue him, right?

Eddie: Fuck!  [*kicks the railing*]

Carnage: Oh... they saw us.

Cletus: Aw, shit! [whining] I just got this shirt. I like this shirt.

Frances: And it looks lovely, darling. I know, it would clash horribly with bloodstains, but needs must.

Cletus: [*nods solemnly*]

Eddie: Seriously, no murder on the agenda?

Cletus: ...I actually was looking forward to a quiet night out for once.

Carnage: They're waving at us.

Eddie: They shooting at us?

Carnage: No, just... waving.

Frances: Think that's a good sign?

Cletus: No, I think... they must have known we were here the entire time.

Eddie: They haven't attacked us yet... Seeing what we would do?

Cletus: What do you want to do, Eddie?

Eddie: As much as I hate it... I guess it's up to Venom now, isn't it? Him and this Flash dude.

Carnage: Come on, let's get out of here before they kill you.

Eddie: ...what's the point?

Frances: Eddie... it would be awfully convenient for them if you let them kill you. Wouldn't it?

Cletus: Yeah, and we'd miss you, okay? Come on.

[splashgal]

Bridgerton Recap- 1x7: 'Oceans Apart'

We open on Daphne busting out some Beethoven’s Piano Sonata #21 at the Saphne-Plex. She’s very good. Why is it Francesca that is considered the musical one? I haven’t read Daphne’s book, is this part of her character? Anyway, she’s interrupted a few seconds later by the sound of a gunshot and pauses to look over her shoulder and out the window to where her husband is taking shooting practice. Dude, you have massive grounds. Why are you doing this fifty feet from where she’s trying to play piano?

Little Miss Sassy Pants gets up, opens the door to their yard, and begins to play again. The sound causes Simon to look back over his shoulder at his wife, before yelling ‘Pull!’ and taking another shot. Wait, why is Van Helsing there? I need to know more about how he fits into this story. There are close up shots of fingers and piano strings and gun powder and pigeons and I bet Rose and Jeffries are so annoyed by them having the loudest battle of wills possible. They both turn and glare at each.

Then we are at dinner. Simon is really aggressively chewing something. Daphne turns to the nearest footman and asks him to ask Rose to ask Pavarti to as Dean to ask- oh wait, no. That’s not right. She wants her things removed from the Duke’s bedroom. Simon passive-aggressives right back to the closest footman to him that he won’t allow that. The footman kind of hilariously pauses before asking if Simon really wants that message delivered. They bicker (no flirting) back and forth before Daphne says everyone sleeps separately after their honeymoon, and Simon shoots back that he’s keeping track of her vagina to see if she hoodwinked him into acting like an adult. Before the Duchess can answer, Frau Colson comes in and announces that Lady Whistledown has just arrived.

Daphne reads it for just a second before she says she needs to leave. Apparently her brother is embroiled in scandal, and she must return to London to be with her family. Simon announces he’s going, but before it can be misconstrued as caring for her or her (and his now) family, he tells her he’s not letting her out of his sight until he knows if she is with child. She smirks before announcing they need to take their largest carriage, as she will require her own space. Why wouldn’t she just request her own carriage? I don’t know. She leaves with Rose in tow. Simon looks pensive. Or maybe sad. Or hungry. I can’t really tell.

Title screen. Justice for Kris Bower! He wrote an excellent theme and I want to hear it!

We are in London, as the newsies run through the crowd of candy-colored Top Hatters and Ladies. Dame Julie is telling us that everyone is still talking about Marina. We cut to Colin sulking in bed. His sheets are yellow and his pillow is the size of a Buick. Julie tells us Marina’s engagement was a sham as Colin tearfully rolls over to brood some more. Aw. Also, he looks twelve years old here.

Violet and Eloise are hurrying out their front door dressed as normal humans just as Marina and Portia are coming out their front door. Portia is the personification of ‘Luck Of The Irish’. It is a bold look. They all awkwardly pretend to stare at each other, because in reality, these houses are miles and miles apart. And the ladies all look really cold again. Julie says Marina has effectively fucked the reputation of anyone who might have any connection to her.

Eloise and Violet are at The Modiste, where El is still getting fitted for lowered hems. I had no memory of this being such a plot point. Scheming Eloise points out to her mother that Colin’s scandal could tarnish her debut. She would obviously hate that. Violet is really startled at first, but her face settles a moment later when she tells El to zip it and keep smiling. There are other ladies in the shop staring at them. Eloise asks if a smile can save the Featheringtons, and Violet is fully startled again at this. El says Pen, Pru, and Pip did nothing wrong, but they are well and truly hosed. Violet shoots back that the Bridgertons are in the shit too. El and Gen commiserate about Lady Whistledown, which is a lovely little foreshadow. Eloise mutters that if Whistledown can destroy a reputation, she can restore it too. Genevieve rises and the captions say [gasps dramatically], which she definitely does. El is a princess! That extra two inches of fabric makes all the difference in the world, obviously!

Julie is still chattering away. She hopes Marina can find a refuge ‘somewhere’, as we see Lil’ Leprachaun and Teen Mom at presumably a home for young expectant mothers. Portia says it’s an emergency and the lady who works there immediately says she might find a room ‘for a sizable donation’. I love that she’s shaking Portia down for money. Said lady turns and marches away.

Now it is reaching dark and the Saphne carriage is pulling into Mayfair. Daphne wakes up as they stop in front of Bridger-Home. Simon starts to follow her and she pointedly tells him he doesn’t need to act as jailer right now. ‘I shall not discover I am with child within the next hour, shall I?’ With that, she slams the door in his face.

The three eldest brothers and Violet are all in the drawing room together. Colin is asking why he can’t visit Marina. Oh, sweetie. Just…no. Violet starts to placate him, but Anthony butts in, I guess because he’s done with Daphne’s plot now and needs to mess with the next closet sibling. He says that the only thing keeping the family from crumbling under the weight of shame is Whistledown, because she painted Colin as a total victim. But if he goes to see her now, everyone will assume he knocked her up and it will ruin his sisters. Is that what Colin wants? Ugh, I am so glad we don’t still live in a patriarchy and that women can make all their own choices and it doesn’t have to be dependent on a man and his thoughts.

Was that sarcasm thick enough?

Daphne enters the room, to everyone’s surprise. Anthony asks why she isn’t off having ladder sex with her husband, and Ben jokes that Simon probably hates having to take the Duke Dick out of his little sister for even one minute. Really, Ben? He asks where Simon is, and Daphne says he went to Hastings House. Oh yay, I love the floor over there. That was a weird thing to say, sorry. Anthony basically tries to tell her to go away and Violet pipes up that the ton needs to see that her daughter still…loves her family I guess? She goes on to say that they can all act as if nothing is wrong now! Daphne passive-aggressively says that ‘pretending that nothing is amiss is the perfect way to lure the ignorant into submission. Is it not, Mama?’ Oh shit! She went there. Everyone kind of exchanges confused looks.

Daphne asks what stupid thing is on the event calendar for this week and Violet, still trying to recover from the burn her daughter just dealt her, says the the Queen is hosting a luncheon. Daphne quickly says that she and Simon can get an invite, and that everyone will be so fascinated by their return to society that they won’t have any time to even think about that boy with the big hair who almost got cuckolded. Colin, who I actually had forgotten was here, because the camera hasn’t picked him up once, snots that he’s sooo happy that everyone else has settled this on his behalf. Guys, I don’t think he is that happy. He stomps out and slams the door.

Colin is in…a room. I don’t think it’s his room, but the camera work is kinda strange here and I can’t tell. Anyway, he’s bent over a desk as Daphne enters. She asks if he really wanted to marry Marina. He did. She says he’s lucky to have not married a stranger. Colin tries to argue that she was not a stranger, but Daphne simply says ‘she was. Whistledown knew her better than you’. For serious. Colin argues that Whistledown knows everything about everyone. Daphne snaps that he is fortunate to learn Marina’s secret now instead of after they were married and empathetic Colin realizes they are not really talking about him. He swallows and says he know he seems like an idiot, but he misses her and wants to be near her. Daphne tells him he cannot go visit her.

Colin turns again to lean dramatically over his desk and start waxing about Hero and Leander, likening himself to the man who would swim every night to see his perfect chaste Goddess of Love. Daphne points out that Leander drowned. He finally asks what crawled up her butt and died. I mean, he's nicer about it than that, though. Instead of answering him, she offers to arrange a meetup with Marina if that’s what he really wants. He promises that Daphne will then see that his passion is not in vain. Despite his easy knowledge of the work of Marlowe, it is very clear the Daphne got the brain cell for this scene.

Simon and Will are boxing bare-chested. Will says he should probably not be wasting his energy on the Duke when he has real fights coming up. Simon trash talks him and they go at it again. There’s ten times as much heat between these two as there is between Colin and Marina by the way. Will taunts Simon about his Dukedom and his honeymoon and Simon lunges at him and misses. Will kinda claps him on the back and leaves him alone in the ring. That scene didn’t really accomplish much.

Daphne is tossing and turning in bed. She hears Simon come home and opens her door a crack to spy on him. She’s bad at it, so he sees her immediately and she comes out into the hallway. She tells him about the luncheon that they have to attend so people can see she still likes Colin I guess. Daphne asks where he’s been and who he’s been with and he gets offended that she’s assuming he was galivanting with whores. She says everyone knows that he was a whore like two weeks ago before they got hitched. She says it is clear that he doesn’t think there’s anything left in their marriage.

He approaches her and they immediately start sucking face. She mutters that she wants him and he goes all Duke of Fingerdom on her before carrying her to the staircase. Next to me, my husband yells ‘her bedroom is right there! Is Simon the laziest dude ever?’ Anyway, we have arrived at the famous ‘Staircase-ilingus’ scene. He just goes to work as she grabs onto the wrought iron railing. There is an overhead shot of them looking all the way down the staircase to the ground floor, and the person who owns this property must be so proud. Do you think they use this in their commercial material?

My husband notes that Simon is an asshole, but at least at this moment he is giving. I pause to point out that he’s doing this for the purposes of manipulation, not love, and that Daphne has got to be uncomfortable. She seems fine with it though. She sits up as she finishes and then asks if they should go to the bedroom. Oh, so they do remember that they have bed chambers. He looks up at her sadly (with a very clean, dry face it should be noted) and says no. She asks what is to become of them. Simon tells her that if she is preggers, he will do his duty and take care of her and the child, but if she is not, they are gonna be married in name only. She can still be a Duchess, but they’ll be living separate lives. I get distracted for a few minutes trying to think of the name of the woman who sang on that track with Phil Collins before remembering what I’m supposed to be doing. Oh, the scene is over anyway. Daphne storms off to her room.

The next day (or maybe not on this show), we get a shot of a home that looks very foreboding and creepy, and I have to blip it back before I realize it’s Hastings House. Why does it look like a factory that makes sadness? Daphne is in either the drawing room or parlor or the morning room or the sitting room or one of the other hundred rooms in this house, waiting with Colin. Rose enters with Marina behind her, dressed in a giant cape. Daphne thanks her for coming and Marina smarms that she didn’t think she had a choice. Daph explains that Colin wanted to see her, and she’s trying to avoid further scandal in this whole situation. She grabs a book and goes to sit a whole twenty feet away from them to give them privacy.

Colin immediately implores Marina to confirm that Whistledown is a lying liar who lies. She says it’s true. He clarifies that she is with child. Colin doesn’t understand. ‘We were to be wed. You said you loved me.’ Aw, I know I should be ragging on him for being so naive, but he’s so sad. Marina says she holds him in the greatest esteem. That was the wrong thing to say, and Colin calls her cruel. He accuses her of committing a grave sin against him and she finally finds her backbone and spits out that she didn’t come to be shamed by either of them. She gives the excuse of not knowing any better and doing what she thought she had to do. She needed to wed and he was presumably the only man whose testicles weren’t dusting the floorboards.

Colin asks if he should feel flattered that she chose him to trick into marriage. He walks over to the door, but pauses and turns back. He says that if she’d just been honest with him about the bun in her oven, he would have married her, because he was so sure he was in love. ‘But I see now that was all a lie.’ He does a good job of that perpetually-wet-eyes-but-not-crying thing. He leaves. Marina waits a beat before announcing that she needs to go too, so as not to cause more scandal for the Bridgertons. Rose enters and says it’s time for the luncheon. Well, that was a fun scene, huh?

We are in the Queen’s garden and the color saturation is turned up to Jesus. We get a slow zoom in on the Bridger-Fam all arriving together. Little adorable Greg is wearing a blue velvet jacket to match Colin’s, and it’s a very clever thing they did at least in this season to try to make Colin appear more like his younger brother than his older ones. Violet is so happy, exclaiming how lovely it is that they’re all together again. Vi, you live with 85% of these people.

Nosey ton ladies come over and get up in Saphne’s business toute suite. The Queen announces that people need to get outta the way, because she’s coming through to directly talk about Daphne’s womb. Why is this appropriate luncheon talk? Hyacinth is like two feet away! Simon says they’ve been humping constantly and the Queen is glad to hear it. She walks away and Daphne calls him a liar. He says he learned from the best. Violet hears this and gets very panicked.

Then we are over with Benedict and the Granvilles. They are hardcore all up in each other’s bubbles here. Henry misses Ben and wants him to come back to his orgy house, so they can practice their art together. His wife (Lucy I think?) tells Benedict that is the excuse Henry gives when he comes home with paint in his buttcrack. She doesn’t say buttcrack, but I can assume it’s that. Or the taint. Benedict giggles before seeing a man talking to Cressida in the distance. Of course Henry knows him and wants to introduce him to Ben. Ben wigs out and runs back to his mummy for fear of getting any gay on him I think? The color of his coat in this scene was friggin’ beautiful by the way.

Eloise is weaving through the crowd when Brimsley (yay!) finds her and says that the Queen wants to see her. She trots after him obediently. When the Queen sees El approaching, she shoos away her dog carrying ladies-in-waiting. Charlotte gets right in her face and asks who Whistledown is. El doesn’t know yet. The Queen commands her to figure it out.

Lady Danbury is here! In her purple velvet wizard pimp hat again. I love her, you guys. She’s excited to see Simon and Daphne again, and points out what great timing it is, what with Colin’s whole ‘life falling apart’ thing. She says she’s hosting a party, and then Simon butts in to say they love parties. She tells Simon to get stuffed, because Daphne is the only one invited to her Super Secret Pillow Fight Pajama Party that she hosts for all the married ladies of the ton.

Everyone looks up to see the Featheringtons arriving, looking like the discount bin at JoAnn’s Fabrics again. The Queen sees them and her face instantly goes homicidal. It’s kinda funny. Lady Cowper loudly notes that they tried to help Marina trap poor Mr. Bridgerton into marriage. Penelope, bringing up the rear, gets pulled away by Eloise. El actually asks how she’s doing. Pen says they haven’t had a caller in three days, and Portia thinks they are ruined. But she doesn’t care about her mom, she wants to know how Colin is. El says his pride is hurt, but he will be fine because he has a penis. Eloise says that Whistledown has gone too far and when they track down this dastardly author, they will force her to print a retraction. Yeah, that’ll do it! Penelope’s hair looks beautiful here.

Meanwhile, Portia is trying to be friendly with Violet, who is not having it. Portia calls Marina a scheming hussy, which is an amazing burn I’m going to start using I think. The Bridgertons all look on as Portia tries to claim she had no idea what was going on. Violet turns and marches away from her. The Cowper ladies watch on judgmentally, which is pretty audacious considering they’re wearing wicker baskets on their heads. Brimsley comes over and boots the Feather-Fam from the party. Cressida gets snotty and Daphne calls her out on it before stomping away. This was another sequence where everyone looked very, very cold.

Daphne is striding through the hedge maze. Violet finds her in an open space that I think might be where Charlotte tried to go over the wall. She can sense that something is wrong with Daphne, and she’s still her mother. She offers to hear of Daphne’s trouble and maybe she could give her some words of wisdom. Daphne snaps that maybe she will instead tell her about rainy fields and farm animals again. Seriously, Colin should have just sat them all down five episodes ago. She goes on to say that Violet didn’t prepare her at all for married life or marital relations. My husband pipes up to say she’s mad she didn’t get a lesson on ladder sex. They both stop when they realize Lady Danbury has come upon them. Daphne stomps off and Violet blames her daughter’s outburst on the heat. Is that why your teeth are chattering, dear?

Portia comes into the study at Feather-House to yell at Archie about getting kicked out of the freezing cold garden party. She blames him. He barely even glances up as he says he wasn’t even there. His quill feather is green, which I find fascinating. She calls out his ‘habit’, and I briefly wonder if we are going to get the ‘Bridgerton’/’Blow’ mashup I’ve been hoping for. Alas, she’s talking about how he gambles all of their money away, and that was why they were boarding Marina. Mrs. Varley (yay!) runs in and announces that Daphne is there.

Cut to Portia striding down the hall with Daphne, saying she is open to listening to an explanation for why Violet was so rude to her at the luncheon. Daphne cuts her off and says she’s there to see Marina. We cut to the two women alone in the drawing room. Marina apologizes right away. She calls Colin ‘a sweet boy’ Oh, ouch. Daphne says she came to apologize to Marina, as she misjudged her and understands why she did what she did. Ah, overidentification. Marina starts talking about George, the cake boy. He was perfect and then he went to war and she stopped getting her period. Tale as old as time, sister. Daphne asks for more info about George, saying she might be able to use her connections to find him. Marina says that George doesn’t want her, and Daphne basically says that’s tough shit, because he’s responsible for her situation and she can make him come back and marry her. Marina questions whether or not Daphne can accomplish that and the Duchess assures her she can do a lot more than people think she can.

We are with Feather-Baron, ambling down the street. I think it’s the same day, but who the hells knows. He passes a light post and sees a poster tied to it advertising a fight. splashguy: ‘and then the Baron got an idea. An awful idea. A terrible, stupid, awful idea.’ We cut to him drinking with Will, who says he’s confident he’s going to win that fight. He starts making the investor pitch, but Feather-Baron cuts him off and says he’s not investing. He has another idea. Will catches on pretty much immediately and says ol’ Arch needs to leave. Feather-Baron spells it out for those of us who are mostly doom-scrolling while this is on in the background:

Archie will make a huge wager on Will’s opponent.

Will throws the match on purpose.

…..

Profits (?)

Will tells Feather-Baron that his honor is not for sale before implying again that the old man needs to hit the bricks. Feather-Baron tells Will that he’s entertainment, but no one will ever consider him a respectable business man. He starts taunting him about his father until Will bodies him up against a wall and threatens him. Archie immediately crumbles like a piece of paper and makes one more plea for Will to throw his match so they can both make a lot of money. He’s bad at being a villian. He’s like the anti-Cressida. Maybe if he wore more wicker on his head. Or got his pipe back!

Also, Will is a straight-up hottie. I will hear no arguments on this. Thank you.

Back over at Hastings House, aka the Sadness Factory, Rose and Daphne are on the staircase together, but it’s not as sexy as the last time Daphne was on the stairs. Sorry to those Rophne shippers. They are talking about Lady Danbury’s Super Secret Pillow Fight Pajama Party. They pass Simon in the hall and things are awkward for a moment before Daphne starts talking about the General’s wife. Rose says that lady loves to party, so Daphne is going to go I guess.

Oh, and then it’s night and she’s there. I swear, this show’s time line is wackier than Doctor Who. Anyway, Daphne is led down a dark hallway by a footman and into what I think is a ballroom, but I honestly can’t tell. There are tables filled with food and then also about a dozen tables set up for card games and drinking. This is so much better than a Super Secret Pillow Fight Pajama Party. Lady Danbury welcomes Daphne to her ‘den of iniquity’. Awesome. The music in this scene is really freakin’ good. Tunefind calls it ‘At Lady Danbury’s’, but it’s not on any soundtrack and I couldn’t find it on Amazon music. Anyway, it slaps, as the kids would say. This party looks so fun. Daphne sits at a table with Lucy Granville, Lady Trowbridge, and General Whatever’s wife, who I will be calling Miss Kitty. Lady Danbury, smoking what I will assume is a fat blunt unless told otherwise, explains the rules of the game as Daphne gets dealt in.

Across town, at the lame dude version of that, Anthony enters and greets Simon. Simon is not psyched to see him. Anthony accuses the Duke of avoiding him and then sits down at his table. Of course, that is when the secret bookcase door opens up and the courtesans come flooding in. Ant is transfixed, thinking one of them is Sienna. Eventually, the lady turns around and it is definitely not Sienna. His sideburns look very dejected as he orders ‘a large glass’. Oh what? Whiskey? Pickle juice? Turpentine? We don't find out.

Back over at the Danbury’s Den Of Iniquity, Lady Trowbridge is saying the Earl would be so mad if he knew how much she had lost. Miss Kitty says that the Earl is two years old, and indeed, he is the ginger baby we saw in episode four at the cool Eyes Wide Shut party. They all giggle together for a moment before Daphne turns to Miss Kitty and starts talking about wanting to find George and Miss Kitty says the Duchess will have to talk to her husband (go to the General and save some time!). He’s never at home, which Miss Kitty is cool with. They live separate lives and their kids don’t know their father. Lady Danbury reminds Miss Kitty that Daphne is still a newlywed and they don’t want to paint her such an accurate picture. Miss Kitty thirsts after Simon for a moment, and then tells Daphne she’ll give her an address to write to the General, saying maybe he will answer her since she’s not his wife. Yikes. The ladies agree they all wish they could be Danbury. Duh.

We are back with Anthony, who it appears decided on….Mott’s apple juice? Oh, it’s beer. He’s waxing rather poetically for him. Simon asks Anthony to stop beating around the bush and Anthony tells Simon that he knows Simon fucked up. Simon calls out the Bridgertons for pretending to be perfect, saying it’s exhausting. Yeah, and you married into it, dude. You’re just lucky you wouldn’t be fighting for the pomade in the morning with the rest of them. You’d lose an arm. Anthony says at least they keep their promises, and Simon snaps that he is trying to be a man of his word. Are you, though? Simon uno-reverses on Anthony, bringing up Wormtail and Sienna. Then they start arguing over their daddy issues. These two got a lot of baggage.

Anthony says that the Douchke never showed Simon what it was to run a household. Simon shoots back that Anthony makes it look difficult. Ooh, bookkeeping burn! Simon continues to badger Anthony, bringing up how ashamed Edmund would be of his oldest son. Anthony gets this really sad look and shakes his head. Johnny Bailey is the best. Just saying. So Simon keeps going until finally, the Viscount stands and starts wailing on him. The camera frame rate goes crazy pants here, like we are suddenly in a Jason Bourne movie. They start really going at it, but not in the way that I want. Anthony body-slams Simon into a table that collapses to the floor before they get pulled apart by two randoms. If this was ‘The OC’, this is the part where someone would have fallen into the pool. It happened every episode.

Daphne is coming home after her awesome party at Lady Danbury’s Den of Iniquity. She sees Simon tending to some cuts on his face. He says he got them from training with Will. She comes to his doorway and asks if he wants Jeffries to come help. I do! Simon says no, so Daphne goes in and says she can help. She cites her four brothers as a reason she knows how to clean wounds. Don’t the Bridgerton Bros mostly seem like they would try to hurt more with their words? Even when they fence, they barely touch each other. She starts dabbing carefully at his wound the way people have to do on television where they don’t actually clean anything. They exchange a look before she sits down on his lap and they kiss. She pulls away and whispers that a child would be a blessing.

He stands and starts pacing. She asks why he is so adament on this, and Simon says he promised himself a long time ago that he would never sire a child. And there no backsies in that kind of thing. He finally opens up about the Douchke, saying he’s doing for revenge against him. She points out that his hatred of the Douchke outweighs any affection he might feel for her. Daphne mentions her impending period, and says soon they’ll know if they are going to live miserably together or happily apart.

We montage as Dame Julie voice overs that she loves gambling, because the greatest risk can equal the greatest reward. Lady Danbury is sitting in her Den of Iniquity the next morning, and I think she’s having some hair of the dog. I wonder what her hangover cure is. Daphne writes a letter, presumably to General BadDad, and hands it off to Rose. Dame Julie talks about making a fortune vs losing it, and yeah Dame Julie, that’s gambling. Will looks at Feather-Baron’s business card pensively. Marina is pacing in her room, holding her stomach as Julie tells us the biggest gamblers still haven’t shown their hands, and then randomly announces that she can think of nothing else of note. We see Charlotte reading, and she is pissed that Whistledown didn’t mention her freezing cold, windy luncheon. Brimsley tries to placate her, but she is not having it.

But then it turns out Lady Whistledown is not done. Over at the Sadness Factory, Simon and Daphne keep awkwardly crossing paths as Dame Julie tells us they aren’t accepting company, implying that they are humping constantly. Daphne wakes up and checks her bed for blood stains. Am I doing menstruation wrong? I definitely know the second it happens and would not just be checking my sheets for dainty spotting. Simon appears in the doorway to note her clean sheets before turning and leaving.

And then we are in I think El’s room with she and Pen. Eloise is presenting her case as to who Whistledown could be. She says the Marina bomb was different than anything else and Pen offers that it was personal. Seriously, if these Bridgertons were not so self-involved, she was not hiding this at all. El says that Portia didn’t do this by herself, and Pen agrees that everyone at Feather-House knew about it. El remembers getting yelled at by Mrs. Wilson a few episodes ago and rejects the idea of a servant. But maybe a tradesperson! They get very excited together and El says she needs to tell the Queen of this new theory. Pen suggests the concert that night and says Violet will probably let El go, even if she is still currently showing her ankles. El is still talking about unmasking Whistledown and Pen kind of talks over her before saying she has to go home. She thanks Eloise.

Daphne is in the drawing room at Feather-House with Marina. She says she wrote to General BadDad, but Marina looks at her like she’s an idiot when she admits that Simon didn’t sign the letter. Only boys matter, Daph! How have you not figured that out yet? Marina has the gall to call Daphne unworldly. What is with this girl? Why does she act like she’s Ferdinand Magellan? She knows everything of the world, you guys. Just ask her. Our lil’ pregnant ray of sunshine announces it’s over and there’s nothing more to do. She leaves Daphne. Remember in the first episode when they had a harpist in the corner? That was weird.

Across the street, Anthony enters the study to find Colin there, looking at a map. He pours Colin a drink and says he wants to apologize. Colin starts cracking jokes about the book of Revelations. I like that at least everyone calls him out on being an asshole all the time. Anthony says he was ‘a trifle’ harsh. Colin slowly says that Anthony was just being protective of his foolish choices. His older brother barely lets him get the words out before he’s like ‘So you admit you’re an idiot!’ Colin points out that this is a shitty apology, but Anthony tells him to shut up. They sit and Anthony tells Colin that his feelings will pass and soon he won’t remember her name or even that he loved her. Gee, this doesn’t feel like it’s actually about Anthony at all, does it? What's up with all of his siblings making his issue about them? Colin asks how that’s been working out, calling him a miserable bastard. They laugh together. I think their dynamic is one of the most interesting ones on the show. Benedict is really the only one that Ant sees as a peer, the rest he sees as his charges and keeps his distance more.

Violet and Eloise are in El’s room getting ready for the concert. Aw, she really does look like a princess. These two actresses really resemble each other. Violet is trying to get her daughter jazzed for the idea of joining society next season, but El mostly looks seasick. Bridger-Mum says that El doesn’t have to come out if she’s not really ready. El clarifies that the Queen will be there tonight.

Over at the Sadness Factory, Daphne is looking at her reflection in a mirror, hands over her stomach. Simon comes in and asks if she’s ready to go. She strides past him out of the room, practically shouldering him into the door frame.

Over at the concert. I wonder if this is supposed to be Smythe-Smith. Anyone know? Daphne comes in and nods at her mother like they’re Bruce and Alfred at the end of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. That was weird. Benedict is there, wearing white gloves and I instantly relate him to Captain Von Trapp in my head and therefore am 63% more attracted to him. He sees Henry Granville and pulls him aside pretty awkwardly before asking what the deal is with his wife and still fucking dudes on the side.

Henry says it’s pretty simple, he’s in love with Lord Weatherby. They both look over at the man from the luncheon who has been caught in a Cowper web. He says his marriage is happy and Lucy has safety and freedom. Benedict is weirdly confrontational as he questions the debs who think Weatherby is straight. ‘What about honor? Romance?’ Dude, you had a threesome with this guy’s wife. Pull back just a touch maybe. Granville thankfully reads Ben to filth pretty handily, pointing out how much he has to pretend in his life. Henry lets Benedict stew in his gay panic as he wanders away.

We are with Charlotte and El in the Queen’s box (dirty!). El is giving singing ‘Lady Whistledown is a tradesperson!’ in B flat major, but the Queen is unimpressed. She should have thrown in a key change at the bridge. That always works. The Queen tells El that she doesn’t need her anymore, as she has a team actually investigating now. Charlotte announces that they will unmask her and the paper will finally stop. El is shocked to hear that the Queen wants to silence Whistledown, stating that she still has good to do. The Queen gives her a withering look and shoos her away.

El finds Benedict and asks how long the concert is. When his answer is three hours, she groans loudly. They both decide they’d rather just leave. She calls him her favorite brother.

Marina is striding down the hall at Feather-House and goes into the empty kitchen. She looks around before zeroing in on the spice and herb shelf. Ah, she must be planning on some late-night soup. I can’t think of any other thing she might be making.

Ben and El are in their carriage riding through town when Ben knocks on the roof and announces he wants to pick up ‘a friend’. El snickers at this and Ben asks her not to tell Violet. When they stop in front of Gen’s shop, El asks why they would be there. Ben rolls his eyes at his sister. Someone else must have the brain cell tonight. I’m hoping it’s Hyacinth. El proves me right a moment later when Genevieve enters the carriage and El’s mouth drops open in shock. Gen greets her awkwardly and Ben announces that his little sister is going home. They kind of stare at each other and then Gen asks El how her night was and El announces that it sucked, and the whole ton was at the concert and she still hated it. Gen corrects that the Featheringtons were not there and El goes all mind’s eye flashback montage to arrive at The Modiste being Lady Whistledown.

Back at the concert, which is definitely not Smythe-Smith, because it’s a sausage fest on stage. The musicians are launching into some Vivaldi. Oh, there is one lady! Representation! I bet she even gets a nickel on the dollar too! Woot! Anthony looks down from his box and sees Sienna for real this time. She’s holding hands with a man who has a pretty epic mustache. Next to Anthony, Violet is watching Saphne across the theatre in their own box. Is anyone here for the fucking music? Good grief.

Back at Feather-Kitchen, Marina is working her mortar and pestle and makes a tea. We see her take a sip. Then we are back with Saphne. Simon reaches over and takes her hand and she lets him. They continue to listen, but a moment later, Daphne gets that look on her face, gasps, and then looks down. She rushes out of the theatre as her husband and mother look on. Pen is knocking at Marina’s door. She gets no answer and opens the door to find the woman laid out on the floor, barely conscious. She screams and calls for Portia. Daphne is in a sitting room at the concert hall, and she has definitely gotten her courses. She starts panicking and sobbing as her mother comes in and hugs her. Back in his seat, Simon can hear her crying.

He does nothing.

Will Anthony and Simon make up? Will Daphne and Simon make up? Is Marina dead? Will we get to see Jeffries again?

Find out next time on 'The Dumb And The Beautiful'!

[puppetmaster13u]

Dies Irae WIP

Have a bit of a wip for way later into the story because I am procastinating on the beginning lol. So have a lil bit of Dick's pov

👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇👻🔥🦇

   “These assholes again?” Red Hood muttered, sounding incredibly done even with the modulated voice that came through the helmet. 

   Dick eyed the man, then let his gaze shift towards the people in white with- apparently- laser guns. Then turned his gaze back to Bruce, whose jaw was set in his usual not-quite a scowl that meant he was going over something and not liking the picture it was painting. Joy. 

   And tonight had started out so well with them actually being able to find the maybe-crime boss. It was hard to tell if the man-who-might-be-younger-then-Dick was actually one or just got latched onto by the Crime Alley residents as a guardian alongside Peter. Though the meta was more of a local semi-celebrity. 

   The crime lord (if he was one) cracked his neck, those weird- but pretty cool- ribbons circling around him almost defensively. “Oi, big bird, old man, you gonna’ stop me from hurting these idiots?” he called towards the two of them from where he was also ducked around a support pillar, interrupting one of the goons-in-white’s own spat out words. 

   Honestly Dick hadn’t caught the man’s words, though knowing B they’d comb over every bit of the footage from their suits after this. But well, the dude obviously felt it was important if the downright thunderous expression was to go by. 

   A glance at B’s face nearly had him wincing. Yeah whatever had been said, Bruce really hadn’t appreciated or liked it in any way either. Still, he responded to Hood with a growl in his voice even as a batarang found its way into his fingers. “We don’t kill-”

   Hood audibly scoffed, even over the sound of the laser-guns. “Well too bad I’m not one of your oversized pigeons,” the maybe-teen snarked, guns suddenly in his hands. Damn, Dick hadn’t even seen him grab them, they’d almost just appeared in his hands like they’d been summoned in the time it took him to blink. 

   “Hey now,” Dick found himself joking as he peered back around the metal while trying not to get his head taken off. “What have I ever done to you to call me that, huh?” 

   “Exist.” The word was punctuated by a few shots of the… hm, .45 guns he thinks? It wasn’t like he knew what specifics Hood used or that he knew everything about them. Gosh he wished he wasn’t out of birdarangs, even if Bruce passed him a few batarangs to throw. 

   Not helping was the fact that Hood had cut both of his (), meaning he couldn’t swing up to the rafters to get a drop on the… okay that was a lot of people. Now suddenly less as one quite literally exploded into gore, definitely not from any sort of weapon of theirs. 

   A glance towards Hood nearly made him miss his throw towards one of the white-wearing goons. The trenchcoat the maybe-teen was literally writhing, glowing and shimmering like living flames as sparks trailed behind him. 

   Okay, alright, Hood was apparently a meta like Peter too. An undead meta fighting against people claiming to be part of the government and wanting to murder him for being a… ghost? What like Deadman? 

   Dick’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. He was definitely missing something here, and judging from B’s scowl he wasn’t enjoying having only part of a puzzle either. 

[dullgecko]

omfg you can't stop there with the neck-touching story, i'm so invested. the aftermath, i beg of you. did riz isolate himself/hide from his friends in shame after the fact? how did fabian react? did he blame riz? blame himself? were the bad kids able to coax riz back into the party after his self-imposed isolation?

Fabian had been completely blindsided by the sudden attack. Not literally, thank Cas, Rizs hands were small enough that he'd only torn up the half elfs cheek with his claws before stopping. As it was Fabian had felt him hit bone and had flinched away to cradle the sudden ragged hole in his cheek while the rogue hissed and put distance between them.

He felt Kristen's magic cut through the white hot pain after only a second. Flesh knitting back together in an instant and leaving no trace of the attack save for the heat on his skin and the blood in his mouth. He spat what was remaining onto the ground to join the pool of blood that had spilled there, turning his head when Kristen touched his face to let her check she hadn't missed anything.

"What the fuck The Ball. Claws are taking it a little far don't you think?" The half elf pushed himself to sit upright rather than remaining in his hunched position. His brief spike of anger at the attack fading when he noticed their rogue was gone.

"The Ball? Did anyone see where he went?"

There had been a quick search, each of them splitting up to go check his usual hiding spots in the house before reconvening in the living room. Adaine crouching to clean the blood off the carpet while Fig pulled out her crystal to see if they could find any clues.

She'd been recording while Fabian and Riz tousled on the floor, her cystal propped up on a side table as the teifling cheering Riz on. Whooping when he 'pinned' Fabian to the ground and settled into a cross legged position on his chest in victory. He had clearly been having fun, ears high and alert and tail flicking in a way they knew meant 'happy' as he mock clawed at Fabians face. He had his fingers curled in such a way that he was only batting their fighter in the face with his knuckles though so Fig was confused as to how Riz had clawed the half elf.

It had all happened so quickly that she'd assumed that Riz clawed him first THEN Fabian pinned him to the floor. The video showed otherwise though. Their rogue laughing even as their positions were flipped RIGHT up until the point Fabians completed the pin with his hand around the goblins throat.

The flip from smiling to terror had been almost instant, the video clear enough that they could see his pupils contract to slits even as he full force raked his claws across Fabians face. The goblin scrambling out of the cameras field of view when he was released. Thankfully they had still been recording even as everyone lept to check on Fabian where he was groaning on the floor. They could very audibly hear the front door slamming shut while Kristen was healing Fabian in the footage.

"Fuck dude did you kneel on his tail or something? I think you really hurt him."

Fabian shook his head, eye going wide as he watched the footage over Figs shoulder. A yawning pit of guilt opening in his stomach as she rewound it a few time to watch again and try and work out why Riz had flipped out. If he was hurt they needed to help him but he tended to hide injuries up until the point he couldn't function and they forced help on him.

"We need to go find him."

---------

Riz was in such a panic that he didn't have a plan beyond 'put distance between me and everyone else as fast as possible'. The door slammed shut behind him and he briefly contemplated booking it down the driveway but The Hangman was chasing pigeons about halfway down and Riz had just attacked its master.

He went right instead, rounding the side of the house to cut through the cemetery and find somewhere to hide. He'd never done something like this before and he was terrified. Both of himself because he couldn't remember the attack AND of the consequences.

Sure he'd nipped and scratched his friends before but he very rarely drew blood, and even then it was only usually a pinprick. He obviously hadn't held back this time, the evidence drying on his claws and face from where it had dripped on him before he scrambled free.

What would they think of him now? That he was as dangerous and violent as what people always said goblins were? Would they deal with him the same way they usually dealt with people that attacked them? He'd fled the house completely unarmed and he didnt even grab his briefcase before leaving. Hell, without his sword he didn't even have an advantage when hiding right now.

Riz stopped in the middle of the cemetery, crouching behind a large headstone just off the path so he could hide and collect his thoughts. The goblin whining as he tried to wipe the blood off his hand onto the grass but found that the vast majority of it had dried and wasn't coming free.

He realised he hadn't picked the best hiding spot but he couldn't muster the energy to care. Riz curling into a smaller ball and pressing his face against his knees, arms and tail alike looping around his ankles as he tried very hard to pretend he didn't exist anymore. So what if they found him, maybe he deserved whatever punishment they saw fit.

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

Riz wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting outside whe he heard the first footsteps approaching. He'd let himself retreat fully into his own mind as he tried to work out what exactly had happened and kept coming up empty. The rogue didn't even move when his crystal started ringing in his pocket, Fabian obviously trying to call him since he was the only person not set to mute.

Riz shifted to cover his head with his arms when the footsteps rapidly got closer, hoping to at least protect what he could if they were mad even if he didn't make an effort to run. The last time he clawed someone like this was in middle school and he'd spent weeks hiding the broken ribs from his mom after the kids friends had gotten their shots in.

"I've found him." He heard Fabian shout, though the sound was muffled with his arms shielding his head. The goblin whining and trying to curl up more when he felt hands gently try to pry his arms away.

"Riz? Fuck. Are you okay? I'm sorry. Hey..."

Riz relaxed slightly when the expected blows didn't come, letting the fighter untangle his arms and gently inspect his hand because it was still covered in dry blood. He did yank his tail away from his hand when he tried to inspect it as well though, tucking it up behind himself out of grabbing range and hissing into his own knees.

"Can you look at me? Are you hurt?"

Fabian still had a grip on both of his hands, thumbs pressing into his palms as he kneaded at the soft tissue there. Riz let him continue for a few more seconds before withdrawing his hands from his grip and wrapping them around his chest. Lifting his head to peek at the fighters concerned face which he was relieved was all in one piece.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened." Riz said quietly, dipping his ears back in show of contrition.

"What happened was you clawed the shit out of me." Fabian scoffed, reaching forwards to coax Riz to sit up further so he could see his face properly, the half-elf licking his thumb to try and get some of the dried blood off the goblins cheek. The act making Riz screw his face up in a way that made Fabian laugh. "I think it was my fault though. I apologise."

"What? No I attacked you I'm-" He froze, claws digging into his vest as the half elfs hand hovered close to his throat. Fabian making a face as if he'd just made a point before withdrawing carefully.

"No I'm quite sure it was my fault." Fabian shifted to sit next to the rogue instead, bringing a knee up to rest his arm on as he looked out over the cemetary. "Fig was filming and I can tell when someone gets triggered. My father used to get the same way sometimes... Do you think you're up to coming back inside?"

Riz shook his head, leaning forwards to hide his face against his knees again and sighing loudly. Leaning against Fabians side when his friend draped his arm over him and pulled him in to sit a little closer.

"Alright. I'll stay out here with you for a while then."

[ch1-kasak0]

Marcus and metatron hcs part one

General headcanons about the IM universe so I don't have to explain my headcanons

• Angels have small wings ("winglets" real original ik) that can form basically anywhere on their body, they used to be used to glide but now they're pretty much useless

• angels can request halo makers to change the shapes of their halos, even to the point of engraving runes into them to allow them to be weaponized or something idk. It's VERY expensive so most angels don't do it

• most debtors have a physical mark showing that they're debtors, kind of like branding; it can be hid with makeup or if the demon who owns them is kind enough, will engrave runes into the branding so it can be hidden, not all debtors have them though. Now actual headcanons

• Marcus's debtor mark is thorns wrapped around his neck with a rose in the middle, sits just above where his Adams Apple would be. Marcus also paid to have his halo be modified to have thorns on it aswell, but like in the way where the halo is the vine kinda deal, basically Marcus liked how his mark looked and decided to make it his whole personality/hj

•Metatron also had his halo changed, specifically to add runes that'll allow him to turn it into a hairtie, long hair troubles I fear

• metatron constantly loses things like hair ties and paperwork, it's chronic I fear

• Marcus used to have a pet dove that he would take with him on jobs, didn't last very long because one of the dudes he was hunting shot the thing, Marcus didn't really care but he has a small grave in his backyard for it (in the scenario that he has a home, I have no idea Imao)

• Metatron also used to have a pet bird! But it was a pigeon and it was a schmuck, only ever visited for food and constantly tried to peck out his eyes, metatron ended up shooing it away with a pebble and now he always misses it

• Marcus HATES children and takes joy in causing them harm, has definitely punted an infant into a bush at some point

• metatron had a plant at home he used to care for

[taiarchive]

Interview with William Beckett (21/08/2006)

Interview by Mike Mason.

Photograpy by Rob Kern.

FOON: So how's the tour been so far? We caught you early on in Columbus. 

William: Great, yeah, the tour has been spectacular so far.  We're about half way through and unfortunately Midtown only has one show left on the tour.  We've grown close to all the bands on the tour, Midtown in particular.  It's gonna be rough saying good-bye, you know but then we haven't met Silverstein before so we hope they are gonna be nice guys.  It's been incredible, it's the first tour since our record (Almost Here) has been out and it's kind of our first glimpse of how the record is going over.  It's been spectacular so far. 

FOON: How does it feel to go on tour for as long as you have? 

William: Well, for me, it's, when we first started touring a lot I had a sense of like, missing home.  Now we are so used to being on the road and sitting in hotel rooms and different beds every night and driving and doing what we love every day.  For me, I always feel a little strange when I'm home.  To me now, this is home; there's always people back home that I miss, I'm always gonna miss my family, friends, girlfriend.  It's part of making a sacrifice; it's part of going for what you believe in and what your dreams are. 

FOON: A lot of the songs on your new cd Almost Here seem like they might be written about a specific girl/girls? 

William: Well, not really, no.  “Slow Down” is about a girl but it's more about peoples' identity.  It's more about people being true to themselves and others and not taking people for granted, not taking advantage of people.  I used an instance of a girl to portray that; for me it's like everything you can relate to in life, from the smallest thing; something that happened with a girl or a friend.  Regardless, I think you can relate that to other things, because I'm not thinking of things with tunnel vision.  I'm thinking of things in a broad scope and if something happened with a girl that prompted me to write a song, I'm not necessarily thinking about it that "pigeon-holed".  I'm just thinking about things in a more grand scheme, how someone else could relate to it.  

FOON: So you basically write songs so everybody can interpret or imply themselves? 

William: That's what I think good art is, you can interpret it in many different ways, regardless of what my intentions were.  That's what is beautiful about it. 

FOON: So are you the main songwriter? 

William: Yeah, on this past record, Mike (Carden) and I wrote all the songs.  I wrote "Down and Out" on my own; the way we wrote the record, we would start on acoustic.  Mike would have an idea for a song or I would have an idea for a song and then we would build up from there, incorporate drums, I would write the drums for the parts and then we would arrange the song together.  I wrote "Down and Out" on my own, like half the song and then I played for Mike one day in the apartment and he was like, "Dude, just do that on your own.  You have a good vibe going and I don't want to ruin it, it's a really personal song."  Mike had input for the bridge and the rest of the song, the main scope, the message of the song.  It was a great collaboration; the whole writing process was a beautiful thing.  Though, I wish it was with all the members but we have revamped, we have a new drummer (Andy “the butcher” Mrotek) and guitarist (Tom Conrad) and they seem to be more eager to work and we have the same goals. 

FOON: Where do you get your inspiration for the songs? 

William: For me, it's the world around me.  This is a really good question; every morning when I wake up I try to think of things in this manner.  I think there are so many artists and so many writers, so many people, particularly lyricists that write with this sort of (dark) mindset.  Imagine that your creative mind is like a dark room and most of these artists or lyricists they have a candle in front of them.  They are in this dark room and don't know the depths, they don't care.  All that they can see and relate to is this, like, 3 inches right in front of them.  That's all they are exposed to, all they are concerned with and it's a very selfish way of thinking about art and expression.  So, I think that their songs reflect that, the sort of self-loathing, hopeless, very dark songs.  That's not what touches me, that's not the type of art, the type of music or the type of people that move me and motivate me.  They are so wrapped up in themselves that they don't notice there might be a wall right behind them with a light switch.  Flip that switch and there's a whole world around you that you didn't know existed and the room is the world, is everybody else.  Then you can truly relate to everything from the trees outside to your Mom and sister, your family, friends, your enemies.  You can really relate to the world and really soak it all in and reflect and express that in a more genuine, more well rounded, more global way.  For me every morning when I wake up, I try to remember to flip the switch, to make sure the room is lit. 

FOON: The new cd came out in February, what's next? 

William:  We've already written 12 or 13 songs for the new record and we are not stopping there.  I have like 13 songs myself; Mike has 8 or 12 songs in his head.  The Butcher (Andy Mrotek) is working on some stuff and it's a really exciting time.  By the time we get into the studio, whenever that may be, probably early next year, we'll probably have over 70 or 80 songs so it'll be a fun time. 

FOON: Now that the Almost Here is out, does it live up to your expectations? 

William:  Oh fuck yeah!  Hell yeah, man!  That thing is everything we wanted to say at that time; it's everything that we going through.  Like we fucking installed ourselves into the real world.  Mike and I moved into an apartment and wrote a record; that was the plan, to move in and get away, for us our thinking was, how can you write a record that can touch people of all ages, people of all colors, people of all classes.  How can you touch people on a big scale if you live at home with your parents and you are not self-sufficient, you don't have your own responsibilities?  So we moved into an apartment together and had shitty retail jobs in the mornings and then wrote songs and drank and hung out until like three in the morning and then get up and do it all over again.  Really installed ourselves into the real world, responsibilities and just went for it.  The record bleeds that; you can smell it on the record.  We had two and a half weeks to record it, budget constraints and stuff.  We knew we were gonna write a great record, we did and it worked out, we love it. 

FOON: Is there anything that didn't make the cd that you wish would have made it? 

William: Well, sure but at the end of the day it's like, no, we had two and a half weeks to do it, we didn't have enough time to do anymore songs.  We had a few songs that didn't make the record, we had 18 songs before we went in and we had to cut it down; we had enough songs, that's the beauty of it.  It's an exciting time and those songs might emerge on the next record. 

FOON: What's your favorite song off the new release? 

William: That's hard to say.  There's no fillers on the record, in my opinion.  For me it's hard because without one of the songs, the record wouldn't be what it is.  But there are some songs that are closer to me personally, struck a chord with me like "Down and Out" for instance, "The Phrase That Pays" says a lot of things that I was really proud of saying, that I needed to say, things that I was thinking about a lot.  Songs like "Black Mamba", "Almost Here", most of what I'm saying on the record and the message of what we're saying, in its entirety, I'm extremely proud of and it's everything that I needed to say at that point. 

FOON: What's your favorite band, all time? 

William: Oh man, that's so hard; I'll just tell you a few of the bands I love.  Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin are probably the two stables of why I even started listening to music.  I was really into Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam but now I still find myself listening to the bands that I've always loved and the bands that have always had such a big impact on me and at the same time had a big impact on the world.  Bands like U2, Simon and Garfunkel; I'm also a sucker for pop, I love Don Henley, Third Eye Blind.  I also enjoy bands like Radiohead, Muse, that's a really cool contemporary band that I like a lot.  Sort of more in that classic rock thing. 

FOON: Do you have any side projects going on? 

William: All of my efforts are going into this band, we always have fun, we write fun songs.  I'll let you listen to a song that me and The Butcher (Butcher walks in) hey, this is the Butcher... 

Butcher: Hi. 

William: Butcher, myself and Travis from Gym Class Heroes we wrote a song in the hotel in Seattle, it was hilarious.  In all seriousness, everyone’s efforts are for The Academy Is... 

FOON: Do you have a favorite show that sticks out in your memory? 

William: That's really tough man, as we continue playing shows in places that we've been before, without a record out and now the record is out, we go there again and it's just monumental.  Those are my favorite shows, where you can see the difference.  Some cities that we absolutely love playing are, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis is wonderful, Milwaukee, New York, New Jersey, Cleveland, Chicago but we did a record release show back home at a small place called Knights Of Columbus.  It's where we got our start, we played our first few shows there and we played the whole record and a few songs off the ep and it was such and incredible feeling to see our friends from high school and people who we knew growing up and our first fans ever.  It was a wonderful thing, not only for Mike and myself and Adam (Siska) but for the Butcher and Tom - being new to the band; they felt like it was, it just made sense, like they were there the whole time.  Butcher just nodded, he's eating. 

FOON: So you guys are on the Warped tour this year? 

William: Yeah, we're doing three weeks on the east and southern-east coast as well.  We did Chicago Warped tour previously but this our first consecutive Warped tour. 

FOON: You and Mike founded The Academy Is...? 

William: Yeah, Mike and I started it.  Adam our bass player was in there too from the beginning.  It started off as a four piece with Mike, our old drummer, Adam and myself.  Then we added a guitarist and recorded an ep and then we started writing the new record; that's when everything sort of shifted and our minds shifted away from the other guys.  We had different... I guess our goals were too high and too ambitious for what they were capable of doing at that time.  They are great musicians. 

FOON: Stupid question time... 

William: Bring it, man! 

FOON: If you could have one superhero power, what would it be? 

William: Probably, this is a really good question... What would my favorite superhero power be?  Damn, probably flying. 

FOON: What would your superhero name be? 

William: I haven't thought about this ever... Hey, Ryan, what would my superhero name be? 

Ryan: Captain Spectacular. 

FOON: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

William: Delaware. 

FOON: Why? 

William: That's where we are playing tomorrow (laughs).  I want to go overseas so bad, I want to play overseas and soak in Europe, soak in Japan and Asia, Africa would be awesome to see.  I want to see the world, pretty generic answer but it's genuine, I do want to see everywhere. 

FOON: What's the weirdest thing you've ever signed? 

William: Foreheads and stuff are kind of weird, that creeps me out when they ask for that.  I don't sign boobs, I just, I'll paint boobs though (laughs).  A high school bathroom pass, drivers license, a ten dollar bill; I'm like, just buy one of our cds or shirts instead.

[smashingpunkins]

beautiful Gigi is back with his loft friends now:")

---

gigi has been hanging with the ferals in my back garden for a few months now, and as its started to get colder he started coming indoors of his own accord. one of these times i shut the kitchen door behind him and scooped him up, called the racing association hotline and successfully found his owner in Birmingham! he was ecstatic that this lil dude was alright. turns out gigi is the grandson of a great racing pigeon! i knew he was special by his beauty and athleticism. if he comes back to this area again ill leave him be - he deserves the right to choose freedom over a warm bed and reliable food. but equally he deserves the chance to have those things again after being outside since August!

his owner came to get him on fri night and gigi immediately calmed down at his presence. he was a very polite guest, even chilling comfortably in his crate with the door open on our last day together, but he didn't like me by the end for obvious reasons 😅 nonetheless i miss him dearly and hope hes enjoying the food, warmth, and company ♥️🐦

[moonlights-fandom-hell]

Day 1: Meeting

It was a fun and joyful night in heaven, with a big grand tour performing in their big stadium. Two bands were performing on a tour together, The Pray as well as Adam and the Exorcists.

Lucy is we filled with so much joy, she was always eager to watch The Pray before… though she wasn’t too familiar with Adam and the Exorcists, simply, her father banned their music in their home. To put it simply, he told her a lot of terrible things about the musician and how he’s an obnoxious creep towards women. But after all the convincing from Emily and begging from Lucy, he decided to let her go out.

Azrael knew how much Lucy loved the Pray and knew her intentions were mainly for them. But he did tell Emily to make sure they come straight home after the concert, and to only get autographs from the Pray. And to NOT let Lucy get lost in a crowd or to not even interact with the other “so called band”. Emily feels like Azrael is a bit too paranoid, but understands.

Later that evening, The Pray began to perform as well as Adam and the Exorcists. Lucy, Emily, and Keenie were all in joy just listening to the beautiful angelic voices of the Pray. It was like a miracle for Lucy as if she was in a beautiful ethereal dream with her musician crushes. Though, as she heard Adam and the exorcists perform… she didn’t think they sounded too bad. The music almost sounds like old records her father Azrael had.

It was simply okay. She didn’t really get the hype for Adam and the Exorcists. She was much more into things with a softer and mellow sound with some heavy strums here and there. As the concert was finished, Keenie got so happily excited and flew way towards the merch… Emily tried to ask Keenie to slow it down but the two got into a little fuss. Emily got very peeved with Keenie not following what Azrael told them, that they accidentally separated form Lucy.

Oh poor Lucy, the poor thing. She got lost in the crowd, trying to look for her friends. She was starting to feel over stimulated as if she eas gonna get an anxiety attack… She decided to fly up to search for her friends… that’s until she bumped into a chubby figure in the sky.

“Ow! Hey fucking watch it! I get it! I’m the main star, but listen dude, if you want my autograph, wait your fucking-“ The voice stopped as he took a good look at who bumped into him.

Oh damn, it appears so be some Angel chick… but not just any Angel… she had a beautiful bright blue eyes like the sky, white feathery body with her pigeon like wings, freckles, and long raven hair… but also wearing a cute shirt blue dress with cloud print and sheer sleeves… holy shit…. Damn her curves and body, is Heaven really missing an Angel? She doesn’t seem like a winner or a cherub, but she almost looks like a seraphim… yet her halo looks normal.

Lucy looked at the stranger and realized it was no other than the vocalist from the other band… Adam himself…. In person, right in front of her. Wow, her dad was right, he was pretty rude and arrogant. But she didn’t want to set him off, Lucy replied “Oh goodness! I am so sorry! I got lost in the crowd! You see I’m trying to look for my two friends and ummm… I’m sorry.”

God, her voice is even cute! Her naive nature and how soft and docile she seemed…. So lovely, submissive, and wholesome sounding. Almost reminds him of the days of Eden with Eve…. Adam felt a hard boner downstairs but tried to play it cool… “Oh shit! Excuse my manners babe! I just couldn’t resist to notice how drop dead gorgeous you are!” He replied with a flirtatious grin, trying to be suave. “You know, I can always give you a freebie if you badly want me to sign something.”

“Oh don’t take this personal…. I’m not that familiar with your music… I mainly came for the Pray, my father is sort of strict when it comes to your band… he would get upset if I’m talking to you.” Lucy said with a shy expression on her face, but feels bad. She knew Adam sung his heart out but didn’t want to lie to him.

“Pfffft a daddy’s girl! Ah I got it! Most of their dads don’t like me either!” He replied, but feeling disappointed. How can she not ever hear his music??? Adam, THE ADAM. The original dick! But he kept his cool and held her hand. “If you like, I can offer you some assistance to find your friends.”

“Oh that’s okay… I think I can find them.”

“Don’t worry babe! I always helped lost fans like you find their crowd! Just give me their names.”

As he was about to help her, a voice called out her them.

“LUCY!!!! LUCY!!! ARE YOU UP HERE?!!” The voice got closer and it wasn’t anyone other than Emily. She was so relieved. She felt so bad for getting into an argument with Keenie that she lost Lucy in the crowd. She flew towards her and gave her a hug… “Oh I’m so relieved! Please don’t scare me like that! Keenie is gonna meet up with us down at the souvenir shoppe.”

“HOLY SHIT BALLS! HEY EM!!! How’s your Friday night, didn’t think you knew this cutie too!” Adam was shocked to see Emily here… but wait… the fact she knows this cute girl… holy shit. He’s got a chance! A chance to get to know this special friend! “How come I’ve never seen this cutie around you?”

Emily glared at Adam and held Lucy close to her. “Adam no! She’s off limits! She’s not interested! We are just having a girls night out!”

“Oh c’mon i just wanna know her name!” He whined and pouted. “very rude you know Em…”

Lucy looked at Adam and decided to thank him with a Reply “Oh it’s okay! Thank you Adam… if you do want to know my name… my name is Lucy.”

“Oooo Lucy huh? Makes me think of a certain fallen one… but besides that, I like that name! Hell, it sounds cuter than you know who!”

“Oh no! It’s short for Lucinda! My mom picked it since it means light.” She flustered but felt embarrassed.

“Ah I see, well your are a beautiful light!” Adam got closer to the two girls as he winked at Lucy. “Anyways, got shit to sign but up I’ll give this for you.” He offered Lucy a poster of himself, with a special signature.

Emily rolled her eyes and sighed “Bye Adam, we have to go now.” She said as she grabbed Lucy’s hand and the two girls fled away…

“Hmmm he sure is strange… but seemed so nice and friendly…. Why does my dad hate him?” She has thought to herself.

——————————————————————-

Yeah I’m a day late but here’s my prompt for @hazbinocxcanon for the oc x canon week.

As I said before I changed things with their story and how they met. I’m gonna say him blackmailing her doesn’t happen until later in their relationship. But here’s an insight of how they both met each other.

Yes Keenie is the absent friend where Emily cares so much about her and will fight for Lucy’s life.

Hope you enjoy the art and short story 💖