#the majority of these were just straight up photos of total blackness with the flash on; I drove the settings up to bring out the detail

[zytes]

look alive, sunshine

[captainpains]

Sunshine (Commander Fox x reader)

Have fun with this cute trash for our favorite Fox!! Happy New Year!

Warnings: gn reader, food mentioned (does that count as a warning?), pining, Fox is horny, Fox to the rescue, mentions of a bombing, poor writing, much longer than normal (I think it’s like 1.8 k)

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Annoying.

Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard was no stranger to annoying senators and their aids. From accusing others of stealing frivolous things to stupid complaints, the Republic senators truly loved to annoy Fox and take up the guard’s time. There was also no end to the gossiping of the aids. If Fox had a credit for every time he heard a rumor that a senator was having an affair, he would have enough to buy the GAR. 

He had one saving grace in the chaos. You.

You were a representative from a planet he had forgotten the name of. You looked like a ray of sunshine, shining brighter than any star. You were also pretty. The poor commander couldn’t focus whenever you were in close proximity. Despite his infatuation, Fox never actually talked to you. He merely enjoyed your presence, looking -- pining -- from afar.

Thorn noticed his fellow commander’s incessant staring at the representative. He had attempted to convince his brother that it wasn’t healthy to live his life in love with someone and never tell them. He never listened. Fox was a man that followed the rules and regulations religiously. The only time he ever broke a rule was when he was a cadet. He ran the smuggling ring for sweets and holovids on Kamino. Somehow the Kaminoans were none the wiser. 

However, this was not as simple a smuggling sweets to cadets. 

So when you were threatened directly by an assassin, Thorn jumped at the opportunity to facilitate some sort of interaction between you two. Against Fox’s will, he would stand guard at your Coruscant apartment, all night every night until you were deemed out of danger. Fox wanted to strangle him when he told him. 

So that’s how he ended up standing in the corner of your kitchen while you made dinner. You had questioned why the guard had sent a commander to protect you, a representative from a practically unknown planet. But you decided not to voice your concerns. You were sure they had their reasons. And it’s not like you minded the constant presence of the imposing commander. You found him quite attractive, despite never seeing his face. The way he carried himself and the way he walked was so sexy to you...

You let out a yelp when some grease splashed onto your hand, bringing you out of your thoughts. You yanked your hand away from the pan. You massaged the hand in hopes of soothing the small burn. You let out a frustrated groan and glared at the meal you were preparing. You managed to finish cooking without incident. You sat down at the kitchen table and silently ate. 

Commander Fox, meanwhile, was making a mental list of things he had to do. He also kept your file open on his HUD, just out of curiosity. Through your file he learned that you had seven siblings, at least twenty other living relatives, and had a net worth that made Senator Amidala look poor. Despite this, he found your apartment rather modest for someone of your statis. It was only two bedrooms with three refreshers -- which was tiny for most representatives. Fox also noticed the large amount of pictures and cultural artifacts that adorned the walls and shelves. Most of the holopics were of people who he assumed to be family and friends. 

He turned his head and appreciated the several pictures hanging on the wall next to him. His eyes locked onto a picture of you with two girls (who he assumed to be your sisters) standing in front of a large building. You were wearing some... revealing attire with a massive grin spread across your face. He couldn’t help the tiny groan that escaped him as he imagined you wearing it for him. 

“Commander Fox? Are you alright?” You asked, turning in your chair to face him.

“Sorry, representative. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” It wasn’t a total lie. He stayed up late worrying -- a little too much -- about his assignment as your guard.

“You should try to get more sleep. You’ll be staying up with me for the next few days,” you offered a shy smile before standing and moving to clean your dishes.

“With you?” He questioned, moving to look at you once again.

“I don’t sleep very well off my home planet,” you nodded towards the wall of photos Fox was just admiring. “It’s a small thing I inherited from my mother.”

“That’s something strange to inherit.” He commented, making a mental note to look into that. 

“Humans are strange when it comes to genetics. My best friend got an intense love for spotchka from their father.” You explained, turning to lean against the kitchen counter. 

“That’s likely a coincidence.” Fox replied, taking your position as an invitation to look your body up and down. While your clothes weren’t as skimpy as the ones from the photo, they weren’t exactly modest either. 

“It would seem so. But every one of their siblings has the same affinity for spotchka,” you chuckled. 

“Human genetics can be quite odd. I wouldn’t be surprised it that was the case.” He replied.

“I suppose so,” You bite back a smile.

After that, something changed in the air between you two. It was never awkward before, but it was more relaxed. You enjoyed the company. Fox was still strictly professional. Although, he did mess up once. He was attempting to get your attention, alert you that the speeder had arrived, and he accidentally called you by the nickname Thire had given you. Sunshine. He died of embarrassment. However, you found his slip up to be endiring. He was only human after all. 

About a week into the arrangement. You were resting in the living room of your apartment. You were practicing drawing, a hobby you picked up for relaxation. With multiple threats towards you, it had been a tense week. Everyone was on edge. So you decided to kick back and relax with some sketching. Problem was, you had no idea what to draw. You started by sketching a body -- a human male body. Then it just devolved into page after page of Commander Fox. He was in various poses, some heroic some oddly domestic. There were even a couple of drawings of what you assumed his face looked like. It was when you had reached true inner peace. Only for it to be interrupted by Fox. 

“Is that me?” He asked, pointing to your most recent sketch. He hadn’t meant to snoop, but he was your guard. It was his job to observe everything in order to ensure your safety. That included you. 

“Sorry. I just draw what I see...” You cleared your throat. 

“No, it’s fine. I’m just not used to being...” He couldn’t think of a word for it.

“The subject of art?” You finished for him, sounding unsure of yourself. You stood up from the couch, walking to the kitchen to retrieve a cup of caf. 

“I guess that’s one way to put it.” Fox followed you diligently into the kitchen. 

Before you could respond there were a loud bang and a bright flash of light. You couldn’t do anything as the transparisteel of the kitchen shattered. You felt a sharp pain in your legs before everything went dark. ---------- You woke up with a start. Sitting straight up breathing heavily. You were in a bright white room. Once your eyes adjusted to the light, you realized you were in the senate medbay. You looked around and found your friend, Mira, sitting in a chair next to your bed.

“Thank the maker, you’re awake,” she let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll go tell the doctor that you’re finally awake.”

Mira left and retrieved the doctor. After a long discussion, you found out that your apartment building was bombed and that you had been passed out for a couple of days. You had sustained injuries to your lower back and legs, as well as a few cuts from the glass. 

Mira stayed with you for the majority of the day. She showed you news reports on her datapad and gifted you with some of your favorite candy. She even managed to recover your sketchbook and gave it to you. Near the end of the day, as visiting hours came to an end, there was a commotion by the nurse's desk. It sounded like a man trying to visit somebody, and he was being very insistent. 

“Sir! I’m sorry to say, but I can not allow you in! Visiting hours are nearly over! You will have to come back tomorrow.” The nurse sounded frantic to get the man away.  

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” The man argued. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. 

“Sir!” The nurse, again, sounded frantic. 

It was then that Commander Fox came into view. He wasn’t wearing his armor, strutting around in only his blacks. His eyes lit up when he spotted you. Ignoring the nurse that was tailing him, he made his way over to you. Mira gave you a questioning look. You only replied with a sheepish smile. When he got closer, you could see the dark circles under his eyes and the five-o’clock shadow on his face. 

“I guess I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” Mira awkwardly said, giving a nod to the nurse as an apology as she left. The nurse gave a wary look before she left. Fox moved and stood next to your bed. His eyes were looking you up and down, surveying your injures, before sitting down in “Is there a reason you decided to come to visit me, commander?” You asked after a long moment of silence.

“I was just checking in on you... Ya know Thire was worried.” He lied. He was a horrible liar. He also sounded exhausted, like he hadn’t slept for a coruscant week.

“Commander, if I didn’t know any better, I would say it sounds like you were worried about me,” you grinned.

“Again, just doing my job...” There was a long, heavy pause before he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper, “I thought I lost you...”

“Thanks to you, commander, I’m still here,” You replied in a low voice, taking his hand in yours. 

“Almost lost you. Almost lost my sunshine...” he muttered sleepily, his eyes starting to drift close. But you smiled at the nickname nonetheless. 

“It’s alright now...” you spoke in a hushed tone, reaching for his hand. 

He gave your hand a squeeze, a smile appearing on his face. He continued to drift off into sleep, muttering nonsense as he did so. You could only make out one thing as he finally fell asleep.

“’night, sunshine.” 

[missblissy]

Rebirth (Chapter Eleven)

Alastor x Human!Reader ((Reincarnation!AU))

Prologue || One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten || Eleven

It was unnecessarily dark. You looked around at Alastor’s bedside and did your best to lighten it up. You moved to a window and began to pull open the drapes, hoping the daylight might help. You were instead met with a red sky with permanent overcast and endless screams that seemed to vanish into silence as you closed the drape back up. So much for that idea…

You found some extra light switches to flip and in an instant the darkness vanished, aside from the shadows in the corners. You found yourself in a room so otherworldly, you weren’t sure it was entirely a room. The walls were decorated from an era long before your lifetime, with the majority of its color in a deep shade of red and black with gold to compliment in details and outlines. Everything about this room shared a reoccurring color pattern. Bookcases littered one corner, making it into a makeshift office of sorts with desks and cabinets as well. A bed stayed in the other corner where Alastor laid now, then a fireplace in another corner and the last one had several doors, however one of them poorly stood out. It looked like a shabby ply wood door you’d find on a hut or a cabin.

Pictures littered more than half of the wall space. Most of them were small and yellowed, with no color to them other than shades of brown. There were pictures of mostly people and larger paintings of places aside from one large portrait above the fireplace. It was large, definitely larger than you. The colors were faded in some places, while the paint had only started to crack in the smallest of fissures. It was like looking in a mirror, you saw yourself painted stoically onto the portrait hanging high above your head.

You took a deep breath in as you stared at your demon self, perfectly captured in oil sitting in a chair with Alastor who was off to the side and standing behind you. You both had smiles, but they were small, baring no teeth and relaxed. You were in a golden gown that looked straight off the red carpets of hollywood. It was long, with embroidered patterns all along the skirt and torso with long lace sleeves. Alastor didn’t look any different than how he did now, the only thing different about you was just your clothes at this point. You looked exactly like the demon staring back at you.

The sounds of Alastor’s soft snores fizzled in the air due to his static nature. You looked over your shoulder at him, watching him sleep for a moment before you looked back up at the painting. A breeze drifted by your shoulder, through your hair and caused the low fire to flicker only slightly more. Did someone open the door? No, it was still closed.

You looked over to the windows, nothing about them changed. As you turned your head, looking around the room slowly, you felt the breeze again…

“Scared yet?” Smoke started to encased you and you nearly screamed before a foggy hand slapped itself over your mouth. How could… smoke have mass? How could you feel it’s wispy skin? In a swirling whirlwind of shadows and smoke, it took the form of a dark body that looked very similar to Alastor’s own shadow… “Forgot little old Eon?” You could see his hollow eyes and mouth from the lack of mist in those areas. It moved and shifted as he spoke, “How are you?”

He moved away, floating wherever he liked while staring at you. It took you a second to respond, the Xanax was still in your system and it made you more and more groggy as time passed, “I’m fine,” You paused, “What do you want?”

Eon flicked a smokey ear and you could have sworn you saw the flash of an earring dangling away, “Clever girl,” He clicked his tongue once then rolled his eyes with a grin, “So smart! Gets straight to business!” He started to float around the room with crossed arms, “But I’m just dropping in, my vessel,” He paused and looked at Alastor’s sleeping figure, “Has taken on a lot of damage it seems. I haven’t seen him passed out like this in years,”

You weren’t sure what to say, “That’s nice of you… I guess,” That made him laugh. You’ve never heard such a hollow and empty laugh before. It was so small, quick and short.

Eon shrugged his shoulders and gazed at you with a sharp and toothy grin, “What about you? Why are you still here?”

“Because I look like this,” You held one of your arms up then gestured to all your new demonic features.

“Oh! That’s what’s different! I could hardly notice!” Another hollow laugh, it was a few seconds longer than the last one, “Is that it?” He asked, “You seem like you might be.... Looking… for something?”

You narrowed your gaze and pointed a look at Eon, “No,” You said quickly, “Stop trying to get in my head,” You walked past him and towards the fireplace. You stood there and held your hands out flat, taking in the warmth of the fire.

“I’m not trying anything,” Eon said with a false sense of innocence, “You’ve been asking questions all day about him,” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Alastor, “You’ve been obsessing over a diary with nothing but him in it,” Eon moved his ever twisting and smoking body into the large chair resting beside the fireplace, “Seems like to me you’ve been given the perfect chance to finally answer all those questions once and for all,” He gave you a look, a smile, a lifted brow and some kind of twinkle in his empty eyes.

“Are you telling me to go through his stuff?”

“Maybe?” Eon shrugged and his grin only grew larger, “I mean, who knows how long he’s gonna sleep like a dead baby? Last time he was out for about a month or so. And the diary can only tell you so much, and Alastor doesn’t want to tell you anything at all.”

He had a point. You looked around the room again, trying your best to avoid eye contact with the portrait. Maybe you could just… look around a bit. Where would you even start? You looked back to Eon, you couldn’t believe you were waiting for his wicked influence to push you further down this hole.

As if he could read your thoughts, he chuckled lowly and got up from the chair, “I’d start with that,” He pointed to the corner of the room that looked like a neatly chaotic office space. Everything was in its place, but there was just too much of everything in the way to make it look any nicer than a cluster fuck of personal items.

The thing that stood out the most to you was a stone bird bath crammed into the corner and wedged between two bookshelves. Other wall shelves hung above it within the corner. They were littered with photos, jars, plates and other personal items. You tiptoed over, like Alastor could hear you walking despite being totally knocked out.

“What is it?” You asked Eon. He was still wandering around behind you, floating here and there like a leaf lost in the wind.

“It’s called a Water Well,” Eon explained smoothly, “It’s what demons used to use before phones were invented. It also can be used for other things as well,”

“Like?”

He chuckled slightly, “Why don’t you touch it and find out?”

You looked at him with a raised brow, “This thing isn’t gonna kill me, right?” Why were you even asking? And why would he tell you the truth? He just shrugged and smiled at you and waited.

You peered into the Water Well, it’s water slowly rippled from within, creating small waves that lapped at the edges of the bowl. You reached out then paused with great hesitation. You were scared something bad was going to happen, and yet at the same time you didn’t seem to care all that much, maybe that was from the help of the Xanax.

Eventually you hovered your hand over the bowl filled with water. You quickly dipped a finger into it’s chilly embrace then yanked your hand away as if you expected to be attacked. Instead you were met with a faint blue glow that sparkled underneath the surface of the water.

Soon you could clearly see the image coming through. You found yourself staring into a one way window. One side was you, peering into the depths of the well, and on the other side was your family. Your mom and your dad. They were in the hospital and you could see them through one of the hospital windows. Your father was sleeping while your mother sat beside him, holding his hand and reading a book with the other. She must have been reading to him because her lips were moving but you couldn’t hear anything.

Suddenly you heard Eon’s low voice right beside you, “Interesting…” He paused then dared to dip his own finger into the water. It quickly changed and you saw the view zooming out. You could see the city, then the state, then the country, then the entire planet. It finally stopped on a picture perfect view of earth in the daylight.

You didn’t understand, what exactly was this Well trying to show you? By that point you were almost certain Eon could either hear your thoughts, or he was just really good at reading facial expressions despite the lack of his own.

“It shows what the heart desires the most,” He explained, “It’s gifted, and the only Well of its kind. It doesn’t show you what your soul wants, nor your mind. The heart is an incredibly tricky manifestation of many emotions, some find it very hard to listen to their heart,” You watched as Eon turned his gave slightly to Alastor.

For the first time you could just make out all the features of Eon’s face. That’s when you took a closer look at this smokey spirit. It was like he was here and somewhere else at the same time. His body was nothing but shadows and fog spinning around constantly as if they were covering up what was underneath. Every once and a while you could see colors peak out from behind the smoke, you could see skin or piercings for half a millisecond. It made you wonder, who was he? Or more so, what was he?

All you could remember was the rushed words Vanderlinde told you not long ago, that Alastor harbored an incredibly powerful spirit from another realm that no one could comprehend. And now apparently his heart desired the earth.

“Who are you?” You asked, your question surprised him enough to float away some and put a little distance between the both of you, “Really,” you went on, “Who is Eon supposed to be?”

He gave you an odd look, then smiled, “Me? You’re asking the wrong person, sweetie,” He tried to brush your question off but you weren’t having any of it.

You shook your head then pointed a finger at him, “No, I want to know who you are before I dig any deeper into this. I know you’ve got something to do with him. If you’re a part of Alastor then I need to know who you are too.”

Eon was fairly surprised by your demands, but he didn’t deny you, “Okay, fair point,” He shrugged then then gave a quick nod of his head, “Alastor summoned me many years ago, when he was alive. He sold his soul to me in exchange for power in the afterlife. All I asked for in return was that he give me more souls, because I do so love eating them!”

“Then what exactly are you?” You lifted a brow at him while looking him over for good measures. He didn’t have any feet, his legs just ended with little wisps for tails when they got too close to the floor. His form was just a black cloud in the shape of a tall limber body. He had a little devil tail that flicked around like that of a cat’s, with his puffy ears to match and sharp toothy grin.

“I’m just a spirit without a body. My soul is attached to Alastor’s by the laws of our contract, but I can’t have his body, because he also doesn’t have one, he’s dead!” Eon smiled at you and shrugged as he started to float circles around you, “That’s pretty much it,” He said, “There isn’t all that much more to know about me,”

“I’m sure there is,” You said with your lips pressed thin, “I doubt you’ll tell me, though,” His laugh only made you roll your eyes, “What about him then? What does his heart want the most, or does he not have one at all?”

“Oh he does,” He nodded his head. Eon wandered back over to the Water Well and stood right beside it. You stood in your spot and watched as Eon snapped his ghostly fingers and you watched a manifestation come to life in his hand.

You inched closer and watched a machine put itself together out of the smoke that was Eon’s palm. It ticked away, humming a pulse and formed into what looked almost like a radio, “It’s very broken,” Eon said with a nod of his head, “There’s not much there anymore beside wires and bolts,” That’s when you put together what he was saying.

“That’s Alastor’s heart…” You walked up to the Water Well and watched as Eon put the radio heart in a dark purple bubble of safety. He let it float around the Water Well for a moment before it slowly drifted in the slow current of the whirlpool. It didn’t take long for you to see a third person view of yourself. When you looked behind your shoulder towards this hidden camera, you were met with a familiar face instead.

Buck, your orange tabby cat was sitting neatly in a chair with his tail resting on his paws. You took a second glance into the Well, then to Buck, then to Eon. As soon as he took Alastor’s heart out of the well and made it vanish, so did Buck. He flew away in a cloud of smoke in the wind, gone from your sight and to God only knows where. It didn’t take you much longer to realize that you were what Alastor’s heart wanted the most.

You weren’t sure how to handle that information. You looked at Eon while you began to run a hand through your hair, “Okay,” You let out a shaky breath, “Who is he?” You looked up at Eon with a wary gaze. He was right, there really wasn’t anything else to know about Eon anymore. Alastor was the one who wanted you.

And Eon was going to point you in the right direction, literally. He lifted a finger and jabbed it to the bookcase behind you. Though he was pointing to the top shelf where several large folders, maybe six or seven total, sat neatly collecting dust. You narrowed your gaze and read the hand written notes on their spines.

1926 (1),  1927 (3), 1929 (9), 1930 (11), 1931 (12), 1932 (14), 1933 (XXX)

Each folder had a year, then a number on it, besides the last one, which also happened to be the smallest of them all. When you looked over your shoulder, Eon was gone, though you knew he was watching from whatever corner he was hiding in.

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

Hey, I was just reading your post about the eyeshadow (love it by the way) and you mention something about the gold uniforms actually being green? Do you have more info on that because that’s blowing my mind right now.

Sure! I’m veryglad you enjoyed that post. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

There’s not ahuge amount to tell, as far as I know, but yes, the original commanduniform shirts on TOS were meant to be green, and evidently lookedperfectly green on set. But something about the fabric they were madeof made them show up as yellow/gold with the combination of studiolights and camera weirdness. Here’s a bit from an old interviewwith William Ware Thiess [source]:

The three Starfleetcolors were blue, red and green. Lime green, to be exact. “It wasone of those film stock things;” Theiss states, “it photographedone way - burnt orange or a gold. But in reality was another; thecommand shirts were definitely green.”

There’s anoticeable remnant of this design in the show, which is that Kirk’swraparound shirt, and the command dress uniform tunics, are greeninstead of yellow. Evidently this is the green we were meant to beseeing all along, which appeared more accurately on film because ofthe different composition of the fabrics.

[ID: Threescreenshots of Kirk. On the top left, Kirk on the bridge wearing hisgreen wrap-around tunic. On the top right, Kirk attending Spock’scourt martial in his green and gold dress tunic with the medals onthe chest. Bottom center, Kirk standing next to the captain’s chairin his regular gold uniform tunic.]

The regular uniformshirts for the first two seasons were made of velour, but all thatarticle says about the other two is that they were ‘differentmaterials.’ I don’t know much about fabric, so I consulted with acostume designer (my mom). Her opinion upon looking at the wraparoundshirt and dress uniform was that they were likely also made ofvelour, just a different composition and thickness,  which was enoughto affect how it caught the light.

While the regularcommand shirts never look as outright green as the other two, there’sdefinitely a noticeable variance in what they do looklike. Compare this shot from Court Martial withone from The Naked Time.

[ID:On the top, a screenshot of Kirk and Finney’s fight in CourtMartial, with both men wearingcommand tunics that appear greenish-yellow. On the bottom, ascreenshot of Riley from The Naked Time,wearing a command tunic that appears much more gold-yellow.]

That’sa pretty extreme example, but a look through my screenshots foldershowed that the exact color of the command shirts fluctuatesregularly in a less dramatic way depending on the lighting. Anin-depth analysis would take some time, but at a glance they seem tome to be a bit paler and more green under outside lighting, and moregoldish or even slightly orange under studio lighting. (Pardon thecut-off caption in that last one there.)

[ID:Six images in two rows of three. On the top: Kirk and Sulu in the airforce base from Tomorrow Is Yesterday;Kirk in Trelane’s manor in The Squire of Gothos;Kirk on the bridge in The Naked Time asMcCoy gives him the vaccine. On the bottom, Kirk in ShoreLeave kneeling down to look atthe ‘rabbit tracks’; Kirk in Arena standingin the desert; Sulu in Shore Leave puttinghis hand on McCoy’s arm.]

Anyexcuse to use that screenshot of Grumpy One-Sleeved Kirk again.

Thisis actually a more common kind of occurrence when it comes tocostuming than you might think—differences in lighting can havesome very dramatic results. One of the stories I’ve heard from myaforementioned industry consultant is of another designer who put anactress in a robin’s-egg-blue dress for Fiddler on theRoof, to the consternation ofthe director, who wanted her in white. She convinced him to hold hishorses until he saw the costume under the lighting it would be inonstage—whereupon, sure enough, it looked white. And that’s inreal time.

Thiess’sinterview says that the issue had to do with the cameras, and who amI to argue with him on that (on plenty of other things, sure, butI’ll pass onthis one). As described in the original eyeshadow post, cameras canhave an odd relationship with color, especially 1960s TV cameras, sothat probably had something to do with it. But, you can see fromthese two pictures how much difference just a bit of lighting canmake. This is the same shirt, just photographed without flash in thefirst image and with it in the latter. (Sourceis from Star Trek Prop Authority.)

[ID:Two images of a glass case containing a mannequin wearing a commandtunic. In the image on the left, the shirt appears greenish, while onthe right, under brighter lighting, it appears more yellow.]

Forthe third season of TOS they switched to another fabric for theuniform shirts because the velour had a major problem with shrinkingwhen washed (and they had to wash those shirts a lot).According to Prop Authority, this was a nylon diamond double-weavefabric, and the command uniforms were still the same green color.Here’s one of their pictures of a third season command tunic[source]:

[ID:A command tunic laid out on red fabric; under the lighting it appearsslightly greenish.]

Andhere’s a screenshot from the third season. (I’m sure it’s notthe exact same tunic,but, y’know.)

[ID:A shot of Kirk on the bridge talking to Chekov, both wearing uniformshirts that look gold(ish).]

Now,the original post where we were discussing this was here,and was in regards to the Gold Key comics, where all the commandtunics except forKirk’s are green, and I gotta issue a bit of a correction to myselfon that. Originally I said that I didn’t know when they made thedecision to canonically portray the command uniforms as gold butassumed it must have been a decision made for TNG. I was forgettingsomething there which I don’t know how I could ever forget: TAS.

[ID:A shot from The Animated Series of McCoy, Kirk, Scotty and Spock onthe transporter pad. Kirk’s shirt is definitely golden yellow; allof them have dark gray uniform pants.]

TASran from 1973-74, and as you can see, they clearlywent with gold for the uniforms there. Wikipedia has this to say:

Theperception by fans of the command uniforms being yellow/gold insteadof green, thanks to set lighting and other factors, resulted in theproducers committing to a definitive gold-color for animationpurposes. The command dress uniforms remained green to match theperceived colors represented by the live action series.

Sothat would answer that question—the canonical color of the uniformswas decided in 1973. The Gold Key comics started in 1967, before Wordof God came down on that, and so presumably the artists just had tomake their own judgments based on what they could see on screen.Assuming they saw the show at all. I’m still not totally convincedthey did.

Although,thatWikipedia statement also says:

However,the uniform pants were colored gray to match the actual fabric usedin the live action series as opposed to the black they had appearedto be when filmed.

Which,eh. If this picture from the same shoot as earlier is anything to goby, it’s true the pants weren’t solid black, but they seem tohave been more ‘black speckled with silver’ than the straight upgray seen in TAS.

[ID:A photo shot at waist-height of a mannequin wearing a TOS uniform,showing the bottom of the shirt and top of the pants, which are blackwith barely discernible silver sparkles.]

Whichleaves me to wonder if that choice may not have had more to do withthe animation (such as it was)–big chunks of solid black aregenerally something you want to avoid in animation, especially ifit’s something you have to show in motion regularly. But, ofcourse, the animation choices of TAS are a whole other topic (andwhat atopic).

Sothere you have it! Theoriginal command uniforms were green, but we have all been deceivedby the illusory nature of film all this time. It blew my mind toowhen I first found out about it. Just goes to prove you really can’tbelieve your eyes.

[marvelgbt-posts]

Projects

{Photographer! Peter Parker x Bigender! Artist! Reader}

Warnings: i dont know much bout the bigender community, and so i did my research. So you identify as two genders? I dont know what ‘genders’ exactly you’d want here, so i’ll put they/them pronouns if thats okay :)

Summary: ‘can i please get a bigender reader who goes to art school with peter, that has like, “god like abilities” and always compliments/draws/tells peter hes amazing. ((tag @give-you-the-sxn please?))

Ofc my beautiful valid child <3

A/N: i decided to change it up a bit and have the art class as a club after school instead. Also I hc that tom hollands peter parker is into photography. I hope you like it >///<

I listened to ‘youth’ by Shawn Mendes and Khalid while doing this.

*not edited*

“Welcome class,” the teacher greeted you all brightly, “I’m glad you could make it after school today, what with all the rain and all I assumed only two or three of you would have shown up today. Anyways, you know what to do. Best get to it.” She clapped her hands, before turning her heel and moving to write on the board, writing ‘Integrated Arts Club’ in a cursive calligraphy font. That was her contribution to the club. Calligraphy.

You sighed. This was a way for you to escape the harsh reality of the outside world. Half the students in this club were members of the community, no scratch that, the majority of students were gay. There was maybe only one or two straight people apart of this club.

You took out your paints, paintbrushes, pencils, and then got your canvas from inside the supply closet where you had left it yesterday. It was your newest project, a painting of a woman in white, with bright red lips and a black dress that blended into the black background of your canvas. You were inspired by a woman you had seen one night on the streets of Queens.

Taking a seat by yourself- taking up the whole table with your paints and brushes spread everywhere- you began painting. Everything was already finished, you just needed the details. You heard the door open and close, only choosing to look up when you finished an eyelash stroke.

“Yeah, this is where I go after school. That over there is Mia- the one spray painting the poster paper- and the dude over there with the guitar is Jay. That over there is (y/n), their bigender so I’d just use androgynous pronouns for them. Over there is Ms. Burningham, our club sponsor, and the dude in the corner is Max, he’s a comic book artist. You’d fit right in, Peter.”

The voice belonged to MJ, a close friend of yours. She often helped give you inspiration, letting you paint some of her sketches to life. You heard her walk behind you, leaning down so her hair was in your peripheral vision. You looked up, “Yo, MJ.” You smiled at her, then up at the newbie.

He was short, about an inch or so shorter than you, with brown eyes and hair. He wore a sweater over another shirt, jeans, and ha a camera in his hands. He was trembling, probably nervous.

“Hey, ahh, who’s this?” You asked MJ, who looked at Peter. She leaned back against the table, her palms getting paint on them from the splatters that had fallen off your plate of paint.

“Parker- Peter. Peter Parker. Nice to meet you.”

He went to shake your hand, you lifted yours up to show him you had gotten black and red all over them, “Sorry, dont wanna mess up your hands. That camera looks expensive.”

Peter made a small ‘oh’ noise, looking down to his small Canon camera. “Yeah, it- its almost completely brand new. I sold some of my old stuff to get it. Useless stuff, shirts and books and stuff.”

“Cool, cool. Uh, MJ, could you tell Jay to keep it down over there? Can’t hear my own thoughts over his wanna-be indie music,” you said, completely disregarding the boy in front of you now. It wasn’t that you were rude, you just wanted to get this painting finished hole everything was still wet, otherwise it would make problems later on. MJ rolled her eyes, but nodded. You flashed Peter a smile, before turning to you painting.

After about a minute of silence, you heard a gasp behind you, “Holy shit- that’s really good!” You looked up, seeing Peter next to you with his camera turned on. He blushed, “Sorry! It’s just you looked so calm and pleasing, I snapped a quick photo while you weren’t looking- sorry.”

You half-smiled, standing upright, “Thanks, and it’s okay. This class is freedom of expression. Just not expression, ‘kay? As in, no swearing,” you laughed and pointed to the lady at the front of the class, her hands busy grading the Latin worksheets. Peter nodded, surprise clear across his face, “Oh- sorry.”

“Can I see?”

“What?”

“The pictures, can I see? I mean, they're of me, right?”

“Oh- yeah! Totally!”

Peter pushed a few buttons on his camera, and he scrolled through some of the photos until he found yours. “Here-”

“Wow, i look hot!”

You moved closer to Peter to get a better look, gawking at the aesthetic that was put into one simple photo. You did look good in this photo. “Mind sending me this? Not just this, other stuff, too. I’d love to make a piece from these- oh, if that’s okay?”

“Uhh- yeah! Sure!”

***

You flopped onto the bed, curling up next to a pillow. It was cold from loneliness, making you snuggle closer to it. You looked at your nails- paint ad managed to get wedged between the nail and the skin, and no matter how hard you tried it wouldn’t wash away.

You sighed, ready to turn off the light until your phone went off. You checked it to see there was a message from MJ, asking you if it was okay to give Peter your number. You texted back, ‘Yeah. Totally.’

Three minutes later, your phone went off again and it was Peter.

Unknown

Hey (y/n) its peter

Parker

Peter parker

Um

I just wanted to know if you wanted the photos to be on a hard drive or through gmail or something?

Hello?

-11:13-

You

Yeah

I’m here hi

A hard drive would be nice thanks

-11:15-

You took a moment to change Peter’s ID to his name. About five minutes later, Peter responded with more spam

Peter

Okay cool

Yeah okay

Yeah i can do that

Sure

Yeah

Okay

Cool

-11:32-

You

Lol

Imma sleep

Night peter

-11:35-

Peter

(…)

Night

-11:45-

***

The next day, you bumped into Peter in the hallway, “Oh, hi Pete. Can I call you that?”

“Hi, (y/n)! Yeah, totally cool!”

“Cool, got the hard drive?”

“Yeah, right here,” Peter patted his jean pockets for a bit before pulling out a black and red hard drive, “It has maybe 20 or 25 pictures here. Their mostly just random pictures of places around Queens, hope that’s okay?” You nod, “Thanks Pete.”

***

That night, you went home and changed Peter’s ID to ‘Pete’. After that, you plugged the hard drive into your laptop, opening the file titled ‘images’ and scrolling through the photos. Most of them were taken at impossible angles, and you wondered how Peter was able to capture photos like them. One was at the top of a building and looking down onto a busy interstate. Another was of the stars, a bit of the background trees getting in the frame. They were beautiful. Another was of MJ, her back towards the camera, a backpack strap in her hand, looking to the left at the sky with a sunset background. You saved that image as ‘Michelle_jERKFACE.jpeg’ on your computer. The photo Peter took of you earlier was amongst them as well.

You went to bed that night with a smile on your face and ideas fresh in your mind, ready for tomorrow's Club Meeting.

***

“Hey (y/n)! Like the pictures i sent?”

“Holy Shii-shhh! Peter! That sentence can go two ways!”

“OH! Sorry...”

“Its fine, and yes I did like them. They were really good! How come you never joined before?”

“Never thought i was good enough.”

“Not good enough?! Peter, those photos are professional level photos. They are wonderful and beautiful and deserve to be in a museum.”

“Oh, wow, thanks...” peter blushed, looking own with a small smile on his face.

***

You looked at the scenery before you, trees brown and crisp from the fall air. Peter sat next to you, his camera ready to snap a picture at any moment. MJ sat opposite Peter, sketchbook in hand and sketching the trees and people. Ned was posing by a fountain as Peter playfully took photos of him. You started sketching Peter into your own book, smiling when you finished and began shading.

MJ looked over at you, “Damn, you’re gay for Peter Parker.”

You looked at MJ with a shocked expression, before looking at the sketch and at Peter, who was now out of ear shot.

“Totally,” you smiled, before both of you went back to your drawings.

***

“Peter,” you looked at him seriously from your spot on his bed, “Ever think about kissing dudes before?”

Peter blushed, “I- ah, um...” His eyes widened, before looking down shamefully, “Y-Yeah… more than a few times...”

You smiled, “Cool, so what? You’re… bi?”

“More pan, I look for personality more than gender.”

“Cool, same. I’m (sexuality).”

“Oh, cool!”

***

“Peter, where are we going?”

“Behind the school. There’s something I need to show you.”

Peter had your hand tight in his grip, pulling you through the almost empty hallways. His voice didn’t stutter, which worried you.

Finally, you made it. Peter pulled out his camera, “Stand in front of that street art Mia did yesterday.” You did just that. Peter moved your arms to move in front of your sweater, telling you to tug at it a bit and look up at the sky. He moved some hair in front of your face to cover your eyes. He knelt down, snapping the photo.

“Cool, now stay there.”

“Do you always get like this for a photo?” You asked as Peter pressed record, moving next to you, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing, um. What are you doing?”

“Its for a project. I’m gonna screenshot part of the video later. Please, this is important.”

You watched Peter as he took control of the situation, taking your (smaller/bigger) hands in is own, intertwining them as he leant up.

“Kiss me.”

You coughed, moving back. Peter moved his arms around you again, “Please?”

“Why?”

“The project- please (y/n).”

You slowly gave in, letting Peter wrap his arms around your waist as you looked down into his eyes, your hands cupping his cheeks softly. He leant up to kiss you softly. Both of you stayed there, afraid and unsure of how to move.

“I’m sorry,” Peter said after a while, moving away. You were quick to react, taking the back of his head and slamming it back onto yours.

“Mph-!”

He was taken aback by the action, soon melting and whimpering into it.

Yep, you were so gay for Peter Parker.

[terrablaze514]

Amethyst Necklace (CIYS Sidestory) *Erik x Reader*

A feature presentation: With Love, From Wakanda (hosted by @hoopshoney and @purple-apricots ). This is my *headdesk* late *headdesk* submission. I'm steadily getting my life back, so all hope is not lost. This is based on the Crawl Into Your Sleep series (there's a time jump). Hope you all enjoy it.

“Are we on a date right now?” (Prompt #4)

Rated M (for brief mentions of violence and attempted assault)

Disclaimer: Black Panther belongs to Marvel. I don't own the other fandom that's mentioned, either.

*******

It's been ten weeks since you've crossed paths with Erik. The first few moments were random, albeit sudden - you still couldn't believe how well that first shopping trip went. The instant messages on your school D2L account, the anxious coffee shop meetup, and a fierce ride in his Mercedes-Benz to hit up the mall did things to you. For the record, his swagger switched your senses on no matter how many times you've tried to avoid it.

The way he'd given Dresden a beatdown, accompanied with his “evil twin” Adonis and fellow trainee Viktor… three versus five grimy trifles had presented a gut wrenching experience. You didn't watch the scene, but the terrifying sounds of breaking bones and curdling screams had prompted a random witness to call the cops, since your trifling ex had the audacity to confiscate your phone. Yet, he had intentions to do a gangbang train on you, so in a sense, it’s a great thing Erik and his entourage appeared on the scene before your ex’s friends had a chance to rip your jeans off at the library parking lot.

~°~°~

Erik also had a strange way of blocking thirsty traps on multiple social media accounts you own, especially Instagram and Facebook. The ladies who interfered with him, M'Baku and T'Challa were also blocked in a flash, and they came banging on your door this one fateful night. Half of them were another set of thirst traps from school; a combination of Churchians and R. Kelly sympathizers. You weren't in the mood for their bull, and proceeded to call the cops when your speed dial activated at the press of nine.

“What's going on?” Erik had asked, the racket downstairs noticeable. His voice never failed to melt you, but there were troubling matters at hand.

“Some angry ladies from school, they're at my house, armed with baseball bats and knives…”

“Okay, don't panic!” He commanded. “Remember that amethyst necklace I bought you two weeks ago?”

You've raised an eyebrow when shattered glass is heard from the living room.

“Y-yes,” you whispered.

“Put it on, and don't forget the mace!”

You did as he told. The beautiful gem hung low on your bust. “So, what difference would a necklace make?”

You could sense Erik's smirk. “Make an X with your arms.”

“An X, what for?”

“Y/N, you don't wanna die! I'm all the way on the opposite side of the city, and it’ll take me an hour to physically reach you. So do as I say, okay?”

Another glass shatter, and the door bangs are even louder and pronounced. Expletives that attacked your character were heard with more clarity.

“Do you believe in Wakanda?” Erik probed, bringing you back to focus.

“I do, but that's-”

An attempted disarming at the front door caught your attention.

“Do you believe in Wakanda, babe?”

You took a deep, albeit shaky breath.

“Yes.”

“Then make an X with your arms.”

Both arms did as he commanded. The gem on the necklace glowed and brightened your bedroom, where you're currently occupied.

“Now break it!”

You did it. Golden flashes zapped through the walls and wires of your house, and ultimately knocked your threats ten feet away from your house. As you exited your room, the voices of angry women were gone. Despite the broken window, the warm breeze engulfed your body. There were no crazy ladies in sight. The only display was a pile of bats, knives and Prada bags.

Another thing that caught your attention were the cars. Most were parked at their usual spots, but only two looked totalled, with broken windows and headlights.

“Wow,” you breathed as you processed this lovely aftermath. “All this unnecessary drama, because of social media. It doesn't make much sense, but it must be a good thing, right?” You poked the gemstone on your necklace. “This thing literally saved my life.”

~°~°~

Your phone and laptop alarmed at the same time. A message had arrived from Erik, encouraging you to change and worry about the house damage later. You've selected your favourite evening combo, along with a hat and silver hooped earrings. White tank top, a short silver jacket worn over it, followed by jaguar designed tights, a black skirt and tall black boots. Erik's car had pulled and he hopped out in an instant, surveying the aftermath of the crazies who came for you earlier.

A low whistle left his lips as you descended the staircase. You couldn't help the warmth rushing to your cheeks.

“Look who's glowing this evening!” he began as he opened the door for you.

“Thank-you,” You replied, settling in and buckling up. “So where are we headed?”

Erik entered his side of the car. “Straight to your necklace.”

You peered at it. “My necklace? Why?”

Erik started the engine and, as the car sped, he held the gem. “Just place your hand over mine.”

This is the second time he'd requested a strange favour from you. Strange in your eyes, because of the necklace. What's so special about it?

There's no such thing as magic in Wakanda.

“It will take forever to get there and back if you don't.”

You rolled your eyes as his dimples complimented his smirk.

“Or should I form an X and knock you out of here?” Your sudden confidence boost didn't go unnoticed. Erik chuckled; he liked it when life didn't weigh heavily on your well-being. It's allowed you to spread your wings. To get you out of your shell more, he’d let go of the gem and kept his eyes on the road. Meanwhile, this didn't help your curiosity.

“Well, which one is it?” You pressed. “What's so special about this necklace?”

“That is entirely up to you to decide, but there's someplace special I wanna take you to.”

You cocked an eyebrow in response, “and this is supposed to help us get there?”

“Depends on what you think. I know its location is several hours away.”

Erik's signature smirk had returned, yet this time, you've also noticed a knowing glint in his eye. You needed answers, and you’re gonna get them now.

“Are we on a date right now?”

Erik chuckled, “Of course!”

“Then why haven't we arrived? And why is this necklace so important?”

Just as Erik entered the freeway, he took your necklace and held the gem one more time.

“Just take my hand and we'll get there.”

Alright, alright. Let's see what this can do.

Without blinking, you held his hand and the scenery changed. You were no longer on the freeway in town - the roads looked more sophisticated with pebble tones. Neon lights shone brightly around the cars that drove now. You’ve also noticed that these drivers, well, the majority, were Black.

Your ride entered a bridge, and as you peeked out your window, the ocean below sparkled like stars. It's sunset time and the hues of orange, bright red, pink and fuschia accented the cascade of clouds in the sky. Birds flew across it.

Your hands rummaged through your purse for your smartphone to take photos of these beautiful sights.

Erik smiled, silently thanking Bast for granting his cousin Shuri the ability to create such technology, and for enabling this Pen Pal Program to happen.

~°~°~

Without missing a beat, you both arrived at your destination a few moments later. Krispy Kreme was the hot spot, and you've noticed multiple people walking in as well. Once the guards had verified your IDs, Erik linked your arm with his as one braided guard escorted you both to the VIP floor.

Upon entry, All the Stars by Kendrick Lamar and SZA played in the background. You both took front row seats. As Erik ordered drinks, a young lady with Bantu knots and a sparkly brown dress entered the stage and made an introduction.

“Good evening everyone, this is our Open Mic Night. Thanks for coming out! So settle in, let go of your worries, and enjoy our relaxed atmosphere. All are welcome to participate - the mic is yours. Poetry, song, storytelling, cypher… is entirely up to you.”

At the end of her introduction, your drinks arrived and a variety of performers, known and unknown to Wakanda, owned the mic. By the time the sixth performer of the night closed her song, a round of applause rolled through the atmosphere. You loved every minute of this so far. The overall vibes were cool and collected, warm and welcoming.

That’s when Erik stood and took your hand, escorting you towards the stage.

“Wha- what are you doing?” you whispered.

“It’s our turn,” he said.

Our turn?

Without hesitation, the crowd whistled and made bullet signs - a sign of respect for the Wakandan prince. A handful of young men hollered, “All hail King N'Jadaka!”

... until another set shushed them.

“So what’s your plan?” You mouthed.

“I paint, you speak.”

Well, if this isn’t nerve-wracking. But, I’m here. So here it goes...

You recalled the day your professor had graded you horribly, then the words came.

“How many more times should I feel,

Misunderstood?

How much longer before the world could hear my plea?

This forged, silent treatment had left me in chains,

Chains of choices, between the innovator and the warrior.

When can I rise? When can I fly? When will it be my turn to spark the flames of positive change?

For a brokenhearted daughter? Or the drifting, confused sister?

Where I'm from, there’s promises of empowerment...

Only to be broken and unfounded.

Then let them take credit, erase your name, your contribution, your standing,

Because your leadership is a threat.

How much longer before I can reclaim my power, spread my wings and fly?

I guess only time will tell.”

At the end of your segment, the audience snapped their fingers, whistled and offered their rounds of applause. You took a bow, and noticed Erik’s completed painting: A group of women, staring out of the jail cell, counting the stars. The bottom part of the picture featured his interpretation of what marginalization and institutional racism looked like, from your eyes.

You couldn’t help the warmth radiating your cheeks. Originally, you liked him. Admired him. Favoured him.

Tonight, you fell in love even more. He gets it.

You returned back to your seats, when your hands caught his face and your lips captured his. Thankfully, no one had noticed. The gem on your necklace formed a shield that barred others from seeing what was happening.

His tongue probed entry, and you allowed it. Although, you’ve noticed something a little unusual. Breaking the kiss, you inquired, “Is that a tongue ring?”

Erik chuckled and smacked your butt. “And what’s so important about that?”

Giggling, you added, “You’re dangerous. Now kiss me silly.”

Your lips locked again.

*******

Taglist: @ljstraightnochaser

@amethystbutterflie

@wakanda-inspired

@eriknutinthispoosy @softnani @princesskillmonger @iamrheaspeaks @muse-of-mbaku @destinio1 @airis-paris14 @blackpinup22 @bribrisback @supersizemeplz @thadelightfulone @epicyaoibamonbear @sisterwifeudaku @myareadinglist @kaytauru @phoenixgalaxy @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @im5ftbutmythroat66 @chaneajoyyy @rayraynddem @cancerianprincess @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @jozigrrl @itsrenaemf @theogbadbitch @steampunkprincess147 @eyeknowmywrites @annastaia @mbakusmbitch @thehomierobbstark @desertfyre @unholyxcumbucket @kissmyafropuff @forbeautyandlife @lifelover4u @yoyolovesbucky @purplehairgawdess @whoawhoababywhoa @animefun16 @blowmymbackout @itreywalk @msblkfire84 @mellifluousbabe @killuzumakii @hairhattedhooligan @marvelpotterlove @hearteyes-for-killmonger @to-the-water-ixazaluoh @yaachtynoboat711 @faatassbitch

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #54: COVER ME (7/13/2018)

Finally, after months of solid drought, the barren wasteland known as the TØP fanbase has finally been blessed with rain. And not just a gentle sprinkle; it’s been a consistent heavy downpour, a veritable flood. Even before new music, this week gave us new content from the group every single day. There will probably be something new out by the time you’re done reading this. So let’s not waste any time! Here’s your week in Twenty One Pilots news.

This Week’s TØPics:

Your Band Is Back: Trench Coming This October

“Jumpsuit” and “Nico” Released

New Logo/Theming/Everything

Josh Speaks

And SO. MUCH. MORE.

Major News and Announcements:

This time last week, I was certain that we would be getting new music on the 6th because it was my birthday. Turns out, myself and many others in the Clique read a little too deeply into Clancy’s promise that “everything would be different” by morning. We did not receive new music on that date, which, for the record, was way earlier than most reports had pegged. The fanbase wanted music ASAP and interpreted the letter to fit that, and anyone who said the band lied about when music was coming was just not being honest with themselves. 

Things were different starting last Friday. On the one-year anniversary of their departure, Twenty One Pilots directly reached out to their fans for the first time, not through the wide platform of social media, but with an email message to their mailing list.

The message only consisted of the subject line “ARE YOU STILL SLEEPING?” and a gif of an opening yellow eye, with images fitting the iconography of the Dema site flashing under the eyelid. The Clique basically lost their minds at this direct contact, so much so that major publications like Billboard finally started to report on the long gestating speculation. Everyone was excited to see the eye open over the course of the day, bringing everything full circle and culminating (presumably) with new music.

That... didn’t happen. Rather, dmaorg.info was restored after being down for only a few hours, and this gif of torches was added onto the site. This indicated that Clancy had escaped Dema, and the Clique promptly set about assuming that the next day would mark the band’s full return. Further, the name of the gif, “they_ca_ntseeFCE300″, seemed to confirm what people would be speculating ever since Josh dyed his hair nearly two years ago: the next era’s color would be yellow (specifically, FCE300) to symbolize hope and light pushing back against the dark.

The next day brought with it another update from Clancy (and the general concession among the Clique to stop expecting new music every night and just go to bed). In one of my favorite bits of attention to detail so far, Clancy’s latest journal was messily handwritten on a scrap of paper, due to the fact that he had successfully escaped Dema and was now traveling through- big shock- a region called “Trench”. The writing itself is kinda rambly and generic (so I can relate), with Tyler Clancy marveling at how much he loves being in the trees being alone out in nature. That said, I do love that there is a definite story being presented, with Clancy experiencing changes, taking action, and going on a real journey through this world that Tyler’s created.

On the back of the paper, however, is something much more interesting: a blown-out image that, when reversed, revealed a dead body. That was creepy enough as is; far more creepy was the Clique’s CSI-level discovery that this ripped photo fit with several other dmaorg.info images in a giant puzzle. Who was this man? Was this a random poster that Clancy grabbed as he escaped, or are we supposed to take it as a metaphor? Was it a random citizen of Dema? A bishop? Clancy himself? Blurryface? So many questions.

Twenty One Pilots truly made their mainstream return on July 9th, when they posted a second video of a half-opened eye, not just for hardcore fans, but on all of their social media platforms. This return was accompanied by a total overhaul of the band’s general branding: a new yellow-and-black ||-// logo was revealed for the new era, while the old “silence” banners and even the website subscription box were covered up by bright yellow tape. Billboards featuring the logo on this yellow tape aesthetic sprang up in cities all around the world, from London to Toronto, Berlin to Melbourne, even an entire building in São Paolo. The boys were back.

On Tuesday, Twenty One Pilots again returned to social media to post a second video. The eye, now about 3/4 open, depicted even more of this medieval battle, now with the addition of the Watchers on the cliff throwing... something (rocks? rose petals?) into the air. Instead of generic white noise, this clip was scored by a muffled but still obviously crunchy bass line. As radio stations across the country began to tweet about a major alternative release coming Wednesday morning (with a few even mentioning they were from Columbus), we finally knew that we were going to be ok....

New Releases:

And then I was not okay.

Early Wednesday morning, Twenty One Pilots dropped two singles and announced the names and dates for the next album, Trench, and tour, Bandito. My prediction from last week was 100% correct, and you all may thank and validate me in the comments below like and subscribe. “Jumpsuit” is our main single with a full cinematic music video, while “Nico and the Niners” is the more lore-heavy low-key song for the fans. I’m going to pull back from fully going in on picking apart every sonic and thematic element of both songs and save that for (hopefully) a less busy week, but you know I gotta write about their first new music in two years. Cause that’s what I do: I write too much.

Guys, “Jumpsuit” is a straight-up banger. Featuring a killer driving bassline, some of Tyler’s most impassioned screams, and a truly devastating bridge, I have not tired of this song one bit in the last few days. It takes me on a complete emotional journey in just four minutes every time, and it does so mainly through its soundscape (there’s only the hook, three couplet verses, and that damn bridge). It’s so, so, so, so good, potentially (dare I say it) the best sonically arranged and produced song the band has ever released.

So... what’s “Jumpsuit” about? Well, a lot of things, but in a word: pressure. Again, the lyrics are super vague, I think deliberately so. Clearly the song is about the singer feeling pressured by others into taking a path that he does not want to travel down. That bridge, delivered in an eerie detached falsetto, shows Tyler pushing back even at his weakest point, stating that he will not submit to what others want him to do unless they “grab him by the throat, tie him down, and break his hands.” Certainly you can argue that this is about the music industry. The “breaking his hands” line is killer in that context, as it signifies that the industry can’t control him without taking away the things that makes him valuable to them in the first place, his artistic ability and freedom. You can also say that it’s just playing straight into the concept, with Clancy breaking away from the bishops’ control. But the deliberate vagueness of the lyrics means that the audience can apply the message- and the empowerment of that killer bassline- to whatever struggle they are facing. That’s pretty darn rad.

The music video, directed by “Heathens” and “Heavydirtysoul”’s Andrew Donoho, is sick. Tyler (looking extra fly in his new yellow hooded jumpsuit) attempts to flee from this creepy Red Riding Hood old dude on a white horse (Nico?) through what is certainly a Game of Thrones filming location while other figures in yellow duct tape jumpsuits look on from the cliffs above. Tyler is captured by the bishop, who “smears” him by putting the black Blurryface makeup on his neck. Tyler is freed briefly from the bishop’s control when the other yellow-clad figures throw yellow petals down on him, but he is chased down knocked out or killed. The others flee the scene, save for one very handsome looking drummer boy... Oh, and there’s a bunch of intercut clips of Tyler on the car from “Heavydirtysoul” for some reason.

Besides those “Heavydirtysoul” scenes, which truthfully don’t connect much to the story of the video beyond artificially welding it onto the end of the Blurryface Era, this is one of the band’s best videos yet. It totally fulfilled all of my expectations of a more epic scope for this era, from the gorgeous Iceland setting to the dope as hell costumes to the implication that the story might continue on from this point. And there are tons of little Easter eggs, from brief flashes of the nine bishops to possible cameos from the Josephs and Duns. We don’t really know for sure if Tyler is playing Clancy or if the red dude is Nico, but it will certainly be fun to continue to fill in the blanks as we move forward and (hopefully) hear more from Tyler directly.

“Nico and the Niners” is a weird track, but one that I still absolutely love. In some ways, it’s a more traditional tøp track, with some of the raggae elements found on Blurryface and a rap verse to fit all of Tyler’s lyrics in. But in other significant ways, it’s a totally different path for them. For starters, just look at that title: it’s very explicitly about this album’s concept from top to bottom, with Tyler singing about fleeing Dema and its bishops’ control and even heavily referencing “Jumpsuit”; there’s clearly going to be a great deal of thematic cohesion in this project. But there’s also just the general vibe of it: just as “Jumpsuit” was a heavier rock song than anything we’d yet seen from the band, "Nico” is way more laid back, its repeated references to being high and even its visualizer of assorted shrubbery making it a potential stoner anthem (whether that was Tyler’s intention or not). Regardless, the song is brimming with character and hooks, and it’s already grown on me significantly in just a few days.

Oh, and one more thing: this song lives up to its Dema-referencing title and content by being cryptic af. The track is littered with reversed audio in the instrumental bits, including the “we are banditos” snippet from dmaorg.info and another sample of someone who sounds a lot like Josh saying “We will leave Dema at true east, renounce Vialism [the bishops’ ruling philosophy, alluded to be Clancy in an earlier journal].” I swear, if all it takes for Tyler to make all this stuff is a year break, he should do this after every album.

With all that new music, the fact that we finally have a name for Album 5 almost got lost in the shuffle. Trench was a popular guess over the last few days thanks to dmaorg.info, but it’s good to finally know for sure. Graphic designer Brandon Rike from the Blurryface Era is back again, revealing a cover featuring a badass-looking vulture/falcon/whatever, some new logos (including the return of FPE!), and some more yellow tape that appears to be covering the names of the rest of the album’s songs. Not too much else to say at this point; we’ll just have to wait until some of that tape gets peeled off between now and October 5th.

Finally, let’s talk about the Bandito Tour. It bears mentioning that, amidst the otherwise overwhelmingly positive positive atmosphere of the band’s return, this tour name received the most general opposition from fans and non-fans alike. The fact that “bandito” was probably going to turn up in a lyric from two decidedly white dudes was already enough to put some folks on edge, but the idea of an entire tour of predominantly non-Hispanic tweens flooding arenas and calling themselves banditos was enough to turn a few people against the band. And look, I get it- I hear “bandito” and the first things I think of are John Wayne Westerns and Speedy Gonzalez, and I get why a lot of fans might feel uncomfortable with that. But, to be fair, the band hasn’t used any of those stereotypes and banditos is a word for outlaw used in a number of Romance languages. Perhaps most interestingly, there’s not yet any evidence that the word even appears in the album itself. So far, the only appearance of “bandito” is in a coded message on dmaorg.info and in reversed audio in “Nico”. If this does turn out to be a name meant to only make sense to the most hardcore of fans, it is almost redeemed (I mean, I still think the name is a little silly, but I’m already in presale).

So, with that out of the way, let’s actually talk about the tour itself. It will be an international arena tour- even if the band’s sound is not going in a pop direction, they still clearly feel confident that the Clique will show up wherever they go. The first show will be hosted in Nashville (their first arena concert in that market) on October 16, not even two weeks after the release of the full album. What a baller move, and much preferred to the Blurryface rollout where we didn’t hear most of the songs on the record until nearly two months after the album release and they didn’t play near me for even longer. The boys will tour the U.S. until November 21, even playing arenas in a few markets that they’ve never played large venues in before, and then hit up Australia and New Zealand in December.

The most objectively interesting leg will be in Europe from January through March. Not only will the band play their first arena shows in markets like Moscow, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Central Poland, and Manchester, they will return to markets like Dublin and Glasgow they’ve been absent from for years. Most exciting, Twenty One Pilots will play their first shows in Bologna and Stuttgart and venture into the countries of Ukraine, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal for the first time ever. Needless to say, the rabid fanbases of all of these regions are super excited, and I’m super excited for them!

Other Shenanigans:

While Tyler has continued to stay silent (much as he has since mid-Blurryface Era), Josh immediately jumped back on Twitter with a standard Josh joke and even resumed his morning workout Snapchats. On Thursday, Josh even called into BBC Radio One with Annie Mac to give a quick interview about the new era. He didn’t provide a ton of information, but it was just a delight to hear our kid’s voice again. A few tidbits of info:

Josh reported that he was calling from Trench, I hate him.

The sick bass riff on “Jumpsuit” was born from soundchecks toward the end of Emotional Roadshow. He says that, as a result, it sounds closest to the Blurryface sound, serving as a good transition into the new era. (If this is what he thinks is close to Blurryface on Trench, this album’s gonna be nutter butters.)

Both Josh and Tyler are really nervous about the elaborate rollout, both out of the usual fear that no one stuck around and out of wariness of severely disappointing people when they hear the actual music (so far, so good...)

Trench continues to have the “diverse” sound of the previous records and also was designed to be played live.

Josh also tuned into Apple Music’s Beats 1 for an interview with Hanuman Welch. This conversation was less about the new album and more about the “hiatus”. More tidbits: 

The band views collaboration as a “sacred” thing, and while they’re not against it in the future, it has to be done in a context that makes sense and not merely for marketing purposes.

The band has never used the word hiatus because they’ve been working. They drew back from the spotlight to allow themselves some time to recharge, but also because they were worried of oversaturation (particularly after the Grammys pushed them into that next-level pop culture sphere). Rather than make a bunch of social media posts that didn’t mean anything just to stay relevant, the band decided to draw back, focus on music, and in the process “thin the weeds” of fans who weren’t the diehards.

For the last few albums, the music has come from a specific personal place the band was at while write, whether it be a spiritual journey with Vessel or tackling insecurities on Blurryface. Josh says the same remains true with Trench, but notes that there will be a little more fleshing out themes by working on a specific story with this one (he still says it’s not really a concept album, but ok).

Believe it or not, we are not done. While the boys were blazing a brave new path forward, another bit of content reminded us of where the band came from. Greg Wells, the producer who made Vessel the masterpiece it was, gave an hour-long interview to Billboard’s Pop Shop Podcast. He mainly speaks about getting started in the industry back in the 90s and working on the mega-blockbuster Greatest Showman soundtrack, but he does talk about Vessel for a bit approximately forty minutes into the interview. I won’t give the exact time-code, not because I’m lazy, but because the entire interview is worth listening to. Greg just seems like a rad dude. His laid-back nature and the seriousness he takes with his craft really shine through; he and Tyler must have gotten along just fine.

Community Spotlight:

The Clique took some heavy losses over the last year, as a great deal of old fans moved on to greener pastures. But that just left room for a whole host of new fans to rise to the occasion and help us get through that long drought. Today, I wanted to give a shout-out to GingerSheep and Stolen Potential, two Clique vloggers that have really kept the fanbase informed and uplifted and have been working their butts off reporting on the daily content. I know how long it takes me just to research and write one of these- I can’t imagine the work that then goes into filming and editing on top of that nearly every day. Hats off to you, good sirs. Make sure you all check out their channels if you haven’t already! But, you know, don’t stop reading these. I have bills to pay with all the Tumblr money I’m not making.

Well, that wasn’t too much, was it? If you made it all the way to the end, mad props. See you next week for a slightly tamer week (probably).

Power to the local dreamer.

|-/

[commandercrouton]

Jonerys Secret Santa 2017

Here is my submission for Jonerys Secret Santa. I was assigned @violet-eyes-silver-hair for this year, and I hope she really likes my fic! This is my first fic for the fandom, and it is still Christmas here so I made the deadline. I am so sorry I posted this so late. As soon as I got home, I unloaded my car and went straight for the laptop to upload it. This day has been hectic!

Violet eyes met brown eyes for the first time across the fire that was burning in the backyard of the party. She had blonde hair that looked white in the moonlight, and wore a ocean blue dress that highlighted her pale skin. A necklace that looked like a dragon’s tooth fell between her breasts. Jon stared for a second too long at the area where the necklace fell and looked up to find her staring at him with arched eyebrows. Jon blushed furiously and looked away, his cloak billowing in the wind.

His brother didn’t notice a thing as they continued their conversation, red cups in hand running low on beer. When Jon glanced back to the young woman, she was gone. He took a small sip of the cheap beer, and pretended to listen to his brother ramble about this new girl he was interested in. He didn’t understand why his brother’s frat decided to throw a costume party when Halloween was a few weeks ago.

“Did you hear me?” Robb interrupted his thoughts.

“What?” Jon blinked rapidly.

Robb rolled his eyes. “I said your ex-girlfriend is here.”

Jon looked up to see Ygritte’s red hair flash through the crowd. He wondered if she was bringing her new boyfriend as well.

“You okay?” Robb asked.

“Yeah, we broke up a while ago. We are fine now.”

“You’re too forgiving.”

“And you should be bringing me another beer,” Jon joked, thrusting his now empty cup to his brother. Robb smirked as he walked into the frat house to get more of the alcohol from the kegs they bought.

Jon stood there awkwardly, staring at the people surrounding the fire dressed in different costumes.

“What are you supposed to be?” The voice was quiet and commanding.

He turned around to find the petite blonde woman he was staring at. Her entire persona was regal and refined. She stood tall with an air of grace and power. Immediately he knew she was the type of person to get what she wanted, no matter the obstacles.

“I’m a Northern Commander,” he answered, feeling foolish in the attire he borrowed from his father. “And you are a…,” he looked over her outfit and couldn’t figure out what she was.

“I am a dragon queen,” she answered, winking. He grinned at her teasing tone.

“Don’t queens usually wear crowns?”

“A crown does not make a queen.”

“Very true. Where are your dragons?”

“I think a drunk girl stole them from me. They were cute stuffed animals.”

Jon laughed and he was pleased to see her smile a little at his response. “I’m Jon,” he introduced himself, bowing to the queen in front of him.

“Daenerys,” she answered, smiling even bigger as he finished bowing.

“I’d bend the knee, but…” he gestured to his heavy outfit and the fallen leaves on the ground.

“So what are you doing here. You don’t seem to know the members of this fine fraternity.”

“My brother dragged me out. He is trying to convince me to join next semester. Speak of the devil,” Jon said before his brother clapped him on the back. Jon could see Robb eyeing the new girl, and felt a surge of jealousy. It wasn’t Robb’s fault he was so likeable, but Jon was too familiar with girls preferring his brother over him. Robb handed him the drink and he smiled at Daenerys.

She nodded politely in his direction before turning her attention back to Jon.

“Is this the brother who is trying to get you to join?”

“That I am,” Robb interjected. “If I can’t convince him to join, maybe you can.”

“Unfortunately I cannot help you either. I am only here because my friend dragged me out. This isn’t really my scene,” she answered, never breaking eye contact from Jon.

Robb grinned as he realized there were sparks flying between this girl and his brother. Jon had been ignoring girls since him and Ygritte broke up the first month of the school year. It was a shock to both of them since they both chose this school to attend together.

Robb pretended to check his phone and told the two, “Sorry guys, but Theon needs me. Some guys are challenging us for our beer pong title. You two have fun!” He walked away, turning around to wink at his brother out of sight of the blonde girl. Jon raised his eyebrows in warning, causing Daenerys to turn around to see Robb grinning at the two.

“I am starting to believe there was no challenge,” she said.

“And you would be right.”

She stood tall and adjusted her long sleeves of the dress. He noticed her hair was done in beautiful and intricate braiding. He was about to ask her a question about her major, when they were interrupted by another person.

“Daenerys!” A beautiful black woman wearing a sheer grey dress stumbled onto Daenerys. She stumbled under the weight, and tried hard to regain her footing.

“Missandei how much have you had to drink?” Daenerys tried to shrug off her taller friend, but wasn’t succeeding.

“More than I intended. Tyrion is such a bad influence,” Missandei slurred. She saw Jon standing awkwardly besider her friend, and grinned. “Who is this handsome man? I knew I dragged you out for a good reason. Don’t mind me you two. If you want to bring him home tonight, we can sneak him in. Rhaegar won’t ever find out,” she tried to whisper, but failed miserably.

Jon blushed furiously at her suggestive tone. Who was Rhaegar?

“I am so sorry, but I think we have to go. It was lovely meeting you Jon.”

“Do you need help?” Jon saw how Daenerys was struggling under her friend’s height. She bit her lip nervously and darted her eyes back and forth trying to figure out how best to get her to the car. Jon saw the indecision and grabbed the other side of Missandei.

“Where to?”

Daenerys smiled a true smile at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Her normally stoic face completely transformed when she smiled.

“I have a car a block down from the house waiting for us.”

“Lead the way,” Jon answered, adjusting the weight so her friend was leaning more on him than Daenerys. She instructed him as they weaved the way through the crowd until they finally emerged from the house.

An older gentleman leaning against the lamp post ran toward them.

“Miss, is everything alright?” the stranger asked as he took the weight of Missandei off of Daenerys.

“Everything is fine Jorah. Missandei just had a bit too much fun. We should go home.”

Jorah nodded before realizing Jon was standing by them. Jorah appraised Jon warily before sharing a glance with Daenerys.

“He is a friend,” she affirmed.

“I’ll carry her to the car. We should get you ladies home.” Jorah scooped up Missandei and stood off to the side.

“Do you normally have men waiting for you outside of parties?” Jon joked, but immediately realized how inappropriate it sounded.

“Jorah is a close friend, and I guess you could say, bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard? Are you really a queen?” Jon teased.

Daenerys face became guarded as she shook her head no. “Goodbye Jon. Maybe we will see each other again. You seem like quite a man.”

Jon nodded, urging himself to ask for her number. Women like her don’t appear everyday. As he was mustering up the courage to ask her, she turned and walked away from him. He watched her stride confidently to her friends as they began the walk to their car. Jon waited a moment before he turned around himself and entered the party once again.

“You didn’t even ask for her number! You’re a fucking idiot, you know that. She was hot, and she was totally into you,” Robb berated Jon as they had lunch in between classes in the middle of the week.

Jon put his head in his hands and groaned. “I know, I fucking suck,” he moaned. He brushed his hair out of his face and tied it into a bun. “I don’t even know her last name, or how to find her. I don’t even know how to spell her name.”

“I can ask around, see what I can find out. Man, I was sure you had taken her home! Do you have any more details that can help us find her?” Robb grabbed the mug in front of him and took a sip of the black coffee.

“It doesn’t matter, I think she has a boyfriend.”

Robb looked at him questioningly. “What makes you say that? Did you see her with someone?”

“No, it was something her friend said. She said they could sneak me in their home without letting...what was his name? Rhaegar, I think…anyways, without him finding out,” he replied.

“Rhaegar? That does seem weird, but that doesn’t mean it’s her boyfriend. Could be a jealous ex, or a prude roommate. What else do you remember?”

“She said she had a bodyguard. That was really weird. He was waiting outside for her and helped carry her drunk friend back to the car. Part of me believes she might really be a queen,” Jon let out a frustrated sigh. If he ever met a pretty girl, thoughts of her would disappear by the next day, but she was different. Her looks haunted his dreams, and he thought he heard her voice on more than one occasion while waking in between classes. Wherever he looked though, she was nowhere to be found.

Jon looked up from his plate of food to see his brother’s face twisted into concentration. “What?”

“No fucking way,” Robb muttered as he pulled out his phone. Jon knew it was useless to try to get any information from him now. Robb wouldn’t talk until he was sure on his decision, or if he needed advice. From the looks of it, he knew what he was doing.

“Was this her?” Robb asked, thrusting the phone in his hands. Jon grabbed the phone and found pictures of the blonde haired beauty all over the screen.

“Why are there so many pictures of her on Google?”

“You really know nothing Jon. She is Daenerys Targaryen. I can’t believe it. The company said she was taking a year off from school.”

“What company? Why did you make her name sound all fancy?” Jon asked, scrolling through the countless photos of her. There were photos of her in formal wear, with suspected love interests, going to clubs with her friends, leaving the airport in sweats and sunglasses. He felt a pang of sympathy for her at the lack of privacy she had growing up.

“She is Daenerys Targaryen, heiress and partner to Targaryen Empires. One of the top ten businesses on the fortune five hundred list. Her brother is Rhaegar Targaryen, the President of the company. He inherited it from their father when he went mad. She is supposed to help takeover the business when she finishes school.”

“I guess that explains the bodyguard. Once word gets out she’s here, people will go crazy. I’m surprised she blended in this well. The media seems to follow her wherever she goes.” Jon handed back the phone.

“Well thank her brother for that. He has been leaking to the media the different countries she has been visiting on her ‘year off.’ Now we know it’s bull,” Robb answered. “I can’t believe you snagged a Targaryen.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Jon frowned.

“Like what?”

“Like she is some piece of meat. It’s not like that.”

Robb stared at his brother a moment before apologizing. “You’re smitten with her,” Robb teased.

Jon rolled his eyes. “Just help me find her. Without blowing her cover. Maybe ask your friends if they knew a Missandei or Tyrion,” he added, remembering the names of her friends.

Robb agreed and began texting his frat brothers for more information.

Daenerys groaned as she saw her brother’s name flash along the screen on her phone.

“Hello Rhaegar.”

'How is my darling younger sister? Are classes okay?’

“Classes are fine. What's wrong?”

'Straight to the point, just like Viserys taught you. I'm calling because Jorah let it slip you didn’t wear your disguise to the party you went to.’

Daenerys cursed under her breath, making a note to talk to Jorah about the meaning of loyalty. “It was a costume party. No one recognized me. They were too drunk anyways to remember me. I blended in, just like you asked,” she reasoned.

'Dany we made an agreement. If you were going to college away from home, you must wear that wig and keep Jorah close by at all times. No exceptions. You are recognized from your hair. You wanted a normal experience, so you have to make the effort to keep it,’ he reprimanded her.

“Fine, I will wear the brown wig to everything else. But the minute the media catches on to your lies about me travelling, I will burn that wig to ash,” she threatened.

Rhaegar held back a laugh. 'The wig isn't that bad.’

“I disagree. Anything else? I am meeting Tyrion for a tutoring session. Finals are coming up, and I will not fail.”

Rhaegar paused before deciding to continue. 'Jorah also mentioned a boy at the party…’

“And?” she challenged.

'Is he a boyfriend? How much does he know about you.’

“He knows nothing. I just met him at the party. He did not even ask me for my number.”

'You sound disappointed. Did you like this boy?’

“He was interesting,” she admitted. Looking at the clock, she realized she was late to meeting Tyrion, and rushed off the phone with her brother.

Daenerys drove and parked on campus in a record amount of time, and rushed to the library on campus. She glanced at her rose gold watch and saw she was only a few minutes late. The doors to the library automatically opened and she glanced around to find Tyrion waiting in the common area for her.

There were only a handful of people who knew who she really was, and he was one of them. He saw her enter the library and rose to meet her.

“Forgive me for being late, my brother called me. Seems Jorah let him know I didn’t wear this to the party,” she apologized, and gestured to the wig on her head.

“No apologies neccessary. What are we studying today? Politics or history?”

“History. I need to go over the War of the Roses. My professor advised it will be heavily covered on the final.”

“Right then, let’s get started shall we.” Tyrion led the way to the elevators and led the way to a quiet corner on the top floor of the library. The two spent the next few hours going over important names, dates, and battles until it was drilled in her mind permanently.

Daenerys stretched and sighed. She still had to finish a paper for her literature class.

“Need a break? I know an excellent pub with the most amazing honey mead,” he suggested.

She frowned in response. “I have not forgotten how you influenced Missandei drinking at the party. She was completely incapacitated the next day,” she lectured him.

Tyrion laughed in response.

“It’s not funny. I had to take care of her all day!” she reminded him, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Missandei mentioned you met a cute boy at the party. Perhaps you are really mad you had to leave Jon behind.”

“You know him?” she asked.

“Jon Stark. His major is environmental studies, and is on the rugby intramural team. I am also told he has a white husky named Ghost. Many siblings, but only has one brother who attends the college with him. They are roommates in an apartment a few blocks away from campus.”

“How do you know this?” she asked, impressed by his knowledge in not only subjects, but people as well.

“That’s what I do. I drink and I know things. I also know you made quite an impression on him.”

“Really now?”

“Yes really,” a roguish voice came from behind them. Daenerys’ heart skipped a beat at the northern accent she faintly recognized. She turned around to find Jon smirking at her, a backpack slung across his shoulder.

“Jon,” she said, shocked to find him standing there. He looked even more handsome than she remembered. His face had a romantic glow in the firelight, but now in the flourescent lights, she could view the curls of his hair, his strong jaw, and his arm muscles rippling underneath his tight jacket.

“You’re a hard woman to find Daenerys,” Jon told her.

“I’ll leave you two alone. Daenerys, I’ll see you this weekend for our next session.” Tyrion excused himself and left the two to talk and catch up.

“You look different without your cloak,” Daenerys started.

“You look different with that hair. Wasn't your hair blonde?”

A faint blush covered her cheeks as she consciously moved a strand of the brown hair behind her ear.

“You don’t have to explain, I figured it out, Ms. Targaryen. People seem to follow you wherever you go. It is a nice disguise.”

Daenerys stiffened at the sound of her last name. She was worried someone would overhear and then her cover would be blown. She eyed him as he mentioned her name, worried he only found her for her toes to the company. Her fears were unfounded though when he didn’t seem to be interested in her name.

“It was my brother’s idea,” she answered quietly, quickly glancing around to make sure no one else was around.

“Can I sit down?” Jon asked. She nodded in response and motioned her hand to the seat next to her.

“I want to explain that I have no intention of telling your secret to anyone. My brother helped me figure it out. He knew I was interested in finding you again, and he helped me locate Tyrion.”

“You wanted to find me,” she plainly stated, hoping he would elaborate more.

“I was quite fond of you at the party, and I’ve been kicking myself that I didn’t get your number. So I was hoping to find you and ask you out for a date this Friday.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“Do what?”

“Ask me out,” she smiled at him.

Jon smiled sheepishly and asked her, “Would you like to go on a date with me this Friday?’

“I’d love to,” she replied.

The two stayed in the library to talk for a bit longer before Daenerys insisted she had to go home to finish her homework. As Jon was walking Daenerys back to her car, their fingers would graze cautiously, until Jon gathered the courage to grab her hand completely.

He was shocked to feel a spark of heat shoot through him at their first contact. Jon knew she felt it as well from the look she gave him. Neither of them knew the date they would go on would be their last first date, but they both knew this relationship would be the start of something amazing.

Fin

[ginasneesby]

September- Viv and Andy part 3

The next 3 days were set aside for a road trip, one I had done before and would do another 2 times this year, and yet could easily do it many more times. We headed out south of Auckland to Waitomo to go to the glow worm caves, however we decided to be a bit more adventurous than just sitting in a boat opting instead to fling ourselves off underground waterfalls. From Waitomo we drove over to Rotorua which is well known for geothermal sites, but also the best place to go to tap into Maori culture and fill your bellies at a hangi. Matamata is a short drive from Rotorua and is the film site for Hobbiton from the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit movies. Since the Hobbit, it was rebuilt in sustainable material including the bridge, mill and pub meaning the tours involved a bit less imagination and more wishing you were a hobbit.

We had booked our black water rafting cave experience for the afternoon to give us time to drive down, the traffic leaving Auckland is notoriously crappy but it being a Thursday I was hopeful we wouldn’t get stuck. Waitomo is about 3 hours drive from Auckland so we drove straight to the company head quarters to get booked in, there are a number of different tours with increasing varieties of climbing, abseiling and tight squeezes. I am not really a fan of small spaces so was only comfortable with the ‘black labyrinth’ option which involved water and waterfalls and floating along on a rubber tube. We had an air bnb only down the road, but as we arrived in good time we had to leave all our stuff in the car and used the half hour or so we had to have a light lunch; not knowing what to expect we didn’t wanna eat too much in case we brought it back up all over the Ruakuri cave interior. The first job after booking in was to size ourselves up for our wetsuits, this consisted of standing outside the wetsuit cabin while the guys who were gonna take us round looked at us and chose by eye, I’m gonna say there’s less insulting ways to pick the size of suit but there you go. The suits weren’t really washed in between uses but they were sprayed down or dunked in water, so it was great to be reminded not to pee in the suits so you won’t be sitting in a wee soup for your tour. This doesn’t, however, mean you won’t be sitting in the previous persons wee soup which is a lovely thought. We were given socks and a jacket over the wetsuit to keep us warm, reminding us that it’s our body warmth that provides the heat so everything not covered will be chilly, including the fingers we’ll be using to grip the walls; good to know.

So wetsuits on, and ready to start our adventure we took a group photo of everyone on our tour, this consisted of me Viv and Andy and two other women so a nice, small group of which we were the majority. We drove down to where the entrance to the cave was which I recognised from my previous visit, parked up in the car park and headed to a pile of rubber rings so we could choose our own; these will be used to float along in some sections of the cave where the water was deep enough. Before entering the cave we stopped by a small patch of river which had a little wooden jetty sticking over it and were told the best way to not be shocked by the cold water was to acclimatise ourselves here, this meant getting in so that we could start warming up the water in our suits. What we didn’t realise, was that when they said get in the water here they meant jumping backwards onto your rubber rings, oh and by the way we’re going to take photos of you as you jump. We took our turns sticking our bums in our rubber rings and jumping backwards into the water, as expected it was pretty cold; the photos are very funny.

The entrance to the cave was back past the car park and through some bush, we had to climb over some rocks and down into a little divot which had a pretty small hole into the ground. At this point I was quite nervous as I do get a bit claustrophobic and I thought despite them saying that it’s not too tight most of the time actually this was beyond what I can handle. However as soon as you get into the entrance it opens out and after a few low ceilings at the beginning the rest of the tour is narrow but tall, high ceilings with all the glowworms above you making it a lot more manageable. We carried the rubber rings ourselves which were quite useful as a buffer so we didn’t knock into the walls but it did put us a little bit off balance trying to walk around in the dark with the water rushing over the rocks at our feet, we had head torches so we could see where we were going but it was still a little bit tricky. The water was cold and your hands remained cold the whole time (really useful for grabbing hold of things) but once your body warmed up what was in your wet suit it was actually quite pleasant. The tour lasted about two hours, we walked some parts and were able to float some parts and then we had three waterfalls to jump off, they were only about five or 6 foot high but you had to put your bum in your ring (woof) like last time and jump backwards. The tour guides had torches and advised you on an angle but basically you just had to jump and hope that you didn’t smack into the wall. I loved it, jumping off stuff is totally my bag but Viv was not so keen and upon reflection decided not to jump but did then get to climb down the waterfall which I’m sure had its own challenges and splosh in at the bottom.

At one point we stopped in a fairly narrow area and the tour guides gave us some chocolate fish which are pink marshmallow covered in chocolate, New Zealand staple sweets; a nice little sugar hit to continue the tour. Later we came to the area where the normal cave tour comes through and we could see high above people gathered on the walkway with their guides torches on the glow worms. Towards the end of the tour, after our last waterfall jump we were told to stay in our rings and link ourselves together by putting our boots under the armpits of the person in front of us. The guides then pulled us along and through an area which was absolutely covered with glow worms. We had to be really quiet like on the normal tour so that we don’t disturb them, they have issues with sound and vibration I imagine, so we floated underneath in complete silence looking up at the high ceiling that was covered in the lights; amazing. We were nearing the exit of the Cave and could see the light from outside, so the guides told us from there we were on our own, just keep going towards the daylight. We all made our way towards the light and eventually found our way out, some people swimming, some people walking and some people floating. We took one last group photo by the exit and then walked back to the bus to be taken back to HQ, once there we had to strip off all of our wet water gear and were provided a hot shower to warm up although these were still semi outdoors so not overly warm. We dunked our wetsuits in some freezing cold water and then hung them back up, that was the cleaning they had so seriously please don’t pee in your suit. We then made our way inside where we had a complimentary cup of tea, bowl of soup with a fresh bread roll. Our tour guides had been taking some photos as we went round, for obvious reasons we couldn’t take our cameras or phone, and they offered us the package to buy the pictures which we split between us. Most of the photos are us in the dark with a surprise super bright flash so we all look a bit dazed but it’s a good reminder of what we went through and managed to achieve which was pretty cool.

Our Airbnb for the night was just down the road, a hut with a number of rooms of which we have one to share between the three of us. However no one else was booked in, so we had the place to ourselves. We had a bit of food that I had brought from home and some hot showers which we all now craved before settling down for dinner and a movie. Viv being the 1st to go for a shower noticed that there were a few spiders in the bathroom, none of us are fans of spiders so we needed to do something about this, when I say a few they were about 20 and all webbing their way across the shower ready to eat whoever was brave enough to step inside. So we sent Andy in, and I’m sorry to say one spider massacre later we were able to have showers. There was a selection of DVDs at the cabin one of which was a famous New Zealand film that I haven’t seen yet, although not overly joyful it’s a great film, so spider massacre and ‘once were warriors’ is the main memory of that accommodation.

The next morning we drove to Rotorua, to our accommodation ‘the funky green Voyager’, booked by Viv, quickly dropped off stuff and headed to Te Puia for a full day of activities. Te Puia is a geothermal site in the Whakarewarewa valley also known as Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao, which they challenge you to say on your way in. We had tickets for Te Ra and Te Po which meant we had the day to walk the paths stopping at mud pools, steaming vents and the largest geyser in the Southern Hemisphere and at night we had a show and hangi to look forward to. One of the highlights was definitely the kiwi conservation house, kiwis are nocturnal so it is kept dark inside during the day so visitors can see the birds awake. Te puia is part of a national programme to protect and breed kiwis, they are kept behind sound proof glass with natural vegetation that mimics the nz bush and stops them being disturbed. We saw north island brown kiwis which are the most common and bigger than you’d think, about the size of a chicken. They stomp loudly through vegetation and snuffle and snort their way along the floor, they also have big bums and can’t fly which means since nz was colonised and kiwi eating mammals started to come ashore their numbers have declined; they’re quite easy to track. Sad face

Te puia is also home to the Maori arts and craft school where young Maori students can learn wood, bone and stone carving (including pounamu jade) so the history of their people and the crafts handed down over generations is not lost. We were able to walk around the school, above the workshops and see some of the amazing art the students were working on, with simple tools and complicated techniques the products are fantastic.

Towards the evening we were ushered into the Marae, which is the Maori meeting house, where historically the culture is to be celebrated. You gather outside and wait to be invited in, this is where large, burly Maori men come at you with spears and fire to test your grit, if they like you they’ll offer you a leaf or branch and an older woman from the family with perform a karanga meaning you are welcome to enter. Inside we were treated to a wonderful show including Maori music, song, Hakka, poi and even a chance to get up and learn ourselves. Then the hangi feast (pork, potato, kumara and fish all cooked in the earth oven for the last few hours) we stuffed our faces from this delicious banquet and were surprised to learn the evening wasn’t finished. We were offered a ride in their vehicles (almost a petite train) down to the geysers to sit under the stars, on naturally heated stone seats and even enjoy some hot chocolate. Had I eaten even one potato less I would have had space for the hot choc, but enjoyed the sitting and geysers by night very much.

The next day was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to, how I had managed to save myself in nine months from going to Hobbiton I don’t know, but I had a feeling I would be going quite a lot with my visitors so I managed to stop myself. The Sun was shining, the sky was blue and we were booked on a lunchtime tour which included a buffet in a tent on the grounds of Hobbiton next to the Green Dragon pub. Now obviously we had stuffed our faces the night before at the hangi but somehow we still managed to eat quite well for lunch! They check you in away from the site and then you board a coach which drives the short distance to Hobbiton, along the way Peter Jackson welcomes you and you meet the family who own the farm that the filmset was built on. When I visited the site 10 years previously there wasn’t enough to see on the old set so the tour also included a visit to the sheep farm to watch some sheering, my how things have changed. Nothing can quite describe the feeling I got as we walked through the small gap in the hedge and entered Hobbiton as it is now, when I came before there were only a few remnants of some hobbit holes everything else had been taken down or destroyed. But now, not only were there fully built and decorated hobbit holes, beautiful paths to follow, a fully grown vegetable garden, the lake, the mill, the pub, but some of the houses even had smoke coming from the chimneys. The tour takes you round all of the main sites and the guides tell you a number of stories from filming both the lord of the rings and the hobbit including how they found the site and what drew them to it. One of the reasons was that there is nothing else around, and so the whole set feels so real, so immersive and just truly magical; at least to me. You finish in the Green Dragon pub with a large mug of beer that is only brewed to be sold at Hobbiton, which is a shame because it’s really tasty. Sadly, you board the coach to be taken back to the check-in and enjoy another little video from Peter Jackson about how meaningful and special the experience of filming the trilogy was, accompanied by background music of the saddest part of Return of the King; seriously it’s like they’re trying to kill me in this place.

Even more sadly, this was the end of our road trip and almost the end of Viv and Andy’s visit, we drove back to Auckland and with only plans to meet up the next day for dinner (because I had to meet some other people at the airport) I left them at their Auckland flat. And on to the next adventure…

[fotostory5z]

8 filmów o fotografia ślubna warszawa, które sprawią, że będziesz płakać

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[spideywars]

hey!!! if you are doing those promts can you do a one where niall is a photographer/director kinda young hot making wave in industry types and harry a model who just got a shoot with him (h is kind of internet model, done some major shoots just not too many ). can you make it flirty and a bit angsty!!! thanks!!!

One of my favourite one shots I’ve written so far, I really enjoyed writing this. All fluff and a small bit of angst for you all. 

-

“Can you turn your head a little to the left? Yeah, perfect, actually a little more…that’s great.” Niall’s camera flashed and lit up the dark room of his apartment/workplace. The man sitting on the stool in front of the little grey background Niall had set up was wearing a fancy suit, hair brushed to perfection, beard trimmed. He was here for a business magazine, a random model Niall had found in his booklet that he kept for calls if he needed someone, this lad seemed perfect and looked fancy enough to be slapped on the cover of that kind of magazine.

He took a second shot with the loud click of his professional camera when the door to his apartment opened, loud footsteps walking behind him. Niall almost rolled his eyes, leaning down to look through the lens and getting ready to take another picture when a hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly and making him flinch.

“Nialler, got some new information on that magazine cover you’re doing for Rolling Stone?” His head shot up at that, remembering one of his biggest projects that he’s ever had to do. The person reminding him was his assistant, Deo, who was also his cousin.

“What do you need? I’m in the middle of something.” He tried to act cool, not wanting to be too pushy and frantic to know what Deo needed to tell him. Anxiety was building in his chest like his lungs were filling up with concrete.

“Just take a five minute break, let him get restyled by Lou so we can chat.” Deo was tugging on the end of his shirt sleeve, tugging him along towards his kitchen. He lightly pulled away, turning towards the model who was raising a perfectly plucked brow at them.

“Let’s take a five or ten minute break. Just head over to your station and I’ll be back in a second.” He gave the man a smile, who returned one back before they parted. Now, Niall was being dragged into the kitchen, the lights being turned on and making him cringe at the suddenness of it all absorbing itself into his sensitive eyes.

Deo was sitting himself down at the island, looking over towards Niall like he was waiting for him to join him.

“What’s happened?” He moved to do was Deo wanted, sitting across from him and patiently waiting for his cousin to speak. He could hear Lou and the model talking, their voices echoing through his home and into the kitchen.

“I’ve got some good news and bad news.” Deo looked restrained, trying not to show the pained expression. He knew Niall hated bad news, hated changes like due dates being moved closer or plans cancelled, models sick or not showing up. But ever since Niall grew popular with the magazine and website photoshoots he has forced himself to get used to constant mishaps that make him lose his head. It’s part of the job.

“Tell me the bad news first, so I can get it over with sooner rather than later.” Niall spoke hesitantly, feeling himself sink further into his stool with dread washing over him. He has no idea what Deo is going to say, because there is bad news, and then there is bad news.

“Alright,” Deo shifted and grabbed his phone from the back pocket of his jeans, tapping along it for just a few seconds before looking up to meet Niall in the eyes again. “I got an email from Rolling Stone and they said they need the photos from your shoot sent to them by next week.”

Deo was already cringing, and now Niall was letting out a loud groan, hands flying to grip at his hair. This was bad news, because all his photoshoots planned for this week had to be cancelled because of this one stupid magazine company that couldn’t bare to wait for the photoshoot to come on the original date. But Niall couldn’t just let this go, Rolling Stone magazine was a huge company that gave Niall a jaw-dropping price for him to make this bloody shoot. If they wanted the photos to be sent earlier, then he will do it.

“So basically clear my entire schedule for this week then, move every shoot planned this week for the next. If anyone backs out because of that, just let them, I have no energy to fight.” He was pressing the heels of his palms against his eyelids, digging them harshly into the sockets enough to be a little painful.

“I knew you’d want me to do that, already done and settled. I’m just waiting for the people to get back to me.” Deo was truly an angel sent from heaven, already trying to lift the weights off his shoulders.

“Okay, tell me the good news now that that shit is out of the way.” He blinked rapidly as he moved his hands away from his eyes, the pressure from digging into them making soft black dots spot along his vision.

“The good news is that I have your model ready and set for you to see tomorrow, he’s from here in England, you should search him up to get a good understanding on what you’re working with.” Deo was giving him that look, almost like a cheeky smirk he was trying to hide and it made Niall want to slap it off. Whenever he worked with new models his mates including Deo had to be up his arse and pushing him to date one of them, but he’s officially boycotted models off his dating list.

“What’s his name?” Niall decided to ignore Deo’s wiggling brows and pout, instead moving to grab for his own phone in his pocket to go on google.

“Names Harry Styles, a new model in the business. You might know him off Youtube doing covers and such, done a couple pub gigs a few times around London.” As Deo explained, Niall tapped the name into the search bar. He kind of knew this Harry guy, has seen posters of his upcoming album being plastered along London and his Youtube videos sometimes get recommended to him whenever he goes online. But he’s never really looked into him, now he will have to.

And wow, is he ever attractive. The first couple pictures he’s seeing is him with a pearly white smile and charming grin with a pair of dimples poking out on the sides of his mouth. He’s got lush curly hair and smooth skin, definitely model material.

“Looks like your type.” Deo’s comment made Niall’s eyes roll hard into the back of his head, and he was still sitting across from him looking all happy and smug. It got on Niall’s nerves.

“Deo you knew damn well I refuse to date models, I’ve been down that road and I’m not making that mistake again.” He made sure to scold his cousin who was now looking a little guilty at being caught in the middle of his little act.

“Zayn was two years ago now mate, you should move on and find someone who’ll treat you right. You gotta realize not all models are like that.” Deo had a pleading tone, almost whining as he leaned over the table, desperately trying to get Niall’s attention. But Niall could hear him loud and clear, has heard this speech a million times from separate people, actually.

“I’ve been working with models all my life, I think I’d know them more than anyone. They know they’re pretty, they know people would die to be in a relationship with them. They also know they can have anyone they want, at any time. All are either cheaters or never would actually get in a serious relationship because they’d rather sleep around with different people every day.” Niall didn’t mean to rant, but the words were already tumbling out of his mouth.

Deo seemed to notice his distress though, realizing he hit a nerve with this topic. So he stayed quiet, only silently nodding before Niall was getting up and out of his seat to go and finish up the photoshoot.

-

Niall did his research on Harry Styles, listened to some of his covers, went on his website, looked through some photoshoots he’s done in the past. Now today is the day where he meets the lad, Niall already is set up in his apartment, waiting patiently with his starbucks coffee cupped in his hands to keep him company until there will be a knock at the door.

Harry isn’t really doing so well already though, Niall has specifically sent him an email saying he should come a little earlier than the time originally planned-which was 9am-so they could get him in wardrobe, but it’s almost 9 already and the lad hasn’t made his appearance.

All models decide to be fashionably late, that’s what Niall has made himself realize as well.

There’s a knock all of a sudden, just as he finishes his thought. Deo and Lou look up from their phones as they were slumped on his couch, now getting up to be in their places when Harry comes inside.

Niall makes his way towards the front door, looking in through the peephole to see a tall man standing in the doorway, and the curls gave it away.

“Hello,” Niall restrained himself from acting mean, feeling the frustration eat away at his insides just looking at this guys happy and innocent grin as if nothing happened, as if he didn’t do anything wrong. “You must be Harry Styles, pleasure to meet you.” He greeted as Harry moved his way inside and shrugged off his coat.

“Good morning, nice flat you have here.” Harry was looking around almost in awe, which made Niall want to raise his brow in confusion. This lad probably already had a mansion as his house at the fresh age of twenty-three, so why the hell is he gawking over a small two bedroom flat?

“Uh, thanks. Mind going straight to wardrobe where Lou is? She wants to get you dressed, makeup on, hair done. I emailed you saying you should come earlier but I guess it didn’t go through.” He played it all well, pretending he wasn’t boiling in anger as he pointed towards the stylist section of the flat. But Harry wasn’t budging from where he stood in front of him, now staring at Niall in confusion.

“Oh fuck, I totally forgot about that. I saw your email, read it over and everything, I’m sorry about that mate.” Harry moved a hand to pat at Niall’s shoulder, it had him even more shocked at this guys reactions to things, or how he dealt with being in a business like modelling. Usually models who walk through Niall’s door have no interest in him what-so-ever, and Niall doesn’t either. As long as they listen to his orders when they’re doing the shoot, he doesn’t care if they ignore him.

“Everything forgotten, I’ve moved on. Just get to wardrobe and we’ll start as soon as you’re all pampered up.” Niall gave Harry a tight smile, watching on as he turned to do what he said, greeting Lou with a charming smile and a handshake.

-

“Can you tilt your head to the left, yeah like that. Now can you put one leg forward, good.” It was almost dinner time when they were rapping up, Harry standing and posing for the camera looking like he was ready to have a good sleep just standing up. It was getting harder for Niall to give orders, and he had to take a deep breath so he didn’t get frustrated again.

“Okay that’s a wrap for today.” Niall lowered the camera, letting it dangle from the strap it was attached to from his neck so he could settle his hands on his hips. Lou was already escorting Harry back into the change room-aka Niall’s bathroom-giving Harry his clothes so he could change back into them.

“What a polite lad he is, isn’t he?” Deo’s voice came rising up from the surface of Niall’s cluttered mind and he looked over towards him, seeing his cousin with that similar cheeky smirk, but this time it not too obvious, more like he was just making a friendly point.

But Niall couldn’t just lie, Harry had been extremely well-behaved the whole shoot, even making conversation about random things, letting out jokes here and there. He was kind, not rude and anti-social like most of the models. And damn, he hated to admit that Deo might be right about this one, maybe Harry isn’t like the others, or more specifically, like Zayn.

“Yeah he’s nice, got manors and loves to chat.” Niall shrugged as if it was nothing, not really ready to give Deo the pleasure of knowing he was right. He moved towards his camera case, placing it inside so the lens didn’t get dusty.

“Would be a great guy to go out for a beer with…” Deo was doing it again, trying to slip in his matchmaking skills. But it was weird how Niall wasn’t as agitated as he used to be, maybe it was because Harry really was a guy he would love to date. But hell, he didn’t even know if this guy was in a relationship, or even gay.

“Deo, lay off yeah?” He turned to give his cousin a hot look, showing that he will get angry if this continues. “Besides I don’t even know if he’s gay, or with someone.”

Deo was smiling now, letting out a chuckle and was laughing softly for a good minute before he calmed down and looked back towards Niall. His grin was wider now, eyes shining with curiosity and excitement.

“Have you seen his Youtube videos? I guess you didn’t do good research on him after all, he’s a single man, and gay. He made a coming out video on Youtube and everything.” Deo was grabbing for his phone frantically, and was pressing on the Youtube app when the bathroom door opened, revealing Harry in the clothes he came with.

Deo slowly put his phone back, obviously realizing he couldn’t really show Niall the video at the moment.

“Same time tomorrow? Or do you want me to come earlier? I promise I won’t mess up next time.” Harry was looking at Niall with those mesmerizing green eyes, a small hint of a smile across his face like he was trying to calm the waters between them. Niall hated that he had greeted Harry so toughly this morning, he feels bad now.

“I know you won’t, just come earlier if you can that would be great.” Niall answered, walking Harry towards his door and opening it for him as he grabbed for his coat and put it on.

Before Harry took a foot out the door though, he turned towards Niall still holding that same loving smile as if he’s known Niall for years. “I’ll grab us some coffee tomorrow morning as well, as an apology.”

-

Harry had started get a little more warmed up towards Niall, because as the days past with their photoshoots Harry had started to get flirty. He’d always get them coffee, settle it down on Niall’s living room table before he’d shrug off his jacket. ‘Nialler’ was what Niall’s name turned into, and it was really bad how Niall would stay up later than he should thinking about this Harry Styles guy.

Today was the last day of shooting though, and today Deo was off picking some props up for Niall’s photoshoots for next week, and needed help from Lou who also needed to grab hair products and makeup from her shop. So here Niall was doing triple the amount of work than he expected to do, regretting leaving the raining flowers part of the shoot till the end.

He knew how to be flexible though, so he had set his camera on the tripod and put it to a ten second countdown for each shot that would be in three’s. It would take as many as Niall wanted until he’d have to go over to it himself to turn the camera off. So now he was able to stand on a chair outside of the camera’s lens, holding a bucket of pink flowers and ready to rain them down on Harry’s head.

“Okay it’s gonna beep ten times and then the camera will flash. Just get ready to make your pretty face when the camera hits ten beeps.” Niall got the bucket ready, hands fisting into the flowers and counting to nine before he starting to sprinkle them down onto Harry’s head. At ten, the camera flashed and took three photos.

“Lovely, I’ve got a couple handfuls left.” He grabbed for the flowers again, Harry nodding up at him and both of them waiting and counting the beeps until Niall repeated what he did before, letting the flowers gracefully flow down onto Harry’s hair and face.

Once he was done, he climbed down from the chair, and was about the move to turn the setting off the camera when he was pulled by the hips in the middle of the photoshoot. He yelped, dropping the bucket and was about to ask what the hell was happening when he suddenly felt lips on his, soft and plush and tasting sweet like mint.

The camera’s three flashes made them pull apart, and both of them were now just standing in each others holds, Niall blinking up in surprise at Harry who looked smug but also a bit shy with the way his cheeks were dusted with a blush.

“I needed to like, do that before I left cause you’re so, so handsome.” It was weird hearing that from a model, that he was handsome. It made Niall bite his bottom lip hard to stop himself from smiling, hands leaving from where they were gripping at Harry’s cheeks to fiddle with his shirt.

“Didn’t see that coming.” Niall chuckled out nervously, and Harry only smiled silently, staring at Niall like he hung the moon and every star in the sky one by one.

“That was my plan.” Harry answered, moving to step back and let his hands fall from Niall’s waist, but only to move them and grab for Niall’s fidgeting ones in his.

“Would love to see you again, I know the kiss was pretty forward but I wanted to make it obvious I don’t want to meet again as just friends or…photographer and model.” Niall’s heartbeat grew louder and faster in his chest, hearing Harry say these things made him rethink all the thoughts he had about models, everything turning onto its head.

“Yeah, I mean yeah of course I’d love to.” Harry pulled Niall in back towards his chest at Niall’s answer, both holding each other surrounded by pink flowers, not caring the camera was still flashing.

It was after Harry left, when Niall was looking through the photos on his laptop, when he came across the photos of him and Harry kissing. Flowers were stuck in Harry’s curls and along his shoulders, Niall’s hands wrapped tightly along his neck.

[auburnfamilynews]

Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Some of us are starting to admit there might be a real need for change.

Well, we lost to Georgia yesterday, and for all of the reasons that it normally sucks, this one sucks even more because it seems as if some of us have realized that major changes are needed after trying to hold off on that talk for quite some time.

SNAP JUDGMENTS

I feel like the staff here at College and Mag has been some of Gus’s biggest supporters over the last two years. I think most of us are off now. The players executed well *enough* to keep this game close, but it’s clear we are a in a purgatory of being better than most of the conference but definitively less talented than the elites. It’s frustrating, because Gus deserves a ton of credit for turning Auburn into a consistent top 15 team. But there are clear, definitive decisions you can point to that have kept Auburn from getting over the hump. Tonight, the timeout before half was the backbreaker. Absolutely inexcusable. In the larger scheme, it’s mind-boggling that the guy who championed a unique, specific offense refuses to run it until his back is against the wall. At that point, it’s too late. I don’t know guys. I love this team and the players on it. But the relationship between Gus and the alumni/fan base is beyond repair. I wish him all the best, but I don’t think it will be here.

Time to go drink.

-Ryan Sterritt

We didn’t play well enough to win, and yet these ******* ****s get every ******* call again. Big surprise.

-James Jones

We can gripe about the officiating and it was highly suspect at the end but you can’t get into a 21-0 hole at home and expect to win. The two key plays I’ll remember from this game are Gus sending Anders out to attempt a FG on the first drive when he was going to go for it which turned into 0 points. And second, with the offense doing nothing, he calls a timeout that gave Georgia’s offense some time to go down the field and score right before half. Our defense forced NINE 3 and outs!! As usual, they played their tails off and have nothing to show for it.

I thought this was a game Gus had to win and I’ve defended Gus for a long time but I don’t think I can do that anymore. It’s gonna be a longgg few weeks on the Plains.

On the plus side, Bruce and basketball are 4-0 on the court and getting it done in recruiting! Welcome Chris Moore!

-Will McLaughlin

Time for some soul searching, folks.

-Josh Dub

I dunno man, this sport has way too high of stakes. Wish I didn’t care so much about it. Georgia shouldn’t feel good about this, but they should feel better than us.

-Son of Crow

I am damn proud of the players on this football team. They ain’t perfect. Bo Nix isn’t yet good enough to beat the best teams in the country but he’s showing more & more flashes every chance. Boobee Whitlow fights his butt off on every carry. Seth Williams was THAT DUDE tonight. Every single player on that defense should pay for nothing the rest of their lives in the city of Auburn. There’s a lot of special football players but more importantly special people in that locker room. They have my full support & I will be cheering my ass off for them in Jordan-Hare in a couple of weeks.

But they deserve better. Not every failed play is Gus Malzahn’s fault but the trend has been there for too long. For the 4th straight year AU has been good enough on the defensive side of the ball to play with anyone. Consistently the point of failure has been Malzahn’s offense. His scheme is predicated on running the football yet he’s built a program better fit for the Air Raid. The biggest flaws upon his resume isn’t what he’s done against Bama like the national media wanna say. It’s what he’s done against UGA & LSU.

2015 UGA

2016 UGA

2017 LSU

2017 UGA SEC Championship

2018 LSU

2019 UGA

Win half of those games & I can be bummed about tonight but still on the bus. But he didn’t. He continually loses against any team with remotely similar talent. Winning on the road against top team is hard but you better at least protect your own house. He’s not doing that.

I like Gus Malzahn. I still think there’s a good coach inside there. I WANT him to be a success because that’s what’s best for Auburn. But we are 7 years in now with the same consistent afflictions. We are ramming our head against the same ceiling. Making a change is risky & could set the program back but not making a change traps AU in purgatory.

I hopped off the bus after Tennessee in 2018 but hoped I would see an opportunity to hop back on board. Tonight felt like the final blow, at least to me. Maybe AU comes out & takes down Bama in 2 weeks vs a backup QB. Maybe they get the bowl win & finish with 10 wins. That would be awesome! I would love that. But right now, on November 16, 2019, count me as one of those who is done with the Malzahn era

-AU Nerd

You can’t call that timeout before the half knowing the opposition gets the ball to start the second half. They looked completely fine with going to the locker room and making adjustments, but if you’re willing to roll the dice, so were they. The game turned when Georgia went up 14-0. Our defense played outstanding and deserves so much better than 3 losses at this point in the season. Our offense was so out of sorts for 3+ quarters that we get routed without their effort. Derrick and Marlon laid their guts on the line and came away empty handed. And their ain’t a damn thing they can do about it but go on out there and lay them on the line again. And again. And again. But man, what a discouraging feeling to know Georgia crossed our 40 yard line 3 times and we crossed theirs 7 and we muster 14 points in a touchdown loss. People with much more authority, influence, and money have got some hard things to look at. And no matter my disagreements and/or agreements, we can all see this coming. Steve Spurrier I think said it best when he left Florida that you tend to lose 10% of your fanbase with each year you’re at a school. Well we’ve seen this for 10 years total now and I think that statement has at least some truth to it.

This team is capable of beating Alabama in 2 weeks because this defense is too good and has too much pride to do anything but leave it all on the field. But the optics of this, with a flurry at the end, are only something to build upon when it’s your first year in Baton Rouge and you wonder what might’ve been if you had another 15 minutes. In year 7, it’s showing a real crack in the foundation. At least one side of the football has been broken for the better part of 10 years, with some wild success and major failings included along the way. But the feeling of seeing the defensive side build something consistently for 4 straight seasons and to come away with your _best_ season to date in that time frame netting you 4 losses is something I’m not willing to be OK with.

Auburn should’ve been a playoff team at least once since 2014. They should be on their way to at least 1 more division title. They should have at least 1 more conference title. Instead we’re regulated to a postseason destination that’s nothing more than hopefully a reward to somewhere warm for a group that has fought their guts out and deserves to have some fun, but a trip that will ultimately mean nothing meaningful, and be a source of contention.

I’ve never thought this was a year where Auburn would make a coaching change for the sheer size of the buyout. I still believe that. What I’ve hoped is that we could do enough to calm the waters in 2020, when you essentially replace both sides of the line of scrimmage. Maybe there is enough by beating Alabama in 2 weeks. Maybe not. But as we move forward, I think it’s a fair question to ask ourselves what the expectation is at Auburn. At Alabama it is to win national championships. At Georgia it is now to just win 1. At LSU it was to beat Alabama and get back to a competitive standing in the SEC every year. What about us? What do we expect? Because I think it depends on who you ask, and if we can ever get on the same page with that answer I think it will help us all figure out what we need to do to get there.

-Josh Black

I’ve been one of the ones that wanted to keep Gus Malzahn for multiple reasons. He’s never missed a bowl. None of his predecessors can say that. He was the architect of an offense that got us to two national championship games. None of his predecessors can say that. For the most part, we’ve been in most games that we’ve played while he’s been at Auburn. Getting blown out is, by and large, a thing of the past. Is that a direct result of his offense or the other elements around the team? It’s tough to tell. The last four years, Kevin Steele’s defense has been a huge part of that, but Gus hired him. He made a great decision there.

However, were his successes on offense in 2010 and 2013 due to the guys who we’ll come to cherish more and more as time passes? Cam Newton was the best college football player I ever saw, and Nick Marshall was perhaps the perfect zone read quarterback. Did Gus benefit from them more than they benefitted from him? In hindsight it seems like a yes.

As for the game itself, we got screwed in some aspects — the missed facemask on the last drive that would’ve given us a first down and momentum, the Seth Williams overturn, the onside kick — but maybe we shouldn’t have waited three-plus quarters to start playing offense. That’s on Gus. I still don’t really know what our gameplan was, and I don’t know what it was in Gainesville or Baton Rouge either. For a season in which Gus bet on himself, there needed to be some wild stuff happening on that side of the ball and we just haven’t seen it. It’s really hard for me and others to rationalize why the innovator of the HUNH doesn’t want to run it until he has to, and then it’s successful. Why won’t that work earlier? There’s no real answer.

Maybe it is time to move on. At this point it’s probably best since the trust factor between Gus and the fanbase is gone. It sucks, because we’re obviously griping about a season in which we’re 7-3 with losses to two teams currently in the Playoff top four, and another top ten team at their place. What will satisfy us? For this season at least, a win over Bama and the promise of something more in the future.

-Jack Condon

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/17/20968999/snap-judgments-4-georgia-21-12-auburn-14

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Owarimonogatari Season 2 [Hitagi Rendezvous]

OK I meant to watch this like a week ago but that didn’t happen for a variety of reasons. Oh well. Hopefully I can get Ougi Dark done tomorrow to finish this off completely.

Anyway, thoughts under the cut.

PART ONE:

First of all, A+ for that Araragi shower scene at the start. Just gonna lay that one out there. 

His whole internal monologue at the start was really good. It’s nice to see him growing as a person and being able to do some self-reflection. I can really relate to the whole point about fearing love because you don’t want to change or be changed, and because falling in love makes you vulnerable in general. That’s basically how I currently feel on the subject.

I was incredibly excited to see Senjougahara again, and she didn’t disappoint. I get why she stopped showing up as much after she and Araragi hooked up, but it’s still nice to see her. I still love the way they interact. Considering how I’ve technically been following the series for 3+ years now, their relationship feels weirdly . . . nostalgic to me, to seeing them just be cute together gives me a whole lot of warm fuzzies. And seeing them both grow up as people and head into their adult lives has an almost bittersweet but still heartwarming feeling to it, when you’ve been watching them from their first meeting. But even though they’ve grown as people, they’re still the sort of couple to have a lengthy back-and-forth about the concept of having wanting to go on a date, so I guess some things will never change. Which I’m happy for.

I honestly almost forgot that Yotsugi is living with Araragi and his family now. That must be an awkward arrangement in general, especially since she has to pretend to be a doll whenever any of Araragi’s family members see her. I guess he’s just gonna have to live with the fact that she’s going to be hanging out with him for the rest of his life, lol. I’m also pretty happy to see Yotsugi again. She’s always been a favourite of mine. I know why other people dislike her, but something about her just appeals to me. I love her design and personality, and how much she does not at all fit with most of the cast. She’s just this bizarre little character that sticks out like a sore thumb and it works really well.

I’m glad that Yotsugi spelled out that Kiss-Shot has indeed fully revived now that Araragi has lost his vampire powers, since I wasn’t clear on that. I think a lot of my confusion stemmed from how when we saw her at the end of Mayoi Hell, the light flickering effect made me think it was meant to seem like an unstable hologram effect, which made it seem like she wasn’t fully back to her old form. But after reading some of the comments about the last arc, it clicked in my head that the flickering was probably meant to look like camera flashes at a modeling event, which makes sense given how she was definitely meant to look like a runway model in that scene. Anyway, I’m kinda curious to see what the heck a meeting between her and Gaen would even play out like. It’s hard to imagine.

Also I’m still unsure what’s going on with Kagenui and if that’s ever going to be explained or followed up on. I THINK she’s just literally dead, but I’m not sure.

Whenever either of Araragi’s sisters enters a scene I kinda reflexively brace myself, because let’s face it there’s not a whole lot to their characters outside of incest jokes, and the incest jokes are like the worst part of the entire series outside of the whole issue of how the series treats young girls in general which I’m not gonna touch right now. But thankfully the scene was totally fine. It was actually really nice to see Tsukihi just being a cute, supportive little sister.

I’m pretty sure I’d heard about this part of the scene in advance, but it was really nice getting an update on Nadeko’s situation. I’m happy that she’s out of the hospital and about to get back to her usual life. Hopefully she can stay far away from Araragi and just do her own thing. She’s still one of my favourite characters in the series and I just want her to be happy. To be honest like half the reason I want Shaft to adapt Off Season sooner rather than later is because I want to finally see what happens in Nademonogatari. A whole book about Nadeko post-Koi sounds like exactly my sort of thing.

Araragi getting incredibly surprised by Senjougahara being able to drive now was pretty hilarious to see. And I also wasn’t really expecting the detail that before he lost his vampire powers he wouldn’t have been able to get a driver’s license himself since he can’t appear in photos. I know that that’s come up before in the story, but I kinda forgot about it. I wonder how he’s managed to avoid getting found out, since things like that are pretty major indications that there’s something weird and supernatural going on with you.

Getting an update on Hanekawa was also good. I hope we see her again in Ougi Dark. I kinda miss her. I’m curious to learn about her adventures in trying to track down Oshino, which is also why I’m really happy that that’s apparently what an entire arc in Wazamonogatari is about.

This whole date between Araragi and Senjougahara is definitely reminiscent of their date in episode 12 of Bake, which makes me really wish I had have gotten around to rewatching that before this. It’s the next thing I have slated for my rewatch. Oh well. I at least remember how it goes so that’s what matters. I like the bookending feel that it has, to make their date here be about stars as well.

I wasn’t really expecting Senjougahara to be working toward studying space in college, but I guess it makes sense. It was really nice seeing her talk about something that she’s passionate about studying and pursuing as a career. It’s a side of her we don’t see much.

That was a pretty ominous little stinger there at the end, with Senjougahara saying that star maps look more like ougis than squares. Not sure if that’ll mean anything for the remainder of this arc, though.

PART TWO:

Welp, we immediately went into a whole dream sequence with Ougi so I guess the stinger was kinda immediately relevant. Welp.

I often forget to comment on the visual elements of the series, which is kinda weird since the visuals are one of my favourite aspects of the series, so I just wanna say here that the visuals in this whole scene were great. I love the space aesthetic, the harsh lighting across part of Araragi’s face while the rest of him is pitch black, and of course Ougi is her own visual presence in every scene she’s in. Watching her in action is always great, even though I tend to have trouble following what she talks about.

I’m not sure if the discussion about constellations will be very relevant, but it was interesting. It was kinda funny seeing them talk about the Southern hemisphere as a foreign place, considering that that’s where I live :V

I was definitely a bit lost during the entire conversation about what it means to be ‘right’ and how some people pursue a righteous identity by not doing the right thing. But it obviously was meant to tie into Ougi’s whole deal about returning things to zero, and punishing people who step outside of their bounds. I hadn’t really thought about it, but it makes sense that Gaen would face some sort of punishment for what she did. Even I, at the time, thought it all seemed too perfect.

I’m excited to finally learn what Ougi’s deal is, in the next arc. I think I already know the answer though, due to some spoilers I’ve read. It’s not a big deal, though. If I’m right about it, then it’s something I already figured was probably the case. 

The whole date between Araragi and Senjougahara was amazing and adorable. I just love seeing these two together. It’s great. I love how we got to see Senjougahara’s more petty side when she kept losing at random games to Araragi. In general I like the little moments that show off how she’s just a regular person who isn’t perfect at everything, and can get kinda over-dramatic about stuff. I also liked the little detail that they were singing different OP songs from the series at the karaoke bar. I kinda wish we got to actually hear them sing. Oh well.

Their little chat at the cafe about Gaen was pretty interesting, and kinda reaffirmed why I don’t really trust Gaen at all. She seems like exactly the sort of person who will be opposed to Araragi either now or in the future. It’s making me a little worried about how the next arc will go.

I loved their whole scene in the car together by the sea. For one thing, the whole seaside twilight setting was incredibly beautiful in it’s own right, and the music was really nice. It was another one of the scenes that really shows how Senjougahara is kinda insecure and sorta needy as a person, and her whole sort of sadistic obsession with making Araragi be obedient to her is mostly a reflection of her loneliness and her desire to be loved. She doesn’t really know how to express her feelings in a straight-forward way 99% of the time, but that’s part of her charm. It was really sweet that her first request of him after he said that he’s swear absolute obedience to her for the rest of his life was to have him call her by her first name. Though, like always, the whole first name basis thing in Japanese culture is still sorta strange to me. The fact that even after being a couple for so long they’ve only been calling each other by their last names to this point is weird to consider. But I’m happy that they achieved this little milestone.

To be honest I can’t really explain why I like their relationship so much. Or, more accurately, I can’t really explain why I like their relationship in particular when there’s so many similar relationships out there in media that I really dislike. I just like these two a lot. Part of it’s almost definitely the vague sense of nostalgia that I mentioned before. I’ve been following these two characters for ages now, so I can’t help but be attached to them.

Now I really want to continue my rewatch of Bake so I can watch the starry night scene again, but I probably won’t have the time for that for a while.

The ED was nice. I’m a little sad that there effectively wasn’t much of any new footage in it, but I quite like the trip down memory lane, of seeing all the previous EDs. For some reason I always forget about them, even though I really like all of them. I love how consistently they stick to using Hajime Ueda’s style in them. I’d say that it makes them memorable, but I guess that’d be a bit hypocritical to say.

Well that sure was an ominous as hell end to the arc. Ougi really knows how to be threatening. It’s still hard to tell exactly what the extent of her goals in all this are. I’m happy that Araragi isn’t willing to forsake Shinobu and Hachikuji, though.

It really feels like we’re setting up for a final battle here, but knowing how this series goes, I doubt it’ll be a conventional battle.

I’ll try and watch Ougi Dark tomorrow, but no promises there.

[lady-divine-writes]

Kurtbastian fic - “Beside Myself: Chapter 4 - You (and You and You) and Me Make Things Complicated” (Rated NC17)

Kurt has been kind of stalking a man for weeks, going to the same mediocre cafe every day just to have lunch in his presence. It starts out as harmless - crushing on a guy that reminds him of his boyfriend - until Kurt starts to feel guilty. Right when he decides that leaving is the right thing to do, something unexpected happens.

Glee/The Flash sort of crossover (5554 words for this chapter)

Chapter 1 - Caught in the Act

Chapter 2 - Plot Twist

Chapter 3 - A Freudian Black Hole

Read on AO3.

“So, you’re sure you’re okay with this?” Barry asks as he and Carson walk hand in hand to the hotel behind Kurt and Sebastian, who can’t seem to keep their hands off one another. Carson isn’t a fan of PDA. He doesn’t understand the appeal behind feeling someone up and swapping spit in front of God and country. It’s tacky, it’s gross, and it makes everyone by and large uncomfortable.

But watching Kurt and Sebastian make-out like this fascinates him. It’s not that they don’t care who may or may not be watching (though they probably don’t), it’s as if no one else exists when they’re together. They’re not putting on a show for attention; they’re just that much in lust, but a lust bred from love. In fact, Carson is pretty sure that he and Barry could bow out right now and the two men in front of them would be none the wiser. They’d go up to Sebastian’s rented room and make love, high on each other and the simple suggestion of a foursome.

Carson would like to believe he has something similar with Barry (not as steeped in performance art, but similar). But watching Kurt and Sebastian, he doesn’t think they do. Not even close. It’s something Carson never thought he might envy before he saw these two men together.

Carson wants to see if he can siphon a little bit of that spirit from them.

“Yes, I’m okay with this,” Carson says, so tightly his voice almost changes pitch. “Could you please stop asking me?”

“I just want to make sure you’ll be able to handle it.”

“Handle it?” Carson scoffs. “Barry, please. I’ve been stuck in the middle of a gun battle in Yemen, narrowly missed mortar fire in Iraq, took photos of an epic crash at the Indy 500 from the track, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Barry says with a hard swallow. He doesn’t particularly like to be reminded of Carson’s reckless streak.

“I think I can handle an orgy.”

“I’m not sure. This is different.”

“I fail to see how it is.”

“You do those other things because it’s part of your job, but you take risks because you think you’re invincible.”

“I am invincible,” Carson says, conceited. “I’ve escaped death more than once. I’m considering adding that to my resume.”

“But this isn’t about putting your life on the line. This is about your heart … and mine.” Barry runs a thumb over Carson’s knuckles – as affectionate in public as they dare get. “You don’t have to do this for me. I’ll understand if you say no.”

“I know that,” Carson says, conflicted. This seems like an easy out. Should he take it? Would Barry end up resenting him if he did? Would Carson resent himself in the long run? “But maybe I’m doing this for me.”

Barry slows their pace a step to look at his boyfriend, his expression of perplexed, concerned, and sweet part of everything Carson loves about him. “Are you doing this for you?”

“Yes,” Carson says, definitively, decidedly – he thinks. He’s 89% sure. “I am. I swear.”

Barry lets the subject drop, but only for about three seconds before he picks it back up again. “Just so you know, it’s never too late to back out. Even when we’re in the middle of it, I’m totally okay with …”

“Look, Barry. Do you want to talk me out of this, or do you want to do this?”

“Alright,” Barry says, but with a healthy bit of skepticism. This acquiescence seems out of character for Carson. He’s usually so competitive, and territorial when it comes to their relationship. Anyone who so much as looks at Barry can expect Carson’s bitch glare aimed their way, burning a hole into their skull.

Barry speeds up again, catching up with Kurt and Sebastian as they reach the opposite sidewalk.

“Out of curiosity, what were you and Sebastian talking about for so long anyway? You know, before you came over and swallowed Kurt’s tonsils,” Carson asks after they cross the street to the hotel and all of this begins to get very real.

“We were talking about decisions,” Barry says, squeezing Carson’s hand. “Which ones I wanted to make, which ones I thought you’d be okay with …” Which ones I thought I could live with …

Sebastian must have called ahead at some point, or he has a room permanently on retainer, because he goes straight to the concierge’s desk, scans a screen loaded on his iPhone, and the lady behind the desk hands him a key card. It takes less than two minutes. Jesus Christ! It took Carson nearly forty-five minutes to check-in to his single room at the Holiday Inn last time he traveled, and a good thirty minutes of that time had to do with a discrepancy concerning his passport.

Carson’s passport had been charred during an accident back in high school. He should just get it replaced and bypass all the bullshit it causes, but he’s kind of fond of it that way.

The four of them catch the elevator the second its doors open to let a handful of visitors out on the lobby level. Sebastian slams the close door button before anyone else can get on, giving one surprised businessman a shrug when the doors close in his face and no one makes a move to hold it for him.

Sebastian immediately pulls Kurt into his arms and starts kissing him again, one hand latching on to his right butt cheek and squeezing till the fabric of his pants crease, while Kurt loops his arms around Sebastian’s neck and nearly winds his legs around his waist. They whisper and giggle, trade I love yous and carry on like hormonally charged teenagers. Barry can’t help chuckling at the two of them. He doesn’t think he’s ever been as eager to get at someone before in his life the way they seem to want to get at each other. The majority of what he feels in his stomach now is nervous butterflies. He envies their ability to throw caution to the wind and express that kind of affection, no holds barred.

Barry turns to Carson to see if he might want a kiss, a hug, a hand to hold, but he’s looking at his phone, rearranging meetings and answering texts (from what Barry can tell). It dawns on Barry that he should be doing the same, letting someone at the department know that he’s taking an extended lunch break. Carson’s the practical one, making sure that all of his loose ends are tied and his q’s curled before he does something spontaneous.

He could also be hiding how uncomfortable he is behind menial tasks that make him feel in control, but that doesn’t make what he’s doing any less intelligent.

Barry would ask which, but it seems clear from their conversation on the street that Carson’s not telling.

The elevator stops and they step off. Barry and Carson follow yet again as Kurt and Sebastian basically wrestle one another down the hallway to the room. In an impressive move, Sebastian sticks the key card in the slot and opens the door without even breaking Kurt’s kiss. Barry gets the impression that the two of them have been in this situation before – so caught up in kissing one another that things like riding in elevators and opening doors become completely secondary, and they’ve learned to do them without having to pay attention.

Behind closed doors, things change.

The atmosphere in the hotel room is drastically different compared to the walk over. Walking from the deli to the hotel, Carson had an excuse not to participate in any heavy petting, but here, things will be expected of him. He just doesn’t know how they’ll proceed. It’s not something they stopped to talk about. Carson assumed they would start out in pairs, both couples beginning with what was familiar and then adding to the other group as time went on. But Sebastian seems to declare himself the leader. He undoes Kurt’s fly, then takes Barry’s hand and shoves it down the front of Kurt’s pants while Sebastian kisses Barry’s neck. Barry strokes, and Kurt attacks Barry’s lips. Sebastian splits his time between undressing Kurt and undressing Barry while simultaneously leading the entire entourage over to the bed.

When Barry’s mouth isn’t on Kurt’s, Sebastian’s mouth is. Barry and Sebastian trade-off who kisses Kurt, who undresses Kurt, who strokes Kurt. Sooner than Cason thought, the focus becomes Kurt. Because Sebastian wants Kurt, that’s more than obvious, but so does Barry. Kurt, in the middle of receiving this body worship, reaches out for Carson, but Carson slides away, hoping Barry will reach for him instead, which he does, but then Carson finds himself shrinking from his touch when Barry gets on his knees and sucks Kurt’s cock into his mouth. Carson hadn’t prepared for that. He had envisioned Barry fucking Kurt. He had envisioned Barry fucking Sebastian. He had envisioned some combination of both. But this seems too intimate to Carson. The sound Kurt makes when Barry begins to bob, along with his choked off, “Barry!” swallowed by Sebastian’s grinning mouth, is unequalled by any sound made during any sex act that Carson has ever been a participant of. Eventually, Carson edges himself out of the equation with his pants and half of his shirt unbuttoned, while the three naked men, Carson’s boyfriend included, writhe on the king-size bed – Barry on top of Kurt and Sebastian moving behind Barry, until they become a blur of flesh and moans.

Carson thought he would be okay with this. He honestly did. He talked a good game, even to himself, but he really isn’t. Not with the reality of his boyfriend and another man who looks like his boyfriend pleasuring a man who looks like him … but isn’t him. Seeing it with his own eyes in real life is paralyzing.

And not because Carson is jealous.

Of all the people in the world that Barry finally looked at sideways since he and Carson had started dating, Barry chose a man who looks just like him, so that has to say something.

Except that’s where the similarities stop.

Kurt isn’t like Carson.

Kurt is polished, sophisticated, dresses infinitely better, wears expensive cologne and, Carson suspects, makeup to cover up his flaws (if he has any). Kurt worries about things like skincare, diet, manicures, and the cut of his clothes. His life doesn’t surround politics, riots, military movements, coups, and last minute trips to places where you have to live out of one bag, carry your own biodegradable toilet paper, and can’t drink the water or you’ll die.

Kurt is the kind of man Barry could come home to after a long day, go to sleep next to every night without worrying about his cell phone ringing, meet for quickies at lunch time, and take to the CCPD’s Annual Christmas Gala. Carson has had to miss the last three. After this last time, Barry joked that the guys at CCPD didn’t believe that Barry actually had a date. Barry was teasing, but Carson could tell that it bothered him.

Imagine Barry walking into the ballroom of the Silver Ages Tower with Kurt on his arm?

What if Kurt is what Barry wants? Someone like Carson, yes, but different?

Kurt reminds Carson of Iris, the woman that Barry had been in love with his entire life until she fell in love with and got engaged to someone else. Shortly after Barry decided to give up on love altogether and focus on work, he and Carson met, and something clicked - a spark that grew so bright between them that it couldn’t be ignored.

But regardless of that spark, and how hot it got when they were together, Carson always felt like a rebound, that there was someone else in the world that Barry might like better.

What if he was half right?

Carson becomes so lost in that thought that he backs himself into a corner, partially staring, but mainly contemplating, so he doesn’t notice Sebastian leave the group and come his way.

“Are you going to get in on this? Or do you plan on remaining a wallflower?” he asks. Carson gives him and the others a cursory glance. From around Sebastian’s naked (and visibly aroused) body, Carson catches a glimpse of Kurt lying on his back with Barry hovering over him, sliding inside him slowly.

Carson’s eyes spring open. Well, that escalated quickly, now didn’t it?

When Carson doesn’t answer, Sebastian sighs. “Look, you sulking in the corner is kind of getting creepy. We all want you to join in. But if you’re not down for sex, we can compromise. You’re a journalist, right? I’ll lend you my iPhone, and you can take some pictures.”

“What do you care if I join in or not?” Carson’s eyes dart away from the visual of Barry climbing on top of Kurt and Kurt arching his back, eyes shut, face already orgasmic. “More for you, right?”

“Well, jeez, Carson” – Sebastian rolls his eyes – “if you’d told us you’re man-strating, we would have waited out the week.”

Carson laughs dryly. “You have quite the way with words, Mr. Smythe. Must be why Kurt loves you so much.”

“One of the many reasons,” Sebastian kids. “But seriously, you’re missing out on all the fun with your boy Barry.”

“Really? Because it doesn’t look like Barry’s missing me much.”

“Oh yeah?” Sebastian chuckles. “Well, he’s called Kurt Carson twice already.”

“It doesn’t look like Kurt minds.” Carson is about to check, but decides he really doesn’t want to. Talking to Sebastian, even naked Sebastian, feels safer than watching what’s going on over on the bed. “It doesn’t look like you mind, either.”

“We don’t mind because this is just sex,” Sebastian says. “It’s not love. That’s what this was supposed to be about, right? Why are you sitting out on a once in a lifetime opportunity to literally fuck yourself?” Sebastian takes a few steps forward, the expression on his face more understanding than before, when he was all snarky remarks and jabs. Maybe it’s a side-effect of being nude and slightly vulnerable, but he seems genuinely curious to find out what might be wrong.

Carson centers his gaze on the ceiling, trying to ignore the soft gasps across the room. “What if … what if Barry starts liking Kurt … more than he likes me?

“Why would he? I mean, the two of you might look the same, but you’re you. He fell in love with you. And regardless of finding someone who looks like you, there’s only one you, Carson.” Sebastian leans his back against the wall next to Carson. With an unobstructed view, Carson watches Barry drop his head to Kurt’s shoulder - in frustration, maybe? Embarrassment? Kurt whispers something, and Barry nods, a shy smile twitching his lips. Then Barry whispers something back, and Kurt laughs, full and honest. They look like they’re enjoying themselves, enjoying one another … and Carson hates it. Sebastian, on the other hand, looks on with a fond smile, and so much love in his eyes that Carson would think Sebastian is watching himself on the bed with Kurt and not someone who looks like him. “You know, statistics say that there’s actually six or seven lookalikes for every person on earth, you’re just unlikely to find them. So, there are other people that look like you in the world aside from Kurt. Is Barry going to run off with all of them? Is Barry going to fuck all of them if he finds them? Not likely. Besides, if your little Barry wants my Kurt, he’s going to have to go through me to get to him, and cop or no, he’s going to be in for one hell of a fight.”

Carson barks a laughs at the conviction in that statement. Even if Barry wanted a relationship with Kurt, Sebastian wouldn’t let the man go without a fight.

“I guess,” Carson says, noticing Barry peek over when he laughs.

“Look,” Sebastian says, “Kurt and I didn’t intend for this to cause bad feelings. We thought you were down or we wouldn’t have agreed. We’re not going to push. If you want to leave right now, you can. No one’s keeping you here.”

Carson shrugs a shoulder. “I couldn’t leave without Barry, and I’m sure that he wants to stay.”

Sebastian seems stunned by that remark. “What? You think he’d stay here without you?” Carson doesn’t answer. Didn’t Barry say it didn’t matter what point they were at in this, if Carson wanted to go, they’d go? Carson doesn’t want to admit that he doesn’t believe Barry would leave – not now. Not when he’s this far in with a gorgeous man. Not when it looks like he’s having the time of his life. Carson doesn’t want to be the person who interrupts that.

Carson’s silence is Sebastian’s answer. He shakes his head. “I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but he only wants you.” Carson sputters another laugh and turns his face away. “He’d go with you,” Sebastian insists. “Right now. No questions asked.”

“Yeah. Right.”

“You don’t have much faith in your man.”

“How do you suddenly know so much about what Barry would and wouldn’t do?”

“Because he told me. Duh. Literally a second before I walked over here. And I believe him.” Sebastian waits for his words to sink in, for Carson to have a Eureka! moment and change his tune, but that moment doesn’t come. “Look, hang in the corner if you want, but this is getting hot, and my boyfriend needs to be kissed.”

Sebastian pushes off the wall and heads back to the bed. Carson watches it play out: Sebastian’s eyes lock on to Kurt as if he were the only other person in the room. He struts over to his boyfriend lying on the bed, being steadily fucked by Barry, stroking his erection back to hard. Kurt smiles at Sebastian and only Sebastian, licks his lips when he sees Sebastian’s cock in his hand. Kurt’s eyes glow with an intensity that belongs to Sebastian. Sebastian kneels down beside the bed and murmurs in Kurt’s ear, then he claims Kurt’s mouth. Carson watches Kurt rise up to meet him, sees how absolutely in love the two of them are. Barry may be there, he may be in as intimate a position with Kurt as any human being can be, but that doesn’t seem to matter. It adds to the experience of Kurt and Sebastian together; it doesn’t take anything away.

Barry may look like Sebastian, but he’s not Sebastian.

And Sebastian is in love with Kurt.

Just like Barry, cock buried deep inside this other man, is in love with Carson. He has his head turned, staring at Carson with lust blown eyes, silently begging for Carson’s mouth on his. And Carson wants to give that to him. But not yet. That’s not entirely what this experience is about.

“Sebastian?” Carson calls, interrupting his and Kurt’s kiss. “Sebastian, can you … can you come here, please?”

Sebastian turns to Barry, eyebrows raised, as if he expected Carson to call him back, like he was waiting for it. That’s obnoxious. Barry would never do something like that. Even if he anticipated Carson’s next move, he’d have the decency to look surprised.

“Why?” Sebastian asks, pulling away from a whimpering Kurt and heading back to Carson’s corner of the room. “What’s up?”

Carson lifts his hands to his shirt and starts unbuttoning it the rest of the way, emboldened when Sebastian’s eyes follow. Carson takes the shirt off and tosses it in the corner. Sebastian looks Carson over, outlines his bare torso with his hungry gaze. He licks his lips, and Carson’s mouth goes dry.

“Would you ... kiss me?” Carson feels stupid asking this, as if Sebastian’s going to say no. Sebastian’s proven he’s a decent guy … for a pervert.

Sebastian smirks. A desire lights his eyes that Carson would have never expected.

“My pleasure.” Sebastian takes the last two steps towards Carson with a sensual confidence that Carson can’t help finding extremely sexy. He expects Sebastian to grab him by the shoulders and kiss him hard, maybe painfully, but he doesn’t. Sebastian takes his time. He wraps an arm around Carson’s waist, then another. He runs fingertips up Carson’s spine until his hand cradles the back of his head, drawing Carson’s gaze to Sebastian’s eyes – green eyes that look like Barry’s from a distance, but up close are distinct. Sebastian’s eyes carry flecks of gold, where Barry’s eyes are more grounded in one color, but in a variety of hues. Sebastian’s eyes smolder where Barry’s eyes simmer. Sebastian’s eyes go from green to black in almost an instant whereas Barry’s take a while to get there. Sebastian removes Carson’s glasses carefully and sets them on a nearby table. He looks from Carson’s eyes, probably noting similar differences between him and Kurt, down to his mouth, then slowly back up to his eyes again before he kisses him.

There’s a part of Carson whose first instinct is to rebel at having another man’s mouth on his, but he tries his best to relax. After a second, he’s not trying anymore. He’s doing – holding tight to Sebastian’s shoulders, wrapping a leg around his, kissing him back. He doesn’t feel Sebastian move him, held captive by this kiss; doesn’t register being picked up and walked over to the bed to join the other two.

Sebastian lays Carson out on the bed a short distance from Kurt and Barry.

Barry whispers something to Kurt, and Kurt enthusiastically agrees.

“Top or bottom, Carson?” Sebastian asks, undoing the button to Carson’s pants.

“Bottom,” Carson says.

“On your hands or on your back?”

“Back.”

Sebastian smiles. He looks surprisingly bashful, but still very little like Barry. “Are you just picking the second choice I give you - yes or no?”

“No.” Carson chuckles. “I just …” He wants to mirror what Kurt and Barry are doing. He wants to picture himself in Kurt’s place, being fucked by Barry with that new blue electricity dancing in his eyes. “I want it this way.”

“Mmm, he’s usually on top,” Barry moans. “Maybe he wants to try something different.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sebastian leans low over Carson and Carson closes his eyes. He abandons himself to feel - Sebastian’s lips roaming his body, down his chest to lick his nipples, skimming his abs to reach his cock. Carson hears shuffling, things being moved around on the bed, then he feels Sebastian’s lubed fingers search the crack of his ass. Sebastian’s lips encircle his head, taking it into his mouth in slow centimeters, a gently tortuous switch off of lick and suck that wipes Carson’s brain, and his anxiety, away.

“Oh God,” Carson moans, reaching down with trembling hands to touch Sebastian’s hair, rectify the reality of this man between his legs with Barry nearby fucking Kurt. Sebastian isn’t Barry; that’s important for Carson to remember. Because that means that the man he loves, who he knows everything about, realizes that Kurt isn’t him regardless of how much he may look like him, a fact that seems to be emphasized every time Barry breaks from a kiss with Kurt in favor of kissing Carson.

“How’s that feel?” Barry asks, watching his boyfriend with eagle eyes as Sebastian blows him.

“Good.” Carson tries to maintain eye contact with Barry but he can’t. He feels like his face is about to explode. He closes his eyes. “So good. Different from you.”

“Better than me?”

Carson’s eyes snap open and Kurt snickers.

“Not better,” Carson says quickly, his words almost cut when Sebastian sucks hard. “J-just … just different.”

Sebastian climbs back up Carson’s body, indulging in one long kiss from Kurt, then another from Barry, before he goes in search of a condom. Kurt lifts up and leans over for a kiss from Carson while Sebastian puts the condom on, pulling Barry down to give his boyfriend a taste of what Kurt had a moment ago. Carson begins to understand the appeal. As he surrenders to the mouths on him, their different styles of kissing and their vastly unique tastes, he finds freedom in this. This isn’t love, not with anyone but Barry. And as long as Barry is fine with what they’re doing, Carson doesn’t have to worry about hurting Kurt’s or Sebastian’s feelings. He just has to enjoy what’s happening to him, appreciate the people giving him pleasure, live in the moment and remember that after today, his life with Barry continues on. Maybe they’ll see Kurt and Sebastian again, maybe they won’t. But that’s not the point.

Having fun is the point. And this is fun.

Carson feels Sebastian lift his legs up and apart, and gasps when the man slides inside. Sebastian takes it slow, but Carson’s ready … and he’s willing. Sebastian feels thinner than Barry, surprisingly, but only by a tiny bit. It’s still another difference to tick off the list. He feels a hand on his cock that he’s sure is Barry’s; another hand on his cheek, fingers playing over his lips that he’s sure are Kurt’s; but either way it doesn’t matter. Sebastian moves in and out of him, there are hands all around, and voices moaning in ecstasy, some even moaning his name. He arches his back the way Kurt had done, and hands creep up his back to support him. A mouth meets his and kisses him hard. The hand on his cock disappears, but then another one returns. The first one was slightly rough, and familiar; the second one softer but more firm; then a third, with less speed but more technique.

Carson likes control. It drives his life. He likes to have his ducks in a row. He likes to know what to expect before he goes anywhere, know where all the emergency exits and the fire extinguishers are, thinks over every conceivable outcome. But he also craves excitement. He’s not in control here. He’s literally lying back and letting whatever happens happens. And it’s exciting. He kisses what comes near his mouth, touches what journeys near his hands, and lets everyone else take care of the rest … including him.

“Yes, Barry,” Carson hears Kurt moan. “God, yes … just … just like that … faster, please …”

“You want faster? I’ll give you faster,” Barry answers seductively. But Carson giggles. He can’t let that lie.

“Be careful, Kurt,” Carson says, trying to keep his voice from shaking long enough to speak coherently. “Where we come from, Barry’s known as the fastest man alive.”

Sebastian laughs so hard he crows, but Barry laughs, too.

“Well, I think he’s doing just fine,” Kurt coos, grabbing Barry’s shoulder and tugging him down. Barry pulls Kurt closer by his bent knees and pounds into him hard, the sound of their bodies slapping together disarming to Carson. Again, more real than he’d prepared himself for. But then Sebastian snaps his hips, trying to keep up, trying to get Carson to the same place as Kurt at the same time, and that sound becomes fairly easy to ignore.

“How’s that?” Sebastian asks, biting Carson’s bottom lip; kissing his mouth, top and bottom; swiping his tongue inside. “Do you like it hard and fast like Kurt?”

“Yes,” Carson says, grabbing at the blanket beneath him. “Yes, please …” He feels a hand take his – Kurt’s hand lacing their fingers together, then squeezing as he starts to cum, sharing with Carson this moment between him and Barry.

The second the rocking from Kurt and Barry’s side of the bed stops, and the strained sounds of their climax subsides, Kurt’s lips are on Carson’s, Barry’s hand on his cock, and along with Sebastian’s pounding, it becomes too much, but not in a bad way. Not in a bad way at all. Carson enjoys the one on one intimacy of him and Barry, the singular focus between two souls. All of this attention overwhelms him. It sends him spiraling, flinging him out of his mind with the multiple, overlapping sensations of tasting, testing, touching – the one man who knows him edging him closer and closer towards completion with two fabulous supporting players giving him a boost.

But it’s more than just a hand up. It’s like rocket power.

Carson would probably cry out if not for Kurt’s mouth on his, kissing him even after Carson’s lips go still. He feels full of Sebastian, his rhythmic thrusting hitting all the right spots, but it’s Barry’s hand that takes Carson all the way. When Carson cums, it’s with these wonderful men around him, inside him, moving through him, elevating him, then catching him as he comes down.

It’s one of the most fulfilling sexual experiences of his life.

After Carson cums, Kurt backs away. Carson had already been on the fence about this. It took him a while to find his groove. Kurt doesn’t want to make things uncomfortable for him when things cool down by encroaching on his personal space. Kurt understands because Carson’s like Kurt that way. Kurt loves the intimacy of a truly magical sexual experience, but it takes him a while to open up to someone new. Kurt doesn’t think he’d have been half as receptive to Barry if he didn’t look like Sebastian.

Sebastian’s the last to finish, a few deep thrusts behind Carson, but he was just about done when he heard Kurt cry, and then saw him kiss Carson. Sebastian wanted to last long enough to get Carson to climax. But the things he did to bide – figuring out his baseline tax deductions for the next filing year and trying to spell his full name backwards – worked a little better than he’d anticipated.

When Sebastian stops shuddering, he looks at Barry, curious as to what a wrecked Barry Allen looks like. Barry has scratches running down his chest from Kurt’s nails digging in to his skin, and Sebastian can’t help being jealous. Carson wasn’t much for touching outside of looping his arms around Sebastian’s neck when Sebastian bent over to kiss him, but that was kind of nice. There was a certain nostalgic innocence to it, like his more romantic times with Kurt, when the two of them would just hold one another and rock for hours. But Kurt raking his nails down Sebastian’s back or his chest are one of Sebastian’s favorite things about how powerfully Kurt cums.

Barry catches Sebastian’s eye, the glance down his chest, and he smirks in a way that’s shockingly Sebastian-like.

“Nice,” Sebastian says with an approving nod.

“Thanks.” The smirk disappears from Barry’s face in a flash, and he becomes shy Barry Allen again. “Uh … not that I’m complaining but … does he always do that?” he asks, running a hand subconsciously down his front.

“Nah,” Sebastian says. “Most of the time he draws blood.”

“But you love it, don’t you?” Kurt locks eyes with his boyfriend as Barry eases away from him, searching Sebastian’s face for any sign that what happened between them wasn’t okay, that he didn’t like it, that he and Kurt are in trouble, possibly over.

“You know it.” Sebastian blows Kurt a kiss, and Kurt, only mildly red before, blushes like a June virgin.

Kurt, Sebastian, and Barry chat and joke, trying to keep sexual tension from turning into awkward tension. But in between the comparing and the complimenting, Sebastian begins to notice how quiet Carson is. He looks down at the man he’s still buried in to see his eyes solemnly closed. “Carson? Buddy? Are you okay? Talk to us.”

Barry notices, too, and while Sebastian untangles his body from Carson’s legs and discards their condom, Barry runs to his side of the bed.

“Hey, hey, hey, Carson? Baby? Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.” Carson laughs, and, in relief, Barry joins him. “I’m just trying to process.”

“So … did you enjoy yourself?”

Carson starts to shake his head, but he laughs louder. “Yeah,” he admits, opening his eyes. By then, Sebastian had gone, retreating to the head of the bed where Kurt was climbing underneath the covers. “I did. I didn’t want to, not at first, not after watching you and Kurt, but … I did.”

“And what did you think, my love?” Sebastian asks Kurt, curling his boyfriend against his body.

“I think …” Kurt glances shyly at Barry, helping Carson beneath the blankets on the opposite side of the bed “… that that was pretty electric.”

“I think that’s an accurate word for it,” Barry admits, pitching his own condom and climbing behind his boyfriend. He tucks the blanket around Carson’s body and holds him tight. “What do you think, baby?”

Carson looks over his shoulder at Barry, then across the bed at the two men looking at him with quizzical looks – similar faces, but so damn different. There’s only one Kurt and Sebastian, only one Carson and Barry, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. Carson smiles. “Absolutely.”

[softwaredownloads]

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[floraexplorer]

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Up in the mountains above La Paz, Bolivia, there’s a market called El Alto.

On a Sunday morning under a crisp blue sky, I stepped out of a minibus beside the ‘Mi Teleferico’ station and felt the air stop in my throat.

Before me lay Bolivia’s El Alto market: a chaotic sight of stalls, products, people and activity, sprawling everywhere and overtaking every block in sight with seemingly no end.

Everywhere I looked there was movement. Huge sheets of corrugated metal were lifted onto men’s backs; long planks of wood were manoeuvred through the crowds; cages filled with the blurry shapes of moving animals; babies passed between women’s arms and deftly tucked into bright aguayo cloth slings.

The noise, the activity, the chatter, the colours: all densely packed together like this, it made me struggle to catch my breath. My head swam and my fingers began to tingle.

This was not what I’d expected.

Although as it happens, there’s a perfectly good reason for feeling dizzy at El Alto market.

The El Alto market, also known as Feria 16 de Julio, is held twice a week (every Thursday and Sunday) throughout the year. It draws so many visitors from the surrounding valley that it’s hailed as one of the biggest markets in South America – if not the world.

It’s also one of the world’s highest markets, however odd a claim to fame that might be.

Sitting at an altitude of 4,150 metres (almost 1,000 metres higher than nearby La Paz), El Alto – a city in its own right – is the world’s highest major metropolis. Tourists fly into El Alto airport before driving straight down into La Paz so they often don’t think to visit, but El Alto is quickly increasing in foreign popularity thanks to the bi-weekly market, the female cholita wrestling matches, the beautifully strange architecture from indigenous Aymara architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre, and the La Paz cable car which takes passengers clear above the city’s rooftops and up into the mountains.

Still, getting altitude-sick in El Alto is totally understandable. The sun beats down stronger, the air is thinner, and your body can often struggle to adjust. It’s why you’ll see so many bags of coca leaves for sale, and so many people absent-mindedly chewing on a handful of them while they walk.

What exactly can you buy in Bolivia’s El Alto market? (Hint: the easy answer is ‘everything’)

Unlike the street stalls which pop up on every corner in La Paz, there are no tourist-friendly Bolivia souvenirs for sale in El Alto: no alpaca jumpers with geometric patterns; no bumbags or pencil cases or backpacks.

This is a local market – so we’re talking hardware, furniture, car parts and mechanical tools.

Hot tip: don’t go shopping in El Alto market for souvenirs! Hit the streets of La Paz instead.

My first visit to El Alto market was with Ivonne, Jorge and Florencio, three of the Bolivians I volunteered with at the artificial limb clinic. Their plan was to pick up various supplies for the clinic, but they also thought I’d enjoy seeing the market too.

Of course, that was the moment for Ivonne (a Bolivian mum) to start worrying about my safety as a white female foreigner.

In the traveller circuit, El Alto market has a reputation as a somewhat dodgy place, mainly because of potential pickpockets amidst the sheer number of people. Ivonne told me repeatedly not to speak – not in Spanish if I could help it, and definitely not in English – and to wear my sunglasses if possible so I wouldn’t draw too much attention to my evidently non-Bolivian face.

So I wandered through the biggest market in South America with my backpack securely on my front while watching people bartering with wizened old cholita women for the price of fluorescent double strip lights, discussing the advantages of curved back chairs, and sawing pieces of hardwood in the middle of the street.

Huge swathes of products for sale in El Alto are second-hand, from CDs and DVDs to furniture and musical instruments.

Jorge took me to the stalls filled with car parts and happily pointed out the makings of an entire car, if we’d wanted to build one from scratch.

I watched dozens of men dragging carts through the street to carry heavy new purchases, and I wondered how long it would take to erase the traces of this market from the city when Sunday finally finished.

But the more intriguing parts of El Alto were the ones I couldn’t quite see.

Small potholes on the roads we walked along eventually made way for huge gashes in the road, exposed pipework and piles of sand and cement. There, away from the hardware and the second hand goods, hidden around corners and amongst tight bunches of gossiping women were where the unidentifiable things were sold.

Unknown things in crates, balanced in the dirt.

There were tiny glimpses of things I knew I shouldn’t be seeing. The used syringes laid out on a blanket. The flash of bright metal from the inside of a man’s open jacket as he boasted to a friend about the gun he’d just bought.

Ivonne wouldn’t let me walk towards the stalls which were selling animals – illegal and exotic ones; monkeys, parrots, frogs and ocelots; both alive and dead.

These are the places of black magic. The market stalls which sell provisions for rituals, spells, and witchcraft.

In Bolivia, traditions and superstitions make up a huge part of the country’s culture.

Despite a firm adherence to the Spanish Catholic faith, there’s also a wealth of indigenous spiritualism and religion woven into Bolivia’s belief system.

Ever since the Spanish arrived to colonize South America in the 1500s, Bolivians have been happily combining elements of Catholicism with their already-existing indigenous Aymara beliefs and customs.

It’s led to a wonderful mixing of worlds: on any given day you could see a solemn religious procession in one neighbourhood of La Paz, and a joyful celebration of local Bolivian traditions in another.

Read more: Learning my way around the neighbourhoods of La Paz 

It’s not just about processions, either. Adherence to Bolivian traditions can easily shape a person’s life.

In the city of Potosi, ancient legend says the devil lives inside the El Cerro Rico mountain – which also happens to be where many Bolivian men mine for silver each day. El Cerro Rico is known as ‘the mountain that eats men’ because so many have died here over the years; approximately eight million deaths since the colonial era. Even today the average life expectancy of a Potosi miner is about 35 years.

Because it’s seriously dangerous work, the miners leave daily offerings to El Tio (as the devil in the mountain is known) for protection. 

There are statues of El Tio scattered throughout the mine shafts inside the mountain, surrounded by small piles of cigarettes, alcohol, coloured streamers, candles and coca leaves. The miners will often sit with their nearest El Tio: apparently he doesn’t like to be left alone.

[Photo courtesy of Matias Recondo]

Protection is a common theme throughout Bolivia. When any new building is constructed, builders ‘bless’ the project by burying a llama foetus beneath the foundations.

This offering of a pure, innocent creature is regarded as a gift to Pachamama (mother earth) and will hopefully bring good luck and protection to both the builders and the new residents.

Officially, all these foetuses have either been miscarried or were born dead – but it’s difficult to reconcile that fact with the amount of foetuses visible for sale throughout Bolivia. It’s also difficult when you learn that living llamas are often sacrificed as part of a ceremony. Every August in Potosi, the yatiri healers (mentioned later!) will sacrifice a llama at Cerro Rico to appease El Tio.

Daily life in Bolivia means riding a bus filled with Bolivians who cross themselves when we drive past a church. It means scrupulously avoiding the capture of women’s faces on camera, because many believe a photo will steal away a part of their soul.

Somehow I can’t think its a coincidence that seconds after taking this photo (accidentally!), my camera completely stopped working…

But what’s the easiest way for tourists and travellers to get to grips with Bolivia’s superstitious side?

Simple. Just head to the local witches market.

‘El Mercado de las Brujas’: the Witches Market of La Paz

In La Paz, El Mercado de las Brujas is a popular tourist attraction. It sits in the touristic centre of the city close to San Francisco church on Calle Jimenez and Calle Linares, and on first appearance it’s little more than a small cluster of stalls.

But this is where you’ll find talismans and effigies shaped from stone and painted sugar to ward off evil and impotence; spells and potions for falling in love and winning the lottery; huge white sacks of coca leaves, used in all manner of ceremonies – and, of course, the interminable llama foetuses.

Many of these parts will be collected together and assembled to make a cha’lla, a ceremony or offering to Pachamama.

The first day I arrived in La Paz, I went on a free walking tour which explained some of La Paz’s history and Bolivia’s focus on witches and superstition while we explored Mercado de Las Brujas. The place I ended up renting for the next month was close by too, so I often wandered the market as I got to know the area better.

It’s a fascinating area of La Paz, but the market itself always felt much more like a tourist attraction than a genuinely sacred place. You’re more likely to see foreigners buying stone totems as souvenirs or gifts than Bolivians picking up their ceremonial supplies.

There’s still some intense superstition at play here, though.

Pointing to the llama foetuses, my guide said there are rumours about bigger buildings needing a more extreme sacrifice. People say homeless men often go missing in Bolivia: plied with high-strength alcohol until they pass out, they’re then placed in a hole lined with coca leaves in the building’s foundations and buried alive – a necessary element of the ritual to sufficiently appease Pachamama.

As you’d expect from a country steeped in superstition, there’s plenty more magic available in Bolivia.

You just have to know where to look.

Finding the darker side of El Alto market

My second visit to El Alto was with a group of people I’d met at Lake Titicaca. They were in the middle of a ceremonial retreat with the San Pedro cactus (which I’d been invited to join), and needed to pick up some supplies at the market.

As a group, we hailed from America, Australia, Chile, Germany and the UK. We were certainly conspicuous – but we were also there with a Bolivian healer-in-training. And he guided us to many of the areas Ivonne had warned me away from.

A German friend of mine tried to buy a piece of something he thought was dried aloe vera and the Bolivian woman told him it was actually for cursing. The fact that she had a whole bag of the stuff for sale meant there was clearly enough demand for it.

The stall beside hers had the skin of a cat in a plastic bag on display. I tried not to look too closely at it.

As we walked, our Bolivian friend told us that stallholders in El Alto and in the witches market in La Paz sell rituals and spells designed to inflict bad luck or curses on other.

It’s also entirely possible to buy quantities of the ayahuasca vine and powdered San Pedro cactus, both used for medicinal healing ceremonies throughout South America.

NB: as someone who’s taken part in ayahuasca and San Pedro ceremonies, I would highly recommend AGAINST purchasing either substance at a street market. You should only drink these medicines when brewed by a knowledgeable shaman in a trusted setting!

A jug of ayahuasca with two glasses

Read more: my experiences with ayahuasca and with San Pedro cactus in Bolivia

El Alto, Bolivia: where the real witches are

We were at the El Alto bus station getting ready to leave the market when I saw a row of little blue huts, with fire burners crackling merrily away beside their open doorways.

This is where the witches sit.

In Bolivia, they’re known as yatiri – traditional Aymara healers who are spiritually called to work with their communities. In the western world, perhaps we’d call them ‘witch doctors’ or refer to them (wrongly) as shamans.

Tradition demands that the Bolivian yatiri have to wait for someone to visit them with their problems, and also that they have to help whoever approaches. So if the fire outside their hut is lit, that means a yatiri is home and available for business.

These healers will tell you your future for a price. They’ll draw tarot cards for you, read your palm, and read coca leaves by throwing them into the air and interpreting meaning from how they land.

I didn’t get my fortune told by the Bolivian healers. Some part of me wishes I had.

But as we walked slowly past their huts on our way to the bus, my Bolivian friend whispered, “Many people say these witches have the ability to not just read your future, but change it.”

Would you visit the yatiri in El Alto market? More importantly, have you ever had your fortune told by a witch?

Info about El Alto market:

– How do I get to El Alto market?

There are a number of ways to reach El Alto from La Paz: via cable car, public bus or hired taxi.

For the La Paz teleferico, take the Red Line up to the final stop and turn left onto Avenida Panoramica. The ride costs 3 Bolivianos each way.

For the bus, take one of the local white colectivos from San Francisco Plaza and get off at the entrance to the market. It takes 30 minutes to get there and the bus ride costs 2 Bolivianos each way.

– When is El Alto market open? 

The market is open all day on Thursdays and Sundays throughout the year.

– Is El Alto market safe?

Although I felt perfectly safe on both visits, pickpockets and bag slashers are known to operate in El Alto. Leave your valuables and original ID documents at your accommodation in La Paz and only take a small amount of cash with you/copy of your passport. If you’re self conscious or scared about visiting El Alto as a foreigner, there are guided tours which show you around the market.

– What else is there to do in El Alto?

El Alto is also the home of the infamous all-Bolivian cholita wrestling matches, which are held every Sunday afternoon at 2pm (cost is 50 Bolivianos / $7 on the door). There are various companies offering tours to the wrestling matches, but you can also make your way independently to the El Alto Multifunctional Centre. Either take the cable car and walk for ten minutes, or catch the bus from San Francisco Church in La Paz and get off at ‘CAJA’ – the ride takes about 30 mins and costs 2 Bolivianos each way.

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The post The Witches of El Alto, Bolivia: Traditions & Superstitions at the World’s Highest Market appeared first on Flora The Explorer.

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