#“we're free and on our own side!! we can finally say everything!!!”

[edgarallennope]

Me reading through old post-Season 1 Good Omens fics where they confess their love after armageddon and Aziraphale tells Crowley he doesn't need to be forgiven and they can't keep their hands off of eachother, knowing now that the prospect of acknowledging their feelings was so cosmically terrifying to the both of them that they ignored it for 6000 years in fear of ruining the only friendship they had in the universe:

[thatfreshi]

We Never Cease Being Lucky (Astarion x Reader)

TW - anxiety attack

Recommended Song: Renee - Sales

You absolutely adore birthdays. Although, you haven't celebrated yours since you met Astarion on that godforsaken beach. You remember asking when his is, as you do with everyone. He trailed off, distant.

"I... I don't quite remember."

You never asked about it again, but that sadness kept you in a chokehold. How could you go so long without celebrating your birthday? It's not fair, to not be able to celebrate life, to have that ripped away from you.

Once you end your adventures, you buy a house together, free from all the past pains, dancing on hardwood floors far from anything that ever hurt you. You still live in Baldur's Gate though, and you realize something one day while lying in bed.

"Aster, you were born here, right?"

"Of course, never left, well until I was taken."

You smirk, a little plan unfolding in your mind.

"I know what we're going to do this evening."

It's not often you have a suspicious smile across your face. He's curious.

"Well my love, please do tell."

"We're going to break into the courthouse!"

He laughs, sitting up to stretch, letting go of the slumber.

"Adorable. As far as I recall, we're done with our silly little adventures."

You just stare at him, and he realizes you're serious.

"Wait, why do you want to break into the courthouse?"

"It's a secret!"

"I feel as though it's hardly fair to ask for my assistance if you're not even going to tell me why."

"Well, it's for you. You'll see."

"Alright then, I revoke my complaints. Breaking into the courthouse, sounds great."

He used to be a lot more secretive about it, but he loves when you do things on his behalf. You don't often get such an opportunity, but tonight, tonight you finally get to give him something he's been missing for so long. Of course, as long as everything goes to plan. You tell him to grab a few lockpicks, and the two of you head out into the darkness.

"Sooooo, you can't even give me the slightest hint as to what you're up to?"

"Nope, but at least now you know it involves your very own specialty: sneaky criminal activity."

"Now, I think I have quite a few other far more interesting specialties, but I guess I'm just a glorified key to you."

He scoffs.

"No, you're just really good at getting into places quietly, and I think if I did this by myself I'd probably get arrested, and I definitely don't need you bailing me out considering you'd hold it over my head forever."

"Well you're right about that."

You give him a playful shove, and he trips on a loose cobblestone.

"Okay, rude. Maybe I'll turn you in anyways, say you were trying to involve me in some illegal heist against my will."

"But if you do that, you don't get your surprise!"

"Ugh, fine. I'll play along."

You shush him as you get closer to your target. There's a sleeping guard posted outside, one that the two of you successfully sneak past, finding a side entrance.

"Do you have any idea where this door leads?"

"Nope."

You smile at him, and he rolls his eyes.

"You're asking me to open a lock and you have no idea what's behind it? You clearly are not as masterful of a thief as you used to be."

He starts to pick away at the lock anyways.

"Well, I have been in retirement for a little bit."

At the end of your sentence, you hear that final click, and he opens the door. When the two of you get inside, it's pitch black, all the candles and oil lamps burnt out.

"Do you see any signs that say Records?"

"No, what would I possibly want with the city's records?"

"You'll see! Gods, just let me do something nice."

"It seems like I'm doing most of the work so far..."

"It's fine. Once we find the records room I can do the rest. You're just helping."

He can't resist that grin of yours, clearly excited by your mysterious plans. Astarion gives in, sighing as if he's bothered, but the two of you continue to look for the records room. Eventually, you turn a corner to yet another locked door. You bat your eyes at him, and he goes to work once again.

"You owe me after this."

"Please my love, I'm telling you you're gonna be so excited!"

"If you insist my dear."

He gets the second door unlocked, ushering you inside. He casts fire, lighting up a nearby candelabra. You're met with bookshelves stacked high with pieces of paper loosely put together, turning more golden and tattered as you look to your left.

"This is it!"

You immediately start to look at the dates on the records, finding the range of about two centuries ago. Without a care for the organization, you quickly flip through years and years of records, looking for anything that could be a birth record.

"Darling, I thought the point was to sneak in here, not throw papers all over the floor and have someone know we were here."

You ignore him, becoming a little desperate to find what you're looking for. The text is fading on some of these documents, making it hard to know they're not his. He crouches down on the floor beside you, realizing you're stressing out about this unknown objective.

"Hey, hey, Tav. What's wrong?"

You start to tear up a little, thinking this would be so simple, that this stuff wouldn't be so carelessly stacked on shelves.

"I can't- I can't find it."

You throw the stack of papers on the floor, wiping a tear off your cheek.

"I know you're trying to do something nice for me my sweet, but maybe if you told me what you're looking for, I could help you."

You sniffle, trying not to go into a full sob.

"I- I wanted to-"

You choke up, almost unable to speak. He takes your hands in his.

"Breathe Tav, breathe. In, and out."

You listen to him, trying your best to just inhale and exhale. You didn't think this attempt was going to lead to an anxiety attack, but luckily he's dealt with plenty himself. Your breath steadies as you tightly grab his hands.

"Now, what are you looking for?"

"I... I was trying to see if I could find your birth certificate. You know, since we don't know when your birthday is and all, I thought it might be nice to know. I feel so bad, it just passes every year and you're none the wiser."

He's dumbfounded, shock in his eyes, almost a little confused. You were having an anxiety attack just now because you weren't going to find when his birthday is?

"Darling, I... that's very sweet, but nothing worth this much stress. I haven't even thought about it in years."

"Yeah, but I just really love birthdays, and I just wanted a day where we could celebrate you, you know?"

"I appreciate that sentiment, truly, but if we can't find it, it's okay. You tried, and that's enough. Besides, what's the point in keeping something almost three centuries old at this point?"

"I don't know, I thought that was their job, to keep old shit."

You look at the scattered papers, and he follows your gaze. Something catches his eye, a document sitting to your left.

"Wait, look at that one."

You turn, picking up the piece of paper and holding it in the light of the flame.

"Holy shit."

He sits himself on your shoulder, looking at the writing with you.

"Gods, I really am that old."

You smile, another small tear falling.

"Aster, look. It's tomorrow."

He continues to read, eyes crossing the date again.

"We never cease being lucky, do we?"

"No, I guess we don't."

You turn to kiss his cheek, and then roll up the paper, putting it in your bag.

"Wait, you can't just take that!"

"Why not? Means more to us than them."

You simply shrug and he shakes his head, almost in disappointment. You clearly had no intention of making it seem like you weren't here. He doesn't stop you though, as he can't deny he'd like to keep his birth certificate as well.

"Thank you my dear, for always thinking of me."

"There's nothing more important I could think of."

[veenus777]

Can I request a Wilbur Soot where the reader and him have been dating for like 8/9 years and in one of tommys mod videos they just spend it on a cute Minecraft date, maybe they have a fake proposal where Wilbur gives reader a diamond and it’s really cute? Feel free to go anyway you want with this!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

-anon🦋

◜Minecraft Date◞

┊ ᝰ﹕Just Fluff and a little drama, SFW, Reader GN, English from Google translate

┊ ᝰ﹕Thank you very much for your order, it was my first and it made me very happy! I confess that I had to watch some of Tommy's videos to do it, I hope you like it <3

♤ Ever since you and Wilbur started dating a few years ago, you've made a tradition of every Friday being reserved for date nights and it's always worked out well.

♧ Until today when the restaurant called saying there was a problem with reservations which resulted in nowhere to go and that left you feeling discouraged.

♤ Tommy, knowing what happened, decides to invite them to participate in his weird Minecraft mods video.

♧ You end Wilbur up accepting and staying home for game night.

♤ Chaos is the definition of everything, Tommy running and screaming as he is being chased by some horror entity.

♧ While Philza just tries to build his house in peace while being continually hindered by Charlie.

♤ Somewhere between gathering resources and laughing at Tommy getting killed by Chucky, you get the brilliant idea to turn your date night into a Minecraft date.

♧ Wilbur immediately agrees and you look for a village to make your place and everything looks beautiful with rugs and flowers.

♤ However, the peace was short-lived, because as soon as Tommy and Cherlie found out about the idea, they made it their personal mission to destroy your date.

♧ You only turned around for three seconds before being blown to death by a TNT placed by Charlie.

♤ And a war began, on one side you and Wilbur trying to build your meeting and on the other Tommy and Charlie doing everything possible and impossible to ruin it.

♧ And in the middle we had Philza who simply gave up on all of you and went off on his own to create his own house.

♤ They exploded your venue a total of six times before you guys finally gave up and looked for another place for your date.

♧ However, it seemed that Tommy had predicted it since the choice of mod didn't help his goal at all, and every time you had any moment of peace and tranquility it ended with you both being chased by Jason or Frankenstein.

"We're that couple in horror movies that goes out to make out and ends up dying" Wilbur says as his character walks around looking for somewhere safe

"Wow, what a comforting babe" you respond ironically

♤ You decide to dig down to the badrock and build your place there, without the chance of being interrupted by your friends or any mob.

♧ Wilbur decorates the place with plants on the wall and a table in the middle, carpet and flowers everywhere.

♤ He gives you cooked meat and fish and you just sit and talk.

"I'm sorry we can't go on a real date"

"it's not your fault will, and anyway we're having our date now"

"Well but that doesn't stop me from giving you something precious and expensive" he jokes and throws some diamonds to you

"Ohh is that a propose?" You say laughing

"Yes Madam, would you like to spend the rest of your cubical life building houses and mining by my side? I promise you a huge house and all the diamonds in this game" he says in a pompous voice

"Wow it's impossible to deny it my good sir after all this is every person's dream" you respond in the same tone

♧ The conversation doesn't last long before Charlie invades the place.

"I can't believe my eyes! You betrayed me, Wilbur, with that!" Charlie arrives, hitting Will and making a big show of it. "And our children?! Our love was nothing to you?!”

♤ The fight lasted for a good few minutes resulting in the room being broken and everything being blown up, as well as one death for willbur.

♧ The recording didn't last any longer and soon Tommy finished it.

♤ And the rest of the night was just you and Will relaxing on the couch watching some cliché romantic comedy, without any kind of explosions or murderous chases.

.˚｡  💋 .˚｡ 💌

[sporesgalaxy]

updated a little flashback Vladlence script thing that I started writing in like 2020. some of you may remember this comic

Smile :)

•••

[The year is 1990-something-- before Vlad betrayed and temporally displaced Silence that one time. Vlad and Silence (in human disguise) are at some kind of businesspeople shindig. They've stepped outside for some air and are basically alone. Vlad has a glass of wine.]

S: Lord. I'd forgotten how tedious these are.

V: They're really not worth it unless you can drink. It was so much worse when my parents would drag me to these as a child.

S: Hm. I didn't mind my father's business functions, but my ex-husband's were insufferable.

V: [chokes on wine] "Ex-husband?"

S: Well... "Ex" in that my untimely departure left him a widower, yes.

V: ...is he a--

S: [rolling eyes] NO, he is not a ghost.

V: Still! How have you not mentioned him once?

S: [shrugs] It didn't come up.

V: That isn't fair! I've spilled my guts to you for your research. You HAVE to tell me something!

S: You're being ridiculous.

V: ...That's it. I've decided.

S: Decided what?

V: The favor you owe me for bringing you along as my plus-one tonight!

S: Oh, please! All I've learned this evening is that you're still capable of being intoxicated by normal amounts of human alcohol.

S: Now, you've learned that I had a husband once, a very long time ago. I'd say we're already even.

V: [pouts]

S: Why does it even matter to you?

V: .........if I say, will you tell me more about your human life?

S: I--! Oh, fine. Whatever. Yes.

V: Because marriage is--! It's--! Marriage is everything! It changes your whole life! You finally have someone to always be there for you, in sickness and in health and all that.

V: How could you just...[mimes swatting something out of the air with his free hand] move on, after that? It makes no sense!

S: [tuts, rolls her eyes] You're insufferably romantic, you know that?

S: Marriage is not "everything." My marriage had everything to do with finances, and precious little to do with anything else.

V: ...Oh.

S: That's less common these days, I'll admit, but forgive me if I still feel you're overselling it.

V: ...Well...Still, he was there, right? At least you had someone.

S: [annoyed] Sure. Can we talk about something else now?

V: Did you have a family? [leans against the balcony, resting his chin on a hand, smiling expectantly]

S: [frowning] ...Not the change of subject I was hoping for.

V: [just keeps looking expectantly]

S: [sighs heavily] [trying to be annoying on purpose] Well, I had a mother and father, two siblings-- both of which died in infancy-- and on my mother's side, my cousins--

V: [impatiently] I meant with your husband!

S: [twitches] ...No. It was just he and I, and then I died.

V: Oh.

S: [snarky & bitter] ...Then, he remarried a nice young lady who got to keep all of our money. They, I believe, had several children together.

[Silence is quiet in a sort of uncomfortable angry way. Vlad, oblivious, gets lost in his own thoughts.]

both: .......

V: [CLEARLY thinking about Maddie. a bit dreamily] ...do you ever wish that you could do it all over?

[Vlad is looking at the sky, and doesnt see the judgemental, incredulous look Silence immediately shoots him]

V: That you had more time to make it work?

S: [humorless laugh] HAH! No!

V: [snapped out of his reminiscing, looks at her, surprised] No?

S: [like its an uninteresting, obvious fact] My life didn't have anything worth going back to.

V: [disgust directed at the percieved failure of the faceless husband figure] He was that bad?

S: [waves dismissively] No, no. Our marriage wasn't bad. It just wasn't--

S: ......well, it wasn't much of anything, I suppose.

V: [furrows eyebrows] Hm.

S: [after a short pause] I much prefer this.

V: [for some reason, his heart skips a beat] This?

S: [a bit frantically] My research! In the Ghost Realm. The achievement, the influence, you know. Much more fulfilling.

V: [nods, a bit spacey because of a weird inexplicable feeling he's having] Ah. I see.

[cleabellanov]

LS2 episode 5 thoughts✨

The conversation Loki had with O.B. first concluded in Loki finding his "why" in order to control the time slipping. And, once he knew that and realized he needs everyone's temporal aura, where does he timeslip to? Back to Mobius. That's a sweet detail, and, similar to episode 1, reveals Loki's trust for this character. Even when Mobius doesn't remember him, Loki still believes in him. And in everything he was told back at the TVA, including the way he describe a jet-ski: "a beautiful union of form and function". Another detail that melted my fool heart was the way Loki laughed after Mobius's (or Don's, but I'm not calling him that) words: "Or did you follow me home?". They are precious.

"You saw something in me that I hadn't seen in myself". That says so much. It reminisces all those times in season 1 when Mobius was by Loki's side:

"A villain" "That's not how I see it".

"You can be whatever, whoever you wanna be. Even someone good. I mean just in case anyone ever told you different".

And we can see Loki learning how to trust, how to care. For his character, this is great development. He's not the same Loki that invaded New York blinded by pain and revenge. He's returning to himself and by doing so, he's returning to what truly matters to him. His friends, his found family. All those timelines he feels burdened to protect.

"It's not about when, where, or why. It's about who." EXACTLY. The other variables are unimportant if they're not in the hands of the right person. And, after the heartbreaking moments in which Loki is the only one left standing after everything falls apart in front of him, I think he understands that. To quote Tom Hiddleston himself: "He learns what heroicism really looks like." And this "who" goes both ways: who rewrites the story, and FOR WHO this is done.

"I can rewrite the story."

That line is epic! It shows the power he always had and can finally access. It puts the concept of free will in another light: it's THE story, not MY story. Also, how far back can this go? At the end of the episode, we see Loki back with O.B back when the Loom was stable. That's the point he chose, for everyone else, not only for himself. At this point, he could have gone back to Asgard, back to New York. Win it all, be king. But that's not his glorious purpose anymore. He's finally seeing what Mobius saw in him, even Thor, some time ago ("Loki, I thought the world of you."). And there was a lot of talk about stories, writing and rewriting them. That's sooo similar to the comic where Loki becomes the God of Stories!! Like, this is actually happening!

"They didn't get a choice in this".

I think this is an extremely interesting conversation he had with Sylvie, in which you can see both of their points, none entirely right. For Sylvie, free will is something left untouched. No intervention, ever, just moments and paths in a disarray only the one who takes them can know them truly. For Loki, it's more of a choice. Yes, we take our own path, but sometimes we're given a choice. There is no bad or right in this game, only choices. By giving everyone a glance at the TVA, Loki realises that. What if they want that life instead of the one they already have? They wouldn't know, if not given the choice.

"I want my friends back. I don't wanna be alone"

Okay, that hurt. In the time cell in episode 1, we remember Sif repeating the same thing over and over again to Loki "I hope you know that you are meant to be alone and you always will be." This says a lot about Loki's fears, and being alone is one of his biggest. But that's the thing, he found these people, he's not alone anymore! So of course it is extremely hard for him to just...give this up? It's not the first time he faces Casey and Mobius (Don?) not knowing him. His reaction "Not again" shows how scary this is, and we can obviously deduce that from the first episode. Not only everything is at risk of just disappearing into a void after the Loom explosion, when they are still there, still living, they don't remember him. Yet Loki finds a way to steady himself, and find everyone in all this mess.

But also, I don't think that wanting your friends back is something selfish, as Sylvie said. After going through different views over the same thing: "I want to stop He Who Remains" to "I want the TVA back" to finally Loki admiting that he wants his friends back, this is a matter that concerns many people, not just one. Besides, he did say that after all of it is done, they can return to their timelines as they never left. That doesn't sound really selfish to me. In fact, it reminds me of something Vision said to Wanda a whole ago: "What is grief, if not love persevering?". Then not wanting to be alone is a lack, a void persevering and waiting to be filled. And if that implies saving the Multiverse as well, then so be it (but that is definitely NOT the only reason Loki does all of this. He wants, and now can, rewrite the story for the better. For everyone, not only for himself.)

As of episode 5: Science/Fiction Loki is one of the most powerful beings in the entire MCU. Being able to travel back at any given point in time and space just by willing it into existence isn't a small thing. This, I believe, is something we deserve to see Loki in control of. Maybe it sounds a little too much to say that the whole fate of Marvel is in his hands now, but...it kinda is, isn't it? If not for Loki, we'd face the same disappearance as in Infinity War, only 100% now, not only 50.

I have been waiting and theorising for a long time that Loki will become the God of Stories. The fact that we might see it in less than a week is...something.

Also judging by the posters (which show different outfits from different times) there's a new suit we'll see him in on screen, and I can't wait!

Thanks for reading <3

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

How do you know?

The tops of Sizhui's cheeks are dusted red when he finally makes eye contact with his senior. He has been staring into his cup of tea for the past 10 minutes, quiet and unmoving, gripping the side of it hard enough that it's a miracle it didn't break yet. Very uncharacteristic of Sizhui to be so... worked up over something, but there's no better place to find out what's wrong than over tea with Wei-qianbei.

"I...um... have a question."

"Figured as much." Wei Ying laughs. "What's up?"

"How... how does one know when they're... in love?"

Wei Ying feels his heart both ache and soften at the question. He sees himself, over twenty years ago, asking his shijie the same thing. He remembers Wen Qing telling him she'd probably never get to see A-Yuan growing up and and achieving his life's milestones, learning cultivation and falling in love.

"It's different for everyone." Wei Ying finally replies, in a voice that's uncharacteristically soft. "It feels like... honestly, it feels a lot like sword flying for the first time."

"H-huh...?"

"You're scared you're going to fall and nobody's going to catch you, and it's terrifying. But once you're in the air and you feel the wind around you and you can see the world from above, you feel free and invincible and like you can do anything."

Sizhui is quiet for a long time after that. Wei Ying lets himself think over his own metaphor.

He has been scared to fall, indeed. When shijie found him hiding in a tree, when he learned to fly on Suibian, when he fell into the Burial Mounds, when he learned what his feelings for Lan Zhan meant... In fact, until Lan Zhan, he could never be sure there was someone there to catch him. He had been scared to fall in love with Lan Zhan too, even if it came to easy, even if he couldn't help it, even if, in hindsight, it was obvious Lan Zhan loved him too.

But nothing could compare with the knowledge that his feelings were reciprocated, that he would never be alone again, that no matter what, there would always be someone in his corner, loving and protecting him. Catching him if he'd fall.

And he'd been falling a lot lately - Mo Xuanyu's core has improved, but not nearly enough to allow Wei Ying to do the airborne tricks he used to do with Suibian. The amount of times he almost splattered into the ground should be laughable - but Lan Zhan always caught him, no matter how ridiculous it was for him to slip off his sword like a child.

"Is it... easy? To love someone?" Sizhui asked, again, his face even redder than before.

"The right person is never hard to love. It just comes naturally, you may not even realize it's happening."

He surely didn't, not from the start. His life would have been a lot different if he had - still, his life is wonderful now, and there's no point dwelling on the past.

"You know, it took me a while to realize that I loved Lan Zhan, but not because it was difficult. It just came like second nature to me, it felt normal for me to want to be around him and to share everything with him. It was subconscious, I think. Our hearts know we're in love before we do."

Wei Ying doesn't realize he's playing with the ribbon Lan Zhan left on his wrist as he says all this.

He also doesn't realize Lan Zhan is quietly listening in from the doorway of the Jingshi, a look so soft and loving in his eyes it would melt him if he saw it.

---

"Anyway, why are you asking me this stuff? Got any news to share?"

Sizhui's flustered and sputtering. "N-no, I-I was just, um, curious, it's nothing like that, really!"

"Well, when you do decide it's something, let me and Lan Zhan know, we need to have a stern talking to with whoever's decided to steal our baby's heart!"

"Wei-qianbei!!"

[elderberries-and-honey]

𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 "𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘦" 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥

Dear Marmee,

The bitter cold crept in slowly at first but there is no denying winter has arrived here in Wales. Everything is now covered in a sheet of white snow.

Every morning, I wake before the rooster's crow. Our friend Beth has moved in with us and she enjoys knitting very much. She has knitted me two new sweaters before Christmas has even come and they keep me much warmer than my worn-out coat from last Winter. It's a good thing too 'cause there's still much to be done on our farm, though I've made a rather decent amount of progress.

Even so, we hardly had any remaining produce leftover for ourselves after selling what I was able to salvage from our terrible blight. I won't burden you too much with our troubles but things have been rough here for us and I know Winifred is silently troubling herself over it.

You mentioned Jo is trying to get published? Please let me know how that goes for her. I think it might just inspire Winifred who is still glued to her typewriter whenever she has the time to write.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, Lawrence

Dear Marmee,

I'm sorry to hear Jo was turned down in her quest to get published. Hopefully it won't discourage her from trying. Have you heard from Amy in Paris? How are Meg and Mr. Brooks? How does Beth like teaching piano?

Many of our animals, including the thorn in my side, Frank the Goose, passed on near the end of November. Without their eggs and milk to sell, money is tighter than ever.

Winifred has begun fretting over how we will make a good Christmas for Ozzy. So I've started working at the pub again to help us make it through the rest of winter and afford a few gifts for him. I'm struggling to come up with an idea on what to get Winifred, after all, how could I top her typewriter? If you have any ideas, please include them in your next letter.

Ozzy is doing quite well, thank you for asking. He likes to "help" me on the farm but mostly he enjoys playing in the snow with the garden shovels and trying to escape to our small pond. You would not believe the tantrums he throws when I have to wrangle him away from the edge. I can almost understand how my Father felt when I was a boy and he would paddle my bottom. The boy is like a fish the way he enjoys the water! Even bathtime seems to be his favorite part about bedtime.

It was a struggle to get him out of his crib and into a real bed but we needed to complete the transition before our new little one arrives. With Beth here to teach us patience, I can proudly declare we have finally succeeded.

Sincerely, Lawrence

Dear Marmee,

We're approaching our due date rather quickly, a little under 3 months now. Millie has been staying with Louise for the Winter (and giving her free cooking lessons) after agreeing to stay and help Winifred deliver the baby, which I'm thankful for. I know this is a huge relief for Winifred. Her last delivery was not without complications and I know she grows uneasy the closer we get.

I know Winifred believes the baby will be a girl but I have my own suspicions we will welcome another son. I'm not wholly certain I could handle another little girl after we lost Flora. Not yet, rather. The pain of losing a child never truly leaves, does it?

I did not mean to ignore your inquiry over how I'm fairing. I must keep a courageous face for my family, and consequently I've grown used to wearing my mask of gallantry. Since you so kindly asked though, I will admit that I am a little worn down as of late.

I spend long hours tending the farm and go to work even longer hours in the pub. Valerie, good hearted as she is, is not the best co-worker, often drinking herself stupid before the nights out. I suppose it's true what they say about you Irish folk.

Most of my trouble comes from myself, I suppose. I watched my father save this very farm many times over and I should want to do the same. But with every plant that refused to sprout, I found myself resentful over having ever inherited it.

I think of my wife, the writer, the poet, and how she is able to read Ozzy her stories. I think of Jackson with his pub, and his son, Patrick, who's becoming a doctor, and you with your bookshop. Even my father who provided my mother and I with food, and a roof over our heads because he cared for the farm so tenderly. All of you, with such passion.

Even if I was as passionate as my father, the farming industry is changing. All these extravagant advancements are putting farmers out of work all over. If the farm were to go under, what would I do? It's all I've ever known.

If I don't have time to write before Christmas Day - I hope you have a Merry Christmas. Send my love to your girls and wish them the same for me as well.

Sincerely, Lawrence

P.S. Don't be cross with me for the joke, I only say it in jest. The Irish could drink me under the table any day of the week and sing a merry tune whilst doing so which is rather remarkable.

next / previous / first

[ariesmusingz]

૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა ╱ real talk sentence starters pt 2 ( created using lyrics from man overboard's real talk album. feel free to adjust to fit your muse. )

i know you're sound asleep right now and you can't hear

i'm gonna explain everything and turn this into every dream your pretty little head could ever come up with

i'm drunk with the thought of sharing these blankets right now

i think we're old enough to know

i think we're old enough that we would know better

we should know better now

i pretend that i'm already someone and all my problems faded away

i should be sound asleep right now but i'm not

i'm gonna explain everything and hope that you can hear me

your pretty little head goes undisrupted

i figured i'd go at the least to check in

i just miss her grin

to show that i didn't really never wanna see you again

my heart caves in when i look at you

this is so hard

do you take pictures off the walls when you know i'm coming to your room?

do you hide all the stuffed animals the other boys bought for you?

i wasn't surprised

she was chilling, looking hot in her bed

i kept my distance

i was a good boy

let's go home to a place we can call our own

we can live there together, be in love forever and never have to be alone

would you try?

would you leave me for some other guy?

i've been sitting without you

just thinking about you

wishing you were here inside

when you wake up you will call me

i will tell you that i miss you so

i make records so that when i'm gone you can hear me on your stereo

i think we're in love

i'm so tired

since i met you i'm always inspired

i think i could change the world if you were really my girl

we would have all we desired

looks like we're holding hands

who knows exactly what this all could be?

all i know is that i feel fine when i pretend you're mine and you lie close to me

i'm finally laying somewhere where i'm happy that i'm here

my troubles said goodbye and the heartache disappeared

i miss you most when i try to act like i don't care about the warm hands

i think that we're best friends

i like your face, that's why i stare

you're everything i hoped a girl could be

so here's a toast to laying close

i'm comfy now and i just won't leave

you and me

i'm in it for the long haul

i like you

you better come back if you're running

the rain poured down on the day that i left to hang out with you in new york

every little thing made me miss you more

i kept running

it's like i'd never been so sure of doing something stupid

doing something without thinking

i'm just trying to make a getaway to you

i'd have gone a thousand miles more

i'll meet you in your head tonight when you're in bed

the one time that i came to your house

i was freezing outside until you finally came out

you pulled me by the arm and we went around back

you glared me up and down

you say you don't remember that

we went downstairs

i saw your bedroom and stuff

i tried to say some things but you said to shut up

i looked at you

you were so damn cute

sifting through the pages of the pictures that you drew

i know you're thinking of me

you're everything that i'd hope for

i'm all the shit that you go for

stop kidding yourself now

i hate you

you should have picked up the phone tonight

open your eyes, kid

you know i'm on your side, kid

i'd like to save the world and you could be my sidekick

they'll all say our names

i've lived a lie, kid

i'd love to run and hide, kid

you could say 'fuck them all' and ditch the world like i did

the words down on the paper answer yesterday's dream

we could be untouchable

[jokatsuya]

High enough?

George Weasley x reader / George Weasley x Gn!reader

Wordcount: 744

Warnings: none

Summary: How do you think George will react if his partner is a little too small to see everything? (Y/n) gets an answer to that at the Qudditch World Cup.

A/n: It's October and what does that mean? Exactly! It's Harry Potter time! More specifically, George Weasley time. Probably the greatest comfort character ever. So if you're feeling down, grab a bunch of George stories and have a good time. Thank me later. Yours JoKatsuya

>>See you, Mr. Weasley!", I shout through the tent as George and I head outside to make the most of the time before the game.

But before we're out of the tent, Fred pops up next to me with a mischievous grin: >>Don't do anything I wouldn't do.<< With a completely exaggerated wink, he addresses George again before disappearing again as quickly as he came. A giggle escapes me as George grabs my hand and walks outside. How could the two of them be so different, despite looking like each other? Sure their personalities have similarities, but still more crucial differences. In fact, at the beginning of our acquaintance, that was about the only point by which I could distinguish the two. In the meantime, however, I can consider myself lucky to be able to distinguish my boyfriend from his twin even on the outside.

There is a wild hustle and bustle. Music sounds from every corner, the paths are hardly to be made out because of people and the most different kinds of artists and booths provide already now for a lot of entertainment, at least those, which I see. My gaze glides up to George, who looks around almost effortlessly, brushing his hair out of his face with his free hand. Somewhat embarrassed, the blush rises in my cheeks.

>>I know I'm irresistible, but I don't want to be responsible for your neck pain if you keep staring like that.<<, George smiles and looks down at me.

>>I don't see much anyway.<<, I counter almost playfully grumpy. Even though, in contrast to the boy next to me, most of it seems small, I almost get lost next to him sometimes.

>>If I were as tall as you, I wouldn't have to look up at you all the time.<<, I say defiantly and continue to look in the other direction in a playfully offended manner.

In a jerk, a group of people passes me, pushing me against Goerge, who had apparently gone into a crouch. He grabs me and lifts me onto his shoulders with a yank.

With a squeak, I claw at him as he simultaneously stands up again: >>George!<<

>>High enough?<<, George inquires with a laugh while he squints up at me and strokes my legs with his thumbs, which he holds tightly with his large hands. Slowly, I let my gaze slide up from his face and look around widely. Wow. Already when I arrived the meadow looked huge but this....

>>Yes..., yes I think so. I could get used to it.<<, I answer mischievously and stroke with my hand through his hair, which was disheveled by his action, to straighten it at least to some extent. Whereupon he shakes his head however and makes my work very successful so immediately again to nought. He is simply charming. In his very own way.

>>As you want, Darling.<<, he brings on devotedly and holds me demonstratively more firmly. A while we go, or rather he, in such a way further and look at the most diverse booths, before we finally stop in front of a small one and he expels me with a flowing movement again his shoulders. As soon as my feet finally reach solid ground again, I stretch all my limbs and look at George, who is talking to the merchant. After a short moment in which I look around again, a hand suddenly grabs one of my cheeks before something cool brushes the other. George's face appears in front of me and he repeats the whole thing with the other side.

>>Perfect.<<, is the only word that leaves his mouth with the curled corners. Triumphantly, he shows me his just-acquired makeup pencil with the colors of the Irish.

>>Now bend down already.<<, I give giggling from me and take the tool from him. With a theatrical curtsy, he bends over and lets the procedure take place. Before he can stand up again, however, I press a kiss to his lips, which he accepts willingly with a satisfied sounding grumble.

When I slowly detach myself from him again, his hand slides around my waist as a matter of course and pulls me closer to him. I yield to him and enjoy the moment with him, before I have to share it with the others again.

>>Now it's time to show the Bulgarians who plays better!<<, George exclaims enthusiastically and we slowly make our way back to the tent.

If you want to be tagged, just write me at what.

Strictly do not: copy, claim or translate those stories of mine anywhere else  

[chaoparty]

i'd been putting off making this post because i've genuinely been anxious & really nervous about it, but things are getting more real as time goes on and i've just gotta bite the bullet >< so guys, we don't normally do this, but.. we really need to ask for some financial help. near the beginning of the year, pawmie (my fiance & business partner) had been experiencing some pretty bad jaw pain.  fast forward a dentist appointment and they found what was thought to be a cyst in their jaw due to how their wisdom tooth was growing in wrong. after multiple doctor visits, they concluded it was a noncancerous, but aggressive tumor. after a lot of fear and anxiety and more specialist visits, we've finally got a surgery (one of possibly more) to remove it. this will require them losing that side of their jaw, and getting metal in its place. they've never had any sort of surgery before, and needless to say we're both pretty scared, but we've got a lot of emotional support from friends and family who're helping us through it, and they mean the world to us!!! (and that includes everyone who supports us here & other places, it really really means a lot!) however, being this is a rather complicated issue, it's coming with a lot of medical costs.. we only recently got pawmie on some form of insurance and while they're covering the surgery itself (I'M ALMOST POSITIVE) , there's been a plethora of things they won't cover that are really imperative for pawmie's health. the biggest reason i've been on such an adopt posting kick is because we're slowly working up funds to take care of all of this. of course it's not our only means but, to put it gently, we're just really in a very tight spot financially for a lot of reasons, but we're doing our best ><. and that brings me to why i'm making this post... i'm doing everything i can right now to at least get us somewhere but to an extent we just can't manage this all on our own.   i truly sincerely hate asking for help in this way, but at this point and i hate to say it, we're a little desperate. ideally, i want to try to raise $5000 to help cover medical costs, transportation, medicine, and groceries that we'll be needing for their recovery. however this is a lot a lot a looot of money and i by no means expect or am asking for large donations, i also want to offer something back be it art or customs. we also have a kofi where as a member you can see when we upload personal art, adopt previews (that you can claim before they get posted here to toyhouse at a cheaper price!), we have plenty of free content for members to download and use like bases for adopts, coding, etc.   i'm also making a direct donation commissions section on our kofi where i'll be offering art/redesigns/customs/etc for certain amounts of donation, https://ko-fi.com/plushpon/commissions

[etherealacoustic]

Lifeless Eyes pt.3

Pairing - Wolfstar x daughter!OC, Fred Weasley x OC!

Summary - Nova Lupin-Black comes home for the Easter holidays and her parents are in for a shock.

Warnings - breakdown, depression and cursing.

Here is the final part of the small series, my first ever as well! Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing this <33

Link for pt.1 here

Link for pt.2 here

And before she knew it, a pair of arms were wrapped carefully around her vulnerable frame.

Sirius held her close, pulling his daughter close against him as much as possible, wanting to hide her away safely from all of her demons.

"Shhh," he murmured and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"Da," she sobbed, her hands tightening as she gripped his shirt. "I c- can't- 's too much- I can't do- I'm sorry-"

"Hush love," Remus whispered from her side and rubbed her back. "Let it out".

"Pa," she stuttered and lifted up her head to look at him and Remus had never felt his heart being broken like this before.

A huge amount of pain had struck his chest as he looked at her destroyed state. He himself was shaking and he could also feel his eyes starting to water.

Her eyes on the other hand were crimson red, puffy and all wet with the tears that continued flowing down. She was shattered, as though she really had enough of everything.

Remus swallowed down his own lump and cupped her face, "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm right here," he said desperately and she fell right into his arms.

"I'm right here," he repeated and shut his eyes tightly, a lone tear slipping down at last as he hugged her.

Nova Lupin-Black cried.

She cried and cried and cried.

She cried till there were no more tears left to fall, she cried till her throat was sore, she cried till her eyes were a deep red and her face a mess, she cried till every broken piece inside of her was free of all the emotions that were kept bottled inside for too long.

Her body stopped trembling after a few minutes and she lifted her head from its place on Remus' shoulder.

She let a deep breath escape her lips as she wiped her face, feeling her heart lighten at the breakdown.

"Sit down," Sirius instructed softly and directed her towards the bed while also handing her a glass of water.

"Feeling better now?" Remus asked.

"Loads," she answered and sniffed. "My shoulders seemed to have lost half the weight".

The two just smiled at her, their faces the embodiment of gentleness and comfort. They glanced at each other and both had the same thoughts.

They sat in silence after that, both men in no way intending to pressure or rush her.

"Can- can I tell you everything?" Nova broke the quiet hesitatingly.

"Course you can, love," Sirius grinned, extremely glad at her decision.

"Take it at your own pace," Remus suggested. "Go slow if it gets too hard".

She nodded gratefully but was then stumped, "From where do I even start?" She laughed nervously.

"Anyhow you like it," they said in unison.

"Alright," she said and bit her lip before beginning. "Well I've been like this for the past 3-4 months at least. And I didn't know what was happening. One day everything just suddenly went dull, black and ugly. I was no longer happy, or enthusiastic or passionate about anything anymore. It took a lot of effort to even smile, you know? It was like my face was a statue, like my very heart had gone numb".

"Dolores Umbridge," she muttered suddenly and both of their eyes narrowed at the rather familiar name. "She's the main reason, Dad," she mumbled, addressing them both.

"That woman is horrible, vile, cruel, evil, monstrous and every other synonym there is left. She tortured everyone, Da!" She exclaimed with slight emotion.

Sirius didn't say anything but Remus noticed the way his jaw had tightened considerably.

"She- She still has us read all those useless textbooks that have nothing apart from ridiculously long theories and boring passages. We still don't do any practicals because she's afraid we're gonna start our own army or something. And she's turning a blind to Voldemort as well! Talking about Cedric that way-" her voice broke as she took a minute to collect herself.

Cedric Diggory. Her best friend, the type of brother she never had. The loving, handsome, funny, brave and pure Hufflepuff.

Her Ced, whose memory was tainted everyday by the woman's false statements.

Now the only thing Nova felt was anger, and both of her parents sensed it quickly.

"I tried Pa," she said honestly and looked at him, her grey eyes meeting his honey ones. "I really tried to be as quiet as possible and not let her taunts get to me. And I was good, seriously I was".

He nodded, knowing there was a huge but coming up. He wasn't angry at her of course, he knew she had tried.

"But you can't expect me to stay quiet when that bitch mentions you," she said through gritted teeth.

"She what?" Sirius asked sharply, his gaze an identical one to his daughter's.

"Yes she did!" Nova said, glad that someone was now on the same level of furious as her.

"What did she say?" Remus questioned, his mind once again filling with thoughts of self-hatred.

"I can't even say it for merlin's sake! She- she insulted you because of- because of your furry little problem. In front of the whole fucking class!" Nova seethed.

"She did not," Sirius now whispered in a deadly tone.

"She did, Da!" Niva riled him up even more, but the pair fell silent at Remus' warning look.

"What did you do?" He asked cautiously, not wanting her to be in trouble because of him.

"I defended you," she answered with an innocent smile that was failing to hide the satisfied smirk. "Respectfully".

"Sure you did," he scoffed but a smile spread across his face anyways at seeing Sirius high-five her and at the huge grin adorning her face now.

"I got detention, but it was worth it," she shrugged. "And don't you dare tell me off for that. Even if you do, it'll be all worthless as I'd do the entire thing again in a heartbeat," she warned.

"I won't say anything," he rolled his eyes playfully. "But you should've been careful".

"Godric do I feel so much better now that I've got everything off," she laughed .

She laughed.

The two men stared at her for a second before laughing out loud themselves.

"This was the main part, the rest was just stress, tension, pressure from the exams and studies," she added.

"Sure?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Hogwarts has really become a terrible place since that wretched thing has stepped foot inside. I don't even wanna go back," she mumbled.

"No problem!" Sirius said with a very obvious glint in his eyes. "We have a teacher at home, you'll be all set".

Remus shook his head as the two shared a wicked laugh. "As much as I would love to keep you here, darling, you have to go. Unfortunately".

Nova faked a pout and huffed dramatically before resigning to her fate. "Well, the force can't always be with me".

He chuckled and leaned back against the headboard of the bed, "What did she have you doing in detentions?"

Silence. And more silence.

Remus' smile faded as his eyes glanced between Nova and Sirius, who looked a bit anxious too.

"Love, what are you not telling us?" Sirius asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion and also anger at Umbridge.

"I- um- she had me doing lines," she answered, not fully honest but not lying either.

"And?" Remus prodded her, knowing there was something to add.

She sighed, her eyes wandering for a second before she slowly lifted up her sleeve and put forward her left hand.

All that followed her action was a deadly calmness, one that was so intense that she was sure there was going to be a murder happening soon.

Remus swallowed and his eyes pierced the swollen skin of his daughter's hand, his entire figure radiating anger.

"Always a monster, always a disgrace," Sirius read it out through gritted teeth. "She's etched these words, Nova!"

"She didn't do it by herself," Nova mumbled. "I was given a blood-quill, where you use your own blood to write and the words appear on your hand".

"That absolutely revolting and bloody maniac-" An endless stream of curses fell from his lips as he paced around the room.

"Pa?" Nova said cautiously.

Remus didn't say anything and just took her hand in his, his touch filled with every bit of gentleness that his eyes were failing to provide at the moment. He tapped the red skin with his wand and she hissed a little as he healed the deep cuts.

"It looks fresh," Sirius added as he sat down again and watched the wound being treated.

"Well I did have my last detention just a day before coming here".

"For how long?" Remus questioned.

"Almost a month now".

"Why didn't you send a letter?" Sirius muttered and was already planning different ways to commit a crime.

"She would've intercepted it and the result would be more detentions," Nova grumbled. "But it's okay though, I'm fine now".

"It's not okay!" Remus exclaimed. "It's not right to use these things on students. This is a form of torture for godric's sake!"

"I know, Pa," she nodded and spoke softly. "And believe me I would love nothing more than to beat the shit out of her, but it'll not only land me, but us all in trouble too. And it's not worth the risk".

"And where did that girl go who always quoted, 'What's life without a little risk?'" Sirius frowned, not at all liking this.

"I'm still the same, Da," Nova smiled. "But it's really not worth it".

"It bloody is, it's you who's on the line. It's worth every fucking risk," Remus scowled but he did understand.

"Yeah yeah whatever," she brushed it off and flopped onto his lap while keeping her legs in Sirius'.

"If you happen to get the news of Dolores Umbridge mysteriously turning bald, I didn't do anything," he said suddenly and the other two burst out laughing.

"You'll be the first to know," Nova grinned and poked his stomach.

The trio sat there till it was quite late. Just speaking randomly and enjoying each other's presence after being away for so long.

"I'll go get some water," Nova got up holding her stomach as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, the reason being Sirius' very bad joke.

She still had a smile on her face as she reached the kitchen and was met with her best friends.

"Hey boys," she greeted cheerfully and the two turned around unbelievably fast.

"Nov," George breathed out and his lips rugged upwards at seeing her back. He quickly went over and hugged her tightly, almost squeezing the life out of her.

She grinned and pulled away to see him pushing Fred towards her and then shooting them a wink before leaving the two alone.

"Hey Freddie," she whispered softly and snaked her arms around his neck as he pulled her close.

"Hullo love," he smiled giddily and wasted no time in pressing his lips to hers with double the passion.

He kissed her with every bit of emotion that was filling his heart, all for her. He kissed her as a sorry for not doing more, for not helping out more. He kissed her as a thank you for fighting the battle and coming out victorious. He kissed her lovingly, feeling his happiness rise upon seeing hers.

"Thank you," she said after they pulled away. Breathless and overwhelmed.

"Every time," he replied and pecked her cheek gently.

"And sorry too".

"I'll take that one as well".

The couple laughed like buffoons, being crazily drunk over each other that they were unable to form a meaningful sentence.

Fred gave her a beautiful smile and wrapped her in an embrace, "I love you".

Her lips twitched and she leaned her head on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth and intimacy. "I love you too".

She then pulled back and gave him one last kiss before saying good night.

"Night," he whispered back and watched with a daze as she walked up the stairs.

Nova still had the red hue that had coated her cheeks during the kiss and as she entered her room, her parents were quick to spot it.

"Took you long enough to just get some water, eh?" Sirius teased and lifted his eyebrows while Remus smirked.

"Oh shut up," she grumbled and laughed despite herself as she finally settled on the bed.

"Of course," Remus smiled, one that wasn't sincere in any kind of way making her roll her eyes.

"Sleep now," Sirius said after toning down the teasing session and turning off the lights.

"Yeah," she answered, grabbing the blankets and closing her eyes.

"Love you, darling," said Remus.

"Tons and tons," completed Sirius.

"I love you 3000," she offered them a cheeky grin and wink before letting sleep take her.

The two men chuckled fondly at her antics, glad to have their little star once again. They looked at her adoringly before gazing at each other with the same amount of love.

----------------------------------------------

[maribatserver]

Valentine's Villains: A Valentine's Day Event

The Maribat Server Mod Team, of our own free will and without having been kidnapped, would like to announce that this year we will be celebrating our fandom's favorite villains!

If you've been following us for awhile, you may remember last year's Valentine's Day card event, "Heartthrob Heroes", but since we all know that villains are way cooler, smarter, sexier, and way more likely to succeed in everything they do, we decided, without any threats against our friends and family being made, to celebrate the better side of the super community this year!

If you'd like to join us in celebrating the best of the worst, all you need to do is 1) open up this link (x), 2) choose your villain, and 3) share a word you think describes what's best (or worst) about them. You can submit as many times as you want, for as many villains as you want, and if there's one particular word that you think really needs to be known by everyone, submit it multiple times. The more times you submit a word, the bigger it'll be on the final card.

You have until February 10th to submit your words, after which point our mod team will begin turning your words into art so that we can be free-- er, we mean, so we can all celebrate Valentine's Day together!

Oh, and did we mention that this was a competition? The 3 villains with the most submissions will be our ultimate Valentine's Villains, which is a great honor, basically equivalent to ruling the world, and definitely not the sort of frivolity that would warrant stabbing anyone.

Last but not least, as the best villains are naturally the one's we love to hate, you are allowed to include negative words in your submission list this year! Please keep in mind though that our mod team will have to suffer the consequences of anything truly insulting, which is to say that we'll have to read them, because we're definitely not being held hostage or anything, so let's remember that this is all in good fun and submissions of truly derogatory words will be dropped.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

When I pick up the phone and actress Rebecca Ferguson greets me with a cheery “hello,” she sounds completely at ease. She doesn’t sound at all like a woman who’s been flying across the world to promote her new blockbuster film, Dune: Part Two, all the while spending six days a week shooting the second season of her critically-acclaimed Apple TV+ dystopian drama, Silo. Of course, I realize not too long into our conversation that this is in part because Ferguson is quite amiable. I also learn that there's also a small part of her that chooses to embrace the chaos.

While discussing her look for the final Dune: Part Two premiere in New York, she recounts the story of when she arrived in the Big Apple, much of the outfit was thrown together last minute. While talking about her hair (courtesy of hairstylist Blake Eric) Ferguson says, “We were running late, so he was running after me with the scissors whilst clapping and chopping into it. I love all of the chaos.”

It’s hard to imagine this comically haphazard image when you take a look at the killer result. For the red carpet, Ferguson and her stylist, Tom Eerebout, chose a gothic ensemble from Olivier Theyskens that featured a black bodysuit layered under a sheer cape gown with alternating panels of frilly lace and fishnets. Ferguson accessorized with a pair of glossy black thigh-high boots and stacks of dog chains, which her husband, Rory St. Clair Gainer, actually picked up at a local pet store. Meanwhile, her ombré locks, which extended all the way to her hips, added a dramatic final touch, as did her bright red lip and dark eye makeup. The ensemble screamed ’80s dark glamour, and Ferguson herself jokingly referred to it as “Madonna on crack.”

The Dune star was full of jokes during our chat, which helped paint a clearer picture as to how such a playful look came together. “I'm more Gothic. I'm edgy. I'm Scandi,” she says. “I'm not fluffy and, you know, bride-like. That’s just not me.”

The Dune: Part Two press tour has been full of bold showings, from Zendaya’s Stéphane Rolland dress with the pointed-pronged cutout to Florence Pugh’s side boob moment in her backless Valentino gown. However, none of the looks have been quite like this, and you can sense how free Ferguson felt in the ensemble.

“I think for me it was quite nice at the end here to be able to just break loose and think, No, f*ck it,” Ferguson says. “I'm going to go completely rogue and communicate something completely different. You know, [having the] freedom and the platform to do so.”

The stars of Dune: Part Two have certainly been breaking free with their red carpet choices, and it’s been a sight to behold. Ferguson notes that she’s surrounded by fashion showstoppers who shine just as bright even when they’re on their own. “You know, [you] can take everyone individually out, and they would [still] absolutely rocket,” she says.

But Ferguson, who plays Lady Jessica in the Dune series, certainly stands out on her own as well—and the New York premiere look was one of her most personal outfits yet. It’s clear that spur of the moment decisions can sometimes turn out for the best. “We literally just have fun, and sometimes you mess it up,” she tells me. “You know, everything isn't perfect.”

When I tell her that I did in fact love the look, she says that she's happy to hear it. But she adds, “It doesn't really matter as well because some people will like it. Some people won't like it. Some people will think it looks absolutely crazy and masquerades...but that's what's fun. The times that I kind of didn't really see myself because I was a little bit of a beige hideaway. That's not interesting. We're selling a movie...We're making fun for people to talk about and gossip about and hate and love. And, you know, that's what fashion is.”

[httyddragonfox]

Ray/Unknown's regard towards MC

[Part 1]

Let's get into Another story: This is a different timeline and his character has been reworked a little so he could have a route of his own. This is because the people of Cheritz know that Unknown is a not a healthy partner choice. Also, if we were spending time with him, him going by Saeran might be a little revealing if we were to say his name at some point. It would not work for the route, that's where the split personality came in, because they acknowledge he used to be a better person.

Again, I'm not how MC was picked to be their innocent go between for the RFA. It seems Ray was super attached even upon talking on the phone, so I wonder if he knew of her already. So the Prologue goes like this: We get contacted by an Unknown person known as Ray. He wants us to come to his secret complex base to test a game for him, we'll get free room and board, and it's a visual novel styled like a chatroom. In the Bad endings, he says that if we do this, he might be interested in dating us. If we still say no, he gets upset. He says he really wanted to go to paradise with us. He then claims he hasn't given up as he's the angel to lead us to paradise. He wants to see how we look when we've truly been saved. Over the next few days he keeps contacting us, we could answer or not. If we don't answer, he says it's not like us to ignore him. If we do answer, we get the stalker calls. He wants to constantly be on the phone with us as it's the only thing that connects us. He's constantly thought of us, even when he was busy. He wondered what we were doing, who we talking to, how many times we thought of him. He wants to know everything and it's driving him crazy (-_-). He misses us so much, then reminds us we could have been together already if we took his deal. He tells not to worry because we'll still end up with him. He's going to make sure of it. He'll miss hearing our breath through the phone. With the second call he thinks if we were waiting for his call he'd be super happy, our head filled with thoughts of him. He admits he came to see us yesterday because he couldn't help himself, trailing us from 1 meter behind. He then remarks he can see us during that call at that moment. Of course he won't tell us how, which makes it worse. Hearing our breath and watching, it feels like he's with us. It will be a few days before we can feel him closer. Soon he will be right in front of us and be able to touch us. Again reminds us, we should have taken the deal. With the final call, he talks of how much he wishes he could fill our eyes with him. He wants so much for us to stay by his side without going anywhere. He misses us so much he's going to bring us to him. We must want the same thing, because we answered the phone. The preparation is done, he's hoping we'll like the bird cage he made for us. Now we could report him to the police, but then...well the story doesn't happen, but at least we're fine. If we do meet up with him, he tells us all we have to worry about is being happy at paradise, and he'll make our lives more fun. He wants to start over with you, and play an...interesting game. After meeting you, he won't let you go. He wants you as his assistant. (This goes against his first statement, but whatever...that liar.) Even if you say no, he's going to take you. (You did choose to meet him so...) Later, it shows you're struggling with being his assistant, as you need to learn coding but can't keep up with him. Of course, he's constantly worried you'll leave him, so he tells us "We don't have to be good, we just can't leave him." Also, he keeps us away from the 'game,' because he wants to keep us all to himself. He doesn't want us to fall for anyone but him.

Okay, the prologue alone shows he's a Yandere (Obsessive in this case). Considering he's an option this route, of course they play up his feelings for us. Of course, some things are still the same: He thinks you're like him, and he wants you as his assistant and companion, as well as he thinks he's doing what's best for you.

I'm not going to go over every instance we interact because then we'd be on this post forever, so instead I'll focus on the instances he shows the most attraction to us.

Most of the time in the first few days, he's passing himself off as a game developer. Yet, he starts to show more and more his affection for you.

One of the first calls you can have with him he mutters at the end of it that it doesn't matter how you interact with the characters or which one you're interested in at the moment because you're just going to end up with him in the end. This is the first instance of him showing shades of being a possessive type Yandere.

Why does he like you so much? In the other route he may have gotten interested in you because you were his useful little tool, but it seems different this time. He says himself that he cherishes you because you are his precious "tester." You are essential to his plans being pulled off. He also says he likes you because you trusted him and listened to him, you didn't betray him. Of course, what does this mean about the prologue, where you haven't done that yet. According to his journal, he was really hoping to bond with this person he'd be working closely with. He must've become heavily attached to the idea of you, being his trusted companion to replace his brother. Yet, during the route he's less of an obsessive Yandere, and more possessive Yandere. This is probably because he has actually gotten to know who you are, and thus he's not obsessed with the idea of you, but instead doesn't wish to let you go.

During the route, you can be seen as friendly, as kind, as good-hearted, and even if you don't play her like that, you're still helping Ray out with his plans. Just like in the other routes, because you're useful to him, he takes an interest in you.

Back to the examples: You can ask him about his ideal type in a phone call. He says he was never really interested in that until you came along.

Unlike his brother, who is pansexual, it seems Saeran is asexual or at least on that spectrum. If I had to guess, I'd say he's grey-sexual. Which means he can be attracted to people, but it's very rare. Considering his sometimes sexual feelings he has for the MC in some routes, I say he's grey-sexual, and not just a grey-romantic-asexual.

At the end of the day, he visits in your room. He asks you which of the characters you like the most. Pretty much whomever you say, he points out their flaws and tells you not to pursue them, especially with Seven. I've only seen Seven and Zen, but I could take a guess on the others because he's pretty much summarizing the character arcs of the other routes. Jumin may be dark and mysterious but has a passionate intensity towards the things he cares about; Yoosung may be cute, but he tends to have trouble letting go his cousin. Jaehee may be dutiful and hard-working, but she also has trouble accepting and loving herself. Zen is plenty handsome, but he's a contradiction, because he also loathes himself. As for Seven, he acts goofy, but he's actually cold-hearted and aloof. After any of these descriptions he tells you you will probably get hurt pursuing these characters, he tells you not to pay them much mind, because they're all fake and he's the only real person around us.

He was already lying to us, but at this point we're noticing how realistic the game seems. This is straight up gaslighting. He's trying to manipulate us into thinking he's the only true viable option.

He then ends the conversation by saying he's felt so good and has been so happy ever since he met us. It's been a while since he felt that way. Meeting us was the best thing in his life.

Over the next few days he does nice things for us. For starters, he makes us breakfast. He says he wants to make nice memories with us, already having plans for future weather: ice cream when it's hot, tea when it's cold. He also wants to be our best friend. At the end of the day, he gives us flowers, as he wants us to wake up to nice smells. He talks about the joy of touching our delicate hands, either as a flower being touched by us, or by giving us the flowers directly into them. (Shades of his obsessiveness). He has done the deed before, taking our hand as we entered the complex, leading us while we were blindfolded. He must've liked how it felt. (Also it happened in the prologue bad end.)

After this his affection starts to grow more for us. He calls us 'his,' 'his precious' as well as 'his princess.' He also talks about how he desires to hack our mind, so we'll only like him, and we'd be happy forever. It's around here he starts to consider our induction. He tells us a story of how he saved a weak plant by sacrificing the strong one as a sense of justice, in a way, giving us a bias towards his personal story before it was heard. He takes us out into the garden, talking about that if we wish to stay, he'll whatever he can to help us. He gives us many reasons, such as "if we have to take care of things at home, we can take care of that and come back." As well as, "Sometimes money isn't enough to save people, sometimes you need to do more." He hints that the end of the game involves saving the characters, and by joining we can find a way to save everyone. He also hints that if that party were to really happen, he'd like to go with us as a date because we're his, and bring a special drink for everyone. He's finalizing his plans, as well as solidifying a place for us in them. He's not even listening when we tell him we might not stay with him. We're too good in his eyes, we won't betray him, we won't leave him. He'll do anything to make sure we don't leave him, including drugging us; in his mind we'll be so happy we won't want to leave, but in truth is we'll be so dependent on the stuff that we'll be compelled to stay, not to mention the fact we'll be brainwashed into thinking their way is better. At least he's going to make it taste good for us...

The bad ending for the route is where we barely entered the chat-rooms, so all he knows of us is his meetings with us in story mode. He begins to wonder why we haven't been paying attention to the chat-rooms. Are we sick? Are we bored? (He breaks the fourth wall a little here and asks if we played the other version) This makes him think you're abandoning him, which he can't take from you. He then decides to teach you his pain so you won't ever think to leave, so you'll know why he doesn't want you to leave. He also discusses his desires of making you his assistant. This is where is Unknown tendencies come forward, but for a different reason than before.

This is where Ray could go either way. He's rather manipulative, but he's also rather affectionate. Unknown wasn't a Yandere, but he did like us. Ray in this route is almost as if Unknown was a Yandere, but more on the Dere side than Yan. He wants us as his assistant, his companion, a sort of replacement for his brother, but if the chips are down he will use force against us.

Let's look at V's route first: If you tell him you wish to be with him, he expresses delight at how much you're listening to him and obeying him. Of course, if you tell him you wish to go home when you're done, he asks you to at least look at what he's prepared. When you continue to question him, he murmurs to himself "My Savior said sometimes we need to force salvation." He takes you to his room in order to make the contract, which is done by ingesting a special elixir made there. The next scene is rather mesmerizing: You know it's bad as the player, the MC can tell it's bad in her gut, but Ray sounds so sincere.

He hands you the special elixir he made for you, saying if you take it you can stay with him forever. His excuse is that this company he works at also makes medicine, the goal of the place is to make people happy. If you comment on how the medicine seems suspicious, he says it's only that way because you haven't seen it before; there is no way he would make you sad, as he only wishes for your happiness. The elixir gives you a glimpse of paradise, of true happiness, realizing it little by little. If you express disinterest in drinking, he questions your hesitance, saying it's how you'll stay there. "You put your faith in me, and came all this way here." He's asking you to trust him again, saying he only wants to make you happy. He asks if you enjoyed staying staying with him? You played his game for him, you talked and chatted with him, and made happy memories with him. He tells you that you and him made such a connection, because we're similar to him in some ways. He could see all of the anxiety, sadness and loneliness within us and that's why he wishes to make us happy. He does not want us to suffer like he has. He promises us many entertaining things if we drink the elixir. If we drink the elixir, the next morning promises a world flooded with happiness. He promises to be there for us if we're scared and that we're not alone. He begs us not to let the anxiety and fear get to us. Of course, if we still hesitate, he tells us he understands. He knows we're afraid and how we feel. We're scared because we don't know what will happen to us. He tells us it's okay, and there's no need to hesitate. He will stay by our side. He's always been alone, but we won't be. He'll no longer be alone if we drink the elixir, because we will become his companion. He offers us it's sweetness, and then invites us to paradise. I'm certainly tempted. (This entire part is done in whispering, so that doesn't help)

Luckily, we're interrupted. He's confused because he told everyone to stay away, wanting the moment alone with us. Once he stops whispering and goading us on, that's when the mesmerization ends we can come back to our senses. That's when V comes in, issuing his fake emergency, and we can tell Ray he should probably go. Of course Ray gets suspicious so V takes action. The bottle gets smashed and V reveals himself to us, queuing us in that Ray had been lying the whole time about the Game and everything was real. V tries to escape with us, but this causes Ray to freak out. He does not want to loose us. He's grown too attached to us. He's lost a lot, but he's not loosing us. When V tries to run with us, Ray grabs us away from him. He claims that V's the liar, and that he's not getting us. Now he needs to catch V, not only to secure the traitor, but to keep us safe too. We confront him on his lies, and he says he had no choice, for it's what his savior told him to do. He's concerned about our well being after that event, sure, but he's also concerned over the fact he couldn't drug us. He just wanted to be happy, he wanted us to be happy, he wanted to be happy with us.

You could either continue to confront him, or you could be concerned for him. He asks if you don't trust him anymore if you continue the confrontation, all he wanted was for you to see his side and agree with him. If you show concern, he gets happier, saying he won't cry because you're with him by his side. He asks you to wait for a new elixir and to rest off what just happened. Meanwhile he needs to go tell his savior what happened, whom you will meet soon. He doesn't want to leave us, but he must. He chooses to trust the fact we won't betray him, even if we choose not to trust him. This hurts, he apologizes saying he doesn't even know what to say or what the right words are. He trusts his savior will hold the answers, and he grows determined to catch V to "protect" you, asking you not to be sad while he's gone. Interesting note, if you do tell him you trust him, he's ecstatic. He calls you his angel, and says that no matter what V and the RFA do they can't take you away from him, because you trust him.

He tries to lie to you in the next chat-room (the gall), saying the man was just deranged, V's not real, although he looked and sounded just like the guy you were talking to before. Ray gives up because he figures V is going to call you anyway. He wants to keep you away from the messenger so he can't, but a party has to happen. You demand to know why he lied, and he says "I needed you" More specifically, he needed someone for his plan, someone to be apart of the RFA. He says them being real or not doesn't matter to them, because they don't matter to them, everything he did was for us, we wouldn't be here if he didn't lie, he's begging us not to leave him. He also tries to reassure the elixir is not bad when talking about getting a new batch. You ask him not to hurt V, he says he needs to get him to protect you, but what happens to him depends on you. You have to promise not to leave him, and to become one of them, and to not say anything to RFA for his sake, for all that he'll be a better man for us, even better than all the RFA members. He begs us not to go against him. He tells us that if we try to leave, or if we tattle the secret, he'll never forgive the demon who made us like that, and so he'll become the devil himself to fight that devil and then who knows what he'll do to V and the RFA. If we recognize the threat, he tells us it's for the protection of both of us. He can't let the hypocrites take us away, because we're safer with him. A later phone call has him try to justify keeping us isolated for a bit; we tell him he's imprisoning us, and he says he has to limit us in order to keep us safe. Despite everything, he still likes hearing our voice. Of course now he's super paranoid of the RFA trying to take us away from him that he forgets his mission and tries to delete us from their server. Luckily, Seven stops him.

Of course this doesn't stop Ray. He tries to prove to us how easily the RFA can fall apart, and show everyone that V is a liar and a hypocrite. He tells his savior about us, of how we're so good, and so innocent, so he's worried we'll be won over by the RFA. This is where Rika starts to get interested in us, in cleansing us herself and even reminding Ray we're not his yet.

There is something to pay attention to here: both Unknown and Ray want to convince us that the RFA is full of no good people but also need us to arrange a party. With Unknown, he drops us off with the RFA, of course we get to know them more personally, and of course think Unknown is a bad person as we've never met him before. Unknown would be willing to torture us or "re-educate" us that Mint Eye are the Good guys, despite placing us in a situation where we believe RFA is good. Ray brought us to Magenta so he could personally keep an eye on us and our progress, also it would be much easier to sway us over to his side. What Ray didn't account for was V would sneak in and try to save us, thus ruining his charade. It's hinted in the other routes that Unknown knows about V getting into Mint Eye's business (this knowledge allows Unknown to know that V will recognize any implied threat to our safety), which must be an in story reason for why he didn't attempt what he did in Another story. Also, Unknown is a little more rough around the edges; most people go through "training" anyway, so what's the difference if we do.

Ray takes us to his Savior, and we don't see him for a while. The way Rika talks about him, she makes it sound like he's messed up for lying to us and smothering us and is not a good romantic choice (She's right, but she made him like that). V gets taken captive and Ray takes full responsibility of watching over him. He actually explains his plans to V. He says why he brought us to Mint Eye (needed a third party agent), and that soon we will become one of Mint Eye. He also reveals that he likes us so much, as does his savior, which concerns V. He then forces V to take the elixir in order for him to see us, which was designed specially to make him suffer after a bit. V accidentally triggers Saeran into strangling him. Of course he goes a little too far, so he calms himself down by thinking of us, and maybe seeing us soon.

We then come upon Bad relationship ending 1, in this one Ray actually does see us again. In fact, we've been so out of it, Rika decided we'd probably be happier back with him. He tells us how much he missed us, and how it hurt to be away from us. On the way back, he tells us his savior said he could "have" us. I believe this just means as a significant other. He tells us he's choosing to believe he earned someone as shiny as us (I think means pretty or pure). He also tells us about the other side of himself, and that he wants to meet us. When we're back in our room, he offers to get us a gift, but that's when the conversation breaks the 4th wall. (It seems the two brothers break and lean on the 4th wall the most). He's angry and wants to hurt us to punish us, but has trouble with the idea, so he decides to lock us in our room until he can come up with something.

My statement before applies, this seems like Unknown is a Yandere, but he's a soft Yandere. Instead of distorting his voice with his promise of happiness, he's whispering it with sincerity. After which, he becomes a bit of a different person where MC is concerned, threatening to tear their group apart and attack them violently if she doesn't stay with him. Of course, she's able to calm his more brutal aspects of himself. It's almost as if we're his tether, or his crutch.

When we make our escape, Ray is desperate to track us down. Rika tells him that we must be saved from V's lies. Ray believes we fell for those because of how innocent we are. He gives us a call later asking if we're just playing a game with him, begging for us not to be leaving him. A later call has him snap at us for comforting him but not being with him. He's determined to save us, and tells us that if we're suffering we can come back at any time, or if we're locked up so we can't escape we can just tell him our location and he can come get us. One chat-room has him reveal Mint Eye's plans to us, on how their plan is to drug everyone invited to the party, and since we like RFA, he'll induct them as well (He thinks we'll be on his side if we hear his plans) [In the other routes, the plan was to induct the whole RFA from the beginning, but in Another story he makes it sound like he's only bringing them in because we like them; I'm pretty sure this was the plan from the beginning either way.]

One of the last chat-rooms with him before he snaps, he tries to convince us that Mint Eye is good. If we thought they were bad we could've run away but we didn't, we trusted him! He asked us not to abandon him! Pain is needed to induce pleasure, has a dark side that needs to protected, he will gladly protect our "devil." He should have told us earlier what V was really like, he knows V is bad because V betrayed him in the past. Rika does not want us confusing him by trying to convince him he'll be accepted outside of Mint Eye, and after much discussion with us, gives up on us.

Shortly after this, Ray snaps and turns into Saeran, or as we know him in this route...Unknown. He tells us that everyone is too soft, basically telling us he would've taken drastic measures, such as locking us up and using us as his assistant. He tells us if we come back to Mint Eye he'll show us what fun really is. After this is the phone call: he says he's impressed if we show courage. He's tempted to blurt out his plan to us, of how he will destroy all of his enemies, V and the red-head, and he'll take us. He suddenly changes his tune and says he wants to "have" us, no matter what, something Ray also mentioned. Ray mentioned having us as a girlfriend, if Unknown wants to lock us up I'm not sure if he wants the same thing. Then Unknown goes on to say Ray looks tame, but we don't know what he's thinking. If we come back to Mint Eye he'll show us what he means. Probably getting into NSFW there.

Sometimes he calls us just to talk to us, specifically telling us not to respond and just listen. He finds us interesting, and likes the idea of playing with us. He doesn't like Ray at all, but there is a difference between how he regards us in V's route vs Ray's route. In Ray's route he apparently doesn't like us either, mainly because we like Ray. In V's route, he likes us well enough, because possibly in his mind, we agree there are parts of Ray not likable. Of course, in V's route he doesn't know exactly who we are. Of course, his plans for us are...still iffy.

In another phone call, he talks about his plans to make us "a mascot of the place," whatever the heck that means. He said as Ray would treasure us, he'd give us a hell of a time. He certainly isn't soft. He says we can come back at any time, but in the end he's going to find us and bring us back anyway, so it doesn't really matter what we do. We should just prepare to be his. He also calls us his #1 toy candidate.

Would he treat us as he did in the Ray Route? Maybe with less insults? Still bad though...

He wants you spend time with him, probably jealous of how much time Ray's spent with you. He wonders if you also think Ray is a whiner. He says you'd go along much better with him. When you disagree, he says you should be cleansed, and he'll be rough about it. He says he'll pay you back for treating him like a toy.

Of course he also calls you pet names like 'sweetie', still he's probably just teasing you. He likes the idea of freaking you out, like telling you he's going to go after the RFA.

In the only other chat-room he's in, he talks about keeping you entertained, how he'd love to bring you back himself, and how it's probably your last night of freedom. He says he's the type of guy who likes to bite things off when given the chance, whatever that means. He says he'd like to start over with you, without fighting. Of course, if you're not in the chat-room, he mentions how he'd like to keep you as his doll, whatever that means!?

Based on all of this, we can tell that Unknown here just would like you around. He's not afraid of hurting you, no sir. In fact, when Ray snaps back he reveals if Saeran was allowed to act we might've gotten hurt. I believe Unknown here regards us similarly to how Saeran regards us in the Ray route, as someone to "play" with. He could vent to us all he wishes, mess around with us, even hurt or scare us if he's frustrated. I think he wants a "companion," someone to sit in the room with him, maybe help him should he require it.

Shortly after that however, Mint Eye is defeated. Ray has no hope left, so he decides to commit suicide. Of course before he does, he talks to us. In the chat-room he asks us not to forget him. In one phone call, he tells us about a unique habit we have when we talk, but decides to keep it to himself so that it will always be something he only knows about us (also so the game developers don't give us any distinguishing qualities). He talks about how he'll never forget the time he spent with us, and how we always made him feel. How we opened up a new world for him, and he thanks us for that. He tells us that his love for us was sincere, and that we must happier than he ever was. In his call to us, he tells us when we were with him it was the happiest moment of his life, so pure, so happy. He misses us, and he wanted to see us one last time. He dreamt of being happy at Mint Eye, even being with someone he loved romantically. They were dreams too good for him, we were too good for him. He doesn't ask us to remember him here, because all that matters is that we're happy. He then calls us his first and last love. Before he hits the switch, he remembers us one last time.

He did love us, in his own way he did.

The after ending shows he's okay, but it seems to overlook the fact he had feelings for us. The only possible hint is that he treats our child as his, according to V, but so does Seven. The after ending wasn't perfect.

So in V's Route, you can say that Ray appreciates someone helpful and trusting, someone who won't betray him. He obsessed of the idea of us, but as he got to know us more he became more possessive over who we really were. We were a new friend for him, someone who would help him and listen to him and care for him.

[Part 3]

[dabidagoose]

which one do YOU think is the worst. i already voted but i’m curious

I would like to start off by apologizing for how long this has taken me. I truly don't know what happened, but now that, months later, I'm back in image analysis brainspace we're gonna do our best to analyze all these images and answer this question. For reference, this ask is referring to this post of mine.

I'm gonna start with my favorite, which is this fantasy high poster. The title is really readable, large, and noticeable - which is great for advertising and for viewers to find the show. I appreciate how Brennan is leaning over the PCs, it's a cute pose and very much conveys that "I'm the DM" energy. I don't love how squished together all the PCs are, but the yellow light scribbles are a nice visual metaphor for a fictional world, and it's nice to see all the PCs in the promotion.

My second favorite is Tiny Heist. The descending height schtick is really cute, and we also get that fun DM-ergy from having only half of a giant Brennan. He also sort of feels like the one human in a muppet movie, which is a really cute vibe and compels me to watch. However his face is super washed out, the lighting from that photo was way too bright for him. I also really like the green slits, as they are a nice clean visual and the green color theme is pretty nice.

I don't hate D20 live either, but here is where I start getting a lot more nitpicky with the posters. Good things first - that title is really easy to read, and I like how the composition sort of mirrors the first Fantasy High poster. The prominence of Live highlights the unique live show element, which is a nice advertising move.

However, I really hate the entire right half of the poster. Brennan's got a real weird expression on his face - almost looks like he's playing Robert Moses or some sort of shitty businessman, which is not really applicable to this season that's a lot more about fantasy and mythical religion.

They've included all the cool new character art but completely covered it up by Brennan's giant body, and made that worse by surrounding him and Adaine's orb with light that makes it harder to see the art (I can barely see Gorgug's beautiful face...). This is especially frustrating when they have SO much free space on the left, and the totally squished right side.

Now we get to Escape from the Bloodkeep, which (and rightfully so) won the poll. I think from purely a design perspective it is absolutely the worst poster. The title is such a similar color to Brennan's shirt that it's very difficult to read, he's once again covering up a bunch of squished together character art, and there's the giant boring background of nothingness.

However, and I haven't watched Escape from the Bloodkeep so this is a lot of guessing on my part, it does feel like the right tone for the season. The red feels angry and villainous, Brennan feels like the right sort of Evil DM for this evil little world, and the expression is pretty fun. You may have noticed that this is only poster 4 of 5, and so this one is actually not my least favorite, but my second most, and this is why. The poster is pretty unappealing design, but it fits, and it prepares people for the season.

Finally, let's answer your question and say - I really do not like the Unsleeping City poster.

My design critiques follow some of the same design themes as before - Brennan is covering up key characters, the title is partially covered up by Brennan and less prominent than I feel it should be, and Brennan's once again been weirdly washed out. They also pretty obviously edited his shirt to be purple, which takes up so much space.

However, the thing I'm angriest about design-wise is that they have an absolutely GORGEOUS piece of art for the background and lettering for the title that is COVERED BY EVERYTHING ELSE! The colors used are incredible (the character art is great on its own but does not match), the stars and rendering are beautiful (which we can see some of but not what's below), and you can't see the upside down city! For a season called the Unsleeping City! Why can't we see the City!!!

I also personally feel like the vibe from all the characters and Brennan don't feel quite right for this season. All their poses feel very goofy comedy (a la Tiny Heist), but to me this season felt a lot darker and more human, especially compared to the earlier more comedic seasons. There was of course plenty of comedy this season, but I felt like some of those most notable things about it were all the mystical magic and tense human moments, which do not come across in this poster. I may be misremembering the season, but it just doesn't seem like it fits to me.

Tl;dr Unsleeping city is my least favorite even though Escape from the Bloodkeep is probably a worse design - because they covered up some cool art and it doesn't feel like it fits the season. An addendum: I have procrastinated this for so long for no good reason. I tried to start this a long long time ago and had no such luck. I really enjoyed writing all this and don't want to just delete it, so I'll leave my half finished bullshit under the cut. It's mostly just a lot of self-indulgent attempts at analysis. Read it if you want, this is mostly here for me.

Ok ok. First off apologies for how long this has taken to post I was inflicted by the horrors (first finals and then just some regular old mental blocks). But oh BOY do I have opinions on this !!!!! Buckle in everyone cause I'm gonna make this post MUCH longer than it needs to be!

So firstly this ask is referring to this post of mine, in which I critique some old dimension 20 promotional posters, and do a poll for which one is the worst. Escape from the Bloodkeep won, which is incredibly fair it's absolutely horrible and second worst in my opinion, however I do not think it's the worst. I've decided to drag this out as long as possible,

Chapter 1: What makes a promo image good?

I know I just decided to split this post up with Chapter titles but we're gonna also split up this section, since I think there's two separate parts of what makes a promo image good - delineated by the two words 'promo' and 'image'.

For the 'promo' part to be good the season needs to be accurately advertised. We need to be able to get the vibe of the season, to feel the kind of energy and appeal it's going to have, and we want to highlight some of the important parts of it. Take the Ravening War promo picture - it's dark and moody and dramatic. Then we've got Matt front and center, of course since he's the DM but also since his presence is a huge marketing point - he's even allowed to cover up the title! The newest DnDrag poster is also (I assume, since it's not out yet) pretty good at this. It's full of bright pink and strong colors and their poses really get across that fab drag aesthetic. They've also put the drag queens ahead of Brennan, since their presence is the big selling point of the season, and highlighted the fun play-on-words title.

Next, for the 'image' part to be good, it should look visually appealing. There should be a nice layout and composition - things that are more relevant should be made prominent and put center or at one of the thirds, and elements should work well together. Also, if there is text, the colors should be chosen so that it is readable, especially important text. The Seven is my favorite example of this. They've got all the silhouettes nicely laid out to form that curve shape.There's some extra free space around the edges which are less important, while the center has the larger characters and the title so that it's more filled in. All the silhouettes have distinct shapes which makes it easy to tell who is who and pull apart the elements. The text is INCREDIBLY easy to read, with the bright pink outline on Seven creating the color contrast that it's important for readability (I'm a bit of a nerd about color contrast and the WCAG guidelines), and that combined with the huge font really highlights that word and its prominence. The weapon through Seven provides a nice thematic touch, and adds to that visual prominence.

Chapter 2: The Uncanny

[violetwinterwidow01]

Civil War: Dumbfounded (AU)

This popped in my mind, i had to throw in my 2 cents😜

○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○☆○

Imagine

Before Ross leaves, Cevyn grabs his attention.

Cevyn: Hmm, seems like he finally grew some balls, but allow me to crush them before you go...

He drops his head, sends his security out of the room and turns around. Everyone's eyes land on her as she absentmindedly swivels in her chair staring up at the ceiling. Cevyn lulls her head to the side, to look at Ross, and scoots up folding her hands on the table.

Cevyn: If you could give us a logical explanation as to WHO or WHAT is going to save this planet from the next alien invasion, we will gladly get out of what little hair you have left...

She rises out of her seat before he can speak.

Cevyn: And if you're gonna stand there naming off the Army, The Navy, The Seals, The Air Force, Police, Firefighters, Doctors, Scientists, pretty much anybody that has no goddamn expertise in this field... youre gonna need a third tripple bypass fucking around with me.

Rhodey snickers. She smiles.

Rhodes: Cev, calm down-

She cuts Rhodey off.

Cevyn: I am calm. Im simply waiting for an answer.

All eyes are set upon Ross as he blankly stares at the enraged yet calm woman hes been afraid of since the day they met.

Heres a backstory on Cevyn and Ross. The hatred runs deep. When Cevyn was 10 , Fury thought it would be a good idea for them to meet so that Ross was made aware of her powers, but mostly because Fury wanted to know if he could trust him, and the only way he could tell was if Cevyn shook his hand. Shaking hands allowed her to read someone, sense their aoura, and to see into their future. Seeing everything caused Cevyn to snatch her hand away and give him a death glare that could make Satan piss himself. From that point on, Cevyn knew that she would never get along with him, so she stayed as far away as she possibly could. Until she became an Avenger.

She saunters standing in front him. At this point everyone can see how intimidated he his by her. She snaps her fingers to get him out of his daze.

Cevyn: You have nothing to say do you? Because that's exactly who you were going to put in place of us weren't you?

Ross looks around the room for any signs of help. Wanda looks down, Vision looks straight ahead, Sam looks behind him, Natasha smirks, Rhodey lightly chuckles, Steve's shaking his head grinning, and Tony... you know those really good silent laughs you get? Yeah, thats where he is.

Cevyn: After all these years, still the same dumb ass expression on your face. Do you know the real reason why we do this, cause if not I'll be happy to break it down for you. We do this because we love this planet. Its the only one we call home. Nobody else can do what we do. Yes, there will be consequences. Yes, there will be collateral damage. But we can't help it when that happens. It shows that we are trying our best to control the situation, and save lives all at the same damn time. Do you have any idea how hard this shit is?

At this point, her body is vibrating with malice, yet she never raises her voice and masks it with laughter. Steve gets up to rub his wife's shoulders coaxing her down, while the team watches the scene unfold before their eyes. Tony sits in the corner burying his face in his hands, trying his hardest to suppress his snickering.

Rhodes: Tony, nows not the time to laugh.

Cevyn: You're one to talk. Over here about to keel over in laughter, go ahead and laugh because it is funny. This asshole has been a joke since the day Fury took me to meet him. The nerve of you walkin' up in here with the gall and the gumption to give us this bullshit proposal, basically saying you wanna keep us on a leash. In case you've forgotten, we're here at our own free fucking will, so Ill be damned if any of us will turn into somebodys bitch. This aint prison.

Natasha/Sam/Wanda: Oh my god🤭🤭🤭

Cevyn: You wanna know why i despise you so much? Youre sneaky, conniving, undermining, and repulsive. But, more importantly, it's the fact that you don't let your brain catch up to your actions. You do before you think, and that is highly disturbing. All im sayin is that You need us, and until you figure that out you can shove these accords right up your scrotum. I'm going to take a nap.

Cevyn shoves the accords into his chest walking out of the room. Tony can't contain his laughter any longer, and neither can the rest of the team. Steve chuckles and halls ass to follow his wife.

Steve: Sweets???

Cevyn: Steve, i dont wanna hear it. That imbecille has been a thorn in my side since i was 10. 10!!! Do you know how fucked up you have to be for a child to realize, "Hmm, theres something wrong with this mothafucker! Piece of shit dont know left from right, north to south or yes from no." Its time someone had the cojones to knock some sense into him.

Steve calms down from laughter. God he loves this woman.

Steve: First if all, language. Secondly i was just gonna say you were right.

Cevyn: Well, Thank you.

He wraps his arms around her waist, kissing her. He pulls back.

Steve: How are you feeling?

Cevyn: Tired. Not even showing that much, and this baby of yours is already kicking my ass. On top of that this asswipe comes in here causing a ruckus.

Steve laughs again. She joins in.

Steve: Can you see what he's gonna do next?

Cevyn: Ol' dumbass is gonna have chat with the United Nations. They're gonna realize what a terrible mistake this is and that if they were to go through with it, they'd be losing half of earth's mightiest superheroes. This also buys us more time to get to Bucky.

Steve quirks an eyebrow looking down at her and her stomach.

Steve: Us???

Cevyn: Yes. Me, you and Sam. Ill detach my conscience so she can go with you guys. She wont be pregnant.

Steve: okay.

Cevyn: Now, since all is said and done, take a nap with your wife and child.

She wraps her arms around his shoulders, leaving lingering kisses all over his neck. He scrunches up his nose.

Steve: A nap?

Cevyn: Yup. Why?

Steve: I was hoping to do something else. What you did back there, made me feral.

She pauses mid kiss, Pulling away.

Cevyn: Even more than you normally are?

He deadpans.

Steve: Im offering you some head. Take it or leave it.

Cevyn: Fine.