#i think i’m getting like 70% of what he’s saying but i’m enjoying this book a lot!!!

[morepeachyogurt]

Opening oneself up to such a perception of queerness as manifestation in and of ecstatic time offers queers much more than the meager offerings of pragmatic gay and lesbian politics. Seeing queerness as horizon rescues and emboldens concepts such as freedom that have been withered by the touch of neoliberal thought and gay assimilationist politics. Pragmatic gay politics present themselves as rational and ultimately more doable. Such politics and their proponents often attempt to describe themselves as not being ideological, yet they are extremely ideological and, more precisely, are representative of a decayed ideological institution known as marriage. Rationalism need not be given over to gay neoliberals who attempt to sell a cheapened and degraded version of freedom. The freedom that is offered by an LGBT position that does not bend to straight time's gravitational pull is akin to one of Heidegger's descriptions of freedom as unboundness. And more often than not the "rhetorical" deployment of the pragmatic leads to a not doing, an antiperformativity. Doing, performing, engaging the performative as force of and for futurity is queerness's bent and ideally the way to queerness.

cruising utopia: the then and there of queer futurity by josé esteban muñoz

[hadersversion]

i had a long day but obviously there’s only one thing on my mind….if you guessed logan howlett, you’re correct! but if you guessed old man! logan, i owe ya a scratchy on friday ;)

but….

imagine old man! logan and a librarian! reader.

logan, laura, and charles moved out into the countryside in oregon. settling down in a nice cabin in the woods, town being a few miles away.

you lived nearby, all by your lonesome. you worked in town at the local library. charles brought laura in the one day, searching for some old book that you’re pretty sure they stopped printing in the 70s…but you didn’t want to let the old geezer down so you did some digging. you watched as laura walked around the building, eyes open in awe. it’s almost like she’s never seen a library before. she stopped in front of a child’s chapter book collection, eyeing it up.

“that one’s my favorite, you could borrow it if you want to. i’m sure your grandfather would let ya get a library card.” you winked at her.

she looked at you then the books, a small smile appearing. she grabbed the book and walked up to the counter with you, charles eagerly waiting to see what laura picked. you start to get laura’s library card ready, turning your back on the two.

“there you two are, got me thinking i lost ya out there.” a gruff voice said from behind.

you turned around, library card and book in hand.

“what the hells that?” he asks.

the man is tall, older looking. but nonetheless handsome. his broad shoulders being hugged by a flannel.

“a library card. for laura.” you smile, handing it over to her. “remember in two weeks you have to return it. or whenever your finished.” you said.

logan looked down at you, studying your kind demeanor. you’re cute, he thought, really cute. the large cardigan covering your body as glasses sit atop your head. but logan being logan, pushes down any feeling and huffs. “cars running, let’s go.”

charles and laura wave bye before leaving, you watch as the man pushes him out. his shoulders are tensed. his grey hair sticking up every which way and his matching beard needing a trim. but something about him intrigued you.

laura and charles become regulars at the library, constantly visiting and perusing the shelves. often spending hours just reading and enjoying the silence. and there’s logan, waiting around like he has something better to do.

“ya know, readings actually good for you? right?” you joke.

he rolls his eyes. “got more important things to do than sit around in this stuffy place all day.”

“grumpy.” you mutter, causing him to look over at you. “why don’t you go look for something? there’s gotta be something you like!”

he shakes his head. “doubt it.”

you grab his hand and pull him towards the shelves. “come on, give it a try.” you pour your lip.

his breathe hitches and his eyes burn into you. he’s never been this close to you. been able to smell your scent of a flowery perfume and bubblegum. his demeanor changes a bit, staring at your lips. if he was already thinking about you a lot, this was definitely not helping. “fine.”

you spend the afternoon looking for anything that will please this man.

“war books?”

“been there, done that.”

“art history?”

“do i look like an art professor?”

“maybe in a past time.” you wink. “hmm, cooking?”

he shakes his head.

“god, you’re so hard to please.” you go through each section. “the history of harley davidson?”

this piqued his interest. “let me see that.” he grabs it, pushing his glasses off his head and onto his face.

you could do a celebration dance. “told ya!”

“yeah, yeah. let me go find the kid and the old man to check this book out.”

logan starts joining the two on the library trips. he says it’s to find more books on automotives. but charles often teases him that it’s to see his favorite librarian.

he denies but even laura knows the truth.

the old man has a crush.

[softestqueeen]

pretty when i cry

pairing: spencer reid x reader

summary: When Spencer returns home he gets immediately worried when he sees you bawling your eyes out. Little does he know, it’s just because of a book.

warnings: inaccurate facts (I made that all up, sorry not sorry) fluffy fluff, comforting, crying

wordcount: 514 words

a/n: i think criminal minds is my new addiction. he’s such a loser I need him. enjoy <3

When Spencer returns from a case that took way too long to solve and kept him away from you for too long, he is greeted with the sight of the one thing he despises the most: the sight of you crying.

He drops his bag and slips out of his shoes before joining you in the living room. You were currently rolled up on the couch with a book in your hand and a soft blanket covering your silently crying form.

“Hey, I’m home. Is everything alright?” Spencer asked unsure of what else to say. You haven’t noticed him yet and almost had a heart attack when you saw him standing there.

When you did notice him though and when he asked if you were alright in that soft voice that was already so much comfort to you, you could only answer with a silent no before you start to sob. Your boyfriend doesn’t hesitate to take you into his arms, sitting down on the couch next to you. He pulls you closer and strokes your hair.

“What’s wrong, huh? Are you alright, what happened?” no matter how soft his voice was he couldn’t hide how concerned he was. Were you hurt? Did he do anything wrong? Has anything happened while he was gone?

His soft words calmed you down enough to get at least a few words out. “It’s just in this book I’m reading one of the characters dies for no reason and she was so nice and I just-“ your voice breaks up as another sob recks your body.

Spencer was relieved to hear that you were only in distress because of the book you were reading, that he now gently took from your shaking hands to put it on the desk next to the sofa. He then immediately goes back to soothing you.

“I’m so sorry, baby. But it’s only a book, it’s alright. Did you know that there are multiple studies about the emotional reaction of people when reading books? It’s actually quite interesting how people get so lost in a story that it affects them to such matters. When being presented with a sad scene, more than 70% of all participants showed a physical reaction and over 50% even started crying. It’s completely normal to feel sad about this. But don’t worry, I got you.”

You loved hearing him ramble, no matter what he was talking about. While concentrating on what he was saying, you could feel your breathing getting even again and your tears slowly coming to stop.

Turning around in Spencer’s embrace, you wrapped your arms around his neck, while his adjusted themselves on your waist. You were both contempt to bask in the comforting silence and Spencer was glad that he could calm you down a bit. Still, he decides to further distract you.

“What’s the book about?”

You lean back to look into his eyes, before a smile forms on your lips and you start to tell him in detail about the contents of your book.

He was just glad you were smiling again.

a/n: i hope you liked this, if so please leave some notes, likes, reblogs and comments! feedback is very appreciated!

please also consider supporting my ao3: @ softestqueen

requests open!

taglist: @silvermagnolias @milywatermelon @BigBananaa

[ziploc849]

Another wall of text on my thoughts for episodes 70-78, I’m gonna make a seperate post for 79 and 80 having listened to them already cause there is just. So much.

I wrote all of these notes after listening to the original episode, not any further, so enjoy my thought process though the last quarter of this season!!!

Ep 70: More death discussions, oh joy!! These are the episodes that make me the most uncomfortable, the ones that talk about the nature of death more than just the fact that it exists. I am curious where these books are coming from, if it’s not just Leitner’s involvement that makes them fucked up. Also Not-Sasha’s laptop having “authentication errors” definitely sounds accurate, even the technology can tell she’s not really her.

Ep 71: Another example of a story with a focus on claustrophobia. Most of the ones we’ve heard by now are from people who are very clearly scared/panicked by the occurance, but Karolina was suuuper chill about it all. Even not being afraid of death, as she mentioned. It feels strange to not be at least a bit perturbed by the idea of your own death, especially in such an untimely way. That’s coming from me though, who absolutely has a fear of death in some capacity, so I’m probably projecting a bit

Ep 72: Basira you better still be alive and not murdered by darkness demons or some shit you’re too cool. Also kindly what the fuck is this episode. I know there’s been some episodes to do with large amounts of meat or body parts, the room in the man upstairs, the teeth in thrown away. A part of me wants to say this is just a story about a crazy fucking murderer, but I am far to familiar with this fucking series by this point to think it’s just that. So seriously what is the fucking deal with all the meat. The link to the Tom Hahn in Killing Floor is interesting though much like Jon I have no clue what it means.

Ep 73: There are officially too many cults and I cannot keep track of them. Once again phobia themes!!! Darkness!!! Plus the idea that a space was much smaller in reality than it seemed while going through it, which sounds at least similar to a lot of the endless/infinite stuff we’ve seen before. I’m a little worried about Basira now, since like Jon mentioned being involved and in the know with these things in the way they are seems to offer some level of safety, at least more than if they’re not part of an official organization. Iirc Natalie was the weird girl who kept unscrewing the lightbulbs in that one episode, and Rayner was mentioned in Fathers Love?? I think??

74: Totally unexpected change of events, something fucked is in the tunnels!!! Never would’ve guessed!!!! Snarkiness aside though, this episode is interesting. Michael being there was confusing at first, but I’d wager a guess the drawings mentioned are fractals, or something similar, and he seems to like things that go on forever and fold in on themselves. The idea of the thing in the tunnels somehow removing and replacing the floor is interesting, I don’t know if we’ve seen things like that happen in places that are not somehow extradimensional or unreal in some way (like the spaces Michael likes so much). The fact that the person is taking files is also concerning, I would hope Jon would check to see if anything important is missing, or what was taken in general. Clues n such. Also we’re finally getting more confirmation that Not-Sasha is up to some sketchy shit!!!! Catch on Jon please god!!

75: Michael Crew what the hell have you become. The mention from Jon about wondering if the books take power from the people reading them instead of the other way around makes sense, but what does that mean for people like crew? People who died because of something to do with the book and are just. Inexplicably back? I can’t remember if there are other examples of something like this or if it’s just that there’s been so many books and so much death that it blends together. Basira really came through bringing the tapes, and it’s a much more satisfying goodbye to her character than just “fuck it I’m done buh bye”

Ep 76: Melanie King my beloved!!! I love that she and Jon are able to, for lack of a better term, infordump together lol. Hearing them literally finish each others sentences in the end talking about the research King was doing gave me a special kind of happiness lol. I do hope she doesn’t get murdered by ghosts in India though. Also she doesn’t recognize Not-Sasha!!!!! She knows she isn’t actual Sasha!!!! And now Jon has a real and true inkling of what’s going on. C’mon Jon you remember Graham from Across the Street, put the pieces together please god.

Ep 77: we have answers on whatever is up with Not-Sasha!! The Not-Them, apparently just one weird creature. Gertrude mentions “The Stranger”, which idk what it means but I know Mary Keay mentioned “The End”. I really don’t know what this could be about, but the way they talk about them like creatures or something is curious. Jon putting pieces together at the end even I hadn’t realized!!! Distortion and Strange Music both had Sasha’s voice. God I already knew the voice actor for Jon is fucking incredible but the panic and horror in his voice as he puts the pieces together of what Not-Sasha is, and what it must’ve done to actual Sasha? Phenomenal. But also I REALLY want Jon to clue the others in on what’s going on. They might not believe him right away and it might take a lot of explanation but there is real logic and evidence in what’s going on, they’ll pick up on that I assume

Ep 78: God the grief in Jon’s voice is awful. VA is too good. But also listening to the statement, hearing such explicit confirmation that the people attacked by the Not-Them are dead, not simply missing or lost, was so hard to hear Jon read. Just realizing that was probably the first time he got proper confirmation of it as well. Also god DAMN it he needs to tell Tim and Martin what the fuck is going on they can HELP. And maybe then he can get help from his friends instead of going through Michael’s fucking doors to escape the now unbound(???) Not-Them. Fucking wild

[goth-pod]

Goth-Pod Ep 5: Gotham Troubles

Welcome Back! Listening to you send ins, Juda Boone talks about things by Gothamites, for Gothamites!

[goth-pod is a fictional in-universe podcast based on the DC comics universe. Juda Boone is an original fictional character, not based on any real person or known comic book character.]

Transcript under the cut

Hello everyone and welcome to Goth-Pods special trials and troubles episode! I’m an indie theater’s take on the ghost of Christmas Present- and your host, Juda Boone. 

We're looking at your submitted trademark Gotham problems. So without my usual ramblings, lets get to business

—

For our first submission username Trekkle brought up a good debate: Subway vs Bus: The Subway is safer, since buses can get hit during rogue attacks, but if you're stuck underground there's a chance of a killer croc attack and also the birds ride the roof. 

Fantastic points, Trekkle! Thank you for writing in. I don't know exactly what you mean by the birds riding the roof, though. Do you mean Robin? Because I have been on the tram while a fight was happening between Robin and The Penguin on top. Of course, I missed most of it because I had my headphones in. Noise cancellation has its pros and cons in Gotham.  

There’s no set answer on this one, I don’t think. You kind of have to pay attention to what Rouges are active the way you pay attention to the weather. Cloudy with a 70% chance of a Riddler scheme? Maybe take the Buses, since they’re not connected to a maze-like system like  the subways are. But maybe it's sweater weather with a possible freeze-over because Victor Fries broke out two nights ago and is due for a showy return. Then an underground bunker with cushy seats doesn’t sound too bad.

—

From Clexx we have: I'm new to Gotham (full ride scholarship, thank you Mr. Wayne): Why does everyone hate Superman? I tried to get answers from a friend and they called Superman a Homewrecker. Is there an infidelity scandal around Superman I don’t know about??

Oh wow. First of all, congratulations on the scholarship! I'm assuming you're attending Gotham U? Just be sure you get a proper Rogue-proof gas mask. Yes there is a difference. It’ll probably be covered in your Orientation though, so onto the main question. 

To the Homewrecker comment.. oh I didn’t think it’d come to this. Okay, there's this thing in Gotham. Clexx, have you ever heard of Bruceman? Ask your friend about it, they’ll probably love to explain more. Basically it is a Real-Person based Ship on Gotham’s two protectors, Bruce Wayne and Batman. One watching over the day, the other the night. 

This is another Topic that might take all episodes to explain, so to keep it short: People see Superman and Batman’s relationship- professional, platonic, romantic, or however they define it- as a threat to Bruceman, the number one Gotham Ship. Godspeed if you get between our beloved prettyboy himbo and our odd night-stalking cryptid. 

—

From Allison: My cousin is visiting and I want to show them why I stay in Gotham. Where can we go for 1) a low level rogue attack (for Bat sighting), and 2) where can we go for a Wayne sighting. (They think Dick Grayson is hotter then Brucie [eye-rolling emoji])

For the first one, I think any part of our public transport system will do, as we discussed before. The tricky part is knowing when it’s going to be low-level or if your cousin will be joining you in a shelter-in-place lockdown.

For a Wayne sighting, unfortunately it’s harder to say these days. Bruce Wayne has made several statements on how he’s spending less time at the company in order to focus on bonding with his new son, Jason. I hate to disappoint, but right now might not be the time for celebrity sight-seeing. Maybe take a day trip to Bludhaven! Your cousin might enjoy the chance to convince you instead. 

Thank you all for writing in and for joining us on this special episode! If we didn’t get to your submission, head over to our socials to see if we replied there. I’m Juda, you’re listening to Goth-Pod

Until then, Newcomers, visiting cousins, locals on the bus, Stay safe, Gotham.

[your-unfriendlyghost]

3, 17 and 21!!

3. Who is your fave character OUTSIDE* of the main 7?

  Well I just wrote a big fic about Evie, so I’m liking her a lot right now- but I don’t think that really counts since she’s never onscreen in the book :/ 

  I guess otherwise I’d have to go with Marcia! I really liked the brief scene she had, and would have loved to see more of her. I mean I get why we didn’t, since I don’t think that would really fit in, but it’s still fun to think about. I do also like Cherry, but I admit a decent part of that is that I think Diane Lane is hot- uh lemme rephrase that, her performance was solid.

(Along a similar vein, I really like Buck Merril- less because of his character and more because I’ve been a Tom Waits fanboy since I was old enough to like music, and Tom Waits plays him in the film. I do like Cherry a lot more though, so her reasoning is more balanced- like 70% because I like her as a person and 30% because of her actress in the movie lol)

17. Are there any criticisms or salt you have with the book?

  I mean it woulda been nice to see some non-white characters/more girl characters, but like it was the 60s so I think it did well enough for its time. And Johnny’s kinda ambiguously tan so that’s something I guess. I don’t really have any real salt with the book honestly, I think it did what it set out to do. And plus it was the first book I’d read in three years that I legit enjoyed reading lol so I ain’t got many complaints

21. Unpopular opinion/s?

Johnny Cade is tough as everyone else in the gang. This ain’t exactly an unpopular opinion I guess, but I see a lotta stuff that portrays him as sorta weak and sad- but c’mon guys, he’s tough. I think sometimes people hear Ponyboy’s description of “short-big-eyed-kicked-puppy” and forget that Pony also says Johnny rarely cries, looks like a hood, and is good at fighting- I mean guys, Johnny’s closer in age to Sodapop than he is to Pony! Idk just he’s quiet and can be sensitive doesn’t mean he’s not outwardly rough like the other greasers, and I wish more people would remember that? (Again don’t get me wrong plenty of folks DO ABSOLUTELY remember it, but sometimes I’ll find something that mischaracterizes him so badly…) (...I mean who cares really, everyone's just having fun at the end of the day. Still it does occasionally grind my gears lol)

Thanks for asking, these were great questions! Lemme know what your thoughts are too on these :))

[nalyra-dreaming]

Chryed3 said: Like you I like complicated stories with well layered characters and therefore have been drawn to the writings of Anne Rice. Prefacing by saying , even though the vampires are monsters, I love them for their imperfections—very human. I’ve been rereading the books and faithfully watching the TV series. Chef kisses to Rolin Jones team. Of course including the actors. I’m a Loustat cheerleader but also enjoy the other multiple relations throughout the series.

However, what I keep returning to over and over is Louis’ betrayal of Lestat. Having been on this planet myself for over 70 years and in a few relationships I know how devastated I was when a soon-to-be ex-lover had not been trustworthy, lied, and, or being too personal, just devastated me, the relationship etc. And then for Louis to silently agree to “We’re going to kill Lestat” had to break Lestat’s heart and soul. There’s no going back. (I know, Lestat can be very forgiving) But even centuries of living can’t change or annul that deep hurt.

But Lestat, monster that he is, is almost a sweetheart in that regard and I know we’re going to see it, but Louis needs to step up to the plate-. (having read the books I know he eventually does)

All of this to say , THAT is the moment I want to see. And that is when I’ll cry my eyes out in relief. Once again, I know we’ll get there but, gosh, sometimes I just want to slap Louis and say, “Snap out of I!” and I’ve never hit anyone in my life. That’s how great Jacob is doing his job and that’s how annoying Louis can be to evoke such feelings. No wonder Jacob asked people not to hate Louis. Jacob is doing such a great jog that whoa, it’s difficult not to be annoyed🙂

Love your blog. Sorry for the long post.

________

No apologies necessary :)))

And sending you a big hug for that emotional pain you have endured :/ I hope the wounds are healing, truly 💕

And yes - it had to break Lestat's heart to hear that. And I firmly believe that this is part of what sent him spiraling, though not all of course. But the pain of knowing the betrayal, before it happens? To wait for it? Stifling pain.

I think that is why "murder night" was almost a relief, finally. It happened, the dice were rolling, and with it came acceptance.

Louis says it in s1, but time offers perspective, and when Louis and Lestat will meet again properly - not at the trial I mean - then they both will have had time to reflect, to digest. To change, just a bit.

I mean, that is what happens with Lestat in the books, too, doesn't it. And Louis. They both get the time to let the feeling pass... and return to the longing for the other.

We, as mortals, usually do not have this extra time. We do not have 50 to 70 years we can sit back and just wallow in the feeling of betrayal, until it's diluted enough for us to move on from it.

Some people may be able to do it faster.

But I think it speaks for itself that even Lestat wasn't able to do it faster. I mean... we'll see it how they spin it at the trial, but even later, much later, there is still a certain pettiness between them, a certain grudge, that exists.

And in the show... I think one cannot quite say if the Lestat reaching out to Louis there via Armand (in 2x05) has already stomached the betrayal. Because it is one thing to have an acute point of worry, which this is, and another to forgive the other when they're back whole and safe and sound.

And so I think that... the decades apart is what offers them perspective. And forgiveness. Just like in the book.

And I think Anne was painfully aware when she wrote it like this. I'm not sure "we" could forgive like that. But... they, other than we do, have the time.

[laurelnose]

i saw an essay when Book of Hours came out that said the Librarian was different from the Cultist because the Cultist has no friends and is just holed up somewhere pursuing higher mysteries while using people as ritual parts, while the Librarian is a member of the community at Brancrug. (It was hilarious how fast BoH swung the fandom consensus on the Cultist from “they’re pretty competent” to “oh the Cultist is a fucking idiot,” lmfao.) anyways uhh they’re right but since House of Light came out I have realized that I like playing BoH exactly the same way I play CS, which is to say I hole up in my big weird house for days on end shuffling my card decks and forgetting other people exist, only to be unpleasantly surprised when the season changes and someone shows up at my door. community what community. The Deep Mysteries need to be shelved.

[very mild, largely mechanical House of Light spoilers to follow]

salons are pretty fun once you’ve got enough resources to not feel squeezed about them though. They take a lot of prep and you have to time your invitations correctly so that your visitors arrive while you’re still flush with soul, but I do enjoy the conversation with the guests. and it does feel nice to be able to write to visitors, even if I’m not doing it very often. like the Librarian really is connected to the outside world and not just hopelessly unmoored from other people at Hush House, at the mercy of whoever randomly bothers to make the trek out to Brancrug. I’m still spending most of my money on Unusual Help and haven’t been able to budget much for dishes but I’m almost done unlocking the House and will soon be able to buy much more food. I like that lessons are now functionally infinite and I don’t have to worry about trying to get the timing right for Numa lessons anymore. I’ve not done a lot of incident follow-up (Spencer is coming next Numa and he will be my first) but I think I shall have to prioritize doing more of them. And I shall have to find out if my Numa incident can be followed up on too, once it concludes.

[“how have you been playing for a week and still haven’t concluded any incidents” I am BEING ANTISOCIAL, as previously established.]

i am so sad that Numa visitors don’t leave calling cards. I understand why but the only thing I really wanted from the visitors update was the ability to make Julian Coseley show up whenever I want. 😭 Can you host a salon during Numa if you are careful with your invitation timing?? I will have to check if the Numa guests have food preference aspects.

two final things. 1) please let me buy eggs oh my god. eggs require three soul cards (collect vegetable sack. feed chicken. collect egg from chicken) which considering that the going rate for a soul card at the Sweet Bones is 12p and that you can’t multitask with beasts e.g. feeding Tuppence while collecting from Terrence, makes eggs one of THEE most complicated and expensive ingredients to obtain. It’s more straightforward to collect from the gulls but considering the pull rate is 33% eggs, that’s still basically three soul cards per egg, this time with aspect constraints! I will pay fucking spintriae for eggs, just let me use currencyyyyy. 2) the fucking shelving system is still giving me fits, I think it’s been improved somewhat for the books (I didn’t play the Daymare update so IDK if it was that or HoL) but where the hell am I supposed to put ANYTHING else. When I order all the ingredients I need for cooking, where do they go, the fucking bridge? Gross! Immersion-breaking! I need more pantry space.

(I unfortunately have limited patience for the shelf thing. The most concrete manifestation of my COVID trauma is I can’t STAND irregularly shaped shelves anymore. Circulation dropped by >70% during lockdown and took years to recover. Public library collections are sized with the expectation that a certain percentage of the collection will live with patrons; we were not and still aren’t equipped to house our entire collection in-house. I spent a year of my life jury-rigging shelves to get things to fit. The bane of my existence became shelves so specifically designed for a certain type of media that they couldn’t be extended or repurposed for other things. Having to constantly shuffle books around between ~aesthetic~ little nooks isn’t cute or cozy, it’s just bad fucking library design. When the shelving mechanic on BoH works it’s a thing of beauty but there are simply NOT ENOUGH SHELVES. I just want to fit my reasonably-sized collection on one screen. Also the scrolls should stack on top of each other. Catch my Librarian spending their stipend on ripping out the entire Westcott Room and redoing it for space efficiency)

[adashoflavendermelancholy]

Cat and Mouse

They were jus tin their room. Franky flipped through the latest shipwright magazine. With all the latest and greatest designs. As, a ship wright you had to keep on top of all the regulations and updates to the job. Being a pirate didn’t really stop that idea that was beaten into him by Tom. It was the only thing he was fickle about. Not wanting his or other ship’s falling behind stranded. ‘It gives a bad president to all ship wrights if they don’t follow this.’ Tom would say. Franky got it. It kept people safe. It also showed how far they had come in the years. Robin was reading something just as scientific.

“How would you like it if I dressed up as a cat for Halloween?” Robin asked, not looking up from her book. Franky looked other and thought about it. It was honestly a very hot idea. Then again, he was mostly just enjoying the idea of Robin.

Smiling and posing, he yelled, “You’d be SMOKEN!” It made her smile a bit. “Then again, you’re SMOKEN no matter what, babe!”

Robin laughed a bit. Before smiling at him and moving on to a new topic. It wasn’t that big of a change to their normal day to day. To the point that Franky didn’t even notice. He did now.

At, the Halloween party their crew was throwing. Franky noticed Robin wasn’t a cat at all. Rather, she was dressed up as a 70s hippy. It was still hot because it was Robin. Letting it go, thinking she had just chosen a new costume she liked more. Until she slinked up to him, “Hey.” She said, sliding her hand into his. Something in her hand. She winked at him and walked away.

Franky looked at the item she left. Finding it not to be a hot note. Or a note to tell him about an uninvited guest. It was a picture. Gasping at the picture before he hid it. It was Robin in a cat costume. If you could call ears, a tail, and black lace lingerie a costume.

Franky tried finding Robin after that. But she was playing with him now. He would catch a glimpse of her, only for her to weave through the crowd. Somewhere else, he would hear her voice.

Nami called out to him, because his behavior was so strange. “Franky, what’s going on?” Her nurse’s uniform is also very good. But not the one that he wanted to see.

“Ah, I’m looking for Robin.” Franky said. Nami smiled, something a little wicked.

“Is that right? Well, I guess if I got those pictures I would want to find my girlfriend too.”

Franky’s brain barely kept up. “You saw?” A green ugly feeling crawling to life in his stomach. It wasn’t like Nami was a bad person. Franky trusted Robin to never cheat on him. So this feeling had no reason to be there. Yet, it was still there.

Nami laughed. “I took the pictures!” Franky felt a little better about that, but was still jealous about it. Nami laughed and let him go after that. Telling him to have a good night.

When he did get a chance to be near Robin again, she was smirking. Sliding up close, her hand wrapping around his arm. Making eye contact the whole time as she slid another photo into his hands. Kissing his cheek before running off again, with a soft laugh following her.

Another photo of Robin in the cat costume, but in a new position. It was all fun and games, but he really wanted to see where this was going to go. But, just like before, Robin was gone. Lost in the crowd.

“This is gonna be a long night,” Franky said with a smile. What was better than a little warm up?

This time, he had a new plan. He wouldn’t run around the party. There were just too many people, and too many rooms. Instead, he deiced he would have fun and find Robin organically. It was better than running after a phantom of her. Then he could catch her again.

To his surprise, his plan kinda worked. Robin joined him while he was dancing. Though it was just to tease him again. Putting some of her beads on him before slipping away from him. He was a little sad he didn’t get another picture of her very sexy costume. Until he found a new one in his pocket. She placed it in just a way he would notice how it was new.

“Franky! where’s Robin?” Luffy asked, running up to him. Franky smiled at their captain, the only one he didn’t really want to tell what was going to be . Luffy was kinda dense to these kinds of games, not seeing the fun of it all.

Franky settled on telling a half truth. “Around. We’re playing cat-and-mouse right now.”

Luffy tilted his head, “Cat and mouse? Can I play?”

“Sorry Luffy, it’s two players.” Franky said. Trying not to feel a little bad about the disappointed look on Luffys face. It helped to remember the photos Robin left him. There was no way he wanted the others to see them. Especially not Luffy or Sanji. One because he’s too innocent and the other because, well, it’s Sanji.

This was their game of cat and mouse. With Franky wandering around tracking Robin. Talking to a few of their friends. Then Robin showing up and giving him another photo. Towards the end of his rope, when he was just about to pick her up and leave, she leaned in. Whispering into his ear, “Later, for our own party.” Kissing his neck and running off like before. It was maddening.

Still, their game went on. Franky now taking his time to walk around the party. Keeping an eye out for people. He even got to see some of his best friends, but not the person he wanted to see. That was fine, though. He was getting closer. He knew it. It was just a matter of time before he caught that little cat.

[doll-elvis]

Why did Elvis not have full sex with a lot of women he dated

some of y’all’s questions never fail to make my mouth drop- but thank you for the ask!! 😃

I actually do think this is an interesting subject although a little awkward to discuss so I just wanna say a disclaimer:

I obviously didn’t know Elvis in real life, I’m not a psychologist, and only Elvis knows why he did the things he did, all we can do is speculate based on the sources that we have

so based on what I have read I think the reason he often preferred foreplay as opposed to penetrative s*x had to do with both his physical body and his religious/southern/conservative upbringing

According to Lamar Fike “He didn’t like penetration that much because he was uncircumcised, and sometimes intercourse tore his foreskin and he’d bleed”

Marty Lacker also commented “Elvis was a little ashamed of being uncircumcised. Maybe he thought it was old-fashioned or kind of country. He mentioned once that s*x was a little painful sometimes because the foreskin tore”

Elvis was born at home and Gladys and Vernon, like many parents, couldn’t afford to have the procedure done. For some reason there is a stigma against uncircumcised men in the U.S and I often see it being associated with uncleanliness (which is probably why Elvis showed Joyce Bova how he cleaned it, iykyk🤧) However for Elvis I think he also saw it as a mark of his impoverished upbringing like Marty Lacker suggested and reportedly Elvis referred to little Elvis as a “hillbilly pecker”

And in the later years I understand that the prescription medication often made Elvis impotent, also I’m sure he just suffered from general exhaustion considering how much performed

Lamar Fike said “Dr. Nick wasn’t giving Elvis testosterone just to make him more virile onstage. Shit, no. He gave it to him for impotence. You couldn’t dope up that much and get a hard-on if Elizabeth Taylor stuck her ass in your face”

Peggy Lipton who he briefly dated said: “A heavy making out and petting session ensued. The petting went on for a quite a while. And then we made love. Or tried to… he was virtually impotent because of the drugs”

However I think it’s untrue to say that Elvis never enjoyed intercourse. According to Barbara Leigh whenever her and Elvis hooked up they would often consummate twice in one night. Joyce Bova and Diana Goodman also gave some very descriptive and frequent stories of their s*x life with him in their books 👀 and of course there have been a lot more women who have said they went all the way with him

Sheila Ryan said “We did have a very active passionate romantic life. Sometimes more than I was ready for, prepared for. Sometimes I was tired and it was ‘no, no, no’. So, you know, I’m really surprised to hear that other women had a problem with the lack of intimacy and s*x”

(once again I wish I was Sheila Ryan in the 70s !!)

Anyways, as I said before I also think his religious and southern upbringing had a lot to do with how he viewed s*x

Joe Esposito said “Despite his s*xual escapades, Elvis had a disarming naïveté when it came to women and s*x. Deep down, he believed s*x and fatherhood were for marriage”

Elvis was raised in and believed in a culture where s*x was strictly for marriage and so he simply found other ways to please himself. I also think he occasionally felt religious guilt for acting out s*xually so that is why he sometimes tried to be fully abstinent, like that one time in the 60s he told Priscilla that he had to learn to control himself from lust

Y’all know when Lana Del Rey said in the national anthem monologue “I always got the sense that he became torn between being a good person and missing out on all of the opportunities that life could offer a man as magnificent as him”?

That quote has always reminded me of Elvis😭!!

I think he was stuck between his love for women (plus the fact that so many were available to him) and his religious upbringing (believing that s*x and virginity were something sacred)

what do y’all think?

[crestfallercanyon]

Weekly Tag Wednesday Thursday

Thanks for the game @michellemisfit ! I believe I have missed like the last three, my apologies lol. Thanks for still looping me into the fun <3 

name: crest

age: late 20s

location:  next to my cat who is sleeping like he hasn’t been a complete menace all damn morning. 

top sheet, yes or no? (I'm assuming by top sheet it means the sheet over the ones that wrap your bed that separates your body from your comforter/duvet, which maybe not everyone uses) and yes, especially in this heat, sometimes that is the only thing I have on me because it’s too warm (but I hate not having something heavier on me)

how many stuffed animals do you own? I have two that I can think of off the top of my head. Used to have several. 

the names of your pets (and the explanations behind them): I only have one cat! And I'm sorry, as I am a paranoid individual (though there are people on discord who know his name, and I know there's other pets with this name, and I give out other information I know) but I'm not going to put it here. I will say I named him what I named him because he's all angles, he's very small for a cat, and loves jumping on me.

favourite color: I gravitate toward the color green a lot. I just adore it in all shades. 

any tattoos? Yes! 

how you transport your belongings (purse, tote, hands, pockets, etc.): If it’s just like me out and about? My pockets usually, I don’t like having anything hanging off of me like a bag if I can help me because it’s distracting to walk very far with shit flipping around. If it's for work/going somewhere with stuff that cannot fit in pockets, then I have a corduroy satchel with a bunch of buttons on it.

the last movie you watched: Shrek! I was feeling nostalgic.

how long does it take you to get ready in the morning? If I take a shower? Around an hour (I have curly hair, it’s kind of a bitch to make look nice because I’m bad at that kind of thing, that and winding down my cat who wants to play so badly it’s like he was fueled with jet fuel). If I don’t take a shower and let the cat figure out his own playtime? 20 minutes, usually with a breakfast on the go situation (and leaving my cat to mourn that I did not play with him). 

favourite weather: I love a good thunderstorm when I'm able to hang out at home and watch. Or a good snowstorm. For general getting around though, low 70s or low 80s with a breeze.

relationship status: single

ice cream flavor of choice: mint chocolate chip or something peanut buttery. Which I know are two chaotic differences, but it’s just my style. 

first fandom: Fandom where I’d be aware of what a fandom was? Probably Dr. Who? (I swear I answer this question differently every time I’m asked lol). 

how many books have you read this year? Think I’m at seven? I don’t read nearly as much as I used to but I’m starting to pick it up again. 

first 4 words of your last notes app entry:  “Right out the elevator”, believe that was instructions to myself on how to navigate some building I’ve long forgotten why I was confused about. 

and finally, if you had to change your URL tomorrow, what would you change it to? If I had to? Probably something equally sort of pretentious as crestfaller, something like coppermarsh or cruisinghearse (which damn I actually love that one lmao) but I came up with crestfaller by looking into a mountain range’s peaks and valleys, finding a name that sounded interesting, and grabbing the synonyms and mixing them together until I liked it. I have adopted the name crest on all things though now, I don’t know what I’d have people call me if I changed my name now. 

And finally... tags! (I imagine since we're into Thursday most people have already been tagged and I also don't want to spam people, but here's what I've got -- hope y'all enjoy!)

@mmmichyyy @jrooc @gallawitchxx @gardenerian, @babygirlmickey, and anyone else who would like to join!

[dreamingofep]

Strangers in the Crowd pt. 2

(Elvis/Austin!Elvis × reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Request: No, just another one of my delusional fantasies.

Prompt: You and your best friend are on are annual girls trip and go to see Elvis at the International. Little did you know this would be a show you’ll never forget. [Fem!Reader ]

TW: Cussing, fingering (f. receiving) teasing/tension.

Rating: Explicit/Mature (NSFW, 18+, so minors Do NOT Interact)

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: Hi lovlies. Hope you are enjoying this new fic! 70s Elvis in Vegas will always make me weak and writing this has only proved this further lol. I wanted to split up this part and make it a bit shorter and to also leave a little cliff hanger. ;) Feel free to message me or comment what you think! Thanks for all the love. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or goofs.

The after-party was full of life and laughter when you both walked back into the suite together. No one saw your entrance and you both mingle among the crowd seamlessly. The heat from the events in the bedroom had you feeling in a daze. Your body tingles still and feels light. You were overwhelmed by the passion, the excitement, and the way Elvis fucked you til you couldn’t see clearly anymore. 

You feel his hand on the small of your back leading you to the other side of the room where there’s some food on the table. 

You grab a plate and put some chips and dip on it and start to eat it. You see Elvis watching you out of the corner of your eye. You look up at him inquisitively, “can I help you with something? Do want some or what?” You quip.

He chuckles at your snappy mood. 

“Just didn’t think you’d be so hungry after what I put down your throat,” he mutters proudly. You choke on the chips you had in your mouth and cover it, absolutely shell-shocked by what he has just uttered. 

You look up at him, unable to form any coherent words. He presses his lips together to stop him from laughing and looks down at you devilishly. 

“Guess you didn’t give me enough,” you say brazenly and shoot him a challenging look. A smirk starts to form in the corner of his mouth. He nods his head slowly, analyzing you up and down like prey. 

“Hmm, okay little girl if you say so.” He calmly says. 

A chill runs down your body from his tone of voice. Something tells you that was a challenge, and one you would not be winning. 

“Are you staying in the hotel? Or do you have a room somewhere else?” He asks. 

“We’re staying across the way. The rooms were booked when we tried to get one because of some hot shot playing here for the next few weeks or somethin’,” you tease. 

“Hmm I wonder who that might be,” he mulls sarcastically, “well I’ll get Cicily a room here and as for you, you’re staying with me tonight,” he has this pleased look on his face and pulls you into his chest, his large hands grabbing your ass and squeezing it. A soft breath comes out of you, loving the way his body feels pressed up against yours and the way his hands consume anything to the touch, leaving you completely helpless. 

“Oh, didn’t think you’d want me to stay the night…” you say shocked. You didn’t think this is how Elvis normally plays it with the ladies he invited up to his room. 

“Yea darlin’, I want you all to myself, all night long. I still have more things to teach you…” he groans into your ear and you squeeze his strong bicep.

Your heart beats uncontrollably for him and wants to succumb to every last desire he wants from you. The power he has is nerve-wracking and you relish in it at the same time. 

“Oh, Elvis… I’ll stay for a little. But you better put Cicily in the nicest room you hear me?!” You try to say tough. He lets out a little chuckle, “I think Cicily is going to be preoccupied tonight anyway… but absolutely, best possible room for her that will be empty all night.”

You shoot him a confused look and spot her on the other side of the room sitting with Jerry by the window.

“Could you bring me a glass of champagne, please? I’m going to make sure Cicily is doing alright,” you say cutely. 

He nods at you and grins as he walks over to the bar. You make your way to them and 

sit next to her. She smiles when she sees you and Jerry excuses himself. 

“Where have you been?” She asks inconspicuously, checking her shoulder before saying anything else, “Where’s Elvis?” You pull her closer and make sure no one is around that can hear your conversation. 

“He’s around, getting me something to drink. Do you mind if I stay with him for a little while longer? He said he’d get us a room here,” you say like a little child afraid to ask their parents to stay over at a friend's house. 

“Y/n, what have you gotten yourself into?” She shrieks like a little girl, “I thought you didn’t want to be around any guys?!” 

“Well I don’t know how to tell you this but it’s Elvis Fucking Presley. How can you not want to be around him!? But besides, he’ll probably forget me in a few days I’m just enjoying the moment,” you say bleakly. You weren’t that naive. You knew the lifestyle Elvis had. This wasn’t forever, it was just insane chemistry and passion for tonight then, it’ll be a story you get to tell to anyone who wants to believe you. 

“I promise I’ll come to our room and we have the rest of our trip together I promise,” you assure her. She has a sight grin forming on her face and she giggles. “You know I’m just messing with you. You better not be wasting your time talking to me while you could be getting that di-,” you cut her off and place your hand over her mouth

“Hey, hey, hey will you stop! Jesus, I can’t believe you sometimes,” you jab and break out in laughter. “But it seems like you’ve been busy yourself,” you motion over towards Jerry standing by Elvis. 

She turns beet red and jabs you too. Elvis walks over to you both and hands you a glass of champagne and says hi to Cicily. She smiles at him for a second and looks away looking for Jerry. She excuses herself and leaves you two alone with you sitting on the seat on the window sill. 

You take a couple of sips from your glass and his eyes burn into your skin. He’s savoring all of you, looking like he’s getting drunk on the idea of having you all night long. It brings another shiver to your body, unaware of what else he might ‘teach’ you for the rest of the night.

“So you really want me to stay with you? You wouldn’t want, oh I don’t know… someone else to keep you company,” you notion towards the group of girls in short skirts staring your way. 

“Not at all darlin’. I have everything I need right here,” his voice raspy, the sound of it shooting down to your core and wanting him to dirty talk more to you. 

“What else is there to teach me? I’m pretty sure you’re too tired for anything else tonight,” you provoke. 

You watch as the wheels in his head turn, “hmm, you’re going to be the one too tired honey. I’m not going to let you sleep,” you struggle for breath and squeeze his thigh. You start getting that tingle in your belly and squeeze your legs together.  

A burning craving takes over your body and suddenly, he picks you up from your hips and places you down on his lap. You shoot your head towards him with your eyes wide open in shock. You can’t help but squirm as you remember you have no panties underneath and are afraid the light-colored fabric might show any juices that could seep out. 

He has a smug smile on his face and has a tight grip on your hip, restricting you from moving anywhere. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” You say worriedly, gripping his shoulder. 

“Just needed you close to me mama, do you not like being on me like this?”

You squirm again, relishing the closeness of his body with yours but worried how people might notice you sitting on his lap. 

“Oh no I love it, I just don’t want to make a scene,” you say insecurely looking over the room again. He tuts his tongue and places his index finger on your chin, making you look back at him while he looks over you hungrily. 

“No one’s paying attention baby, just need to start teaching you things out here,” he says as he squeezes your upper thigh. You inhale sharply, clawing at his back. 

“What could you possibly teach me out here,” you say shortly as you try to break the grip he has on you. But he’s stronger than you and sits you back down on his strong thigh. He hums in amusement over your antics to try to break from his grasp. 

“Uhuh, I don’t think so darlin'. You need to sit down and be good. Gonna teach you how to be quiet while I tease this needy pussy.” You feel his cock twitch in his pants and you groan as he adjusts you so it rubs against your core. You moan inwardly and look down to cover your expressions. 

“Elvis, we can’t do this here… there are so many people in here,” you mutter. This only entices him further and he nudges his lips into the nape of your neck. 

“Yes, we’re doing this right here, where everyone can watch you come apart on my lap,” he whispers, causing a shiver down your body and hitting your core. 

“You’re going to make me lose all control,” your breathing starts to hitch and your brain starts to fog over any sane idea you might have. His presence overwhelms you and you crave his attention. You want him all over you and inside you again. The very thought of that makes your core throb and wet with desire. 

He adjusts you in his lap so that both your legs are over his other leg and fixes your dress down as his hand carefully trails over your calf, then back down to your ankle, testing your responses with each touch. You open your legs slightly, wanting to give him more access where you need him the most. He grins at this small gesture and continues his trek up your legs. His rough, calloused fingers run up the soft skin inside of your legs, causing you to shiver at the smallest touch. 

Your wetness pools as he keeps you on edge, not giving you what you need. He starts to bite on the sensitive flesh in your neck, licking, sucking, and kissing on you over and over. You tighten your grip on him and nip at his neck too. A low emitted growl comes out of him and he rolls his hips forward to rub his hard length against your ass, down to your core. You grunt softly at his skilled hips, wanting nothing more than for him to fill you to the brim with his cock. 

His fingers reach your dripping wet folds and he starts to rub them, making you hiss at the contact and you buck your hips forward. 

“Now be a good little girl for me. Don’t move and don’t make a sound or everyone will see me having my way with you. You don’t want that do you?” He coos devilishly. 

You shake your head no and wait for him to give you more.

“Or maybe you do want them to see. Want them all to see what a needy cock slut you really are,” he hisses in your ear. 

 He spreads your folds and runs his middle finger up and down through them. He lets out a soft satisfied sigh as he spread your wetness and finds your throbbing clit. He rubs the sensitive bundle of nerves at an insistent, firm pace and your eyes roll back inside your head. 

“Elvis…,” you whine, wanting nothing more than to buck into his hand and have him ravage you loudly. 

“You’re doing so well baby.” He teases as he slips his middle finger inside you and curls it inside you immediately, hitting that ultra-sensitive spot deep inside. You gasp, biting the inside of your cheek, and feel your walls involuntarily squeeze around his slender finger. He begins to pump them faster, without making too much movement above to make your dress look like it’s moving. 

His hips make subtle movements and swivels as you’re writhing in pleasure on his thigh. His long member is pressing and pushing up against your ass, rubbing against your hole causing a new sensation you had never encountered before. You jump at the feeling and look at him with hesitation, unsure if you should like it this much. His eyebrows raise, seeing how unsure you are about his actions. He moves again, this time slightly dragging your hips with his motion, making sure to give you more friction. You moan quietly in the nape of his neck as both of your holes get this newfound attention and you can’t get enough. You bite his beautiful neck and suck on it harder as he also is trying to hide his own moans coming out of him. 

He grins at your responses as he places another finger inside you and the coil in your belly tightens further. He keeps grinding his hips into you, making you a weak puddle for him. You wish you could moan out his name and have him take you harder, letting him take care of this insatiable thirst you have for him. You never thought you’d need sex like this, or for any man’s attention to be like this with you, but something about him is so addicting. 

“Mmm, you like it when I play with both of your holes baby girl. I didn’t know you were this naughty,” he growls through his teeth and abruptly grinds his hips into you, acting as if he was adjusting in the seat and placing you back down. His cock was fully hard down his leg and throbbing with need. 

“Tell me how much you love it, baby girl. Tell me how much you love getting fucked by my fingers and having my cock between your ass,” he commands

“Ahh, yes baby feels so good. I love it,” you cry out in his ear. Your hips slowly and inconspicuously grind on his cock, making you lose every ounce of control. 

His fingers pick up the pace and his thumb works on your clit, getting you right to the brink of ecstasy. 

“Shh, be nice and quiet honey, being so good,” he tantalizes. 

You tighten your grip around his shoulders, hiding your face as you peer at the window and the bright lights coming in. Your walls being to flutter and you panic. He groans when he feels you about to come apart. 

He pulls your upper body away from his and holds your chin in his hand. 

“I want you to look at me when you cum. Let me see your face.” He says firmly. 

You can’t hold back any further and look into his eyes as you feel your orgasm run throughout your body and he continues to fuck you with his fingers and rub his cock into your ass with the smallest movements. 

Your lips part slightly and he bites his lip as he sees the euphoria wash over your face. You press your lips together as he ravages your insides with just his fingers, wishing he would let you moan out. 

The orgasm keeps building and you can’t help but a loud yelp comes out of your lips. You freeze, knowing that it was too loud to try and cover-up. Your walls continue to squeeze around him and you squeeze your eyes shut when another sharp moan comes out of you. Elvis growls at the sounds you made. 

He grabs your arm tight and stills you. 

“Oh, not going to listen to me hmm? Bad choice,” he mutters. He quickly pulls his fingers out of you. 

He yells out to the crowd scattered throughout the suite, “party is over, everyone get out, now.” A hush falls over the room and everyone starts making their way to the front door. He grabs both sides of your hips and doesn’t let you move until the last person leaves and closes the door. 

“Get up. You think it’s okay to not listen to me? Guess I’m going to have to teach you what happens to bad girls that disobey me,” he says low and domineering. 

You hold your breath, scared of what he might do next, but so unbelievably turned on by it all.

Tagging 💖

@powerofelvis @plasticfantasticl0ver @burninlovebutler@ab4eva @cryingabtab @returntoelvis @peaceloveelvis @kendralavon7@waiting4brucewayne2adoptme @woundmetender @thatbanditqueen @kaitaesupremacy @eliseinmemphis @alyssaraen @18lkpeters @lookingforrainbows @presleysdarling @marriedtopresley@missmaywemeetagain@yagirlalexx @literally-just-elvis-fics @flwrs4aust@prayerstopresley@kiankiwi

[3pirouette]

Fic: Theater Etiquette (1/1)

Title: Theater Etiquette 

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :) 

Story Summary: Steve and Peggy are in the audience for the first preview of Rogers the Musical. 

A/N: Use your imagination as to how or why they’re there. I picture them young, but you can see them as older.

Thanks to @captainjimothycarter for finding me the full length Disneyland link so I could see this without having to make my way to California. It will help if you’ve seen it, for sure. YouTube has a few versions now.

For Steggy Week 2k23 Day 5: Missing Scenes and Favorite moments

Does this count? Maybe. Rogers the Musical was my FAVORITE part of Hawkeye, so I’m saying it counts.

For the record, I really enjoyed Rogers the Musical for the campy romp it is and I;m very sad I’ll likely not get to see it in person. I fully believe Steve and Peggy would hate it with every fiber of their being. 

~*~

Steve squirmed in his seat as the lights went down and the announcer started talking. 

“I’ve never known you to be so restless,” Peggy muttered, slipping her clutch to her side. “It’s just one performance, then we never have to think of it again.”

“Until they ask me about it in an interview, or it turns into a success and I hear the songs everywhere…” He groaned, dropping his head. “What if they make it into a movie?”

“People deserve to know your story.” Peggy let her hand slip over his, entwining their fingers as the lights started to swirl around the audience. 

“That’s why I wrote a book,” he muttered, “and let the Smithsonian keep half my stuff.”

Peggy rolled her eyes, nudging him with her shoulder. “And what were you going to do with your 70 year old general issue boxer shorts anyway, hum?”

“…the one, the only, Starkettes!”

Steve huffed under his breath. “You’re kidding me. I don’t even get my own singers?”

Peggy squeezed his hand. “You know very well neither Tony nor Howard would have let the chance to name a group of female singers by them.”

“But Tony didn’t write this.”

Peggy shrugged as the stage brightened and the curtains opened, revealing a stylized USO club. “Just… try to enjoy this, can you?” 

“I can’t,” he muttered. “Not when no one gets it. If they did they wouldn’t be stylizing war like this, like some fun, happy time.”

Peggy turned her head. “You know very well this is a musical, and it’s not like life on the home front was Les Miserables, anyway.” She looked him up and down, “Now, just try to be a polite audience, can you?”

He deflated, but nodded. 

They sat quietly as the opening song continued, and Steve only groaned quietly when the setting changed to the Stark Club. 

“This is not factually correct,” Peggy mumbled, eyebrows pinching together as she saw the woman playing her not only be in the scene, but punch a guy in the face. 

Steve squirmed in his seat next to her. “I know.”

“I hadn’t even met you yet.”

“I know, Peg.”

She leaned into his space, whispering into his ear, “How much longer is this?”

Steve just dropped his head, shaking it. “Until intermission, or the end?” 

~*~

Steve huffed. “Oh, Erskine never sounded like that…”

“According to his biography, that actor was last seen in a regional production of Cabaret.” Peggy lifted her eyebrows. “His accent still needs a bit of work…” she listened to the actress playing her introduce herself, “as does hers.”

They both cringed as the lights changed and high notes were sung at the introduction of Steve and Peggy on stage. 

“It wasn’t like that,” Steve muttered quickly. 

“Not at all,” Peggy supplied. 

“You were much more intimidating.”

“And you were much more flustered and adorable.” 

He pecked her on the cheek quickly, then turned back to the stage. “So, they name the Greek chorus after him, but don’t put Stark in this at all? He was a huge part of all this…”

“They’ve also skipped the part where Erskine was murdered in favor of more… spangles, my love.” She squeezed his hand gently. “I told you, not exactly Les Miserables.”

“No, more like propaganda.”

Peggy watched as the USO show morphed into a medley onstage. Streamers fell around them as her character came back on stage to Steve’s excited rant about his performances. 

Peggy leaned into him, laughing into his shoulder. 

“What now?” He asked, nearly exasperated. 

“You were never that confident on stage, my darling.” She looked up at him. “Or as excited about it.”

“No, not in my Dancing Monkey Days.” He shook his head. “I recall that day being much more…”

“Wet,” Peggy supplied, leaning into him. “We were both soaked and muddied up to our shins.”

“Agent Carter, when I return, do you want to go on a date with me?”

Steve sputtered in indignation as Peggy tried to hide her laughter. “Dear lord, they’re butchering this.”

“How did they- why would they-“ 

“Just… try to ignore it, ok?”

Steve did, he watched patiently for a few moments as his life was distilled down into comic book tableaus and silliness. Until he stiffened. 

“Does anyone copy? I’ve successfully taken control of an enemy HYDRA aircraft.”

“No,” he whispered under his breath. 

“Who told them?” Peggy whispered, looking at her avatar on the stage, gripping Steve’s hand tight. “We kept this to ourselves,”

“It’s an Army sanctioned show,” Steve muttered. “This is in the official records. I thought they were classified.”

“Steve? Steve?”

Peggy turned, burying her head in his shoulder. “Of all the things for them to get right…”

Thankfully, Peggy didn’t have time to fall into old memories, because Steve leaned forward as the lights lifted on the stage again. 

“Oh, good lord.” 

“What?” Peggy turned her head, looking back at the stage, where a caricature of Nick Fury was bouncing and singing. 

“He’s not going to be happy about that.”

“Not at all.”

Peggy watched with fascination as the man bounced across the stage in a manner that was so contrary to the man she knew as Fury she couldn’t help but be intrigued. 

“This has to be on purpose,” Steve whispered, entranced. He watched as Fury started introducing Avengers, “I mean, Scott wasn’t even there for that, and we didn’t know about Bucky yet, or Wakanda…” His voice drifted away. 

“How can they get so much wrong,” Peggy mused, shaking her head, “but get Saturday at 8 right?”

It was entrancing, though, and they fell silent as the stage turned into a New York street filled with rubble. Peggy couldn’t help but notice Steve’s foot tapping along to the Act 1 finale.

As the lights came up, Clint turned around in front of them. “You guys are literally the worst, you know that, right?”

Steve and Peggy just eyed him. 

“I had to turn my hearing aid off.” He moved his hand to his ear and flicked t back on. “Chattering away like no one was around you.” He shook his head, standing. “Just because this horrible mess is about you guys doesn’t mean you get to talk through it. Remind me never to go to the movies with you.”

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

Obligatory Danzou’s interlude post because it’s one of my favorite parts of fgo, they really made an interlude just for me, with a large focus on Limbo’s obsession with her (this is an abridged version of the full 70+ message discord thread I made lol)

The fic I always talk about actually has a section that takes place directly before this interlude, showing one of her daydreams which I really like…

Anyway, da Vinci’s comments about Danzou are interesting in that even a genius like her doesn’t exactly know how she works, so I’d imagine Limbo is the second most knowledgable after Kashin Koji themself and maybe the first Fumma too

This interlude also emphasizes that this Danzou knows nothing of Shimousa cause she’s PHH Danzou, so once again the fact that she has a fear of the dark sun stands out to me as Limbo hurting her to such a degree that this Servant version of her fears it despite not remembering him. And I wonder if the virus itself played a role too.

It’s not Limbo proper or even a shikigami but the virus still acts just like him, and it just makes me wish for a scene in Heian-kyo where he tortures Danzou, we could still save her cause as he says, he’s the type to give someone a long agonizing death not kill right away… and especially with his fixation. Also his threat to guda here resembles the materials book line a lot as he’s threatening to keep them beteeen life and death (though I imagine the overt rape threat was too much for the game’s rating)

I really want to see moonflower animated, or at least an illustration cause I love how it sounds… and she talks about it being a cruel technique she dislikes… love how both times she uses it it’s on Limbo

This part with Holmes having known the intention was to restore Danzou’s memory apparently gets taken out of context because even the preceding line here is him saying that it does not tell us why he did it. I find it insulting to her character to try and claim Limbo legitimately wanted to help when right after this he explains his motives and they’re the height of cruelty. With Shimousa backing him up that he means his words, not that he’s one to lie about such things. For the hundredth time, he let her get attached to her companions, forced her body to attempt to kill them, blew her up, and all while mocking her for thinking she had free will and telling her how he screwed with her mind. Also he didn’t even restore her full memory, just let her choose the most precious one to serve his own purpose of learning what it is she cares about most so he can take it from her.

Usually motherly characters don’t interest me much but there’s something about Danzou and Kotarou that’s so good…. A doll that thinks she’s just a machine to pass on the Fuuma arts and hates herself to the point she hides away from the sun, and the boy who treated her as a human and decided she was his mom now, and she was the one person he opened up to… also he too has his whole oni blood thing and in a my room line he’ll talk about how he’s a wretch… so them finding each other is so sweet… it’s good!!!

Best part is the final part though, and it demonstrates a lot of why I’m so obsessed with LimDan. The fact that he goes to so much effort to hunt down another version of the doll he found in Shimousa, give her a virus to restore a single memory so he knows how best to devastate her, then tell her to her face his plans to do so… that’s the sort of fixation I love!! And that he doesn’t seem to hate her necessarily, but he certainly doesn’t love her either, it’s just an obsessive desire to hurt cause he enjoys it, which ultimately stems from his hatred and envy of Seimei, who he can’t surpass, so he goes off mocking and hurting everyone else. And someone like her who reminds him of Seimei is especially pleasurable to hurt so he develops this sort of fixation on her and goes way out of his way to hurt her as much as possible! What the fuck I love it so much. Also I love how he switches entirely to calling her creepy pet names post-Shimousa.

This is a fantastic setup for Heian-kyo too, which makes it all the more frustrating that it completely fumbled everything it was given… the beginning of Heian-kyo has Sion stating that the only two Servants that will have no trouble rayshifting are Danzou and Kotarou. He’s following through on the threats he made here in her interlude… only for them to give some flimsy excuse for Kotarou not to make it and not even have Danzou talk to him much at all… Heian-kyo beginning is also fantastic and promises so much only for it to drop it all as you get to the middle and end… her killing Limbo is exactly how it should be but where was all their conversation leading up to it? It should have been a Danzou-centric chapter and I’ll stand by this, she’s the one most hurt by him.

[hydrogenandhelium]

Oh reading update I should have given you guys a couple of days ago!!!

Wow this ended up being longer than I expected. Preview of what I talk about below the cut so I don’t take over everyone’s homepage if you’re only here for cosmemes: Priory of the Orange Tree (Samantha Shannon), The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Patrick Rothfuss), Kings of the Wyld (Nicholas Eames), The Broken Eye (Brent Weeks)

I finished priory of the orange tree. I loved it, but I felt like the last 300 pages or so dragged until I got to the ending. It could just be me though, the changes at work really cut into my reading time so I spent more days reading that book than I’d planned. Definitely recommend, it’s got dragons and politics and court intrigue and queer rep and spies and secret sects and all sorts of things.

Then I read the slow regard of silent things in one night. It was cute and weird and a lot of fun. I wouldn’t consider it essential reading for kingkiller chronicles, but it IS Auri’s pov and she’s definitely my favorite character so I could t skip it. Another highly recommended, and it’s spoiler free so if you just want to read a week in the life of a quirky girl with maybe OCD and definitely anxiety living in the tunnels under a city, I’d recommend it. The tunnels are cool, not icky, there’s an abandoned ballroom down there!

Now I’m reading Kings of the Wyld. I’ve seen it described as the A-team reunited and someone’s wild dnd campaign. I’m only on page 70 but I’m already comfortable saying those people are wrong. This is a 70s rock band trying to hold a reunion tour in 2010 when emo reigns. I’m really enjoying the campy humor especially after priory of the orange tree, which was so so so serious.

I’m also about halfway through book 3 of lightbringer (the broken eye) too on my audiobook. I’m liking that series a lot. Brent Weeks isn’t great with characterizing women and I’ll never argue with that but I think people overstate how bad he is. The women of Night Angel seriously needed some personality but the women in lightbringer actually have agency and a lot of depth. They’re not perfect and Karris is more motivated by men than she probably should be, but she still makes decisions for herself. And Teia might be my favorite female character he’s written. So it’s not all bad, just depends on how sensitive your meter is for unintentional sexism. For me, I tend to be more forgiving of older books than newer books, especially when you can see the author is making an effort to improve.

I think that’s all I’ve got. Based on how fast I’m going through kings of the wyld in the rare opportunity I do get to crack it open, I’ll go through it pretty fast, so I’m already starting to think about what I’ll be reading next. I’ve got a few things standing out on my bookshelf to me right now but we’ll see how I feel when it’s time for the next one. Mood reader problems I guess 😂

[thee-morrigan]

Hey! For the OTP ask - 40, 42, 44? Either Nate and holland OR Petra and Ava?

40. Who has an insatiable appetite? And what does the other do to help? Petra/Ava: Petra eats like a teenage boy, which is to say: constantly and with dubious standards. Where most human bodies are 70% water, hers is 70% Diet Coke. She has definitely decided half a package of Oreos counts as a meal before. Her fridge is either empty or populated with miscellaneous takeout containers. So I think Ava probably “helps” by trying to sneak her some actual vegetables once in awhile.

Holland/Nate: …you know, I don’t think it’s food that either of them is more likely to have an insatiable appetite for. so, uh, do with that what you will sfksdfsk

42. What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.) Nate/Holland: Hmm, maybe those really crisp days in early autumn—the ones where the mornings feel a bit like biting into a perfectly ripe apple, or splashing your face with cold water; the air is somewhere between refreshing and bracing. (I cannot explain why, but it just seems like the right vibes for them)

Petra/Ava: after the car scene in book 3? obviously, obviously any weather that’s good for long, aimless drives together. I’m thinking early/mid-spring, when it’s still cooler in the mornings but you can feel the promise of sunshine and warmth despite the chill? Ava still will not let Petra drive, but has kind of compromised by ceding music control rights, so Petra is somewhat mollified.

44. Who would dance in the kitchen making dinner? Would the other join in or watch from the doorway? Petra/Ava: If Petra actually cooked, she totally would. She is generally prone to impromptu dance parties while doing other things, though! Like, she definitely dances around her bathroom while she’s brushing her teeth or like, doing her skincare routine. Ava (of COURSE) is way more likely to linger in the doorway rather than join in, and I don’t think Petra would try to convince her to if/when she noticed her watching. She would probably ham it up a bit, though, and try to make Ava laugh. (She would do a lot of things to make Ava laugh.)

Nate/Holland: I meeean, if it’s going to be one of them, it’s not going to be Holland haha. I don’t think she really ever dances, actually (except maybe, maybe at like, shows/music fests). I do think Nate could probably persuade her, though (but then I think he could probably persuade her to do a lot of things).

otp asks