#the very fact that it's titled 'hope' too. its so perfect
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What's my definition of success? Listening to what your heart says Standing up for what you know is Right, while everybody else is Tucking their tail between their legs What's my definition of success? Creating something no one else can Bein' brave enough to dream big Grindin' when you're told to just quit Givin' more when you got nothin' left It's a person that'll take a chance on Somethin' they were told could never happen It's a person that can see the bright side through the dark times when there ain't one It's when someone who ain't never had nothin' Ain't afraid to walk away from more profit 'Cause they'd rather do somethin' that they really love and take the paycut It's a person that would never waiver Or change who they are Just to try and gain some credibility So they could feel accepted by a stranger It's a person that can take the failures in their life and turn them into motivation It's believing in yourself when no one else does, it's amazing
#you never knew your mind was dark. — ✦ thoughts / musings.#using your headphones to drown out your mind. — ✦ music.#i've been listening to this song on loop for the past several days and oh my GOD#[adds to the growing list of songs i so badly want to make a shadow-centric amv/animatic to]#IT GOES SO HARD. ESPECIALLY THE FINAL VERSE#barking snarling clicking#the very fact that it's titled 'hope' too. its so perfect
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Toon Zelda redesigns! I've never been fond of the Toon Zelda design, and these girls deserve some individuality. Design notes and rambles below the cut :D
(time to turn the proper grammar off i aint capitalizing all this. warning: i am verbose)
first up, tmc zelda!
shes the one most like toon zelda, since i felt like the vibes fit the *most* (though not a lot). also, with her place on the timeline, i could justify a lot of bits, like the wings and the cape
the cape! obvs it comes from the toon zelda base design, but also it involves skyloftian fashion! i take the timeline as a challenge, and i once saw a take somewhere that the skyloftians all wear their family crests (most often birds lol) on their person. zelda here (and link too) do just that, wearing their family crests on little caplets. on the back is, of course the royal crest
i went very cutesy princess for her. tmc has such a *whimsical* vibe that i feel is very. muted? by the fact its stuck with the toon style. so i wanted to put in that vibe here. also her sprites make it look like her skirt is super poofy, so how could i not?
curly hair: i wanted something interesting, and most zeldas have straight hair. so! adds to the cuteness
i didnt draw it so well but she (and link) both have very sleepy expressions. zelda especially just has a sleepy expression in her sprite, its quite adorable.
shes not as decked out as other princesses, cuz i see tmc taking place before the royal family really starts to get *royal* as we see it. shes still of course got a tiara and some embroidery tho.
Tetra! her base design isnt all that changed from the original. her name is a fun hc of mine tho. i think "von Hyrule" sounds better as a surname than just "hyrule". shes not zelda, but shes still a descendant.
(WW) princess z (as i call her)
I went more oot zelda vibes for her, since she would be closer, temporally, to oot. i also went very warm, since ive never seen the flood as a *warm* endeavor.
shes got the shoulder danglies, as most zeldas have shoulder armor of some kind. the danglies instead of actual armor are supposed to kind of evoke a royal sea captain kind of vibe.
shes ghostly, with a fish-eyed stare. shes been dead and gone for a long time. shes also a bit taller and a few years older than tetra (as of ww). shes just some spectre the king saw in tetra, not at all a close match
tetra, being smaller than princess z, doesnt fit into the clothes. the dress is too big for her (as is in canon gd that skirt is WAY too long for her), the coat is baggy. the role of a princess *literally* does not fit her.
the ribbons! theyre my replacement for the wings, and they represent the wind in the game! since its represented by white lines, the ribbons are a perfect symbolic match. (also, a note, tetras hair is shorter and coarser than princess z's)
i mostly bullshitted the blue panel but the vague idea i gave it was 'a hope for the triforce to give good fortunes to the people' (pictured as dots, mostly behind her arms)
Pirate Queen Tetra
ph! about a year has passed, and tetra has really grown into her own! as well as literally grown!
shes still tetra, pirate and captain, but shes incorporated that royal heritage into her identity: quite literally! she made piecemeal of the original outfit (what was left of it anyway after the fight), and added bits and pieces to her new life.
she also takes full advantage of said heritage to call herself pirate queen. its great for branding. whos gonna say she CANT go by pirate queen?
the seagull feather is from Aryll. only crew member tetra wears a trinket from (who can say no to that ball of sunshine! certainly not tetra)
not many notes. yall can see whats there. (also she still wears her hair in a bun, its just in a low bun (you can almost see it) when she wears her hat)
st zelda!
first note is: shes not a princess! shes an heiress of the company tetra had made and left behind. hence her title of Lady zelda. ("new hyrule" rly just like-- the ending of ww was *literally* that hyrule is dead and thats okay. how did they miss that :sob emoji:) also calling her Lady Zelda fits with the train vibes
shes in a 1880s style bustle dress because 1) i am OBSESSED with bustle dresses. i love them. so much. 2) the more historical vibe works really well with trains! also a lot of the other outfits in the game have late victorian vibes, so shes certainly not out of place.
her hat (and gloves): any proper lady has a hat on when going about town, however, when she gets body snatched, she pulled out her hatpin to use (ineffectively) as a weapon (she IS tetras great-great-granddaughter), causing her to lose her hat *and* hairdo.
shes still got the hatpin in her ghost form, too. she uses it to threaten people for funsies
Ribbons! on the topic of hairdo, her ribbons! visually tying her to tetras design, the ribbons here instead take on the image of train tracks, with her pin (on the left side) evoking a train engine. the pin also makes her look rich and girly. when her hair comes undone, this makes the ribbons all loose, like how the train tracks disappear in game. (the hat also kinda connects her to tetra)
thanks for reading :D i hope you liked reading this as much as i liked typing it
#loz#legend of zelda#princess zelda#tetra#wind waker#minish cap#spirit tracks#phantom hourglass#zelda#zelda fanart#the legend of zelda#ww tetra#ww zelda#st zelda#minish cap zelda#the wind waker#loz ww#starship art#ive got more designs down the mental pipeline#these ones just came first cuz i dislike toon zeldas design
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delicate ✩ jude bellingham
about: the massive hate you are getting on internet and the way jude stood by you, supporting you.
couple: jude bellingham x reader! singer
request: hey babyyyy! what do u think about a jude x reader (maybe olivia rodrigo fc) ?? xxx love u
face claim: olivia rodrigo
NOW: Jude’s Bellingham talks ‘Real Madrid’, His first World Cup’s impressions & His favorite Y/N’s songs.
comments ⬇️
user1 he’s so perfect 🥹 yn and him seemed like soulmates
user2 I REMEMBERED WHEN YN POINTED AT JUDE DURING GORGEOUS AND HE TOOK A PHOTO AND SHE WAS ALL GIGGLY
user3 yn once said “you’re so gorgeous, it actually hurts” and “they say home is where the heart is, but that's not where mine lives. you know I love a london boy.”
user4 @user3 im yn
user5 imagine being jude bellingham and having yn write her best love songs and best title tracks about you a DREAM
judebellingham has added to their story
ynusername
Liked by judebellingham, selenagomez, and 5.682.972 others
ynusername vampire song and video out now 🧛🏼. writing this song helped me sort through lots of feelings of regret, anger, and heartache. it's one of my favorite songs on the album and it felt very cathartic to finish. im so happy it's in your hands now and I hope it helps u deal with any bloodsuckers in your lite. all my thanks 4ever 🫶🏻
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judebellingham proud of you, vampie 🧛🏼🩸🥹🫶🏻
ynusername @judebellingham love u babs
user1 vampire is one of the best songs ever
user2 another song about another ex 🥱🙄
user3 @user2 literally let people write out their feelings or WHATEVER they want. obviously yall can only attack women for this tho...
user4 people calling yn boring or overrated for writing songs about her ex does not sit right w me …. like let her write about whatever she wants?? she’s 20??? all singers have songs about their ex’s???? stfu
user5 @user4 SPEAK. ON. IT
user6 "yn makes too much songs ab her ex" "all she write is break up songs, she’s so obsessed"
ok then stop listening to her songs 🤷🏻♀️
user7 whaaaaat 😭 why are there so many people mad that yn wrote some songs about her ex. meanwhile, there are men who only write songs about fucking hoes and using drugs and yet they still get praised for it 🥱
judebellingham
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judebellingham date night with vampie to celebrate all of her achievements, proud of u ❤️��🩹
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ynusername 🧛🏻♀️🩸❤️🩹🧛🏼
user8 JUDE CALLING YN VAMPIE >>>>
user9 i hope i find someone who supports me the way jude supports yn
user10 ill always be soft for these two. its amazing how jude supports yn in any way he can and yn never forgets to save jude a seat. fucking POWER COUPLE!!!
user11 @user10 i just love them
user12 lets talk about the fact that at the 2020 grammys she didn’t feel like there was someone to celebrate with and now she has one and he helps her and supports her and take her on dates when she achieves more and more in her singing career 🥹
user13 yn and jude be like: happiest relationship of my life, so let’s go cheer for my breakup songs together 💕💞💓💗💖💘
ynusername
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ynusername delicate is out now 🫧 surprise song for y’all, hope u like it 🫶🏻
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user14 delicate video really speaks to me. yn let go of the world's expectations of how she should act, smile and behave. once she did that, she was able to find who she was looking for. i’m shaking and crying, so so proud of our baby!!!!
user15 @user14 it’s already my favorite music video of her!!!! i love the lyrics 2
user16 these pics were taking by jude i’m CRYING and the lyrics… I JUST LOVE HIM EVEN MORE
user17 @user16 yeah 🥹 i’m so happy that she found someone that makes her feel like that
user18 delicate is one of the most beautiful songs yn has ever written, it’s so GENUINE.
#jude bellingham x you#jude bellingham headcanons#jude bellingham fanfic#jude bellingham x reader#jude bellingham imagine#jude bellingham#football imagine#football fanfic#football one shot#football x reader#football instagram au
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Hey how are you? I was wondering if you could have some headcanons for Hermes, Poseidon, Apollo and Loki with a goddess of sadness. She is the tallest of all the goddesses there, measuring almost three meters, she always has a melancholic aura and a quite sensitive, solitary and serious personality but she is kind to the most intimate people in her circle. She adores humanity and used to have a human husband before he tragically died. She is one of the strongest goddesses, when she cries she makes her sadness infect others, making them cry too and feel her pain (it is based on blue diamond from Steven Universe but I don't know if you know her. You don't need to add any more her if she is not to your taste). I'm sorry if it was a bit long, in advance please and thank you!
Oooh the pretty lady?? Im a bit familiar with her. I did my research on Google, I hope I didn't get anything wrong 😭 I'm also not sure if this is an "× reader" or not, so I'm very sorry. You may chat me again if it isn't what you asked for♥
°•Apollo+Hermes+Loki+Poseidon W a goddess of sadness!reader•°
Loki
- Loki and you are literally polar opposites. You both are so different, yet you both ended up being close to each other.
- he's very curious as to why you're so gloomy and emotional. But you are the goddess of sadness, you live up to your title. Literally.
- whenever he pulls pranks or Snickers at jokes, he's always looking towards you and pointing a finger at whoever was unlucky enough to be his target— thinking you'd instantly feel better.
- no, you actually got gloomier.
- but I think he'd take a liking to you. Opposites attract pretty well if I do say so myself. Atleast he has someone (not really) willing to listen to him.
- and about your height, I bet he'd use his floating ability to float towards your face, so he could talk to you more , and os that you don't have to bend down a little to hear him. And yes, he will ignore the fact that you are uncomfortable or not.
- he just yaps and talks about anything basically. Even if you are very quiet. you talk sometimes, only when you really feel like it.
- seeing how you can make people cry just because YOU are crying... its probably super amusing to him. Even if he's also there shedding tears.
-i bet he'd try to make you cry near the unbreakable ones like Thor, Poseidon, Odin, and so on. Just for the fun of it. A little experiment to make sure you're really that strong.
Apollo
- this guy is the perfect ladies man. He knows how to entertain you, he knows how to stop your thoughts from going elsewhere (or maybe stopping you from thinking about something sad. Or else everyone will get affected with your sadness plague.)
- even with your tall height, he still knows how to take care of you. He will find ways. Like when you visit his place, he will make sure you have enough room in the pool of water. He'd also dismiss the nymphs who are staring at your tall figure.
- if y'all are in a relationship, then he's willing to make you atleast a little bit happy. Seeing you cry for the first time was so heartbreaking to see, until it started happening more often.
- well, he learned to embrace it. And now, whenever you cry, he'll just come up to you with his arms open. (Like the "where my hug at?" Typa pose.) and he'll approach you slowly like--
"darling, darling, no need to cry. Let's look to the bright side!"
-- before he makes a tiny lil ball of light in his hands w his photokinesis. If not, he himself would probably blind someone with his light, just to make his statement clear to you. Lmao 😭
- he actually really likes it when you have to bend down a little so you can hear him better. Gives him a better look at your neck, or your chest. And maybe cus he likes the position you're in. (Perv ass)
Hermes
- he's already used to this. But I'm sure he'd find joy in watching your power do its thing to those around you. watching people—especially the most cold blooded gods—cry because of you, is incredible.
- he'd give you praises on your power, and how delightful it was to have such a goddess existing in the realm of divine beings. He'd serve you food and tea, ones that are extra big because of your size and height. Like I can imagine this man carrying a huge ass cup just for you to sip some tea or smth.
- I know you both gossip. He'd be whispering all the stuff he has to know on that day's tea, and you just quietly listen and softly giving your feedback. Y'all would do it in front of the other gods too lmao 😭😭
- your aura combined with his, it's a peculiar combo. But its certainly calming, with his personality and yours, it leaves a weird feeling in the room whenever you two are close.
- you both are pretty chill together tho.
- if you guys were in a relationship, he'd be so understanding and supportive of you. When you enter a battle, he'd probably be behind holding light sticks or something with that small smile he always has.
Poseidon
- now him. He likes your presence. Cus it reminds him a bit of hades. Not the crying part, but more of the calm demeanor you have. You are very soft spoken and it doesn't annoy him.
- you and hades are his only exceptions. Your aura is comforting in a way that soothes his nerves. He's also seen and even felt the sadness you've carried on your shoulders all those years after you beloved died, as well as the burden of other things.
- so he can quite understand you. It must really be difficult dealing with such feelings he learned that after he felt the pain you buried deep into your body when you cried.
- you both are also a peculiar duo combo. I just know most of the gods there ship you both. Loki was the one making the scenerios and fanfics (he's such an ass)
- Poseidon acts like he doesn't care, or is irritated. But in all reality, he doesn't seem to mind. He likes you a lot.
- he's pretty quick to slice someone who makes you cry. He just uses the excuse that he doesn't want to shed tears and all because showing weakness is weak af. But in reality he actually just doesn't want anyone fuckin w you.
- like imagine him saying that showing such weak emotions as a god is pathetic, before seeing you and quickly saying "unless it's completely necessary".
#record of ragnarok#shuumatsu no valkyrie#ror poseidon#record of ragnarok × reader#ror × reader#snv poseidon#shuumatsu no valkyrie × reader#snv × reader#record of ragnarok headcanons#record of Ragnarok hermes#poseidon record of ragnarok#record of Ragnarok apollo#snv apollo#ror apollo#snv hermes#snv loki#shuumatsu no valkyrie headcanons#blue diamond#snv#ror#loki snv#poseidon#hermes ror#loki shuumatsu no valkyrie#apollo record of Ragnarok#shuumatsu no Valkyrie apollo
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Many Moons Are Deep at Play
werewolf!Steven x reader (~3.1K)
Summary: Ever since you and Steven were attacked on the last night of your camping trip, he’s been different. Six months after the fact, you learn exactly how different he’s become.
Content: 18+, gn!reader, the other MK boys aren’t around (sorry), body horror, graphic description of a werewolf transformation, Steven is a werewolf, he’s in pain for like 400 words sorry, overuse of italics
a/n: does this count for monsterfucktober? who cares. the title is from ‘dark necessities’ by rhcp!
-
It’s been exactly six months, eight days, and fifteen hours since you and Steven barely made it back alive from that camping trip.
It was your idea; you suggested that this was the perfect time of year to go camping—the weather was incredible and honestly, the two of you needed a break from the city, even for a few days.
What a mistake that would turn out to be.
—
The first few days were great; the spot you two had picked to camp out was perfect, there was nobody around to bother the two of you—it was great.
The last night was when things went terribly, awfully wrong.
You and Steven had put out the fire for the night and were preparing for bed when you heard it. At first, you both thought it could’ve been a bear or perhaps a neighboring camper’s dog that had gotten loose, but you very quickly—and too late—realized that it was something much, much worse.
The beast had lunged at the two of you from beyond the clearing, cloaked in darkness beside the taunting, hopeful glow of the full moon. You two barely had time to react—you managed to just get knocked back by the sheer force of such a creature, but Steven was less lucky.
The thing had gotten the best of him, but only for a second before being startled and running off. It still left its mark on him—a nasty scratch that ran from the top of his shoulder down near the middle of his chest.
You both are lucky to have made it out of there with your lives—thankfully, Steven’s injury was no more than a flesh wound, and healed with little scarring. When law enforcement arrived at your aid, you had been told that there had been sightings of wolves in the area, and were told that this was just a ‘freak accident’ and that you two were ‘not in any more danger’.
It was a difficult few months after that; poor Steven, as skittish and anxious as he already had been, was a total mess after the incident. He was grateful to have you around, though, and you helped him to return to some sense of normalcy.
Things have been generally pretty normal, but once a month, Steven is…different.
It’s like for a few days, he’s less like himself—he’s more reckless, clingier, like he can’t tear himself away from you even for a second. He’s abandoned his veganism, too, which you’ve found most strange.
He’d given you some rushed, stilted response; something about how he’d gotten tired of tofu scrambles and veggie wraps. It was very unlike Steven, but he’d been through a lot, so you’d forgiven it.
There’s a lot more steak in your fridge than you thought you’d ever have.
One day a month, though, he goes away overnight—tells you that some of his mates invite him over to have dinner and play some games, and you let him. He never tells you which friends he’s with, or where he goes.
A part of you thinks he’s lying.
He comes back all disheveled the morning after, a bit worse for wear, but he always insists that it’s just because he and the boys got a little wild the previous night.
It all doesn’t add up. You figure he’s just going through some kind of crisis in the aftermath of such a horrific attack.
But after months of this same routine, you’re fed up—it’s been too long of him lying and dancing around questions, skirting away from giving you any sort of solid, definitive answer.
“I’m coming with you tonight,” you tell him as the two of you sit on the couch together, spending time before he vanishes overnight.
He looks at you like he’s seen a ghost.
“No! No, you—love, it’s not—there’s nothing for you to worry about. Promise.”
You’re not convinced.
“I am worried, and I’m going to come with you. I don’t care what your friends say.”
He’s flustered now, nervous and looking like he’s trying to find an escape route to get out of this conversation. A part of you feels guilty for pressing him like this, but you need to know.
After what feels like an eternity of Steven struggling to find the right words to say, give some decent response to what you’re suggesting, he speaks up, voice soft.
“You can’t come with me, love.”
You make a face. You never knew Steven to be so insistent that you stay away from him, even if it’s overnight. So, you give him an ultimatum.
“Fine. If I can’t come with you, then stay home.”
He makes it seem as if that’s the worse option of the two, but he knows that you’ve got him backed into a corner. Either let you come with him, or stay at home.
That seems to have gotten through to him, and he nods, resigned. It was inevitable that you found out, and he knows that he’s damned no matter what he chooses.
“I’ll stay home, but we have to talk about this, yeah?”
You nod right away. Finally, you’re getting somewhere with him, so you’ll take whatever you can get.
He shifts in his seat beside you, suddenly feeling awkward and much more nervous about having such a conversation, but he eventually speaks up.
“After what happened to us a few months ago, I’ve been…different.”
No shit, you think. He continues, fidgeting.
“At first, I didn’t know what was wrong with me, I thought I’d just gone mental, yeah? But I didn’t. Something, er, worse happened.”
Your brows knit together in confusion, and you’re immediately able to tell that he’s stalling. Playing with his words and trying to put off this inevitable confession. You need him to tell you.
“Steven, just tell me.” You interject, tone a bit more firm than it usually is.
He tenses, and immediately blurts out the confession like the words burned in his throat.
“I’mawerewolf.”
What?
The words were rushed, all jumbled together but it was so obvious what he’d just said. You can’t believe it.
“Say again?” You ask, desperate for clarification.
His face is flushed red with embarrassment, and he can’t meet your gaze anymore—he’s awful at this, but he eventually gathers the nerve to repeat himself.
“I’m a…werewolf,” he cringes at the word, hating the way it sounds from his mouth. To further elaborate, he gestures vaguely in the direction of the window, where the sun has set and tonight’s full moon has begun to rise.
“You know; full moon, lycanthropy and all.” He makes a sad, awkward little howl noise, probably in some attempt to be funny or lighten the mood.
You stare at him, dumbfounded.
Unfortunately, it all makes too much sense.
The “wolf” attack, the disappearances once a month, the sudden change in his appetite.
Steven’s a werewolf.
The glow of the moon through the window is suddenly much less comforting. You realize he doesn’t have a lot of time before he’s unrecognizable.
“I go out to the woods every month,” he starts again after a beat of silence.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody. Don’t want to hurt you.”
You feel the guilt burn in your throat—that’s why he’s been so flighty, hiding away from you every month.
You don’t even have anything to say. What can you say to something like that?
You aren’t given much time to dwell on your thoughts before Steven doubles over in pain before you, and immediately all of your senses go on high alert.
“Oh fuck, Steven, are you okay?”
It’s a stupid question. Obviously, he isn’t.
You wish there was something you could do, but you don’t exactly know the protocol for what to do when your boyfriend starts turning into a werewolf.
“Fine! Fine, just—ah-“ he grimaces in pain, arms wrapped tightly around his middle.
You give him as much time as he needs, and he manages to get a few words out through his pain.
“Put away anything fragile—ah, fuck—please. I can’t-“ he doesn’t finish his thought, dropping to his knees from where he’d sat on the couch, and your heart aches for him.
After a few seconds of standing dumbly in place, you move with nervous speed, grabbing anything immediately fragile—glassware, the framed photo of the two of you in Cairo, anything breakable—and toss it all onto your bed, before shutting and locking the door.
By the time you return, Steven’s gotten rid of his clothes, and it’s the least of your concerns.
“I don’t want you in here when I—“ he cries out in pain, and your heart aches for him.
He doesn’t want you in the room with him when he turns.
You nod unsteadily, trying to wrap your head around this situation. An hour ago you figured that he might’ve been hiding something from you, but you never had thought that it’d be something like this.
Even though he’s warned you, you can’t take your eyes away from him.
The first thing that changes are his hands; his nails elongate into what you can only describe as claws—sharp and deadly.
You keep a safe distance.
With a pained shout, he arches back, and you bear witness to the grotesque sight—and sound—of his breastbone and ribcage cracking and stretching, expanding his chest to better accommodate the anatomy of a wolf.
It’s killing you to see Steven—your Steven—hurting and knowing there’s nothing you can do about it.
His canines stretch and sharpen into points. You back away from the living room.
You watch as he falls forward, leaning on his hands and knees; his back arches, his spine cracking and popping as his entire form is rearranged.
The sounds of his bones and joints cracking and shifting are awful enough on their own, but combined with the sound of Steven’s cries and shouts in agony, it’s that much worse.
His joints are rearranging, moving and grinding against one another. It’s grotesque and horrible, and you can’t believe that this is what Steven goes through every month.
It’s awful, and it gets worse when you see the way his face distorts, his nose and his cheekbones cracking horribly as his face stretches into something more canine than human.
It doesn’t take long until he’s completely unrecognizable. A hound; a werewolf.
You stand a fair distance from the creature that used to be your boyfriend, watching as the beast paces around your living room, sniffling and snarling as it takes in its surroundings.
“Steven..” you murmur, and the beast turns in your direction.
You can see Steven’s eyes, deep and brown—and even as unrecognizable as he is in this state, you still know that this is your Steven.
Against your better judgment, you step closer, treading softly and praying that he remembers you.
The wolf’s ears flatten against his head, and it takes a cautious step backward. It—he—growls, something low in his throat. Not quite a threat, but a warning. You can’t tell if it’s out of anger or fear.
He looks like a wolf, but bigger. You don’t know if that scares or excites you.
Every alarm bell in the back of your mind is blaring, telling you to run, get out of there, but you can’t. Not when you know that the wolf in front of you was your boyfriend a handful of minutes ago.
Slowly and carefully, you lower to your knees—you vaguely remember a documentary you and Steven had watched about wolves, how if you approach them on their level, they’d be less inclined to attack you. They’d be less threatened.
The wolf steps forward cautiously, sniffing the air in front of you as it tries to determine if you’re a friend or its next meal. It takes another step forward, and you put your hand out—palm facing upward—in front of it.
Those deep brown eyes you recognize so fondly as Steven’s never leave yours as the wolf sniffs your palm, its nose nudging your fingers as it does its best to understand who you are.
You let out a breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding when it presses its nose against your hand, a large, warm tongue swiping across your fingers.
He remembers you.
“Steven,” you breathe, and he huffs in response.
You move your hand carefully across the wolf’s snout, brushing your fingers over the fur on the top of its head gently.
You’re petting your boyfriend like you would a dog at the shelter.
The wolf takes another step forward, and you can see more of Steven in its eyes; that care, the affection, it’s all still there, just expressed differently.
He’s a lot bigger up close, definitely larger than any dog you’d ever seen, and that’s more obvious when the muzzle of the dog (if you can even call it that) nudges against the side of your head, then under your jaw. You can hear the way he sniffs and huffs as he takes in your scent.
Your hand slides from the top of his head down behind his ears, and you’re able to feel how soft his fur is. It’s dark, dark brown, much like Steven’s own hair color.
My boyfriend’s a werewolf, you think. Yeah, no big deal. I can roll with this.
You scratch behind his ears briefly, before you let your hands trail across more of that soft fur. With every pass of your hands, you can feel the strong beat of his heart, the way his chest expands with every breath.
After he’s gotten a good idea of your scent, he nuzzles against you for a few more moments. You can’t deny that the feeling is nice, like subconsciously, you know that it’s him.
You continue to pet him, before he shifts, and lays across your lap, putting all of his weight on you.
It doesn’t surprise you at all that Steven’s werewolf form is as much of a cuddler as he is. He’s warm, impressively so, and you take the tranquility of this moment to truly process the way this evening has gone so far.
Steven’s a werewolf. That night six months ago when you were attacked, he’d gotten scratched by what you can only assume was another werewolf, and that was all it took.
You resume brushing your hand across his fur, wondering what happened in your life to bring you to this point—sitting on your living room floor while Steven’s oversized werewolf form lays across your legs like some big lap dog.
Most of the night passes the same way, with the wolf curled up as best as it can in your lap, until you move him off of you when your legs fall asleep. There’s no complaint, though, and he settles down on the floor right in front of you, going right back to sleep.
Much to your surprise, nothing was broken like he thought when he told you to hide away anything fragile, and the two of you end up falling asleep on the living room floor.
—
When you wake up the next morning, Steven’s back to himself. You take this time before he wakes up to take in the sight of him now, and mentally compare it to the way he looked last night.
You drag your hand lightly down his bare back, fingers tracing his spine, remembering the feel of his thick fur beneath your touch. He stirs, so you retract your hand, allowing him to wake up on his own.
He does, turning and stretching as he comes out of sleep, sitting up to get himself more awake.
Before things can get awkward, you grab the blanket that rests on the back of the couch, pulling it down to cover his lap, since his clothes lay in a haphazard pile on the other side of the room.
He turns to you, a sheepish grin on his face as he takes in the sight of you.
“Hiya, love,” he murmurs, voice soft and still thick with sleep.
“Sorry about…everything.” He gestures to himself, before letting his hand fall lamely back to his lap.
You shake your head, moving so that your head rests on his shoulder, now sitting beside him as the two of you wake up in the aftermath of an interesting and unexpected evening.
“It wasn’t as bad as you probably thought it’d be.”
Now it’s his turn to look at you, dumbfounded.
It’s only then that it dawns on you that he might not remember everything that happens when he’s turned, so you fill him in.
You recount the events of the previous night to him, from witnessing his transformation to the way his wolf had cuddled and nuzzled against you for most of the night until you fell asleep.
“Oh, uh, I didn’t—“ he shifts, keeping the blanket across his lap.
“—didn’t know that I’d been such a lap dog.”
He says the words sarcastically, in that self-deprecating tone that you always associate with Steven.
You take it in stride, chucking softly.
“Oh, yeah, total pooch,” you tease.
“We even played fetch at one point.”
He flushes a bright red, the color bleeding down his neck, and you swear you can hear the way that his heart rate skyrockets.
“Shut up.”
After a few beats, you speak up, voice a bit softer and more sincere.
“You go through that every month?”
He pauses, eyes falling to the blanket in his lap, hands fidgeting with the fabric. He nods, taking a slow breath.
“Not really a good way to spend the evening, is it?”
You both chuckle softly, taking this quiet morning to become accustomed to what very well might be a new routine for the two of you.
“You were pretty calm, all things considered.”
He hums, nuzzling against the side of your face as you speak. You can’t help but make the mental connection between the way he did that same gesture as a wolf last night.
“Maybe you should just stay here when you..y’know. Turn.”
You can feel him pause for a moment, thinking, but after a few seconds, he resumes his nuzzling against your jaw and neck.
“I don’t want to put that responsibility on you,” he murmurs, tone low.
You shrug, bringing a hand up to card gently through his curls. You remember the texture of his fur beneath your fingers.
“I didn’t mind it all too much. It’s not like you tore up the apartment or anything,” you gesture around, his lack of destruction apparent.
You can feel the way he grins shyly against your skin, and your hand continues to brush through his hair.
“Thank you,” he hums sleepily, breath warm against you as he speaks.
You’re definitely not opposed to one morning a month turning out this way.
tags: @winniethewife , @faretheeoscar , @silvernight-m
#steven grant#steven grant x reader#steven grant x you#monsterfucktober#werewolf steven grant#moon knight#some body horror lol#werewolves#steven grant fanfiction#moon knight x reader#moon knight x you#oscar isaac#oscar isaac x reader#oscar isaac x you
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heyy!! so I was wondering if you could do a like a oneshot of being enemies with jace and him teasing you about liking him and then it ending with him eating the reader out?? IM SO SORRY ITS VERY SPECIFIC LMFOOAOAOAOOA 💀💀
hi love!! ahh i had so much fun writing this!! i was tired when i wrote this so i got a bit carried away at the end and kinda turned this into an enemies to lovers... but i hope you like it!!
Heavenly Fire- Jace x Fem!Reader (he has too many last names.)
summary: in the request!
warnings: NSFW!! smut! porn with minimal plot... oral (f recieving)(jace is the king of giving head), fingering, first time(?), but no actual sex </3
notes: i couldn't think of a title for this :( fun fact: my shower isn't working right now that is what inspired me to write this! also i feel like i nailed jace's personality in this one, i always find it hard when i'm writing for jace because of his personality but this one...
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“God! Do you ever shut up?!” You turned around to Jace, who was following you towards the kitchen as Isabelle had just made lunch.
“Now, I know I’ve been called heavenly, but a God? I’ve not heard that before.” He teased, earning an evil stare from you.
“What are you talking about?” Isabelle asked, placing some bowls on the table of what appeared to be soup?
“Jace is being a-“
“Y/n confessed her everlasting love to me, we’re getting married next week, I better go and inform Alec and Magnus-“
“Oh shut up, Jace! You know I don’t like you!” You gave Jace a shove before you sat down at the table. He snickered as he sat down opposite you, clearly happy with your reaction.
“Keep telling yourself that, love.” He said under his breath before Isabelle joined the two of you at the table.
There was no denying Jace was attractive, it was almost annoying how he always looked perfect. His perfect blonde hair and his perfect eyes and his perfect smirk and his perfect body- But that wasn’t why you hated him. You hated him because he was such an asshole all the time. He knew he was good looking, and he was overly confident- or so it seemed to you. He never had an issue when it came to one night stands, but you noticed he could never hold down a relationship. You would never see him with the same girl more than once, sometimes twice on the odd occasion. Even you had longer relationships than that (although Isabelle would say being together for 5 days didn’t count as a relationship.)
After finishing the soup Izzy had made, you gave Jace one last glance before standing up and placing your bowl by the sink.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
After a long day of training, it was no surprise that you were sweaty and needed a shower. So, naturally, you headed to your bathroom, locked the door and began to undress. But there was a problem.
Your shower wasn’t working.
You sighed and stepped back out, taking your robe which was hanging up by the door and slipping it on, tying it up, and unlocking the bathroom door again.
You hoped that Isabelle would let you use her bathroom, as the spare bathrooms were tiny and quite frankly disgusting. But as you got closer to her room, you could hear music being played, and as you put your ear to the door you heard not only Isabelle’s voice but also Simon’s. You quickly dismissed this idea.
But that meant you only had one more option. Jace.
Alec was most probably at Magnus’ apartment, so you could use his shower- but you wouldn’t want to do so without asking him first. So you had no other choice.
You felt a strange buzz of anxiety in your belly as you knocked on Jace’s door, all you wanted to do was have a shower, there’s nothing to be anxious about!
As he opened the door, you were met with a shirtless Jace, his hair damp and slightly wavy, his-
“Come to discuss our wedding, love?” He teased you, eyeing you up and down, trying to figure out if you were actually wearing anything beneath your robe. You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding and shook your head.
“Jace, look, my shower isn’t working and Izzy has Simon over. I didn’t want to have to bother you but-”
“You want to take a shower with me? Without taking me to dinner first? Wow-”
“No, no! I meant, I- You-” You suddenly became quite flustered, unable to think of anything other than the sight of him in the shower, hair dripping, the way the water would fall on his body- Stop! You were sure you were blushing now, and as you looked back up at him, he confirmed it with a devilish smirk.
“What’s got you so pink in the face, sweetheart? I thought you hated me?” He taunted you, and you couldn’t take it any more. The throbbing between your thighs was becoming almost painful as you wrapped your arms around his neck and captured his lips with yours in a needy kiss. You couldn’t help but think about what this would do to his ego. He was going to become unbearable to live with, but in the moment you couldn’t help yourself. He was so fucking hot, you could never truly hate him.
You pushed him backwards a little, so you were both in his room with the door shut. If Isabelle saw the two of you right now, she would never shut up about it, telling you I told you so. You always denied your feelings towards Jace, hiding them with hatred, and he always expressed his feelings through teasing you, causing you to ‘hate’ him even more.
Quickly, you pull away from Jace before he had the chance to rest his hands on your waist.
“Oh, fuck!” You hid your face with your hands, turning away from Jace. You were such an idiot.
“What is it? Did I do something wrong, I-” Jace genuinely seemed confused, and quite panicked by your sudden change in attitude.
“No. Well, actually, yes you have. You’re such an asshole, Jace. But I can’t help every time I see your perfect fucking face, or your… What I’m trying to say is this was a mistake. I-” You were shut up by lips crashing into yours once more, this time more passionate than the last. His hand cupped your face as the other held your waist, leading the two of you closer and closer towards the bed. He must have seen the way your eyes were so lust-blown only a few moments ago, as his hand creeped towards the place where your robe was tied, and within seconds it had fallen to the floor.
You would have felt nervous, even anxious about your body being on display like this, especially in front of Jace as he pulled away from the kiss, but as soon as you saw the way he was looking at you, your worries disappeared. His lips were slightly parted, his eyes half-lidded, his chest rising and falling as his breathing became heavier.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his hand gently placed on your shoulder. He slid it down your body, touching you for the first time. He gently caressed your breasts, massaging the soft flesh as small whimpers left your lips and your eyes fell shut. He took a moment to toy with your nipples, and that was when you let out an almost pornographic moan. At that, he dropped to his knees, his hand sliding down your torso until it rested just above your cunt.
He placed kisses along your thighs before looking up at you, as if asking for permission. You eagerly nodded your head, you desperately needed him to touch you.
He moved slightly and took one of your legs, lifting it over his shoulder to put your slick pussy on full display for him. He parted your lips with two fingers, before leaning in and swiping his tongue along your clit. The action was so sudden that your knees buckled beneath you, so he moved once more and pushed you down onto the bed. As your back fell onto the mattress, he pulled you closer to him so your knees were hanging off his bed. Then, he resumed his attack on your clit.
“Oh fuck! Jace!” You groaned, slapping one hand over your mouth and tangling the other in his hair as he ate you out.
He sucked you clit between his lips, earning a string of moans to fall from your lips, and that’s when he decided to trace his finger over your hole, before replacing it with his thumb. He eased the tip of his thumb in before pulling it out again, watching as your hole pulsed, begging for more.
Without any warning, he slipped his middle finger into you and curled it upwards in a ‘come here’ motion as he continued sucking, lipping and nipping at your clit. Your back arched and your legs wrapped around the man between your thighs, pulling him impossibly closer to you.
“Shh, it’s okay, angel. Think you can take another one?” He teased, bringing a second finger to your entrance.
Jace had assumed you were a virgin, and he was right. However, he knew you had touched yourself before. Occasionally, you would think you were home alone and your hand would travel between your thighs, small moans and whimpers would fall from your lips as Jace passed by your room. It took all his strength to simply walk past, especially when you would moan his name.
He slipped the second finger in, and you felt that familiar feeling in your belly. However, this time it felt ten times stronger. You were worried that you would actually explode when you reached your high.
“I know you’ve been wanting this, angel. Coming undone on my fingers, my tongue. Pretending you hate me, but I could see straight through you. I knew all along you were just a little slut, isn’t that right? I knew just how jealous you would get whenever a girl would come home with me, just how angry it would make you. But it’s okay, they never meant anything,” his thumb replaced his mouth on your clit as he spoke, and his words went straight to your core, “I knew all along you wanted to be my girl. Cum for me and I’ll make your wish come true, cum on my fingers, darling, I know you’re close.
Just as your orgasm washed over you and your thighs began to tremble, Jace leaned down and captured your lips with his. You couldn’t help but moan against his lips, followed by strings of profanities as his fingers continued to pump inside you, working through your high. You had never felt so… wonderful. You were gasping for air but Jace’s lips were still on yours, you could even taste yourself on his tongue.
You wrapped both of your arms around him and held him close, hoping he would lie by your side when you finally came back to reality. However, he escaped from your arms and went into the bathroom to retrieve a soft, damp cloth to clean you up with.
“Stay still for me, darling.” He chuckled as he spread your legs to clean up your messy cunt, but your thighs kept pressing together. However, he managed to clean you up and threw the cloth to the corner of the room, to a pile of clothes that needed washing.
He helped you up the bed, so your head was against the pillows, and lied beside you, pulling you close to him in a warm embrace as your head rested on his chest.
He stroked your bare back, causing you to shiver slightly as it tickled, which seemed to amuse Jace.
“So what does this mean?” You asked, moving your head to look up at Jace who was sitting against the headboard, one arm behind his head.
“What does what mean?”
“Everything you said, about being yours?”
Jace took a moment to think, and you were filled with a sudden panic that he didn’t mean what he said, that it just felt right in the moment.
“You can use my shower, sweetheart. When you’re finished, get changed into something nice, or not- but I don’t think you’d want to wear leggings and a hoodie on your first date.” He said, a smirk creeping up on his lips.
“Are you, the Jace Herondale- who never dates- asking me out on a date?”
“No, I’m not asking you,” he chuckled, playing with your hair, “darling, I’m telling you.”
#jace wayland smut#jace wayland#jace herondale smut#jace lightwood#jamie campbell bower#jamie campbell bower x reader#jamie bower#jace wayland x reader#jace herondale x reader#jace morgenstern#city of bones#shadowhunters
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Front Covers for Fics and WIPs + Fic Titles Ask Game
(Yes, it’s two games for the price of one, folks!)
Thank you for the tags, @burntheedges and @nerdieforpedro; your covers are so gorgeous! In fact, every single cover that’s come across my dash so far has been so well thought out and perfect for the fics – I just love getting a visual peek into how authors envision their own work! And a huuuge thank you to the amazingly talented @saradika for making these cool templates to help us share our visions for our fics 💙
Work is so busy rn, but I really wanna write and play fun games like this, so I sacrificed sleep and made most of these at like 5am 😫
Published works…
I had already made a cover for Be-All. A massive thank you to @djarin-desires for allowing me to crop and use one of her super-sexy brooding Din pics for Never Look Down. There’s a disappointing lack of Din crotch shots in the actual show, so this was perfect for the subject matter. Check out the uncropped shot and more brooding Din here!
And my upcoming fics…
With the exception of Never Look Down and The Long Goodbye, the other eight all involved me doing a fair amount of (fairly slapdash) Photoshopping and, for five of them, AI image generation. I’m new at the latter and not very good at it, but I realised Canva has its own AI image generator, so I thought I’d give it a go. Then I discovered Adobe Firefly, and I spent a while playing. It’s really difficult!
I should also credit Svetlana from KamuiCosplay, who is holding Din's Amban phase-pulse rifle on the cover of TSATT. See her YouTube tutorial on how to build your own.
Meanwhile, I was also tagged by @sixhours, @burntheedges and @ishabull in a ✨ Fic Titles Ask Game ✨ (thank you all!), and since there’s a certain amount of crossover, I’m combining these games into one post.
Send me an ask with the title of one of my fics and I’ll tell you why I chose it, the song/poem/quote it’s from, the line in the fic that inspired it, and (if it’s a WIP) maybe share a snip!
Published works…
🔷 Be-All And Endor [406.6k words - Din x f!reader - slow burn love n' smut]
🔷 Never Look Down [13.2k words - Din x OFC/f!reader - angsty fluff]
🔷 Din Djarin: The Contractor [1k words - Din x gn!reader - silly imagine]
🔷 The Long Goodbye [45 words - sentimental!Din - flash fic]
And my upcoming fics…
🔷 Hush [Din x OFC/f!reader - secret relationship spice - *COMING SOON*]
🔷 Held Is The Seed [Din x f!reader - smut city]
🔷 To See A Thousand Things [Din x f!reader - angsty smut]
🔷 Aruetiise [Din x gn!reader - a helmet reveal one-shot]
🔷 Final Sanctuary [Din x OFC - smutty one-shot]
🔷 Din Djarin In Jarringly Domestic Situations [Din x OFC - space romcom]
I’m super-late to both these games, and as I was trying to decide who to tag, I noticed the same people kept being tagged in the fic covers one over and over. So I spent some time this weekend going through my list of writer mutuals and checking to see who hadn’t already been tagged and/or hadn’t posted any Canva designs yet. I’m hoping this will help the book cover design one reach beyond just the Pedro fandom, too, and even if you’re not up for participating in that, maybe the fic titles one is more your style. No pressure either way, of course 😌💙
@againstacecilia @always-andromeda @alwaysmicado @amywritesthings @auntie-venom
@avastrasposts @bitchesuntitled @burningfieldof-clover @cas-readsandwrites @chiriwritesstuff
@chronically-ghosted @classaysstuff @corazondebeskar @covetyou @davnittbraes
@desert-fern @din-cognito @djarinmuse @drewharrisonwriter @fhatbhabiee
@for-a-longlongtime @fromthedeskoftheraven @hc-geralt-23 @idungoofed @joelalorian
@lahooozaherr @moeswriting @nervoushottee @novemberrain-writes @papurgaatika
@quicksilvermad @soft-persephone @stardusthuntress @strawberri-blonde @syd-djarin
@the-mandawhor1an @tightjeansjavi @wannab-urs @whxtedreams @wrathkitty
#tag game#tag games#book covers#fic covers#fanfic covers#ask game#ask me anything#din djarin#the mandalorian#mando#din djarin fanfiction#the mandalorian fanfiction#mando fanfiction#pedro pascal characters
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hiii! I adore ur fics. may I request a colin firth/reader fic wherein they’re secretly dating but are super touchy and sweet during interviews that fans speculate that theyre together? something fluffy (maybe even smutty) thanks so much!!
Title: Behind the Veil of Stardom.
Summary: In the heart of Paris, two co-stars share more than just a script. When their secret romance becomes the subject of speculation, they must decide whether to keep hiding or embrace the truth.
Pairing: Colin Firth × Fem! Reader
Warnings: Smut.
Author's Notes: Thanks so much for your order! I hope it brings you all the joy and smiles! 🫶😊
Also read on Ao3
You smiled and said thank you as one of the staff helped you attach the microphone to your outfit, the small device fitting snugly against the fabric of your blouse. Today was a big day—an interview in Paris to promote your new TV series, a romantic drama that had already started to generate buzz for its intense, passionate scenes. And sitting comfortably next to you, talking softly to the interviewer as everything was being prepared, was your co-star and secret boyfriend, Colin Firth.
Colin looked effortlessly charming, his relaxed demeanor and easy smile making him the perfect partner for this interview. The two of you had shared many intimate scenes in the series, your on-screen chemistry undeniable. But what the public didn’t know was that the chemistry extended off-screen as well, and it was hard to keep that hidden when every glance, every touch, held a deeper meaning.
When the microphone was finally secured, you made your way over to sit next to Colin, who greeted you with a warm smile. His eyes sparkled with that familiar mischief, and you couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement in your chest. Because your characters were a romantic couple in the series, Colin had more leeway to be affectionate during the interview—a fact that he clearly intended to make the most of.
As you settled into the chair beside him, Colin leaned in slightly, his hand resting casually on the back of your chair, his thumb brushing lightly against your shoulder. It was a subtle gesture, one that could easily be interpreted as part of the interview performance, but you felt the warmth of his touch seeping through the fabric of your blouse, sending a thrill down your spine.
The interviewer began with a few light questions about the series, asking about the challenges of filming such a passionate romance and how the two of you had managed to create such believable chemistry on screen. Colin, ever the gentleman, was quick to praise your talents, his voice low and warm as he spoke.
“Well, she’s an incredible actress,” Colin said, his eyes locking onto yours with a look that made your heart skip a beat. “Our scenes together were so… intense. It felt natural, really, to just lose ourselves in the moment, to bring that raw emotion to the screen.”
You smiled, feeling a blush creep up your cheeks at his words. “Colin’s too kind,” you replied, trying to keep your voice steady. “He made it easy to connect, to really dive into the emotions our characters were feeling. I think that’s why the scenes turned out the way they did.”
The interviewer nodded, clearly intrigued. “There were several, shall we say, very intimate scenes between your characters. How did you approach those, especially knowing the audience would be watching so closely?”
Colin’s hand slid from the back of your chair to rest on your thigh, the gesture hidden from the camera but sending a wave of heat through your body. His touch was firm but gentle, a reminder of the connection you shared both on and off screen.
“We approached them with a lot of trust,” Colin said smoothly, his thumb rubbing small circles against your leg. “When you’re filming scenes like that, it’s important to feel safe, to know that your partner is there with you, fully present. And I think we both understood the importance of making those moments as real as possible.”
You nodded in agreement, trying to focus on your response despite the distracting sensation of Colin’s hand on your thigh. “Exactly,” you added, your voice a little breathier than you intended. “We wanted to make sure that the passion between our characters was authentic, and that meant being completely open and vulnerable with each other.”
The interviewer smiled, clearly sensing the chemistry between you. “It certainly shows on screen. The tension, the connection—it’s palpable. How did you prepare for those scenes?”
You exchanged a quick glance with Colin, your heart fluttering as you prepared to answer the interviewer’s question. It was always a delicate dance, balancing your genuine affection for each other with the need to keep your off-screen relationship private. Still, the chemistry between you was undeniable, and it was hard not to let that slip through in moments like this.
“Well,” you began, casting Colin a playful look, “preparing for those scenes was all about trust and communication. We spent a lot of time discussing how we wanted to approach them, what our characters were feeling in those moments. It helped that we’ve worked together before, so there was already a level of comfort.”
Colin nodded, his hand still resting on your thigh, though his touch was so light it could be interpreted as entirely casual. “Absolutely,” he agreed, his voice smooth and warm. “We wanted to honor the story, especially since it’s based on such a popular romance book. There’s a lot of expectation there, and we knew we had to get it right.”
The interviewer smiled, clearly intrigued by your dynamic. “It sounds like you two had a great partnership on set. Speaking of which, I’ve heard that you’ve worked together on several other projects before this one. How well do you think you know each other?”
You could sense the interviewer’s curiosity as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Why don’t we find out?” he suggested, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “How about we play a little game to see just how much you really know about each other?”
You couldn’t help but laugh softly, exchanging another look with Colin. “What kind of game?” you asked, your tone light and playful, though you couldn’t deny the flicker of excitement at the idea.
The interviewer reached under his chair and pulled out two small whiteboards and markers, handing one to each of you. “It’s simple,” he explained. “I’ll ask you both a series of questions about each other, and you’ll write down your answers. Then we’ll see how many you get right. It should be fun!”
Colin chuckled, his thumb brushing your leg one last time before he reluctantly removed his hand to take the whiteboard and pen. “I’m game if you are,” he said, his eyes twinkling with the same playful mischief that always made your heart skip a beat.
You smiled, taking the whiteboard and marker with a nod. “Let’s do it,” you agreed, feeling a mix of anticipation and amusement. It would be a fun way to test just how well you really knew each other after all this time, though you’d have to be careful not to give away too much about your real relationship.
The interviewer’s first question was an easy one, and you both scribbled down your answers with a smile. “What’s Colin’s favorite food?” he asked, clearly starting with something light to ease you into the game.
You grinned as you wrote down your answer, glancing over at Colin to see him doing the same. When you both revealed your answers, you were pleased to see that you’d both written down “fish and chips,” a classic British favorite that you knew Colin couldn’t resist.
The interviewer laughed, clearly enjoying the camaraderie between you. “Well done! You got that one right. Let’s see how you do with this next one. What’s her favorite book?”
Colin hesitated for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly as he thought. You knew that he knew the answer, but you also knew he was trying to think of a way to write it down without giving away too much. Finally, he scribbled something on his board and turned it around with a grin.
You burst out laughing when you saw what he’d written: “The book our show is based on, of course!”
You playfully nudged him with your elbow. “That’s cheating,” you teased, though you couldn’t help but smile at his clever answer.
“Hey, I’m just playing it safe,” Colin replied with a wink, his tone light and teasing.
The interviewer laughed, clearly enjoying the banter between you. “Alright, alright, I’ll give you that one. Let’s move on to something a bit more challenging. What’s Colin’s most embarrassing moment on set?”
You and Colin exchanged a glance, both of you stifling laughter as you remembered the incident in question. Trying to keep a straight face, you quickly wrote down your answer, knowing that this would be a good one.
When you both revealed your answers, they were identical: “That time he walked into the wrong dressing room… several times.”
The interviewer raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Oh, now this sounds like a story. Care to share?”
Colin chuckled, his cheeks flushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s just say I was a bit distracted that day,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “I walked into the wrong dressing room not once, but several times. Luckily, no one was… too indecent.”
You couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the memory, and as the interviewer looked at you expectantly, you decided to tell the full story, knowing it was too funny not to share.
“Well, the truth is,” you began, still chuckling, “Colin was actually looking for my dressing room that day. We’d agreed to practice our lines before shooting a particularly intense scene, and I told him to just wait for me in my dressing room while I talked to the director. But there was one little problem… Colin didn’t know which one was mine.”
Colin groaned good-naturedly, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples. “In my defense,” he interjected, “all the dressing rooms looked exactly the same. They were like a maze. I thought I could figure it out, you know? Just a quick peek in each one, and I’d find yours eventually.”
You grinned, nodding as you continued the story. “So, instead of asking me or just waiting for me like we’d agreed, he decided to go on a little adventure of his own. He figured he’d just relax on my sofa while I finished up. What could go wrong, right?”
Colin rolled his eyes, though the smile on his face betrayed his amusement. “Except I had no idea which one was yours,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “So, I tried my luck with the first door I found, and, well… let’s just say it wasn’t yours.”
You couldn’t contain your laughter as you remembered the look on Colin’s face when he finally told you what had happened. “The first dressing room he walked into belonged to one of our co-stars, who was in the middle of getting changed. Poor Colin nearly died of embarrassment when he realized his mistake, but instead of retreating and asking for directions like any sane person would, he just apologized profusely and quickly shut the door.”
“And then,” Colin added, holding up a finger as if to make a point, “I tried the next door, thinking, ‘Alright, this has to be it.’ But no, it was the director’s assistant’s room. She was having a cup of tea and looked at me like I was completely lost, which, to be fair, I was.”
By this point, you were both laughing so hard that you had to wipe tears from your eyes. “So there he was,” you continued, trying to catch your breath, “wandering from room to room, getting more and more flustered, until he finally gave up and just sat down in the hallway, waiting for me to finish talking to the director. When I found him, he looked so defeated, just sitting there with his head in his hands.”
Colin shook his head with a wry smile. “I was a broken man by that point,” he said with mock solemnity. “I’d seen too much.”
The interviewer was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying the playful banter between you. “It sounds like quite the adventure,” he said, trying to contain his own laughter. “I’m sure that’s one day on set neither of you will forget anytime soon.”
You nodded, still giggling. “Definitely not. And after that, I made sure to text Colin detailed directions to my dressing room whenever we had to meet up, just to avoid any more mix-ups.”
Colin leaned closer to you, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Lesson learned,” he said with a playful wink. “Next time, I’ll just ask for directions.”
The interviewer smiled, clearly pleased with the lighthearted energy in the room. “Well, it sounds like you two have a great rapport, both on and off-screen. It’s no wonder the chemistry between your characters is so believable. Thank you both for sharing that story—it’s always nice to hear about the fun moments behind the scenes.”
You exchanged a warm glance with Colin, feeling a deep sense of affection for him. It was moments like these that made you appreciate just how much fun you had together, both as co-stars and as secret partners. No matter the challenges that came with your relationship, the laughter and love you shared made it all worthwhile.
The interviewer, clearly enjoying the playful energy between you and Colin, decided to keep the game going. “Alright, let’s see how well you know each other when it comes to preferences,” he said with a grin. “What’s Colin’s favorite way to unwind after a long day on set?”
You exchanged a quick, knowing glance with Colin before turning your attention to your whiteboard. You didn’t even need to think about it; you already knew the answer by heart. Colin’s routine was one of the things you loved most about him—simple, yet so quintessentially him.
You quickly scribbled down your answer and then turned the board around for the interviewer to see: “A glass of wine and a good book.”
Colin revealed his own board at the same time, and sure enough, he had written the exact same thing. “She knows me too well,” he said with a smile, his voice warm and affectionate. “There’s nothing like relaxing with a nice glass of red and losing myself in a good novel.”
The interviewer nodded appreciatively. “That sounds like the perfect way to unwind. You both seem to know each other quite well so far. Let’s see if we can find something a little trickier. How about this—what’s her favorite comfort food?”
Colin chuckled softly, and you could see the gears turning in his head as he considered the question. This was a bit of a tough one, mainly because you had a few different comfort foods depending on your mood. But there was one particular dish that you always gravitated towards, especially after a long day or when you needed a bit of a pick-me-up.
As Colin wrote down his answer, you quickly did the same, feeling a bit of anticipation as you wondered if he would get it right.
When you both revealed your boards, you couldn’t help but smile. You had written, “Chocolate cake,” while Colin had written, “Chocolate cake or anything with chocolate, really.”
You laughed softly, nodding in agreement. “He’s got me there,” you admitted, feeling a warmth spread through you at how well he knew you. “Chocolate is my go-to when I need a bit of comfort. And Colin’s been kind enough to indulge my sweet tooth on more than one occasion.”
Colin grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “I’ve learned to keep a stash of chocolate on hand whenever we’re filming together,” he said with a wink. “It’s become part of the routine.”
The interviewer smiled, clearly enjoying the easy rapport between you. “That’s sweet—literally. It’s great to see how well you both know each other. But let’s throw in a bit of a curveball now. What’s Colin’s guilty pleasure TV show?”
You stifled a laugh as you immediately thought of the answer. Colin had once confessed this to you during a late-night conversation, and you had teased him mercilessly about it ever since. You quickly wrote down your answer, glancing over at Colin to see a slightly sheepish grin on his face as he did the same.
When you revealed your boards, your suspicions were confirmed. You had written, “The Great British Bake Off,” while Colin had written, “The Great British Bake Off (don’t judge).”
The interviewer raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly amused. “Really? The Great British Bake Off? I wouldn’t have guessed that!”
Colin chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “What can I say? It’s strangely addictive. There’s something incredibly soothing about watching people bake under pressure. Plus, it gives me ideas for when I want to surprise someone with a homemade treat.”
You gave Colin a playful nudge, your eyes twinkling with affection. “And he’s actually pretty good at it,” you added, trying not to let too much of your admiration slip into your voice. “I’ve had the pleasure of sampling a few of his baking experiments, and I have to say, he could give some of those contestants a run for their money.”
Colin’s smile softened, and you could see the affection in his eyes as he looked at you. “Well, I do have a great taste tester,” he replied, his voice filled with warmth.
The interviewer watched the exchange with a knowing smile, clearly enjoying the interaction between you. “It sounds like you two have a lot of fun together, both on and off set. It’s always nice to see co-stars who genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Let’s do one more question—something a bit more personal. What’s her favorite memory from filming this series?”
You paused for a moment, considering your answer carefully. There were so many great memories from filming, but one particular moment stood out in your mind—something that was special to you, not just because of the series, but because of what it meant for your relationship with Colin.
As you wrote down your answer, you noticed Colin hesitating slightly before he began to write. You wondered if he was thinking of the same memory or if he would choose something else entirely.
When you both revealed your boards, your heart skipped a beat. You had written, “The day we filmed the final scene in the rain,” while Colin had written, “The final scene in the rain.”
The interviewer leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “That sounds like a significant moment. Can you tell us more about why it’s your favorite memory?”
You exchanged a glance with Colin, a shared understanding passing between you as you remembered that day. It had been one of the most challenging scenes to film, both physically and emotionally, but it had also brought you closer together in a way you hadn’t expected.
“The final scene in the rain was… intense,” you began, choosing your words carefully. “It was the culmination of our characters’ journey, and there was so much raw emotion in that moment. We had to dig deep, both of us, to bring out everything our characters were feeling. But what made it really special was the way Colin was there for me every step of the way. He made me feel safe, supported, and that allowed me to give everything I had to the scene.”
Colin nodded, his expression softening as he listened to your words. “It was a challenging scene, but it was also one of the most rewarding,” he added. “There was this incredible energy between us, and I think that’s why the scene turned out the way it did. We were both fully present, fully committed to making it as real as possible. And I think that’s why it’s my favorite memory from filming—because it was a moment where we were completely in sync, both as actors and as… well, as partners in this journey.”
You could feel your heart swelling with emotion at his words, and you had to take a moment to compose yourself before responding. “It was a moment I’ll never forget,” you said softly, your voice filled with sincerity. “It wasn’t just about the scene—it was about the connection we shared, the trust and understanding that made it possible. That’s what made it so special.”
The interviewer smiled warmly, clearly touched by the depth of your responses. “Thank you both for sharing that. It’s clear that your bond goes beyond just being co-stars—it’s something deeper, something that really shines through in your performances. I’m sure the audience will feel that connection when they watch the series.”
You and Colin exchanged a glance, your eyes meeting with a shared understanding. The interviewer might not know the full extent of your relationship, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. What mattered was the connection you shared, the love and respect that had brought you together both on and off screen.
As the interview wrapped up, the interviewer thanked you both for your time and insights, clearly pleased with how the conversation had gone. “It’s been a pleasure talking with you both,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure the series will be a huge success, and I wish you both the best of luck with it.”
You smiled in return, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to share this moment with Colin. “Thank you,” you replied warmly. “It’s been a lot of fun, and we’re both really excited for everyone to see the series.”
Colin nodded in agreement, his hand once again resting lightly on your back as he added, “It’s been a great experience, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with the world.”
As the cameras stopped rolling and the interviewer said his goodbyes, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of contentment. The interview had gone better than you’d expected, and it was clear that the chemistry between you and Colin was undeniable—even if the full extent of your relationship remained a well-kept secret.
As you gathered your things and prepared to leave the set, Colin leaned in close, his voice low and filled with affection as he whispered in your ear, “You were amazing, love. As always.”
You smiled, your heart fluttering at the sound of his voice, and you turned to face him, your eyes shining with the love and admiration you felt for him. “So were you,” you replied softly, your voice filled with warmth.
For a brief moment, the world around you seemed to fade away, and it was just the two of you, standing together, sharing a connection that went beyond words. It was a moment of quiet intimacy, a reminder of the bond you shared—a bond that had only grown stronger over time.
Over the weeks that followed, the whirlwind of interviews, press events, and promotional activities for your TV series only intensified. The undeniable chemistry between you and Colin became a hot topic, not just among journalists but also within the ever-watchful fan community. As each new interview aired, fans dissected every look, every touch, every shared laugh between you and Colin, speculating wildly about whether the on-screen romance had spilled over into real life.
The speculation was impossible to ignore. Fan forums buzzed with theories, shipping hashtags for your characters—and for you and Colin—trended on social media. Fans analyzed your body language, scrutinized your words for hidden meanings, and even compared your outfits for any hint that might confirm their suspicions. It was all in good fun, mostly, and the attention certainly helped build excitement around the series. But as the days passed, the constant scrutiny began to weigh on you, making it harder to enjoy the playful charade you and Colin had been so careful to maintain.
Late one night, after another exhausting day of interviews, you found yourself alone in Colin's hotel room. You had fled there as soon as you could, desperate for the comfort of his presence after the pressure of the day. The suite was dimly lit, the curtains drawn tightly shut against the prying eyes of the city below. Colin was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower running a soft, steady backdrop to your thoughts as you lay on the bed, your iPad resting on your lap.
You couldn't help yourself; you opened YouTube and clicked on one of the interviews from earlier that week. The video had already racked up thousands of views, and the comments section was overflowing with fan speculation. You scrolled through the comments, your heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and curiosity.
"Did you see the way Colin looked at her? They're definitely more than just co-stars."
"I swear, they have to be dating. The way they touch each other... it's not just acting."
"That chemistry is too real. I bet they're together in real life."
You sighed, rubbing your temple as you stared at the screen. The comments were relentless, and while some were playful and lighthearted, others hit a little too close to home. What if the fans were right? What if they found out about your relationship? The thought of your private life being dragged into the spotlight, of the media frenzy that would surely follow, made your chest tighten with anxiety.
The sound of the bathroom door opening pulled you from your thoughts. You looked up to see Colin stepping out, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair damp and tousled. He noticed the troubled expression on your face immediately, his brow furrowing with concern as he crossed the room to join you on the bed.
"What's wrong, love?" he asked softly, sitting down beside you and gently taking the iPad from your hands. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
You hesitated, unsure of how to put your worries into words. "It's just... the fans," you finally admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "They're starting to speculate. A lot. About us."
Colin glanced at the screen, quickly scanning the comments before setting the iPad aside with a sigh. He reached out, pulling you into his arms, his embrace warm and reassuring. "Let them speculate," he murmured, his lips brushing against your temple. "They're going to talk no matter what we do. But that doesn't mean we have to let it affect us."
You buried your face in his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of him, the tension slowly easing from your body as he held you. "I know," you whispered, your voice muffled against his skin. "But what if they find out? What if this all gets out of hand?"
Colin pulled back slightly, lifting your chin so you were forced to meet his gaze. His eyes were warm, filled with a quiet intensity that made your heart ache. "If they find out, we'll deal with it together," he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for doubt. "But for now, let's not borrow trouble. We're here, we're together, and that's all that matters."
His words were a balm to your frayed nerves, and you nodded, feeling the last of your worries begin to melt away. You leaned in, capturing his lips in a slow, lingering kiss, needing the closeness, the reassurance of his touch. Colin responded eagerly, his hands slipping under your shirt, his fingers grazing your skin with a familiar, electrifying touch that sent shivers down your spine.
As the kiss deepened, all thoughts of the outside world faded away, replaced by the heat of his body against yours, the taste of him on your lips. His hands roamed your body with a knowing touch, igniting a fire within you that only he could satisfy. You moaned softly against his mouth, your worries forgotten as you lost yourself in him, in the moment.
You stretched out your hands, placing them against Colin’s chest, feeling the warmth of his skin, still slightly damp from the shower. As you looked down, a smirk tugged at your lips when you noticed the telltale sign of his excitement—a distinct tent forming under the towel wrapped around his waist.
Raising an eyebrow, you met his gaze with a playful glint in your eyes. “Already excited?” you teased, your voice low and sultry, the words laced with mischief.
Colin’s breath hitched slightly at your touch, but his lips curled into a grin, his eyes darkening with desire. “What can I say? You have that effect on me,” he murmured, his voice thick with need as his hands trailed down your sides, fingers brushing the hem of your shirt.
You leaned in closer, your lips grazing the shell of his ear as you whispered, “I haven’t even started yet.” Your hands slid down his chest, fingers tracing the contours of his muscles before slipping lower, teasing the edge of the towel. “But I’m more than happy to do something about it.”
Colin’s breath quickened, his hands tightening around your waist as he pulled you closer, the tension between you palpable. “Is that a promise?” he whispered, his voice rough with anticipation.
You didn’t respond with words. Instead, you let your actions speak for you, your hand slipping beneath the towel, fingers brushing against his hardened length. Colin let out a low groan, his hips involuntarily bucking into your touch as you wrapped your fingers around him, feeling his arousal pulse against your palm.
His reaction sent a thrill through you, and you couldn’t help but smirk as you began to stroke him slowly, your thumb grazing the sensitive tip. “Feels like someone’s been waiting for this,” you teased, your voice a husky whisper as you watched the pleasure play across his features.
Colin’s response was a deep, guttural moan, his head falling back against the pillow as he surrendered to the sensations you were building within him. “You have no idea,” he breathed, his hands gripping your hips with a desperate need as he fought to maintain control.
You leaned in, pressing your lips to his neck, trailing kisses down to his collarbone as you continued your slow, deliberate strokes. Each touch, each caress was designed to drive him wild, to push him closer to the edge without letting him fall.
“I want to hear you beg for it,” you whispered against his skin, your voice a seductive purr as you nipped at his ear, your hand still working him with a tantalizing rhythm. “Tell me how much you want this.”
Colin’s breath came in ragged gasps, his body trembling with the effort to hold back. But he couldn’t resist you, couldn’t deny the fire you’d ignited within him. “Please,” he finally groaned, his voice thick with desire. “I need you. Now.”
His words sent a surge of heat through you, and with a wicked grin, you released him from your grip, only to quickly discard the towel.
You praised him, your voice soft yet laced with undeniable command. "Good boy," you murmured, your breath warm against his skin as you slid down his body, your lips tracing a path of fire along his torso. Colin shivered at your touch, his body taut with anticipation, every nerve ending alight with the promise of what was to come.
As you reached his hips, you glanced up at him, meeting his gaze with a sultry smile that made his breath hitch. You could see the hunger in his eyes, the desire that burned just beneath the surface. It thrilled you to see him like this—so vulnerable, so completely at your mercy.
Without breaking eye contact, you leaned in closer, your tongue flicking out to taste him, running along his length with deliberate, tantalizing slowness. Colin’s breath caught in his throat, his hands fisting the sheets as he fought to maintain control. But you weren’t going to let him keep it—not tonight.
You took him into your mouth, your lips wrapping around him as you began to work him with a rhythm that was both slow and relentless, your tongue swirling around his tip before sliding down his shaft. Colin’s moan was low, guttural, his head falling back against the pillow as the pleasure you were giving him overwhelmed his senses.
“Fuck,” he breathed, his voice strained as he tried to resist the urge to thrust up into your mouth. But you weren’t having it. You wanted him to surrender completely, to give in to the pleasure you were so expertly drawing from him.
You took him deeper, your mouth hot and wet as you bobbed your head, the suction building with each movement. Colin’s hips bucked involuntarily, his fingers tangling in your hair as he fought to hold back, the tension coiling in his stomach like a tightly wound spring. But you didn’t let up, your hands sliding up his thighs, urging him to relax, to submit to the waves of pleasure crashing over him.
He was panting now, his body trembling as he hovered on the edge, so close to the release he desperately craved. “You’re so good,” you whispered around him, your voice vibrating through him, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. “Such a good boy, Colin. Let go for me.”
The words were his undoing. With a hoarse cry, he surrendered completely, his release crashing over him in powerful waves as you took everything he had to give, your mouth working him through it until he was spent and trembling beneath you.
But you weren’t finished with him yet. Pulling away slightly, you looked up at him, your eyes gleaming with satisfaction and a hint of mischief. “Not so dominant now, are you?” you teased, your voice dripping with playful irony. “Who’s in control here?”
Colin’s chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, but even in his post-orgasmic haze, you could see the flicker of defiance in his eyes, the challenge that you had thrown down. He wasn’t about to let you have the last word.
With a sudden burst of energy, he surged up, flipping you onto your back with a speed that took your breath away. Before you could react, he was on top of you, pinning your wrists above your head with one hand as he loomed over you, his eyes dark with renewed hunger.
“Oh, love,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “You’ve had your fun. But now, it’s my turn.”
He didn’t give you a chance to respond. His mouth crashed down on yours, hot and demanding, his free hand sliding down your body to cup your breast, squeezing it just hard enough to make you gasp. The sudden shift in power sent a thrill through you, your body arching up into his touch as desire reignited between you.
Colin’s lips left yours, trailing hot kisses down your neck, biting and sucking at your skin until you were squirming beneath him, desperate for more. His hand slid lower, fingers deftly slipping beneath the waistband of your panties, finding you already wet and ready for him.
“Is this what you wanted?” he murmured against your skin, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down your spine. “Did you want to push me until I took control?”
You moaned, your hips bucking up against his hand as his fingers found your most sensitive spot, teasing you with light, torturous strokes. “Yes,” you gasped, your voice breathless with need. “God, yes, Colin, please.”
Colin’s eyes darkened with a mix of lust and amusement as he watched you squirm beneath him, his fingers teasing you with just enough pressure to drive you wild, but not enough to give you what you desperately craved. He was in control now, and he intended to make you feel every ounce of it.
With a mischievous smirk, Colin pulled away slightly, his fingers leaving your core just as you were on the verge of begging for more. “Let’s get you out of these,” he murmured, his voice a seductive growl as he deftly began to undress you. His hands were quick and skilled, sliding your panties down your legs, then slowly peeling off your shirt, exposing your flushed, sensitive skin to the cool air of the room.
Once you were completely bare before him, Colin leaned back slightly, his eyes raking over your body with a look of pure, unfiltered desire. “Now,” he said, his voice low and commanding, “I’m going to let you choose, love. My fingers or my mouth. What’s it going to be?”
You bit your lip, pretending to consider his offer, even as your body ached for his touch. The heat between your thighs was almost unbearable, and the way Colin was looking at you, like he was ready to devour you whole, only made the anticipation even more intense.
Finally, you looked up at him through half-lidded eyes, a playful smirk tugging at your lips. “Both,” you whispered, your voice breathy with need. “I want both, Colin.”
His eyes flared with approval at your boldness, a wicked smile spreading across his face as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against your ear. “You’re such a naughty girl,” he murmured, his voice thick with lust. “But I like that about you.”
Without another word, Colin shifted his position, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down your body, his lips and tongue leaving a burning path in their wake. When he reached your core, he didn’t hesitate, diving in with a fervor that made your entire body jolt with pleasure.
His mouth was relentless, his tongue flicking and swirling over your clit with expert precision, his lips sucking and nibbling at just the right moments to keep you on the edge, never quite letting you fall over. It was maddening, the way he played your body like an instrument, each touch, each movement calculated to drive you wild.
But true to his word, he didn’t stop there. As his mouth continued its torturous assault, Colin’s fingers joined in, sliding into you with a smooth, practiced ease that made you cry out in pleasure. He curled his fingers inside you, hitting that perfect spot that made your back arch off the bed, your hands fisting in the sheets as you lost yourself in the overwhelming sensations.
“God, Colin,” you moaned, your voice breathless and desperate. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”
He didn’t. If anything, he doubled down, his tongue and fingers working in perfect harmony, building you up higher and higher until you were trembling with the effort to hold on. He was ruthless in his pursuit of your pleasure, his mouth never leaving your clit, his fingers moving with a relentless rhythm that made your entire body sing with ecstasy.
“Come for me,” he growled against your skin, his voice sending vibrations through you that only heightened your pleasure. “Come for me, love. I want to feel you.”
That was all it took. With a cry of pure, unbridled pleasure, you came undone, your body shaking with the force of your orgasm as waves of pleasure crashed over you, one after the other. Colin didn’t let up, his mouth and fingers drawing out every last bit of pleasure until you were a trembling, gasping mess beneath him.
Finally, when the last aftershocks had subsided, Colin pulled away, his eyes dark with satisfaction as he looked down at you, a smug smile on his lips. “There’s my good girl,” he murmured, his voice filled with pride as he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to your lips, his fingers gently stroking your thigh as you came down from your high.
You could barely find the strength to respond, your body still tingling with the aftereffects of your orgasm. But as you looked up at Colin, his face inches from yours, you couldn’t help but smile, a deep sense of contentment settling over you.
Colin gave you a sweet, lingering kiss, his lips soft and warm against yours, the taste of your shared passion still fresh on his tongue. As his mouth moved gently over yours, his fingers lightly played with your breast, his touch tender and unhurried, a stark contrast to the intensity of just moments before. He wasn't pushing for more; instead, he was savoring the closeness, the intimacy of the moment, as if reassuring you with every caress that he was right here, and that everything would be alright.
When the kiss finally broke, Colin rested his forehead against yours, his breath mingling with yours as he spoke in a low, soothing voice. "Let them think whatever they want, love," he murmured, his fingers tracing lazy circles around your nipple. "We’ve kept this between us for so long, but if they find out… then maybe it's time. Maybe it's time we stop hiding and let the world know what we have."
You sighed softly, the weight of his words sinking in as you wrapped your arms around his back, holding him close. "I know," you whispered, your voice tinged with a hint of sadness. "But it’s just… the media. They twist everything. I hate exposing my life to them, to everyone. It feels like nothing is really mine anymore."
Colin’s embrace tightened, his hand sliding up to cradle the back of your head, his touch grounding you as he kissed your temple. "I understand," he said softly, his voice filled with empathy. "But no matter what happens, our love is ours. They can speculate, they can write their stories, but they’ll never know what we have, what we share when it’s just the two of us."
His words brought a sense of calm over you, the anxiety that had been gnawing at your heart easing just a little. You hated the idea of your private life being splashed across tabloids, dissected by strangers who knew nothing about the real you, the real Colin. But at the same time, there was a part of you that was tired of hiding, of keeping your relationship a secret from the world. You wanted to be able to hold his hand in public, to share a kiss without worrying about who might be watching, to live your love openly and freely.
"Maybe you're right," you said softly, your voice barely above a whisper as you nuzzled into the crook of his neck, inhaling the comforting scent of him. "Maybe it’s time we stop hiding. I just… I don’t want to lose this, what we have. I don’t want the world to ruin it."
Colin pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, his gaze filled with a quiet strength that made your heart swell with love. "We won’t lose it," he said firmly, his voice carrying the conviction of a promise. "What we have is stronger than anything they can throw at us. And if we decide to share it with the world, it’ll be on our terms, not theirs."
You couldn’t help but smile at his confidence, his unwavering belief in the strength of your relationship. It was moments like these that reminded you why you had fallen in love with him in the first place—his kindness, his patience, his ability to make you feel like everything would be okay, no matter what.
"Okay," you whispered, a sense of peace settling over you as you met his gaze. "We’ll do it together. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together."
Colin’s smile was soft, his eyes shining with love as he leaned in to kiss you again, this time slow and tender, his lips moving against yours with a gentle passion that made your heart ache in the best way. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against yours once more, his hand cradling your cheek as he looked at you with an expression so full of love it took your breath away.
"We’ve got this, love," he murmured, his voice a warm caress against your skin. "No matter what, we’ve got this."
You nodded, your heart swelling with emotion as you held him close, the warmth of his body against yours a comforting reminder that you were in this together. You didn’t know what the future held, but as long as you had Colin by your side, you knew you could face whatever came your way.
And as you lay there in the quiet of the night, wrapped in each other's arms, you found solace in the simple truth that you were loved, deeply and completely, by the man lying beside you. No matter what the world might say, no matter what challenges lay ahead, that love would be your anchor, your refuge, your home.
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Jeff's Valentine
Summary: Natasha and R go on a Valentine's Day date without Jeff, leaving a very upset landshark in Yelena's care.
Word Count: 3086 Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader Warnings: Nat and Yelena threatening each other, some romcom bashing, otherwise it's all just fluff :) A/N: It's been a few months since the last entry to the JFU, but everyone's favourite landshark is back :) I hope you all enjoy and, despite the title, it's quite light on the actual romance part. Also this isn't proofread.
Part of The Jeff Fictional Universe
Jeff mumbled tiredly, finally settled into bed for the night. You’d kept him active all day, taking him to the beach, buying him treats, and giving him all of your time overall which, to Jeff, made your next betrayal even worse.
The landshark hadn’t settled into his own bed that night – despite the plethora of options he had – he’d made himself comfortable on yours, which meant waiting for you and Natasha to settle down before he could go to sleep. He groaned again, but neither of you took the hint, both of you continuing your conversation as if he hadn’t interrupted.
“It’s going to be the perfect day,” Jeff heard you promise. Natasha reached out to cup her hand around the side of your face; since neither of you were even looking at him, Jeff huffed once more and stomped around the bed, clearing the space for him to flop suddenly into a curled-up ball.
“Just the two of us,” you continued. Jeff faced away from you, if you weren’t sleeping soon then there was no point in him staying up.
“Not even Jeff.” The amphibious creature took some issue at that. Gone was his prior sleepy state and in its place – a whole new readiness to fight. What did you mean ‘not even Jeff’? Where would he be? What day could be perfect without him?
You glanced briefly at the agitated shark, but your attention was soon drawn away when Natasha propped herself up on one elbow. Jeff relaxed too, confident in the belief that his other parent would step in to defend him… until she didn’t. What she did do was turn your head back to face her, then leaned in to kiss you.
“I’ll trust your plans, love,” she smirked, “afterall, it can’t be worse than that Valentine’s a couple of years back.”
“In Paris?” you hummed, “romantic destination at least.”
“For the couples who choose to go there, maybe, not the ones on last minute missions. You almost bled to death.”
“Oh, yeah. Getting stabbed isn’t in the plans tomorrow though, don’t you worry.”
“Mmmm, good. I can’t wait to see what is. Goodnight Y/N, and goodnight Jeff.”
“Mrrrr,” Jeff responded, scathingly, though Natasha didn’t know it. He felt somewhat content in his action of wishing you both a bad night, but still fumed from the end of the bed at the fact you had planned activities without him. He vowed never to forget this betrayal and, as he fell asleep, planned to take vengeance in the morning until you reconsidered your plans.
By morning, all was forgotten. Jeff had never had the best memory, but his anger was about to be reignited.
Natasha prised herself slowly and carefully out of bed, taking caution not to wake you as she did so. Unfortunately, that meant walking further away from the bed than usual on her route to the door, and closer to Jeff's corner bed – which he'd retired to midway through the night.
“Mrrrr,” he grumbled, his sleep now disturbed.
“Sorry Jeff.”
Jeff didn’t forgive Natasha with the apology, but he was curious as to what she was up to, so stood up and stretched before padding after her. After slipping through the door, he continued to follow the assassin as she muttered some sort of recipe; he perked up significantly when he realised her destination was the kitchen.
The land shark bounded to her side, purring and butting against Natasha’s legs to attract her attention.
“I’m making pancakes for Y/N, Jeff, do you want to help?”
“Mrrrr!”
Natasha stared at him blankly. “I’ll assume that was a yes,” Jeff heard her mutter, then he was hoisted into the air and deposited on the kitchen counter. “You have to wash your hands first though.”
The redhead shuffled away while Jeff hopped into the sink, where he sat and nudged the tap on in order to wash his hands and his feet and, well, practically his entire body in the end.
Eventually, he flipped the water back off and fell back to sit with all four legs stretched out in front of him, so that he could show his clean hands to Natasha.
“Very good, Jeff,” she approved, “you can help now that you're clean.”
“Mrrrr,” Jeff beamed.
“Why don't you just sit there while I finish off the batter, then I'll make you one and you can taste test. Sound good?”
“Mrrrrr!”
“Yeah, thought you'd like that.”
Natasha hurried around for a few seconds more, whisking the bowl until she felt content. Jeff, meanwhile, grew impatient, so grabbed a saucepan from the side and dragged it along the counter, onto the stove, which he then switched on.
Natasha frowned at the action, while Jeff flopped back into his hind legs and grinned incidentally. “I'm not sure how you know how to do that,” she muttered, “but thanks Jeff.”
“Mrrrr!”
As the redhead got to work, Jeff didn't take his eyes off the batter: from the final bit of mixing, to the pouring, to the misshapen thing in the pan, Jeff knew his mission.
“Mrrrr!” he alerted a few moments later. Natasha had gone off to prepare a tray for you, leaving Jeff worried that she would forget about his pancake and feed it to him burnt. She had previous.
At Jeff's alert though, Natasha came running back over to hastily flip the pancake. She patted Jeff's head in gratitude for his warning, knowing she would have burnt it otherwise. She had previous. Then returned to her set up.
Finally, Jeff's pancake was done, and Natasha served it to him with a wide smile. “Look, it's your face, Jeff!”
Jeff looked down, then back at her, then at his reflection in the kitchen sink. He did not resemble this beige blob, but no matter, he could still engulf it, so he did.
“How is it?”
In truth, Jeff didn't have it in his mouth long enough to notice a taste, but he grinned and gave a thumbs up anyway, setting Natasha into action. She began to pour vaguely heart shaped servings into the pan, which Jeff monitored, as Natasha never seemed to know when to turn them. Together, they produced a good stack of heart shaped pancakes which she carried up to serve you in bed.
Jeff followed her upstairs and hurried around to your side of the bed to stare and beg for food, which you sneakily provided, until it was time for you and Natasha to get up and ready for the day.
You dressed yourself, picked out clothes for Natasha, and even grabbed some of Jeff's things, giving him hope that he would be accompanying the two of you. The feeling was exacerbated when you called him to the car and strapped him into his car seat. His excitement grew and grew… until he realised that he recognised the roads you drove down; he'd been to this place before.
“My favourite nephew!”
Jeff wagged his tail politely, but turned to you pleadingly. As excited as he was to see Yelena, all he really wanted was to stay with his parents, which he knew wouldn’t be happening if they’d brought him here; he would be left all day, at the very least. While Natasha thanked Yelena again for taking him, Jeff pulled at the ends of your trousers, drawing your attention just so he could whine and plead to you with wide, watery eyes.
“Jeff, you usually love it here,” you crouched down to his level and whispered. His eyes seemed to be getting larger and sadder by the second, so you ducked your head, knowing any more of this and you’d fold to his wishes. “I’ll be back tonight, I promise.”
“Mrrrr.”
“Nat and I are going to be doing couple-y stuff, and you don’t want to be around that, do you?”
“I wouldn’t”
“We know, Yelena.”
“The land shark is better with me,”
“That’s why he’s here, Yelena.”
You ignored the sibling bickering and turned back to Jeff. “Yelena is right, buddy, you’ll have a great day here with her and Fanny, then we’ll be back to pick you up before you know it!”
He whined again but, with great difficulty, you turned away to follow Natasha out of the door, ready to begin the date you’d spent weeks planning. You could practically feel Jeff’s teary eyes boring into your back, so you didn’t dare turn around, knowing you could never leave that sight behind.
Yelena could put up with a lot – The Red Room had put her through a lot – but this day with Jeff had somehow managed to find and push at her limit. You'd been gone for an hour now, but Jeff still sat at the front door, right where you left him, crying and scratching and howling in displeasure.
She hadn't seen Jeff this distraught since the day they first met, and that was not an event anyone wanted a repeat of.
“Can you talk to him?” she asked Fanny when the crying got too much to bear. The dog told her head but, after a pointed finger from Yelena, made her way towards the mopey land shark. She wasted no time and judged Jeff harshly for his attention, before springing forward with her front half lowered playfully to the ground.
“Mrrrr,” Jeff pouted, though already noticeably less melancholy. Fanny barked and jumped towards him. Jeff growled, then sprang up, running in circles around the living room to goad the Akita into chasing him. They played like that for several minutes, while Yelena breathed a sigh of relief and settled back into the sofa, glad the whines had finally given way to playful yaps; they were much more manageable.
The two animals did eventually calm down though and, when Fanny went to lay at her owner's side, Jeff followed, climbing into the Widow’s lap rather than snoozing on a hard wooden floor.
“Hello Jeff”
“Mrrrr.”
“You are happy now?”
“Mrrrr,” Jeff shrugged, He glanced to the door, then back at Yelena, before his features drooped.
“They are celebrating Valentine’s Day,” Yelena told the shark patiently, watching his face for any indication of how he felt about it.
“Means they do lot of romantic things together. Couples do. But they must leave you behind because they are a couple, and you are not.”
Jeff frowned and shuffled on Yelena’s lap until his hands were freed. “Alone,” he signed, then pointed to himself.
“Yes, in a dating sense, but so am I. It is not so bad to be alone.”
“Couple. Join them?”
“Double dates are an option, but-”
Jeff cut her off, signing urgently, “You. Me. Couple.”
“Us?”
Jeff nodded.
“I am flattered, Jeffrey Landshark, but we are too far apart in ages, and different species; I don't date anyone even of my own species.”
Jeff looked down dejectedly, his face downcast as he signed “alone” again.
“One day you can find a nice land shark partner, if that's what you want, but Valentine's is not all about couples. There is a lot you can do, little land shark! Treat it as a normal day, spend time with friends, enjoy the alone time… here, let me show you.”
Yelena nodded her head as she stood up, in a clear sign that Jeff should follow her; he took the hint and leapt gently off of the sofa. Fanny looked up at the movement and decided to trail her owner too. So Yelena paced through the house, her two animals marching in step behind her, until she pulled a box out from a hallway cabinet, half-full with crayons and stickers and pink slips of paper. Fanny sniffed it curiously.
“Natasha and I used to do this every year,” the younger assassin explained. Meanwhile, she'd picked the box up again and led the troupe back to the living room table.
“We would watch funny movies and make each other cards. Look, see, this is from your mother-”
A pink card was shoved into Jeff's hands; adorned with a blood-red heart on the front, Jeff opened it to see Natasha's neat, calligraphic handwriting, not that he could read any of it.
“Mrrrr,” he said.
“Yes,” Yelena replied, not understanding him at all, “she was angry with me that year. I threw her out a window a couple days before.”
“Mrrrr,” Jeff tried again, this time signing “can't read” alongside it.
“Oh, yes, she has bad handwriting, hard to read. I will read it for you.” Yelena beckoned for the paper, which Jeff passed back to her.
“Dear Yelena,” she read aloud, “sometimes I am glad I didn't kill you. Lots of love, Natasha.”
“She is very sincere.”
“Mrrrr.”
“Let's make cards. You can give it to your parents when they pick you up, yes?”
Jeff nodded, and the two of them set to work. The TV was switched on and played a collection of rom-coms that the network has chosen to air for Valentine's day, allowing Yelena to laugh at the tropes and throw popcorn at the TV whenever it became too unrealistic for her to believe. In turn, that kept Jeff and Fanny entertained, as they scrambled to get to the fallen popcorn first.
“Mrrr?” Jeff asked at one point, after Yelena had cut and folded the card for him. He had one hand on the front of the card and a red pen balanced between his teeth, which he hovered just above the page.
“You want to outline your hand?”
Jeff nodded, causing the pen to lower and mark a red line on his hand.
“Okay, let me do it then,” Yelena stepped in, taking the pen off of Jeff. “You want a full outline? If you move your fingers together it is like a heart.”
Jeff tried it, moving his first finger towards his thumb, then his other two towards each other on the other side. Yelena had been correct; thanks to his short, sharp fingers and a rounded hand, it did form a somewhat heart-like shape when traced.
“There we go. A perfect heart!”
Jeff looked at the paper. The heart was about as perfect as Natasha's pancakes had been that morning, but he considered that maybe the sisters didn't know what a heart was supposed to look like, and he was content to let them live in ignorance. Jeff gave a thumbs up.
Yelena handed the card back and turned to the TV once more.
“Why are they kissing! They just met!” she yelled suddenly, jolting both Jeff and Fanny from their relaxed positions.
“I am sorry,” she grumbled calmly, “they are just dumb.”
Fanny huffed and settled back into her bed, while Jeff went back to colouring in his Valentine's card. And so, they settled into their routine for the rest of the day.
There was, of course, a break for lunch, and then again to walk Fanny (and Jeff, but in his mind he walked the other two). The rest of the time was spent doing arts and crafts in the living room, moving on from the Valentine's card, to friendship bracelets, to Yelena teaching Jeff simple origami.
By the time you and Natasha came to pick up Jeff, late in the evening, the table overflowed with stacks of folded paper, beads, and glitter covered cards; and your landshark blended right in with how much glitter he had spilt on himself.
Natasha gasped and practically ran into the house. You panicked, thinking she would storm in and reprimand Yelena for the mess, but, to your surprise, she headed straight for the table and fell to her knees beside it. “You brought out the crafting stuff!” she exclaimed, in a tone totally opposite to what you had expected, then beckoned you over right before she began to rifle through the mess.
You closed the door slowly, sensing that your original plan to quickly pick Jeff up and head home would be no more.
“What's going on?”
Natasha ignored you, and instead looked up to her sister, “I remember writing this one, you'd pushed me out of a window just before it.”
Your head swung rapidly to Yelena, who shrugged at your expression, “We were only one floor up.”
After knowing the pair of them for years, you knew when it was best to let things slide, and this was one of those times. Further questioning would only yield more questions than answers.
“Y/N, come sit down,” Natasha smiled and pulled you down to her side, “this is what Yelena and I used to do every Valentine's day.”
“Before she met you,” Yelena added.
“Do you mind that I'm joining?” you asked the younger Widow directly, even as Natasha piled heaps of craft equipment in your lap. “I don't want to intrude on a sibling tradition.”
Yelena glared at you for a few seconds, long enough to make you sweat under her gaze, before she eventually broke into a smile and shook her head. “No, no. It is a family tradition, and you are family now. I do not mind. Come, the land shark can show you how it's done.”
With Yelena’s blessing, you shuffled around at the table and got to work making a love letter of your own. The message you wanted to convey came to you quickly, and the page soon filled with your expressions of love. Natasha finished hers at almost the same time, and you all agreed to exchange them at once.
“Three, two, one-”
Yelena pointed Jeff towards you and Natasha, but he shook his head and turned back to her, depositing his card in her lap. Meanwhile you and Yelena had both pushed your cards across the table to Jeff, and Natasha’s to Yelena.
“Thank you, Jeffrey Landshark,” Yelena said earnestly, “I am touched.”
“Hey, I gave you a card too!” Natasha complained, only to be shushed by her sister.
“You are not as special as Jeff.”
Natasha looked to you for backup, but you only shrugged. Though you pulled her into a side hug immediately after, of course, because she might have pushed you through a window if you hadn't.
“This is a bit awkward, huh?” you whispered, smiling against her hair as she rested her head on your shoulder, the both of you watching Jeff and Yelena exchange friendship bracelets and admire their Valentine's day cards. “Put our hearts out there and didn't even get a single card back.”
“You put your heart out there? Oh…”
“Natasha… why does this just say ‘die’?”
Jeff taglist: @unexpected-character @wolferine
General Taglist: @canvascoloredin @fxckmiup @wizardofstories
#jeff the landshark#jeff the land shark#natasha romanoff x reader#natasha romanoff x you#natasha romanoff x y/n#natasha romanoff#yelena belova#yelena belova & natasha romanoff#natasha romanoff imagine#yelena belova imagine#marvel#mcu#ikan writes#the JFU
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Not Waving But Drowning (Ep 13)
ok sorry i got distracted by those other details from the ep. but i am once again asking for the KPTS scholars to dissect a kim look and it's this one right here:
(full disclosure the series of gifs for this post is titled like, "ohgodohfuck1, ohgodohfuck2, etc." i have been crying in public all week. and i accidentally dissected this scene in Reverse Chronological order, which is kind of interesting... does someone want to watch KPTS backwards with me? lord knows we've watched it forward enough times.)
i'm going to Posit™ some shit, but i did in fact ask for Your Interpretation...
this scene comes to the audience as a flashback, while kim is feeling emo about chay, looking at the polaroids in his apartment. and because it's got that flashback cinema feel, it almost reads to me like a glimmer of kim's mind, a bit of unreliable narrator? it's as if all of his memories of chay are compressed into a single moment, and its one that he feels he fumbled spectacularly. it's the epitome of their dilemma.
i didn't do a full rewatch for this (lol) but as far as i can tell, there's no other scenes where they're wearing these outfits, which makes it a little hard to place within the timeline. obviously this is before chay finds kim out, before chay is kidnapped, and probably before chay confesses? i reason that it's after kim has realized that chay is just a fan, though. the emotions behind the lyrics of chay's song seem to register as lyrics for Kim.
i think of kim, in general, as fairly composed. usually. he's an idol, well-mannered, and leans heavily on a poker face he's spent his entire life perfecting. (he obviously flips once he hits some threshold, which we see a few times. and then there's the moments where he literally has to turn it off, superseded by survival instincts.)
it's so interesting to me that he walks away here. he walks away when chay confronts him outside of his apartment, too. it's like, he doesn't trust himself, so he removes himself? or it's just muscle memory at this point? (he seems to flee quite a bit. he left home. he disappears himself after he pulls chay from the warehouse. its implied he's been avoiding chay. khun even seems to have a sense of humor about how aloof kim is when they meet in passing. kim continues to strengthen the muscle each time he walks away. walking away does not change things, but clearly he's getting something out of it. or it worked for him once and now it's just a character flaw. anyway)
he didn't even know he was playing with fire but now it burns. kim can't focus while chay looks directly into his eyes and sings to him. he can't sit still:
his jacket (HIS BLUE JACKET) is stained with black brushstrokes.
and perhaps my favorite thing about this scene is the envelope it comes in: we see chay how kim sees him now -> framed by the window of the sound engineer's booth, singing only for kim
my questions: why do you think he walks away here? what is behind that look? is it guilt? (because he knows how this will all later look to chay, and he understands now that chay had approached him honestly) is he barely containing the urge to return the apparent confession in chay's song? is he conflicted, torn by the firm belief that he's wrong for chay? is he considering letting the cat out of the bag, about being a theerapanyakul? is there something specific that kim does not want chay to see or glean from the look on his face? maybe a mix of some of these?
the other point of interest, for me, though not directly related to my query, is the look on chay's face. it's something like rejection or at the very least disappointed surprise? at face value, playing a song for someone you look up to is a very vulnerable act. this is not the reaction he was hoping for or anticipating. but it makes me wonder, also, if chay knows(/suspects) more than we all give him credit for? somewhere deep down he must know how unlikely it is that his idol would engage him, a fan, in this way? i'm not saying he's onto kim, but maybe he's aware something is off about this situation? or, i guess, another possibility is that he's just worried about kim?
#h gifs#kimchay#kpts meta#yes i invoked the stevie smith poem on a friday night#its been a long time since a frontman put me on a guestlist#However the music scene elements are my favorite part of kimchay fr
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Wild Kratts: Our Blue and Green World Trailer.
Underneath the cut for those who consider it to be spoilery, but we have a trailer for the one-hour special, Our Blue and Green World, airing April 1st, 2024.
The Kratt brothers disagree on what's better; blue oceans or green forests. Aviva takes on the role of referee to demonstrate how oceans and forests work together to make our living planet, just like Martin and Chris need to keep working together. It's up to the gang to get Martin and Chris back in sync in time to save planet Earth from Zach and Paisley's villainous plans.
This special was first mentioned back in May of 2023 during an interview with Martin Kratt heralding the show's premiere of its 7th season. The original title was Blue and Green: The Living Earth before it was chaned to our Blue and Green World. The episode will feature climates and habitats corresponding with the Kratt's "blue and green." With it, will come the introduction of new Creature Power Suits: The ones we have seen thus far in the trailer are Indri Power, Green Anaconda Power, and Blue Whale Power.
My thoughts:
HOLY SHIT THE BLUE WHALE SUIT
HOLY SHIT THE BLUE WHALE SUIT
HOLY SHIT THE BLUE WHALE SUIT
*calms down.*
Ok but I'm starting to see a weird pattern in the PowerSuits in this season. For some strange reason, they have to retrofit the wearer's mouths to match the ACTUAL anatomy of the animal the suit is based off of. They did it with the Wild Pony and the Mountain Goat Power Suit and both of them were.... ugh. Now they did it with the Blue Whale Suit and to be fair, while I hate that particular feature, it's not enough to make me hate the suit. In fact, I kinda like it more because of how silly it looks (Martin is the perfect person to wear this suit tbh). Still though, I wish they designed it like the Crocodile, Hippo, or Puffin Suit where the giant mouth is simply an attachment that doesn't move while the wearer speaks.
For those who don't know, Indris are the largest species of lemur in the world (alongside Diademed Sifakas). They are the only animals besides humans that can find and use rhythm using "wailing songs" to communicate. They're also critically endangered due to slash and burn of their habitats and poaching for their flesh as delicacies (yeah, very odd that Gourmand isn't here, but I digress). There's an estimate to be less than 10,000 left in the wild and are expected to have a population net decrease by 80% within the next 30 years... yeah, considering that they're endemic to Madagascar, not a very good sign. I didn't even know what an Indri was until reading the article, and if I'm not the only one who had no clue about these guys, it's probably definitely a good sign that they're getting some spotlight in this show.
The Indri Power Suit looks so goofy, but again, something about how silly it looks just makes me appreciate it all the more. I... weirdly expected it to be way bigger like the Puffin Suit, but again that's just me.
I am a huge fan of how they designed the snake-inspired Creature Power Suits in the show. But the Anaconda Creature Power Suit... holy shit.
LOOK AT IT /POS
Look at the markings! Look at the green! Look at the patterns, and the color schemes! Chris FINALLY got a green Creature Power Suit to activate! Our boi won! It's also a pretty clever callback to the Amazon special where Chris met the Anaconda (I really hope the Power Disc for this suit is green because god that would be so aesthetically pleasing).
Ngl, if the old flash games were still on the website, and this was one of the Power Suits I could earn for my character, I'd play it in a heart-beat.
I'm really interested to see the Zach/Paisley team up. This season already started to utilize her better by giving her another solo appearance, and now we're seeing a 1 on 1 team up with her and another villain. I was always gunning for a Paisley/Donita teamup but this works too. They're both very similar characters that can bounce off each other in similar, yet different ways (I actually headcanon that they're related - second cousins to be exact - because of those similarities). The final battle is gonna be kickass.
If you were to tell me without any context at all that this was a screencap from the upcoming WK feature film (that this episode is often mistaken for), I would believe you. Because HOLY SHIT! The linework, the lighting, the hues, AND the shading! I am becoming more and more grateful for the 2-year long hiatus - the animators needed time to cook and they fucking COOKED. For an extended TV episode, this is pretty damn impressive.
People don't talk enough about this, but fun-fact: A lot of the animators of this show had experience working for Disney. Erika Worthylake was one of the artists on this show, doing several beta designs for animals such as wild ponies and salmon sharks. In 2019, she was the lead designer for Anga, one of the new characters in Disney's The Lion Guard (which, much like Wild Kratts, was animated in Toon Boom). Ben Balistreri had collaberated with the Kratt Brothers and Luc Chamberland in 2007 to work on the show's pilot episode, creating several different designs for the animated characters. Ten years later, he became the executive co-producer of Tangled: The Series. Kendal Brouet, who animated A Creature Christmas, worked on The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder in 2022. Just to name a few. It's just a fun little thing that comes up in the back of my mind whenever the topic of WK animation comes up, and this instance of animation is so fucking good that I HAVE to talk about it, because I have MAJOR respect for these guys, and if there were ever moments in the show that remind me "Oh, this slaps," I just remember what these talented artists worked on through the years and it clicks together nicely in my brain.
According to Whrokids, this episode is gonna have a runtime of 58 minutes. I found this screenshot of someone who did far more searching and sleuthing for new episode content (they were the ones who found this trailer actually). I'm not sure how valid this particular screenshot is, but if this is the case, then this will be the longest episode of Wild Kratts in history, and will be the closest thing we get to a Wild Kratts movie (until the actual WK movie is released in theaters).
Fucking. Hyped.
#wild kratts#pbs kids#kratt brothers#martin kratt#chris kratt#wk season 7#wild kratts fandom#wk#wk chris#wk martin#wild kratts creature powers#blue whales#indri#lemur#animals#I officially have a new reason for living thank you very much#2024#This better not be an April Fools' prank I stg.
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vengeance would have been a perfect special if not for doc's death, and i think the reason for that is like. it changes vengeance from a fun sort of "optional" epilogue tv movie (that also doubles as a sizzle reel for andras to pitch a fifth season) to something that irrevocably changes the directions of the characters' lives. if this is the last entry in wynonna earp then doc is dead, wynonna has lost the love of her life, alice grows up without her father. it changes the beautiful ending of s4 - something that was so ruthlessly, defiantly hopeful when it was borne of a genre and a timeframe in which shock value and grimdark character death were the norm, when it was filmed in the middle of a devastating pandemic - into something much more cynical.
now, let me tell you about homestuck.
i love it when stories engage with their role as stories, and two projects that have done that (which also not so coincidentally had massive tumblr followings) are steven universe and, yes, homestuck -- specifically their followups, steven universe: future and the homestuck epilogues/homestuck^2: beyond canon.
steven universe future is a series that posits, "what happens when there's no one left to fight and you have to face yourself?" it's something that existed to tie up the loose ends left by steven universe's hasty cancellation/ending - and so it looks at an action hero's struggles with ptsd when he isn't saving the world anymore. it recontextualizes everything we thought was just another action scene, just another monster fight, just another thing he won with love and kindness and great, great injury to himself, and says, no, this hurt him, you cannot take on the world for yourself, you deserve a good life too. it's in conversation with steven universe's endless empathy and self-sacrifice and doesn't ridicule it but acknowledges that it's a philosophy that you can only hold for so long before you crack.
it's a lovely show that, while much darker than the original series, still ultimately ends on a hopeful note. of course steven isn't going to drive off into the sunset and never have any problems again. he's a person. he's going to drive away when it's already nighttime, and he's going to phone his therapist, and he's going to have good days and bad ones and he's never going to have some clean break from the things that still haunt him but he'll be okay.
the homestuck epilogues are bad, and they're mean-spirited, and they spit in the face of audiences who wanted happy endings for the characters. they're written to mimic ao3 fanfiction, and pretty openly mock the fandom and the people who got homestuck to this point in the first place.
creator andrew hussie thankfully seemed to realize that and changed course with homestuck^2: beyond canon, where they started making it a visual webcomic series again, and it started grappling more directly with homestuck as a story.
the first shot of homestuck^2 is of a spaceship with "theseus" scrawled onto the side. the title itself isn't "homestuck 2," it's homestuck squared. homestuck multiplied by itself. it's a writing team - people who started out as fans of homestuck and are now arbiters of it - with only minimal involvement from the original creator. who determines what is and isn't homestuck? is it the god-creator who wrote himself into the story, then wrote himself being killed off? is it this new writing team? is it you? after all, homestuck itself started with audience prompts. somebody who is not andrew hussie named john egbert. somebody who is not andrew hussie gets to decide how it continues, and if it ends, and why.
"misty, what the whiskey-shooting hell does any of this have to do with wynonna earp?"
what's weird about vengeance is that it doesn't do any of that. and in fact its very existence is antithetical to doc's death speech - it, like doc, is something that's dodged death. it's a followup to a show with one of the most satisfying series finales in recent memory. it's nothing so cynical as a cash grab (as i've seen people on the tag posit) - everyone involved genuinely loves this show. but it's basically a ninety-minute wynonna earp episode. aside from a few brief references and nods to the fans - waverly saying "welcome home, wynonna" - it's not interested in the three and a half years between the end of the show and this new special. it's not interested in whether it should exist, or how long people fought for it to exist. it does explore avenues that the series didn't have time to look into - wynonna's traumatic childhood, the lack of support from the adults in her life - but it's not looking at What "wynonna earp" is. it's not a story about Wynonna Earp (2016-2021), a SyFy Original Series that crafted lifelong friendships and conventions and stories and art and romances and careers and acted as a beacon of hope for thousands of young people during dark times. it's a story about wynonna earp, the character, who doesn't know if she can be a good mom to alice, who hurts the people she loves, who loves those people so, so fiercely she'll literally go to hell and back for them.
and i don't like that her ending is one full of grief. that doesn't feel fair to me.
but that's what season 5 is for, right?
#wynonna earp#we spoilers#homestuck#steven universe#i promise those tags will make sense#natsuki's terrible disco pants
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Obviously I know (some) of your thoughts on Childe, but what do you think of the other harbingers?
YIPEE I love the harbingers ‼️ I’ll rant under the cut.. I had a huge obsession with the harbingers a few months back and I still do (in fact my brainrot is coming back so this is a perfect time for you to ask this)
Starting off with Pierro. I find him so interesting as a character because when I was diving into the lore of the harbingers I originally thought that he was number one?? Apparently he’s the director because capitano is no. 1.. I think that’s interesting. So what mainly intrigues me about him is the fact that he’s khaenri’ahn. The Tsaritsa has got to be different from the other Archons because of the fact she literally has a Khaenri’ahn man help run her military. I wonder what their relationship is with each other. Is it anything like dainslumi? I can picture it being that way but more cold, you know? The fact he’s based off the commedia dell’arte stock character Pierro (the fool/jester) is really interesting to me too.. they all have their connections to the characters in one way or another so I wonder what exactly his is.
Now onto Capitano. So far I think he is SO fucking cool he might be one of my favorite harbingers atp. Design wise it’s definitely a favorite but also the fact that he has so many similarities to Kaeya? If hyv were to make him related in some way to kaeya that would be so funny to me.. a lot of people do the pierro is kaeya’s dad thing but honesty I think Capitano would be a cooler connection lowkey? Also generally the ragbros situation would be 10x worse if kaeya was related to the fatui in some way, no matter which one it is. Anyways back on capitano, I’m mostly interested to see how his motives lay out and what his relationship with Mavuika is. The fight seen with him and her was so neat like the way they laid it out was so.. idk. I have a thing for fire/ice character relationships (not in a romantic way.) also what interests me even more about him is that The Captain in the commedia dell’arte is described as a ‘braggart’ type of person, so I’m wondering if he would use his ability to “convince people who knew nothing about him beforehand” to try and manipulate people in Natlan to revolt against Mavuika for the current issues and whatnot.
like I wonder how this'll play into his character in game/story wise. I hope he'll be playable sniff sniff.. Anyways, now onto this fucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dottore is one of my favorite harbingers. I am an avid Dottore enjoyer. He’s cunning and genuinely awful and there’s no redeeming his ass he’s going straight to hell 🙏 and that’s what makes him such a GOOD character. He genuinely has zero redeeming qualities about him. He literally uses people and children for his experiments without second thought. He has clones of himself. He possibly killed his girlfriend in his school days. (If the zandik lore is right.) He was literally expelled from the Akademiya because of how awful he was.
I cannot fathom how amazing of a character he is. I think in games we need to have more characters who are just genuinely fucking evil and we don’t just “hate” them for it. I honestly dislike how people hate him JUST because he did bad shit, like have a better reason than that tbh? "He hurt collei/He's the reason crepus died/he gave scara so much trauma" I LOVE ALL THREE OF THOSE GUYS AND DOTTORE</3 Don't hate one character only to love the next. anyways dottore supremacy..
Anywho, onto Columbina. Honestly she intrigues me so much. She's so powerful that not even childe wants to fight her, what is up with that??? I think its also interesting how in the commedia dell'arte her title is technically Little Dove but it’s Damselette in the game. we like,, do not know much about her at all to be honest?? The harbingers voice lines about her interest me so much, especially arle's. It's very. vague??
Arlecchino: "She is a very special Harbinger. Pose her a question, and the answer you receive will be entirely unpredictable, if she sees fit to give a proper answer at all. Regardless, any answer you do receive is sure to be an interesting one."
Childe: "The Fatui Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I have no idea why that girl is No. 3. I'd test my skills with every Harbinger who ranks above me if I had the chance, but when it comes to her... something just doesn't feel right. Anyway, you should be careful around her."
Scara/Wanderer: "Let me ask: what should you do if you were to encounter a "damsel" who is oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation? If it were me, I could at least challenge her to a fight. But if it were you... with your conscience, I would stay away from her."
Judging by voice lines alone, columbina is very, very powerful. she seems to beat around the bush with questions (arles voiceline) and is very mysterious even with the other harbingers. (childe saying something doesn't feel right) I've seen theories that she belongs to the seele race which is honestly pretty cool, but I think i'd need to see her in game or hear more about her first. I'd assume that Arlecchino has a rather close/interesting relationship with columbina. Not purely because of the fact they do in the commedia dell'arte, but because she was the only one out of the three to not tell the traveler to be careful around/stay away from columbina.
Arlecchino herself is a really well written character to me and I notice that a lot of the fandom don't understand her entirely (myself included.) Something i notice the most is how people tend to dumb her down to the Father of the house of the hearth, either portraying her as a wonderful parent (incorrect) or as an awful one (also incorrect.) She's definitely a highly flawed person who does put her children in danger, although she absolutely cares about the children of the hearth. I wouldn't say she's a child abuser/groomer/any other stupid shit the fandom says about her. Her wiki quite literally says that she's flawed but not as awful as Crucabena:
Her (possibly?) being khaenri'ahn is also so interesting because WHY does the tsaritsa keep having connections with khaenri'ah in her military of all things. I have so many questions.
We do not know much about pulcinella at all but I do find it SO intruiging/interesting (can someone give me another word for this HELP) that he's close to childe. he visits childes family for him, iirc, which is suspicious when you read the commedia dell'arte lore.
I do think he's doing this for self gain to be honest. He's a manipulative person, so he could be manipulating childe into relaxing around him to the point of letting pulcinella get near his family, which could end really badly to be honest.
Next up is scaramouche. I feel like the scara stans themselves don't even understand his character that much, because they're too busy yelling at people about raiden/dottore instead of focusing on his character itself. I think he's a LOT more than mommy issues short boy and actually his character is really deep. His name in the commedia dell'arte is also Little Skirmisher (instead of balladeer, though I'm not too sure what that means) and what's most interesting to me about his commedia dell'arte connection is how (IIRC, this could be wrong but i found this out last time i was talking about the harbingers and the commedia dell'arte) scaramouche's "mask" was later removed, which him being removed from irminsul could be a nod to that.
What's also a neat nod to the commedia is how scara "influences the audience to do his bidding." I think in game they referenced this by him influencing/controlling that one woman in sumeru (i forget her name) to be his first follower and do as he says.
Okay so truthfully i don't have many thoughts on sandrone but something that makes me curious about her backstory is the fact that in the commedia she is known as "Peasant.” what else is neat with this is that she looks like that one girl from Fontaine (Mary-Ann) I don’t really know/remember the the lore of her but hm.
What’s even weirder abt the similarities is that Marionette (her title) means Little Mary IIRC? I don’t think she IS Mary Ann since she’s dead but she could have connections to her. Anyway I don’t have many thoughts on her ngl.. </3 genshin give us sandrone lore PLEASEEEE
Next up is my fucking WIFE ‼️‼️ (la signora)
everyone who hates her sucks lowkey she’s such an overlooked character like her lore is so fucking?? sad?? Everyone reduces her to “haha ashes” and it annoys me tbh. Her boss fight was a pain in the fucking ass though ROSALYNE WHY.. it took me 20+ tries
I genuinely love her backstory it makes me so sad honestly. Through her grief and rage she became feared and hated. Idk I wish people would talk about her a little more?? Because she’s so interesting?? She has ties to ancient mondstadt isn’t that sick.
something that interests me the most about her character is how they made her somewhat different from La Signora in commedia dell’arte? She’s continually described as a woman who often cheats on her husband in the commedia, but when you read genshin Signora’s backstory it’s interesting to see how it’s mostly focused around how her loss of her lover threw her into a grief induced rage (basically, it’s centered around her grief and love)
as for her similarities, these two images explain it well:
Honestly I wish we had got to explore her character more than the information we have now. Genshin is so evil for killing her off tbh.
Pantalone I know like NOTHING about. I think he’s a really neat character. A lot of people dumb him down to “evil baizhu” but I do think he has a lot of potential to be a really good character
Basically he’s a capitalist ‼️ kidding but for him, he seems so far to be REALLY similar to Pantalone in the Commedia. I dont have too many thoughts on him either because we don’t know much about him yet </3 pantalone lore when….
and you already know most of my thoughts on Childe so I will save the rant for another day because that would get me fired up (I am losing words this rant sucked the life out of me HELP)
oh wait another thing that is neat about the harbingers entirely is how the trailer for them was called a Winter Night’s Lazzo (I think) but that’s another reference to the commedia dell’arte :)
#asks tag#NOT PROOFREAD HELP#i should tag this lowkey.#fatui harbingers#fatui#tsaritsa#genshin pierro#pantalone#columbina#dottore#childe#tartaglia#ajax#childe tartaglia ajax#arlecchino#pulcinella#SO MANY FUCKING TAGS#snezhnaya#genshin impact#genshin#Fatui#genshin impact fatui#fatui arlecchino#ANYWAYS</2#My rant flopped around the end but I’m sleepy
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Wine Red
Wicktober prompt day 6 - Vampirism | event organizer @wickblr
Summary: With rising tensions between vampires and hunters, Santino can't risk going to town to eat. He resorts to drinking animal blood and suffers the consequences. John, the prodigy hunter and his secret lover, is the only one that can help him. Doing this, John also realizes a new thing about himself and it lead to a far more deeper meaning for both of them.
Rating: Explicit, smut, hurt/comfort
Relationship: Santino D'Antonio/John Wick
Note: There we go, vampire Santino is real YAY! It took a while due to writers block and irl situations and I thought it wouldn't be done this month but I pushed through, now it's here and it was worth it :]. I decided to gift this fic to @thewhumpcaretaker because I know you like vampires, we talked about vampire Santino before and since the beginning of this fic, I thought it could be perfect for you. Of course hurt/comfort for you ehehe this one is a little different ;), but fun fact: this was supposed to be only hurt/comfort... BUT Santino took control over the fic and it turned into also smut. Also, title "Wine Red" inspired by that song by The Hush Sound, I thought it could fit this fic ^ ^. I hope you'll like it >:]
☆ SPECIAL THANKS TO @mrssimply ☆ you helped me a lot with everything (like always ehehe), and this fic wouldn't be nearly as good if it weren't for you, thank you so much!! <3
So, yes! Enjoy these two silly freaks 💙🖤
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Snippet
Santino was hungry, and hunger meant he needed to hunt. Surrounded by the large forest surrounding his estate, he could hunt game freely... If not for the fact he was one of the vampires that couldn't stand animal blood. Not that it didn't taste fine, but it made him violently sick and yet, he found himself trying once again, because the alternative was going to the city to find a willing or unsuspecting soul to drink from. But with the escalating conflict between vampires and monster hunters, the risk was bigger, maybe just too big right now. Especially since Santino was having an affair with a hunter, and not just any of them but the very best. Their golden child, their most perfect soldier, John Wick.
On the grounds near his mansion, he quickly found deer tracks, and it didn't take him long to find the majestic animal. He hated killing them, they were beautiful, fragile, sensitive, the royal animals of the woods. Yet he was out here, killing one of them for his own sake, even if that would only bring him a very fleeting satiation. But hunger and desperation were stronger this time.
He sank his teeth into its neck, feeling the warm blood spilling over his tongue. It was always comforting, no matter whose blood it was, even if he always disliked the feeling of fur against his lips.
The energy he got from the blood was enough to keep him up for an hour before he started feeling the side effects. The awful headache, like a migraine stabbing through his head. But what was worse was the nausea and stomach pain. It was awful, he ended up being violently sick, every strain shot a wave of pain through his whole body, making him whimper each time. He was a mess, knelt in front of the toilet, panting when he got a chance to try and catch his breath.
Santino cursed under his breath, regretting his decision. He tried to breathe through the nausea to stop feeling light headed. It felt worse when he closed his eyes, even for a moment, it was like the whole room was spinning, making him more vigilant. He was not sure how long he spent there, considering how awful he felt, it felt like an hour. Panic rushed through his body, making him shake slightly even as he tried to hold back his noises.
After some time, he felt well enough to stand up and wash his face in hopes that it would help him calm down. Maybe he drank too much blood this time. He took a few steps back, wanting to get to his bed but got too dizzy. He stopped and sank down, leaned against the wall, all he could do now was sit and wait for the side effects to go away.
He was thinking about John, how it has been weeks since he had seen him. The situation between hunters and vampires got worse and they had trouble meeting, even if it was in secret.
Santino leaned his head against the counter and feared he would pass out, he felt even more drained than before taking the blood. He shut his eyes closed and tried to rest like that. The pain was unbearable.
There was a faint noise in the background, he wasn't sure what it was since he was falling into unconsciousness. He was worried it was a hunter, but he could barely open his eyes, his vision blurry. He still detected a familiar figure walking towards him.
“Are you okay? What happened?” It was John, the only hunter Santino loved and cared for. “Your door wasn't locked and I saw you through the window.” He was already checking for any injuries on Santino's body, taking a hold of his hand for support.
Read the rest on ao3
#YAAY FINALLY IS HERE YEEPIE#vampire prompt ^ ^#Hi Whump it's me with another gift MUAHAH >:]#I was being sneaky again HEHE#i hope you'll like it ^ ^#john wick x santino d'antonio#vampire!santino#hunter!john#santino d’antonio#santino d'antonio#john wick#wickedsaint#wickblr#wicktober#wicktober 2024#my writing
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Album Review: And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ (1972)
With a title that snarkily alludes to his record company’s demand for hits, which he had not been producing, this album somehow manages to be deeply personal - to me and to Michael. From the liner notes:
“One of the great advantages of being an artist is that I am able to utilize my craft periodically to write messages to myself. Basically that it what this album is all about. I have tried to be as skillful as I could in the hopes that you as a listener would not feel left out. I have tried to make music as honest and beautiful, as harmonious and graceful, as I know how to make music ... But I am afraid that I must admit, and somewhat unabashedly, that I did it for me. I hope that on whatever level of unfoldment this music may find you that it will reward your attention and contribute something to your consciousness. I personally enjoy singing along to it all... But then it's very easy for me. I know all the words. Papa Nes.”
Not only is this album very beautiful and graceful musically, it is deeply sensitive, touching, and introspective. With the base album clocking in at just over 30 minutes, I suggest you just give it a listen yourself in order to really see what I mean.
(and the review just keeps on comin' - below the cut!)
Favorite parts of the album:
In conjunction with the points mentioned above, perhaps the dearest part of this album to me is the fact that he did not cave and try to write a hit by assembling a third instance of the National Band which would have probably been fairly mediocre, or quit music altogether (he was under a contract, but so was he during the Monkees, and he was willing to pay a very high price to quit that one.) Instead, he whittled down his lineup to just himself on guitar and Red on pedal steel and recorded ten very simple but perfect songs. Even with the inclusion of the hit “Different Drum” this album did not make any waves during its time - such was the extent of Michael’s dedication to his craft, that he was not afraid (although he could certainly be frustrated and cynical) to put out a quality work that was at best unappreciated and at worst overshadowed by a poor copy. Personal favorites off of this album are ��Tomorrow & Me,” “Harmony Constant,” “Roll With the Flow,” and the instrumental and initially unreleased “Cantata and Fugue in C&W” (which you may recognize from the background of a few Headquarters Sessions tracks) which I find to be a very soothing and almost nostalgic ending to the full album with all of its bonus tracks. One last note - every time Michael says “Go, Red” before a pedal steel solo, an angel gets its wings!
Critiques:
If there is a weak link to this album, or a song that seems out of place, it is probably “The Candidate” - it’s a perfectly good song in its own right, but its cynical lyrics and darker tone might have been better suited for an album like Nevada Fighter or Tantamount to Treason. Finally, “Listening” is one of the few times that his poetic lyrics do not translate particularly well to the format of a song - the timing can be a bit awkward or forced at times. That being said, Red saves the track with a trippy sort of melting-chord pedal steel backing, so it retains its place on my no-skip list.
Conclusion:
Michael himself seems to know this album was one of his best, as he usually played several songs off of it when doing shows in the ‘90s, and he even did a reprisal tour in 2019 highlighting the full album. There’s something very special about seeing him perform these songs decades after they were written; you can see that he still stands by the words, and I hope wherever he is now he knows that I do indeed enjoy singing along to all of them too.
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Title: Somewhere between Then, Now, and When
Merlin loses Arthur twice. Each time is more painful than the other in its unique devastation. Once, on a plain by Avalon, when the world had come to a standstill as Arthur’s heart ceased its rhythm. Then, centuries later, it happens again. Merlin doesn’t realize it until he meets a man with fair hair and blue eyes and thinks, that man looks like Arthur. Days later, he comes across another man fitting the same criteria and again thinks, that man looks like Arthur, too. It doesn’t occur to him until later that the two men look nothing alike and cannot both resemble Arthur in any logical manner. On paper, in written and verbal depictions, they could very well look like Arthur—blond, blue eyes, sharp features—but the stark differences between the two strangers clash in ways that make it impossible for both to resemble Arthur.
Feeling sick to his stomach, Merlin realizes that his memory of Arthur has faded. The feelings of love, loss, and grief still thrum through him, but the image of Arthur has blurred. Tears burn behind his eyes as he tries to uncover memories that are out of his reach. That night, his dreams are plagued by his first life—the most important one. The one that urges him to move forward even when he can find no reason to do so, that has him clinging with all his might to the words Kilgarrah left him with, holding onto hope because it is all he has left.
As if to further torment him, he dreams of everything in perfect clarity. He experiences anew the warmth of Gwen’s smile, the care of Gaius’ gaze, and Gwaine’s hearty laugh. He sees the sturdy castle walls that used to house him, the parapets, the Citadel square, and the statues in it, the familiar forest surrounding Camelot. Everything comes to him in clear detail. Everything except for Arthur. In his dreams, the shape of Arthur in his crown and Pendragon-red cloak stands in stark contrast to the blur of his face, ever-shifting features that refuse to settle and let the image of him sharpen so that Merlin may see him properly.
He wakes feeling worse than he has in a long time, if ever. When Merlin lost Arthur the first time, when he died, he knew what he had lost, was haunted by the image of Arthur, heard and felt him so clearly that for a time he believed that Arthur’s ghost lingered on this plane, that he had been with him even in the aftermath of his death. Facing reality and acknowledging that his grief was making him see and believe things that weren’t so had been debilitating, bedridden him for days. He stopped sleeping because his dream-self had not caught on to the fact that Arthur was gone, and every morning upon waking, he was forced to feel the loss again, had no choice but to agonizingly remember once more that Arthur had drawn his last breath, had eaten his last meal, had shed his last tear and smiled his last smile. All before he had made it to the age of thirty.
Every day, Merlin faced how long a life was ahead of him in the bereavement of Arthur. Every day, he forced himself not to wish for Albion’s downfall just so Arthur would have a reason to return to him. Every day, he was haunted and blessed by Arthur’s face and voice. He never imagined there would come a day that he would have to live without even the memory of those. He feels cold and hollow in their absence, nothing more than a shell of a man. Despite the emptiness, he feels too big for his skin, his body too tightly wound around him, his lungs clambering for air in their tight confinements. You forgot him! a voice in his head throws at him, accusatorily. The truth of it cuts him open, brands him with unfamiliar guilt so unlike any he has ever dealt with—and he has dealt with plenty—that it threatens to undo him. But like with everything else, he learns how to live with it, learns how to carry that added weight wherever he goes, soothes himself with the fact that even though he does not remember every dip and peak of Arthur's face, cannot recall the finer details of it, he still loves Arthur dearly, would still do whatever it takes for him. And that will have to be enough. For now.
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