#should i include seans sketches?

[newtsixtyfive]

Okay, this is gonna be a little brain break from writing my LIS 2 apoc AU.

Reasons Why I'm Writing A Zombie AU for LIS 2:

They're constantly on the run, and trying to leave the country. Perfect setup to throw some zombies in.

It's Halloween.

Daniel dressed as a zombie and made fake zombie blood.

Sean drew zombies on the day of Episode 1.

Many zombies references throughout gameplay (such as when Chris asked Sean to draw for him).

EDIT: The Last of Us reference with the mushrooms and Sean making a clicker noise after Daniel references clickers.

Probably more but I literally just found out Sean drew zombies in his sketchbook on Oct 28th. 💀

I'd really love to talk more about it but I don't wanna spoil my ideas.

[tapesfrom1980]

can u do dating sean headcanons? and if u could keep it gender neutral-ish i would appreciate thank u <33

dating sean diaz would include..

IVE NEVER GOTTEN AN ASK/REQUEST THIS IS SO EXCITING YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY THIS MADE ME THANK YOU ENJOY <33333

-either frenemies to lovers or he just thought you were hot and you rejected him multiple times till you gave in a longgg time later and he never gave up <3

-definitely a bestfriends type of relationship, he’s very comfortable with you and he knows he can make jokes with you without worrying about hurting you

-he’s lowkey awkward at first just because he hasn’t really had real?? experience with relationships before but he’s so excited to finally have you he goes all out if he can

-he’ll get you concert tickets for one of your favorite artists and be like “just because I love you 😘”

-sometimes it’ll be estebans money too and if he gets caught he’ll yell at sean but make sure to say “it’s not your fault though y/n you did nothing wrong” and go back to scolding

-he didn’t know when to drop the L bomb since he’s never felt that way with someone and didn’t know when it was the right time to say it

-he eventually said it mid-argument and there was a lot of making out after that

-getting sketches of yourself that he drew basically everyday

-he draws you at the most random times, bummy looking or not

-his favorite is the one he did while you danced around his room to your favorite song

-he always draws you as an absolute angel and has some hung up

-even just in his school notebooks his doodling always goes to your face so a lot of his homework or quizzes have your face in some corner with little hearts around it

-daniel tries drawing you too, and you take some home with you even if it’s just you with a deformed blue face and wonky yellow eyes

-being ABSOLUTE besties with daniel

-sean tries to act like he hates sharing your attention but you know he likes that you love daniel as much as he does

-sometimes you’ll come early to the diaz house just to hang out with daniel

-“y/n? how long have you been here why didn’t you wake me up?”

-“daniel called me to help him with his new batman lego set”

-“…”

-he sometimes joins in your guys’s dates and sean tries kicking him out everytime

-being super close with esteban too

-he’s happy sean found someone who’s good for him and pushes him to be a better person

-gossiping with him while he’s working on a car

-usually it’s when sean is busy or you’re just annoyed at him

-“oh y/n, whatd he do now?”

-sometimes even while sean is in the room

-“i’m still here guys”

-weekly movie dates!!! drive ins or sneaking into the theater (sean says 15 bucks just to watch a movie is outrageous)

-getting him to listen to your favorite artists/bands

-sometimes he’ll pretend to hate it if it’s a genre he’d never listen to but you can see him trying not to drum his fingers or bop his head

-dragging him to every school event

-matching halloween costumes always

-if he wants to do a character you don’t know you’ll still match him for his sake vice versa

-if you have a pet he’ll probably try his hardest to befriend it even if he’s lowkey scared at first

-he’ll get jokingly jealous about you and your pet saying how you don’t give HIM that much love

-speaking of jealousy, he’s def the jealous type

-he’ll try to hide it but then say something petty to you or the person making him jealous

-“that wasn’t even that funny 😐”

-“you guys should go to that restaurant you’ve been talking so much about together”

-“sean 😒”

-lyla!!!!

-as both of sean’s bestfriends you guys are really close too

-“he will never get between us y/n.✊”

-lyla joking about how she has to third wheel even tho she’s absolutely happy you guys are together

-sean and lyla fighting over you

-“i don’t care if you and y/n are dating. i’m still the favorite. right y/n??? right??”

-making sure to include her at some point on valentine’s day too even if she pretends to hate it

-arcade dates & picnics <3

-sleepovers!!!!!!! always so much fun

-sometimes you’ll just lay in bed listening to music and it’s one of the most special moments together

WITH STORY PLOT

-you were with them minutes before that had happened, but you went to go pick up your guys’s food from the deli near the house

-you came back to esteban on the floor, the crashed cop car, and no sean and daniel

-you were so in shock nothing came out your mouth for a while

-once your brain processed what was happening you yelled around the house for sean and daniel

-you screamed and screamed till the other cops got to the scene

-even then you kept calling for the boys

-you didn’t know what to do with yourself you’d just seen your boyfriends dad dead on the floor and your boyfriend and his little brother missing

-when the cops explained what happened you were so disgusted about how the situation was handled and how sean had been blamed

-you knew sean and daniel, you knew sean and you knew the story was mixed up and the diaz boys were blamed obviously due to racism

-you never gave up looking for them, you went into the woods and everything

-you were looked down upon, even by your own parents, because it looked like you were supporting a “criminal”

-when sean finally called, you were so happy you bawled the entire time

-you were so so relieved he and daniel were alright

-you understood why he couldn’t tell you where they were or why he wouldn’t be able to call again

-he also didn’t tell you their location because he knew you’d try coming to them, he really did know your love for them both

-with one last goodbye and i love you, that was the last time you talked to sean

if you ran with them

-sean 100% didn’t want you to come with them

-you were in the house when it happened but you rushed outside, but the cop didn’t see you

-he knew that if you went with them you couldn’t come back without being taken in to custody as you were now an accomplice to them, things would never be the same and he couldn’t ask you to do that for him and daniel

-“y/n please, stay here” he was already in tears and his voice was cracking but you refused

-instead, you took your bag with more supplies and stuff that was already in visible view that you knew would be helpful for whatever situation you guys were going to be in

-“i don’t know why you’d think i’d leave you sean”

-you also knew even with the rush of adrenaline you were having what you were giving up

-you were giving up your family, your friends, and a normal life

-but you had been with sean for a long time and you knew you were never gonna leave him to fend for him and daniel in who knows where

-you never complained, even with the bad circumstances

-you helped the boys ration supplies and find shelter in the woods

-sean felt so much better with you there, so did daniel

-they both felt guilty for being glad you came with them

-they knew you left a whole life behind and felt like they took that from you, even if it wasn’t their fault

-but it was your choice and you didn’t regret it even in the worst moments, and you always reminded them both of that, no matter what the ending was

[gazellefamily]

HURLYBURLY (1998) “Male actors unleashed. What is this? What were we? Did people relate to this shit? Thank god for widespread recreational marijuana. The coke was mutating men into monsters. When Sean Penn is at rockbottom he has exact voice of Tim Robinson sketch character. Spacey, dark king of Smarm. Truly seems that no one involved with this had ever talked to a woman, including the the 3 women involved. M’Gry, you’re too old for this shit. APaq, you’re too young for this shit. RobWriPenn, just doing couples stuff. Do the Shandling face, Tommy.” -Sonny Gazelle

"(Doing Shandling face as I type). Yeah I mean - - college aged boys should be kept away from shit like this. 20-year-old boys are already sort of baseline misogynist, so one might consider this gasoline on the fire. Just like...being a 'tough drunk,' you know? Like a modern Bukowski. Nah. Nope. I shoulda been watching THE AGE OF THE INNOCENCE instead. I look back, and I'm like, 'Why wasn't I more successful with girls in college?' And it's because I consumed poisons. Also it's super weird when Penn goes to the grocery store barefoot. I know it's SoCal, but come on. There's food there." -Tommy Gazelle

[choicesmonthlychallenge]

Choices Sibling Appreciation Week(ish)

Not quite a week, but who's counting?

Last year I hosted a Sibling Appreciation Month(ish), with over a month of sibling pairs specific to days. While it was a lot of fun, it felt tedious and tiresome by the end. I don't think we need something so structured. So this is much shorter but more open.

Sibling Appreciation takes place December 23-26, 2021.

Event extension: From December 26 through 31: previously published content will be accepted as will late entries of new content.

Please tag @choicesmonthlychallenge​​ . You may also tag my personal blog (@lovealexhunt) or message me your content here if you're worried about the tag going through.

Additional rules, guidelines, and sibling ideas are below the cut.

Rules + Guidelines

Schedule December 23-26: New content only December 26-31: late new content + previously published content

Any and all siblings from Choices books are welcomed including original character siblings. (This can be siblings of your MCs or siblings you gave other Choices characters... I know this was requested last year and I hope those people are still interested!)

The siblings should be the focus of the work. MC / OC / LI are all welcomed but shouldn't pull focus from the siblings featured.

Every form of work can be submitted: fanfiction, drabbles, moodboards, edits, drawings, poems, songs, sketches, and more—all are welcomed.

You don't have to participate in all 4 days. You can participate as much or as little as you want. You can submit multiple things each day if you would like.

You may combine sibling appreciation with any other prompts from other challenges. (December Challenge, WackyDrabbles, OPH challenges, etc)

Since siblings are the focus, no NSFW content should be submitted.

I will reblog all content submitted and make a masterlist at the end of the event.

Late submissions will be accepted through December 31, 2021

Possible Siblings

This list does not contain all Choices siblings and does not include siblings from any books debuting this year. This is the list of siblings included in last year's event.

This list is just to give you some ideas to get started. Remember, any and all Choices siblings including OC's are welcomed.

In order of their appearance in last year's event (so basically, random!)

Baz and Zaid Mirani (Open Heart) Zoey Day & Luz Mendez (Mother of the Year) Chris & AJ Powell (The Freshman Series) Noah & Jane Marshall (It Lives) MC, Harry Foredale, and/or Edmund Marlcaster (Desire & Decorum) MC, Jess/Party Sister, Nicole/Bookish Sister, and/or Alex/brother (Rules of Engagement) Sawyer & Duke Oakley (Big Sky Country) Connor & Stacey Green (It Lives) Maxwell & Bertrand Beaumont (The Royal Romance) MC & Atlas (The Elementalists) Chris, Sean, Tyler Winters (Hollywood U/Red Carpet Diaries) Jake and Rebecca McKenzie (Endless Summer/Most Wanted) Kayden & Cyrus Vescovi (The Royal Masquerade)  Noah, Elijah, and/or Hazel Harris (My Two First Loves)  MC and Amelia Hayes (The Unexpected Heiress) The Waverley Siblings (all or any combination) (The Haunting of Braidwood Manor) Drake & Savannah Walker (The Royal Romance) Aerin & Baldur Valleros (Blades of Light & Shadow) Thomas & Rachel Hunt (Hollywood U/Red Carpet Diaries) Raydan Lykel and Adder of Lykos (The Crown & the Flame) Flynn & Kate O’Malley (Veil of Secrets) MC & Twin (High School Story: Class Act) MC & Elliot (It Lives Beneath) Francis & John Somerset (The Unexpected Heiress) Zig Ortega & sisters (The Freshman Series) Keira & Zeke Theron (The Royal Romance) MC, Eos, Pax (Across the Void) Sam Dalton & Robin Flores (The Nanny Affair) Beckett & Katrina Harrington (The Elementalist)  Tyril & Adrina Starfury (Blades of Light & Shadow) MC & Anna (Baby Bump) Justin & Nora Mercado (Save the Date)  Bryce & Keiki Lahela (Open Heart) Liam & Leo & Lena Rys (The Royal Romance) Mickey & Mason Dalton (The Nanny Affair) MC & Kade (Blades of Light & Shadow) Ajay & Mohit Bhandari (High School Story: Class Act) Rose & Trystan Blake (The Crown & The Flame)

[monsterenergysimp]

Permanence

corpse husband x fem!reader 

summary: you meet corpse on a stream and you’re surprised when he reaches out to you 

warnings: cursing, mentions of tattooing

word count: 1.9k

notes: This is proof read but could have missed some stuff. This is my first corpse fic and my first time writing fanfic since I posted that super cringey book on wattpad when I was like 12 or something. I’d appreciate feed back so please reach out to me :)

main blog @itsmysleepover

read part 2 here!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You were cleaning up your station so you can get home and stream. You loved your day job as a tattoo artist but you also really enjoyed streaming. It started as a way to promote yourself as an artist and the shop you worked at but it eventually became a really fun way to destress at the end of the week (or day if you were really itching to stream). “Hey Y/N was that your last client?” your boss, KC, asked as she walked to the front of the shop and put new flash drawings on the walls.

“Yes ma’am!” You said back excitedly. You finished cleaning your station and tossed your black gloves in the trash. “And you can’t trick me into staying and taking walk-ins,” you joked with her. She rolled her eyes and walked back into her office “It was one time,” she said as you slid on your jacket. As you walked out your phone buzzed in your pocket and you checked to see who had texted you. It was a message from Sean asking if you were free to play Among Us with him and some other streamers. You replied that you were on your way home right now and totally down. You were excited to see who was playing this time around since their Among Us streams are super entertaining and have gotten really popular.

On your way back you tweeted and posted to your Instagram story that you’d be streaming soon and set up all your stuff once you made it home. After a few minutes, you had a couple of thousand people watching. You entered the discord chat and Sean spoke up. “Everyone this is Y/N she’s sensitive so be gentle.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you guys and I’m not gentle, I'm ruthless,” You say into your mic and notice the chat calling you a liar. Everyone was in the lobby waiting for the game to start. “You sound way too sweet to be ruthless,” Corpse said. The countdown started and you were imposter with Charlie.

“This should be fun,” you told the stream. Yout tried playing strategically but after such a long shift your brain was mush. You saw Poki in nav and killed her then vented into shields. Not long after the body was reported and you were sure you were going to get voted out or at least sussed.

“Where was the body?” Felix asked. “Nav and I didn’t see anyone near there so whoever is imposter must have vented,” Corpse responded. Felix spoke up again. “I think I saw Y/N walk that way and I haven’t seen her since.”

Shit, shit, shit shit. “I’m in shield right now so-” you said trying to defend yourself but Charlie spoke up. “I was doing tasks with her earlier and I saw her walk into shields so she’s safe but I’m still not sure about Rae.” Everyone discussed a bit more and some people, including Corpse, voted for you but Rae got the majority vote and was ejected. You released your breath and kept playing being extra careful.  

“Okay, guys that was super close. Corpse knows and is out to get me,” you said to the chat. You were eventually voted off but one round later victory was written across your screen with your ghost and Charlie’s avatar. “Good game guys,” Corpse said.

“I told you guys I was ruthless!”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You sat at your station doing nothing because a client had canceled a four-hour session. You were listening to music and sketching some stuff but you were bored out of your mind and you didn’t want to leave in case you got a walk-in. The music got quiet as you received a twitter notification saying someone had messaged you. You reached for your phone and saw you had gotten a dm from Corpse.

C: hey :)

You didn’t know what to respond. You were mostly confused as to why he decided to message you out of the blue. Did he want something? But what would he want?

Y: Hii! This is sudden

C: was i bothering you?

    shit sorry!

Y: Youre fine I wasn’t doing anything rn

C: how has your day been

    i dont usually do stuff like this

Y: Im glad you did im doing better now I was so bored

C: what were you doing that was so terrible

Y: NOTHING! thats the problem :(

C: im sure youll find something to do

You stared at his message. Unsure what to respond.

Y: Im gonna give myself a tattoo

C: what?

    NO!

You tossed the needles you used for your tattoo into the sharps box. “Oh my god you didn’t,” KC said. She noticed the wrap on your calve from the tattoo you just gave yourself out of boredom. “It’s not my fault I didn’t have anything else to do!” You said trying to defend yourself. She sighed and just shook her head. “Just go home business is slow today.” It was raining so the shop probably wasn’t going to get a walk-in anyway and you didn’t have any more clients for the day. It was only 2 pm but you drove home and after making lunch for yourself decided to stream. You weren’t expecting too many people so it was bound to be super chill. Your leg felt sore reminding you of the tattoo. You snapped a quick pic of the fresh jack-o-lantern on the side of your calve and messaged it to Corpse.

Y: [image] it came out nice!

C: thats  super cool actually

    i was concerned why you would just give yourself a tattoo but i found your instagram and       youre super talented

Y: Thank you!

For some reason, it felt strange to just have that be the end of your response.

Y: Im about to start streaming if you wanted to watch

    [link]

C: ill be watching ;)

What’s that supposed to mean?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You sat in your apartment watching tv, hand lost in a bag of Doritos, and scrolling through twitter. You had stopped paying attention to the anime playing on the screen since you’ve watched it a hundred times and knew you wouldn’t miss anything. It was Saturday and you usually take those days off. Take the time to do chores or meet up with some friends but today you felt like not doing any of those things. As you continue your endless scroll (not helping the twitter addiction you told yourself you’d try to get a handle on) you got a message from Corpse.

C: wanna talk?

You looked down at the message unsure of how to answer. It was a simple yes or no and the obvious answer was yes. You and Corpse had started talking more regularly. You still didn’t have each other’s phone numbers but it was fine. Your conversations weren’t too big-- just you sending him memes, tiktoks, and telling him how much you liked the songs he would drop. Or him complimenting a tattoo you did. Sometimes he’d message you during streams telling you funny stuff his fans would say in the chat and you’d do the same. You learned a bit about each other but nothing too deep or serious. Like how you two lived a few cities away and you both really liked Donnie Darko. When Sean first invited you to that game out of everyone else there you were most excited to meet Corpse. He’s just so sweet and funny. Of course, you’d love to talk to him but you were also itching to talk to him and the last thing you’d ever want to do was make him uncomfortable.

Y: Yeah id love to talk

Here goes nothing.

Y: Wanna facetime or something?

     No pressure or anything it could even be a regular call

     I think facetime is just my default lol

You sent those last two messages quickly after you had sent the first. You wished you could know what he was thinking. It was killing you to think you had turned him off from talking to you completely. You put your phone down on the couch and went to wash your hand of Dorito dust. When you got back from the kitchen you turned off the tv and tossed yourself onto the couch.

Still no message.

Why am I so fucking stupid?  

Just as you were standing up to stretch from sitting on the couch all day your phone buzzed. You reached for it fast and looked to see that it was him. You became super excited still not even knowing what the message said. It could have told you to never talk to him again for all you knew.

C: sure lets facetime

    xxx-xxx-xxxx

You had his phone number. You added him to your small but growing contact list and called. You sat on your couch waiting for a response when he finally picked up the screen was black. It didn’t upset you; you kind of expected it and didn’t care what he had to do to make himself more comfortable during this call.

“Hey,” he said. His voice was raspier than usual.

“Did you just wake up?” You asked and looked at the time. It was about a little past noon and you had only eaten Doritos all day. Shit, you should probably make a decent meal.

“Not that long ago but yeah,” he responded and giggled. That giggle.

“Well, I’ve eaten nothing but Doritos all day while rewatching Ouran High School Host Club, so you’re welcome to join me as I make myself something to eat.”

“Sounds like fun; what are we eating?”

“I don’t know yet,” You said as you stood up and made your way to the kitchen. You opened the pantry and looked. You noticed a can of diced tomatoes and reached for it then checked the expiration date. It was still good. On your counter were some onions and garlic. “How about some tomato soup?”

“Sounds delicious.” you smiled at Corpse and your phone screen not knowing if he was also looking at his screen or not. “You’re really pretty-- you know that?”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to--”

“I’ve already told you what an incredible artist you are so many times I bet you’re tired of hearing it, but you already know what a talented artist you are.”

“That is very kind of you Corpse,” you said to him bashfully as you chopped the onion and opened the can of tomatoes. “But once again you don’t have to reach so far to compliment me.”

“I’m not reaching you are talented and beautiful and--”

“I thought I was pretty.” You could hear him chuckle with a smile on his face. “You’re both,” he said. You could feel your face getting warm from blushing.

“Fuck you you’re making me blush. My face is all hot and stuff.”

He laughed at how flustered you got. “That’s the cutest thing ever.”

You didn’t know how to respond so you just put some olive oil in a pot and tossed in your onions. It became silent but it was a comfortable silence. You turned the stove on and watched the flame for a few seconds. “If it was dark we could pretend we were together and having a bonfire or something,” you said to the phone as you turned the camera to show him the flame (still not 100 percent sure if he was looking at you or not).

“I’ll put it on the list of things to do when you visit me someday.”

[meowdymista]

The Love Spoon (A You-tensil)

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Notes: Title sounds more provocative than it is. I tried to write it as a Charles x Arthur, but it came out better in first person. Fluff

~ NOW ON AO3! ~

“What are you doing?”

Arthur all but jumps out of his skin, colour rising in his cheeks. “Nothing,” he says a little too quickly.

You dismiss the secrecy. It doesn’t worry you, merely piques your interest a little. Usually it’s his journal he’s so protective over, but the knife in his hand and the shavings of bark in the grass suggest he has found another outlet.

“Mind if I sit here?”

He looks at the space beside him on the salt bleached log and shakes his head, hiding his eyes beneath the rim of the worn gambler’s hat he favours. “‘Course not. Free country.”

“Not for fellas with bounties,” you tease, and he chuckles, returning to his work.

You let the silence stretch, breathing in the cool breeze sweeping in over Flat Iron Lake and listening to the bird song. The coffee in your hand is too bitter and thin for your taste, but you continue to sip it stoically, knowing you’ll suffer later if you don’t.

“Much planned today?”

You sigh and struggle to smother the smirk tugging its way to the surface. “Fixin’ that wagon you and Mrs Adler took to town.”

He tuts. “They don’t build ‘em like they used to, a’right?”

You hum into your tin cup, wincing at the flavour. “Don’t know what magical wagon you used to drive. S’far as I can tell, they’re making them same as ever.”

Laughing, you let him land a gentle punch to your upper arm before taking the opportunity to stretch with a long groan.

“Guess I’ll catch you later.” He tips his hat at you with a small smile as you turn back into camp to begin chores.

***

“What the hell is it, Morgan?”

You shake your head, draining the last of the stew from the bowl. Sometimes it was a wonder the Pinkerton’s weren’t just listening out for Bill’s brawdy boasting or Dutch’s eloquent enunciations of faith to track them down. You toss your dish and spoon into the tub and look back out across to the sunset. A lone canoe drifts over the still surface, leaving a V of ripples in its wake. Whilst you appreciated the peace and quiet of this somewhat more remote camp, you worried for potential enemies eavesdropping from all manner of directions, especially as some members of camp had more than made themselves at home.

“It don’t matter what it is, I already told yer, it’s not for you!”

“Then why the hell you bring it over here? And what the hell’s it for?”

“Mind your damn business!”

“Gentlemen! What seems to be the problem?” Hosea’s tranquility smoothes over the tension.

You’re torn between conceding to your curiosity and keeping your distance from the drama until it’s cooled off. You glance over to your tent and inadvertently catch Arthur’s eye. You look away quickly, taking a deep breath as your cheeks fill with colour. It’s not what you think it means, you tell yourself, repeating your internal mantra. It's a coincidence. Let your head guide your heart. Don’t chase daydreams. It’s not what you think it means.

You watch the canoe disappear behind the trees. No man ever got out of the woods on his heart alone. You need to listen to logic.

You look back, but Arthur’s back is to you. As it should be, you reason as you walk over to the campfire, denying any intent to eavesdrop to yourself.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Wh-What do you think it is?”

“A spoon carved from basswood!” Hosea laughed. “Didn’t you used to have one like this? Your mother’s, if I’m not mistaken?”

He grunts as Bill splutters. “Ain’t gonna do much eatin’ with that, Morgan! It’s almost flat! You’d be better off eatin’ off a butter knife!”

“It ain’t for eatin’ with!” he snaps, snatching it out of Hosea’s hands and turning on his heel. “It’s stupid. Forget it.”

Bill cries out as Hosea’s hand makes contact with the back of his head. “You drunken oaf. Read a room why don’t you!”

“Read a room?” Bill blusters. “I ain’t seen four walls since that bank job-”

You push yourself to your feet and track him down with ease. He has stormed off towards the treeline and stopped by his horse, leaning his elbows on the saddle patting the mare’s neck distractedly. He throws the item towards the shore in a fit of frustration and pulls himself up onto his mare with a huff. You’re too close in the clearing to be able to hide when he looks straight at you, but despite stiffening in surprise, he yanks the reins to lead his horse out of camp without looking back.

You wait until you’re sure you’re alone before stalking out to the grass, looking for whatever it is that Arthur threw. It takes a while, but eventually you find it.

It’s a rough whittled spoon. On closer inspection, you can see the detail scratched into it and where he’s tried to sand the edges to smooth them. The lip of the spoon is, as Bill stated, too shallow for much use, but the handle is intricate and suggests it’s purely a decorative piece. The wood winds into itself, plaiting itself awkwardly up to the head of a stag. You walk it back to camp carefully, keeping it out of sight in the fold of your shirt. Finding a quiet space near the first aid cart, you study it closer. The handle is not carved with plaits as first surmised, but a feather. The detail is exquisite. It fans out near the top, like a peacock feather, but instead of the target or eye, it blossoms with the angular snout of a stag, it’s antlers stretching up above.

Arthur couldn’t have finished this today. You think back and realise you have seen him asking Sean to teach him to whittle, asking Hosea how best to carve details. No wonder he snapped at Bill - the time he must have spent on this… and for it to be made from a singular piece of wood with no mistakes...

In your lapse of attention, Hosea has crept up on you.

“You found it then?”

“I suppose so.” You straighten up and hold it out for him to examine in the light. “It’s incredible, isn’t it?”

“Arthur has never done anything by halves.” He chuckles and presses it back into his hands. “D’you know, when we first met him, he had something like this in his pocket. Said his grandmother had given it to his mother as a gift on her engagement. Something like a love spoon? It’s some sort of British tradition, I think. His was lost after the stables we were sleeping in caught fire. Lost a few possessions to that fire, sleeping bags included, but that was one of the few things that couldn’t be replaced.”

You murmur a few words of wonder and Hosea shrugs. “I’ve never found much on it in the way of literature about them. I’ve tried asking John, Sean, Molly, Mac, Davey... and many other Brits we’ve picked up along the way, but no one seems familiar with it. It’s like it lived and died with his family.”

You leave him to his musings and carefully carry the spoon back to your tent. Taking some cotton from a torn shirt (damn Night folk and their knives) you wrap it gently and leave it on the cabinet at his bedside to find later.

You don't hear him return that night. You wake from a dreamless sleep, thinking of the day ahead as you pour yourself some coffee and look out across the horizon. With a twist of your heart, you recognise the silhouette on the same log as yesterday, and hesitantly make your way over.

"Morning."

Arthur looks up at you and gives you a small smile. "Morning."

You sit down besides him and together you rest in comfortable silence. Eventually Arthur holds out the remains of your shirt and you accept it with a small nod of acknowledgment.

"Thanks for… for finding it for me." He moves the spoon between his hands, turning it over, embarrassed. "It's stupid, I know."

"I don't think it's stupid." The morning light has made his pupils retract enough for you to see the essence of green in his irises. "It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. I've never seen anything like it."

"Nah, the one my mother had was better."

"Hosea told me about that." You slide your hand out to close the gap between you. "Said you lost it in a fire?"

He sighs heavily. "Yeah." His lips thin as he thinks hard. You give him the space, finishing the last of your coffee which is a little better than yesterday’s. Eventually he takes a deep breath and turns to you, his eyes scouring your face for any signs of repulsion or amusement at his expense. You mirror him, keeping your face as neutral as you can.

“My… my taid - or my grandfather - gave one of these to my nain. It’s… it’s a traditional gift we used to give to each other as a token of appreciation. My grandfather gave it to my grandmother when they got engaged, and she gave it to my mother before they came to America.”

You nod slowly. “Was it a cultural thing?”

“Yeah. We didn’t have a lot of money, so this was something you could make to show… well show how much you cared, I guess.”

He holds the elegant utensil out to you, a blush creeping over his cheeks.

“I had a look at it last night. It’s beautiful, Arthur. The detail… it must have taken you weeks to carve.”

“About two months in total.” He rubs the back of his neck with a grimace. “It took me a few tries to get it right.”

“The care you’ve put into it… It’s really something.”

“I, err, made it for you.”

You manage to catch your jaw before it hits your lap, but the colour is already flooding your face without abandon. “Are you sure?”

“‘Course I’m sure. Unless you don’t want it? It’s stupid, I know-”

“But- why? Why me?” You let your fingertips trace the grooves of the feather and slide over the smooth antlers. “Don’t you want to keep it?”

“I made it for you,” he repeats, his bottom lip disappearing as he chews it. “It won’t be any good for eatin’ with, but-”

“Neither are your sketches, but that doesn’t mean they lack value.” A laugh escapes you as you reach out and squeeze his hand. “Thank you, Arthur. This is… wow!”

He peaks out from under his hat, a smile pulling at his lips at your reaction. “You mean a lot to me. It’s the least I could do.”

You’re leaning forward unconsciously, like he is the centre of gravity. Your heart thuds as you realise he’s also teetering towards you.

“A thank you would have sufficed!”

He scoffs, his gaze softening. “You know what I mean.”

It’s not what you think it means.

His breathing is unsteady as it brushes your face. You can feel the warmth of his hand gliding up your back as he closes the gap and gently presses a chaste kiss against your lips.

[sadaboutniall]

something about you;

introduction | masterlist | tag | wattpad

Twenty Seven. November, 2017. 

‘Are you sure you think I look okay?’ Isla’s smoothing her hands over the front of her trousers, eyes meeting Niall’s in the mirror. He can see her hands trembling slightly, an anxious look in her eyes.

Maybe he’d been naive to think that taking Isla to the AMAs would be smooth sailing. He half thought that the glitter and glitz of Hollywood would outshine her anxiety, that she would realize that, although the things here are pretty and expensive, the people are no different, and she fits right in. He’d thought she’d feel confident and sexy with him showing her off in front of everyone else tonight—not nervous and shaky and unsure of her worth. 

‘You’re beautiful,’ he tells her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, letting one hand travel up to rest on the skin of her belly. After making Niall’s suit, Paul Smith had offered to make Isla a dress as well, and Niall’d joined in on the meetings, flipping through pages of fabric samples and silhouette sketches with Isla, Ellie, and Paul. At the end of it all, though, Isla’d settled on a custom suit instead: tight, curve hugging trousers and a matching blazer, low cut enough to expose an intricate, lace bralette and more than a little bit of skin. He couldn’t keep his hands off her the first time he saw it, and he doesn’t feel any different now. He rests his chin on her shoulders and keeps his eyes locked on hers in the mirror.  ‘Everyone’s going to love you.’

Isla sighs shakily, her hands coming up to cover Niall’s, to entwine her fingers with his. ‘Sorry,’ she says. ‘I know it’s not about me tonight, I shouldn’t be—’

‘It’s always about you,’ he drops a kiss to her neck. ‘You feeling comfortable is more important to me than any awards show.’

‘Don’t be an eejit,’ says Isla quietly, but there’s a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Niall feels triumphant, heart soaring in his chest. 

-- 

He walks the carpet alone. They’d agreed that they’re not ready for any kind of public appearances just yet—that what they have is special, precious, and shouldn’t belong to anyone other than the two of them. Still, he lets his mind wander a little as he poses, thinks about what it would be like to smile for the cameras with Isla on his arm, his hand resting on her waist, the look in his eyes showing the entire world how lucky he is to call himself hers. For all Niall values keeping his private life private, he’s been feeling an itch lately, a pull to make sure every single stranger knows how much he loves Isla. 

It started with Colm’s comment and Isla’s confession, Niall knows that. But he doesn’t think that makes it any less genuine, his desire to start bringing her to more work events, to ease her into his world. It’s a mad, mad place, but he doesn’t want to be in it without Isla, and it makes his stomach churn to think she ever felt excluded. So, slowly but surely he’s been bringing her along where appropriate, introducing her to more and more of the people he works with. But tonight feels like a test of its own, her very first big event, coupled with her first ever trip to LA.

With Tara by his side, Niall stands for quick interviews along the carpet, dodging relationship questions and One Direction digging. He hugs and kisses friends for the camera, talks about his album and tour plans, and tries not to worry too much about Isla, inside the theater with Mully and Emilia. It feels weirder than he anticipated, being separated from her and having to do his job while he knows she’s watching him. She can’t sit with him either, won’t be able to hold his hand when they call out his category, kiss him when he loses—or wins. 

But this is better than nothing, he tells himself, shoving his hands in his pockets as he and Tara make the final stretch down the carpet. Having Isla here, even if she can’t be next to him, is as good as it gets for them right now. 

-- 

Winning hadn’t even occurred to Niall. 

When they call his name it’s genuine shock—enough that he almost thinks he’s imagining it for a second, until Shawn claps him on the back and Tara launches into a hug and holy shit, fuck, he’s actually won it, an AMA, all on his own. 

He stumbles up to the stage shaking with adrenaline, heart soaring, and it’s not until he gets to the mic that he realizes he hasn’t prepared a speech at all, hadn’t even let himself consider the possibility that he would actually, for real, win this thing. For a split second he’s staring out at an expectant room, filled with the faces of his friends, his colleagues, his idols, with nothing to say. 

And then he spots Isla. She’s next to Emilia, only a few rows back but all the way on the side, so it’s no wonder he hadn’t seen her before, and she’s got this glint in her eyes that Niall thinks might be tears, her hands covering her mouth, Emilia’s arm over her shoulders. It’s enough, just seeing her, to wake him the fuck up. 

The speech comes out easy, then: thank yous to his team at Capitol and at Modest, and a hearty thank you to the fans, for making this possible. It feels like his heart is screaming at him, though, as he clutches the bulky, heavy award with both hands and raises it into the air. 

All he wants to do is be able to thank Isla. 

-- 

Someone, Niall can’t remember who, suggests ditching the afterparty, and somehow they all end up at his house: Shawn Mendes, Nick Jonas, Selena, the lads from The Chainsmokers, Julia, everyone. It feels a bit like sneaking out on a school trip, like they’ve escaped the teachers and can spend the night doing what they want, instead of something boring and educational, and Niall feels like he’s at the center of it all, like the hero of the night, like the most important person in the room. 

That might have something to do with Isla, though, the way she’s taken off her blazer so she’s just in her trousers and her bralette, the way she’s talking to Julia and Emilia but keeps glancing back in Niall’s direction, smiling privately when she catches his eye. It’s warm in here with all the bodies and Niall’s slowly shedding his clothes, too: his jacket is off and so is his vest, and he’s already undone the first few buttons of his shirt. He keeps catching Isla trailing her eyes over his chest, his collarbone, his neck. The feeling of her eyes on him is like lightning in his lower belly. 

‘She’s stunning,’ Nick tells Niall, jerking his head in Isla’s direction. They’re in the kitchen, him, Nick, and Shawn, leaning up against the counter and sipping on gin and tonics. ‘Good for you.’

Niall feels a rising in his chest, pride, happiness. It outshines even the feeling of winning his award tonight. ‘She’s brilliant,’ Niall says. ‘I’m lucky.’

‘Where’d you meet? She’s Irish too, right?’ 

‘They’ve known each other since, like, kindergarten,’ Shawn answers for him. ‘Dated in school, broke up when he made it big, got back together after things settled down. The whole nine yards.’

‘Oh, hometown hero?’ Nick’s smirking. ‘That’s sweet, bro. You keeping her around for a while, then?’

‘Forever, hopefully,’ says Niall. He and Isla haven’t talked about that in explicit words, but he can’t imagine anything else. He watches Nick raise his eyebrows, tipping back another sip of his drink. 

‘Good for you,’ he repeats, once he’s swallowed. ‘She seems like a good one.’

--

As the night cools off, Isla does, too. Slowly but surely Niall notices her loosen up, expanding her circle from just Mia and Julia to include Selena, and then Nick and Shawn. By the time he and Mully come back up from the basement, where they’d gone to fetch more wine, Isla is in the middle of it all, sandwiched between Tara and Mia but chatting excitedly to Shawn and The Chainsmokers, laughing into her vodka soda. He feels a swell of pride again, a twinge of hope in his heart. She can fit in here. He’s known it all along. 

He and Mully join the group to cheers and shouts, hands reaching out for the full bottles of wine. Tara squeezes over, closer to Selena, and Niall’s able to fit in between her and Isla, his hand coming to rest on her knee. With a soft squeeze he meets her eyes, mirrors her smile. 

‘Okay?’ He mouths, just for her. 

She nods, hand coming up to rest on top of his. 

‘Isla was just telling me,’ says Nick, who pronounces the ‘s’ in Isla’s name. Mully snorts, but Nick doesn’t notice. ‘About school in Ireland. I never knew you played soccer, bro.’

‘Star of the team, he was,’ says Mully. He squeals when Emilia elbows him in the stomach. 

‘We should play,’ Nick carries on. ‘Five a side or something. Isla?’

‘Oh,’ she blushes, shaking her head. ‘I’m pretty shite at football, honestly. Sean, though—’

‘Fuck yeah,’ Mully interjects. ‘Five a side is my shit. I’ll get jerseys made up and—’

Nick looks a little put out and Niall can’t help it: he feels smug. He snakes his hand around Isla’s waist, resting his palm against the bare skin of her back, his fingers playing gently with the lace of her bralette. She casts him a sly look and he feels on top of the world, like a king beside her. And what a fucking feeling it is.

--

‘You know,’ he says, later that night, Isla resting against his bare chest in bed. His limbs are heavy with exhaustion, alcohol, post-orgasm bliss.  ‘I think Nick Jonas has a crush on you.’

‘If you told 2008 Isla that one day she’d have to choose between you and Nick fucking Jonas,’ she glances up at him, her eyes glinting with supressed laughter. She looks heavenly like this, Niall thinks: naked, hair cascading down her back, legs tangled up with his, bed sheets pooling around her waist. 

‘You’d totally choose me,’ Niall finishes for her, leaning down for a kiss. Isla laughs into his mouth, hand coming up to cup his cheek. When they pull away Isla presses her nose to Niall’s, holding him there for a moment. 

‘Thank you for tonight,’ she says eventually. ‘For including me, for being so patient with me.’

‘I always want you included,’ he tightens his arms around her waist. ‘I don’t want to do this without you.’ 

‘Me neither,’ Isla whispers, eyes locked on Niall’s.

‘Not even with Nick?’ He asks, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Isla laughs too, crinkles at the corner of her eyes, nose scrunching up, giggles carrying through his quiet bedroom. Contentedness settles over Niall’s body like a warm blanket, like Isla on top of him. 

‘Not even with Nick Jonas,’ she kisses Niall gently, lips brushing his as she speaks. ‘No one but you, lover.’

####

taglist: @stylishmuser @thicksniall @stayclose-holdsteady @niallhoranruinsme @ajayque @flickerswinehouse @1dfangirls35 @crocodileniall @halfpinthoran @awomanindeniall @booksncoffee @edgeofmyniall @kare38 @emmathefantomes @coconutdawn @irish-nlessing @niallspeachybum @perksmikey 

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[lildevyl]

BlankGamePlays

Summary:  Ethan finds himself face to face with one of Mark’s older Egos, that became reborn thanks to the Community, the Author.  And he gives Ethan a choice, become something incredible or continue to be the “Nobody Sidekick” of the Channel and just be “Mark’s Friend.”

TW:  Mention of abuse, physical injuries, hospital, hostage, imply domestic like abuse.  Based on the Unnus Annus video “Mark Punish Ethan.”

@dezzydynamite, @weirdmixofweirdness,  Don’t kill me!  But yes, I did finally write and post it!!!  Based on this post!

(Ethan’s House)

“Mark” entered Ethan’s house, and smiled like he usually did, getting ready to shoot today’s video.  He had everything set up, for the “shoot” and was just waiting for Ethan to finish his cup of coffee.  It didn’t take long.  Ethan literally downed it in almost one gulp and then headed out with “Mark” to finish up recording.  That was until Ethan started to feel uneasy, and very dizzy.  Geez, he needs to lighten up on the sugar or something.  The next thing Ethan saw was “Mark” coming over to him as he laid on the ground.

“Wakey, wakey!”  “Mark,” said as he pulled the bag off of Ethan’s head.  They were in a room with one of the lights turned on and a camera right behind “Mark.”  But something seemed off.

Ethan groggily came too.  “Mark?”

“No, not quite, but then again I wouldn’t expect you to know me.  Or remember me,” “Mark” said sadly.  “You see Ethan, I’m one of Mark’s older Egos.  Well, I was but thanks to the Community I’m back now.”

It took Ethan a moment or two, racking his brain about Mark’s Egos.  He’s met them all, hasn’t he?  Older Ego?  Let’s think for a minute.  It’s not Darkiplier, not Wilford, not Dr. Iplier, not the Host, or Bim, or King.  Then who?  Mark brought back a lot of the older Egos in Markiplier TV.  Hell, it took Amy, Tyler and himself to convince Mark to bring back some of them, because of the tie and memories from Cyndago.  Wait, Cyndago.  Mark, did a few sketches with them.  Including   .   .   .    Oh, hell no!  It couldn’t be!  Ethan looked around and sure enough, there was a pen set and journal-like book.

“I know who you are,” Ethan said with his breath hitching in his throat.  He just hoped that he didn’t sound scared.

“You do?”

“Yes,” Ethan answered.  “You’re the Author, but how are you here?  I thought  .  .  .  I thought that you - faded?”

“Oh, I did.  That’s how the Host came to be.  The original me became the Host when my story ended.  But there weren’t enough people in the Community to keep me alive at the time.  And sadly Mark thought that I wasn’t important enough to be included in his little “through back sketch” when he brought back all of his old Egos.  Yet, he included the Host,” the Author stated.

“Ironically, it’s the Community that’s the reason why I’m here again.  You see Ethan, us Egos we depend on two things.  One, we depend on our Creator to remember us and two we depend on the Community to remember us.  Now, for some of us, all we need is the Community.  But in some cases, rare cases like myself, if an Ego fades but the Community, in general, gives that Ego enough attention and love.  Then that Ego can in a way be reborn.”  The Author answered giving Ethan a calculated look.

“Then why are you here?  In my house?”  Ethan asked hoping that Mark started to come by or at least started to wonder what was going on.  Ethan had a bad feeling and didn’t like his options.  He vaguely remembers the Author and what he can do.

“Well, that’s easy Ethan.”  The Author turned around to where the pen set and the journal sat and picked both of them up.  He turned around and faced Ethan. “I want to help you.”  The Author smiled.

Ethan was at a loss for words.  Help him?  Help him with what?  As far as Ethan was concerned he had a nice life.  His YouTube Channel was doing well.  He and Mark decided to start a Channel together and they both agreed to delete at the end because it’s the journey that is most important.  He had a girlfriend that he was in love with, has a nice house and Spencer is a great pet.  Ethan couldn’t wrap his brain around what the Author was implying.  What did Ethan need help with?

“I see that you’re confused here,” the Author began.  “You see Ethan, I want to help you by having you be something more.”  The Author smiled, now he has Ethan’s attention.  “Ethan, what do you want more than anything else?  Do you want to be your own person, be more confident?  Finally, getting to that one million subs?  Finally being taken seriously?”

Ethan didn’t say anything because yeah.  He has thought about that!  Doing YouTube for seven years and he hasn’t hit the one million sub count yet.  He wanted to be more confident because let’s face it.  He wasn’t exactly the most confident when it came to Mark or Sean or Bob or Wade.

“I see that I got your attention.  Let me, put it this way, Ethan.  Do you really want to stay in Mark’s shadow?  Always being the “Sidekick '' and nothing more?  Oh, don’t look at me like that!  You know it’s true!”  The Author turned around grabbed an iPad off the desk and brought up Tumblr and a few other Social Medias.

There, were posts saying “If I hadn’t done that backflip then I might never be here today.”  Mark and Ethan announce Unnus Annus their new Channel, Mark with all the reporters and microphone, and Ethan just has one microphone and no reporters.  More and more, memes like that.  More and more posts saying if Ethan had never been on Mark’s pannel or done that backflip, then no one would have known who he was.  It was like the whole PewDiePie shoutout all over again, with Sean!  To say it didn’t get on Ethan’s nerves nor did it get to him.  Ethan would be lying through his teeth because yeah it hurt!!!!

It hurts that Mark has twenty-five million subs when he and Mark have been doing this at the same time!  It hurts that Sean has close twenty-four million subs!  It hurts that Bob and Wade have over one million and two million subs and he barely has that million sub count!  And for many fans and reporters to literally cast him off, push him aside and say that Unnus Annus was Mark’s Channel?  That he didn’t belong?!

Ethan closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.  Something wasn’t right. Why was he thinking like this?  Why was he acting like this?  He didn’t actually think like that, did he?

The Author smiled, ah so he was getting to Ethan.  Perfect.  Maybe with a little more pushing, he’ll finally get his revenge on Mark and the Community for, ever forgetting about him!

“I can help you, Ethan, for a price,” the Author bargained.

“What kind of price?”  Ethan asked not realizing that his eyes darkened.

“Helping me get back at Mark,” the Author answered.  “Think about Ethan.  You can finally be the YouTuber that you want to be!  I can help you with that!  You can finally hit one million subs, be confident, not be remembered as “That Guy that did backflip.”  Aren’t you tired Ethan?  Of always being the “Sidekick” that no one really cares about?  Aren’t you tired of Mark getting all the glory and you have nothing to show for it?  Why should Mark have twenty-five million subs and you barely have one million?  You’ve been doing YouTube a lot longer if not roughly the same time.  And speaking of which, isn’t Sean about to hit twenty-four million subs here?  Or how about Bob?  He’s what already past one million subs.  Wade has over two million subs.  And Tyler is close to one million on Twitch.  And yet, here you are, seven nearly eight years later and not even one million subs.  Just the “Sidekick” in the Unnus Annus Channel.  Just Mark’s friend.”

The Author smirked.  Oh, yes, just a bit more pushing, he almost has Ethan.  He just needs to break him a little more.

“It’s up to Ethan.  Do you want to be the man that you always wanted to be?  Or do you just want to continue to be the “Sidekick?”  Just Mark’s friend?  I can help you.”

“H-how?”  Ethan asked barely above a whisper.

“I’m not as powerful as I once was but see this book and pen set.  It was from when I was originally created.  In it, you can write whatever you want, pour your heart and soul into it and should come true.  And in many ways make it look like it’s real.  To the point of even fooling a doctor until the page is torn.  Then it’s like nothing had ever happened.  Let me, bring the more confident, bolder, even darker side, out of you so you can take on the world.  And in return, you help get back at Mark.  It doesn’t have to be something as crazy as to what Dark’s got planned.  Just something to teach Mark a lesson about taking his friends for granted.”

(Ethan’s House)

Mark raced over to Ethan’s house not caring for one minute about the traffic laws.  His friend was in danger!  Ethan never showed up for the shoot that they were to going to do today.  Mark at first thought that Ethan either forgot about the shoot because of something he was doing on his own Channel or something might have come up.  He left a couple of voice mails but he didn’t really think it was a big deal at the time.  But that was before, he saw the “New Unnus Annus” Video.  Mark’s heart practically stopped at what he saw.  Someone, another Ego, pretended to be Mark and was beating up Ethan!

Silver Shepard was with him in the passenger side of his car.  Mark thought it was best if Silver was with him instead of flying over.  No need to get the people of Los Angles talking about seeing a Super Hero when Silver technically shouldn’t really exist in their world!  Mark was so hoping that Silver would help him!

He knew that Silver and a few others had every right to hold a major grudge against him when Mark decided to “Cancel” the Egos.  Basically, Mark stopped making videos with them, because after what happened with Cyndago. Mark just couldn’t take it!  So, he stopped making those kinds of videos.  It wasn’t until Amy, Tyler, and Ethan had suggested with Markiplier TV to bring back some of the old Egos for the fans.

Luckily for Mark, Silver didn’t hold a grudge against him.  And after Mark had explained the whole situation and the reason why he decided to do all that.  Silver forgave him and understood why Mark did what he did.  But not all the Egos had the same outlook.  Unfortunately, Mark had his suspicions on who it might be but he just hoped that he was wrong and that he wasn’t too late!

When Mark and Silver both arrived at Ethan’s House, Mark wasted no time and ran to the front door.  Calling Ethan’s name and looking in every room he could possibly think of!

“Over here, Mark!”  Silver Shepard called.

Mark ran over to where Silver called from and Mark stopped dead in the doorway when he the shape that Ethan was in.  Ethan was lying in a chair, bust lip, bleeding from the mouth, black eyes, all kinds of scraps and cuts litter his face.  Ethan made a noise, flinching away from Silver.  But what truly broke Mark’s heart was when he entered the room, Ethan made a noise between a cry and a moan.  As if he was scared of Mark.

“Ethan, it’s me.  It’s Mark!  I won’t hurt you, Ethan.  What happened?  Who did this to you?”  Mark tried to console his friend.

Silver did his best to hoist Ethan up without aggravating any of his injuries. “Mark, we need to get him to Dr. Iplier.”  Silver stated.  It looked like he needed to take charge, for both Mark and Ethan’s sake.

“You’re right, Silver,” Mark agreed.

(Dr. Iplier’s Clinic)

Ethan lied in the hospital bed in Dr. Iplier’s bed.  He wasn’t sure how, but somehow they manage to get him to Egopacalpse and into Dr. Iplier’s Clinic.  Ethan wasn’t sure if he was happy or mad at that.  It’s not that he minded Dr. Iplier.  He was one of Ethan’s favorite Egos that Mark did.  He had a lot of fun playing the patient when they brought that character back.  It was the fact that Dr. Iplier’s Clinic was too close to Iplier Manson.  Now, called Ego Inc.  And Darkiplier was there.

But Ethan didn’t really pay much attention.  His mind kept going back to the - could he even call it a conversation?  With the Author and the offer that he made.  Ethan wasn’t what to think about that.  So, he just lied in bed waiting for Dr. Iplier to come and let him, checkout.  Ethan won’t admit this, but he hated hospitals!

“Alright, Ethan, I checked everything over.  You’re going to need to take it easy for a while.  I mean it!  No high-stress levels at all!  I already spoke to Mark and he said that you guys already have some backup videos that can be posted until your one hundred percent.  So, please take it easy!”  Dr. Iplier instructed.

“No problem doc!”  Ethan reassured waiting for Mark to come and get him to take him home.

“All set Ethan?”  Mark asked grabbing Ethan’s things and waiting for Ethan.

“Yeah, get me outta here!”

(Ethan’s House)

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and just sank into his couch.  Home.  He was home!  Nice cozy, simple home!  Ethan still couldn’t believe what had happened, but then again a part of him could.  He was just glad to get out of that damn clinic!  It had nothing to do with Dr. Iplier, he wasn’t that bad of a doctor.  But Ethan just can’t stand hospitals!

Ethan’s head shot up when he heard someone approaching.  He smiled when he saw who it was.

“I held up my end of the bargain.  Are you going to hold up yours?”  Ethan asked.

The Author smiled and handed Ethan the book and pen set.  “It’s all yours!  All you have to do is give it a drop of your blood and it will be fully custom to you and you only!”  The Author told Ethan.

Ethan smiled.  He took out the one page that described everything that happened in the video and all his injuries.  Ethan ripped it out of the book and then torn it to shreds.  Within seconds, Ethan felt and looked like nothing had ever happened to him.  He took one end of the pens and pricked his finger and let a drop of his blood drop onto the book.  It glowed for a minute until it resets.  Ethan then smiled, with his eyes completely black as gave his full undivided attention to the Author.

“What’s our next move?”

==========

Tagging:  @d-structive, @weirdmixofweirdness, @juju-on-that-yeet, @septic-dr-schneep, @reverseblackholeofwords, @m4delin, @fischyplier, @isa-ghost, @a-humble-narcissus

[disneytva]

Extra Wild ETs: Justin Roiland & Mike McMahan’s ‘Solar Opposites’ Lands at Hulu

Misfit aliens from space trying to adapt to life on Earth have been a popular staple of sitcoms such as My Favorite Martian, ALF and 3rd Rock from the Sun. This spring, a new brood of aliens make their impressive debut in Hulu’s Solar Opposites, the hilarious new animated offering from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and former head writer Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks).

The series, which overflows with the inspired lunacy you might expect from the madmen who gave us Rick and Morty, follows a team of four aliens who have crash-landed into suburbia after escaping their exploding home planet. Two of them, Korvo (Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) believe their new home is awful and polluted, while the other duo Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love humans, their junk food and pop culture.

Roiland, who won an Emmy in 2018 for executive producing Rick and Morty (and yes, he also voices both Rick and Morty for that hugely popular show) tells us that he had the idea to center a show on a pair of odd-couple aliens about 14 years ago. “At some point, it was going to be a live-action series, but it never happened,” he recalls. “Mike McMahan and I were trying to develop another show, between the second and third season of Rick and Morty, but everything we did felt really laborious. So, we decided to put that other idea down and try the odd-couple alien pitch again … and then, once we went back to the original premise, everything became very easy.”

Loving the Aliens

“Justin has all these books of random sketches and ideas from years past,” says McMahan. “We flipped through them and landed on a rough drawing of Terry and Korvo, which we used as the inspiration to build out the family. I was a new dad at the time, so I added the kids/replicants and the baby/Pupa character, we were going for a classic sitcom/FOX look from afar, which would get weirder the closer you looked. The tone we wanted to hit was ‘funny and fun over everything else at all times,’ which you can still clearly see in the finished show.”

McMahan and Roiland then put together the story for the pilot, which is very close to the final version that viewers will get to see on Hulu this month. “We originally had interest from Netflix and Syfy, but those didn’t happen, and then Hulu stepped in,” says Roiland. “We then added [exec producer/writer] Josh Bycel (American Dad!, Happy Endings) along, and things really got moving. It was a lot of work, but everyone is really kicking ass — and it’s been a lot of fun, too.”

In addition to the show regulars, the series also boasts a phenomenal list of guest voice actors. The first season alone features the likes of Alan Tudyk, Tiffany Hadish, Tom Kenny, Alfred Molina, Christina Hendricks, Rainn Wilson, Eric Bauza, Amanda Leighton, Maurice LaMarche, Miguel Sandoval, Nat Faxon, Natalie Morales, Phil LaMarr and Kari Wahlgren. The show is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and the animation is handled by Green Portal Productions and Vancouver-based Bardel Entertainment, which also handle Rick and Morty.

Roiland says he and McMahan had a great time brainstorming about the aliens, their weird biology and how they interact with the world in unexpected ways. For example, whenever they get stressed, their bodies begin to emit little creatures that look like a hybrid between a giant virus and a pink booger (they’re called gooblers).

“It’s funny to think about humanity from the perspective of alien beings,” says Roiland.

“We are going to have lots of fun with the gooblers, but I can’t tell you more about it because we don’t want to ruin the joke.”

Overall, both Roiland and McMahan say the show is a bit sillier and looser than their other collaboration, Rick and Morty. “Our process of writing and producing is quicker, but we still strive for the same level of humor and surprises. We have so many ideas about how these aliens survive on the planet. But when you think about it, it’s really an immigrant story,” Roiland points out. “These characters are very new to their environment, and we get to have fun by looking at things we take for granted and build jokes and sketch storylines around those ideas.”

McMahan says one of their biggest challenges was to always keep the comedy and the tone of the show as light and fun as possible, even when pouring their efforts into making sure everything was professionally executed. “It’s easy for a show to become ‘right,’ but also lose the frivolity that made you like it in the first place. Solar Opposites is always a balancing act between, ‘we have to make a really good, emotionally solid TV episode’ and ‘let’s do some crazy, effed shit that makes us laugh. I’m really happy with how the first season ended up in that regard.”

Juggling Toons Looking back at the past few years, Roiland says the big challenge was juggling the production of Solar Opposites, all of his Rick and Morty duties and launching his own gaming studio Squanch Games in 2016. “Everything was happening at the same time,” he says. “But luckily I had an amazing team. Mike and Josh were amazing and did a great job of running the room day to day. It’s the old adage: You have to surround yourself with talented people and get out of their way. We are having so much fun with this show and our voice cast brings so much to the table: They truly embody the characters and add some hilarious improv material to the show, as well.”

Roiland, who says he was hugely influenced by shows such as The Simpsons, Beavis and Butt-head, Ren & Stimpy and Liquid Television when he was younger, says fans could see a possible appearance by Rick and Morty on Solar Opposites in the future. “In an infinite multiverse, everything is part of the multiverse, so they could easily be a couple of realities away,” he says.“I have no idea how you would navigate the IP waters, but that would be really friggin’ cool!”

“Our initial pitch to Hulu always included a heavily serialized element, so there’s a big part of the show that’s always been designed to be binged,” adds McMahahn. “I’ve never worked on a serialized animated comedy, and I don’t see a lot of them, so I heavily nerded out that we got to make a serialized show along with a goofball comedy. What you see on the screen (in that respect) is exactly what I wanted it to be from conception through execution, which is a rare treat for a creator. Also, the art team and the voice actors are insanely talented, everyone gave it their best, and you’ll see that the first season is something special.”

Roiland says he hopes the audience will get some entertainment and some happiness by watching his new show. “Things are pretty sad out there in the real world, so we hope Solar Opposites and new episodes of Rick and Morty will offer people a little bit of distraction.”

“I hope audiences will sit down to watch a show about crazy funny aliens, and then be surprised as they keep watching how serialized and thought-out everything is,” adds McMahan. “In any other time, this show couldn’t exist. To me, the only reason a show should exist on Hulu (or any streamer) is because it feels like a miracle, like you can’t believe what you’re watching. Sometimes that feeling comes from a cancelled show being resurrected. For Solar, it’s the jokes, language, what we can show on screen (Solar is TV-MA, which is crazy what you can do) and the serialized elements. Somehow, this show feels like a classic, broad network sitcom and like an insane cable show that fell out of another dimension, all at the same time.”

[thewatchau]

King Sean’s Castle: New WIP Sketches!

In my last post about my work on designing the layout of King Sean’s castle, I talked about how the Round Tower in Windsor Castle had a lot of similarities to the castle I was trying to design. 

That research allowed me to get a sense of how big a tower like this would be, what sort of other features (gates, towers, etc) might be included, and overall gave me enough concrete information to start actually sketching a more concrete layout for the castle. 

And of course, thanks to a silly mistake, I drew it reversed. The real castle will have both the gate and the hill on the right-hand side, unless I decide to change anything (which is still very possible). I was originally planning to flip the image, but then I realized the notes would be illegible. 

Therefore, in order to give you a better sense of the actual layout, I also sketched a version in crayon while waiting for my Sunday School class to arrive on Sunday morning. 

Anyway, as you can see, there are a few new details since my last post!

First, the main keep has an additional, smaller tower added to the side of it. This smaller tower will look identical to the other towers dotting the wall. Originally, I was going to leave the corner with the keep tower-less, but I realized that the keep should be the most defensible position, so it doesn’t make sense to skip out on a watchtower. 

Second, I’ve added a few details to the route up to the main keep. The main gate into the castle has moved, allowing for that big central road and courtyard beneath the keep. 

The inner gate in the top corner now features an asymmetrical pair of towers, a small courtyard area, and an additional gatehouse building at the beginning of the steps to the keep. 

Finally, I roughly penciled in a bunch of buildings in the castle’s lower ward. However, I don’t actually think most of that space will be filled with buildings. Most likely, it’ll be a bunch of gardens interspersed with a few fancy buildings for castle spaces that aren’t in the upper keep. 

Again, this is still a mega wip, so things may change between now and the final product. Specifically, I’m currently eyeballing the height of the outer walls... but that’s a later post for future me to work on.  

[whatsortofschoolisthis]

HPHL Profile

Name: Maran Magdalene O’Malley.

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birth Date: July 22.

Species: (Human, Lycanthrope, Metamorphmagus, Vampire, ect):Human

Blood Status: (Pureblood, Half-Blood, Muggleborn): pureblood

Sexuality: Straight

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Ethnicity: Irish

Nationality: Irish

Residence: Hogwarts/Hogsmeade with her Aunt Irene during breaks.  Previously lived on a homestead in Oregon. 

Myer Briggs Personality Type: ISFJ- The Protector

THE MAGE

Wand: English Oak

A wand for good times and bad, this is a friend as loyal as the wizard who deserves it. Wands of English oak demand partners of strength, courage and fidelity. Less well-known is the propensity for owners of English oak wands to have powerful intuition, and, often, an affinity with the magic of the natural world, with the creatures and plants that are necessary to wizardkind for both magic and pleasure. The oak tree is called King of the Forest from the winter solstice up until the summer solstice, and its wood should only be collected during that time (holly becomes King as the days begin to shorten again, and so holly should only be gathered as the year wanes. This divide is believed to be the origin of the old superstition, ‘When his wand’s oak and hers is holly, then to marry would be folly,’ a superstition that I have found baseless). It is said that Merlin’s wand was of English oak (though his grave has never been found, so this cannot be proven).

Thestral Core.

Animagus: A black cat.

Misc Magical Abilities: (Legilimen, Seer, Parselmouth, Obscurial, ect): None.

Boggart Form: Her  stepfather, Alive.

Riddikulus Form: Her stepfather, Dead.

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?): forests, woodsmoke

Amortentia: (What do they smell?): Whatever their love interest smell like

Patronus: An American Jackrabbit.

Patronus Memory: The first time she held Robyn.

Mirror of Erised: Her whole family alive,

Specialized/Favourite Spells:

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim:

Voiceclaim: Saoirse Ronan

Height: 5 ft tall

Weight: 99 pounds.

Physique: thin

Eye Colour: Blue

Hair Colour: Blonde

Skin Tone: Pale

Body Modifications: None.

Scarring: Several on her back, incurred from beating from her stepfather.

Inventory: (what do they carry on them?):

Wand.

A Grimoire.

An Adder Stone.

Her MAUSCA Wanted Poster.

Fashion: Wears a pinstripe dress with plain black shoes and a white apron over that, when not in uniform. Also has several blue and pink dresses she handmade.

ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor.

Ilvermorny House: Wampus

Affiliations/Organizations: Hogwarts and her Aunt Irene.

Professions: 

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies: DADA, Charms, 

Astronomy: E

Charms: O

DADA: O

Flying: P

Herbology: E

History of Magic: A

Potions: O

Transfiguration: A

Electives:

Ancient Runes: E

COMC: A

Divination: O

Quidditch: No.

Extra Curricular: Potions Club

Favourite Professors: TBA

Least Favourite Professors: TBA

RELATIONSHIPS

Misc Siblings:

Robyn Ann O’Toole

Robyn was born to Mary and Jonathan O’Toole on Christmas Day and is Maran’s only other living sibling besides Michael, half or otherwise. Her mother died in childbirth and Jonathan did not believe Robyn was his because she had blond hair (never mind the fact Maran and her own mother have blond hair) . Her often abused and mistreated Robyn, which nearly rendered her a Squib. This worsened the abuse. After escaping, it turned out she was not, in fact, a squib and was sorted into Gryffindor at 11 years old. 

She is constantly afraid Maran will be taken away and hung and is a gentle, slightly nervous little girl. Brave in spite of it all and more daring than other little girls her age.

David John  O’Malley: 

Maran’s older brother, he died of Cholera on the Oregon Trail. He was only 15 at the time and was very close to Maran. He wanted to be a Potioneer.

Michael Devin O’Malley:

Maran’s brother, younger than her by a year and born on June 1st. Michael is very fond of Robyn and Maran but is a little afraid of the latter. He is kind and gentle and was no match for his often brutal stepfather. Not at all sad the man died. Sorted into Hufflepuff and was in Pukwudgie before the escape. 

The Littles: A collective term for the three babies that died before and after Robyn. Aideen (aged 3 years, died of the Cholera with David), Joshua (one week, SIDS), and John ( contracted Scarlet Fever on the homestead, age two)

Father (s):

Sean O’Malley

He was a good man from a moderately wealthy pureblood family that loved his children dearly and was especially close with David and Maran. Died from Typhus. Irene is his sister. Former Hufflepuff.

Peter ‘Pete’ O’Toole

A pureblood wizard with Purist beliefs, extreme even by the standards of the day, and the black sheep of the family. He was disowned by his family as he was suspected in the death of his muggleborn sister in law Ellen and was generally an asshole. He met the recently widowed Mary, married her, then took her and her children and their late father’s house elf Ichabod  across the ocean to America to make his own fortune on the Oregon Trail. While using most of hers. 

Mother: Mary O’Malley/O’Toole (Maiden name: McCarthy)

A kind woman that loved all her children. She was wrecked by her first husbands and Children’s deaths and died not long after having Joshua. Former Hufflepuff.

Love Interest: None Yet

Best Friends: Michael.

Rival: None

Enemy: Maran’s stepfather, who is dead.

Dormmates: (Who’s in your MC’s dorm with them?): TBA

Pets: Her Owl, Minerva. Ichabod Technically but he’s not a pet and is more like a parental figure, especially to Robyn.

Closest Canon Friends: TBA

Closest MC Friends: TBA

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

One day he decided he was going to kill Robyn and tried to strangle her with a Garrote after sending Maran and Michael on an errand. Michael came back early and managed to get Peter off his sister and ran into Ichabod’s quarters.  Because Mary had, wisely, never transferred authority to Peter for Ichabod, the house elf refused to let him in. At this point Maran came home. She often carried a rifle when going to the neighbors and there was an argument, during which Peter revealed what he had tried to do. 

Pre Hogwarts:

 After a series of tragedies, including the deaths of his stepson and stepdaughter and two sons, Peter made it to Oregon with his family. Peter O’Toole then proceeded to isolate his family from others and was often physically and verbally abusive. He favored Michael (who did not reciprocate) and sent him to Ilvermorny but kept Maran and later Robyn at home. Mostly because he was sexist but  also because Maran...unnerved him. She seemed to know some wandless magic, having learned it from a witch from their wagon train, and was practicing it when he wasn’t in the house. She would occasionally use it to indirectly threaten him and he sensed the events were somehow connected to her.

- Not afraid to stand up for herself or her siblings and often takes on a protective/maternal role with Robyn.

So Maran shot him and made it look like a muggle robbery. When the truth finally came out, they were already in England and living with Aunt Irene.

1st Year: TBA

2nd Year:TBA

3rd Year:TBA

4th Year:TBA

5th Year: TBA

6th Year: TBA

7th Year: TBA

Post Graduation: She became a Potioneer in Honor of her brother David  and had one son, Aiden, with an unknown man. Robyn lived with her until her death from Typhus at 32 and Michael lived next door with his wife Niamah until his death at age 75 and her death at age 98. 

Old Age & Death: Maran lived to be 101 years old and died surrounded by her grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. Was pardoned for the murder of her stepfather after she died.

PERSONALITY

- Can be absolutely ruthless when she needs to be.

- Doesn’t understand the difference between Light and Dark magic (This distinction didn’t exist out west until the early 1900s) and she often experiments with Dark Magic as a result.

- Genius at potion making and is very intelligent.

- A tad paranoid, she did murder her stepfather. Looks over her shoulder a lot and is distrustful of people at first.

MISC

- Hecate and Sean are partially named after Maran and Michael.

- Maran tries to introduce her English classmates to the newly invented game of Quodpot  and it often ends badly.

- Has a negative view of marriage, which is why she never marries (that anyone can tell).

- Wrote a book about her life as an old woman and it caused a stir in the pureblood community due to the many negative things she says about pureblood culture and purist beliefs in the book. 

- Maran loves sketching ad painting.

[festeringfae]

I can't bring this up at all without reiterating "the question we should be discussing is how to get rid of homophobia within the entertainment industry" but with that said I feel like a lot of people iterating the reductive "only gay people should play gay characters" bit focus only on the very few "prestige" gay roles that serve as Oscar bait for straight actors. It completely ignores shit like Laura Dern, Harry Hamlin, Micheal Ontkean getting blacklisted for a DECADE after playing Ellen's love interest in the coming out episode of her show and starring in Making Love (1982) respectively. And those are just examples of straight actors who managed to bounce back after not getting work for t e n y e a r s, God knows how many more there are, especially since we've now started this lovely ahistorical trend of treating straight actors (Rob James-Collier) speaking out against homophobia getting them blackballed as co-opting oppression for attention instead of, you know, being mad homophobia can cost anyone a job. And how do you classify actors like Cate Blanchett and Gillian Anderson, who both identify as straight but have openly revealed having prior romantic & sexual relationships with women?

If you still can't be bothered to care about any of this because they're straight people and what about gay people: it's a much more prevalent and damaging stereotype that gay people can't convincingly pretend to be straight as actors. Sean Hayes' negative reviews in the musical (MUSICAL!) Promises, Promises were so based in this homophobic idea that his straight costar Kristin Chenoweth published an op-ed entirely devoted to shaming critics for it. Any piece of media Matt Bomer has been in since he came out is guaranteed to mention his inability to pass as straight at least once, no matter that he did it just fine before he chose to come out.

The belief is so pervasive that it even impacts straight actors, through typecasting. When was the last time you saw Natasha Lyonne play a straight woman? Melanie Lynskey? How many straight actors have you seen have to have to have "transitional" roles from playing gay to playing some sort of sexual menace before they're allowed straight roles again? Stanley Tucci's pre and post Lovely Bones roles come to mind offhand, as does Gethin Anthony's leap from "the gay king from Game of Thrones" to "Charles Manson on Aquarius" (a show which no one watched, but, HMM, NBC renewed over gay-run Hannibal). The gay actor inverse of that phenomenon, of course, is the hyper-masculinity and/or depravity of all Neil Patrick Harris' straight roles (How I Met Your Mother, Gone Girl) or hyperconformativity to the feminine ideal alongside unthreatening homoerotic humor (Portia de Rossi as the wife of Tobias Bluth, Kate McKinnon in various roles & sketches).

And if all that isn't enough to convince you that "straight actors shouldn't play gay roles" is a laughably ignorant statement, I would really encourage you to think about everything we know about the production of the movie Frida. Should Salma Hayak have just not fought to have a Latina wlw on screen? Are we going to argue over whether or not she was the "right" person to be coierced into a sex scene by Harvey Weinstein? Are we gonna do that for Blue Is The Warmest Colour, too?

Or we could just focus on asking how to stop violence, including the innate violence of bigotry, within the entertainment industry. Yeah, let's do that instead.

[katie-dub]

The Princess of White Chapel (12/12)

Dr Killian Jones is having a terrible day. He’s got a mission, he’s got a time machine, he’s got … drunk. What could possibly go wrong?

AO3 | Tumblr

Rated M for alcohol use, violence, minor character death, frank discussions of depression and grief.

I can’t believe we’re at the end - thank you to all of you for reading, to my betas, the ever fantastic @distant-rose and @ultraluckycatnd, and to the talented @princesse-swan for creating beautiful art for me.

Now, on with the show!

One Year Later

He was on a pirate ship, hand and hook on the ship’s wheel. The salty sea breeze felt good against his skin, soothing the heat of the hot, summer sun. Princess Emma was leaning against the railings, smiling brighter than any star in the sky and giggling as the breeze wafted her curls across her face.

Lily circled lazily overhead, on guard for attack from pirates, the Evil Queen, or the villain Rumplestiltskin. But those dark clouds on the horizon could not spoil this moment, for he was here with his love. He was at peace.

“Dr Jones, Dr Jones, calling Dr Jones!” Despite being fast asleep just moments ago, Killian's reactions were laser fast. His arm shot out and he answered the phone as he yanked it to his ear.

“I can send you to another bloody realm you know, Scarlet,” he growled. “Don’t test me.”

“Oh really?” Belle replied. He pulled the phone away from his ear to squint at it in confusion. Will’s face pouted up at him in a ridiculous kiss face.

“Why are you using Will’s phone?”

“Forgot to put mine on charge last night.”

“You never forget to put your phone on charge.” Killian could practically hear her blush at his unspoken accusation.

“Yeah, well, we were.. Um. Busy,” she blustered.

“Well, well, well Miss French. Find yourself busy with our dear Will often? If so, I'd suggest you get your jabs. You don't know where that boy's been.”

“Killian!” Belle was equal parts indignant and embarrassed. “What we - if I - look, if you're still coming to book group, can you bring that book you told me about?”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

“Really? I thought you might feel a bit uncomfortable, what with the subject matter…”

He glanced over at his copy of Atonement on his nightstand. “Lovers cruelly torn apart before their love story had truly begun? Yeah, I know that feeling.”

“Sorry.” Killian felt as though he could hear Belle's wince through the phone. “Honestly, I'll understand if it's too much.”

“It's fine, love. The counselling is helping me to cope with everything. At least this couple got their happily ever after, if only in fiction.”

He briefly wondered what he and Emma’s fictional happy ending would have been. He could practically see it, him gazing at her in adoration as they said their vows, her radiant smile as he dipped her into their first kiss as husband and wife.

He realised that he hadn't been listening to Belle at all, caught up in a love story that could never be. “... Should I stop by your place on the way?”

“Sure, you can tell me all about how Will finally tricked you into accepting that date.”

“I heard that!” Will shouted in the background.

“I meant you to!” Killian called back.

Belle sighed. “I'll see you at 7.”

“Bye. Don’t do anything I wouldn't do.” He raised his voice. “And, yes, that includes Will.” He was expecting the sudden silence that greeted his words. He may give Belle a hard time, but he really was pleased that they'd finally got their act together.

His eyes flicked to the time on his phone. 8:15am. Too late to go back to sleep, but he didn't quite feel ready to leave the comfort of his bed behind and face the world.

Instead, he pulled up Facebook and scrolled through his feed.

Cute baby.

Cute baby.

Woah, seriously ugly baby. Bloody hell, what an unfortunate face, Killian thought to himself, swiping just a little faster away from the photo.

Robin Locksley shared a post from The Guardian:

A Crocodile in our Midst

“One year on from the appearance of the London Dragon, and the start of the Enchanted Disaster, we now know one man was behind it all. Robert Gold. Now that the scale of Gold’s influence and empire built on favours, deceit and corruption at the highest levels has been revealed, we ask; what lessons can we learn?”

He hesitated. Stared at the post long and hard. He should have known his feed would be full of stories like this today.

He couldn’t read it now. Perhaps he never would be able to. He’d been through enough in the past year, reporting to the Darling Inquiry, to the police, to the university.

He was finally in a better place. People finally knew what a monster Gold really was, had always been. He was working alongside Dr Smee at Imperial College London. He was getting out more. He was having regular sessions with Dr Hopper.

But still.

He sighed and continued to scroll.

Holiday photos.

Cute children.

Cute dog.

Cute baby.

Aurora Rosen shared a post from The Daily Mail “People are so mean!!! Leave this family alone!!!”:

‘Leave our princess in peace!’ plead Ashley and Sean Herman

Alexandra Herman stole all of our hearts as the face of the Enchanted Disaster, a beautiful little girl lost in another world. Her parents’ campaign for her safe return had a happy ending, but now that she is safely home, they beg for privacy.  

Cute baby.

Holiday photos.

Ironic “wish you were here” post of a dowdy living room presumably intended to get a laugh, but coming off a little too bitter.

Ruby Lucas shared a post from OK! Magazine UK “Get it girls ;)”:

A Royal Romance for Rapunzel

“Singer Rapunzel and Princess Elsa open up for the first time about how their shared ordeal kidnapped by Gold led to them finding love.”

So many people had been brought together by the strange happenings in town, and what did he have to show for it? Two pictures on his wall. Emma’s sketch of a swan and the recent painting he’d done of a swan on the Thames that had made him smile. The first painting he’d done since she’d left that he actually thought worthy of hanging on the wall. Yes, it was lovely to feel that Emma had helped him to rediscover his love of painting, which gave him a link to both of his lost loves, but still... A painting couldn't ask about his day, couldn’t hold him at night, couldn’t borrow his phone when it forgot to charge its own phone because of their more enjoyable activities.

God he never thought he’d be jealous of Will bloody Scarlett.

Killian sighed and put his phone to one side. It was no good. Everything was making him think of Emma. It was still several hours until he had to be at their spot, he needed a better distraction than social media.

He’d been putting off deep cleaning his fridge. No time like the present.

***

He was at their spot and the sun was shining. It wasn’t the harsh, oppressive and overwhelming heat of the previous year, but instead a gorgeous sunny day.

He should have been grateful that on his and Emma’s day, the weather was glorious, but he felt angry. There should be storms raging, torrential rain, unnatural, unseasonable fog. Something, anything to show that the world understood what he had lost.

This resentment wasn’t a new feeling to him. He’d spent years biting his tongue at the way his friends prodded him about his love life or how an acquaintance would casually refer to the loss of Milah or at the sight of Gold. His short time with Emma and the healing that he’d done in the past year had helped him to not feel overwhelmed by it. On a normal day.

But today, it was all too much.

Twice he had loved wholly, honestly and truly; and twice that love and joy had been ripped from him.

He could see how much more to life there was than just romantic love now. His therapy had helped him to appreciate the richness and beauty in all aspects of his life. But he was a passionate man and he longed to share his heart with another. The absence of that love left an emptiness inside him that caused a deep ache if he dwelt on it for long, because whoever heard of lightning striking thrice?

The beautiful day made him feel like the world was taunting him. It was just so unfair. Where was the sense in anything that had happened? As he seethed, questions whirled through his mind, he could feel his wrath taking over. His muscles tensed, he clenched his teeth, his chest felt tight as the tempest grew.

No.

Not today.

He needed to reclaim today as a celebration of his short time with Emma. He couldn’t let his fury win.

He stared at the water and tried to remember the mindfulness exercises that Dr Hopper had taught him to help him to cope. Eyes unfocused. Deep breaths. Feel the bench beneath him. Listen to the sounds around him. Notice how he felt. Don’t try to change it. Accept it. Sit with his feelings.

He caught a glimpse of golden hair.

“Swan?”

The woman spun, he knew it wouldn’t be her. He’d done this so many times before. Especially in the beginning. She had magic. She was from an entire realm full of magic. She could find a way. She would… He’d always been disappointed.

“Yes?” Green eyes looked back at him. She had soft cheeks, a dimpled chin, she was perfect. She couldn’t possibly be real. Then she frowned at him. “Do I know you? Because you said my name and now you’re doing some kind of creepy stalker thing and I’m really not into that.”

“Are you Emma Swan?”

She held up her hands and stepped back from him. “Listen, buddy -”

Killian shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m being so weird. Um, you know the Enchanted Disaster that happened?”

“Yeah! Is it bad if I say that I thought it was cool as fuck? I may have snuck a niffler home. Kind of regretted that when the little fucker tore my purse to shreds looking for treasure.”

“OK, well, I met another you, from the Enchanted Forest.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“But I didn’t end up the other realm?”

“Not everyone switched places. Some people stumbled through portals. She was the first. Faced off against the London Dragon?”

“Oh god, I remember that! People kept asking where I’d learned how to do magic, didn’t like it when I said Hogwarts. But if you’re going to ask a dumb question...”

Killian laughed and nodded. This was so weird. She was Emma, but not Emma. She had the same dry sense of humour, but with the addition of pop culture references. He realised that he’d waited too long to say more, still overawed. “The dragon was actually friends with Emma,” he said, desperate for the conversation to continue.

Emma frowned at him and shook her head incredulously. “Oh come on! Now I know you’re making this up.”

“No really! I didn’t much like her, kind of a bitch and a major fire hazard. Honestly, I don’t miss having her in my flat.”

“You had Maleficent in your apartment?”

“I believe she’s Lily’s mother actually.”

Emma smirked at him. “Bullshit.” He just raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, trying to give off a “you keep telling yourself that” vibe as he grinned. “If I believe you then I have to accept that the street art I keep seeing of her looking like some kind of badass female Saint George is all anti-dragon propaganda. You have to let me have that vision, people buy me drinks because they think I’m her, I’ve gotten laid because of it.”

He laughed. “Far be it from me to cramp your style, Emma may not have actually slain the dragon, but she was definitely a badass. Have you seen the one of her looking like Wonder Woman with the lightsaber?”

“In the parking lot on Brick Lane? I love that one!”

“She loved it too. Of course, she didn’t actually know what a lightsaber was.” He laughed at the memory.

“Tell me you fixed that immediately or I’m not sure we can be friends.”

He laughed. “As if I would deny anyone a proper Star Wars education.” Emma nodded her approval. “Hey would you like to get a coffee?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Emma shook her head and his face fell. “Sorry, er, what did you say your name was?”

“Killian,” he said, trying not to feel too sad. He studied his feet, wondering if the ground could just open up and swallow him. Of course she wouldn’t want to get coffee, this was so strange and he’d approached her in the weirdest possible way.

“Maybe we could get a hot chocolate instead?” He looked up at her in surprise. She shrugged. “I don’t drink coffee,” she said apologetically. “Is that ok?”

“Yeah.” He was dazed, stunned into stupidity by this new Emma Swan.

“Come on, I want to hear all about how awesome I am.” She winked at him. And for the first time since Princess Emma had stepped through that portal he felt that powerful feeling surging through him and lighting him up inside. For the first time since she left, Killian had hope.

[theliterateape]

From the Archives: Unpacking Branson: A Thanksgiving Improbability

By Don Hall

For Thanksgiving in 2012, I was single and Mom decided that I should come out to my step-sister's place in Branson, Missouri for a good old-fashioned country Thanksgiving. The carrot was family. The stick was Missouri.

In the late 1960s it was pretty much a tiny city in the Ozarks known for roadside stands peddling wares that proliferated the hillbilly stereotype. And, sure enough, there are still today roadside stands that exist only to continue to make fun of that stereotype. It's an odd thing to walk into a business in the middle of the Ozarks that sells you the stereotype it tries to escape from. Like buying a taxi cab medallion from an East Indian store or an “I’m a Wetback” T-shirt in a store that sells Mexican merchandise.

It is said you cannot judge a book by its cover.

This is true most of the time, but there are some things you can judge immediately by its cover and pretty much know what your getting.

An Ann Coulter book. Sean Hannity. A FOX News broadcast. Great America. Applebee's.

I assumed that Branson, Missouri would fall into this latter category. I was right and wrong. And the complexities made it a real trip to remember.

Branson is where the Beverly Hillbillies came from before moving to California.

A winding series of roads littered with signs and theaters and restaurants. Lots of bumper stickers that declare “I’d Rather Be Dead Than SOCIALIST” and random tributes to past GOP glory. In the three days we trucked around the city, I counted perhaps one hundred people of color the entire time — I didn't start the trip by calculating this but after a bit, it was hard to escape. Thousands of old white people with canes and wheelchairs abounded but that doesn't really look that much different than Navy Pier or the audience at Chicago Shakes — old white people like to be tourists and Branson is, after all, a haven of tourism.

My step-sister, Hannah, tells me that the crack business booms among the residents of Branson and there is evidence around if you’re looking for it. The place is slightly schizophrenic in its place as a home to rednecks and hillbillies while trying desperately to distance itself from that by appealing to the tourist trade. There are places that stink of what one expects in Ozarks — a biker bar called the Hawg Trough that even my pro-GOP brother-in-law avoids and a Smoke Shop that doesn't sell cigarettes and has a pit bull guarding the door. But there are surprises that popped up during my three-day Thanksgiving vacation that defied my pre-judged expectations.

The surprises came in weird ways. When I arrived, we ate at a place called the Rowdy Beaver — a place with T-shirts that trumpeted “I Like Bald Beaver” and “That's A Mighty Nice Beaver” and had washboard walls. The thing that surprised was that the food was out of this world. It was delicious and well prepared and not at all what I expected. “Our chef prepares everything from fresh ingredients,” trumpeted our waitress who seemed completely fine with her job at a place filled with such juvenile innuendo.

The Hollywood Wax Museum was fun but the wax figures left me a bit wanting — a frequent refrain of our visit was my niece saying “Who's that?” and me doing my best to figure it out. I tried to convince my family to go to Silver Dollar City so I could find and steal a urinal cake but it was $60 per person and even I couldn't argue that $300 was reasonable for me to complete a toilet cookie tale. We had tickets to a magic show billed as the World's Largest (by the way, every attraction in Branson is billed as “Show of the Year,” “The Most Amazing in the World,” and “Mindblowing”) but the show was cancelled due to illness. Turns out Kirby VanBurch’s greatest trick is to take your money and disappear.

Our replacement show for the afternoon was going to be either Jim Stafford (I desperately wanted to see this) or SIX (the nieces had heard it was awesome). Stafford only did an 8 p.m. show, so SIX at the Mickey Gilley Theater it was.

SIX is six middle-aged brothers who debuted on the Donnie and Marie Show and have fashioned themselves as sort of an older version of an a cappella boy band. As soon as they started with a cheeseball version of Don’t Stop Believin’, Hannah and I turned to each other with a look of pained resignation. These guys had pretty good voices and the arrangements were fine but the self-consciously hip pose and cornball attempts at cool banter was unbearable. I learned that wanting to see an awful Branson show and actually sitting through one are two different things. I also learned that I will never, as a middle-aged white guy, ever use the words “homie” or “peeps” ever again. To be fair, the second act was better — a selection of Christmas songs and a tribute to their dead mother. Apparently this tiny woman had ten children, all boys, and I suspect she isn't dead but just got the fuck out of there before having to bear an eleventh kid. But the damage of the first act left me scarred and a little terrified of that evening’s show — Legends at the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater.

Legends is a show that debuted in Vegas and moved to Branson. It is a rotating cast of celebrity impersonators ranging from Barry White, Marilynn Monroe and Tim McGraw to the staples of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Our bill was George Strait, Whitney Houston, the Blues Brothers, Liberace and Elvis. As we entered and sat down, once again surrounded by octogenarians, I steeled myself. This was going to be fucking awful.

And it wasn’t.

Really. In fact, it was a blast. The Whitney Houston knocked it out of the park, Liberace was funny but completely inappropriate in a callback to the dark days of The Gay Closet and the Elvis impersonator was so fucking good, if we had been sitting in the nose bleeds it would’ve been like actually seeing Elvis live. My mom, a huge Elvis fan from when he was alive, commented that he was the best Elvis impersonator she had ever seen. Hell, even my teenaged nieces enjoyed the show.

But we saved the best, most Branson-y show for Saturday. Yakov Smirnoff. Holy shit. I couldn’t wait. I was absolutely certain it would embody everything I expected Branson to be — cheesy, cloying, the very portrait of a has-been celebrity stretching out his 15 minutes of fame as paper thin as he could in the heart of the Vegas of the Ozarks. We were greeted by a giant Yakov head making awful jokes about... the size of his head! Inside, it turned out that Yakov was a painter and had his paintings for sale!

The beginning of the show was the longest version of the national anthem I’ve ever heard (who know there were, like, nine verses?) and then I was hit with another fucking surprise. On the video screens came an old Paul Harvey “The Rest of the Story” about a painter known as Jacob who painted and commissioned a painting in tribute to the fallen at Ground Zero in NYC following the Attacks of 9/11.  Painted on the side of a building overlooking the rubble, it was the backdrop to the first anniversary of the attacks. The painter was an anonymous Yakov Smirnoff. He paid for the commission out of his own pocket.

Some of his show was what I expected: a revisitation of his “What a Country!” schtick from the ’80s—a sketch of him as the president answering questions from the audience, and he actually quoted the Lee Greenwood God Bless the U.S.A. as a closer. But other parts were not at all what I anticipated. Turns out that Yakov went out and got a Master's Degree in psychology and decided that his show could also serve as a relationship counseling session as well. Sort of like Defending the Caveman meets a less arrogant Dr. Phill with the takeaway being that we begin relationships laughing and giving each other little gifts and that, if we simply return to giving each other gifts and finding laughter in our relationships, we’ll be happier, healthier people.

Was it a great show? Not really. The dancers were cheesy and only there to fill time, the jokes were funny in a “Yeah, I remember that one” sort of way, the political stuff was tame (although at one point, Yakov asked the audience who was happy with the results of the latest election — a smattering of applause that included my mother and I enthusiastically cheering — and who was ticked off by it — a thundering, slightly ugly ovation — with the Russian comic commenting “Yeah, that's about even...”) and the recurring pro-America stuff was hard to hear after a while. But the thing is... I liked him.

I mean, I really liked the guy. He was so overwhelmingly sincere and genuine. Christ, I wanted to hug him. And, while his show is corny and inoffensive and gentle and perfect for the Branson tourist crowd, this is a guy who lives in Branson, Missouri suggesting that people spend time laughing and loving one another instead of being shitbags.

Prejudice is a funny thing. Judging books by their covers is what we do as people. I imagine it’s a hard drive instinct. But, as I am often heard saying, while we are all unique and precious snowflakes and each of us is completely distinct, we are all made of fucking snow. We all are simply people trying our best to get along in the world. Yes, that means that our baser, uglier instincts come to play like ordinary people rioting in a Walmart on Black Friday to get a discount on a portable DVD player. It also means that our better, more generous nature comes into play, and sometimes it's nice to be reminded that even in Red State Hell, Yakov Smirnoff is telling thousands of people every week to just be fucking nicer to each other.

On Thanksgiving, the point is to be with friends or family and celebrate those things in our lives we are (or should be) thankful for. Sure, the holiday is laden with cultural markers that include the genocide of the Native Americans and our national quest to bequeath every American with diabetes but the point is gratitude. Gratitude can come from a lot of places and I’m thankful to remember the lessons I learned in Branson. 

[oijio]

70th Emmy Nomination Predictions

Last year, five new dramas broke into the race, and they’re looking to be as strong as they were last year. With former champ Game of Thrones returning to the race, though, people need to make some room. Should be interesting. On the comedy side, Veep, which has won the Best Comedy three years running, is off this year, including its leading lady Julia Louis Dreyfus who has won six times in a row, opening up the Comedy race. Looking forward to seeing some new faces over on that side. Here are my predictions for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards!

Outstanding Drama Series The Americans The Crown Game of Thrones The Handmaid’s Tale Killing Eve Stranger Things This is Us

Alternate: Westworld Spoiler: Ozark Wish (not including any above): Dark; Orphan Black

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Comedy Series Atlanta Barry Black-ish Curb Your Enthusiasm GLOW The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Silicon Valley

Alternate: Modern Family Spoiler: Will & Grace Wish: The Good Place; You’re the Worst; Broad City; One Day at a Time; The End of the F***ing World; Dear White People

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Limited Series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Godless Howards End The Looming Tower Twin Peaks

Alternate: Genius: Picasso Spoiler: Patrick Melrose Wish: American Vandal; Alias Grace

~*~*~*~*~

The rest after the cut!

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding TV Movie Black Mirror: USS Callister Fahrenheit 451 Flint Paterno The Tale

Alternate: Electric Dreams Wish: Black Mirror: Black Museum

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Jodie Comer, Killing Eve Claire Foy, The Crown Mandy Moore, This is Us Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale Sandra Oh, Killing Eve Keri Russell, The Americans

Alternate: Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld Spoiler: Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones Wish: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown, This is Us Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor Matthew Rhys, The Americans Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan Milo Ventimiglia, This is Us Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Alternate: Jason Bateman, Ozark Spoiler: Kit Harrington, Game of Thrones Wish: Matt Smith, The Crown

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale Lena Headey, Game of Thrones Chrissy Metz, This is Us Thandie Newton, Westworld

Alternate: Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black Spoiler: Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale Wish: Vanessa Kirby, The Crown

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones Noah Emmerich, The Americans David Harbour, Stranger Things Justin Hartley, This is Us Anthony Hopkins, Westworld Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Alternate: Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid’s Tale Spoiler: Noah Schnapp, Stranger Things Wish: Sean Astin, Stranger Things (Note: fun tidbit, five of last year’s seven nominees are ineligible or in a different category this year - makes for a lot of space, but also there are tons of people fighting for spots here)

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Pamela Adlon, Better Things Alison Brie, GLOW Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Allison Janney, Mom Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish Lily Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

Alternate: Jane Fonda, Grace & Frankie Spoiler: Debra Messing, Will and Grace Wish: Aya Cash, You’re the Worst; Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex Girlfriend; Kristen Bell, The Good Place; Ilana Glazer & Abbi Jacobson, Broad City; Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Jessica Barden, The End of the F***ing World

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm Zach Galifianakis, Baskets Donald Glover, Atlanta Bill Hader, Barry William H. Macy, Shameless

Alternate: Eric McCormack, Will and Grace Spoiler: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory Wish: Ted Danson, The Good Place; Chris Geere, You’re the Worst; Alex Lawther, The End of the F***ing World

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne Leslie Jones, Saturday Night Live Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time Megan Mullaly, Will and Grace

Alternate: Jessica Walter, Arrested Development Spoiler: Betty Gilpin, GLOW Wish: D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place; Kether Donohue, You’re the Worst; Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Andrea Martin, Great News (Four of the six nominees from last year are also ineligible this year, exciting)

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Louie Anderson, Baskets Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Brian Tyree Henry, Atlanta Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Henry Winkler, Barry

Alternate: Sean Hayes, Will and Grace Spoiler: Ty Burrell, Modern Family Wish: LaKeith Stanfield, Atlanta; Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin; Manny Jacinto, The Good Place; Marc Maron, GLOW

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie Hayley Atwell, Howards End Jessica Biel, The Sinner Laura Dern, The Tale Michelle Dockery, Godless Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake: China Girl Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Cult

Alternate: Regina King, Seven Seconds Spoiler: Cristin Milioti, Black Mirror: USS Callister Wish: Letitia Wright, Black Mirror: Black Museum; Sarah Gadon, Alias Grace

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie Antonio Banderas, Genius: Picasso Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Melrose Jeff Daniels, The Looming Tower Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks Al Pacino, Paterno

Alternate: Michael B. Jordan, Fahrenheit 451 Spoiler: Jesse Plemons, Black Mirror: USS Callister Wish: Jimmy Tatro, American Vandal; Douglas Hodge, Black Mirror: Black Museum

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie Penelope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Laura Dern, Twin Peaks Nicole Kidman, Top of the Lake: China Girl Angela Lansbury, Little Women Judith Light, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Merritt Wever, Godless

Alternate: Naomi Watts, Twin Peaks Spoiler: Elizabeth Debicki, The Tale Wish: Anna Paquin, Alias Grace

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie Bill Camp, The Looming Tower Jeff Daniels, Godless Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Peter Sarsgaard, The Looming Tower Michael Shannon, Fahrenheit 451 Michael Stuhlbarg, The Looming Tower

Alternate: Ricky Martin, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Spoiler: Brandon Victor Dixon, Jesus Christ Superstar Wish: Cody Fern, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Reality Competition Program The Amazing Race American Ninja Warrior Project Runway RuPaul’s Drag Race Top Chef The Voice

Alternate: Dancing with the Stars Spoiler: Survivor

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Reality Host Alec Baldwin, Match Game Gordon Ramsay, Masterchef Junior Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race W. Kamau Bell, United Shades of America

Alternate: Queer Eye, Queer Eye Spoiler: Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen’s Game of Games

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Jodi Balfour, The Crown Pam Grier, This is Us Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones Marisa Tomei, The Handmaid’s Tale Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away with Murder Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale

Alternate: Laverne Cox, Orange is the New Black Spoiler: Kate Burton, This is Us Wish: Rinko Kikuchi, Westworld

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Alan Alda, The Good Fight Matthew Goode, The Crown Michael C. Hall, The Crown Ron Cephas Jones, This is Us Gerald McRaney, This is Us Peter Mullan, Westworld

Alternate: Jimmi Simpson, Westworld Spoiler: Sylvester Stallone, This is Us Wish: Hiroyuki Sanada, Westworld

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Blythe Danner, Will and Grace Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live Tiffany Haddish, Saturday Night Live Lisa Kudrow, Grace & Frankie Jane Lynch, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Wanda Sykes, black-ish

Alternate: Maya Rudolph, The Good Place Spoiler: Molly Shannon, Will and Grace Wish: Tessa Thompson, Dear White People

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Bryan Cranston, Curb Your Enthusiasm Donald Glover, Saturday Night Live Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Leslie Jordan, Will and Grace Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory

Alternate: Chadwick Boseman, Saturday Night Live Spoiler: Sterling K. Brown, Brooklyn Nine Nine Wish: John Cho, Difficult People

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Variety Talk Series Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Jimmy Kimmel Live Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The Late Late Show with James Corden Real Time with Bill Maher 

Alternate: The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon

~*~*~*~*~

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series At Home with Amy Sedaris Drunk History I Love You, America Portlandia Saturday Night Live  Tracy Ullman’s Show

~*~*~*~*~

Another Emmy nomination prediction list done! Gonna be Game of Thrones vs. The Handmaid’s Tale it seems, with THT getting more nominations than it did last year. Will be interesting to see which of the five new shows that arrived last year can maintain their momentum. Hoping for some new, new faces everywhere else!

[mangled-dreams]

Reader goes on tour with Mark, Sean, Bob, Wade, Ethan and Tyler, and ends up taking a bullet in the stomach for Sean? How do they all react to reader being hospitalized, or reader dying in their arms?

I went out of order for this one because I didn’t want the idea I had in my head disappear. So without further waiting:

Killing Shot

You’ve been psyched up for the past three months in preparation for the tour and now that your actually on it, nothing else compares. Sean and Mark have done their own shows either solo or with friends and this time is no different. Improv, a few rehearsed sketches, singing, dancing—the show has it all! Not to mention you get to be apart of it!

“I’m so pumped!!” You hear Ethan cheer from across the stage. Right now everyone is getting ready with costume/wardrobe fittings. Hiding your smile behind your hand you turn to Mark again adjusting the sleeves some.

“How does that feel?” You ask stepping back from Mark to let him move freely.

He does a few of his favorite dance moves nodding his head. “It’s good. I’m glad you could come with us.” Mark says super happy to have your skill set and comedy talent on the tour.

Taking thread and needle you do a quick few stitches to secure your adjustments and remove the pins. “Glad to be of service.” You laugh then tell Mark to go change and give you the clothes when done. Sean walks over for his last minute fitting once Mark is gone. “Any areas that feel to loose or not loose enough?” You ask beaming at your handsome beau.

Sean indicates it feels a little loose on the inside seam of his pant on the right side and you concur. Taking your dress maker pins and a fabric pen you secure and dot where you need to sew together. You would normally use your needle and thread but it’s a sensitive area and quite a large spans of fabric you’d have to thread. Standing you ask Sean to move and bend his legs. “Are you getting the pins? I’ll be taking in the fabric quite a bit but is that comfortable?”

Sean does as you ask giving thumbs up in approval. You nod and remove the pins from his pants. “Can we take in the jacket too?” Sean asks looking down at you. He likes this angle.

“Focus on the important things Sean.” Your grouse playfully.

“Oh believe me, I am.” He teases back liking the flush of heat to your face. Standing again you look at the jacket and agree again it does need to come in some.

“Shit! Y/n, wardrobe SOS!” Ethan calls from the other side. Twisting you see Wade and Bob have crashed and Wade’s coat is missing a sleeve.

Gasping you rush over with Sean. “Are you okay?” You ask Wade. He’s on his feet again and looking quite embarrassed but tells you he’s okay.

“Bob?”

“I’m good. We were trying something new for the show tonight but, it didn’t work.” Wade replies rubbing his back and head. You sigh and look at their costumes. You don’t see anything to terrible to fix, but most importantly there’s no blood anywhere.

“Can you salvage the coat?” Wade asks holding up the sleeve now complete detached from the rest of the coat. You take it and look at the seam. It appears okay and simple enough to fix.

“Yeah, I should be able to make it good as new.” You say confident in the fix. “Bob any damage to report?” You ask looking Bob over again.

Spinning Bob tells you no and you feel a small amount of relief. Taking Wade’s jacket you tell everyone to take it easy and go back to adjusting Sean’s jacket. Sean gives you words of encouragement to which you are regateful for, but it’s more than just the costumes that have you stressed; Sean insisted that you accompany them on stage tonight. You’ve helped with props and other little things while the show is going on, but being a star in it frightens you.

In your sewing room once everything is done and you’ve collected the costumes you set to work sewing. You feel euphoria when you sew. Its your life’s purpose and it’s so fulfilling to you. You’ve made so many costumes for yourself and others I’ve the years you can just abou eye ball a person and know their measurements.

Of course that’s how you met the gang. You’d been cosplaying at a convention when you been stopped by Mark and Bob. They really liked all your detail and craftsmanship. You’d managed to get them o take your card and basically the rest is history. You’d made the costumes for a lot of Mark’s Darkiplier and Wilford videos, a few personal costumes for both Wade and Ethan. It was during a shoot for a Darkiplier vid that you met Sean and there’s been instant chemistry.

Looking back on all you’ve done it feel amazing and surreal, as if all a dream. Today will be the third city and ninth show. You're nearly two months into the six month tour and you've been apart eight show so far as a backstage hand, now you'll have at least one show under your belt as being a participant.

“Hey, how's going in here?” Tyler asks coming to check on your slave shop. Taking your foot of the petal of your sewing machine you look up with a smile.

“Doing fine. How's practice going?” You ask clipping the small bit of threat still attached to the machine and shake out the coat.

“It's going well. Sean asked me to check on you.” He says twisting a free standing chair around and sits down facing you, his arms and chin resting on the back of the chair. “Is that Wade's?”

Nodding you show it to Tyler. “I didn't loose any length of the arm, which is a blessing.” Tyler nods quite impressed at your skill despite his lack of facial reaction. You know Tyler well enough to pick up on his micro facial features. “I have just about everyone's costumes ready for the show,”

“Including yours?” Tyler asks quickly. You look away from him with a little bit of guilt. “That's what we thought. You can tell us you don't want to do this.” Tyler tells you meaning it. You already know he's right, but you don't want to let Sean or anyone else down.

“I promised you guys I'd try more new things.”

“Within your comfort zone.” Tyler shots back instantly. “We don't want you to feel forced into this. It's supposed to be fun for everyone.” He adds his features softening.

“I know, Tyler, but I—I want to try this.” You say folding Wade's jacket, setting it down before taking up your outfit and look it over. It's already tailored for you, it'd been the prototype so it looks a little different from the rest, but each outfit reflect the wearer.

Tyler watches you for a few minutes then ask you, “How much do you like Sean?”

“Is this a trick question?” You ask. It's very well known how much you “like” Sean. It's been known since before you met him face to face. “It's pretty well known my feeling about him, I am dating him. I don't see a point in a closed partnership if there isn't at least some kind of romantic feeling.” You explain fixing a patch on the shoulder of your jacket.

“No trick. You've been dating what? Four years now?”

“Ugh, you're starting to sound like my mother.” You groan rolling your eyes at Tyler. “She's always asking, “When are you and Sean going to get married? I won't be young forever.” It gets real old real fast.” You mimic your mother tone to the best of your ability.

“Don't you want to get married?” Tyler asks a little shocked at your response.

You shrug. “Sure, eventually. Sean's at the peak of his career. He's happy with the way things are. If he wants more than what we have now I'll take that path with him. There are people expecting us to tie the knot, but I don't want him to feel tied down.” You explain calmly. You've seen how badly relationships can end if two people rush into marriage, especially with celebrities.

“Do you think he'd cheat on you?” Tyler asks getting the hidden meaning behind your words.

Do you? Yes, part of you always worries that your partner—despite who they are will cheat. It's common culture now to have at least one or two relationships end in unfaithfulness. “Yes, but I'd rather avoid that heartache if it's in the cards. If I'm no longer what he wants, even if he's what I want, I'd rather part on good terms than in a ball of flame and hatred. I love this life I have, with and without him. I don't want to feel like regret when thinking upon these days.”

You miss the former green hair Irishman standing just on the other side of the door. He'd come down to check on you when Tyler didn't come back to the stage to finish up. He'd heard Tyler ask about marriage and curiosity got the better of him. It hurts that you expect him to be tempted into cheating, but the more he listens he understands you're being logical about it.

"What about kids and stuff?"

"Animals are good for now. I mean look at us right now.  We're on tour for six months visiting at over twenty cities, what about this says kid friendly?" You laugh smiling cheerfully at Tyler. "Kids would be nice, but I've imagined using whatever wealth I accumulate to take in older kids in the foster system." You add winking. You'd imagined growing old with a wall filled with kids you helped get to a better place.

Tyler smiles at you. He likes the idea of that. "That's a good plan." He tells you quite proud of your plans.

Sean smile to himself. He knew he found the perfect person for him when he met you. Turning Sean heads back up the stairs. He's can see you're doing just fine and having a nice conversation with Tyler. Hearing you talk so candidly with Tyler solidified his purpose for asking you to join him on stage tonight.

"AND NOW! WELCOME THE STARS OF TONIGHT'S SHOW!! MARK, SEAN, WADE, ETHAN, BOB, TYLER, AND INTRODUCING A SPECIAL GUEST Y/N!!" The house announcer shouts the crowd already on their feet cheering.

One by one everyone, you included, run on stage waving, blowing kisses, and cheering along with the crowd. You can't see much in ways of facial features past the first few rows, but it doesn't quell the nausea you feel.

Sean and Mark dance around separately while Ethan and Tyler do a hoedown kind of dance. Wade and Bob slap their thighs in time with Ethan and Tyler's dancing. You laugh watching the spectacle before you.

Sean spots you by yourself and rushes over to you lifting you into his arms and swings you around, carrying you over to rest of the group. Laughter erupts from the crowd at the scene and a few minutes later everyone settles down and the guys take their turns talking to the crowd, thanking everyone for coming out to see them stand on stage and have fun.

As the hour mark slowly comes to pass you find you've taken to the improve and sketches with ease. It'd been fun and in the end Mark won the little contest they do at each show. So far the score is Mark with three wins, Sean with three, Tyler one, Ethan with one, Wade with one, and Bob with none; but with all the shows still to go, it's anyone's game.

"Now! We're going to take some questions before the end of the show and share some of the gifts we've gotten at the beginning of the show." Ethan says smiling. The couches had been rolled out during the last sketch battle and everyone takes a seat. You perch on the arm rest next to Mark since Sean is in the middle.

Two lines of ten are made and one by one each fan gets to ask a question of the guys. And to your surprise you get a few questions of your won. Sitting up straight you give the young girl you're pretty sure you've meet before your full attention.

"I've been watching your channel for two years now, and I just wanted to know when did you know that costume designing was what you wanted to do? And follow up, how would you suggest someone interested in sewing start out?" She asks in a shy tone you can't help but coo at.

"Well, I was about your age I guess. I used to watch shows like BDZ and Sailor Moon and I really liked their costumes but no one would ever have the designs I wanted in the stores and the places that did would have very poor quality. My grandma used to sew me clothes as a kid and I asked her for help. We'd go to the fabric shop and she'd help me mix and match patterns to get the right design." You tell her smiling. "I've been working on my craft since then as for beginning, start slow. Buy a stuffed animal building kit, start with doll clothing then move up from there. I'm sure if you look around you'll be able to find a club or group of avid seamstresses that would be glad to teach you unique tips and tricks of the trade." You add encouraging the young girl as best as you can. "My e-mail is always active and I'm usually able to respond in a few days."

The girl smiles big, thanks you, and walks back to her seat where you see the adult with her smile just as big. The next person steps up and asks Sean a question about Chase and Henrik's next appearance on the channel.

You have to hide your smile at the amount of trolling Sean does before answering the question. The whole group is laughing and cheering by the ends of the question.

"Admit it, you're having fun." Mark says lowering his microphone to talk to you privately. Glancing down at Mark you nudge him a little smiling back.

"Before me move on to the next person!" Sean says shooting the next fan an apologetic glance. "I need to ask a question of my own."

Confused you have to look to the others for help when Sean walks before you and kneels. "Sean, what are you doing?" You ask red faced as the scene before you becomes crystal clear. "No. Sean y--you can't..."

Sean smiles at you. One of the camera operators rounds to get a shot of Sean's face at this moment. "Yes, I am. Y/n, I've been wanting to ask for a while, but will you make me happy and marry me?"

Behind him the crowd goes completely insane at his question before it goes dead quiet waiting for you to respond to his question.

"A-are you sure?" Sean nods his head. Teary eyed you nod your head saying, "Yes Sean, I'll marry you!" The world exposes around you, literally as small fireworks are set off. Sean slips the ring on your finger and quickly gathers you in his arms. You share a long passionate kiss before parting. Sean smiles for the crowd holding up your hand.

"I'm enraged!" He cheers. The rest of the group stands up, hugging and congratulating you both on your commitment to each other. Mark moves to let you sit next to Sean, keeping your hands locked together.

You can't contain your happiness as the ask section comes to a close as does the show. Standing up with the others you join in the closing thank you and give a long bow. Sparks of light rain behind you in a controlled display. Waving goodbye you notice something a little out of the ordinary.

Despite everyone jumping and cheering, clapping their hands, and whistling a single figure a few rows away from the stage stands still. It feels different. You don't know what it is about the person standing eerily quiet in the crowd of cheering people.

Keeping an eye on the man in the crowd you walk over to Sean. Being close to him gives you some amount of comfort but it doesn’t last. Glancing at the man in the crowd you notice his eyes are trained on Sean beside you.

Tugging on Sean’s jacket you say, “Sean you need to get off stage.”

“What?” Sean follows your gaze to the man eye wide as a gun is pulled from the man’s pocket. All it takes is a split second to react. Using all your power you knock Sean out of the gunman’s line of fire.

You don’t feel the bullet pierce your stomach, no, it’s the impact of falling back that elicited your cry. People are screaming as bodies scatter, running to get away from the gun fire. Only when you twist to crawl away do you feel the pain and sticky red liquid spilling from you.

Pausing you look at your now wet red colored shirt. Sean screams scurrying to your side. This doesn’t make sense but it hurts. It hurts so much.

“No. No, no, no!” Sean looks from your abdomen to your face watching the color drain. “Y/n, can you hear me?” Sean asks turning you to face his chest.

“Sean... it hurts.” You whine grabbing his shirt as your strength slowly fades.

“I know, I know. They’re coming. We got people coming to help.” Sean says pressing his hand tightly again your stomach. Mark and the others rush over with towels.

“Hold on, they’re almost here.” Mark pleases hating how weak you look. None of them are willing to believe you’ll die here in their collective arms.

Your vision is coming and going as your eyelids droop down. You need to stay away but the pain, the loss of blood, the tiredness you feel it's all so overwhelming and you can't fight. You don't know how much time has passed but it feels like hours, days laying in Sean's arms. Your heart breaks at the sound of his sobbing pleads to stay alive, to stay with him, to not go wards the light you can't even see.

Burying his face in your neck Sean clutches you to his chest. He's a broken man and the only mend is for you to survive. But as the minutes tick by his words of reassurance turn to prays for mercy. Mark closes his eyes, turning his head away as he cries. Ethan turns to Tyler unable to watch you die.

"Please, don't leave me." Sean pleads.

With your last bit of strength--your last breath you force your eyes open, try to smile, and manage to say, "I love you."

Breathe.