#2019 is lookin great too

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Some big changes are underway at Pixar, after an unfortunate series of layoffs...

Per the snippets I've seen of a Bloomberg article that's behind a paywall:

In addition to juicing up the sequel count once again (with hints of the worlds of FINDING NEMO and THE INCREDIBLES being revisited), and an INSIDE OUT series coming to Disney+ next year... It's being reported that Pixar is going to abandon the more "autobiographical" approach to their newest films... Ya know, actually director-driven films that connected with people? And supposedly, they will look to make more movies with "general appeal" - whatever the hell that means, at the behest of Disney execs.

It had been talked about for a little while, but it appears that Disney executives are mandating that Pixar not let filmmakers make films... Apparently forgetting that Pixar got to where they are in the first place because of the directors that were allowed to tell the stories that were personal to them (such as FINDING NEMO, THE INCREDIBLES, and INSIDE OUT) and meant a lot to them.

Apparently, that's box office poison now. Apparently that's why they've had losses lately. Recipes for failure. Never mind that LUCA and TURNING RED barely got theatrical releases, yet they did monster numbers on streaming, got solid-to-great critical reception, and Oscar nominations. ELEMENTAL may have cost a fortune, but it's the biggest original animated movie released post-COVID outbreak- OH YEAH, THAT. A whole worldwide pandemic! Which resulted in TURNING RED and LUCA skipping theaters in the first place.

Whereas the spin-off, LIGHTYEAR, was the only true flop of this period.

You can't make this crap up.

Bob Iger's gotta go, as do these other silly executives, if they're *really* telling Pete Docter and Pixar brass to stop making movies like that. Movies that reflect their respective filmmakers' personal experiences and vision... I thought Iger was happy with ELEMENTAL's leggy run last summer? I guess he actually wasn't, nor the shareholders - the same deeply unserious people who found Disney's 2019 earnings of $24 BILLION *disappointing* because it wasn't... GASP... $25 BILLION.

I guess TURNING RED and LUCA's reviews, nominations, and success on streaming don't matter. Like... What kind of movies, outside of the sequels, is this studio gonna put out now? Noted-to-death movies that audiences end up not really connecting with? And what if those lose money?

You can't engineer hits. Hollywood bean counters don't seem to get that. You could make a movie that gets amazing reviews, and it could still flop. Or it could break out. Circumstances beyond the control of the filmmakers. If COVID-19 never happened, and SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, and ELEMENTAL all enjoyed unbothered theatrical releases and people could actually afford a movie trip? They all would've been blockbusters.

That's not to say that I think it's over for Pixar. I'm still looking forward to what the filmmakers can cook up under such restrictions, if they can somehow eke out a little personality. They could go the way of Disney Animation right now in my eyes, but we'll see... But I feel these mandates do not bode well for the studio's future. I remember so many talented people leaving when John Lasseter tightened his grip, circa 2010... The same could happen if the filmmakers can't really make anything other than "pre-made crowd pleaser", and flee to a studio that's a little looser than that.

But this is Disney at the end of the day. Everything's a brand, everything's Glup Shitto now. "Pixar movie" is basically a genre, when it shouldn't be. WDAS apparently means "FROZEN-Lite Movie #6", "Disney movie" is basically just remake of a classic or theme park adaptation, Marvel is now cameo-fest homework movies, Star Wars don't get me started...

We'll see how that model works out for Disney over the next few years or so...

(Maybe after I cool down, I'll be more reasonable here... But it ain't lookin' too hot.)

[leonbloder]

Learn to Fly

If you pushed me to name my favorite rock band, I might waver a bit before telling you, but ultimately would finally say, "Foo Fighters."

Since I'm being open about things, I would name Foo Fighters my favorite rock band mainly because of the band's lead singer, primary songwriter, and founder, Dave Grohl.

Dave Grohl is just an extraordinary human.  Not only is he a great musician and songwriter, but he's also been in two bands inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Nirvana and Foo Fighters.  

He's also personal friends with Paul McCartney, has performed in front of Presidents, won Grammy's, and overcame incredible odds, tragedies, and emotional struggles. And he still finds joy and wonder in the world with great humility.

In case you're wondering, I have a man crush on Dave Grohl.

I got to see the Foo Fighters when they performed in Las Vegas in 2019, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen and one of the great spiritual experiences I've had at a concert.

One of my favorite Foo Fighters songs is "Learn to Fly."

I love the song so much that I decided to emulate Dave Grohl and get a feather tattoo on my arm (he has one on each of his) to remind me of the lyrics from the song that really speak to me:

Now, I'm lookin' to the sky to save me/Lookin' for a sign of life/Lookin' for somethin' to help me burn out bright/And I'm lookin' for a complication/Lookin' cause I'm tired of lyin'/Make my way back home when I learn to fly high

This song was on replay for many road trips I took over the summer and has continued to find its way into my playlists.  Those lyrics speak to me of faith, hope, Divine providence, life's purpose, and so much more.

Then I heard Dave Grohl talk about what the lyrics meant to him when he wrote them.  In an interview, he stated, "I just always wanted to be a pilot."  

I've written and read enough poetry and other stuff to know that there's always something more underneath the artist's stated reasons why they wrote a particular thing.  

I  suspect the same is true for Grohl and  "Learn to Fly" as well.  There's more to the story because there's more in the lyrics.  

Even in his simple statement about just wanting to be a pilot, there is a lot that Grohl was feeling and expressing when he wrote the song.  

You see, when fans like me sing along with "Learn to Fly," we are undoubtedly filled with our sense of how the words land on us, the images they conjure in our imagination, and our unique longing for more.

Because in the end, every one of us longs to fly, to trip the light fantastic, soar high above the brokenness of our lives, and maybe even touch the face of God.

Scripture and other holy texts created by inspired people to express their divinely imprinted longings work this way, too.  The words land on us where we are and call us to imagine something more.  

Despite how or when they were written, those words have the power to inspire us, fill us with dreams, and keep us wanting to learn to fly if we are willing to let them.  

The 13th-century poet Rumi put it like this:

God has created your wings not to be dormant as long as you are alive you must try more and more to lift your wings to show you're alive.

May you lift your wings today and every day, inspired by the words you read and hear from saints of yesteryear and poets of today.  May you learn to fly in your faith and in your life.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and forever. Amen.  

[calcbench]

Another Look at Margins

In our previous post we examined the gross and operating profit margins at Google ($GOOG) to see what those disclosures might tell us about how well Google is handling cost pressures. (TL;DR — not great.)

Today we want to widen the lens, looking at the gross and operating margins for groups of companies. Can that tell us anything too?

Well, yes and no. First we used our Bulk Data Query tool to calculate the gross and operating margins for non-financial companies in the S&P 500 (roughly 400 firms in total) for the last four years. The result is Figure 1, below.

The most striking thing in the above chart is how gross margins held steady across the entire period — from the comfortable pre-pandemic times of 2019, through the pandemic in 2020, through the supply chain disruptions of 2021, through the inflation of 2022. (We ended at Q3 2022 because not enough Q4 filings have arrived yet.) Through all those gyrations, median gross margin was 38.3 percent, and no single quarter was more than 1.2 percentage points above or below that number.

Operating margins are a different story. Notice how they dropped sharply at the start of 2020, coinciding with all the new costs companies encountered as they scrambled to shift operating processes, cover expenses for dislocated employees, and so forth. Then operating margins increased in 2021 as covid’s economic turmoil receded, followed by a decline in margins in mid-2022 — which coincided with inflation’s high-water mark and employees in a tight labor market demanding more wages.

Except, let’s be honest here: across the entirety of the 15 quarters we examined, operating margins didn’t fluctuate all that much either. Yes, they seesawed in 2020 thanks to the pandemic; but operating margins were at 11.5 percent at the start of 2019. They were 12.9 percent in late 2022. That’s a notable shift upward, but not a huge one.

So perhaps the biggest lesson in looking at a broad group such as S&P 500 non-financials is that you can’t draw any clear conclusions. Some sectors  clearly have taken it in the teeth lately (lookin’ at you, tech sector), but others haven’t, and a 60,000-foot analysis like Figure 1 doesn’t reveal much.

In that case, if you want to do a margin analysis, you’re better off looking at specific sectors, or comparing one sector against another. (You can use our screening tools to establish whatever peer group you want, of course.)

Margins in the Tech Sector

Out of curiosity, we also looked at the collective margins for nine large tech companies:

AirBnB

Apple

Facebook (aka Meta)

Google (aka Alphabet)

Microsoft

Netflix

Pinterest

Salesforce

Uber

We excluded Amazon because it’s more a commerce company than a technology company; ditto for Tesla, which is a car company that depends on tech. The nine companies mentioned above are as close to pure-play tech firms as we could find.

Figure 2, below, shows the trend in margins for these firms.

This chart clearly tells a different story than Figure 1. For example, our tech group saw a larger increase in operating margins through latter 2020 and all of 2021. Even the decline in operating margins toward the end of 2022 is still appreciably higher than where margins were in 2019 before the pandemic.

On the other hand, gross profit margins declined in 2022 as inflation costs picked up. That’s a bit weird, since tech companies supposedly don’t rely on physical supplies as much as other sectors. So the data is calling out issues that might warrant further investigation, either by digging into footnote disclosures or asking firms what’s going on when you’re on the next earnings call.

Either way, studying the margins of a firm, or groups of firms, can help you better understand what’s going on with firms you follow in these tumultuous economic times. Calcbench has the data and tools you need to do that.

[the-most-golden-year]

Entry No. 22

It goes something like this:

Johnny had been repeating the last four years of his life ever since he grabbed his diploma and shook hands with the men that taught him for just as long. Johnny had gone to sleep as a graduate and woke up the next day on his first day of high school. He had walked out the fire exit labeled ‘2021’ and entered back in the front double glass doors that said ‘2017.’ He then made his way to a classroom numbered ‘2019.’ He’s seen the beginning and end of it all too many times, he claims, and he never knows where he’s going to show up next.

So he claims.

The trips through time used to be fun at one point, but eventually became tiresome and damaging to his soul. Johnny says he feels his life is like one big improv performance.

His adolescence began in 2015, but he insists it began in 2017, when he entered his freshman year of high school in a class with only 30 people, in a small school that taught about some guy with long hair and a beard. Yes, it was a school about Kevin Parker, the frontman (and only man) of the Australian psych-rock band Tame Impala.

Johnny was a goofy lookin’ ass child. He was average height, but a bit pudgy for people his age. Kinda like a Haribo gummy bear. He graduated in the year 2021 to go on to an art school, pursuing studies in writing and becoming unsure that this was the career path he wanted to take. His father and him had finally mended their long-broken relationship. Or something like that.

Johnny had initially found work in the school’s yearbook club, and was put under the clutches of Spanish teacher Mrs. Espinoza. After a year, he decided to quit and put his focus back into his studies. During his junior year, he entered a relationship with Sonya Il-Arai, a sophomore. They broke up shortly after.

His heart was broken, and he spent his time wallowing at cafes and parks around friends who didn’t really wanna hear all that. He moved on eventually when Sonya started dating a tall farmer named Cleetus. That didn’t last long either, so Johnny got back together with her, and fucked around all the way until the end of his first semester of college. He only met her parents once.

Relationships are inconveniences to a memorable adolescence, or so Johnny says, and that’s why he spent most of his budding romantic time on the cusp of potential, but never acting on it. This would go on for months with some women he became great friends with. Specifically two. Two is too many. Two many.

Three is when you get something special.

Johnny was also infatuated with fame, and at this point in his life, it was SoundCloud rap that really struck a chord with him. He had two friends, Deion and Zach, who also had the dream of becoming successful performers. Deion was also infatuated with his girlfriend, Alexa, at the time, so many of the studio sessions would just be Johnny and Zach third and fourth wheeling respectively. Zach hated high school, because he sucked at a lot of his classes. Then he became interested in photography, and that straightened his act out. He went to college for graphic design.

In his freshman year, Johnny joined a track team, and they drove their bus all across the state. Johnny would sit next to Beth-Anne, and she would lay her head on his shoulder. Johnny swore it was strictly platonic. Johnny was a bit more than a little dense.

Over the summer, Beth-Anne started dating some guy with curly hair and braces named Mike. Or something like that.

When junior year started up, Johnny was some kind of bummed out. He started working harder than he ever had in his life. He would come home to his grandmother and nobody else most nights. He was able to sneak Sonya into the house and they would sleep together.

-AJ (not Kurt Vonnegut, I swear)

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

y’all i just caught some feelings because i realized: driscoll was the last thing i wrote before this most recent version of lucius, and it’s the first thing i’m coming back to now that i’m querying lucius. what.

[sunnyie-eve]

Deserve Love || Oblivious

Paring: Prince Paul (Catherine the Great 2019) x Original female character

Word Count: 2924

Summary: Lillia just wants out of an arrange marriage and just wants Paul to be with someone who isn't going behind his back

Warnings: arrange marriages, hidden feelings, jealousy, hinted SA, angst

Last: Childhood Friends | Next: First Love

"Is your fiancé coming tonight?" Paul asks as we sit near each other. "I don't know. He'll probably be with some girl being too busy to show up. Or show up and find one to leave with." I explain as I write to my father. "He has you yet gets with other women?" Paul asks. "Yes because we aren't in love and I don't see us ever falling in love." I look over at him. "Then why marry you?" He scoffs. "I don't know. He mother wants a grandchild... But I don't plan of having sex with him anytime soon or ever. What can I do for him to call off the wedding?" I stop what I was writing. "Why are you asking me?" He raises an eyebrow. "Because your my friend. Also you don't want me to marry him." I explain. "Stop pretending to be interested in him. Tell him stop his affairs or you will leave him... We know he won't stop. Or find someone to have an affair with so he won't want to marry you."

"I don't pretend to like him, I tried that, and who the hell would I have an affair with?" I answer each thing. "Peter..." He gives me a look. "Why that look?" I cross my arms. "I see the way he looks at you." He gets up walking over to me. "Doesn't mean I like him back." I go back to writing. "Do you like anyone who's not me?" He tilts my chin up. "I never said I liked you in that way." I look back down. "You did when we were kids." He laughs. "You mean when we were eight? Ten/eleven years ago?" I look up giving him a look. "You never stated you stopped." He leans down on the table. "Fine, I stopped like you a long time ago." I look him in the eyes but he smiles, "That's a lie." I huff getting out of my seat. "What do you what from me, Paul?" I ask annoyed. "Just for you to admit you still like me." He stands up taking a step closer to me.

"Paul, I'm getting married and you will be soon too." I grab my things but he stops me. "Do you really not love me anymore?" He gives me a sad look. "Why should I answer when you don't say anything straight forward?" I ask him but he keeps quiet. "I'll always love you in some way Paul. In what ways? I'll never say." I leave the room. When I get to my living area I see Andrei waiting for me. "I've been waiting for you. Where have you been?" He asks as I walk in. "Around trying to write to my father. Why are you here?" I ask placing the stuff down on the table. "I wanted to see my lovely fiancé." He takes me by my hand giving me a kiss. "Why are you marrying me? You don't love me." I ask walking away from him. "My father wants me to. Wants me to settle down." He rolls his eyes. "And since my mother promised, I'm the only option?"

"I know I'm not your pick. If you could you would marry Paul since that's who you're in love with." His voice slowly gets louder. "I do not love Paul that way." I tell him. "I see the way you look at him. You can't fool me, darling. But you're gonna be my wife not his. So keep pretending you love me." He grabs my arm roughly. "Then you should keep doing the same yourself." I give him a smile. "I love you." He smiles. "I love you too." I give him a kiss with a smile. "I won't be at the party tonight. My father and I will be doing things." He leaves the room and I pick up a pillow throwing it across the room.

As I enter the party I see everyone dressed up. To be honest this was so much more comfortable than wearing a dress. "Well look at the two of you. You make such beautiful woman." I find Paul with Minister Panin. "Thank you." Panin gives me a smile while Paul looks miserable. "How do we look Your Majesty?" He asks her as she arrives. "I think one of you looks like a lesbian, but I'm not quite sure which one!" She laughs at them. "Lilia, you look wonderful. I'm looking for Potemkin." She walks off. I turn to see Paul lift up his chest making me laugh while Panin tells him he has to much rouge in one side. As Panin goes to fix him Paul walks off making me follow him. "Who are you trying to impress pushing up your chest?" I laugh at him. "It's uncomfortable." He messes with himself. "Congratulations. You know what we women have to deal with. I for one feel comfortable tonight." I smile looking at his face. "Panin is right. You have too much on this side." I step closer to him trying to make it look the same on each side.

"You say I make a beautiful lady?" He says ask I touch his face. "You do. How do I look?" I step back showing off my look. "Like a beautiful lady in men's wear." He smiles so I roll my eyes. "I saw Andrei leave earlier today." He says as I even out his makeup. "He said he wanted to see me." I forget to smile. "What did he talk to you about?" Paul asks. "Doesn't really want to marry me. Knows I don't want to marry him but I have to pretend I love him. I told him he needs to do the same with me." I explain. "You deserve to with with someone you love. I say that as your friend." He takes my hand into his. "Paul, you know for a man in this time... you treat me very different than most men treat women. Most men would never say a woman was their best friend, or spend time together like we do. You also let me be me." I explain to him.

"We grew up together and it was just the two of us. That's the difference between me and other men. Lilia, I'll always love you in many ways even when I marry someone else. No other woman can beat my first love." He tells me so I look down. "If I can't have you as a wife... I'm glad to still have you as a friend." He kisses my cheek as Panin joins us. "I am Victor Heinrich Emanuel the Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, the Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, Your Majesty. I hear you're looking for a wife for Prince Paul. I have three attractive daughters..." We hear and a see a man talking to her. "See what you did." Paul leans closer to me. "Not my fault again." I tell him as I see Andrei come over to us.

"I thought you were with your father?" I ask him. "I was but he said I should spend time with my fiancé." He gives me a kiss and eyes Paul. "Shall we see which of his daughters you like the most?" Panin asks Paul. "That one would make a beautiful wife for you Paul." I point out one of the daughters before Andrei takes us away. "How do I look?" He asks me. "Wonderful darling." I laugh. "Now, let's celebrate new beginnings. I want something Russian!" Catherine laughs and music starts. "Shall we?" Andrei asks as more people start to dance. While we have a fun time and I see Paul eyeing us as he talks to one of the daughters.

~

Two years have passed since the ball and I hated being married to Andrei especially when he was having an affair with Paul's wife. Paul slightly, not even slightly, he 100% didn't even notice when it was so obvious. Andrei knew I knew but didn't care and neither did I because in two years we never fell in love with the other. One thing I liked about being married to him was we didn't live together. "Paul, Natalia." I pass them. "Come here." Paul calls me over. "I was just showing Natalia my father again." He smiles at the painting and I see the boredom on her face. "Weak chin, don't you think?" Catherine shows up so we bow to her, well not so much Natalia. "Hm, so how do you like your new name?" Catherine asks her. "Natalia. I love it, Your Majesty." She tells her. "It's Russian. You should love it." She tells her. "I wanted to ask you something." Paul tells his mother. "I wanted to join the Council." He says and I knew the answer to that. "No." She says right away.

"He would have wanted it." He tells her talking about his father. "He also wanted me in prison. Or dead." She adds. "I am simply asking if I might be allowed to sit on the Council and do the work my fa-," She cuts him off with a no. Paul looks annoyed so I place my hand on his arm, "I somewhat disagree with her choice." I tell him. "Somewhat?" He looks at me. "Yes... I 100% believe you should be on the council because of your right." I explain. "But?" He asks. "You think off of emotion which is a slight problem..." I explain more being honest. "So you think I shouldn't be apart?" He gets defensive. "Until you know not to act on emotions, yes." I stand by my words. "Watch your tone with me." He says making me laugh. "Or what? Your Excellency?" He grabs my wrist dragging me off away from Natalia till we were completely alone and shunts the door behind him. "I'm waiting Your Excellency?" I tell him as his face turns red.

"What has gotten into you? You act so different." He asks. "I do? Well I hate my husband and I hate your wife because she doesn't love you." I smile at him. "She loves me." He tells. "No she doesn't. As a woman, I can read another woman's emotions clear as day." I chuckle a little. "I get it. You're jealous. I'm married to her and not you. My wife loves me when your husband doesn't love you." He smiles making me laugh more. "Trust me, I'm not jealous. I care about you, Paul. I just want you to be with someone who loves you like you love them." I explain to him. "I could never be with you then since you don't love me, right?" He makes me sigh. "I'm not having this conversation." I turn to leave the room. "Lilia, I'm talking to you." He calls my name. "And I'm done, Paul." I leave him.

~

"Paul. Natalia." Catherine comes up the stairs so all of us expect Natalia bow to her. As we walk some Natalia keeps giving looks to Andrei while fanning herself. "Are you listening? Why are you staring at Count Razumovsky?" Paul notices asking her and Andrei averts his eyes to me. "Was I staring at Count Razumovsky? Don't think I was. I was listening to you, darling. I always listen. You are a very interesting man." She lies to him making me glare at the back of her head. As the four of us take our seats Andrei and Natalia give me a look so she could sit next to him. I force a smile and take the seat on the other side of Paul. "She sounds wonderful doesn't she?" Paul leans over to me as I hear Natalia giggle. I look over at the two flirting making me annoyed. If you're going to cheat make sure to hide it from everyone else at least.

"Yes, she does." I whisper back to him as we watch the show. "I'm sorry for how I acted the other day." He tells me. "That's alright, Paul." I let him know. "No, your my best friend." He makes me giggle. "I thought that was my husband. That's what I hear lately. Now that he's around the palace more." I look at him for a second. "I can't have two? One of each sex?" He smiles. "Well for a man best friend you picked the worst." I let him know. "He has his moments and I know he's a terrible husband to you." He sighs, "You deserve someone who loves you too." He takes my hand into his. I hear Andrei clear his throat so I look back at him giving me a look making me let go of Paul's hand. He looks at me confused as I keep my hands on my lap. Paul tries to reach for my hand again but I move it away from him keeping my eyes on the show.

After the show Andrei comes into my room in a bad mood, "Are you trying get with Paul behind my back?" He asks. "No, but if you and Natalia are going to keep going behind his back don't make it so obvious to everyone else." I say and get back handed. "Don't forget I'm your husband." He walks behind me messing with my dress. I close my eyes trying to to keep the tears in. "Who do you love?" He asks. "You darling." I tell him. "Who do you listen to?" His breath hits my ear. "You." I keep my eyes closed. "Who are you supposed to please?" He touches my neck. "You." My voice almost cracks. "Maybe if you did your job... I wouldn't go behind Paul's back with his wife." He forces me to face him. "Stop being so close with Paul. Do you hear me?" He stares into my eyes. "Yes, Darling." I hold back my tears as he undresses me.

The next day while we spent the day with Paul and Natalia, I stood by myself keeping quiet while Andrei and Natalia flirted in front of Paul. "You are awfully quiet today Lady Lilia." Panin says making me look up from the floor. "Are you alright?" Paul reaches out to touch me back I back away so I don't make Andrei mad with me. "I'm fine." I give them a smile as they talk. "Natalia." Catherine walks up. "Count Razumovsky." She looks at him. "Lilia." She gives me a small smile so I bow. "I want to speak with you, now." She looks at her son and he follows her.

As the two go back to flirting I move to slightly ease drop on Paul and his mother. "If you want to stay married to that insolvent girl, you'll probably have to lock her up." As Paul turns to look at her I move some looking down at the floor. "You have no idea, do you? Even when it's right in front of your nose." She tells him and Panin notices me listening so he clears his throat. "I always thought you and Price Paul would get married." He leans towards me making me laugh. "So did I..." I walk away as Paul leaves his mother.

I decided to go visit my father without telling anyone because it didn't seem important. "My dear daughter." My father smiles as I enter the room. "Father." I give him a hug. "Gisela." He smiles as she walks into the room. "Nice to see you again." I give her a little bow. "Lilia." She gives me a smile. "You two should spend time together. I'll be right back." He leaves us. "I still hear you're not married yet." She sits down with me. "That's actually why I decided to come visit. You see, I was going to tell my father I am but..." I mess with fingers. "But what dear?" She takes my hand into his. "I don't want to be anymore. Him and Natalia, Prince Paul's wife, are having an affair. We never have loved each other for the past two years... Last night was the first and he..." I start to tear up. "Oh honey." She moves closer wrapping her arms at me so I let it out.

"What did I miss?" My father walks back in so Gisela gets up and takes him out of the room. After a few minutes I hear him yelling and she comes back into the room. "Give him a few minutes." Gisela comes back in. As we wait he comes back in handing me a letter. "Read this and then give this to your husband." He hands it to me to read. I read over it and look at him shocked. "Are you serious?" I ask him. "Yes, I didn't have any say and this marriage and I demand it to end. I want you to marry someone you want to marry. You being my only daughter I want you to be happy. You aren't allowed to get married to any man unless you really want to." He gives me a hug. "I sent one to his parents now you give this one to him." He kisses my cheek. "Thank you, Father." I leave his place.

[scseason7]

SC Season 7 Author Reveals

Hot Springs and Northern Lights by LondonSpirit

Sunshine on the Water by flowerfan

Honeymoon Troubles by DawnDust

The Honeymoon by alldaydream

The Fourth Best Day of My Life by FrizzleNox

a road that will never lead to rome by hudders-and-hiddles

in the fading golden light by thetomkatwholived

nothing even compares... by startswithhope

Honeymooners and Spring Breakers by reginahalliwell

Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup by High-Seas-Swan

Baby, Gotta Say It by middyblue

No Place Like Home by moirasrosesroses

all i need is to see your face by hudders-and-hiddles

Alexis Rose’s Guide to Finding Yourself in Five Easy Steps by Wrathofthestag

Hidden Depths by iola17

Squirrels by resilient_rose

IKEA by resilient_rose

He Feels Like Home by DawnDust

blossoming into a new life by mscherriv

The Houseguest by missgeevious

[podfic] A House Becomes a Home by hullomoon

I'm doing it for you... by startswithhope

Flood, Flounder, Flourish by treepyful

[art] Asbestos Fest (Week) 2019 by sspaz1000

all my life though some have changed by cromarty

The Woodshop by upbeat

Moderately memorable by sweaters_in_the_summer

Common Ground by moirasrosesroses

You Made It All Okay by TrueIllusion

The Sniffles by awildone

The Slip by resilient_rose

Will It Feel Like Home by wildaloofrebel

Many the Miles by singsongsung & doingthemost

I Can't Live Without You by DawnDust

The Headache by FrizzleNox

Come Away With Me by flowerfan

Mine Own Weak Merits by treepyful

[art] The Roses Reunited by FrizzleNox

Assistant Direction by bigficenergy

The Moira Rose Story by Wrathofthestag

Old Friends, New Appearances by moirasrosesroses

This is my Greatest Adventure by agoodpersonrose

promise to as best we can by middyblue

i'm so grateful and proud by hullomoon

Family Logistics by HolmesApothecary

Nothing Good Starts in a Getaway Car by DawnDust

betta than all the rest by hudders-and-hiddles

Business/Casual by treepyful

money, money, money (it's a rich man's world) by hullomoon

Rosebud Motel Group PR + Merch! by hullosweetpea

a sense of expectation hanging in the air by hullomoon

What a Way to Make a Livin' by sweaters_in_the_summer

Déjà vu (Or: What's Wrong with Wednesdays) by iola17

Five Years by DawnDust

A New Dawn, A New Day by BiblioPan

All I Want For Christmas (is Quarantine to End) by sspaz1000

an open smile on a friendly shore by cromarty

locks like the raven by hudders-and-hiddles

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day by DawnDust

in calm or stormy weather by singsongsung & sonlali

Scavenger Hunt by resilient_rose

Valentine's Week by pine67

A Schitty Sign by DawnDust

worth fighting for by steviebowles

Starter Kids by cromarty

stubborn love by blueink3

Seasons of Love by Distractivate

they stare when you walk in the room (yeah, we're lookin' at heaven) by Yellow_Bird_On_Richland

Is your sex life alight? by pine67

Five Stars by sonlali

The Last Warm Day of September by FrizzleNox

Third Annual Schitt's Creek Singles Week by lastchancecafe

I'll Light the Fire by norskheks

are we willing to take the next step? by budd

Leonard by moirasrosesroses

David Rose: King of Compromise by iola17

David Rose vs. a Plastic Goat by DawnDust

Sight for Sore Eyes by bigficenergy

Of All The Street Corners... by thescholasticskipper

Gonna Buy Me a Dog by HolmesApothecary

Apollo and Artemis by thetomkatwholived

imagine adventure, imagine a story untold by staystrange

the heart grows fonder by ohjustpeachy

[Script] "Family Reunion" by Pants & Five678Patty

Street Lights, Big Dreams, All Lookin' Pretty by doingthemost

Don't worry, it's his sister by cromarty

* * * * * * *

Thank you SO much to everyone who created a work (or several!) for this fest—it literally couldn’t have happened without you! Every single one of you is a rock star. 

Thank you, too, to everyone who has read, kudos’d, commented, reblogged, and in any way supported all of the great creators who took part in the fest. Your support is invaluable and so appreciated.

If you’ve been using the spreadsheet to track your reading, you can head over to the master version one last time to copy the list of authors over to your own version and see how you did with your guesses.

Hope you’ve all enjoyed SC Season 7!!

[residentlesbrarian]

The Fourth Book I Read In the Dark: Of Expectations and Other Relatabilities

Of Gryphons and Other Monsters by Shannon McGee

Hey, guys, sooooo...this is aaaawwwkward. I wrote 95% of this review when I wrote the other Books I Read in the Dark series for the blog, but the ADHD hit me and COVID was still you know...a thing! So I am gonna post this review, finished of course, OH, but also pay extra close attention to the conclusion alright! Hmm...this is a bit like a time capsule...here are my concentrated thoughts from 6 months ago while I was slightly delirious on books and darkness. So go forth and uh yeah this one is...you can just feel the feral “I haven’t had access to proper internet so I’ve been curled in the corner like Gollum with my books” energy coming off it so...enjoy?

Okay, so yeah, I really didn’t have a reason to end my last review that way I just wanted to, so sue me for injecting a little excitement into a series of posts about me literally sitting in my house reading nonstop for 2 ½ days, my reviews my rules. Back to manufacturing my own excitement shall we!

It’s Day 2! I’ve just finished my last library book, whatever will I do! I could always reread The Neverending Story for the 1,273rd time, but I have a need. A need for GAY! I rack my brain, there has to be a solution. My town is without power, my local library won’t be open, but then it hits me. It’s so simple! It’s meant to be really! Like the universe knew this was coming and it made sure I was prepared! Like a prepper stockpiling mental SPAM for my stimulus needing ADHD riddled brain! I have an entire shelf of books that I haven’t read yet! Way back in Clexacon 2019 my best friend (Lookin at you @justalifelongphase) gave me way too much money from missed birthdays and Christmases all at once before the con started because the world has deemed it impossible for us to live geographically close to one another. Anyway, I went a little book-buying-crazy and have not had the time or opportunity to read any of them since then. Their time has finally come!

I figured after going full whimsy with The Lost Coast and sci-fi superhero with Dreadnought and Sovereign why not take a dip into more traditional fantasy, also this one was first in line on the shelf, yay for not having to actually make a decision! No more dawdling, let's get right into the review!

Unicorn Rating:

Blurb: Taryn always loves and hates gryphon season. She finds the lesser gryphons more cute than anything but the ever present fear that a greater gryphon might be just out of sight is terrifying, and this gryphon season proves to be the one that will change her and her families lives forever! Just let a girl herd her sheep in peace!

Disclaimer: I will try my best to not spoil anything from the book, but my book loving rambles may give more away than a traditional review. Here we go! Ramble time!

Review:

I genuinely enjoyed this book. It took me a bit longer to get through it than the others, but I think that was a combination of three things: A. I was starting to feel the fatigue of reading so much in such a short amount of time. B. Our local Wal Mart had power restored on Day 3 and our entire household went on a trip to buy non-perishable food stuffs and I was like a solitary confinement prisoner being let out into the yard for the first time in months when my phone picked up a wifi signal and it was a bit hard to get back into the swing of reading after talking to other humans, even virtually, that weren’t imaginary or in my head. C. Our power was finally restored on the afternoon of Day 3 so yet again I was inundated with the draw of technology and all of my friend-os I hadn’t talked to, but the book had drawn me in enough I did the most unmillienial thing and left my phone in a different room to charge while I finished this book before going back to the land of technology and interwebs. That should tell you something.

McGee was able to write this story in a way that pulls you in so you care about what happens to these characters and this little mountain town. You learn just enough about the world to understand where they fit within the overall weave of it, but you aren’t given a Tolkein-esc dissertation on the world lore. I felt the worries and the fears. I was concerned when the routines had to change. I mean she made me care about the freaking sheep! Sheep, people! One of the reasons I think this works so well is we are so firmly rooted in the head of our protagonist, Taryn. Imma use that lovely bridge I just built to skip right on over the plot section of the review to get to the characters first, don’t worry we’ll circle back round to the plot. I always do, but I just wanna talk about my newest set of brain babies.

Taryn is a character that, if the title of this post is anything to go by, I found very very relatable. Now I know relatability can be pretty subjective, some people can latch onto something with the all consuming, “It me!” While others just stare on dead eyed not understanding the appeal. I feel like Taryn could be that kind of protagonist. You are either going to really relate to her or you won’t understand where she is coming from at all. I obviously fall in the former category. I was the quintessential middle child, still am really, though my relationship with my parents has shifted now that I’m an adult. More mutual respect and friendship than parent to child. I always did my best to pick up the slack, if ever there was any, and just tried my best to be as little of a burden as possible to my parents. I see so much of that aspect of myself in Taryn and how she sees her place at the farm and even in the town, she has her place and her role, but those expectations are heavy. One of those expectations being that she will inevitably get married and help take over the farm from her parents and have kids to continue the line. The fact she finds the lesser gryphons that flock near the farm far cuter than any of the local boys that she will eventually have to choose from to fulfill that inevitable expectation is just...sad at best and down right tragic at worst. And her family doesn’t help matters either. They won’t let her forget that she will have to settle down with one of these local boys, a boy who would make a good husband and take good care of her and the farm. She knows that, logically, but she also wants to be in love, like her parents, and she just doesn’t feel like that for any of the boys in town. She doesn’t know how to make those two things line up. It’s a struggle between her head, the obligation of what she has to do, and her heart, what she really wants for her future, to be happy in doing what she has to do. Wow, I went off a little bit there, but this was my long winded way of saying I have never read a protagonist that really captured the utter confusion of being raised in a heteronormative environment without it being drenched in internalized homophobia and fear. Protagonists like this seem to always know something is off but just don’t have the words for it so they just hide it because they know it’s “different” and out of the norm, but Taryn is just livin’ her sheep herding life and ain’t got no time for these boy crazy fools. She knows her mom wants her to find a good boy to court her so she can marry someday but she’s still young. She’ll think about that tomorrow, and she just repeats that ad infinitum. The thought that maybe she doesn’t fancy any of the boys because well...girls...never even occurred to her. It's not how things are done in this small mountain town, not because of homophobia reasons, but just stubborn tradition reasons. We are even told there is a gay couple living in town who are staples in the overall dynamics in town, instrumental even, but the idea of having a lineage, being able to pass your land down is so ingrained no wonder poor Taryn was so in the dark about her own probable gayness till it slapped her in the face. As someone who was raised in a medium sized Oklahoma town...girl I feel you. I was 22 and in the middle of Appalacia, way up in the mountains for college when my gay awakening popped up and said “Hello!” Everything that never quite made sense in my life came into perfect clarity. Not quite what happened with Taryn, but the arrival of Aella surely helped, as pretty girls are want to do. Oh look a segue, good, cause I could talk about Taryn for literal hours and I’ve already gabbed about her too much for this review.

Aella, you smooth motherfucker. Like I wish I could possess a quarter of the smoothness that you do. Like I’m lucky to string sentences together around a pretty girl, but here you are just strutting about being the smoothest of smooth. Honestly, I just...I can’t with you Aella. On a serious note though Aella is a character that served as showing Taryn a glimpse at the world beyond her small mountain town, as much as she had no desire to leave, unlike her brother. Nope, sit down, we’ll get to you, Michael! Oh, we’ll get to you. She’s traveled and has stories from all over and she is fairly open about the fact that she only likes girls, but she doesn’t have land, responsibilities, and a family line to continue. She just gets to live her life the way she choses. And y’all know I am a sap for the hard dark characters that are totally softies underneath that rough exterior. I think Aella was a great foil to Taryn and great at showing her what she could have if she was willing to leave, to stretch what she was allowed to wish for, but of course the biggest issue with her wishing for anything was...Michael.

Michael was such an interesting character. I loved him. I hated him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to punch him. Again as with the town and the people of the town I was so deep seated in Taryn’s head and feelings that her conflicted feelings about Michael and how he was acting became my feelings on the matter. Not enough to not separate a tad and see what was coming or at least try to predict it as I always do when reading, but emotionally I was right with Taryn the whole way. The one thing that really pushed Michael from just a character I was conflicted about to one I really wanna give a swift kick in the nads to, is that he knew. He knew all about Taryn’s absolute lack of romantic inclinations toward any of the boys in town and her doubts that she would ever find someone to love and marry to take over the farm. He was the only person she confided these fears in and he still selfishly followed his own pursuits with little regard to her or her worries. You sir, are a terrible brother and overall a shit human, so sit your ass down and shut your mouth.

The plot for this book was so embroiled with the characters and their journeys that I can’t talk on it much but the twists at the end and the final climax was very satisfying for me and left me excited to dig into the next book. Also something of note that I didn’t talk about in the character section cause I felt it was dragging on a touch, I really only talked in depth on our three biggest players but there is a very colorful cast of side characters ranging from Taryn’s nervous pony to the boy-who-cried-gryphon neighbor no one can stand to the troupe of hunters led by Aella’s mother to Taryn’s best friend Nia, all of whom play important parts in building that sense of caring about the people of this town and the town itself, which in turn made me deeply care about the outcome of the plot at the heart of the story. And the sheep! The god damn sheep!

One thing I do want to say before my final thoughts is that whoever designed the cover of this book in a genius because as I dug into the story I found myself constantly closing it to spout off about theories of what I thought was happening on the cover and what it all meant, I was kind of reader fatigue delirious for most of those theories but some of them I was right! I might have reenacted the Captain Holt “Vindication” gif IRL just because it felt too good not to. I just love when a “cool” cover turns out to be so much more than that once you’re “in the know”. So yeah, now y’all know to pay attention for that.

My final thoughts on this book are pretty positive. I can tell the author is building us toward so much more, hence the name of the series, Taryn’s Journey, and it feels like it. This is only the beginning and I honestly can’t wait to take the next steps with her.

Queer Wrap-up:

Hey it’s me from the future...present...whatever...so, this is when I stopped writing the review six months ago and there is a reason for that. I, kind of, agonized over what to rate this book on the scale. Multiple times having to call my brother and go back and forth just to then repeat the same arguments with myself as soon as I got off the phone. Now why was this such a hard terrible no good awful back and forth well...SPOILER WARNING...seriously anything past this point will be spoiling some character beats for the majority of the book...okay? We understand one another. DANGER ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE...or you know scroll on.

So, Taryn is never confirmed to be queer in the text of this book. Now you would have to be wearing the tightest hetero goggles in known history not to see the heavy HEAVY subtext saying THIS BITCH GAY! It’s basically a full grown elephant painted sparkly rainbow trying to hide behind a dead shrub aka not hiding at all. I so desperately wanted to give this book four of those darling unicorns but in this rare case I just don’t think I can justify it. We have a protagonist that is still figuring herself out, which is amazing that we get to see that and go on the journey with her. Some of the things Taryn does and thinks are queer coded as hell, especially if it involves Aella who is explicitly gay on the page, but Taryn herself never express whether she herself is queer. Which, fair, other really important and traumatizing things were going on and I love that about her as a character, she didn’t meet Aella and suddenly that was all she could think about. Aella, of course, is representation who I’m counting because even though she shows obvious interest (you smooth motherfucker) in Taryn she is so much more than just a love interest and her character isn’t just boiled down to her sexuality. Now in this wrap up I’m also including the doctor and his husband in the town. They are very minor characters but they give us interesting insights into the town and the people. They are accepted and treated well in town even if some do almost, pity isn’t the right word, but they seem sad that they won’t be able to have any kind of legacy or lineage. As I said in the review it’s not homophobia it’s being stuck in your ways and it’s an interesting take.

Links:

Shannon McGee Website

The Storygraph

Okay so this one is a bit of a mess. Pieces of it were written 6 months apart and most of it was written while I was kind of delirious but hey at least I can say it’s honest. I still stand by everything my past self wrote and I still really enjoy thinking and talking about this book and am excited for whenever I get around to reading the sequel to continue on Tayrn’s journey with her. This is a book I probably would never have known even existed without ClexaCon and trolling through artist alley for literally every table that had books on them. I guess, moral of the day is maybe you won’t just find great books on library shelves but on unassuming convention tables too and it never hurts to look. Trust me, I’m a lesbrarian.

Oh bet you thought this post was over. I did the sign off and everything but oh no no! I have some info and such to impart. I am WELL AWARE these reviews have been fairly inconsistent to down right sporadic. Well, this is just a little info dump letting you guys know I am gonna be putting up one more review after this one that I wrote ages ago and I mean AGES (think years, as in multiple) and just never got around to posting and then the old blog is probably gonna be going through a PLANNED dormancy while some pretty big stuff is coming down the pike. You may notice visual changes and other stuff before anything else is announced but just keep an eye out. To quote the Fates from Hercules, “It’s gonna be big!”

Okay now for the actual sign off, I got shit to do! No one look behind the curtain, it’s a surprise!

[cosmic-has-moved]

The Vamp N Wolf - Chapter 5

Link to the Ao3 version: HERE

It had only been a few minutes since the Mistress read and put away Hayden’s documents in a safe place, now all she needed to do was look for the maid mentioned in the files.

The rooms where the servants stay were at the other side of the castle in the basement, the room was reasonably big, with single beds against the wall starting from the room entrance to the bathroom. Bending down to enter the room, Alcina began examining the beds, most of her findings were only letters, snacks, books and personal toys.

Nearly giving up on the short investigation, she noticed a loose brick next to the bed on the right of the entrance. Removing said brick had confirmed her suspicions, a secret hole that had contained a syringe and a medium sized jar half-filled with what could definitely be her blood.

Grabbing the items and placing them on the bed, she examined the end of the bed. When a maid is hired, a small board with their name written is place at the end bed frame. There was a board there, but it was from the previous maid before she was used for food.

This could only mean that the maid in question was placed here during the draining process, quite sneaky of Mother Miranda.

Now the only thing the Mistress needed to do was find this maid, luckily for her it was easy. A scent of vanilla mixed with blood coming from the bathroom had been filling her nose, a scent she had made for the uniforms to help keep track of them for wolves and herself. Making her way to the bathroom and bending down, she peeked her head in before going in.

Glancing over at the shower stalls, she noticed a few strands of tied up hair in one of the stalls, bingo. Walking over to the stall and gripping the door, she tore the door open and stared down at the maiden.

The woman sat on the floor covering her mouth and trembling, it was clear that she as hiding from her. With a swift hand movement, Alcina held the maid up up the collar. The Mistress knew what all her maids looked like, this one not one of them.

“So I take it you’re the one Mother Miranda sent?” The tall Mistress asked, watching the terrified girl tremble in her grip.

Stammering out her words, the maid answered. “Ye-Yes, Madam.” She gasped in terror as her grasp she was held at got tight. “I-I was only doing what she told me to do, I swear!” She cried out loud before whimpering in silence.

Giving a slight knowing nod, Alcina dropped her. “Thought as much, but did she plan on picking you up or leave you here to stay?”

Looking down at the ground, not daring to look at the Mistress in the eyes. “She had promised to bring me back home when she next arrives here.”

A smirk formed on the pale lady’s face, “Well she was just here before, she must’ve forgotten about you.” She extended her claw and lifted the young girl’s chin, her face now filled with shock. “Or she lied to you. If that’s the case, I guess I’ll have to show you what I do to unwanted guest.”

Lifting her clawed hand up, she watched as the poor maid sat there too scared to move. “No hard feelings, sweetie.”

___

Nibbling on her thumb making sure to clean it of remaining blood, Alcina stood back as the servants took care of the body. Cassandra standing next to her, eyeing her shiny new necklace.

“Looks like Hayden finally finished it.”

Her ears perked up upon hearing that and she looked down at her daughter. “You knew about this?” She gently held the jewelry under her index finger.

Cassandra smiled and nodded. “I helped him with the flower design, he’s been stuck on it for a while because you liked a lot of flowers.” She turned her head away. “I only mentioned that it was that specific one you really loved.”

Huffing out a smile, she patted her child’s head. “I love it.”

“MOTHER!”

The two looked at the source of the distasteful screech. It was Daniela, holding up a torn up and slobber covered brown skirt. It was rather ugly.

“Look at what the mutt did to my skirt!” She shouted angrily.

…

“Let’s take that as a blessing, Daniela.” Alcina responded while holding back a giggle.

Too bad Cassandra could hold it back, she burst into laughter whilst pointing at her younger sister.

Even more angered by their reactions she growled. “This is serious!”

Calming down from her fit, the youngest replied back. “You’re right, it is. A wolf have better fashion sense than you.”

That’s when their Mother decided to let her fits of laughter out, to Daniela’s great dismay as she continued to whine.

___

It had been a few hours after the maid incident, it was easily and quickly dealt with thankfully enough.

After the clean up the daughters were called to the family room, Alcina sat on her chair and waited for them. They were quick to arrive, their expressions of worry visible.

Waiting for them to sit down on the couch, she spoke up. “I think it’s about time I tell you three what’s going on, this involves Mother Miranda and Hayden.” Getting out her cigarette holder that already had a stick in and lit it up.

The three were confused at first but still responded. Bela being the first one to. “Does it involves that conversation you had with her, about Hayden being given your blood?”

The Mistress took a puff of her smoke and exhaled. “Mother Miranda has been using Hayden for an experiment, he’s a full wolf but has my blood running through him.” Glancing at their shocked looks, she continued. “I don’t know how he’s surviving, but the thing is that she’s using him to make a vampire and wolf breed.”

Daniela butted in “But wasn’t the first experiment related to that a complete failure? Why is she doing it again?”

Alcina sighed “She wants to make an army that only obeys her, the mixed race part is most likely because she knows they’ll be more powerful. I’m against the idea for reasons, but I can’t stop it.” Taking another drag of her cigarette and blowing out the smoke. “But the main point here is that no matter what, Hayden shouldn’t be treated more than just a lab rat, he’s your brother and my son. Treat him with the same respect we give each other, understand?”

The three looked at each other, Cassandra and Bela nodding before Daniela hesitantly did so as well. “We understand, Mother.”

Putting her cigarette away and standing up off her chair, she walked over to her daughters and knelt down to hug them tight, kissing them on their foreheads. Them loudly protesting from the embarrassing motherly embrace. It would take some good scrubbing to get the lipstick off her foreheads.

___

A day had now passed and Mother Miranda had kept her words. Hayden had returned home, granted he did look drained but overall he was in one piece and that was all that mattered.

Hayden upon walking into the Dimitrescu castle was to rest in his room, Alcina had made sure he was comfy after what she assumed to be a rough night. She helped him to bed and let him fall asleep, Hayden immediately passed out upon his head hitting the pillow.

The Mistress left the room and closed the door, quietly wishing him to rest well. After that she made her way to her room, the castle needed a new servant.

It was around dinner time was when Hayden surfaced, the smell must’ve woken him up judging by the bed hair. Sadly enough for him Alcina told him to wash up before eating, which he hesitantly did.

___

The next day, it was also the day Alcina decided to let Hayden be the one to interview newcomers for work. She of course watched from afar making sure nothing went wrong, he had been doing a great job so far to the Mistress’s relief.

After the interview was done and Hayden sent them off, Alcina waited for him to come with the results. Watching him come inside and to the balcony she was on.

“So.” Alcina poured her son a glass of wine and gestured him to sit next to her. “Anyone of interest?”

Complying with her and sitting down, Hayden gave her the resumes he had picked out. “A lot of boring ones that don’t have experience, but I did find three of interest.” Picking up his drink he continued. “Claire Velvetine, Sarah Jinkins and Velma Dalph.”

Looking over at the files and pondered on who to choose, they only needed one maiden, but it was tempting to hire these. “Oh I hate these decision making moments.” Cupping her chin and huffing in slight frustration. “I suppose I’ll go with Claire Velvetine, she seems to know what she’s doing.”

Hayden agreed while sipping his drink before placing the cup down. “Figured you will, you always go for the young lookin’ ones.” He said before chuckling. Well he wasn’t wrong.

“As long as they’re legal, everything will be fine.” Alcina said before taking a sip of her drink. “That does remind me. Before moving here, do you remember your previous area of living?” Putting her glass down, the Mistress stared at him and noticed a slight change to his expression.

Hayden blinked a few times and furrowed his brows before averting his eyes away from hers, nibbling on his bottom in thought. “It’s a bit fuzzy, but I do remember being in a stone room, different from yours.” He looked up at her and tilted his head “And after that I woke up in front of you. That’s all I can remember.”

Tilting her head and cupping her chin, the Mistress began thinking “If that’s all you remember, than I won’t have to worry about questioning you.” Getting up off her chair and grabbing her cup, she continued “I may have to ask her myself.” and with that, she walked inside.

Hayden sat there visibly confused, “Question me on what?”

___

A few days have passed by now and life has been normal so far. The new maiden that had been hired has been a wonderful job and been handling the daughters without breaking a sweat, she’s definitely a keeper.

Nothing of interest has happened, besides Hayden growing more and more interested in the new Maiden. He should know by now that the Mistress is always the first one to taste the servants, but werewolves are always kinda possessive. Alcina might have competition.

___

24th of March 2019, a whole year had passed now. Alcina sat at her desk going through book on animal anatomy, she was invested in it until she heard a knock at the door.

Closing the door she called to the person to come in, it was Hayden. “What is it, Hayden?”

Walking over to her and sitting on her bed, he got out a piece of folded paper. “I did some more patrolling and noticed a few more empty underground huts, so I copied the map of the castle and drew where each hut was located.” He unfolded the paper and gave it to her.

Looking at the sketchy mess of the map, Alcina examined where he drew the huts. They were surrounding the village and castle. Letting out a huff she gave the map back to him and crossed her arms. “Sneaky bastards, I’ll have to send someone down to investigate.” Standing up off her bed, Hayden replied “I’ll investigate them, I have a good sense of the area.” He gave her a smirk “And I found them myself, so I at least gotta search them.”

Mirroring his smirk, the Mistress tilted her head. “Alright, but take one of your sisters, it’s always a good idea to have a back up.”

Nodding in understanding, he left the room. Getting up off her chair and standing at the window, Alcina sighed. “If they managed to get six huts around my castle without getting caught, I’m gonna have to prepare the kids for a break in.”

___

Now was finally the time for Alcina to do something she’s been putting off for way too long. Paperwork.

She sat there signing the paperwork, bored out of her brain. Drinking her wine and rubbing the bridge of her nose, “Why must I do this to myself?” She asked herself before finishing her red liquid goodness. The good news is that she only had sixty pieces of paper to sign, that was her only light of hope.

Gulping down her wine, she went back to work. Until there was a knock at the door, sighing at the sudden interruption. She called the person in and was happy to see that it was Claire Velvetine, her wonderful work had given the tall Mistress a bit of relief and respect towards her.

Bowing to her and going to work cleaning the office, the brunette began humming. The Maiden would hum around the Mistress after knowing that it kept her calm, Alcina enjoyed it. Calmly she continued working.

After she was done writing and putting her quill away, Alcina looked over at Claire who was cleaning bookshelf behind her. Sitting back and closing her eyes, she let the hum invade her ears.

Suddenly the humming stopped and Alcina opened her eyes to see why she stopped, the maiden had finished cleaning and was putting the last book she had dusted back in. “I am done, my lady.” Claire bowed “I’ll now be going to clean the family room.”

Seeing a chance knowing that Hayden wasn’t around and her daughters being busy, The Mistress shoot her shot. “Thank you, but may I ask where you managed to hum like that?” Resting her chin on her palm and crossing her legs in her chair, she smirked. “A lot of the servants here hum as well, but yours seem to catch my interest.”

The maiden smiled in response, “Why thank you, my lady. I started practicing when I was quite young, my little brother would often have night terrors and being in the same room with him, I would sing to him.”

Arching her brow in interest, Alcina asked. “Such responsibility for a child.” She stood up off her chair and walked closer to her, kneeling down to the young woman’s eye level and grasping her chin. The maiden blinked at her but still remained calm. “Why not come to my bed chambers tonight and give me a show?” Her ears perked upon the woman’s brown eyes glancing at her crimson lips.

Claire looked back up at her slightly wide eyed and became flustered, but she still responded. “Why I would like to, Mistress.” She gently removed Alcina’s hand from her face and smirked. “I am afraid that I prefer being taken to dinner first.” Turning around and opening the door, the maiden left.

The Mistress bit her bottom lip and covered her mouth, she had struck something she hadn’t struck before in a long time. “Oh I am definitely keeping you, Claire,” She playfully purred to herself, she would’ve been mad at the reject, but she can’t blame a lady for wanting dinner first.

Standing up straight and clearing her throat, Alcina walked out of her office and towards her room. “While I’m free I better go check that book.” She went to grab her door handle

and stopped getting a sudden wave of worry, a feeling that she couldn’t shake.

___

Instinctively she walked inside her room and looked out her window, in the far distance there was a trail of smoke coming from the tress. Right where one of the secret huts were.

Grabbing her coat and getting the other girls, Alcina ran to the location of the smoke. Praying that her children weren’t harmed. Bela and Cassandra followed behind her, both just as worried.

Running close to the location Alcina saw Hayden in his werewolf form on top of Daniela, he was covering her body from the sunlight while dragging himself up to the shade, collapsing upon getting his top half away from the sun. As the three got close and pulled them into the shade, Alcina saw pieces of shrapnel and debris into Hayden’s back as he slowly transformed back to normal, his torn clothes failing to cover his nude body.

Getting him off of Daniela and laying him down on his chest, she got a good of the damage. From the distance was an explosion hole, there must’ve been a bomb in there. Daniela was knocked out with a bloody broken nose and her left leg burnt from not being covered quick enough, overall she was still in one piece. Bela wrapped her sisters leg with a cloth and got Cassandra’s help to carry her.

Hayden’s back area was horribly burnt, Alcina gently pulled the broken pieces out of his back before picking him up with her coat but made sure not to touch his back. The Mistress looked at her injured kids and bit her bottom lip in guilt, they were fine but they’re still hurt.

After checking for more wounds, Alcina, Bela and Cassandra carried the two back to the castle. The servants were quick to get the tools needed to help them and ready their beds.

___

Daniela laid in her bed still unconscious, her leg bandaged up and resting on top of a cushion. Her mother sitting next to her bed holding a small cup of blood, sprinkling a few herbs in it before stirring it with her finger.

Her and Hayden have been asleep for about a day now, Alcina hadn’t been able to sleep yet and has been doing nothing but look over the two. Tapping her finger on the edge of the glass to get the liquid off, she perked up seeing Daniela stir awake.

“Dani?”

Cracking her eyes open and looking at her mother, Daniela sat up whilst groaning in discomfort. “Mother?” She mumbled before resting her head against the bed frame.

Smiling in relief at her daughter finally being conscious, she swiftly placed the cup on her bedside table and hugged her tight. “I am so glad you’re alright, Dani.” She said to her child as she planted kisses on her cheek.

Not having enough energy to fight back, Daniela accepted the hug before grabbing the cup of blood. “Ohhh blood drink.” She took a sip and immediately yelped in disgust. “Oh god it’s medicine blood!”

Chuckling as Alcina let go and she patted her shoulder, she thought Daniela would’ve gotten use to the blood medicine by now, but she guessed she thought wrong. She gave Daniela sometime to fully awake before asking what happened.

After finishing the drink and grimacing from the taste, Daniela suddenly darted her head to her mother, a look of concern on her face. “Wh-Where’s Hayden?” She went to get off the bed but flinched to a stop upon her leg throbbing in pain. “Ah fuck!”

Quickly putting her daughter back in the resting position, she did wonder why Daniela had grown concerned for him knowing that the two don’t get along, She smirked at the thought that her feral like daughter had finally started to like Hayden. “He’s in his room recovering.” A serious look now formed on the tall Mistress’s face. “Daniela, what happened?”

___

Dragging her feet on the snow covered ground, the redhead groaned in annoyance. “Why did I agree to this again?” She stared at Hayden who was just looking around cautiously. “What are we even doing again?”

The young man sighed, “I told you just five minutes ago that we’re going to investigate one of the underground areas.” He stopped near a weirdly shaped pile of snow and kneeled down. “You don’t have to help, just sit back while I do the work. I’m only bringing you because Mother said so.” Digging his hand through the pile and tugging on something, opening a steel door leading to an underground room.

This suddenly peaked the woman’s interest as she was the first one to enter it, to Hayden’s protest of course. “Heck yeah! A secret room!” Examining the room eagerly, she huffed disappointingly upon realizing that it was practically a modern office with a fridge, bathroom and a bed. “Oh come one!” She exclaimed loudly. “At least have a naughty magazine damn it!”

Closing the entrance after walking in and going over to her, Hayden began looking around. “I did warn you that it’ll be boring.” Walking up to the old fashioned computer and pressing a few buttons, he gestured to the bulky device. “Here, I put a game on for you. Play while I look.”

Already on the chair in front of the computer, she eagerly played whatever game he had put on for her. “Heck yeah! Prepare to die, zombies.” She cackled loudly as her baby brother looked around the small bunker. The quietness being broken by the electronic sound effects from the computer.

Hayden chuckled “Never took you for a video game person.” He asked before tearing the bed.

“When I get the chance I play, Mother isn’t a fan of modern technology and doesn’t allow things like game consoles in our home.” Daniela groaned in annoyance after getting killed in game. “Some of our victims have such devices and we play with them a bit before Mother destroys them. She can be very lame sometimes.”

Opening the fridge door and riffling through it, secretly nibbling on the edible snacks in there. “Wow that’s sad, maybe we should try to convince her.” Hayden closed the door and walked over the desk, going through the drawers. “And if that fails, I’m good at finding hidden places.”

Daniela giggled “Oh I would love to see you try to do that, she has a thing for knowing all of her castle’s room.”

“Still worth a shot.” Hayden went back to the bed and lifted it up.

Rolling her eyes, the woman replied. “Okay than.” She smiled.

It only took about an hour for Daniela to get bored of the game and groaned loudly, “Uuuuuuugh! This is boring.” Leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling, she noticed the vents and began thinking. “You think they’ll hide stuff in vents?”

Putting down the bed and dusting himself, Hayden walked over to her. “I mean I guess so.” He looked up at where she was staring and crossed his arms, the vent door was too small for him to fit in and he knew that. “You need a lift?”

Sliding off the chair and standing up, she gestured him to come closer. “Yeah, give me a lift.” She let Hayden come close to her and hop onto his shoulders, gently lifting the crate up she looked inside.

The first thing Daniela saw upon peaking her head was a small device with a beeping red light on it, “Hay-” Before she could finish herself, she got tugged down close to Hayden’s chest before hearing an ear piercing explosion.

When she opened her eyes all she could see was fur, ashy blonde fur. Her body felt tight from being squeezed closed and her left leg stinging like hell just like her nose, she could only smell her own blood.

She felt herself getting dragged, hearing a croaky distorted voice quietly calling her name. She could’ve sworn it sounded like Hayden, she couldn’t be fully sure as she lost consciousness again.

___

Daniela finished retelling what she could remember to her mother and sisters. “And I guess that’s it.” She said before eating a small piece of meat, her face frowning a bit. It wasn’t fully clear, but Alcina felt as if Daniela could’ve felt guilty about Hayden being harmed from protecting her. She didn’t need to express this as her other daughters teased her about it.

“So Hayden’s finally growing on you.” Cassandra asked with a grin before getting a pillow thrown in the face as a response.

“Well now she has too because he nearly got his whole back destroyed.” Bela added before getting a soft punch in the chest by Daniela.

“Calm down, girls.” Alcina added before speaking more. “So from what we know now, these huts have emergency bombs in them. I just hope they don’t send signals out, that’ll just be icing to the annoying cake.”

Laying down on her bed and stretching, Daniela scratched her stomach. “Eh, if they come we’ll just eat them.”

Alcina got up off the seat and sighed “Well the main thing right now is that you’re okay.” She walked over to the door. “Now rest up, I’ll go check up on Hayden.” She said before walking out of the room and closing the door, leaving the three alone.

___

Standing at the doorway of Hayden’s bedroom, Alcina watched as two of the maidens tended to Hayden’s wounds. Removing old bandages and applying the needed medicine before wrapping him back up, she was thankful that the maidens were gentle.

After they were done and packed up, one maiden left while the other, Claire, stayed. The brunette moved the young man’s head up to remove the pillow and fluffed it up before putting it back under his head. She even made sure he was in a breathable position giving that he was resting on his front, the Mistress appreciated it deeply.

Turning to the Mistress and bowing, Claire went to walk out of the room but stopped to say something. “His breathing is at a normal pace and I’ve noticed his eyelids moving a bit, He’ll most likely wake up later today.”

Alcina smiled at Claire as she left, it was now only her and Hayden. Closing the door and grabbing a chair, she sat next to the sleeping man and watched his back move from his steady breathing.

“You’ve saved one of my daughters and are left unconscious in bed again, Hayden.” She let out a soft chuckle. “It better not be a pattern, patterns like this never end good.” Stroking his hair, the Mistress began humming softly.

She continued humming for a while before slowly coming to a stop, leaning in close to his face moving his fringe out of the way, she planted her lips on his forehead. “Rest well, sweetie.” The Mistress stood up off the chair and left the room, making sure to close the door for his privacy.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

What about “All right, I see what you’re trying to do, but it’s not gonna work" and “If you don’t open up that door on the count of three, I will start huffing and puffing!” with Jack and Race just being bros? Maybe something like Jack's super down lately and Race has to snap him out of it? Promise your next request is almost done lol

There’s cursing in here.

July 2019

The door slammed as Race and Kat looked up from their conversation. Race often dropped by the house to see his big brother and Kat. “Jack? Race is here.”

His shoes hit the bench before Jack made his way through the hallway to the bedroom, door slamming behind him, silence in his wake.  Kat looked at Race, eyebrows raised as she got off the couch and headed to the bedroom door. Opening it quietly, she poked her head in, seeing Jack laying face down on the bed. Padding over to the bed, she sunk into bed beside Jack, running her hand through his hair. “You doing alright?”

“Shit day at work. I just want to be alone.” Jack’s voice was muffled, looking over his shoulder at Kat. “I’m alright Kat. Just a tough day.” 

Leaning over, she pressed a kiss to his forehead nodding. “I love you. I’ll give you some time but Race will come check up on you later, okay?”

He nodded, sighing. She pushed herself off the bed before walking to the door, shutting it gently behind her. Sighing, she walked to the living room to rejoin Race, him looking up at her with concern on his face. “He had a shit day at work. I told him that I’d give him some time but you’d be in a little bit to check up on him.” 

Race nodded, wringing his hands together. “Did he give any indications on what happened?” 

“No, he just mentioned that it was a shit day and that he wanted to be alone.” Kat said, giving him a sad look.

He bit his lip, looking at his sister-in-law. “What do we do?” 

“That’s the hardest question you could’ve asked me.” Kat said, leaning back against the couch. “But I guess we love him and be there for him.” 

The silence hung heavy in the room as they were both lost in their own thoughts. Race sighed, throwing his head back against the couch as Kat patted his back in sympathy. A lot was packed into that pat on his back. 

Several minutes later, Race pushed himself off the couch, heading to the closed door, only to realize that it was locked. A swift knock on the door went unanswered. “Jack . . . come on, open up.” 

He felt a presence behind him, quickly looking over his shoulder to see Kat standing there. “Jackie, open up.” 

The other side of the door was quiet as Race laid a hand against the wooden door. A loud sigh escaped his mouth before a grin slid across his face. “If you don’t open up that door on the count of three, I will start huffing and puffing!”

“One . . . two . . . th-” Before he could finish saying three, the door was ripped opened and a red-eyed Jack was staring back at him. 

“Can’t a guy have some alone time?” He roared, looking between his wife and younger brother. 

Race’s lips slid into a grin. “Nope. Now let’s get you tucked into bed and you can tell us all about your horrible, no good, very bad day.” 

Race carefully took Jack’s arm, guiding him back to the bed before toeing off his shoes and joining him in the middle of the king size bed. As soon as Race was settled, Jack’s head was on his shoulder and a shuttered sigh escaped Jack’s mouth. Kat joined the two on the bed as Jack laced his fingers with hers. “Today sucked.”

“I’m sorry that it did.” Race quipped. “Wanna tell us why it sucked?” 

Jack sucked in a haggered breath. “I was in Brooklyn at the hospital with a reporter as they are doing a big story on healthcare workers. I was only there as the photographer. We were heading out to grab lunch when several ambulances pulled up and stretchers started being pushed into the emergency room.”

Kat started rubbing Jack’s back as his voice cracked. Race ran his hand through Jack’s already messy hair. “You don’t have to tell us if it’s too hard, Jack. You’re safe now.” 

He shook his head, taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “There were several kids who were burnt and bruised from a fire that happened a couple of streets over from the hospital. Their cries were just awful and painful and just brought up a bunch of memories.” 

“Oh Jack … I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But like Race said, you’re safe now.” Kat said, pressing a kiss to his cheek and squeezing his hand. 

Jack nodded, pressing a sad smile to his lips. “Thank you. You both are making it a bit easier. And nicely done with the huffing and puffing.” 

“Of course. It’s worked many times in the past, thought it would work now.” Race grinned hearing a chuckle from Jack. 

“Why do I feel like I’ve missed something?” Kat asked, looking between the two men. 

They both laughed. “Because you did. We used to do that to Romeo when he would lock himself in a room at Medda’s. Race figured out how to get him out by saying that. If I remember, Smalls would do it on occasion too.”

 “Romeo would get so upset that he would lock himself in a room or the bathroom to sort things about.” Race smiled. “But we only had to threaten to take the doors off once and that was with Smalls.” 

Kat smiled, seeing the easygoingness on her husband’s face. “I’m sure Medda would’ve loved you taking her doors off.” 

“If it was to get Smalls out, she would’ve loved us.” Race smiled. “Just glad the threat was enough.” 

Jack nodded, looking between the two of them. “All right, I see what you’re trying to do, but it’s not gonna work.” 

“No, you’re not going to instantly forget today. It’ll stay with you for a while but you can’t let it consume you.” Kat smiled sadly. “You’re such a great man Jack.  Your feelings and emotions is one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”

Race looked at Kat. “Watch it, you’re going to make him cry.”

“I’m not going to cry.” Jack said, shoulder bumping Race with a grin. “And leave my sentimental wife alone.”

Race watched, Jack lean over and kiss Kat with a smile on his face. Jack looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. “What are you lookin’ at?” 

“Just you bein’ sweet with you girl, Jackie.” Race grinned. “You two are cute and you know it.” 

Jack smiled. “Like you’ ain’t sweet with Conlon?” 

“I’m not denying that I can be sweet with Spot. Hell, I brought him flowers the other day just because.” Race grinned. “But I’m going to get out of your hair so that you can be sweet on your girl, Jackie. Glad you’re feeling better.”

Holding out his hand, Race clasped his hand with Jack’s before leaning over and kissing Kat’s cheek. “Love you Racer. Thanks for coming over.”

“Anytime. Love you too.” Race smiled at both of them before leaving the house, leaving the two of them alone. 

Thank you @deliciouspeachpirate for requesting this. Feedback would be wonderful! 

[yibuo]

UMMM I would love to know what exactly happened with xnine too if you know??

i didn’t know how to answer this without hating on long danni but... that’s not possible when you’re talking about xnine

CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG IN ANY WAY @ DIMPLES AND CFANS

tldr ceo addicted to producing survival shows realizes boy group is incapable of feeding her fat rabbit because of her OWN mismanagement and throws them away (literally? probably not, maybe, idk)

HOLY SHIT THIS BECAME RLY LONG IM BEGGING KEEP READING TO WORK LO LOL LOL

long danni= wjjw company ceo

wjjw=company that xnine, xz, r1se, etc are under

huo mala: fat company rabbit that WILL give u nightmares goodness gracious thinking about him sends chills down my spine

alright so long danni (ldn i will refer to her) & ee media along w/ tencent and sm made the survival show x-fire... the premise of xfire was that 16 contestants split into two different teams (white and red) and then at the end it would boil down to each team having 4 members and the winning team would debut as a group called xfire...but wait...the group’s name is xnine? so out of red team (peng chuyue, baishu, xiao zhan, xia zhiguang) and white team(wu jiacheng, gu jiacheng, zhao lei, and guo zifan) white team won...and they unofficially debuted as xfire..went abroad to train yadda yadda yadda and then a few months later, TELL ME WHY LONG DANNI DECIDES TO RELEASE POLLS TO LET FANS VOTE IN 5 MEMBERS INTO XFIRE TO CREATE XNINE! ldn PLEASE if u wanted to rig the show you should’ve decided in the beginning what was the point of making the teams and the fans fight against each other...

so yeah xz and crew weren’t actually supposed to debut according to show rules...i mean i’m glad they debuted obviously bc x9 is x9 but ee media and frickin ldn couldve handled this better...like every member except chen molerat is amazing and great but....WHY DIDNT MaNAGEMENT NOT BLATANTLY RIG THEM INTO THE GROUP

but also thank u ldn for also letting us get to know the 4 guys who were added n not chen molerat <3 but like DO UR JOB PROPERLY

anyway the polls were RIGGED obviously thanks ldn what did u expect out of making POLLS, and xiao zhan, peng chuyue, xia zhiguang, yan xujia, and chen z*** were added to the group to create xnine...talk about rigged when chen z*** the molerat lookin turdface misogynist was added... anyway at the time he wasnt known to be problematic but ya the whole rigging thing caused a whole rift esp when x9 debuted bc there were fanwars and death threats initially but xfire did well because it was one of the (if not only) survival shows at that time and x9 debuted w/ a good response etc

then they got moved to wjjw (still owned by ldn thanks ldn) and wjjw is known for hoarding artists and not promoting them (THEY HAVE LIKE 45 ARTISTS BUT WERE FORMED 3 YEARS AGO MAKE IT MAKE SENSE) and not being promoted properly was EXACTLY what happened to xnine. as idols what they needed was music promotions, variety shows, etc stuff to get them as people out there but this genius ldn decided to promote them through stupid zodiac dramas like super star academy (to promote xfire finalists) and oh my emperor (which was an xnine drama). now i haven’t watched OME, but SSA gave me enough brain rot and gunk for me to not watch OME. (the only person who could act was baishu), and the story was SO BAD. nevermind the acting, because the boys weren’t initially slated to be actors, but the story was horrible, girl without superpowers suddenly becomes white cult goddess at the end??? WHAT???????? why didn’t ldn just promote them normally !!!!!! are they an actor group or an idol group???? I LOVE XNINE, THEY ARE TALENTED ARTISTS !!!! and eventually some went into acting (xz, guo zifan, gu jiacheng) BUT WAS THAT THE TIME DLFNJNF and then they just kept getting sent into random dramas and movies as random side characters instead of being able to make music and promote????? i’m sorry i’ve been stuck on using dramas to promote x9 for a while because that’s such a SILLY IDEA *vigorously shakes head* 

ldn knows how to do survival shows but she doesn’t know how to promote her artists thanks ldn. xnine has so much talented, we know xiao zhan is a great singer, but other main vocalists like wu jiacheng, zhao lei, and peng chuyue are amazing as welll, here’s me plugging this video of zl and pcy performing their self-written song on produce camp because it’s the most beautiful thing ever

-oh yeah somewhere in here insert chen molerat getting outed as a pedo misogynist cheater by his gf who still has the audacity to have xnine in his weibo name because xnine starting to get popular gtfo rat lookin ass i WILL barf, when we say ot8 xnine we mean xnine w/o chen toadratass but sometimes ppl think it’s xnine minus xz which is untrue-

they also have talented rappers (gu jiacheng yan xujia) and dancers (xia zhiguang guo zifan) like xia zhiguang can end me with his spinning flying kick thing and i WILL let him 

so YEAH !! TALENT that went to waste because wjjw gave them weird random hiatuses and kept pushing them as actors??? seriously what is with this actor stuff...so that’s why they debuted in 2016 and have very little discography to their name because wjjw just gave up...trying to promote them GOD thank u so much ldn for ur incomptency <3333 xnine had members in diff stages of life (ranging from xz who was born in 91, to yan xujia born in 2001, they were all close tho soo cute) and wjjw really was like nope we’re not gonna try to promote yall’s dreams of becoming singers on the stage because they couldn’t add 34783473 pounds to fat huo mala’s weight

so ya a lot of people are like omg wjjw hates xiao zhan!!! ya no they hate all of xnine but now xz is bringing enough money to make huo mala even fatter so good for huo mala i guess /s

also rumors and any bad media? lol wjjw doesn’t care they do a shit job at handling bad things too WHAT A WELLROUNDED COMPANY

OH ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW THYE HAD 3 DAYS TO PREPARE FOR A CONCERT???????????? WHAT????????? wjjw u mfs

anyway to summarize my rants above wjjw did  a SHIT job of promoting xnine as idols when the boys worked so hard and wjjw kept tryna push them to acting bye (some of them can’t act and literally don’t WANT TO ACT HHHSFLNF), wjjw is also horrible at letting all of the xnine members shine when as i mentioned before, they’re ALL TALENTED!!!! and then they just gave up on xnine somewhere in 2017-2018... ok anyway so is xnine disbanded? no although some may say their last concert in dec 2018 was their last concert ever they’re not disbanded

xiao zhan , gu jiacheng, and guo zifan went into acting

wu jiachang is focusing on his music etc (he was actually the first member of xnine i came across when i watched the collaboration/cyzj in 2018...yes carats this is That wu jiacheng!!!) MAN CAN SING

peng chuyue, zhao lei, xia zhiguang, yan xujia all went on produce camp 2019 (aNOTHER SURVIVAL SHOW BC THEY WANTED TO BE ON THE MF STAGE BC THATS WHY THEYRE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE WJJW) along w/ fellow labelmates zhou zhennan and zhai xiao wen ... and everyone but peng chuyue made it to the final 11 spots and got to debut in the group r1se...UNFORTUNATELY ALSO UNDER WJJW HELP SEND HELP

if they’re in r1se does that mean they quit xnine? no! they’re in both that’s just how survival shows work it’s kind of weird

peng chuyue recently released a song and it’s really good and you can’t not tell me that it’s gay here it is

anyway xnine hasn’t disbanded!! the X玖少年团 (xnine) in the non-r1se members’ weibo names say that loud n clear!!! and when the r1se members from xnine won produce camp 2019, they all made xnine signs SO XNINE IS ALIVE and they do keep in contact!!

why haven’t we seen blatant public interactions btwen xiao zhan and the xnine members? because some frickin annoying xz solo stans/xfx claim that the other members use xz for popularity (HELLO??????? IN WHAT WORLD DOES THAT MAKE SENSE HALF OF THEM R LITERALLY HIS KIDS BUT OK) 

anyway in conclusion wjjw doesn’t know how to promote any of their artists, thus screwing over xnine members and making them go on a group hiatus where they focus on acting/singing/r1se for r1se members but they are very much xnine as of now !!!

here’s some REALLY GOOD RESOURCES to follow xnine bc as an ifan it’s mf hard

-xnine slideshow

-xnine faq

-xnine eng sub channel by yuer

-all of that content i listed above was made/subbed by one person and she is the queen of uhh...xnine international fandom outreach (????) how do i word it but she’s been subbing and spreading xnine long before xiao zhan’s popularity skyrocketed so go follow her for updates and memes here

-xnine intl fanbase twt and tumblr

-and here’s this twt account with dumb pics of xnine because why not

also i’m pretty sure there’s a wip video explaining x9′s history being created (by yuer because queen) so when that’s posted i’ll rb this and post it here

also here’s this video dragging wjjw

[letsmellowjello]

Wars and Weddings

Pairings: Poe Dameron x Reader

Warnings: maybe two slightly suggestive jokes, but other than that it’s all fluff

Summary: Weddings and proposals. There isn’t much else to say

Notes: The idea for this fic came to me while listening to the Locura De Marzo 2019 playlist (specifically Cásate Conmigo by Silvestre Dangond and Nicky Jam). Keep in mind that everything with the clothes is highly unrealistic, but I just happen to like dressing people up a little too much. ALSO I can’t say I’m a fan of all the Rey-Finn stuff, it’s really just to take up space honestly. I apologize for the bad gif quality.

Masterlist ~ Prompt/Request

Where the Resistance found so many dresses and suits you had no idea. Maybe from a hijacked merchandise transport or really fashion conscious First Order ship. Whatever it was, you were grateful for the occasion to be wearing anything other than a flight suit or some other Resistance provided clothing. The strapless tulle dress you wore reached your ankles and was a pale periwinkle. Serious relationships rarely worked out in the Resistance, never mind weddings. Yet here you were, getting ready to go to the wedding of one of your close friends.

There really wasn’t supposed to be an actual celebration or anything, but the timing had worked out perfectly with a major win happening two days before. So the event was kind of a combined wedding and success party. 

You glanced in the mirror once more before hearing a knock on the door. You opened it to reveal a very dressed up Poe. His hair was slicked back but still retained the majority of its curl which you loved oh so much. He wore a black dress shirt and pants with a matching leather jacket. As soon as he saw you he was taken aback.

“Y/n- woah you’re gorgeous.” His eyes swept over you, taking you all in. This was the first time he had ever seen you all dolled up, something which he wouldn’t mind seeing again.

“Oh please,” You brushed off the compliment but your ears still turned red with embarrassment. “How am I supposed to keep my cool around you all night with you lookin’ like that?”

“I don’t know, maybe you shouldn’t try to.” Poe grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at you suggestively, to which you just laughed and hit his chest lightly.

“Alright, lets get going. We don’t want to be too late.” Your door slid shut behind you and you set off down the hallway.

“Lead the way, captain.” You linked arms and walked through base towards where the wedding was to be held like one of those gorgeous power couples that everybody wants to be like.

The door opened and you were greeted by such a lovely sight. It was a gorgeous night on D’Quar. The air was warm but not too humid and there was a light breeze passing through base. Everybody had gotten together to set up a fabulous space. The regular generic folding chairs were decorated with various flora and arranged in two columns with a space down the center. There were fairy lights ringing the area and everybody there looked amazing.

You and Poe took your seats towards the front next to your other friends. As the bride made her way down the aisle in a makeshift wedding dress as everybody ‘oohed’ and ‘ahed’. You gripped Poe’s arm tightly all throughout the ceremony. Everything was so beautiful and heartwarming. The Resistance rarely ever saw pure happiness and joy like this, so by the end of the ceremony many people were crying.

Soon it ended and people began filling out of their seats to help clear the area and flip in into the reception area. You lugged chairs around and helped people carry in tables. You often times got a glimpse at Poe who was also helping out with the setup, he would catch your eye and send you a wink which would then cause your ears to be consumed in a blush.

“Oh you are so whipped, y/n” Rey teased from beside you. “You two have been dating for ages, where’s the ring?”

“The ring?” You were confused by her question but then you understood. “Oh no no, we’re not getting married. At least not now. We both agreed a little while ago that marriage wouldn’t be the best thing right now, at least for us. For Vurn and Jane it’s great, but they both work on base so they’re not putting their lives in danger everyday by flying into battle. Don’t get me wrong,” you added quickly, “I love Poe very much and I’d love to marry him, it’s just that the timing is a bit off.”

“No yeah, I get it.” Rey nodded with understanding but her attention was soon drawn over your shoulder. “Speak of the devil, you’ve got incoming.”

“Wha- oh!” A pair of arms circled your waist suddenly.

“Hello ladies!” Poe grinned as he rested his chin on your shoulder. He had brought Finn over as well who was making shy glances at Rey. “What are we talking about?”

“Oh nothing, don’t worry about it.” You stumbled over your words a little bit, suddenly not ready for the question.

“Come on,” he whined. “Secret secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone!”

“Oh be quiet you baby, we were talking about your fat ass” Rey chided teasingly.

“Don’t you know it!” Poe turned around and wiggled his hips a little bit before turning back laughing. He was always great at playing those sorts of things off. You could be good at it too sometimes, but with Poe it was a reflex.

“We don’t, but I bet y/n does,” Finn grinned. If your face wasn’t red before then it was scarlet now. Your friends laughed and Poe did a couple more suggestive dance moves.

“Ugh stop stop! We’re at a wedding, not a strip club!” You couldn’t keep a smile from making its way onto your face. It had been a long time since you were all able to just hang out and have fun without worrying about some looming attack, it was nice.

Once the setup for the reception was finished and someone had taken over the role of dj, people started to file out in pairs to the dance floor. You danced and ate with your friends and generally just had a really good time.

“So y/n...” Rey started as the two of you danced together on the dance floor, “you know how we; you- me, Poe, and Finn- have all been friends for a long time and how you and Poe have been dating for ages?”

“Yes? What’s on your mind Rey?” 

“Well I wasn’t really thinking about it until recently, but I think I might kind of like Finn.”

“You WHAT??” You practically screamed in excitement at the news.

“Shhh shhh, not so loud.”

“Sorry sorry. You like Finn?” You asked in a much quieter voice. “That’s amazing Rey!”

“Yeah well I’m not so sure he feels the same way-”

“Are you serious?” You cut her off with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. “He’s enamored with you. Every spare second he has he’s looking at you.”

“Are you sure? He’s seems to be really close with Rose.”

“Trust me, you should shoot your shot. Oh! We should all go on a double date sometime!”

“Who are we going on a double date with?” Poe and Finn had come up behind the two of you.

Rey’s face began to redden so you decided to cover for her, “Oh I don’t know, I was just talking with Rey about how that might be fun thing to do sometime with another couple.”

“I see, yeah I’d be down.” He grinned and then slid a hand around your waist. “Rey, do you mind if I steal my girlfriend away for a minute?”

“Not at all.” Just before you let Poe lead you away, you gave Rey a little nudge towards Finn and an encouraging smile. You walked with Poe to the edge of the area and through a little garden archway thing that gave way to a much smaller space. It had no lights of its own so it was only illuminated by the moon and by the lights of the main reception space.

“Poe this is gorgeous.” 

“Dance with me?” He put his hands on your waist as you rested yours on his shoulders and swayed back and forth to the dulled music and laughter that floated over from the party. “I have to tell you something.” He said after a moment of comfortable silence.

“Oh?” You perked up in curiosity.

“But you can’t tell Rey, ok?” 

“What is it?” You were slightly suspicious now. He never asked you to keep things from Rey, you told each other everything and he knew it.

“Finn likes Rey. A lot.”

“AHA I knew it!”

“Wha- you did?”

“Of course you idiot! It was so obvious! But now I have something to tell you.” Poe leaned closely in curiosity. “Rey likes Finn.”

“She does? Thank the stars! Now we won’t have to watch them struggle to flirt with each other anymore. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to listen to Finn go on and on about her!” You both laughed as you drifted around in circles together in the little area. After your laughter died down, neither of you spoke and instead you rested together in a comfortable silence just listening to the far away sounds of the ongoing party. You rested your head on his chest and could feel his steady heartbeat through his shirt.

“Hey y/n?” He spoke after a moment.

“Hmm?” You hummed.

“Will you marry me?” His voice was barely a whisper but you heard it well enough to cause the world to stop spinning.

“I know we said that we would wait until after the war and everything, but if Vurn and Jane can do it then why can’t we? It wouldn’t even need to be a big thing. We could have Leia officiate and-”

“Yes.” You cut him off.

“But- wait really?” He was caught off guard by your response.

“Poe Dameron, nothing would make me happier than marrying you.”

“Oh good, because I really didn’t want to break up just because you might not have been ready.” He breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled. He reached around to the back of his neck and unclasped the chain that his mother’s ring hung from and clasped it around your neck. “I love you, y/n. More than you’ll ever know.” 

You looked down at the ring now resting against your sternum. “I love you, Poe Dameron to each and every star in the galaxy and back.” 

The moment was electric. But not the dangerous kind that splits trees in half, or the lustful kind that is present for every one night stand. It was the kind of electric magnetism that draws two people in close to one another and connects them together. Poe pulled you in at the waist and kissed you softly with his entire mind, body, and soul.

“So, when do you want to get married?”

“Oh I don’t know, how about next week? It doesn’t even need to be big or anything. Just you, me, Leia, and our friends.”

“That sounds lovely.”

~~~

Taglist: @umpoedameron

[skywlkrr]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆

———  𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙸𝙲𝚂! 

(PEN)NAME:    allie

PRONOUNS:    she / her

ZODIAC SIGN:     libra/scorpio cusp

TAKEN OR SINGLE:     i ain’t lookin so

———  𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴  𝙵𝙰𝙲𝚃𝚂! 

i am currently working towards my second undergrad degree.

i went through an incredible weight loss journey in 2019. i lost 100 lbs that year and my mental/physical health was the best it had been in years. 2020 has been rough and i put on more weight again. but i’m hoping to break out of the bad habits i started back up again and get back to where i was at the end of my journey!

i am 6′1″. a true amazon. 

———  𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴!

god, i’ve rped for the longest time. i probably started when i was like... 13? then i started rping on tumblr in like... idk 2012 or something like that. i took a long ass break from tumblr during college due to my growing anxiety and paranoia. i rped outside of tumblr though. and now i’m finally back here rping my favorite, dumb jedi. 

———  𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴  𝙿𝚁𝙴𝙵𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴!

arrogant, cocky, kind, warm hearted heroes. so like, anakin. but there are others that kind of fall into that category that i like. i usually tend to play muses that are really good pilots too????? idk if that’s like a preference or just a weird coincidence but whatever. i usually choose male muses. every once in a while a female, but i’d say the ratio is like 90% male and 10% female. 

———  𝙵𝙻𝚄𝙵𝙵 / 𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚂𝚃 / 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃!    

FLUFF:   i mean, i like fluff. but only if it’s kept short and not dragged out. i tend to get bored if it drags on longer than it needs to. but i’m also the kind of mun who will gush about fluffy stuff ooc lmao

ANGST:  god tier stuff. perfect food. can’t get enough of it. 

SMUT:     hmm, i only do smut with other muns i trust completely. i’m not good at smut and i’m not interested in doing it for the sake of doing it. our muses have to have a deep connection. 

PLOT / MEMES:    god i love memes. they’re nice for little bursts of writing or just kind of throwing an idea up in the air and seeing if it sticks. i usually prefer memes over plotting. i’m not very good at plotting and i don’t really like planning shit out in detail. makes the thread seem dry. and i’m just an awkward person, i just kind of *vague gestures* when it comes to plotting. i also really love random starters. it’s a great way to just jump in the water and test writing styles with other muns and muses. 

tagged by: @jaigcaptain​ //  jc, i luv u and tysm! tagging: @jediwish​ @hamadaxfighter​ @volatilekyber​​ @fhett​ @lightwanders​ and whoever would like to!

[path-of-my-childhood]

1. "Red" is endlessly listenable, thoroughly enjoyable, and includes some of the best lyrics written this entire decade by anyone.

"It's all the different ways that you have to say goodbye to someone," Swift told Billboard about the concept for the album. "Every different kind of missing someone, every kind of loss - it all sounds different to me."

When the album came out, critics' main gripe with it was that it wasn't "sonically cohesive." With all due respect to those critics, they missed the point completely. The way that there is no "signature sound" to "Red" lends to its masterpiece status. With every addition of an acoustic guitar or dubstep wobble, Swift gives each inflection of her pain a different sound. She brilliantly laid out this album to showcase all the ways that love and loss can be messy, while simultaneously pointing out all the different types of beauty within that mess.

Opener "State of Grace" sets the scene with a pulsing drum beat, embracing the "worthwhile fight" of a relationship, while acknowledging that love can be a "ruthless game." The devastation hasn't happened yet; instead, it's a new beginning for something great. Of course, that all comes crashing down on the second track, "Red," when Swift hits her metaphorical and lyrical dead-end - but something great is still yet to come, it's just not in the form of true love.

The titular track begins Swift's journey of missing her ex-lover, which she explores further on the pop-rock "I Knew You Were Trouble," where she realizes "the blame is on me," and "All Too Well," Swift's opus and the centerpiece for the entire album.

"All Too Well" is "full of killer moments: the way she sings 'refrigerator,' the way she spits out the consonants of 'crumpled-up piece of paper,' the way she chews up three 'all's in a row,'" Rob Sheffield wrote about the track for Rolling Stone. "No other song does such a stellar job of showing off her ability to blow up a trivial little detail into a legendary heartache."

But missing someone isn't always sad, as evidenced by "Holy Ground," which, like "All Too Well," reflects on a relationship. But where "All Too Well" focuses on how much it hurts to miss someone, "Holy Ground" deals with how much better off you were for having that relationship in the first place with an upbeat, thumping beat and lyrics like "And darlin', it was good / Never lookin' down / And right there where we stood / Was holy ground."

Finally, the album closes with "Begin Again," a promise that after all that heartache, love will find a way to rear its messy head in your life once more.

So yes, "Red" may not have a "signature sound," but it does have a "signature feeling." The album is made to feel as if you've lost yourself before finally finding your way back home; it's a feeling that, even seven years after the album's release, listeners still know all too well - and are better off for it.

13. "1989" solidified Taylor Swift as a pop queen.

Swift has been divisive amongst audiences for most of her 13-year-long career, but in 2014, the general public came together to recognize her as a stellar pop musician - largely due to her fifth studio album, "1989."

The '80s synth-infused album was a smash before it was even released; the lead single, "Shake It Off," was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA before the album's release, and went on to become Swift's biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit to date, staying on the chart for 50 consecutive weeks.

"1989" brought about some of Swift's best songs ever, including the satirical track "Blank Space," the perfect bridge on "Out of the Woods," and the atmospheric, "Clean," that is easily the holy grail among Swift's closing tracks. "Style," has even been described as a "transcendent experience" by Ahlgrim, who put the track at No. 29 on Insider's list of the 113 best songs of the 2010s.

"Lyrically, Swift has rarely been more in control. Each winking detail has been carefully chosen; each image is precisely painted. The song's narrative builds and smolders, gradually, until the climactic lament ('Take me home!') blows it all wide open," she wrote about the track. "The moment feels like an explosion, or a rebirth. That euphoric uncertainty is the whole point."

In a way, this is exactly what makes "1989" in its entirety so wonderful - it's just as lyrically clever as any of her previous country albums, while feeling like Swift's (first) rebirth as an artist. Swift's career would certainly come into uncertainty after 2016, but man, was this era euphoric.

[babywonderlandwerewolf]

Frank’s hints on season 3 part 3

Onto the hints from November 2019:

fanboy2006 asked: Is the Blot in DuckTales still called the Phantom Blot?

Frank’s answer: Yes, but because he seeks to blot out phantoms.

drummergirl231 asked: Will everyone at McDuck Manor have their own main enemy who's involved with F.O.W.L.?

Frank’s answer: Sorrrt of…

animator320-deactivated20200207 asked: More Gibbous in Season 3?

Frank’s answer: More Gibbous in Season 3.

sleaveheralone asked: Who will Daisy interact the most（other than Donald）?

Frank’s answer: Spoilers. (it’s gonna be Della, called it!)

sleaveheralone asked: Is the reason why Scrooge hates Santa stupid or serious（objectively）

Frank’s answer: Serious.

cartoons4ever77 asked: How does Scrooge feel about hippies?

Frank’s answer: Spoilers. (shown in The Lost Harp of Mervana)

saturngears asked: how did duckworth die?

Frank’s answer: Kinda spoilers? (probably FOWL had something to do with it)

sleaveheralone asked: Who will Rockerduck interact with the most?

Frank’s answer: Jeeves.

animatedminds asked: Music fan question! With the other Disney Afternoon series coming in, are we going to get bits of their music too, like all the references to Darkwing's theme and ending songs?

Frank’s answer: Dom Lewis is very talented and frequently delightful.

wickedboy619 asked: Of all the kids on the show now, who would Gosalyn most likely hang out with?

Frank’s answer: Dewey.

i-am-marcus-pines asked: Why age up kit and molly instead of having them be kids in the series ( im not against it im just curious)?

Frank’s answer: To our minds, TaleSpin was always a period piece, so it made sense to have the events of that show take place in the past.

ellylou3 asked: Will Daisy be in more than one episode?

Frank’s answer: Yes

mai-fanblog asked: Will any characters use Gladstone's good luck in season three?

Frank’s answer: Hm. Sort of.

saturngears asked: can we have an ooc quote for gandra?

Frank’s answer: “Yeah, this guy seems REAL judgment free.”

animator320-deactivated20200207 asked: Will B.O.Y.D. meet any other villains aside from Doofus and Beaks? (We know that he probably knows some villains from the party such as Glomgold and some of the Beagles, and God knows if Percival P. Peppington’s a villain or not)

Frank’s answer: Yep. (it’s Dr. Akita from Astro BOYD)

ginger-s-n-a-p asked: Will Selene and Della hang out this season?

Frank’s answer: Yep

sleaveheralone asked: An out of context Daisy spoiler?

Frank’s answer: Has a dream. (likely the Hear My Voice sequence from Louie’s Eleven)

sleaveheralone asked: An out of context Phantom Blot quote?

Frank’s answer: “It’s not strong enough!”

beaglelover62 asked: Will Magica and Lena face off with each other again in S3?

Frank’s answer: Almost certainly.

maximumlightcolor asked: Ooc gosalyn spoiler??

Frank’s answer: Is a badass.

sleaveheralone asked: An out of context Scrooge quote?

Frank’s answer: “Get away from my claim, ya gut burglar!” (I bet it’s from the upcoming Christmas episode)

emeraldshine13 asked: Did Webby ever eat that hamburger?

Frank’s answer: Spoilers.

sleaveheralone asked: Did we already meet the character Scrooge looked up to?

Frank’s answer: Nope!

grandrunawaywonderland asked: Assuming Gladstone and/or Magica will feature in season 3, I was wondering if there’s any chance of these two interacting?

Frank’s answer: Heh.

sleaveheralone asked: Who will Goldie interact the mist with in season 3?

Frank’s answer: Scrooge

sleaveheralone asked: Who will Scrooge interact the most with in season 3?

Frank’s answer: Everybody.

wingster21 asked: Can we expect an episode where it’s just the original adventurers in Scrooge, Della and Donald?

Frank’s answer: You can expect a lot of things.

entrapdak24 asked: FRANK JUST SAY ONE THING ONEEE NEW THING ABOUT PENUMBRA IM BEGGING YOU

Frank’s answer: Does not care for coffee.

wurmmies asked: ooc Rockerduck spoiler

Frank’s answer: Ain’t lookin great these days.

henke37 asked: Who will meet Daisy first, Donald or Della?

Frank’s answer: Donald. (Louie’s Eleven confirms it)

helescrythor asked: Sibling squabbles between Don and Della are confirmed. Will there also be tearjerking moments between the two?

Frank’s answer: I mean, I teared up over them last week. But I’m a softie.

veryman asked: If Donald didn't know Mrs. Beakly was a spy why did Della?

Frank’s answer: Spoilers.

goldiejake11 asked: Who is the first to suspect F.O.W.L involvement?

Frank’s answer: Hahahaha, I wish I could tell you. I love the answer to this so much.

sleaveheralone asked: What will Rockerduck be after in season 3?

Frank’s answer: REVENGE!

alongdwdfan asked: Frank. Will we meet any Asian characters besides Toad Liu Hai and Ziyi?

Frank’s answer: Yep

heroanalysis asked: How did Glomgold get interested in sharks? Why does he like them?

Frank’s answer: Spoilers.

arrias-the-enigmatical asked: OOC Santa quote, please.

Frank’s answer: “Oh, by gosh…by golly…”

drummergirl231 asked: Are Huey and Violet gonna be mystery-solving besties like Dewey and Webby?

Frank’s answer: Nerp.

foster-cynical asked: Are we going to get any good Louie and Webby interactions in season 3? I like their dynamic

Frank’s answer: Yerp

naughtydog148 asked: Will we see more Angry Huey in Season 3?

Frank’s answer: Yerrrrp.

maximumlightcolor asked: Any characters that might get betrayed?

Frank’s answer: Yerp

literalfriend asked: What’s going to happen with the Gummi berry juice 👀

Frank’s answer: Spoilers

animator320-deactivated20200207 asked: Any vampires this season?

Frank’s answer: Maybe kinda

avengingducklord asked: Anime references?

Frank’s answer: One kinda big one for sure.

animator320-deactivated20200207 asked: How many episodes this season? Any 44-minute specials?

Frank’s answer: At least one.

beaglelover62 asked: Will we get more sweet "Webby helping Lena" moments?

Frank’s answer: Yes of course.

[cannebady]

Prompt: Aziraphale and Crowley reading reviews for the bookshop

Thank you for the prompt @captainclickycat!

In hindsight, Crowley isn't sure why he set the blasted thing up to begin with. It was, more than likely (read: most definitely), the result of quite an extraordinary amount of alcohol, because all of his best (read: worst) ideas have always started that way and why would this one be any different?

This one, evidently, was him setting up an official Yelp account for A.Z. Fell & Co., Antiquarian and Unusual Books located singularly in one London, Soho. He's sure that it'd seemed like it'd be a laugh riot at the time, though he's not entirely sure why, and he's sure that his sloshed self had been perfectly positive that Aziraphale would never even find the page so honestly what did it matter?

What his sozzled brain hadn't counted on was that, for all of his long and storied existence, he'd been the architect of his own irritations and, like the best of cosmic jokes, it seems that he would continue to be for the rest of bloody eternity.

First of all, he'd truly never thought that Aziraphale would acquire, much less actually use, a mobile phone. But, here in the after of the world that shouldn't have been, it seems that stranger things have truly happened. Of course it didn't help that he'd kept suggesting that Aziraphale get one and then, had gone so far as to actually present the angel with one, fully loaded. He just hadn't counted on the angel taking the blasted thing with his bright, shiny, sea-foam eyes, to which Crowley had no functional defenses, and then take to using it like a fish to water.

The second thing, that came on the tails of learning to use his mobile, was that Aziraphale discovered that he could look up restaurants wherever they were and didn't have to count on Crowley to do so. Additionally, there were reviews he could look at that were just, "So helpful Crowley! Look at these humans, inventing something so useful. They always have been wonderfully creative." Each word was imbued with absolutely heinous amounts of love and good will and Crowley was really just the worst demon there ever was, because he was so damn charmed by Aziraphale being charmed that he didn't put two-and-two together before it stuck him upside the head like a two-by-four.

---

"Crowley", Aziraphale whispered intently while Crowley was quite comfortably napping on the back room sofa.

Crowley tried to ignore it, he really did. He was so wonderfully comfortable and it really would be a shame to wake up. However, it's been established that he has fuck-all in terms of ability to deny Aziraphale anything, so of course he took the bait.

"Yes angel?", he replied, trying to infuse demonic levels of annoyance of nonchalance (read: sleepy, part-yawn, part-soft demon noises) into his tone.

"There are reviews, for the bookshop, on the Yelp!"

It takes Crowley a minute to catch up, because he's still not used to Aziraphale having internet access or knowing what something like Yelp is. He's about to wonder aloud what customer would actually be satisfied enough with Aziraphale's customer service skills to go so far as to write a review about it, before he realizes that he's the one who set up the account in the first place and promptly forgot.

"Wha, erm, what're they saying angel?" he asks, just a bit concerned that this might all be traced back to him.

Aziraphale scrolls down to the first review and Crowley comes up to read over his shoulder.

Marci S.

Soho, London, United Kingdom

2 Stars - 25/1/2020

"I've lived in Soho for years and finally decided to go in. The shop is in complete disarray, but the selection is great. I was satisfied until I actually tried to buy a book. The shopkeeper was icy, difficult, and downright combative. I left empty-handed. Not worth it."

Crowley cringes for a second, before Aziraphale huffs.

"Well, honestly, what did she expect? Hefting a first edition Austen around like that. Am I supposed to sell that to just anyone?" And Crowley wishes he wasn't so fucking impressed by Aziraphale's lack of propriety in these situations, but here he is, smiling like a loon.

"Oh, well of course. Why would she think she could buy a book in a book shop?" He gives a patented shit-eating grin which Aziraphale returns with an eye roll so well rehearsed it'd put Liz Lemon to shame.

"What else, angel?" Crowley asks because he's a glutton for punishment and he just loves that he still gets to rile Aziraphale up. That there's still a world where he can.

"Well, ah, here's another one." Aziraphale scrolls and lands on the next review which is, somehow worse.

Peter W.

Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom

1 Star - 22/12/2019

"Ponce of a shop owner wouldn't let me look at any of the rarer books. Been looking for a first edition Wilde for my son but the pansy wouldn't even let me near, real bastard he was."

Crowley can't help himself. Aziraphale is radiating righteous anger and looking more indignant by the second and it's just too good. Crowley's practical jokes never work out this well and he didn't even need to manufacture the reviews! A.Z. Fell & Co. has a 1.7 rating overall and he knows, he just knows, that every single one of those reviews are 100% honest.

Horribly, once he starts laughing, he can't quite stop. It takes the angel a second to realize that Crowley's breathy sounds aren't commiserating sounds of support but are rather poorly held back guffaws and he pulls out his best thin lipped glare and that's it, that's the end of Crowley's self control. He starts laughing in earnest, nearly bent over at the waist and feeling tears line his eyes, when he hears a truly irritated squawk leave Aziraphale's mouth.

He tries to speak through his bouts of laughter, "Oh, hah, angel, you-," he breaks off again, "you really are a bastard though." To which he receives a thunderous look, laced with millennia of angelic righteousness, a scathing, “Do shut up”, and a fussy turn that would've been a hair flip had Aziraphale had the hair to do so.

Aziraphale is manically scrolling before he stops and the air changes. If Crowley had been less filled with mirth, or had been less self-confident, he would've felt the change in tension. He would've realized that the specific change meant that Aziraphale had found exactly what he needed and that he was about to hand Crowley's arse to him for the 99 millionth time in their very long lives. But, as it was, Crowley was feeling far too chuffed for anything so fleeting as self-awareness.

When he finally looks back to the angel, planning a bit more gloating, he sees a carefully serene, calm smile reaching back, and his blood runs ice cold. This can't possibly be good.

"Well, how about this one, then?", he says and gestures for Crowley to read what's on the screen.

Naya L.

Lambeth, London, United Kingdom

4 Stars - 13/10/2019

"Mr. Fell is actually quite nice, if a bit fussy once you get to know him. He really knows his stuff. He let me use some of his original texts for my thesis. A bit odd, though, every time I went to do a bit more work or look at a new text, there was a man completely asleep, snoring, on the sofa. Weird look about him, sunglasses while indoors (even while sleeping?) and lots of black leather, definitely dyes his hair red. Looked a bit like a washed up rock star. Maybe a friend of Mr. Fell's? Either way, the selection is fantastic even if it smells a bit odd and seems a bit dingy."

Crowley's not laughing now. It takes a moment for him to register that the "indignant squawk" he heard was actually from his own mouth rather than the angel's.

"How dare she-, a washed up-, these are Valentino!"  He yells gesturing wildly towards his own face and the sunglasses that aren’t actually there at the moment, creating more of a chaotic flapping than any recognizable gesture. And now it's the angel's turn to stifle a giggle behind a well-manicured hand. "And I do not dye my hair! It's just like this! I'm a demon, remember?"

At this, Aziraphale starts making a sound that Crowley will respectfully refer to as cackling.  Of course, this was going just too well. And he clearly needed to stop kipping on the sofa as often as he did or it'd do awful things to his carefully crafted reputation.

"Oh, my dear, that's just divine” the angel says wiping an ancient handkerchief primly under his eyes. Crowley wants to be annoyed, and he is to some extent (he'll find bloody Naya L. and give her a piece of his mind, he will), but Aziraphale is just so happy and he's a true sucker for that laugh and that smile.

"M'not washed up, m'just retired."  Through the haze of exasperation, he realizes, perhaps for the first time, that he really is. Retired, a retired demon. That’s what he is. Aziraphale seems to realize it too, because his smile morphs from snide and down right bastardly to warm so quickly it gives Crowley emotional whiplash.

"Yes, I suppose we are, dear." The angel puts down the phone and herds Crowley toward the sofa where they can get comfortable; Aziraphale seated on the far end and Crowley's head comfortably pillowed in his lap, angelic fingers carding through his (definitely, absolutely not, dyed) hair.

Were either of them to look at Aziraphale's phone screen, they'd see the review just below Naya L., which read simply:

Damian R.

Soho, London, United Kingdom

5 Stars - 10/10/2019

"Can’t remember why I went in there in the first place but there was a huge snake. Just a real big snake, all black and red and gigantic. Just sitting in the bookshop, not sure why. Nice lookin snake overall tho. Would probably go back."