#the casino is next episode fuck YEAH

[arionawrites]

“you’re better at this than me” nah my inner child reading these books for the first time is currently having a fucking meltdown actually

[rose-reveries]

EPISODE FIVE

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EP 5 OF PERCY JACKSON YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

THINGS I LIKED:

I'm so happy we finally got to see the Fates omg. I am curious because they swapped it around so that Annabeth saw it instead of Percy. Like, interesting??? But I don't hate it.

The actor embodies Ares so well, omg I love it.

YEAHHH WE ARE FINALLY SEEING THAT PERCY IS WANTED AND GABE IS BEING A BITCH AND DOING INTERVIEWS SAYING HE'S A TROUBLED KID. FBI WANTED PERCY JACKSON REAL AGAIN.

KRONOS EXPOSITION FUCKING FINALLY YEAHHHHH I'VE LITERALLY BEEN ASKING WHERE IT WAS THE PAST 4 EPISODES. And i'm totally fine with the Krono's exposition and FBI wanted Percy info coming from Ares. Like, makes enough sense tbh.

"I'm 24." "Good for you."

PERCABETH WAS REALLY CUTE THIS EPISODE.

THINGS I JUST WANNA BLAB ABOUT:

I wish they would have shown more how Ares's aura effects people's mood. Like yeah they were sassy, but Percy's been sassy this entire time so I didn't really feel like there was much of a change there.

BOLD DEPARTURE FROM THE SOURCE MATERIAL HERE. It's not a bad thing, I liked a lot of the changes. But like just like...interesting for sure lol. Again not actually a bad thing but BOLDD departure from the source material.

i miss them raiding the park for clothes and becoming walking advertisements. It was funny, despite adding nothing to the plot. I don't mind it isn't there, I just think that scene in that book is so silly goofy it makes me laugh.

I THOUGHT HEPHAESTUS WAS FUCKING SAW TRAPPING THEM IM NOT GONNA LIE T_T

Okay, I am VERY intrigued with the angle they are going in because it has become apparent this episode they are trying to frame it so first time viewers think Grover stole the bolt. Which like is so very interesting I don't know how to feel about this. I did however, really like the scene between Grover and Ares.

The jump cuts...why are you acting as if you are going to go to commercial break. Please stop.

I liked this episode, but I have to admit the tunnel drop sequence CGI was bad and hard to watch, I'm so sorry.

We are meeting more gods than we did in the books, and while Percy seems to have reconciled with his dad this episode, now we are seeing Annabeth start to resent the gods, which leads me to question what will stop Annabeth and Percy from siding with Luke in the end? Because what Luke is doing against the gods right now sounds pretty good to me, they fucking suck and we see that and Percy and Annabeth see that. I don't know, just thoughts.

Anyway, I am so excited for the casino next week :))) hehehe

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 16, "There's The Rub", aka a Masterpiece of Gilmore-dom, AKA Lorelai Gilmore Is Safely Contained In Another Location, AKA Jess Rory And Paris Eat Together And All Is Right With The World-Part 1

Let's just jump right into this absolute masterpiece. This 45 minutes of bliss. This triumph of GilmoreDom that even Dean Forrester can't ruin. (PS-Don't forget to check all of the previous episodes I've recapped! You can find them in my pinned post).

Yeah okay. The point of this construction was supposed to be for Jess to have a seperate space for himself, right? But this never happens. So why are we doing this again? This poor kid had to sleep on the floor next to Luke and Lorelai when she stayed over. Lorelai told Rory "your boyfriend snores." Tragically Lorelai was closer to sleeping with Jess than Rory ever was.

I hope one of them was Forrester. Perhaps God was trying to smite him and he failed, but hey, try try again right?

1:11 into the episode and I'm already grinning like an idiot. Emily calls Lorelai. "Would you like a gift certificate for a weekend at the spa?" TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT Emily uses advanced manipulation techniques on Lorelai to trick her into accepting a mother daughter weekend at the spa and I couldn't be more proud of Emily.

Me too, Emily. Me too.

I'm not saying Lorelai deserves an injurous chunk of concrete falling on her head (I reserve most of my grave injury/ death wishes for Dean), but a small DOINK or KABONK would have been satisfying to watch.

A shirt that just repeats "yoga kills" over and over is one of Lorelai's more interesting fashion choices. Per the post-opening credits, this s also a Madelyn & Louise episode? How can it get any better? Lorelai is carefully organizing her spa itninerary while Rory declares her plans to stay in for the night, order take out, watch movies and go to bed early. Lorelai is insistent that Rory throws a rager in her absence. With who, exactly? I mean this in the kindest, gentlest way possible: Rory has no friends ( besides Lane, who I suppose has demonstrated her ability to slip out of her room un-noticed and attend wild parties on multiple occasions, should I give her partial credit here?) When you think about it, these are the only true, solid, non-frenemy, non-annoying hangers on (like Logan's "friends"), non-sexually tense friend pairs on Gilmore Girls: Lane and Rory Lorelai and Sookie Miss Patty & Babette. Welp that's it. GIlmore Girls teaches us an important lesson: If you have a penis, you're not allowed to have any friends (who you aren't trying to fuck).

17 years old, but already speaking like a true geriatric Millennial from the later 2000's. I heartily salute your low key lifestyle, Rory Gilmore. You do you, and don't listen to your mother.

"Haven't you ever seen the movie Risky Business? I don't mean you have to start a prostitution ring, but maybe an illegal casino or something." Well, if Rory wanted to start a prostitution ring, I know a teenage gigolo who can call some people and make it happen. L: Why is (Emily) honking? She hates honking.

Rory's Inner Monologue: "I know,I was there."

The chariot that will whisk Lorelai away to a secondary location so Rory can have a night of freedom from her insane mother. Maybe not freedom from three other people imposing their time on her against her wishes, but hey, no Lorelai!

One of my favorite parts of Gilly Girls is the 36 year old Chilton extras who have wives and 3 kids to get home to after chemistry class. Paris Geller's world crumbles when she discovers she recieved an A-Minus on her chemistry test. Since Madelyn and Louise won't give up their Friday Night Fuck Dates to help her study, Paris turns to her wife for help. After much badgering, Rory gives in and agrees to spend the entirety of the following week helping Paris study but declines for that evening, because Rory really needs to be alone, and just BE.

"A whole week of studying with Rory Gilmore. Ugh. I GUESS that's okay. I GUESS that doesn't make my nether regions flutter in anticipation or anything."

On top of the caffiene withdrawls, Emily re-arranged Lorelai's careful planning which was supposed to ensure she was seperated from Emily for the majority of the trip, so now all of their spa treatments are going to be in tandem! Lorelai's disappointments and caffiene withdrawls are like chicken soup for my soul. Ahhh! Okay, fine, Lorelai is pretty tolerable, even enjoyable to watch in this episode, but she's built up so much of whatever the opposite of goodwill is (badwill?) that it's hard for me to let go for one episode and not just snark on her constantly. A girl's gotta snark.

Emily and Taylor Doose were the OG Karens. Did anyone just feel a sudden chill?

AHH! You idiots, you have GOT to stop scaring me like that. Having to see Rory and Dean make out and then having to hear Rory pretend that it actually turned her on is another form of unthinkkable torture outlawed by the Geneva Convention. Rory's sexual experiences really went Dean Forrester, Logan, ????? (mystery 10 years), then Logan again. I hope there was something in between Logan and Logan, for I fear this poor thing has never had an orgasm in her life. Maybe Jess snuck in there somewhere after their initial breakup. Paris maybe? Ditch em all and buy a nice vibrator is what I say. Anything that would unbleach my eyes.

*to the tune of Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton* Unbleaach my eyeeesss....don't ever do it AGAAIIIN... Un-do this shit that caused me to claw at my brain and want to rip out my eyes...

If I had a nickel for every time AmyShermanPalladino flip-flopped between making Dean a Nerd or a Jock, I would have many nickels. Frankly, my dear Amy, we know he doesn't know how to read, play sports, or kiss a girl, so just knock it off already. The makeout session lasts an ungodly long amount of time (about another 10 seconds) because he insists on stopping to talk to her 3 words at a time between each torturous application of his lips to hers. I swear I'm going to make a Gilmore Girls Bingo Card and here's a space I'd add to the card: "Dean makes a suggestion for something HE wants to do, not taking Rory's time, feelings, or interest in said thing into consideration, Rory is not able to express just how deeply she does not want to be involved in the Thing, and then Dean goes "WHAT" when she hesitates and then manipulates her into doing the Thing against her wishes, or he offers her a terrible compromise that benefits her in no way whatsoever" This is the second episode in a row where this exact thing happened and probably like, the fourth time total. Dean trying to seduce/ interest Rory in a couple of minutes of awkward groping: "So tonight (SLORP) I was thinking (SLORP) since your mother's gonna be gone (SLORP) I could come over."

We have Oh. What? I repeat, Oh. What? has achieved liftoff. Your shitty manipulation tactics and slorping on Rory's face cannot bring me down, Forrester. Not in There's The Rub. Not gonna happen. Bring on Jess and Paris.

I await Dean Forrester's reasonable and measured response.

"You're right Dean Forrester, silly me, I dont know why I would ever consider spending a single minute of my time with anyone but you. Thus far you have given me no reason to avoid you like Covid-19, even though I don't know what that is."

The Butthead was too stunned to speak. Poor Rory has to EXPLAIN to Dean why she would ever entertain the idea of spending one night by herself. They should show Gilmore Girls in high school sex ed classes as an example of unhealthy dating relationships. I swear. I'm going to publish this Part 1 a little prematurely as I'm leaving for the afternoon and I may as well throw it up, much like the lunch Rory will throw up after making out with Dean. Part 2 soon.

[alloutofgoddesses]

Percy Jackson TV Thoughts

Episode 5

(There will be book spoilers you have been warned)

I KNEW THE FATES WOULD BE HERE OMG

Him climbing over the railing lol

OUT THE GATE OKAY

Just a reminder Grover can read emotions. I wonder what the fuck he just read lol

Percy for four episodes: Fuck my dad he’s a piece of shit Percy immediately after being saved by his dad: My dads gonna help us uwu

Oh Percy. I don’t blame you you’re new to this thing

Oh nooo Percy your dad dies love you in his strange immortal way

Bike you say

Not the teasing ☠️ Percy that’s your future wife

Well not exactly… it is a warning but it doesn’t mean you’re going to die Annabeth

Hell yeah Percy keep up that spirit

HE’S HEREEEEEEE

Their little heads popping up over the barrier

Oh my gods he’s amazing

RIP Twitter we’ll always love you

That’s absolutely what Ares would be doing in the modern age too

GABE! THERE HE IS

…you’re not Percy. Your mother however-

Annabeth what happened to your healthy fear of the gods

Kronos mention

Flight of stairs AGAIN… what kind of theme are we setting up here

Sassy power couple

That’s such a Percy face Walker Scobell you will always be famous

You got this Grover!

Oh fuck that

PERCY WANTING TO SHOW ANNABETH MOVIES? OH IT’S SO OVER

Percy it is funny

Annabeth now is not the time to nerd out over mechanical engineering

As always they’re so perfect

SOLSTICE TIME

Wait what?

Ooooh Grover is playing the long game I see

None of y’all can ever say Oercy is stupid again I swear to god(s)

It lit up? Oh boy oh boy

MEME WARNING OH MY

Vibes though Hephaestus

Omg the Hera animation

~baby don’t hurt me~

Annabeth recognizing Sally wanted Percy to be different… don’t touch me

HE SAVED HER! AGAIN!!

Can’t wait to see screen grabs of the mosaics

“I hate my own kids” AAAAHHHHH

Is Grover on to Ares?

ATHENA TALKS TO AN OWL I CANNOT

Grover has to be on to Ares

Every single person in this trio is so smart

SEAWEED BRAIN

I am. Inconsolable.

I’m about to start doing zoomies around my dorm like my cat

I could rip apart a car with my bare hands rn

SHE WANTS TO SAVE HIS MOM I’M JSHDJSKSKA

“You think you had to ask” “Just making sure” how will I EVER survive more seasons of this

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m-“ THE WAY HE’S REASSURING HER OH THEY’RE TAKING IT

SHE’S TRYING TI FIGURE OUT THE GEARS IM GINNA EXPLODE

HEPHAESTUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE FLUTE OMG

As a cane user I love how prominent Hephaestus’ cane is displayed it makes me feel warm inside

HE’S HER FRIEND! SHE’S DISREPECTING GODS TO SAVE HIM!

Oh Hephaestus you’re my second favorite Olympian (Hestia 4evr)

ANNABETH!!!!!

“He isn’t that way. He’s better than that…” THE SOULMATISM

YEAH BABEY

The tears in her eyes I CAN’T

He’s gonna talk to Athena I love Hephaestus so much

Ares I see that disappointed look

Okay got Hermes hanging out in the Lotus Casino… don’t ask me how but that does feel right like it makes sense

Who needs to summon Hermes he’s right here (My cat is named Hermes and he’s sitting right next me)

Oh yeah Percy get in that God’s face and threaten him it certainly won’t have any repercussions

“The emotional abuse” GROVER UNDERWOOD

There’s creatures in there

Wait. Are they setting up Clarisse as a red herring? THE WRITERS MINDS

Teaser

IRIS MESSAGE

Wait there’s so many adults in the Lotus… what are they all doing in there

I have heard the rumours that ep. 6 will be a musical (simply because LMM is there and it’s the mostly likely one to do that) and while I don’t think they would it would be funny

[normalest-of-knees]

Episode 8 and general Volume 9 discussion under the cut because... oof-

Tw: suicidal topics involving this episode and previous ones

Where exactly do we go from here? I'm serious. Where can this even go with 2 episodes left to this nonsensical volume?

Regardless of what RT actually does next episode, one way or another Ruby herself and (hopefully) everyone else will have to deal with the fact that she wanted to die, or at the very least, not be herself anymore.

Yes, Ascension is supposed to be different, but we also don't know anything about that. Ruby isn't from this world, so it may not even work, but we've also had unreliable sources (according to the show, anyways) as to what it actually is and does. We know the basics of how it's supposed to work, but not whether it's actually good or not

I had one crazy theory come to mind after the last 2 episodes, namely after we see Summer in Ruby's reflection in the storm.... and I cannot stress how much I hope this won't happen (but given how things have gone so far-):

I'm worried we may get a "Ruby turns into Summer Rose" or "Ruby was actually Summer all along" bullshit. It's just stupid enough to be something the writers would think is a "cool" "fun" "twist".

That aside, I must once again stress (I said this on a different blog) that everything feels like its going by at a break neck pace. So much is happening yet nothing is happening at all??

Ruby seemingly doesn't run very far away at all, enough that her team can hear the gunshots of her being attacked. She gets some weird spotlight beforehand that at first I thought was supposed to convey the passage of time as she walked, but I'm not really sure. She seemingly purposefully walks towards the mansion/casino/building Neo cooked up and we immediately are inside?? There's no transition to this. You'd be forgiven for thinking after she ran away that this bit was all a dream

Then even the parts with the dead menagerie attacking Ruby are odd. How does Neo know about half of this stuff? Is she guessing? Did she somehow find out via the lamp back when Cinder used it?? And as awful as it was for Ruby to be beaten and tortured like that, it was insanely short.

I know she was already beyond her limits, but they barely do much/say much before she's considering the tea. She had so much fire when she waltzed in there ("If you want me dead then come and get me!"), but a few illusions and her Aura is broken and she's ready to be done?? Again, I know she was already having a breakdown before, but it still felt too rushed to be natural. I know we saw bruises and a few cuts (and random blood on her hands?), but otherwise she wasn't visibly looking worse than some other fights she's been in before.

Also, why in the shit fuck did her friends just stand there and do nothing? You're telling me after someone dear and close to you freaks out, runs off, then you hear gunfire and rush to see what it is, then see her on the ground visibly upset and beaten up with the villain who has been hunting her down standing over her with their weapon out, you just..... stand there?? Waiting to see what's up?? There weren't even any copies or illusions around as well, it was just Neo and Ruby there.

Ruby just picks up the cup and drinks and Yang just.... stands there. Even the close up on her eye didn't have much emotion other than if she was watching a log tumble off a waterfall or something. Like barely anything aside from "Oh wow. Huh" going on....

And yeah, CC and Neo being the ones more upset over that than anything is.... a thing.

I don't care how the group interprets Ascension, you see your close friend, your SISTER, drink some unknown liquid and then falls over looking dead and gets swallowed up by a hole in the ground with vines, you'd have a reaction. You'd be panicking and running over to the spot. Freaking out! "Where'd they go?? What's going on??" Would be an understandable reaction.

But nothing. No one even moves an inch, they just watch, get blasted by a Cat, then it's over.

I thought at least Weiss would use her glyphs or something to charge at Neo or get to Ruby as fast as she could. Summon something to knock the cup out of her hand. Anything!! Why are they so.... apathetic about it? They're not even really horrified, they're just "Oh no... anyways." Like they saw someone slip and break something they were holding. Unfortunate, but oh well.

Don't even get me started on Yang's bitching earlier.

"Why'd she run off like that?!" "That wasn't upset that was-- ugh!! Why didn't she talk to us?!" "We weren't asking her to be perfect."

If you told me Yang hardly ever interacted with Ruby ever, let alone was her sister that 'supposedly' raised her, I'd believe you. The Hell kind of reaction is this when your sister runs away crying after expressing she wasn't doing ok?? Yes, Ruby brushed people off when they'd try to ask if she was ok, but even that is still an answer! Clearly she was not ok! And even when she'd be more vulnerable or sad, she was ignored or scolded for being sullen. How in the fuck was she supposed to open up?

I honestly don't know what is even gonna happen after this. 2 episodes left and the title character committed metaphorical suicide.

They'll either make it not matter, make her reset and forget everything, become someone else entirely, or nothing will change and she'll just have to be like "Yeah, so, my bad. Anyways, here's the exit guys"

This show makes me so tired....

[cogcltrcorn]

tags by @savage-garden-nights

YEAH!!!! YEAH!!! a frequently forgotten/misunderstood aspect of ed's is the fact that the most appealing aspect of it is control, and there are few things that make you want control harder than feeling powerless in your everyday life. louis is striving for control with everything he does, I would argue that one of the reasons he is so adamant about continuing to run his business is this need to have control over something in his life, and, big surprise, the episode dedicated to louis stopping feeding is also the episode focused on his business being taken away from him. like, the amount of stress in his life increases radically, and "suddenly" louis feels the need to reclaim control over himself. and then the situation with the business gets worse, and lestat once again makes the situation worse (by misreading the situation on all fronts, and applying the additional pressure with the whole. antoinette thing.) and by ep 4 louis has essentially no autonomy or control. luckily for him, claudia needs management, so he can get part of his fix there, and parenting in tandem with his newly found safe food get him through the next 4 years relatively ok. then he loses the opportunity to exercise control in parenting, and we all know what happens then.

I guess I find interesting the switch in ep6. it's both an another attempt to manage himself into a suitable partner/person/etc, (he is making an executive decision that he is no longer going to do That, because that affords him a little control over his family situation), and, apparently, one of the early signs that he is giving up completely.

I have frankly no idea what the fuck is going on in dubai. I am skeptical of people that assume that the whatever the fuck is going on in the penthouse is all armand's doing, considering what we know of how armand usually chooses to live (when given the opportunity armand lives on a private island filled with casinos and malls. this man is incapable of minimalism), what seems more likely to me is that louis is going through his semicentennial self-flagelation episode. this time in a concrete box. armand is far too desperate to say no when louis asks him to make their lives hell of his own design, so they are now stuck there.

frankly I think a lot of louis's problems could be solved if he picked up the sims

"the blood-drinking no longer needs to be queercoding or sexual because the queerness is overt" yeah, 100 percent yes, (also. I need you all to pay attention to the claudia factor, as in, they clearly do not want the viewer to get squeezy about whether or not those guys TECHNICALLY sexually assaulted the child they turned) but. But. the feeding may not be sexual by default, but TO LOUIS IT IS.

like. we really only see him feeding in two types of ways: 1) people that he finds morally reprehensible (that lawyer in ep2, alderman, whoever got his jaw ripped the fuck off), and those are clearly the easiest kills for him to justify, those are things he allows himself to eat when he is generally fasting/attempting to fast. like he doesn't go straight for the cake, he goes for the sugar-free cookies because they are permissible in his mind and then eats seven boxes

2) men he finds hot (the sailor, damek, armand, he possibly wanted to eat jonah??, and yeah every time he bites lestat it's clearly sexual). the cake. the thing he really really wants but doesn't allow himself to indulge in. so we generally don't See him indulging in it, except for the times when he has separate justifications for it (like his whole "I do not kill" farce with the farm and whatnot. "I am allowed this piece of cake because I am going on a treadmill later")

and those are all the times we see louis, the main character of the show, feed on humans. because louis as a narrator finds feeding unsightly, disturbing (and utilizes it in his performance to daniel accordingly. like, apparently every meal they have together follows the same pattern of transition from normal ("look I am eating from a bowl like a normal guy!! so normal!!") to sexual/disturbing (which are, as I am trying to argue here, the same thing to louis).

and then when you add it up with how louis connects feeding properly to his libido, which in turn is directly connected to his relationship with lestat (with rejecting feeding becoming rejection of lestat) we get this. fucking gordean knot with louis in the middle. conflation of vampirism and queerness, denial and absolution, sex and murder, men you want to fuck and men you want to eat.

[softsadsassysweet]

Rewatching cowboy bebop and clinging to the fandom online for comfort. Something I’ve seen people rip each other to shreds over in forums and that I want to address for the sake of catharsis:

Were Spike and Faye in love?

First of all, I don’t understand you die hard people who are like “no they weren’t in love and you’re dumb if you thought they were!!”

Who pissed in your Cheerios? Why must you take something meaningful from other people?

More importantly, why can’t Spike and Faye both be in love and not in love at the same time?

Isn’t that real life? Yes the writing could be telegraphed and obvious, but the whole point of these characters is their development through nuance.

Obviously they find each other attractive. I’ve never seen Spike check out anyone harder than he did Faye while she was his dealer at the casino. But fuckability isn’t enough to keep either of them engaged with a romantic prospect for long. Attraction comes and goes, it is as fleeting as the next bounty.

But Spike and Faye are bound together through fate and their choices. They choose to partner up and to protect each other.

So why isn’t there a telegraphed and obvious romance between two partners? Well in laymen terms, they’re kinda fucked up.

Spike is obsessed with the myth of Julia. His trauma revolving around that relationship keeps him in a longing loop to the past. He doesn’t have the emotional availability to love someone else.

So then why not explore a physical relationship if not a romantic one? I think that for Spike, Faye would be way more meaningful than just sex. It’s not even about respecting her, you can respect someone and just sleep with them. I think Spike has an emotional relationship with Faye. They relay their feelings through actions. She banters with him, sings to him while he’s unconscious, and shows up to save his ass in a pinch. There’s consistency with Faye, which equals safety. (Side note about the “Ballad of the Fallen Angels” episode: I think Spike was so touched by Faye singing to him that he kind of had to ruin it. It was too much like Julia and it unsettled him. He had to under cut that moment to protect himself.)

Spike knows himself. Sleeping with Faye could result in revealing emotional parts of himself, specifically with her because of their dynamic. They’ve gotten too close to each other through proximity. He knows things about her past that he can’t unsee and vice versa. Emotional intimacy is tough for both of them and if they breached the physical, it would be a mess and they know that.

If he’s going to keep the peace and be able to stay focused while they’re in a shoot out, he can’t get any kind of feelings involved. The reasoning isn’t that deep. It’s obvious. Don’t shit where you eat.

Also, if he’s going to hold on to Julia then doesn’t that mean he can only be a receptacle for her? Wouldn’t being close to someone else invalidate that? Wouldn’t becoming close to someone else give him less of a reason to hold onto the past?

Now as for Faye, I think her reasons are a lot less complicated. Point blank, Faye has not had a lot of safe or consistent male relationships (if any relationships) in her life since she’s awoken from her cryogenic sleep.

I don’t think she wants to throw sex or romance into her dynamic with Spike, despite her more obvious interest/attachment for him. She needs that familial relationship more. She needs someone who is plutonic and safe. (Yeah okay she has that with Jet, but they’re um rocky.) She gets along with Spike. That sibling rivalry, banter, and protective behavior is probably the closest she has to a real family, along with everyone else on the Bebop.

She doesn’t want to lose them.

I think Faye also came to terms with the fact that Spike is unavailable. In the Jupiter Jazz arc, she seemed really pensive about learning there was a woman Spike is in love with. That scene where Faye is lounging on the couch whispering Julia’s name over and over. There’s so much behind that. To me it always came across like Faye was also falling in love with the myth of Julia (My bisexual self recognizes you Faye). Or maybe because Spike cared about Julia, Faye cared about her now by default. Or Faye was wondering what kind of woman could have a hold on Spike in a way she couldn’t. They were flirty sure, but Faye’s attachment is deeper than that. In my opinion, it’s more about keeping Spike close to her and Julia threatened that. That desire to keep him close could be solely familial or it could be romantic. But why couldn’t she be feeling all of those things at once?

Their relationship, like everything else in Cowboy bebop, is captivating because it feels just out of reach. Nothing is directly said and because of that I have the impulse to gaslight myself out of the things I pick up on. But the writing is there.

So I think Spike and Faye are in love, and not in love all at the same time. Their dysfunctional parts and their desire to hold onto each other keep that from coming to fruition. Maybe in a different life? Or maybe all of that hope for them to be happy is best lived in fan fiction.

Either way we’re gonna carry that weight of everything that could have been and things that were left unsaid.

[i-am-church-the-cat]

KP Episode 9

So. Yeah that happened

Honestly I was freaking the fuck out the entire time. So much shit happened and if I have to wait a fucking week to find out what happens next, I deserve to rant about it goddammit. 

Starting with: Porsche guarding Tawan the whole time. Ngl I thought this made sense for two reasons. The first being that at the beginning of the episode, Porsche is the person Kinn trusts the most and who he trusts to have his emotional interests in mind. He already knows Big might go off the wall, he doesn’t know what the other guards will do. He knows Porsche loves him and will do what Kinn wants with Tawan whether he likes it or not because they just talked about how Tawan affected and continues to affect Kinn.  Secondly, I think that Kinn is trying very hard to take his emotions out of this situation. By leaving Porsche and Tawan in the same room, it’s sectioning off the two people with the biggest impact to his emotional state. Idk this just made sense to me from a “fuck, I need to control things” standpoint. 

Secondly, the scene with Kim was, maybe not placed the best, but super important in my opinion to tell us where Che stands in regards to Kim. I think the writers want us to know that Kim didn’t just kiss Che when he said he liked him to continue to use him or anything, but he’s actually falling as well. It might not have been necessary, per se, but in my opinion it did set the feelings up well. 

While we’re on the topic, Che confessing??? That was all I needed. Honestly, did not give a fuck about anything else that went on in the episode after that scene. And I think it really proves that Che is the only one who currently owns a braincell 😂. I don’t know what’s going to happen there yet but I their relationship is definitely progressing.  (Also side note: I hoped that them releasing the Chay and Kim character study would mean a breakthrough in their relationship this episode and man I love being right.) 

Continuing with my personal favorite part of the episode: VEGASPETE AT THE TEMPLE???????? I have so many fucking thoughts.  1) Macau showing up, insisting Pete join them, and then falling asleep during the sermon? Between this and the apology to Porsche in the seventh episode, I am convinced that Vegas is making him be his wingman when it comes to seducing bodyguards 😂. 2) I don’t know if anyone else felt this way, but the “we’ll see each other in the next life” and the hand on the back made me feel like Vegas was trying to say that Pete couldn’t escape him? It seems contradictory because Pete was the one following Vegas and as far as we know, Vegas has no reason to be this possessive over Pete. But their interactions so far have always been leading Pete somewhere and/or physically taking control of him (ie the hallway scene and when he and Macau are pulling Pete into the temple). It feels like he’s trying to establish a dominance over Pete which leads me to  3) Pete when he’s dumping the water out. I haven’t seen anybody talking about this but that moment was the most evidence for Pete being attracted to Vegas in my opinion. The way he pauses and has to physically reset- Vegas is affecting him and we can see it happening. I’m a strong believer of the “Vegas and Pete are equally fucked up” train so this stood out to me a lot. 

Another thing that stood out to me a lot is Pete’s incompetence. Because he’s not incompetent. He’s the head of Tankhun’s detail, he was chosen for the casino and the minor family mission, Kinn specifically told him he was the only one he trusted to follow Vegas. But as Pete’s pointed out, every time he’s been meant to spy on Vegas, it hasn’t turned out well. Vegas caught them in the car, Vegas got Porsche alone and tried to kiss him, and now, Vegas not only found out Pete was following him, but trapped him, put him in a situation he had no control over, and then escaped. Vegas messes with Pete so much that even though he has to be a very experienced bodyguard, he just does so bad on missions that involve Vegas. And that makes me really nervous about what’s going to happen next episode when he sneaks into the minor family house. 

Moving away from VegasPete, I want to take some defensive stances for the sake of My Boys. Firstly, Porsche talking to Vegas. In my opinion, the only reason Porsche would be wary of Vegas is because Porsche knows Vegas is attracted to him. He’s not trying to encourage that. But, speaking from personal experience, when you’re feeling alone, you’ll ignore the fact that someone has ulterior motives just to interact with someone who’s nice to you. Vegas is a fucking good manipulator. Whether he and Tawan planned this together or not, he knew that Tawan being there would make Porsche feel distant from Kinn and he would capitalize on that. And he will say whatever he thinks Porsche wants to hear to try and get him to trust him.  In that same vein, Tawan is a master manipulator. He’s manipulated Kinn before and he cannot be trusted. We know that, Big knows that, Tankhun knows that. I think even Kinn knows that. So even if he doesn’t have a plan with Porsche (which I honestly think he does), I’m not mad at him. Kinn is so scared of being manipulated again that he will overcorrect just to protect himself and his family. I don’t think he’s trusting Tawan over Porsche. I think he’s trapped himself inside his own head. Which is why the meetings between him, Tankhun, and his father are so important. He needs an outsider point of view to make sure he’s not making a mistake.  (And I do appreciate Korn trying not to pass judgement in the meeting about Porsche. He knows his judgement will sway Kinn a lot, and whether he thinks Porsche is innocent or not, he needs Kinn to be able to make that decision. Not only for Kinn’s own emotional health but because it’s a necessary skill when it comes to being a mafia boss. I could do a whole rant on Korn’s motivations but yeah, that stood out to me.) 

My final thoughts: Tawan.  I fucking love him. He’s so fucking funny. I want to punch him in the face and watch Porsche beat him to a bloody pulp but taking his towel off with Kinn in the bathroom? Putting his full face in Kinn’s crotch? He’s a fucking bastard but his attempts to seduce and mess with Kinn are hilarious to me. And maybe that’s because I have complete belief that Kinn does not care one bit for Tawan sexually (literally who would when they’re dating Porsche Pachara Kittisawasd) but yeah. It’s stupid and funny as hell and I can’t wait to see it blow up in his face. 

Anyway yeah. That was my longass breakdown of episode 9. I’m definitely going to be writing fan fiction to cope so look out for that if you want. And please tell me your thoughts on this episode/any of the ships because I love HEALTHY debate on this kind of stuff. Don’t be an asshole, I’ll just ignore you. 

[gar-trek]

riker centric movie synopsis. please. ok go.

OKAY THIS IS HARD OKAY. Establishing scene. Bridge crew shore-leave to Risa 🤪🤪🤪 it’s like a fucking anime beach episode up in that bitch. Everyone chilling in their bathing suits. Comedic scene where like, data wears one of those 1920s mens bathing suits and just sinks to the bottom of the pool when he tries to swim. Everyone is like “oh data!! 😂” it’s really camp. OMG worf wears something really slutty which everyone finds shocking and he’s just like “what this is traditional Klingon warriors swimwear 😳” but it’s like the gayest speedo known to man. Um like Riker wears a Hawaiian shirt 😁. OKAY I DIGRESS. while everyone is having fun there are suspicious characters creeping around. Dinner scene, everyone talks about how life is awesome and they love their job or whatever. Everyone is still ready to have some more fun after dinner but Picard is like “I think I better turn in for the night, I’m not as young as I used to be 😉” and everyone is like “bbyyyeeeee 😁” BUT THEN, scene of Picard entering his dark room. It’s eerie in there. Suddenly PICARD IS ATTACKED!!!! AND KIDNAPPED BY SHADOWY FIGURES 😱😱😱😱😱next day, crew wakes up like “ughhh what did we do last night? Lol” breakfast time…. But… PICARD IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN ?? 😳🤨🤔. They go to his room and it’s been ransacked 😱😱😱 WORSE the enterprise won’t be back to pick them up for another 3 days!! Riker contacts Starfleet and they are told to Start doing a preliminary investigation…. In the room, data and Geordi uncover evidence that it was Ferengi who took the captain. THOSE BASTARDS. But what Ferengi?? Who???? Where??? The gang splits up, Riker, worf and Troi go to find information about the Ferengi and Data Geordi and Crusher go to find transportation because they assume they took Picard off-planet. They get word that the Ferengi were spending most their time playing card games with a greeblite. Gang ent. seedy Risian casino/bar. They approach the greeblite and Riker is like “can you tell us any information about your ferengi friends 😁” and the greeblite is like “perhaps…. For some time in the holosuit with your friend there😏😏” nasty alien smile. And Riker is like “do not speak about Deanna like that😡😡” and the alien is like “I wasn’t talking about the female….” And Worf is like “😳😳😳my honor” and yeah the joke is kinda tasteless but it’s the 90s okay. And then Riker is like,,,, “how about ill play you in a game of Greeblarian quickdraw, I win you tell me what I wanna know, you win… you get holosuit time with worf” and the alien is like “aight” BUT THE THING IS greeblites are masters of Greeblarian quickdraw it’s their fav game and worf and tori are like “RIKER!!! How are you gonna win this…..” And hes like.., “don’t worry guys,,,,,, Greeblarian quickdraw is just like poker😏😏” OKAY in the meantime Geordi Data and Bev have found a ship to rent but its gonna cost them 1 thousand bars of gold-pressed latinum!! Geordi is like “dammit guys!! Where are we gonna get that kind of money??” And then crusher who is standing slightly away from them is like “… I think I have an idea 😏😏” *Pans over and she’s looking at a poster that says “Talent show, tonight! Grand prize 1000 bars of latinum”. And then Geordi realizes what’s going on and hes like “uhhh check please”. BACK TO RIKER who is like sweating as he tries to beat the greeblite, its insane, Riker is losing, its all coming down to one hand. Worf is like gripping the back of his chair like please dont make me give this man sloppy, everyone is sweating, some kind of cool dialogue between Riker and the greeblite, and then it all comes down to,,,,, RIKER WINNING VIA HIS POKER FACE SKILL!!! Yippie everyone clapped. Back to the others, crusher choreographss a super fucking camp musical number for Geordi and Data to perform. You think it's gonna be shit because Geordi is so nervous he's about to die, but data takes the lead and they kill it!!! They win the competition!!! Okay the gang meets back up now, they have the ship and they know where they gotta go. Its like some kinda super shit alien ship and Riker

is like “We need to get this things to the neutral zone, thats where Picard will be” and Geordi is like “the neutral l zone?!?! I’ll be surprised if this bucket of bolts can get us half way to the beta quadrant😳” us as the audience laugh. The ship is like constantly on the verge of exploding and Geordi and data are running around the whole time but they make it to the neutral zone. PRETTY MUCH the Ferengi are going to hand over Picard to the Romulans and the exchange is gonna happen on some moon. The Romulans want Picard because they are going to steal his brain for federation information. Whatever the idea was thought up by Sela. Yeah we bringing back fucking Sela for this movie. OKAY the plan is that Worf and Riker and data are gonna beam down to the planet, scoop up Picard, and then they are gonna fly away. This obviously goes to shit. On the planet's surface, they are prematurely detected and get shot at by both the Romulans and the Ferengi, since the Romulans are now aware the federation is around they find the ships hiding place and start to attack. The shitty alien ship our heroes got has like no weapons and is literally about to esplode. The Ferengi are like “peace out” and go to transport back to their ship, but just then Riker gets a good idea and LUNGES on a Ferengi right as they are being beamed up. Now he's on the Ferengi ship and he's going sicko mode and like fistfights like 5 Ferengi, worf and data still on the surface think he DIED and now are also captured by the Romulans. Back on the ship with the rest of the gang, Geordi is like “btw our warp core is about to ESPLODE” BUT JUST THEN they get hailed by the Ferengi ship and its RIKER?!?! WAHHH and he's like “BEAM ABOARD THIS SHIP I TOOK OVER AND ALSO SEND YOUR SHIP RAMMING SPEED INTO THE ROMULANS SO IT EXPLODES THEIR SHIP” and they are like “aye aye sir” and the Romulan ships explodes and the explosion is green for some reason which is awesome and then Riker has help on the Ferengi ship to fully take over and the Romulans still on the surface are like “lol our plan worked perfectly” but when they go to contact their ship to beam up they don’t get any response and then Riker beams back down and also during this time he got the Ferengi to turn on the Romulans so he beams down with like 5 Ferengi and hes like “uhhhhh actually you guys are our prisoners now and your coming with me lol” and then Picard who like had a bag over his head this whole time or something is like “ummm is anyone gonna take this bag off my head?” And everyone laughs and its awesome 😁😁😁😁

This movie takes place before generations btw and also the whole Picard kidnapping plot happens because I don’t want him in the movie a lot lol this is about RIKER who is the hero in this movie and its called STAR TREK: ESCAPE FROM RISA ?!

[calderskillday]

A STARSTRUCK ODYSSEY EPISODE 12 liveblog!!!!

omg starting off strong, what are they doing

I WANT MURPH'S SHIRT OMG

"wait i didn't send my kids to camp" that's one of my favourite intrepid heroes bits lmao

emily pretending to flick ally when they say that marge runs off the ship 😭

"ha, barry riffs"

THE MUSIC OMG YEAH

THE PAUSE AND LOU'S FACE WHEN SID SAYS JUNKMOTHER SKFHDKFJSOF

prince valdrinor 🥺 "i just don't want it to be over yet" 🥺🥺🥺

lmao i love how every time emily speaks murph's hands go to his face

"i'm uncomfortable with this much,,, 😛 love???"

gunnie has a master's in biology?????

LMAO MINESWEEPER

oooooo y2k..... interesting

CLIPPY

gunnie's obsession with the casino lmao

EVERYONE PUTTING SUNGLASSES ON HAAAA

CLUTCH NAT 20 LOU

WHAT IS HAPOENINGGGG

LMAO NO SAD GNOSIS

S Q U E E Z E T H A T C O W

omg gunnie racing to open up comms so gnosis can eliminate his debt

this episode is making me emotional for some reason??? the questions being asked and the way they're exploring the human condition this season is just so. deeply touching

"if we're scared to try cause we'll make it worse, then we're guaranteeing that we'll never make it better" FUCK

omg this music change,,, hell yes

GO BIG OR GO HOME SOFJODF

ah yes small potatoes

LMAO zortch completely blowing up marge's spot about lucienne

tally is up to 4 on skip mentioning his ass being shot

SKIP GOING TO BARRY TO CHAT AND FOAM ROLL 🥺

UM HELLO IFE??????? HOW ARE ALL THE WOMEN IN THIS SEASON SO FUCKIGN HOT?!?@??#*@??@?

"i can assure you, i run this vessel" okay daddy margaret

oh my god just some casual brain surgery

UH. WHAT

gust weatherall certified Bad Dude

LAVADA???? MAS VEGAS?????

omg next week's set yes

oh my god just some casual brain surgery cool

[storiesofsvu]

Law & order thoughts & reactions

OC:

Okay… is this season about the casino man baby? Or is it about the cop killers? Did the writers just *abandon* the casino plot line or are we trying to do both?

Im sorry?? Did the new guy just say he’s gen z??? Cause hes definitely a milennial…. How YOUNG IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE??😟 (i usually go by the actor’s age so…)

LOOOLL nice fucking throw bud

God I miss Rita… (no that has nothing to do with the episode i just miss my girl..)

I dont care about this shit AT ALL. Give me better content pls.

This pedo dude reminds me of Gary Clarke & im not here for it

HA! Nice play boys.

Oh… were back to the casino shit… *sigh*

Mothership!!:

From the promo this is a very heavy Sam episode & im hoping thats accurate, but also pls dont hurt my babey.

“1. Im not a child.” Bless you sam

I cannot tell the white male cop & the white male ada apart like 90% of the time… in case you were wondering how much attention i pay to this show when samantha’s not on screen

Oh sam… sweet summer child… i feel so bad for her. This *isnt* her fault & like she knows that she’s gonna end up catching the blame for it meanwhile price(?) is just gonna float on by & he’s trying to tell her its all okay? Like bruh, read the room.

How is sam allowed to still sit second chair after being called as a witness??

There was practically *NO* evidence for this case…. Part of me feels like the guy wasnt guilty? Like, he was shot too. It coulda been someone else? And he just snagged the watch after the dude died? Like perp’s lawyer coulda done a way better job?….

Okay fucking finally. Svu time…

Amanda teaching/lecturing is such a good leway for her… also i thino we constantly forget that she has a degree in forensics…like… girl is *smart*

Maggie has been in an earlier episode… the one with the lost kid on the train, split parents, linked to an old case?

Adore that carisi’s at amanda’s class/whatever this is. We stan a supportive husband. (Yeah i know theyre not married but they practically are..)

👀👀👀👀 that KISS tho!! Dom amanda comin through HELLO

Okay wtf bird mask hella creepy. Like… no one else is masked??!!

What the fuuuck??

“Had a good night last night” GIRL GOT FUCKED/DID THE FUCKING

Okay i will admit, theyre building up amanda’s leave/options of what to do next real well!

Maggie’s supposed to be *early* 30’s??!! She looks late 40’s…. I know shes supposed to be “mousy” but her hair is literally graying.

“Even her card smells rich” please. I *need* muncy & rita to meet… like i need rita at the precinct & muncy pop up beside her with some fact about the case & rita to be all “who tf is this?! Where tf is amanda?” Like, in that office gif of dwight & angela.

Aw man i was *REALLY* hoping for UC amanda/muncy 😫

“My fetish is green in colour” FIN PLEASE!! (Have you seen your wife?!)

OH MY FUCKING GOD ITS ELLE GREENAWAY ISNT IT?! ITS ELLE!! I LITERALLY DIDNT FIGURE IT OUT TIL SHE WAS ON THE FUCKING PLANE.

(Its her right?! It was literally bugging me the ENTIRE ep who tf she was…)

And no velasco… am sad…

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker #3, episode 133

Greetings and salutations to the exercise I have set upon myself, which is to say deciding the relative mental stability of Wizard NPCs who have been subjected to the Mighty Nein. My intent is to do this at least until Trent Ikithon has fucked off this mortal coil and/or been thoroughly deposed and humiliated.

As a reminder Caleb Widogast is a member of the Mighty Nein and a PC and therefore excluded from these calculations. Wizards who haven’t been seen or heard from lately and about whom I don’t have anything funny to say about will not get a full blurb, but as they re-enter the main narrative so will they re-enter the list. Currently, this is the Essek Thelyss Show ft. Trent and the Volstruckers with guest appearances by Yussa and Allura.

Currently sidelined: Oremid Hass, Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk (I am going to reuse this stupid joke name for him until it doesn’t make me laugh at my own joke anymore, which will probably be never), Pumat Sol (who I hope is having a great day), Ludinus Da’leth (who I hope is not but in true laissez-faire rat bastard form, probably is).

Vess D wasn’t there/morning time in Eiselcross or at her job or anywhere/they snuck in and took her life/and we noticed that her spellbook’s gone and that she’s covered in red eyes.

Trent Ikithon: Okay with the caveat that it’s been a very long time since I saw the entire movie and our only update is Artagan taking a moment from his busy schedule of traveling the globe in the direction of the sun such that he is always technically day-drinking to tell Jester that Trent’s biding his time, I’m getting real Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Frollo vibes. Except instead of Catholicism and lust, it’s nationalism and an unquenchable thirst for power and control, and also he does not feel guilty in the slightest. He’s not at Hellfire levels yet but he will get there and I am slightly disappointed that due to the constraints of a D&D game we do not get an even more fucked up version of the song Hellfire.

Conclusion: 6/10. Slowly stepping it up. Also here’s the great thing: while we know Caleb is going to come after him next, he doesn’t, and the Nein didn’t tell any world governments about the threat of the city unless you count the Tal’Dorei Council via Allura, which means for all intents and purposes they just disappeared into Eiselcross...except Trent also knows Caleb disappeared for five or six years once before and reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. If Caleb weren’t dedicated to the noble goal of ending the Volstrucker program ASAP, he could just chill for a year or so and then pull a really stellar Surprise Bitch move and maybe just get Trent’s heart to explode.

Essek Thelyss: He got a good night’s trance and weird physical affection from a giant ape Caleb and he was healed by Caduceus and he had a serious conversation with the first true peer and one of the first friends he’s ever known about how high-level wizardry may not necessarily corrupt absolutely. And, of course, soup. I mean they are about to head into a terrible battle but he’s at full health and spells and he’s a valued member of the team and his friends love him SO MUCH.

Conclusion: 5/10. There is a distinction between a breakdown and being in a very high pressure situation, and he got some nice moments of respite this week. With that said do I think that post-battle, should he survive (HE BETTER) a whole lot of anxiety will come crashing back? Yeah.

Astrid Beck: With Trent in a holding pattern he’s got to be turning up the mind games on her; I have to imagine he suspects and then she suspects that he suspects and it’s a whole mess, but I’ve said that already. But also just like, in general, I think her speech to Caleb back when he first contacted her was genuine in many ways and specifically I think she was likely to have been Trent’s New Golden Child and then suddenly that got yanked out from under her for still more mind games; I think her difference in demeanor between that meeting and the dinner was partially Trent being present, but partially her having realized in the interim that she will likely never have anything to show for two decades of pain and doing terrible things and nonstop bullshit.

Conclusion: still keeping her at 8/10 until further notice but like. Astrid’s having a bad time.

Um actually Eadwulf is the monster? The hero’s name is Grendel: Okay meanwhile here’s my totally unsupported Eadwulf headcanon of this week which is that he meanwhile always knew he was not the favorite and probably never would be and while I doubt he ever had particularly noble goals I would not be surprised if he had an exit strategy. Personally I hope he tries card-counting in that casino in Ank’harel and gets kicked out posthaste and then tries being a wizard/some kind of divine caster multiclass in Vasselheim and also gets kicked out but finally becomes like an old-school hermit figure somewhere in the woods of Issylra and Campaign 3′s party runs into him.

Conclusion: also keeping him at 4/10 until further notice.

Allura Vyesoren: It’s time to acknowledge that this episode covered a span of like...8 hours? And presuming the Nein are sort of trying to keep a normal sleep schedule, maybe, and using a comparison of Eiselcross being at a comparable time zone to say, Nicodranas, and it’s 5 hours into the night for them, and we know that around mid-day for Nicodranas was early morning for Emon...honestly she’s probably relaxing with a glass of wine. Unless Wensforth contacted her.

Conclusion: I’m going to let Allura have a good day. She’s at 2/10 because the threat of Aeor will be in the back of her mind but also she’s seen a bunch of idiots kill dragons and Vecna and they didn’t even have a wizard.

Yussa Errenis: Experiencing a great disturbance in the Astral Sea, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and then just like, kept doing that.

Conclusion: I decided to really go all out last week on the infinity jokes and left myself nothing to go on, huh. Anyway this breakdown goes to 11 (out of 10).

[nochiquinn]

exandria unlimited: kymal: part 2: I planned for this

not adele dazeem

h a t s

"I feel like critical role's so serious" "WHAT"

sends that clip to all the "critical role was never this crass" tlovm critics

they got her

erica seems so much more comfortable tonight

pick-me casino

"I got fiddle-fingers!"

POODLE PIP

oh, oxboxtra does that one sometimes

see, bell's hells, THEY get it

I'm love him

mor: brumestone dorian: [rapid blinking]

spaceship

"and hide his dumb ass"

BOOP ACTION

matt teaching aimee and erica how to hit dice

rip aabria's voice

the chroma conclave getting turned into a tacky theme spa is the BEST

"no ringworm for dorian"

"he's not little, he's 6''6'!"

the way opal's face dropped at "thordak"

orym would probably also have had...some reaction

dariax

"it's kinda disrespectful but. y'know."

"I've always wanted to see the top of your head!" "👀" "NO"

"you can't get pregnant in a hot tub - you COULD get chlamydia!"

(edit from the future: I can't believe I spelled that right the first time)

jinoir :(

I need them to adopt and protect this child

"dorian's a taurus for sure" can we not call me out personally in this moment

ouchie check

for the record laying on pokey things is my absolute nightmare

"please draw it. and tag me."

dream check DREAM CHECK

comment cards

I love opal so goddamn much

everybody trying so fucking hard not to laugh over aimee

stop dating the episode

("no one who hasn't watched shortonegaming will get that" well maybe they should watch shortonegaming then)

(watch shortonegaming)

matt telling erica "it's fine, it's gonna be fine"

awakened vestige!!!

this is the dai character editor mirror

opal and the power of friendship

where is dariax. where is the back-to-back

"what should I do next" stop being a fucking dipshit

diligent, intelligent

they got the mother gothel treatment didn't they

GO AWAY AND THEN COME BACK SOON

"thank you for letting me do that, it was so disrespectful"

"she's wearing this, because we did the art"

cognitive psience

"sometimes cuddle buddies"

ted 2 again

"that is a man who let a pet rock die"

....birds of a feather

"will this be a pun list? YES."

PIERODIN

"I'm just gonna make eye contact with you, Matt"

LIFE NEEDS WINE TO LIVE

how long until the svg goes up for the vinyl cutters and their wine glass wraps

"she grew up in this buffet"

fantasy ostrich

big farm-a

"the exact same" gay

"we've moved a few couches together" GAY

"you gave me the power!"

innuendo as spellcasting flavor

apparently we are two hours into a five hour stream, help me

the early break is going to be my downfall

orym where are you

oh BOY

"you heard an eldritch language" that's how I hear all math

I don't like how much this guy smirks

dariax is a GOOD BOY

"I made her yeet a dice :D"

for a hot second I thought she threw it AT him

someone loan her a new d20

awww

what in the gravira

his mean little brainhole

don't love that!

"should have given him lair actions"

"look at the flowchart!!"

exCUSE

thrall? girl got a thrall?

poska-senpai noticed me

"doors are mysterious"

"the biggest boss I can offer: a mean door"

"do you think we care about money more than you?"

"as long as the money is out of this vault, I did my job"

I love one (1) himbo dwarf

"do you have some - it's just me, stop screaming - do you have some paper"

cyrus did one (1) useful thing

it's free gratis

this means in their future sessions - and there better goddamn be future sessions - they will have not one but two bags of holding

unless something really stupid happens

hello??

raven? matron of ravens?

(I'm sorry, I know why they had to change it, but "matron of ravens" will never be as smooth to say as "raven queen")

Dariax Is A Good Boy

even if this is a stupid idea (I have no idea) it is Hurting His Friend and now it has to Die

matt control your face

GO AWAY PIKACHU

aimee stop metagaming

"just smashing stuff?" "....yeah" "hell yeah"

anjali: wait I have the thing

there's an hourish left and I am in suffering

MAP

gaola mvp

dick around

"we're all impossibly stupid!"

"have you ever kicked a building to death?"

is fantasy c4 the only explosive you've heard of

"I'm really good at breaking things!"

"I had...a thought" "no!"

lmao the dice roller

"it's not that good a plan"

"I love you and I like you, and if this is not airtight I will FUCK you up"

!!!

QUEEN SHIT

god I want an exu animated miniseries

KING SHIT

did I compare the nameless ones to the dollars from durarara last time we did this

!!!

god I am TENSE

please don't everybody go splat

"roll good" "I'M TRYING"

I love her SO MUCH

"everyone turn into a simple machine!"

but they didn't HAVE machines in the middle ages

(this is more salt at tlovm critics, ignore me)

YIP YIP

the world's craziest poodle

wall effect!

smoke? clouds? probably clouds

here at the end I would like to state that every time they mentioned morrighan's songbird I pictured Songbird from bioshock

HEY

HEY WAIT A MINUTE

HER name? as is Mor is using someone else's name?

AS IN AN OLD WOMAN IN THE FEYWILD NAMED MORRIG(H)AN?

that was a sequel hook aabria you can't fool me

"we got 50k and a floating balcony!"

"did you forget their relationship started with peeing off a wall?!"

[shakes tin cup] spare a stinger?

no stinger :(

[surpriserose]

if you're still doing the top five thing: top 5 best/worst jojo arcs (you pick :])

hello :) i'll do both because in my hubris i think my brain can remember at least 10 jojo arcs <3<3<3

Top Five in no particular order <3

1. god im on a jojolion kick so i kind of just want to say vitamin c? i think thats what its called or at least the part of it where theres flashbacks that actually explain wtf is going on in jojolion djlknvalkdn or like anytime paisley park is doing anything i love paisley park

2. i have to say sugar mountain you have to its THE gyjo arc

3. kiss of love and revenge is good but like specifically just the parts about hermes the fight is okay but i really just care about the besties in that arc

4. bites the dust.....the existential despair i have when i think about what hayato went through oh my god and the way it was animated was perfect with the opening and everything too? oh my god also peak pathetic rohan moments

5. i guess its like id just call it the Metallica fight slash doppios introduction? im sorry they are my besties and the metallica fight is perfect except for diavolos plot armor <3

honorable mentions: miraschon has grown on me, jail house lock, fuck it like almost all of part 6, man in the mirror arc, im sorry but yellow temperance and the lovers fnjdklvnaldnca

Bottom five </3

1. god idk why tattoo you or like its call eleven men or something from sbr was the first thing to come to mind? i think its like right in the middle of sugar mountain because johnny and gyro are in a casino or a bar? maybe its right after but the guy has no dialogue his stand is just like idk there eleven of him and hes bald bad combo

2. yo yo ma.....you will understand my pain its gonna be in the next batch of stone ocean episodes im so sorry in advance it sucks so much

3. grouping up all the terrible shit everyone justifiably hates in stardust crusaders you know the ones plus like wheel of fortune its just a car its just a guy in a car oh my god hes just in a car guys its a car

4. god anything with scarlet and funny valentine im sorry for putting so much manga stuff here but asd;vnads;jkvna

5. the aqua necklace/angelo arc is like...weirdly forgettable and im always kinda like oh yeah this is here man morioh just attracts the worst people huh? this guy and kira??? also aqua necklace just kind of has a bland design so does angelo which is just like...a sin in jojos idk

dishonorable mentions: nut king call or like i think thats just joshus parts of shakedown road, tarkus fight, california king bed, the worst parts of the talking head and clash arc, also im sorry i really dislike kraftwerk just because the sound design in those episodes gave me a headache during the actual fight

[zumpietoo]

We didn’t get our way and had to do a SHIT TON of twisting before settling on the soon to be popped AU bubble....and I gotta really grasp hard onto the stupid, here, buuuuttt....

A) it does change (as do the actors’ relationships!)

B) Jabi beyond so....

C) nobody GAF what you think or “can be convinced of”

Ummm.....Jabi was planned upon the creation of the character and certainly when casting Erinn, the couples were together well before the speshul five eps (which will be neither an AU nor have dick to do with any of this) were even announced....

None of them were----except, yeah, Barfie WAS a switch (I still think JTB triangle, but PP was so out of control they had to shift there), but, really? Not out of character: Douchie’s a pig on the rebound, Slizzy’s been a disgusting bimbo all season.

Jabi’s been a slow burn building all season, stop with the “one date”, Minkle/Tolars? Typical friends to lovers....

Plus, actually, we saw minimal drama with ANY of these pairings, that’s the point....oh we WILL get some for Barfie, cuz Douchie’s gonna immediately start treating Slizzy like a sidepiece as he cavemans around Vagey, but so be it.

This season was, again, about getting over your hs/childhood sweetheart and seeing there was somebody way better there all the time for you. After a LOT of misery porn. If they wanted pairings “for dramaaaaa” they would’ve had them happen a LOT earlier....

A) Everybody knows “Sabrina is coming to Plaiderdale” for five seconds. I think Kiernan filmed like 2 or 3 days, total. It’s entirely possible THAT’S a FB and it’s Sabrina with Abby....

B) I love this idea that the couples “go bye-bye” at the end of episode 5, cause nope....and you’ll be discovering this verryyyy soon (next week, in fact). It would also be lazy, pointless, really DUMB storytelling, no?

C) “Nowhere to go”???? Actually even Barfie, as fascists/Constipated Douchie frowning at Vagey/Slizzy living the life of a doormat, have a place “to go to”. In fact, they were all given no shortage of storylines in the finale:

Vagey - casino/ponzi scheme/partners in crime

Minkle/Tolars - Serpents now working at the casino, Molars possibly going shady/Tinkle being a bit compromised with her seat on the town council

Jabi - Each having nu careers, domestic bliss----and, again, potential light conflict over him investigative journalist/her council member and both possibly investigating the casino (as was filmed LAST NITE!)

OML.....the spell!!! Again, dude, you fucking wish and noooo....

Okay, Bagelswanner.....

And it isn’t remotely an analysis of dick, it’s a dumb fangurl wish for shit she didn’t like to be wiped away by her AU fanfic.....can’t wait to see your disappointment.

AGAIN (speaking of, peeps----will they recognize they were wrong based off filming spoilers or not until after the five eps air, there is no “AU” and they lose again? Not ever, like Bagelswanners?)

[camillemontespan]

ten years from now [AU. drake walker x camille montespan] [part two: champagne brunch]

Part One if you want to catch up

I’ve been up since 6am. In that time, I have had three coffee’s, worked out, showered, wore my new kimono around the house (a la Bertrand Beaumont in my HC), watched two episodes of Singapore Social, lunch, and written this. It’s only 1.45pm. Isolation drags man. I’m going to drink wine now. 

@moonlightgem7​ @emichelle​ @ibldw-main​ @mskaneko​ @jovialyouthmusic​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​ @burnsoslow​ @addictedtodrakefanfic​ @simplymissjulia​ @kingliam2019​ @oofchoices​ @saivilo​ @pug-bitch​ @notoriouscs​ @sirbeepsalot​  @dcbbw​ @katedrakeohd​ @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore​  @rainbowsinthestorm​  @burnsoslow​  @flowerpowell​ @argylemnwrites​

********************************************

Bertrand and Maxwell Beaumont both loved a party. For as long as the citizens of Applewood could remember, the Beaumont brothers would find any excuse to throw a party and make it into an event that would be talked about for months afterwards. They were partial to fire throwing, circus performers and flash mobs. If you were invited to a Beaumont event, you had officially made it. 

As Camille had been Maxwell’s close friend in school, he went to great lengths to ensure that her welcome home brunch would be a brunch she would compare all other brunches to. He and Bertrand had created vision boards and hired a team to pull off the brunch in spectacular Beaumont style.

They had decided on a Marie Antoinette theme. Their manor was decorated to resemble Versailles with gold mirrors, twinkling chandeliers and candles lit on every surface. The dining room was big enough to hold twenty round tables that were decorated with platters of macaroons and bottles of champagne. They had hired waiting staff that wore Marie Antoinette inspired outfits, complete with powdered wigs that towered high on their heads. To complete the theme, a six tiered sponge cake decorated with tiny figures of the Eiffel Tower was placed in the centre of the room as a nod to the ‘let them eat cake’ quote that Marie Antoinette apparently declared. 

‘Why have they settled on a theme that involves the woman getting her head cut off?’ Bianca muttered to Drake, her eyes wide like saucers as she surveyed the room. 

Drake shrugged. ‘Are you really asking if the Beamont’s follow logic in their party planning?’

Bianca sniggered and helped herself to a champagne flute, tossing it back. Drake looked around, hoping for an open bar. He assumed there would be an open bar because the Beaumonts adored alcohol and he would be damned if he was going to drink champagne all morning. 

‘Bianca and Drake Walker, welcome!’ a grand voice came from behind them. They turned to see Bertrand striding towards them with his arms outstretched. Drake stepped back in alarm; Bertrand was wearing a Versailles inspired brocade gold coat, complete with matching trousers. He wore navy suede loafers on his feet adorned with tassels. 

‘Thank you for inviting us, very kind,’ Bianca said warmly, clasping his hands. ‘This is my first Bash!’

‘Oh darling, this isn’t a Bash!’ Bertrand laughed. ‘This is merely brunch! But, I will be sure to invite you two to our next Bash.’ He leaned close, conspiratorially. ‘We’ve decided on a casino theme!’ he whispered. 

A waitress dressed in a pink flouncy dress and violet wig passed with a tray of more champagne. Bertrand reached out to take two glasses and handed them to the Walkers. ‘Enjoy, mon cheries!’ he said cheerfully, before turning swiftly to welcome more guests. 

Drake sighed and swallowed down the champagne. God, it tasted awful. But it was free alcohol so he really shouldn’t complain. Bianca took him by the arm and together, they found their table near the front. Drake smiled. This made a change from always being put near the back. He pulled out a chair for his mother and she thanked him as she sat down, self consciously patting her hair. 

‘You look great mom,’ Drake murmured in her ear. ‘Have fun.’

Bianca smiled gratefully and looked around the room, taking mental snapshots of everything gone around her. Drake looked around too, before his eyes settled on Liam and Camille coming back inside with Maxwell. He saw Liam point to Drake and Bianca’s table; Camille kept a smile on her face as Liam guided her towards them. Drake swallowed hard and drew himself up. 

‘Looks like we’re at the same table!’ Liam said cheerfully. ‘Fantastic. Camille, darling, would you like some champagne?’

Camille smiled. ‘Yes, please.’ 

She sat down opposite Drake and watched as Liam poured her a glass. Maxwell sat down beside her, eyeing the macaroons. He reached out to take a pink one and shoved it in his mouth. 

‘Oh my god, this is heaven,’ he groaned, spraying pieces of macaroon on the table. ‘Oh sweet Jesus..’

Camille giggled and passed him a napkin. Maxwell took it, rolling his eyes, and then helped himself to another macaroon. Drake tried to keep his eyes off Camille; he was fully aware that Liam was sitting opposite and studying everyone intently. 

‘So, Drake, tell me,’ Liam said, pouring Drake a glass of champagne. ‘Camille only briefly mentioned you. You guys were friends?’

‘They were best friends!’ Bianca piped up, sipping her champagne. ‘They dated at one point.’

Camille and Drake both turned red. Liam’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Oh really?’ he asked. ‘That’s fairly important! Why didn’t you tell me, darling?’

Camille shrugged, looking like she wanted to be somewhere else. ‘It was a long time ago.’

‘Very long,’ Drake volunteered, his voice gruff.  ‘Not important.’

‘When did you break up?’ Liam asked. ‘I hope that’s not an intrusive question, don’t feel like you have to answer-’

‘We broke up shortly after we started college,’ Drake interrupted, sick of this line of questioning. ‘Haven’t seen each other since.’

Liam bit his lip. ‘I’ve hit a nerve..’

‘Honey, it’s okay,’ Camille said quickly, taking his hand.  Liam cleared his throat. ‘Okay.. so, Drake, do you have any stories about Camille? Any warnings about her I should know?’

Drake tossed back his champagne before settling his eyes on Liam. God, the man was fucking golden. He looked like he had just stepped off the beach. He looked rich. Drake hated rich people. ‘You’ve got nothing to worry about,’ Drake told him. His eyes flashed to Camille. ‘Except don’t take her anywhere that’s high. She hates heights. Fainted on me once.’

Liam laughed. ‘Really? We’ve been rock climbing with my brother and she was fine then.’ He nudged Camille with his shoulder. ‘Isn’t that right, darling?’

Camille’s mouth pressed into a hard line. ‘I guess I didn’t tell you that I hate heights..’

Liam sat back, surprised at this new thing he had learned about his fiance. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realise.. Why didn’t you say?’

Camille gave him a small smile. ‘I didn’t want to ruin your fun.’

Drake studied her now. There had been a time when Camille would have said she didn’t feel comfortable. She stood up for herself. But it seemed like now, she didn’t. That made Drake sad. Clearing his throat, he stood up. ‘I’m going to find some whiskey..’ he announced to no one in particular, before turning to leave the table and a very awkward Camille.

*********************************************

Drake aged 16; Camille aged 15

‘Come on, Camille, not far to go!’ Drake hollered over his shoulder. ‘We’re nearly at the top! The view’s gonna be incredible!’

‘Uh huh…’ Camille replied back, her breath coming out in heavy pants. Realising he was leaving her behind, Drake stopped to let her catch up. 

The two of them had been bored at home. Gisele and Bianca had chided them both to go out and enjoy the sunshine. Now, they were going on a hike up the hills behind the ranch and Camille was regretting the decision. 

‘Jesus, Camille, you’re so unfit,’ Drake teased. Camille flipped him her middle finger. 

‘Shut up, Walker. I need water.’

Drake opened his rucksack and took out the water bottle, tossing it to Camille. She swallowed the water down in gulps before pouring some on top of her head, drenching herself. 

Drake laughed, shaking his head. ‘Was that necessary?’

Camille fixed him with a steady stare. ‘Was it necessary to trek all the way up this damn mountain?’

‘It’s a hill,’ Drake corrected her. ‘Not a mountain.’

‘It’s still up high.’

Drake smirked. His eyes suddenly lingered on Camille for a fraction longer than needed; the water had trailed down her chest and her skin glimmered from the droplets. Drake felt his body react in an alarming way. 

‘Uh, okay, let’s keep going,’ he said quickly, turning to walk further up the path. ‘Last one there has to do the other’s math homework all week.’

They trekked up the path until they reached the top twenty minutes later. The landscape of Applewood was laid out before them. Drake smiled as he saw the diner where he and Camille went for burgers; he heard his stomach rumble. Yeah, a burger after this would be delicious. 

‘Camille, wanna get a burger after this?’ he asked, turning to his friend. 

She was standing near the edge, looking down at the ground that was feet below. She was swaying from side to side and her skin had gone pale. Drake started over to her, reaching out to take her by the hand. ‘You okay?’

She collapsed.

‘Fuck, Camille!’ Drake shouted, throwing himself down to his knees to bring her up to him. Her eyes were closed. ‘Fuck, fuck, Camille, wake up!’ he cried desperately. His mind went through the next steps. What did you do if someone fainted? He thought back to Health class. He couldn’t remember a thing, which made sense because he never paid attention in Health class. 

He scrambled to reach into his pocket to take out his phone. He needed to call his mom. But, he realised with frustration that there was no signal. 

‘Fucking piece of shit!’ he cursed, throwing it into his rucksack. 

He pushed back Camille’s wet hair. Scanning her body, he saw that her jacket was tied tight around her waist. Quickly, Drake untied it, hoping that she would be able to breathe better if she didn’t have it restricting her. 

‘Camille, wake up,’ he pleased. ‘Please wake up or your grandma’s gonna kill me.’

Picking up the water bottle, he opened it and tossed the remains of the water down on Camille’s face. 

She bolted up, coughing and spluttering.  Drake sank back, closing his eyes. ‘Oh thank God..’

Camille rubbed her eyes harshly and blinked hard, looking around at her surroundings. ‘What happened?’

Drake opened his eyes. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ he asked. ‘You fainted on me. Jesus, Camille!’

Camille stared at him in shock. ‘I fainted? What?!’

With a strangled cry, Drake reached out to pull her into him, holding her close. He felt her hands reached around to clasp his back and together, they rocked back and forth. 

‘Don’t fucking do that to me again,’ he murmured, his voice cracking. ‘I was shit scared.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Camille mumbled into his neck. ‘I didn’t mean to. I guess it’s the heat and the heights?’

Drake sighed. ‘You tellin’ me you’re scared of heights?’

Camille nodded. ‘I guess I am. I didn’t realise that till now.’

Drake pulled gently away and his eyes met hers. ‘Well, now we do,’ he said, giving her a weak smile. 

Camille giggled softly and together, they stood up, still in shock. 

‘Burger?’ Drake suggested. 

‘And a milkshake, please,’ Camille said. ‘Now.’

Drake laughed and they turned to go back down the path towards safer ground.

********************************

There was an open bar, thank god. Drake ordered a whiskey on the rocks, relieved to drink something that wasn’t bubbly. He didn’t notice Camille come up behind him until she gently touched his arm. 

‘Hey.’

He jumped. ‘Camille-’

‘Can we talk?’ she interrupted. ‘Outside?’

Drake nodded mutely. He followed her through the room and out through the French doors to the orangery. The Beaumonts loved orangeries. 

Camille gestured for Drake to sit down at the table. They sat opposite each other and Drake waited for Camille to speak. 

‘So I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,’ she began, looking at him seriously. ‘I don’t want us to be awkward. It’s an a tricky situation and quite frankly, I shouldn’t even be talking to you, but I also want us to clear the air and just move forward. Liam didn’t know we’d dated. I wasn’t going to tell him. But he knows now, so I suppose we better work out how we are going to act around each other.’

Drake sighed. ‘Camille. Stop.’

Camille blinked. ‘What?’

Drake closed his eyes and tried to find the words. ‘I should be the one trying to clear the air,’ he said. ‘I’m the one who hurt you. I’ve never apologised for that-’

‘There’s no need-’

‘I’m sorry,’ Drake interrupted. ‘I really am. After being your best friend for so long, I really fucked things up at the end. I feel guilty. I appreciate you inviting me to this brunch but I don’t deserve it, Camille. I’m a shit person. But don’t worry about how we’re going to act around each other because after today, I’m going to leave you be. You can enjoy your time back home without having to worry. You won’t see me again.’

Camille stared at him, her brown eyes unreadable. Quietly, she opened her clutch and brought out a piece of paper. She handed it to Drake. ‘We always used to be on the same page,’ she whispered. ‘What happened?’

Drake frowned and looked at the piece of paper. His heart sank. It was her wedding invitation inviting him. 

‘I’ve given one to your mom and Bianca,’ Camille told him. ‘I.. I want you to come, Drake. I miss our friendship. I wish things hadn’t panned out the way they did but it can’t be helped. You don’t have to come but I like to think it’ll help us heal.’

Drake studied the invitation. He felt a mixture of feelings. Grief. Sadness. Regret. He tried to summon happiness at her newfound joy but he found that he couldn’t. 

‘I appreciate the invitation,’ he told her. ‘But-’

‘I shouldn’t have done this,’ she cut in, panicking. ‘Too weird, too awkward. It’s fine, just give it back and I’ll shred it. You don’t have to come. It’s all good.’

Drake clenched the invitation. He thought back to Camille’s childhood dreams of her wedding and how fun it would be for Drake to be there. How important he would be. She said that she would have him be her best man. Of course, that plan soon changed as soon as they started dating. When Camille made him promise that they would be together ten years in the future, she had visualised Drake becoming her husband instead. Now, if Drake attended, he would be relegated to a middle row, watching his ex-girlfriend get married to someone who wasn’t him. 

**************************************************

Drake, aged 18; Camille aged 17

Drake liked the feel of Camille’s hand in his. She had small hands and soft skin, the complete opposite of Drake’s calloused bear paws. 

Camille was walking along the wall, holding onto Drake’s hand as she did so. It was the week after the two of them had lost their virginities to each other. The world felt new to them, a world ripe with discovery. Drake felt happier than he’d ever felt in his life. He had the girl. He had the college. He had the future all planned out. 

He listened as Camille planned their future. She skipped along the wall, talking without pausing for breath. ‘So, if we get married, we’re definitely gonna do it at your ranch,’ she told him. ‘Outdoors in the summer. We can get married on the jetty! How cute would that be?’

Drake chuckled. He couldn’t believe their friendship had evolved to one that discussed huge topics like marriage. He liked it. ‘That would be very cute,’ he agreed. ‘How many people?’

Camille thought to herself. ‘Only our closest friends and family. The important people.’

‘Of course,’ Drake said. ‘I like your thinking.’

‘And my dress will be all bohemian!’ she squealed. ‘I’ll have a rose crown in my hair! And you can wear a waistcoat and cute shoes.’

Drake wrinkled his nose. ‘Do I have to wear a waistcoat?’

‘You’re marrying me, so yes,’ Camille said bluntly. ‘And your vows have to be romantic. Like, nauseatingly romantic. I want you to say how I’m the most beautiful woman ever! And you can’t live without me!’

Drake smirked. ‘Wellll….’

Camille jumped down from the wall so she could hit him on the arm. ‘You’re such a dick!’

‘I’m just sayin’, if Britney calls, I’m gonna have to ditch you,’ Drake teased, pulling her close so he could tickle her. Camille hated being tickled. 

‘Aaaah get offff!’ she protested. ‘You are not ditching me for Britney! You know how much I love her!  That would be a betrayal of epic proportions!’

Drake laughed and let her go. Their hands stayed wrapped around each other as they wandered down the street. ‘Your wedding plans sound perfect,’ Drake finally said. ‘I’m a lucky guy.’

Camille grinned. ‘Just think. We’ll go to college, get amazing grades, graduate, find awesome jobs and move in together. We can live in New York and own a cute apartment with a dog.  Then we’ll get married and move back to New York, upgrade to a townhouse and become a power couple! I totally see it. The Walker dream.’

Drake squeezed her hand. ‘We’ll make it reality.’

********************************************

Drake put the invitation in his pocket. ‘I’ll be there,’ he told Camille. She drew back, astonished.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah,’ Drake said. ‘It’s your day. I wanna see you get your happiness, Montespan. You deserve it.’

Camille smiled. ‘Thank you.’

Drake stood up and held out his hand for her to take. ‘Start over?’

Camille nodded. ‘Sounds good.’ She took his hand and shook it. ‘Friends?’

‘Friends.’

********************************************

Together, they wandered back into the dining room and sat down at the table. Liam kissed Camille on the lips while Bianca poured Drake another glass of champagne. Drake saw that Savannah had now joined the table and was introducing Camille to Bartie.  Gisele and Maxwell were talking in low tones, clearly caught up in conversation. 

Drake decided to make an effort with Liam. He cleared his throat. ‘So, how did you meet Camille?’ he asked.

Liam and Camille exchanged sickening looks. ‘We met at the Met,’ Liam answered, his eyes never leaving Camille’s.

‘Yeah, we met at the Met!’ Camille giggled, raising her hands and shrugging self-deprecatingly. ‘It was such a meet cute.’

Bianca frowned. ‘What’s a meet cute?’

‘It’s when two people meet each other in a charming way!’ Maxwell crowed. ‘Like, romcom style!’

Liam chuckled and pointed at Maxwell. ‘You got it! Yes, we met in a charming way. Let’s see.. So I like to visit the Met on Saturday mornings to wander around. I love art, you see, I collect it. Anyway, I was wandering, totally caught up in thought, when my eyes found this beauty standing in front of Starry Night..’

Camille was blushing. Drake sipped his champagne, wishing it was whiskey, as he listened to this vomit inducing story. He scolded himself - he was trying to get to know the guy. Give him a chance. 

‘I had to say hello,’ Liam continued. ‘And she turned to look at me and god, her eyes.. The most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen. They put all the portraits around us to shame.’

Bianca, Gisele and Maxwell audibly sighed. Drake resisted the urge to dry heave.  Savannah looked non-plussed. 

‘I introduced myself, asked for her name and the rest is history..’ 

Savannah’s eyes met Drake’s. She rolled her eyes, making him smile. Good to know that she was thinking the same as him. 

‘Is that why you’re getting married at the Met?’ Bianca asked.

Camille nodded. ‘We wanted to come full circle.’

Liam grinned. ‘It’s going to be such a grand affair! We’ve invited everyone we know. God, we’ve got like.. 200 people coming. The museum has let us hire the top floor as a private space. I can’t wait. Then the reception will be at the Plaza-’

‘The PLAZA?!’ Maxwell shrieked. ‘Oh my god, oh my god!’

Drake was regretting trying to get to know Liam. But when his eyes met Camille’s, he could see the uneasiness she was feeling. Did she feel uncomfortable? Anxious? Embarrassed? He thought back to when she had planned for her hypothetical wedding with Drake. She hadn’t been embarrassed then. Drake sipped his drink. He was reading too much into this.

Camille tore her eyes away from Drake and poured herself another glass of champagne. She wished Liam would stop talking. As he talked about their wedding plans, Camille couldn’t help but feel that they had planned too much. Hiring the top floor of the museum? The plaza? God, she was such a fucking New York socialite. She felt like Drake was judging her. Of course he would scoff at their wedding plans. He liked simple things. As Liam kept talking, Camille felt more self conscious. She couldn’t help but think that Drake was studying her for every detail to see how much she had changed. She wasn’t this girl from Texas anymore. Hell, her Texas lilt had been ironed out after years of being in New York. She looked different. She acted different. 

She felt like a fraud. 

‘More champagne?’ Maxwell asked. ‘We have a champagne fountain!’

‘Ooooh, where?!’ Bianca cried, clapping her hands. ‘How fun!’

Yes. Fun.