#Always watching. Always commenting. - Dash Commentary

[multimusing-to-friends]

| Looking at dash while I casually rough draft how chapter 4 happens with my Poppy Playtime muses: Preach it Dogday.

[its-all-papaya]

heyyyy there has been a ~buzz~ on the dash with all the landoscar + children content this week and it feels like a good time to remind the tag that I’ve got a ~70k driver!oscar / single dad!lando fic in the works, hopefully dropping towards the end of this month. wanted to give you all a little snippet AND start a tag list for when i post the first chapter so :,) comment if you’d like to be tagged when this debuts ! and enjoy, hopefully, a peek at dad lando:

“Uncle Max!” she props one hand on Lando’s knee while she points with the other at the McLaren. It’s not, obviously, but she can’t tell helmets apart and he never really has the heart to point out when she’s right or wrong about whose car is whose. He finds he sort of wants to, though, as he watches Oscar edge closer, start nibbling at the margin. It’s an odd feeling. It doesn’t matter, she doesn’t know the difference and won’t until someone’s standing on the podium, but it spins in Lando’s belly all the same. But then, he’s never really given a second thought to Max’s teammate, never really cared where they finished. Not when it was Danny, and not about Oscar until now.

It isn’t on the straight that Oscar makes the move. It’s on the exit. A beautiful, smooth glide around the racing line until he’s clear through the corner. Lando watches his name marker swap places in the standings with Sainz’ and the feeling in his stomach blooms into something near to what he probably would feel if it were Max. Different, though. Pride, probably, but also a twisty category of excitement, a little embarrassing, a little thrill. Like a crush, Lando’s stupid brain supplies, even though he most definitely did not ask.

“He did it!” Emma’s clapping, looking up at Lando to affirm her excitement.

“He did!” Lando bumps knuckles with her when she offers. Oscar did it, he thinks

McLaren undercuts. Ferrari pushes Leclerc too far on mediums. With less than three laps to go, Lando watches Oscar slip around on the outside, and a handful of minutes later, he watches both papaya cars follow Verstappen to the checkered flag – 2-3, a double podium.

Emma cheers over the commentary on the cool-down, all the way into parc fermé, when the podium sitters start climbing out of their cars. Lando’s heart is beating hard again for reasons he does not care to examine, and he’s more than a little distracted from whatever Emma’s saying about the finish.

“Daddy,” she plants both hands on his thigh and rocks her weight back and forth. Her voice is bordering on whiny, so Lando snaps his focus back where it belongs and blinks at her.

“What, baby?”

“He’s three?” little fingers up again, always.

“Yeah,” Lando nods, eyes back on the screen. Oscar’s working on his helmet, tugging the strap, and Lando remembers with stunning clarity the way those fingers had burned in his brain for no logical reason a week ago. Oscar’s just through pulling his balaclava off when Max appears from the side of the screen to clap his hand in congratulations, and Lando realizes- “Wait, no,” he covers Emma’s hands with one of his own, “Uncle Max is two, Em, he got ahead of the Ferrari. Sorry.”

“Oh,” she sucks her lip into her mouth for a second ahead of a grin, “Oh! Two is better!”

“Yep,” Lando looks down at her again, forcing his brain to cooperate for both of their sakes, “Two is really good. He’s gonna be really happy."

[serasfanfiction]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3| Part 4 | Part 5| Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

CW: For Valentino being Valentino. He doesn't do anything, but he does say some things.

oOo

The closer they came to V Tower, the more loud everything became.

Paper posters gave way to bulletin boards. Every street was lit with flashing signs and arrows, pointing the way to different businesses down the main strip. Advertisements were nearly plastered on every single available surface, competing with each other in a cacophony of bright colors and promises to make all of one's troubles go away, if only one bought the product.

Sinners wandered the streets, some glued to their phones as they typed out a text message, watched a video, or shouted at someone on the other end of a phone call. Some sinners loitered around various shops selling televisions, each screen showing an advertisement for the latest gadget VoxTek was selling.

The Vees made it ridiculously easy to learn their faces, as none of the trio were shy about plastering their likeness all over their wares. Vox was clearly unafraid to throw his reputation behind anything he supported, one advertisement proclaiming, "I'd buy it." Valentino left nothing to the imagination - figurative or literally - on what he was selling, with various larger than life posters that featured the moth scantily clad and in suggestive poses. Velvette was significantly more reserved, in comparison, with only a billboard advertising her perfume, named, Love Potion.

Quite frankly speaking, it was all a bit overstimulating.

Walking nonchalantly at his side, Alastor barely gave any of bombastic sights around him a second glance. He had made little commentary since they had set out from the hotel earlier in the day, falling silent as they had entered the Vees territory. Where all of this technology was practically invented yesterday, as far as Lucifer was concerned, Alastor had lived on Earth when most of the technology around them was still in its infancy stages. Advertising, likewise, was hardly new. Humans had been shouting at each other to buy this or to buy that since they'd first come up with the idea of selling a product. They may not have had flashing lights in the 1920s or 30s, but there had been posters, billboards, and radio ads.

Modern technology just made everything more... flashy.

Lucifer watched a group of sinners standing before an electronic shop, TVs stacked up in the window. Each TV was showing the same thing: an advertisement for the latest cell phone. He was a little surprised he still cared enough to be sickened as Vox straight up hypnotized the viewers into buying the phone. He shook his head in disgust a they passed group turned mob making a mad dash into the store. "Quite the salesman, Vox is," Lucifer commented, not trying to hide his judgmental tone.

Alastor snorted. He glanced at the group scampering out with their new cell phones as he drawled, "Vox has always had a... persuasive sales pitch."

It was Lucifer's turn to snort as they passed another poster of Vox, this time just the overlord and his VoxTech logo. His ever present slogan, Trust Us, curved around the logo. "You mean he hypnotizes people into doing what he wants." It was good to know in advance. No one had ever tried to hypnotize the Devil himself before and he wasn't keen to find out if it was possible.

"Hm," Alastor hummed in agreement. "Just so."

V Tower was easy to spot, even with all the noise going on in the background. The number of surveillance cameras also began to increase the closer they got to the trio's headquarters. Lucifer eyed one as it followed their trek down the street. "So much for keeping our arrival a surprise."

The redhead smirked, obviously pleased about something. Sing song, he assured, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

The blonde sighed. He was walking right into it, he knew he was. He was going to do it anyway, because damn his curiosity. "Oh?"

Alastor twirled his staff around his fingers like a baton. "All the cameras we've passed so far have been laughably easy to take out." With a practiced hand, he caught the staff, it's tip pointing at the offending camera. As they passed it, the little button on the side of it blinked from green to red. "Vox isn't paying attention to his little toys. Dear me, he must be away from his surveillance room."

Lucifer squinted at the camera dubiously. "You can tell we're not being watched, by, what? The camera not coming back on?"

Alastor laughed, short and cutting. "Oh, it's more than lack of interaction." He leaned in close, as if he were parting with a juicy secret. "I can tell when Vox is watching." His smile was sharp and cruel and said everything about how pathetic he found the overlord in question. "His attention has a certain... desperation to it."

Lucifer wasn't certain which part of all of that to focus on first: the fact that apparently Vox had flat out stalked Alastor to the point Alastor knew when he was being watched or the fact that Alastor clearly found the whole thing hilarious.

Father, these sinner could be fucked up sometimes.

Lucifer grinned, unable to pass up the opportunity he'd just been handed to needle the deer demon. "Didn't do much about the camera that recorded the fight."

Alastor's expression soured around the edges. His ears flattened as he resumed his previous position, snide as he pointed out, "Yes, well, I was a bit distracted by doing all the work. You should try joining in next time."

Alastor hadn't let him get involved in any of the attacks, insistent that he had everything covered, and they both knew it. Lucifer had let him because he always half hoped someone would kill the asshole.

Lucifer let the conversation drop with little more than a roll of his eyes, his mind drifting as he processed this new information. If Alastor could indeed tell when Vox was watching (which, creepy) and had been surprised by one of the attacks being filmed, one could infer that Vox was keeping the hotel under a certain level of constant surveillance.

After returning from their day out, he had hauled himself up in his room as he scoured the news for mention of any attacks. Had tracked down the news reports Rosie had mentioned. There had only been a number written reports and many more reposted written reports, with a single video dedicated to the subject. The video itself contained footage from the first attack, despite the news articles having all been posted fairly recently. Judging from the general comments under the articles and the video, few people were interested in the hotel itself beyond wanting to know if it still stood or not.

They had been lucky the fight had forced the drone to retreat or risk being destroyed. Distance had rendered the video quality poor enough his bleeding hand wasn't visible for all of Hell to see. Everyone already knew angels could be harmed, killed even. It wouldn't do for anyone to get it into their pretty little heads that angel weapons might work on him or Charlie, however.

(Lucifer tried not to think about the main image he had seen, again and again, in those news articles. Tried not to think about how reverent Alastor had looked like as he reached his hand out to the Devil, as if he were the only God the sinner would ever be able to touch. The framing of the image had made it appear like it was something so different than it had really been.)

Light pressure on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts. Out of the corner of his view, he caught Alastor withdrawing the hand he'd used to get his attention. It was a good thing he had, as it took a second for the sensor above the door to register their presence and trigger the door to open. He could only imagine what the media would have thought if a camera had caught Lucifer running right into the front doors of V Tower while lost in thought.

They stepped through the doors into a lobby themed in oranges and reds with purple accents. Hearts were definitely a motif, accenting arches and their support columns. Purple lanterns dotted every other column, more decoration than function. Lucifer took in the additional advertisements, some on the walls, some on a-frames. A large, flat screen tv displayed the VoxTek logo, but there was nothing currently playing on it.

There were a number of employees dotted around the lobby. A sheep sinner carrying a precarious stack of tablets raced off in one direction, while a horned rabbit sinner ran in another direction with an armful of clothing. A trio of sinners loitered off to the side, whispering back in forth in a frantic, hushed argument about what sounded like bottom lines and stocks. Near the back of the lobby, a blue and yellow sinner shouted about "messy actors" and "shitty wardrobes" as he frantically slammed his finger into the up button of the elevator.

At the center of the lobby, themed similar to the surrounding columns, was a welcome desk, currently being run by a white haired, fuchsia skinned sinner. Her tiny bat wings fluttered and drooped as she fielded calls. Distracted as she was, she failed to notice anyone had entered the lobby until Alastor and Lucifer had already reached the desk.

"One moment, please," she said to them, showing that she had at least noticed they were there. "Now where did Velvette say she wanted her calls sent to today...?" She bit her lip, finger hovering over one of a quite frankly insane number of optional extensions. Her eyes darted back and forth between two of them, before she shrugged and for all intents and purposes flat out guessed which one to send the line to. "Thank you for waiting," she said in a practiced, albeit polite monotone. "How may I... help..." She trailed off as she finally laid eyes on who had walked into the lobby, eyes going wide. She gaped as she recognized Lucifer but went completely blank as she took in Alastor's presence. The blonde was fairly certain that if he could read minds there wouldn't have been a single thought going through her head at that moment.

Lucifer fixed an equally practiced polite smile on his face. "Excuse me, miss," he began, only to pause when she failed to regain her senses, apparently still too flabbergasted by his companion. Brow twitching, he rapped his knuckles sharply upon the marble surface of the desk.

The noise seemed to do the trick, the sinner snapping out of her trance to jerk her head around. "Yes! Um." She swallowed, casting one last nervous glance at the Radio Demon. Between looking at Alastor and looking back at Lucifer, he could see her clawing her professional mask back on with the kind of experience that came from needing to remain calm when one's life was on the line. "How may I help you, sirs?" Her voice didn't even shake a little.

Noting the reaction and shelving the topic for later, Lucifer said, "Please let Vox know we are here to speak with him."

The sinner blinked, disbelief clear as day on her face despite her best efforts not to show it. "You..." Lucifer had the distinct impression the 'you' here was Alastor, even if she wasn't looking directly at him. "Wish to speak with... Vox?" Her tone suggested that had she not been speaking with Lucifer Morningstar, the literal king of Hell, she might have asked him if he was smoking something.

The noise, or lack there of, reached his ears. The general hustle and bustle of when they had entered had completely died down to be replaced by whispers and murmurs. Even without turning, he could feel all eyes on them. Lucifer glanced at Alastor, whose Cheshire Cat grin suggested he was internally laughing at all the fuss his being here was causing. His ears flicked to and fro as he followed different conversations.

Smile fixed in place, he affirmed, "Yup!" He waggled his fingers in the direction of her phone. "Now, please."

The receptionist stared off into the middle distance, the same blank look in her eyes he'd seen on soldier's who'd died at war. In the fatalistic tone of someone who didn't expect to have a job (or possibly be alive) in the morning, she said, "Whelp, this job sucked anyway."

Someone, a little too loudly, stage whispered, "Oh, I would not want to be in her shoes, right now."

Without turning, the receptionist flipped the person off with one hand while picking up the phone with the other. She pressed a seemingly random button as she put the receiver to her ear, a down right manic smile crossed her face.

Lucifer (and likely everyone in the lobby, as well) could tell the instant the phone was answered on the other end. A voice that matched the one's he'd heard in the advertisements bellowed, "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT INTERUPTING MY MEETINGS?"

Taking advantage of the fact that it sounded like Vox was a sinner who needed to breathe on occasion, the woman said, voice picture perfect cheerful, "The King of Hell and the Radio Demon are here to see you, sir."

A very long, audible pause, both on the phone and from the lobby around them. Then, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN ALASTOR'S HERE??"

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the redhead, incredulous. Seriously? What kind of history did these two have that Alastor showing up at V Tower was causing this kind of fuss? It was almost enough to make him forget he had been totally overlooked in that last statement.

Around them, every camera in the lobby suddenly came to life, zeroing in on them. Lucifer could tell by their synchronous motion, someone was likely watching them. Alastor's whole posture changed as he turned on one of the cameras, head tilted just so and smile lazy as he waved at it.

As one, those very same cameras began to sizzle and pop as they were all taken out.

Lucifer noted the redhead looked far too pleased with himself for that to have been anything other than deliberate. He knew Alastor hated being recorded, but that was just petty. Turning his attention to the receptionist, it was only because of his heightened sense of hearing that he was able to hear Vox, voice considerably more in control and at a much more reasonable volume, telling her to send them down.

"At once, sir." She set the phone down at leisure, as if she hadn't just had her eardrums tested by her boss shouting in them. Still looking at something only she could see, she said, "Vox will see you now." She pointed behind her to a set of elevators. "Please use the elevator on the right, as this is the only elevator with access to Vox's personal office." Placing her hands on the desk in a deceptively casual way, she finished, "Please have a hellish rest of your day."

"You, too," Lucifer said on reflex. He watched her as they made their way around the desk, throwing glances over his shoulder after they'd passed it. Under his breath, he asked of Alastor, "Think the hotel needs a receptionist?"

They had a front desk, didn't they? And a land line? Maybe? There was no mail service in Hell and Alastor had to get communications somehow, seeing as he refused to touch anything more modern than a radio. He'd check on it when he got back.

"Ha!" Alastor side eyed him. "Come now, your Majesty, you don't want poor Husker to be out of a job, do you?"

Lucifer belatedly remembered that apparently Husk doubled as not just their bartender, but also as their receptionist. He guffawed. One the one hand, Husk was indeed an great bartender, even willing to be a patient ear for one's troubles, if he tolerated them. He was certainly an exceptional judge of someone's character. On the other, was he a good receptionist? No offense meant to the avian feline in question, but, not in the slightest.

Lucifer added the mental note to check in on the receptionist later to his growing list of things to do.

The elevator opened without them pressing any buttons, suggesting that Vox, the creep, had other ways of keeping tabs on them. Lucifer and Alastor stepped in, the former not thrilled with how tiny the elevator was. There was just enough room for the both of them to stand side by side with little to spare. Insult to injury, the most obnoxious elevator music he had ever had the displeasure to have inflicted on him played over head. There were no buttons to chose from, but there seemed to be none needed as the elevator began its decent on it's own.

Lucifer reiterated: what a creep.

More to fill the silence and distract himself from the growing need to destroy the speaker putting out that horrible noise, he asked, "You ever been here before?"

In the same way most people would say, 'I'd rather die, thanks,' Alastor scoffed. "Absolutely not! I'd never inflict such poor company on myself willingly." Still, it wasn't hard to notice the little ways Alastor was on high alert, very much aware of the fact that he had walked willingly into enemy territory. His ego didn't allow him to worry, but it still paid to be alert to potential surprises.

Thankfully, the elevator didn't take long before reaching its destination. This new room was vast, with a color scheme nothing like the lobby's. Where the lobby was warm shades of orange, red and purple, this room was all cool shades of blue, red, white. The room was dark, only illuminates by dozens upon dozens of screens, most glowing with white light, a handful with red light. Red light filtered up from what appeared to be a deep pit surrounding a bridge-like walkway. Attached at the end was a round platform and attached to the platform was a seat surrounded by even more monitors.

This wasn't an office. This was a surveillance room.

Walking down the walkway was none other than the founder of VoxTek, Vox himself, striding along with all the confidence of someone who was at the top of their industry and knew it. His smile was wide and Lucifer immediately pegged it as the fake kind he usually saw on car salesmen. "Your Highness! Welcome!" Vox greeted. When he was close enough, he offered his hand out for a handshake.

Lucifer eyed it, just long enough to make it look like he wasn't going to take it. He didn't expect anyone to actually bow to him in greeting, but something about this guy left him half tempted to push for it now. Taking the hand, he allowed Vox to shake it to be polite.

When it came time to greet Alastor, the TV demon merely gritted his teeth and said, voice dripping with venom, "Alastor."

Alastor didn't appear bothered in the least by the rude greeting. Matching vitriol with amusement, he merely said, "Vox."

Lucifer looked from Vox, to Alastor, and then back to Vox. Man, he was so sorry he hadn't asked for more details on these two before they'd gotten here. Predicting this could go on a while if they were left to their own devises, Lucifer pointedly cleared his throat.

Vox's smile smoothed out, salesman mask back on place. "Yes, of course. Now, your highness," the sinner held out his hand towards the bridge, indicating he'd like them to come into his "office" proper. Lucifer didn't fail to notice there was only one seat down that way and it was meant for Vox. "May I call you Lucifer? Lucifer--"

Oh, absolutely not. They were going to have to nip that in the bud. Even Alastor, who had somehow become his rival for his place in his daughter's life and literally lived down the hall from him, was smart enough not to call him by name.

"The word you're looking for is 'Majesty'."

Vox paused, body tensing. The fallen angel got the impression he wasn't used to being interrupted. "Excuse me?"

Lucifer effected a bored stance, one hand settled on his cane as he explained, deliberately just this side of hostile, "Your Highness is how you would address my daughter." He looked Vox dead in the eye, making it pointedly clear he was deadly serious and there was going to be none of this BS about who was calling the shots. "Your Majesty is how you address your king."

Vox interestingly grew more calm in the face of his king's ire. "Of course, your Majesty," he said, immediately correcting course. He offered they move the conversation to the platform again. This time, Lucifer nodded. He followed as Vox lead the way, noting how the TV demon never quite turned his back on them, seemingly uneasy having Alastor at his back, even this deep into what was his own territory.

Lucifer took the time spent crossing the bridge to exam the pit around them. While the red light obscured the bottom itself, he was able to make out what appeared to be a very large tank behind equally large glass walls. Swimming around without a care in the world were what appeared to be several glowing sharks. He followed one as it made its way from one side of the pit to the other, able to sense there was nothing natural in their design. These creatures may have appeared to be alive, but they were all circuits and wires, through and through.

When they reached the platform, Vox showed sense by not going for his chair. He did stop in the center of the circle, a subtle attempt to regain some control of the situation. "Now, your Majesty," he began, just sincere enough it was impossible to tell if it was fake or not. "Please, tell me how I and VoxTek can be of assistance today."

Lucifer watched him. Watched the way his face was turned to Lucifer, but his eyes kept ticking to Alastor. Noted the way his body was tilted ever so slightly in the redhead's direction, as if drawn by a magnet he couldn't resist. Vox may have been putting on a show of talking to Lucifer, but he very much only had eyes for Alastor.

Someone was obsessed.

Someone was obsessed really badly.

Something that felt suspiciously like possessiveness reared its head deep within his chest. Lucifer had no more of a claim on Alastor than Vox did, but Alastor had chosen to live under his roof and was his daughter's hotelier. Finicky to the last, with all the loyalty of a feral, stray cat, Alastor was theirs.

Smile all teeth, eyes gold on red, Lucifer raised his free hand until they were right under where Vox's nose would be if he had one. He snapped his fingers, once, twice, sharply.

Vox nearly went cross-eyed, as he zeroed in on the offending digits, leaning slightly back.

"I know Alastor is very eye catching," Lucifer drawled, voice deepening as he let his displeasure seep in. "But you are talking to me. Do you understand?"

The TV demon had the grace to raise his hands, not necessarily in surrender, but certainly in a pacifying manner. It was easy to see him cycling through possible responses, as he fished for the one that would deescalate the situation the fastest. "I apologize, you Majesty, for any offense," he settled on, tone so polite it reeked of falseness.

Lucifer let him have it because it seemed Vox was finally cottoning on to the fact that there was a larger predator in the room then either of the two sinners. The reluctant king withdrew a step, pleased when Vox's eyes followed him, with not a single glance at Alastor. Now that he had the CEO's full attention, he decided it was time to get this show on the road. "I have a message for everyone in the Pride Ring. I've noticed how many people have a TV or a cellphone. I've also noticed VoxTek's reach." Lucifer said this last part only because it was true. However they had managed it, VoxTek has even managed to make it's way into the other rings.

For the first time since they'd arrived, Vox's smile actually appeared real. It put into stark light how fake the one he had been wearing up until this moment had been. "We would be thrilled to feature you on one of our television shows, your Majesty." He was smart enough not to look at Alastor, although it was obvious the next part was directed towards him. "Our viewership ratings have been going through the roof over the last few years. Statistics show that almost every household in the Pentagram City has a TV these days."

It was a good sales pitch. It might even have been true. The hotel had even had a TV, although Lucifer had explicitly forbidden anyone from bringing one into the palace, the exception being the live-in servants' personal quarters. Regardless, Vox hadn't said that to try and sale anyone on anything, he'd said it to rub it in Alastor's face that Lucifer had chosen to pass his message along over Vox's medium, instead of Alastor's.

Although they hadn't discussed it ahead of time, Lucifer found himself saying, in all the casualness of it having been a given, "If Alastor wishes to broadcast the message simultaneously over radio for our viewers who prefer the medium, he's more than welcome to do so, but we're not here to discuss that." He was fairly certain, even without turning around, that Alastor hadn't given it away that this was news to him.

The idea was reinforced by the way that Vox's eye twitched before he could regain control over it. "Yes, of course we want it to reach all of the intended audiences." Hands coming to rest at the small of his back, the TV demon attempted to steer them back on course. "Now, about the content of the message."

Lucifer tilted his head to the side. "Does it matter what the content is? Unless you prefer I go somewhere else to do this." Something that was also true. Mammon may lack any talent of his own, but he knew a cash grab when he saw one. He jumped onto the bandwagon that was television sets, TV shows, and moving advertisements as soon as the technology had hit Hell. The only reason none of his products where seen in the Pride Ring was because Lucifer limited his exposure to sinners were ever he could. If he gave him the green light, Mammon would topple VoxTek within a matter of months, if not less.

Vox paused, sensing he was in troubled waters, but not quite sure from which direction. "No, no. We here at VoxTek simply prefer to make sure that all the content we put out is content we stand by--"

Lucifer leaned in. If his tail were out, it would have been thrashing. "Are you saying your king could say anything VoxTek wouldn't support?"

Vox's screen left eye widened ever so slightly, the sclera going from a solid red, to more hypnotic red and black. It was there and gone in the blink of his eyes. His voice sounded glitchy as he gritted out a, "No."

"May I suggest something, your Majesty?"

Lucifer broke off what was quickly becoming a staring match with Vox to turn his attention to Alastor. The redheaded sinner had been standing behind him, seemingly content to watch the drama unfold from the side as Lucifer took the lead. Considering their rivalry, Lucifer was a little hesitant to allow Alastor to enter the fray, lest he potentially make things worse. However, he did appreciate the fact that these two knew each other better than he knew either of them.

Giving away the floor, at least for now, Lucifer gave a single short nod, for him to proceed.

Alastor stepped up until they were side by side.

Unable to resist now that the redhead had center stage, Vox immediately shifted to face him, Lucifer all but forgotten. He frowned, almost all pretenses of being a businessman all but thrown out the window. "What are you doing here, Alastor?" He snipped at the redhead. "I know you'll take any opportunity to move up in Hell, but I didn't take you as a kiss ass."

Alastor smiled at him, as if he were a short sighted child. "We hadn't gotten to that part, have we?" He gave his staff a little spin, noting the way Vox's eyes narrowed as he took in it's repaired state. "His Majesty asked me to stand with him as he gave his address."

Vox snorted, doubtful. "You'd never agree to appearing on screen." He actually started to laugh at the idea, until he realized Alastor was completely serious. "Wait, you said yes?" Gaping, he turned on Lucifer, seeming in his shock to forget who he was talking to. "What the hell did you do to get him to agree to show up on TV?" He glared back and forth between then, baring his teeth as he asked, "What, are you two fucking or something?"

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, lip curling back. In one fell swoop, Vox had just reduced himself to less than scum on the bottom of his boots. The only reason they were continuing this conversation was because he didn't feel like dragging Valentino down to the Greed Ring. "Maybe you just don't know how to speak his language," he snipped back, mouth moving before he could think about what he was saying or how much it gave away.

Before Vox could think too deeply on it, the redhead cleared his throat. For all that he preferred to be an unseen voice on the radio, Alastor did how to play his audience in person. "Let me sweeten the deal," he said, his hand running down the pole of his staff, eyeing the TV demon as he did so. "If you agree to broadcast our King's message, I'll do that one little thing you wanted me to do when you asked me to join you." He pointed the microphone end at Vox, the tip perilously close to his screen. "From when you agree to the end of the broadcast."

Vox stared at the microphone. Slowly, he raised his eyes until he met Alastor's. Something that looked suspiciously like sadness peaked through his anger, although Lucifer was certain they weren't supposed to see it. "You'd really do that. For him?"

Alastor withdrew his staff, tucking it under his arm. With his free hand, he reached out until a single claw rested under Lucifer's chin. Encouraging him to look up at him, Lucifer let Alastor tilt his head up and around to meet that fond expression on the redhead's face. "As his Majesty said, he knows how to speak my language."

Vox's eyes widened, a dawning expression coming over him. Real horror followed shortly behind it. "Holy shit," he whispered, staggering back. Lucifer tore his gaze away from Alastor's just in time to see him drop into his chair as if his strings had been cut. Dragging a hand down his face, Vox said with absolute certainty, "You actually made a Faustian Bargain."

He said it like this was his worst nightmare came to life.

Beside him, Alastor practically radiated smug triumph. It was all the affirmation he needed to give.

All of the fight hadn't been been cut from Vox just yet. Unhappy as he was with this set back, Vox was already trying to figure out how spin this in his favor. An elbow resting on each arm of his chair, the knuckles of his joined hands pressed to his lips, he countered, "Alright, Alastor does his thing and I'll broadcast whatever you want." His grin took up most of his screen, all pretenses of friendliness dropped. "Give me an hour to prepare the studio for you."

Before Vox could run off, Lucifer placed one last little condition on him. "Vox. Make sure the other Vees are in attendance." At the TV demon's questioning tilt of his head, the blonde merely said, "I wouldn't want anyone to miss my message."

Whatever Vox thought of this was hidden behind his joined hands. Instead of bothering with any of the usual ways out of the room, Vox transformed into a bolt of electricity, disappearing into one of the monitors.

Silence descended over the room. Then, "You two have history."

Alastor snorted. "You know how to use your eyes, your Majesty. I'm impressed."

Lucifer ignored the sarcasm and the insult in favor of observing his companion. The redhead's brows were furrowed with concentration, eyes closed and the very air around him warped to a noticeable degree. To Lucifer, a creature who had existed before physical matter, picking up on the way Alastor was enhancing certain electromagnetic waves around him was child's play. Hoping to kill two birds with one stone - learning more about their shared history while figuring out what the sinner was doing - the little king gave into his curiosity and asked, "What did Vox want you to do?"

Alastor didn't answer for a moment, whatever he was doing taking quite a bit of his concentration. Lucifer patiently waited him out. Several minutes ticked by with nothing by the hum of the monitors and the swimming of the sharks to keep him occupied. Cracking open a single eye a slit, Alastor reached a point in whatever he was doing where he could split his attention. Lucifer noted the pupil of the visible eye was a dial.

"Do you know how the technology in that silly little device in your pocket works?" Alastor asked by way of response.

The only things Lucifer tended to carry on his person were his cane, which was in his hand, and his cellphone, in case Charlie tried to call him (rare that it was). His cellphone, which was indeed in his pocket. Fishing it out, he eyed it. He knew it worked. He knew how to work it. Did he really need to know more? Besides, it wasn't one of VoxTek's cellphones, which made him less wary of it. Confused as to where this was going, he said, "It works, isn't that all that matters?"

"Such a pedestrian response." Alastor hummed, his microphone coming over to point at the little device. "You device works because it's able to transmit data via radio waves." He used his staff to gesture to the room around them, his eye falling shut now that he no longer needed to see to engage in the conversation. "Vox's specialty is electricity. He can interact with anything that uses it."

Lucifer remembered the way the TV demon had disappeared into his monitor, a chill running down his spine as he imagined what all else he could likely interact with.

"Radio waves, on the other hand, are my specialty," Alastor continued. This fit with what Lucifer had observed both in the current moment and back at the radio tower. "Usually I simply use them to connect myself to any radio in Pentagram City, but I can also enhance them." His edges of his smile tightened. There was no strain in his posture, but Lucifer was suspicious they might see hints of it if this carried on too long. "When Vox wanted to introduce wireless technology to Hell, he suggested that we team up. He would create the technology and the demand, and I would enhance his reach." His expression sharpened into a sneer. "I had no interest in being a mere tool in elevating him to the top."

Judging from the short interaction he'd observed, Lucifer was suspicious Vox had wanted much more than just to use Alastor as a tool. Vox had done little to hide the depth of his anger and hatred, and no one reached that level of emotion without having swung in the opposite direction first. Lucifer wondered if Alastor had really turned Vox down because of his own lust for power or if Alastor had seen the way Vox had looked at him and hadn't been interested.

Since that question was more likely to shut down the conversation then receive an answer, resigned himself to never knowing. Either way, he supposed he should be happy that Alastor had turned Vox down. Lucifer didn't want to think about what they could have accomplished if they had somehow found a way to work together.

Instead, he went with, "So, you can interact with anything that receives radio waves, then. Not just radios?"

In response, his cell phone dinged. The screen lit up to the lock screen, showing he had a new text message. Though it should be improbable, there was nothing in the place of a sender's name. Lucifer silently frowned at it, suspicious of who was the sender, but unwilling to open anything he didn't know who it came from.

As if sensing his distrust, Alastor crooned, "Go on. I promise it's not spam."

Lucifer was still wary, but he unlocked his phone. If this was malicious ware, Alastor was getting him a new phone.

The text message was indeed not spam. When he opened it up, there were simply two words:

You suck!

Lucifer glared at the message. "So, what? How would this help Vox?"

Alastor wagged a finger at him. "I'm currently high jacking every TV and cellphone with it's WIFI turned on. 666 News has never been more popular than it is right now." He paused, as if searching for something. "I excluded most of the phones in the hotel, but I do have Angel's."

Lucifer whistled, giving credit where it was due. That was honestly incredible. Terrifying in it's reach, holy shit, but incredible. A thought crossed his mind, an unholy grin slowly spreading across his face as he wondered, "Wait, if I reply to this, will the message go straight to you?"

"Ha!" Alastor shook his head, using his microphone to bop the top of Lucifer's hat. An impressive feat, considering his eyes were still closed. "Sorry, but I'm merely a transmitter and an amplifier. My abilities don't work that way."

Lucifer straightened his hat, half tempted to try anyway, just to see if it were true. Perhaps he would another time.

He was interrupted from any further questions by one of the monitors coming to life over Vox's chair. A moment later, the sinner himself reentered the same way he had left. Vox settled back in his chair, legs crossed and significantly more calm than when he left. "The studio will be ready for you in half an hour." He glanced once at Alastor, who had opened his eyes upon the TV demon's return, before returning back to Lucifer. "Let's relocate there now, shall we?"

Lucifer nodded. Instead of leading them towards the elevator they'd come down in, Vox merely joined them in the center of the platform. It became apparent why when the very middle suddenly began to rise, revealing there was yet more ways in and out of the surveillance room. Once they were back in the lobby, he led them over to elevator on the left, only sticking with them long enough to press the button of the floor with the studio, before pulling back out of it. "I'll meet you up there."

The door closed, once again leaving just the two of them and that horrible elevator music.

Lucifer glanced at Alastor. He still looked fine, but he was definitely putting out a lot of power. Feeling concerned (Alastor had agreed to do this for him) and wary of insulting him, he asked, checking in, "You doing okay, still?"

Alastor's ear twitched, the widening of smile showing he wasn't insulted, but rather amused. "Oh, don't worry your little head, I'll be just fine, your Majesty." Eyes aglow with more than just the power it took to carry out his promise, he added, "But I expect a reward when we return to the Hotel."

Lucifer felt a jolt run up his spine. The chain around his neck didn't manifest, but he could feel it tightening ever so. Alastor was invoking their deal, officially giving him his 12 hour notice. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, as Alastor had yet to actually invoke the deal since making it with him. Tilting his head so his hat hid his expression from both Alastor and the camera's gaze, Lucifer grumbled, "Should have known you'd do nothing for free."

The doors to the elevator opened, illuminating the redhead's sinister grin. A few sinners had paused to catch a glimpse of them as the doors opened, only to pale at the expression on Alastor's face. They quickly scurried off to carry out their tasks. Lucifer stepped through the doors, taking in the chaos in front of him. Numerous demons were running around, similar to the frantic energy he'd seen in the lobby, everyone getting the studio ready. A stack of papers and angry shouting from a blonde woman in a red dress (what was her name? It started with a K) suggested that something else had been planned for this hour, but had been cancelled due to Lucifer's abrupt interruption.

Lucifer might have felt bad, if it weren't for the fact that he knew without a shadow of a doubt this particular reporter was likely going to find some way to verbally eviscerate him later. He may not have remembered her name, but he did remember her particular brand of cutthroat journalism and the outright nasty things she had said about his daughter in the past. And her casual abuse of her co-reporter.

As if sensing she was being watched, the reporter turned her head a full 180 degrees, her smile down right unhinged and full of promises.

Not for the first time since landing in Hell, Lucifer almost wished he was still capable of creating Holy Water. There were some situations one just needed a spray bottle full of the hard core stuff for.

"Your Majesty," Vox pipped up, appearing from seemingly nowhere. The only reason Lucifer didn't jump was because he was still caught in a glaring match with a literal reporter from Hell. "This way, please."

Lucifer carried on glaring at her, right up until he physically couldn't. "I don't care who you've got sitting with me, I don't want her anywhere near me."

Vox followed his gaze, snorting when he saw who he'd been making a stink eye at. "Oh, no worries." He turned his own glare on Alastor. "I'll be copiloting right along with you."

Lucifer took in the two chairs. If he was sitting in one and Vox in the other, Alastor was going to be left standing. Judging from the gleam in the TV demon's eye, this was on purpose. Vox pulled out the seat on the right, the malicious reporter's coworker's usual seat, a smile so fake one would have to be blind to think it sincere spread across his screen. "Just a few more finishing touches, and then we'll be ready to begin." He turned on his heel and disappeared back into the bowels of the studio.

Lucifer blinked down at the seat. He could already feel the sheer number of eyes from the people in the studio, watching and waiting to see what he was going to do next. This was the first time almost every single one of them had ever seen him in person. He already hated everything about this. It was more than enough to make him want to retreat back to his room at the hotel and not come out for the rest of the month.

A gentle brush, an almost tickle, against the back of his neck, the feeling almost shockingly intimate, startled him. He inhaled sharply, not having noticed that he had stopped breathing. Instinctively, he turned his back on the growing crowd, his hand coming up to half way, before he aborted the motion. Turning to face him, Lucifer noted that Alastor appeared to have not done anything, standing in that default pose he favored. The only reason Lucifer could tell it had been him that touched him was from the way the redhead was watching him.

"Smile, your Majesty," Alastor murmured, voice pitched low and soothing. "The hardest part is almost over. I'll be with you the whole time."

How out of sorts had he been that even the Radio Demon was taking pity on him? That the reassurance was a comfort?

Lucifer breathed in slowly through his nose, breathing out even slower through his mouth. His racing heart began to calm, as he reminded himself that he had taken on far more terrifying beings than a room full of nosey sinners. This was all for Charlie and the safety of her dream, and for that, he could handle anything.

He dropped into the offered chair, the anticipation of a battle falling over his shoulders like a weathered cape.

A door opened off to the side, one that he hadn't seen anyone coming and going through. Stepping through were none other than Valentino and Velvette themselves. Velvette was typing away on her phone, muttering about an interruption to her photo shoot.

Valentino paused as he caught sight of Lucifer and Alastor. "Oh! If it isn't papito, himself!" The grin spreading across his face and choice of wording caused the blonde's skin to crawl. Sauntering over, Valentino nearly draped himself over desk, bringing his and Lucifer's faces far too close together. "You wouldn't want to hang around after this little show for some one on one time, now would you, mi pequeño rey?"

Lucifer had barely managed to do more than lean back in his chair, trying to escape the heavy stench of smoke and hard drugs that hung around the Overlord like a second skin, when a weigh settled heavily on his shoulder. He glanced up, finding that Alastor had stepped up beside him, hand placed in such a way that it wrapped possessively around shoulder and was beginning to snake around the back of his neck.

"Valentino." Alastor's filter was grating, a warning despite his pleasant smile.

Valentino lazily blew out a thin pink, heart shaped mouth of smoke. It hit Alastor in the face. His smile was filthy as he gave the deer demon a once over. "Don't be jealous, venado, my offer is still open to you, too."

The static glitch of a record screeching. It wasn't hard to pick out Alastor's distaste with everything from the offer to the Overlord himself. "Pass," he quipped back, shotting down the offer with extreme prejudice.

The pimp shrugged, viewing it as his loss. He turned his attention back to his original target. "What do you say, papito? We could--."

"Val." Vox's voice was barely recognizable through whatever filter he was using, the noise causing Lucifer to flinch as it grated at his ears.

Valentino pouted, somehow making it look aggressive. "Vox, querido, what have I said about using that tone with me?" He twisted around in a way that accented his figure. "Don't be upset because the Radio Demon's already turned you down."

"The show is about to start, Val," Vox pointed out evenly and sternly, despite the dig. Lucifer was beginning to pick up that when it was anyone other than Alastor, the TV demon might actually be able to keep a cool head. "How do you think it will look if we don't start on time?"

Valentino's pout to edge in the direction of a normal pout. "Spoil sport." He leaned back until he was facing Lucifer. He reached out, running a single finger along the underside of the blonde's chin. "Call me if you change your mind." Offer made, he thankfully, finally got off the desk and made his way back over to Velvette.

Lucifer was going to take a long, hot shower when he got back to the hotel. With acid. Regrow some nice, new skin that Valentino had never touched.

Alastor pulled him from his thoughts, giving the back of his neck a squeeze. Lucifer was almost sad for the loss of contact when he pulled his hand away so he could resume his prior position.

From where he stood, Vox watched the two of them, his expression unreadable. Several minutely later, the blue and black themed sinner dropped into his own seat, calling out to the cameraman as he did so. "How's the camera holding up?"

The cameraman peaked at Alastor, indicating this question was because of the redhead's tendency to take out anything with a camera around him. The sinner studied his monitor and then gave a thumbs up.

Vox clicked his tongue. "So," he gripped, irritation heavy in his voice. "You can be recorded without destroying my electronics."

Lucifer couldn't see Alastor from where he was standing almost directly behind him, could only hear the tapping on his fingers on his microphone. His taunt was malicious as he came back with, "We both know I can be photographed ...when I want to be."

The TV demon grimaced, the hit landing where it obviously hurt. He had little time to recover, as the cameraman began his countdown. As he hit zero, Vox's smile was back in place, just a lot less real.

"Top of the hour, folks!" Vox's voice was loud and boisterous, the rhythm and pace almost break neck. "Breaking news: in a rare interview, we're joined by none other than the King of Hell and the Devil himself, Lucifer Morningstar!" Vox leaned over, holding a hand out to indicate the fallen angel sitting beside him. "Please, give your people a little wave, your Majesty."

Lucifer resisted the urge to flip him off. Gave the camera a little wave with little enthusiasm.

Vox carried on, unphased, "Equally rare and unlikely to never happen again, fellow sinners, we also have radio talk show host, the Radio Demon himself, Alastor!"

Alastor didn't wave. He grinned straight into the camera, as if staring into the very souls of the views, eyes and teeth alight as reality itself threatened to warp around him.

The camera gave an alarming whine. The cameraman gave an alarmed cry as it threatened to give out.

Point made, Alastor seemed to remember he was supposed to be behaving. The camera stopped whining as reality returned to normal.

Vox's eye twitched. Smile strained along with his chipper tone, he said, "Your Majesty, I assume your being here is because of the attacks on the hotel your daughter is running?"

Lucifer gave him his own chipper smile. "You mean the attacks you only know about because of your voyeuristic habits?"

Vox laughed, a touch nervously. "You've clearly never dealt with the paparazzi, sire. One has to cross a few boundaries if they want to get the exclusive first."

Was that what he was going with?

Either blind to it or ignoring it, Vox glossed over Lucifer's offense, moving on to, "Please, tell us, do you have any idea who's behind the attacks? We're dying to know."

Lucifer highly doubted that. Or at least, doubted Vox cared. It was more likely he wanted the hotel to fail or get taken out, judging from his poorly concealed eagerness. He leaned his elbow onto the table, chin resting on his palm. "I'm not here to waste my time nor the listeners' with an interview." He took delight in watching Vox falter for the first time since the interrogation began. Over his shoulder, he called sweetly, "Alastor?"

Alastor's voice was just sweet and still more bloodthirsty. "Yes, sire?"

It was a show of how in tune Vox was with Alastor's moods that the TV demon was already beginning to sweat. He was doing a good job of hiding it, Lucifer would give him that. It was a pity he was sitting beside someone who could see right through him, when he chose to make the effort. Lucifer rose from his chair, the blue and black sinner nearly taking a screen full of wings as they manifested. "Be a doll and make certain Vox doesn't get any ideas. Like interfering."

"With pleasure." Alastor's words were nearly lost to his filter. The air around them crackled, the shadows in the corners of the room growing unnaturally dark. Vox dropped all pretenses of pretending he wasn't unnerved, leaning back as much to avoid the wings as to distance himself from the redheaded sinner.

Red and white wings fluttered, giving Lucifer the lift to make stepping up onto the desk look effortless. Papers flew everywhere and a few people made startled noises as they were hit with a few errant pages. His wings fanned out, allowing him to gracefully fall into a seated potion on the other side of the desk. He leaned to the side, placing his weight on the hand braced on the desk, head rolling until he was facing the other two Vees. "Velvette, if you value your life just sit there and look pretty for a bit."

Velvette narrowed her eyes to slits at him. "What the hell?"

Valentino waited to see what advice he had for him. When he received none, the pimp blew out a lung full of pink smoke. His expression turned sultry. "Nothing for me, pequeño rey?"

Lucifer didn't respond, not wanting to give the game away too soon. Relaxing his control over his form, he allowed the full extent of his corrupted, angelic form to appear on full display for all of the viewers to see. Far too many eyes focused in on not just the camera, but the cameraman and the sinners directly around him. Each of them instinctively shied away, hindbrains warning them they were out in the open and too exposed. Vox attempted to push his chair back, the area around the desk suddenly a little too hot, only to be stopped by the end of Alastor's strategically placed staff locking the chair in place.

Lucifer rolled his head back around, until he could easily stare into the camera. "Now, to clear up a few things: I could care less about sinner politics." He grinned in that way he knew looked off, even for a creature of Hell, leaning into the fact that he wasn't human and had never been human. "How you decide to throw away the one good thing you stupid, stupid little humans have going for you is up to you." His pupils were lost in a red glow as his temper spiked, the flame of hellfire blazing between his horns. " What I do take issue with is someone sending hitman to threaten my daughter over something as silly as potential lost contracts."

He slid off the desk, the sinners in front of him all collectively taking a step back. Only the cameraman stayed in place, too frozen to move. "Perhaps it's my fault, I've been away a while." He held out a hand, fingers searching until he found the particular contract he was looking for. "Perhaps it's yours for never reading the fine print." His hand closed around his desired target, a chain made of pink, translucent smoke, deceptively fragile, coming into being. One end led out the doors. The other end led off to the side, leading over to a certain Overlord.

Valentino's and Angel's contract.

The pimp held up his wrist, confusion evident on his face. "The fuck?"

Lucifer's grin was all teeth. He wrapped his hand around and around the chain until he had a nice, solid grip on it. Without warning, he viciously yanked on the chain.

Valentino was pulled so hard, his shoulder nearly popped out of its socket. The pimp yowled like a cat dropped into pool as he was sent crashing to the floor. Lucifer didn't give him the chance to recover, reeling him in like a particularly resistant fish, the Overlord shouting and cursing as he was dragged across the floor. The Devil gave no quarter, even when he had him where he wanted him, pressing his heel into Valentino's back and twisting moth's arm until it was just short breaking.

"You see," Lucifer carried on, tone bored and voice raised over the slew of insults being thrown his way, "There's this little clause in your contracts that say I have the final say in every single one of them."

"You little shit!" Valentino hissed, twisting in a way that should be impossible for someone who purportedly had a spine. "We had nothing to do with the attacks on that shithole your hija is running."

Lucifer pulled on the chain until he could hear the shoulder pop. The sinner's claws dug into the ground beneath him, glare baleful. "Maybe," Lucifer said, almost nonchalant. "But you're the lowest kind of sinner: the kind that profits on selling human flesh and locks people into contracts so they can never escape."

The moth demon snarled, composure gone. "Every one of those whores came to me willingly. I made them stars. They would be nothing without me."

The Devil peered down at him, unmerciful. All of Valentino's sins where on display for him to see and judge and he found him wanting. "Nothing gives you the right to abuse another human being."

Lucifer returned his attention to the camera. He wrapped his free hand around another section of the chain, pulling the links tight between his two fists. "Let everyone remember that your little deals mean nothing if I say so."

Without further ado, he pulled almost effortlessly on the chain, Valentino's strength that of a kittens next to his. A link, just off center, gave, pulling apart until it shattered. Each one of the links similarly followed suit, falling from his hand like crystalline shards. They vanished like the smoke they had originally appeared as before they could hit the ground.

Valentino's arm, free of the chain, fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

Lucifer stepped off his back, releasing him. Stepping around the desk this time, he held his hand out to Alastor. The Radio Demon blinked back at him, something delighted behind his gaze.

It looked a little like victory.

He took Lucifer's hand.

"The Hazbin Hotel and every one of its residents are under my protection," Lucifer declared into the stunned silence, voice projected loud and unearthly, raising the hair on ever sinner's head, save the one in front of him. He looked upon each of the sinners in the room, gaze coming to rest on the camera lens. "I will not have mercy upon anyone looking to cause my daughter anymore trouble."

To his right, a portal appeared. Without another word, he stepped through it, pulling Alastor along with him.

As everyone continued to stare, the portal vanished and they were gone.

tbc

Translations:

-Papito: Little daddy

-Mi pequeño rey: My little king

-Venado: Deer or venison. I chose this word as a way for Valentino to make a dig at the fact that Alastor's demon form is a type of food source.

-Querido: Darling, used if you love or like someone. Chosen as a shoutout to the affair they're clearly having.

[killerandhealerqueen]

It's Love Letters Night! Send love and positivity to some of your favorite writers and bloggers!

@hyperbolicgrinch Jaz!!! You truly are my hype woman no matter the fandom and I am so grateful to have met you when Killer and Healer was airing because honestly, you really brighten up my day. Also, I really like your writing, even though we may not be in the same fandoms, and starting the ✨ weekend wip exposure club ✨ with you and Holly was so much fun

@theotherwhybietoldmeso Holly! My beloved! I know we only became friends this year but I am so grateful to have met you! You and Jaz are truly like the MVPs for dealing with me during this time of f1 hyperfixation (which I love, don't get me wrong) and hearing your nice feedback in the tags is always something to look forward to. Also, your fic ideas are so interesting and diverse and I love seeing the different fandoms you write for because of our ✨ weekend wip exposure club ✨

@clawbehavior Claw! My beloved! I know we're no longer in the same fandom, but it's always so fun to read your meta and tags and also see what sort of fanfictions you can come up with just from a simple post, drawing, or gifset. Your mind works a lot like mine creatively so it's so cool to see how your fics/ideas for fics come together and I'm always honored whenever you tag me in your fic ideas or come to me for advice with your fics. Truly so glad we met

@ahhhnorealnamesallowed Billie!!! Thank you for always being my sounding board for whenever I need someone to talk to about my fics because it's so easy to bounce ideas back and forth with you and you're always willing to be my second pair of eyes whenever I'm just fucking done with a fic. Also, thank you for always encouraging my ideas and for thinking that they're not too ambitious (because sometimes I worry that they are). So grateful to have met you when Killer and Healer was airing

@fourth-quartet Took! I know we really don't share fandoms anymore but it's always a delight to see you on my dash talking about things you're passionate about. Also, I really love your writing and will always support you in whatever you decide to write. I'm so glad we became friends when TDJ was airing

@kpopfantasywriter Jiejie! I know I haven't really come to you with fic ideas like I used to, but it's always so much fun to brainstorm fic ideas with you and it's always fun to read your little snippets that you sometimes post to the discord (I'm also very honored to be an OC in your fic, it's a lot of fun). Thank you for always sending me fic ideas/prompts and talking about fics with me, both on here and in the discord. I don't remember when we met but I'm really glad we became friends and have the relationship that we do

@dangermousie Mousie! I know you're not a writer but my god are you one of my favorite bloggers, I love your meta on different dramas and I feel like I'm watching them through you, which is a lot of fun because I get exposed to dramas that I would never actively seek out myself. Your commentary is also so fucking funny and makes me snort because I'd probably be saying the same damn thing too

@seonghwacore Ann! My baby! I know you don't write as much anymore but you are one of my favorite gifmakers and calling you my friend and my baby is like...just everything. Your gifsets for Killer and Healer were (and still are) legendary and your skills have only improved for Ateez and I'm proud to watch you grow. You're doing great, sweetie!

@nineninepetals Nine! I know you're not online as much anymore, but you deserve to be on this list and get this notification because I need you to know that you were and still are one of my biggest Killer and Healer cheerleaders and getting comments in my inbox both on here and on ao3 from you with a full on book report of your reaction to my fics is just...everything. I miss you and hope you are doing well and just know that I'm always thinking of you and I hope you come back to us one day

@marulo Maru! I also know that you're not online as much anymore, but I just wanted to let you know that I love you and miss you and hope you're doing well. You were also one of my biggest cheerleaders for my Killer and Healer fics and were always so supportive. I hope you're doing well and please just know that I miss you and I hope you come back to us one day

@evil-moonlight Jin! Of course you're on this list too! You're always so supportive of my fics and you're also just my biggest cheerleader in general and I really really appreciate you. Your writing is also super good and I hope you write more because damn girl you made feel things

@tytangfei Jina! The one who got me into Killer and Healer! Thank you for doing that, honestly, because that drama truly has changed my life and writing fanfiction for them as been both an honor and a dream. Also, your gifsets for Killer and Healer *chefs kiss*. Truly. They're the reason I got into the drama in the first place. Also, your writing...I hope you write more for them because your writing is so good...

@bestbuds55 Dana! I couldn't forget you too! Your writing is so good. I re-read your Killer and Healer fics all the time but have never dabbled into your Hannibal ones so I need to do that because the premises for them sound so interesting so I know I'm in for a treat

@mishathewtf Mish! Can't forget you either! You truly brighten both my dash and the discord both with your hilarious Killer and Healer memes (truly I think I've spat water while looking at them) as well as your other hyperfixations. Also, it's so fun playing those different games with you over discord because 1) they're interesting and something that I'd never actually play on my own and 2) they're just fun to play with others. Also, I have to thank you for being willing to put on LEGO Lord of the Rings over discord to help me calm my super bad anxiety...it really meant a lot and I know I told you at the time, but...I still think about it sometimes and it warms my heart

@sunriseverse Corset! Of course you're on here too! I love talking with you about fics and listening to you rant about your sunrise verse and honestly the work that you put into that thing is just...mind-boggling. It's so cool, honestly. Also, I love your fics for Couple of Mirrors and I'm so glad you wrote them because they are some of my faves (cuz I love that drama). Also, sending fic/writing questions back and forth to you is just so much fun, I love picking your brain about writing

@okifyouinsist Girl, I couldn't forget you. I know we've only been mutuals for such a short time, but you really have become my cheerleader in the f1 fanfic world and that really means a lot that you get so hyped over my little snippets that I post. I hope that our friendship can strengthen and that we'll be friends for a really long time

@friendlynbhddevil Sammy! I know we only became friends recently, but your love for Killer and Healer is almost as unmatched as mine, like we truly match each others freaks when it comes to those boys. I also love seeing you lose your mind over Beyond Evil cuz I too lost mine damn mind over that show...ugh, I'm just so glad we're friends. You really do brighten up my dash

Also, I know there are so many others who I'd love to put on this list, but then I'd practically be listing all of my mutuals so if your name is not on this list, please just know that I love you, I think about you, and you make my life so much better because you're in it

[patchs-muse-hub]

A Basic Guide to Tumblr RP Ettiquite

Install xkit so you can trim posts. It helps threads from getting too long and cluttering dashboards.

Open Starters are for any mutual to reply to. If you see an Open Starter from a mutual that piques your interest, you do not need permission to reply, just do it!

Do not jump into other people's threads without prior consent or being tagged. If two people are writing together and you don't have express consent to join in? Just watch, maybe leave a like if you enjoy watching the thread from the sidelines.

That said, if you see something on your dash and want to comment on it in character? Dash Commentary is encouraged! Just make a solo post giving your character's two cents.

If you follow someone, and they have an interest tracker form? fill it out! They make plotting so much easier! You don't have to do it, but you DEFINITELY should.

Avoid getting too involved in Drama threads/conflicts. Communicate with people, take safety precautions, and protect your mental health.

SEND PEOPLE ANON ASKS! Ask questions about their character! It's a fun exercise, and sending them to others makes you more likely to get some of your own!

• Lastly, and most importantly? always try to find and read a person's rules page before interacting. if the Rules page is a Tumblr post? Like it. Make sure they know you've seen it so that they feel their boundaries have been acknowledged.

[bunnakit]

Since you were looking for asks I was wondering what you thought about Hush-Hush since I don't think I've seen you mention it yet since it came out? I'm usually skeptical of collabs but when it was announced I went back and watched a bunch of Be:first's stuff to see what kind of stuff they did and I hit Mainframe and Masterplan and, like, obviously they're commentary on Japanese salaryman culture on the face of them. But from a loretiny-lens I was like 'ohhhhhhhh these would fit seamlessly into the Z universe'. And then Hush-Hush itself came out and I was absolutely delighted by it. I was sitting there vibing along with the song, knowing that there were always supposed to be more members of the resistance than just the the Black Pirates and I was like 'ok, if Be:First wants to be part of the Japanese wing of the resistance in the Z universe, I am actually completely cool with this'. I also thought the connection to Wonderland with the Escher Stairs, and the (potential) tie in to whatever event fractured off the Halazia universe with the strong use of the eclipse distortions effecting gravity were super interesting. All the line references in the song to being undercover which could potentially tie into Work and its one mention of hiding from (android) guardians. I'd be really interested to hear what you thought about it.

hey anon sorry it took me a bit to get to this, my health has been in the shitter.

for my basic lizard brain thoughts on hush-hush:

i find your lore theories fascinating. i can absolutely see the direction and think it's such a fun idea to play with. personally, i don't tend to apply collabs to lore just because i don't want to take away from the other group's message or whatever theme they run with (this is my first exposure to BE:FIRST but i'll def be looking into them more.)

i'm also very much one of those people that doesn't think all of ATEEZ's MVs apply to lore - some may have nods to the lore but don't really progress the narrative (Youth, IT's you, Everything, MATZ) so i don't dwell on them too much story-wise. Hush-Hush is a bit like that for me, i think they did what Chung Ha did and applied some homages to ATEEZ lore as a little respectful nod but i don't know that it was anything so intentional as to tie into lore - but again, i really like your thoughts on it and think that's such a fun take on it and such a fun playground to play in!

i do think your mention of Wonderland is also very very interesting because i noticed a few things as well - i'm so sorry, i'm about to be so pretentious and annoying. i haven't commented on this a lot publicly because i feel like it's very much me being overly analytical and all of it could be a coincidence but i'm starting to think it's absolutely not.

(more thoughts below the read more, just trying to keep from clogging people's dashes too much lol - i'm also sorry if the photos don't load side by side, tumblr sure likes to fuck me on formatting sometimes)

Hush-Hush is very, very similar to Wonderland in the way that it uses shape language to back up the message conveyed by the lyrics and overall theme.

'the fuck is shape language?' okay so shapes in media actually hold symbolic meaning - there are different interpretations based on culture, themes, etc. but here are the themes and meanings i generally look out for.

you'll see a lot of use of squares/rectangles throughout both Wonderland and Hush-Hush ↴

squares/rectangles can be used to represent oppression, imprisonment, control, and similar ideas. you'll see it rather blatantly in Hush-Hush as they directly say 'too late to notice, you can't capture us' while framed in a square train cart and going so far as Sota making a square gesture with his fingers. an overt message conveyed in Wonderland is Wooyoung quite literally chained and confined on a square pedestal.

another shape that links the MVs is the use of triangles ↴

in a stark contrast to squares, triangles can represent rebellion, dissent, strength (tho this is shared with several other shapes,) and truth (which will tie into the final shape i'll address.) it's pretty obvious how this ties in with almost everything both BE:FIRST and ATEEZ represent and in my personal opinion it is very fun to keep an eye out for triangles throughout ATEEZ's media.

the final shape i've noticed a lot of is circles ↴

circles can be used to symbolize unity, truth, wholeness, harmony, enlightenment. this is obviously apparent in Wonderland where the lyrics repeatedly reference finding the truth, the door to the truth, etc.

all these shapes used in conjunction with each other create a blueprint narrative of ATEEZ's lore - overcoming oppression and control through rebellion and strength of self in the pursuit of truth and harmony. i imagine you can apply the same theory to many of BE:FIRST's videos (it'll be very fun for me to look through later and see if this is true) but Hush-Hush definitely has very obvious nods to this message.

this symbol is also shown in the beginning of the MV and i'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to be, if it's something related to BE:FIRST, a map of this metaphysical city, or something else entirely, but you'll see it incorporates all of these shapes as well.

if we want to touch on the hexagon in the center hexagons can be used to convey coherence, cooperation, connection, and balance.

the message of cooperation and connection is very interesting when applied to Hush-Hush as there are a few gestures throughout the MV that nod to a connection and cooperation between BE:FIRST and ATEEZ (which lends even more credit to your own theory anon!)

you'll see in this screenshot BE:FIRST holds their hands out, palms down, towards ATEEZ while the ATEEZ boys hold their hands palms up, as if to meet BE:FIRST's in unity.

here you can see Ryuhei??? and Mingi nearly forming a direct connection through touch (and perhaps a very loose 'Creation of Adam' reference if we want to squint and tilt our head 90 degrees?)

there are also continual references to escape and freedom which is backed with the visuals of several modes of transportation; cars, planes, the train, etc. this combined with the lyric 'we're living in a metafiction' (artificiality, parody, imitation) really solidifies the desire for escape and freedom from whatever force is oppressing them and keeping them in this warped reality.

and then we have the Escher stairs you mentioned being a theme between the two ↴

the sharp angles can also be a reference to shapes, especially in the case of Wonderland, but to me the stairs have always represented the uphill battle in front of them. sometimes following the truth, pursuing your goals, and holding to your own personal morals can be a struggle that seems insurmountable.

there's no one definitive meaning to Escher's 'Relativity" but many sources mention an altered or warped perspective, a loss of gravity (as you mentioned,) and an infinite labyrinth. regardless of the meaning, i do think they're also a great visual used in conjunction with the idea of a metafiction or warped reality.

if you wanted you could maybe also attribute ATEEZ's break through the glass as an escape from this reality or a separate reality that kept them isolated from BE:FIRST.

idk these are all just my own reads and interpretation of things, i truly think all takes are valid and i think that's the beauty of ATEEZ and videos like this. we all have different ideas and theories but at the end of the day they almost always lead us to the same conclusion, the journey there just looks a little different.

if you read this far i'm kissing your head. please anyone ALWAYS feel free to ask my thoughts on MVs, even old ones. i'm always looking to babble about lore and symbolism and shit.

[moononmyfloor]

Dashing Youth Ep 36-40 Commentary

Ep 1-10, Ep 11-16, Ep 17-21, Ep 22-25, Ep 26-32, Ep 33-35

Ep 36

This ep had nothing much of interest for me, all this talk of "bringing Ye Dingzhi back to the rightful path" is boring af like you never asked him what is it exactly that he wants, not before, not now

The part where Dongjun cultivates at the edge where mortal world meets the start of heavens was very cool, if a story wants to convince me that he rebuilt his lost cultivation in a year, this place is as good as it gets for the purpose.

Evil sister being permanently imprisoned and left to rot than being granted an immediate death is super satisfying

This part was pretty sweet, the way he closed his eyes and put his stubbly chin in her palms

Ep 37

When I watched He Yu's Dashing Youth interviews etc, I thought he sounded unusually straightforward and frank for an idol actor. And then I looked at his profile and realised that dude is an Architecture graduate and went to Vancouver for further studies and then returned to China to participate in acting workshops. Well THAT explains a lot of things. For example, how he carries himself with such gravitas and confidence despite being a new actor, he basically stole the show from HMH from the very ep 1 imo and that did not happen just because he looks good, because everyone looks amazeballs in this show anyway.

Not to mention "hurt young dad trying his best" is not a role you often see among Chinese idol dramaland main characters, and even rarer for a newbie actor to take on such a role. Like he came in and served. End of the story.

FINALLY. The two most grounded characters of the show meet up! Funny how at first I shipped them with Dongjun and as time went on the less interesting let alone shippy Dongjun felt and now I can't help but imagine, what if these two met earlier, instead?

And gods, this is exactly what I love about Changfeng. Despite being the sweetest baby of the show, he's incredibly realistic and doesn't care for the popular beliefs let alone factions. He'd rather have a face-to-face with the problem at hand and form his opinion.

"Hey buddy, wanna spar?" Just like that. Unafraid and non-judgemental, because he has not formed any yet, because he doesn't have a reason to. And he instantly won over Dingzhi who rarely trusts anyone. Too bad they met only now.

Aww, I feel like this is a nudge to their other-selves in I Am Nobody, right?

"I've stopped saying corny things and have turned mature because any sentence could be your last in the battlefield, and ends up getting carved on your tombstone."

-insert gremlin laugh-

Yeah Mengsha, that's exactly what will be on your grave. "HAHAHAHAHA"

PFft I love him.

Yeah she found that man and then he died. Huhu.

The rest of the ep is about the so called righteous party trying to beat the hot young dad with their sheer incompetence and that wasn't interesting enough to comment on.

Ep 38

Putting the disturbed souls to rest in the name of his daughter, that's Sikong Changfeng. It sounds kinda morbid on paper, but in truth only the most purest, benevolent person in the world would be able to do that. I was reminded of The Untamed for a second there.

Daring the monarchy from atop the palace gate, as the most peerless person in jianghu atm. I think both Master Li and Master Rain Demon would be proud of you.

Yknow, for Dingzhi who suffered from wishy washy treatment from most people all his life (yes, that includes you too Dongjun), a clear yes/no answer to this question would've been a mercy.

Ep 39

This was unexpectedly hilarious lol

Little girl u are pissing me off. You weren't born when the definitions of right and wrong were created in the world.

"What is wrong is wrong" bruh shut up, you are embarrassing your dad and not in the serotonin-inducing way he always embarrassed himself.

And I called Dongjun blindly idealistic.

Speaking of whom, Dongjun and Yue Yao actually kinda redeemed themselves for me again in this ep, by proving that even at this point, the "righteousness" he cares for is for his Yun ge to get the happiness he deserves.

Would've been better if you actively stepped up earlier than this to safeguard the happiness that he and Wenjun had found by a margin, tho. You had years of opportunity and now it's too late.

For softhearted lackeys, Wuxin's gay uncles are pretty alright regarding being grounded characters. They don't have lots of choices to work with, but at least they aren't led around by nose with all the pointless politics and try their best to follow their hearts.

Ep 40

Yeah yeah, blame the woman in the end. The sad thing is that he's a historian, and it's not a surprise that this came out of his mouth.

Rocket science

Same as with Hanyi, I was mad at Ye Xiaofan too like kid what point exactly are you trying to prove to your ge by appearing like this at this moment, but then he redeemed himself and I'm very happy about that. Give him treats.

Ok I'm crying. Wenjun's conviction and determination in the final act makes me forgive her again. Honestly, I wouldn't have disliked her even a little bit if not for that lazy stupidity the show made her commit in ep 33 anyway.

But alas, it's too late. My baby 😭

Good to hear Yue Yao's sister died, even glad that screentime wasn't spared to see it happen because I really don't give a fuck.

Finally, Dongjun meets his ge's child. Lil Wuxin cowering away from him at first served him right.

It's so sad how Wuxin lost his parents and adoptive uncles all together within such a brief period of time. I remember disliking the uncles when they took Wuxin away in BoY, but now I understand them even though it was AGAIN at the expense of Wuxin's rights to be with the people he wants to at that moment. It's sad that whatever person Wuxin would grow emotionally attached to, he has to part from them because of others' arrangements.

Woah, you two have been canoodling around in your fairy carriage for the whole world to see for years and you haven't been married yet? Scandalous, Dongjun 😂

Final Verdict

Despite the lazy and unconvincing middle eps, the final stretch is near perfect, the characters I've grown to have beef with (Dongjun, Wenjun) redeemed themselves, Yue Yao grew a little bit more of personality, the amazing main characters remained amazing (Dingzhi, Changfeng) and so did the amazing side characters (Lei Mengsha, Master Li, Luo Qingyang, Jade deity). Well, I suppose they've written themselves to a corner with Prince Langya, he feels definitely less glorious of a person than he was treated in BoY, after seeing Dashing Youth. So I'm ok with not seeing his character wrap-up here.

I started with giving this a 8.5/10 and ended with a 7.5/10, but overall I really enjoyed the themes of how different generations of people answer times of suppression, and balance morality, friendship and family, and what exactly is the end goal of a martial artist. The people were extremely pleasant to look at, the fight CGIs were epic visual feasts, and I did enjoy myself a lot considering how I rarely watch idol Wuxia/Xianxia/Xuanhuan.

[laz3otakugirl]

Rhythm & Blues

Blue Jones x Dancer!Reader: You're the new girl and Blue hasn't let you perform seeing as how clumsy you are but one day he sees you in the dance room by yourself.

A/N: There's no smut in this one but I might make a sequel if you guys do want that, I'm just not in the mood to write some rn. BUT! Knowing Blue and basically being sex on legs he'll still have some pretty nasty thoughts and commentary.

TW: Cussing, dubious touching, degradation/mocking

This is explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Here's a song that I think that I imagine you dancing to (Ik it's not in the og movie, I just imagine it fits ok).

It was just as sad as the others you suppose, being used as a bargaining chip to save your brother's life when he couldn't pay what he owed. Saddest thing was, you'd do it over and over again because you were just too selfless and so many took advantage of it. The moment you were handed over with your head down and glossy eyes, you could feel the searing gaze of your new owner. His hold on your neck was suffocating despite him just resting it there, your anxiety seemed to rise more and more the longer he stood around inspecting you. Your brother on the other hand had already left without single glance behind. You always knew your docile personality would someday leave you in this position you just never thought today would be that day.

A few days of you being around and Blue and the girls have already gotten the sense that you're just not cut out to perform or let's be honest do anything really. You weren't too bad just...clumsy. Somehow someway you end up tripping or forget things a little too much even with the girls help and just as easily that's how you earned the name Baby Blue. It fit a little too perfect especially with how much Blue often looks out for you with you being the only one oblivious to it. To be honest, Blue doesn't even remember when he started doing it. At first, it was just helping you up when you would trip over your little heels or reminding you to fix up your hair or makeup. Doesn't help he also makes you always wear blue whether it be your makeup, your outfit, or even your lingerie. EVERYTHING had to display Blue's claim on you.

A lot of the girls would tease you for it saying, "Looks like your daddy just can't take his eyes off of you today Baby Blue," or "He looks just about ready to eat ya." The dirtier comments always made you blush and stutter in denial. There's no way your boss would interested in a klutz like you, right?? After all, your clumsiness is the whole reason you're not allowed to perform. Hell, Blue wouldn't even allow you to serve most of the customers that come in.

(Though that might just be, because he doesn't want most of them touching you.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite you being clumsy, you did dance amazingly well. You just never said anything due to your anxiety. And because of your anxiety, many of the times you practiced in front of the others you would end up on your ass or almost twisting an ankle. But anytime one of the other girls would trade cleaning days with you, you would take them because it meant you could dance by yourself without any worries. It was getting late and Amber offered to help clean the changing room instead and you eagerly took it. Dashing your way over there with an excited grin, you don't notice a frazzled Blue passing by and seeing your unusually cheery self who decides to silently follow you.

At first you started off plainly wiping down the wall. As you're sweeping though, you eventually start humming one of the songs you heard from one of the shows. Slightly picking up the rhythm you sway to the beat and eventually start full on dancing. It was the only thing that made you feel like you weren't a complete failure, like you had a purpose. Swinging and stepping to the beats you don't notice Blue openly watching you with awe and amusement. He's never seen you move with fluidity it was impressive and sexy. Once you slow down and go back to swaying with a panting breath, Blue's mind turns to dirtier thoughts of pinning you down and taking you until you can't even think anymore. Soon enough he's broken out of his reverie when you turn around with a loud gasp having finally noticed his presence. He looks at you with a lidded gaze and smugly says, "That was some moves you got on you, Baby Blue. Wondered why you couldn't dance like that in front of everyone else but seeing as you can barely fucking look at anyone in the eyes without having those sexy tears run down your face, I'm not surprised." "S-sir I-I-I'm so so-sorry I didn-" He cuts you off with a dark glint in his eyes and a sharp tone, "Oh Baby Blue keep talking and I'll have you cumming non-stop on this floor right here right now." That shuts you up right away, though you can't stop the heat from rushing to your cunt and pooling in your panties. Apparently he can see the effect he has on you because smirks and starts walking towards you with heavy steps.

"Is that what you want you dumb baby? You wanna be my private dancer and cum in daddy's lap? Fuuck you're not gonna be serving those guys out on the floor anymore, you're only allowed to be seen and touched by me, you understand?" With dilated pupils and the heat getting worse between your thighs you can only nod with a whimper as Blue starts to mouth at your neck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The girls were getting more worried and antsy everyday you wouldn't show up for work. They were starting to get concerned enough they were about to come up to ask Blue himself where you were until you had shown up one day at the bar with small hickeys and light bruises all over you. Just as they were gonna bombard you with questions they see Blue emerge and notice faint scratches and bruises on him as well. With crooked eyebrows and shocked faces most of them start puzzling it all together and it's finally confirmed when you give him a shy smile and say, "Hi daddy..."

"DADDY?!?!?!"

A/N: Thanks for reading guys! I hope you guys like this one just as much as I did and again I will most likely write a sequel that pertains to what exactly went down between the two lovers after the dance scene 😉🔥

[screentimeoverlord]

(I know we haven't interacted much but I love your dash commentary. It's like Vox is watching a live tv feed of what's going on in the world and commenting on it like he's watching a sitcom and I love it.)

How is my portrayal?

Thanks, also yes. He is watching, he is always watching.

[multimusing-to-friends]

“Can confirm: the Ants are NOT ok!” Shadow Milk Cookie cheerfully says.

[strugglingyetvibing]

I watch the Sky broadcast and omg I think the TV directory this weekend was just generally weird. Lots of skipped replays and cutting away from the action. The commentator set wasn’t great either (I miss crofty 😭)

forgive me for being a tad late on this! it's currently around the 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) mark, and has been all weekend and will be for the next few days, and my apartment doesn't have air conditioning (i'm currently rocking with two box fans that i'm toting from room to room lol). so most of the past few days for me have been about staying cool and hydrated, and i haven't had the brainpower to finish this as fast as i wanted to. so apologies! i think i switched all of the 'today's to 'sunday's, haha.

~~~

i agree with you! and i think we saw a lot of the same things, too.

this is going to get long! i'll put a 'keep reading' to keep dashes clean, but please feel free to read on! this is where i'm going to go into a bit of detail on the differences between the sky stream and the f1tv international stream, my thoughts about the actual broadcast (not the race, but the structure and flow of the broadcast itself), and the commentary team (harry benjamin replacing crofty as the main commentator and how he did, and how the rest of the team did as well). please let me know what you think! sunday's broadcast was very interesting in addition to the race itself.

i believe sky and f1tv international share a lot of, but not all of their broadcast. for example, i've heard that people who watch sky actually see ted when crofty and the gang check in with him, but the f1tv international stream doesn't show him. we'll hear him, but we still have the view of track/garage action or crowd shots. additionally, f1tv international will sometimes hear team radios twice: once on our stream with no commentary around it, and once more a few minutes later when the commentators hear and react to the radio, presumably on the sky stream. finally, f1tv doesn't always show what the commentators are seeing and talking about. for example, a commentator will say something like "and if you look at this aston martin coming up now..." but the international stream will be showing something completely different, like a haas or a pit lane shot or something. these discrepancies, as far as i've been able to see in my now year of watching f1tv international, are normal and expected (and comedic most of the time, especially when someone is trying to explain something technical and we're seeing a fan happy at being on tv).

all of that aside, i agree that there were quite a few issues with the stream all throughout the weekend. now, i may be picking out more issues due to trying to pay more attention to the actual stream because of crofty's replacement, harry, but there were still a few unfortunate things that could have gone better.

a large part of the issues i saw were related to graphics and replays, like you mentioned. when i was liveblogging the race, i was trying to keep up with pit stops (mainly because there wasn't a lot else going on), but i often couldn't find the actual stop time. usually, even if the broadcast doesn't show the shot of the driver pitting, they'll put up a timing graphic of how long the driver has been in the pits and how long the stop time was. however, there were probably about five times during this race alone that the graphic either came up and never showed the stop time (which is arguably the most important data point on that graphic), or the graphic glitched out/disappeared before the stop time was posted. sure, it was frustrating from the angle of me not being able to post the times here, but it was more frustrating from the angle of wanting to know the stop times. there was another time where a driver, i forget who but i want to say a red bull, was coming in for a stop and when the graphic came up it said that the driver had already been in the pits for over a minute despite the broadcast following the car to the box and showing the car driving and stopping normally, making that timing literally impossible. the whole thing felt rather unprofessional, and could have been wholly avoided by either putting up the correct data with the correct graphics at the correct times or just not putting up the graphics at all. however, i realize there's an issue in not putting up graphics at all and withholding driver data that viewers can reasonably expect to see, so i appreciate the attempt. however, considering this is a basic part of current streams, and wasn't some sort of new graphic they were trying, they should have been able to do better.

i had forgotten about this until i watched a matt & tommy video (i think it was the funniest tweets video from imola), but the broadcast also at one point had put up a graphic saying lewis had a pit lane start (which he did not). there's like more graphics issues i'm already forgetting about, but it was not a great weekend for the graphics team.

the biggest replay fumble i think we both likely noticed was the race start replay, where they cut to the race start replay (i believe without the transition graphic), the replay either didn't start or only went a few frames, then suddenly cut back to the live race. the commentators noted how odd it was, doing their best to smooth out the shift back to the live race, and then a few minutes later the race start replay ran as normal, transition graphic and all. it was, in a word, weird, and having the commentator team, new or not, remark on it is not a great thing to have happen. i'm likely forgetting other replay blips as well, but there were definitely a few this weekend. the broadcast team's job is to run the broadcast smoothly enough to not be noticed. this weekend, they were definitely noticed.

now, for the commentators. i think my opinion that i mentioned around last friday still largely stands - for his first ever weekend commentating the f1 race on sky/f1tv international, harry benjamin did a pretty decent job. i'm extending him some grace with things like stumbling over words or missing team radio or filling 'dead air,' mainly because even if he's commentated before on other channels, it's probably very intimidating to be the main commentator for sky/f1tv international.

however, i seemed to notice a significant uptick in opinionated commentating. what i mean by that isn't something like looking at lap data and saying that the lap was bad, or watching a driver fumble a corner and saying that they fumbled the corner. what i mean is that the commentators seemed to spend a significant amount of time talking about potential future contracts, where drivers could or 'should' go, or other commentary that i believe belongs in the tabloids. of course, the commentators are human and are absolutely allowed to have their opinions on drivers and have favorites and least favorites, and it would be weird of me to say that they shouldn't. but there's a time and a place to voice those opinions, and i believe that live on international television is not one of those times or places. and, i should say, i noticed this from the whole commentary team, not just harry. i'm of the mindset that for most things, unless it's been confirmed by the driver, team, f1 management, the fia, or the applicable primary source, then those conversations should stay out of the commentary box. if they were talking about those kinds of things because the session was boring, there are plenty of other things to talk about that steer clear of tabloid-esque topics. for imola specifically, they could have spoken about ayrton senna and/or roland ratzenberger and their impacts on racing, sebsatian vettel's tribute run and historical car run in honor of senna and raztenberger, where crofty is and why he's not here this weekend (and poke good fun at him), the brand new star of the paddock that is leo leclerc, or any other number of fun but still relevant topics that don't unnecessarily speculate on drivers and teams and don't take on tones of voice that could imply driver quality unnecessarily, which they also seemed to do throughout the weekend.

now, what i won't get into now (mainly because this post is already astronomically long (which i apologize for!)) is the supposed 'british/european bias' that many say the sky/f1tv international team has in which they are very open about liking british teams and drivers more than others and liking the eurpoean and british circuits much more than the other circuits on the calendar. i believe they do have this 'british/european bias,' and it reared its head throughout the weekend, notably with their excited repetition of imola being the start of the european leg of the season throughout the whole weekend. but because that's more of an overarching issue of the broadcast/commentary teams, i'll let it slide for this post because this is more about the imola weekend-specific issues i saw.

i think that covers most everything i noticed! i had no clue it would get this long, and if you're sticking with me all the way though to the end, thank you and i love you!! if i could, i would bake each of you a choccy chip cookie <3

let me know what you think! i'm sure i've missed things here and there, but i'll just blame that on the heat wave, haha. i'd be happy to yap some more about this, other things from the weekend, or anything else you've got on your mind!

thank you so much for the ask! thanks also for letting me go on so much about this, it was really bugging me this weekend, lol.

love you all!! <3

[monriatitans]

MonriaTitans

Let's Play Some $#!7!: Cursebane – Part 2 | Let’s finish the demo!

Come join me for another installment of Let's Play Some $#!7 | LPS$, where I play games to provide commentary on the game's development! Provided I don't get too caught up in the game to comment, which, in a sense, is commentary in and of itself.

Today, we finished playing Cursebane's demo! It was, initially, played in Let's Play Some Demos! - Part 7, but I had to cut it short so the video didn't get to 4 hours long. That, and the last game played that day scared the $#!7 out of me...

Now, I didn't call this stream Let's Play Some Demos! | LPSD because I want this game. After I get it, it'll be a regular feature on the show.

If you came here from Twitch, thank you! I don't know why the stream suddenly cut, but I ALWAYS record my streams in case things like that happen!

With all that out of the way, here are my opinions: If competing with Hades is a goal, the developers are headed in the right direction. Provided enough people learn this game exists. With how heavily saturated Steam is, I'm amazed I found it. If they're not trying to compete, it's the inspiration for the game, but their version is excellent on its own. I mentioned, after I played the demo the first time, Cursebane is a 2D, pixelated Hades and, while true, it doesn't do the game justice. I also mentioned the story was forgettable, and it still is, but not in a bad way. ADHD moment(s). Though, after playing through it for another few hours I'm more invested in figuring it out. If I'm piecing things together correctly now, because of a curse, or a bunch of curses, rifts have split the world into pieces. These pieces are stuck in time loops until you break their curse. For this one area the demo provides, you have to save a village from its curse. Because of the time loop, you can choose how you want to save said village. And as you go around exploring/trying to find your way to the village, each death results in you taking a different path, however, if you die enough times, things will start to look familiar as you revisit areas. As you make decisions, you change what bosses you fight, which allows you to figure out how to make the game easier. I'm guessing it being the demo was why I was able to max out my upgrades, but each upgrade was great for balancing. I was eventually able to make it so I was able to die twice before I had to restart the area. And I maxed out my HP. The demo threw me for a loop when I restored the area and it wasn't "Demo Over"; I was able to try again. Was there something else I was supposed to do or were the developers simply letting me play around more with ability combos? Which I haven't mentioned yet; you can enhance your katana, dash-strike, charge attack (which I barely used), and knockback spell with either Ice, Fire, or Lightning, and BOY are they fun! Ice freezes and slows people down, Fire deals extra damage and/or burns, and lightning strikes repeatedly. My FAVORITE combination was the Lightning spell, so melee enemies were constantly being struck, Ice on my attacks and dash-strike so foes slow down and make them easier to hit, and, even though I barely used the charge attack, I preferred it to have Fire. I could have played around with them more, and I was tempted, but the video was getting close to 4 hours... And that's it for this mini-review! Thank you for reading! If this series of videos is something you're interested in, you can watch it on YouTube, Steam, Rumble, Odysee, and The Titans' Discord! Don’t forget to hit the Subscribe and/or Follow buttons to know when there’s more!

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The Sunday, November 17th, and 645th, Artist Shout-Out goes to 7NML! Check them out here!

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TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Starting Soon 9:57 – Welcome Gamers! 12:05 – Artist Shout-Out 16:32 – OED Word of the Day 16:36 – Cursebane Steam Page 18:10 – Cursebane 1:56:43 – Break 2:12:08 – Cursebane 3:43:26 – Addressing the Stream Cut 3:43:51 – Artist Shout-Out 3:44:52 – Just Chatting/Thank You! 3:47:51 – Rendezvous Point Bookshop Plug 3:49:23 – Farewell

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MORE INFO & TO SUPPORT – MonriaTitans | WGS Summarized – Rendezvous Point Bookshop – Artist Shout-Out Criteria – Throne Wishlist – #SubOffTwitch – YouTube – Rumble– Odysee – Twitch – Steam

Originally published to https://opinionsandtruth.wordpress.com on November 17, 2024.

[crimsonfacets]

5 & 16!

send a number for me to talk about one of the following topics! // accepting!

5. dash commentary

I LOVE dash commentary! It's such a cute sign of investment between roleplay partners and can even lead to a more community reaction between characters, which I think is always cool. It's like all the muses chattering in a town square commenting on a certain situation they watched happen before their eyes. You never really see multi-character conversations anymore, which is a shame, but it makes sense; it was much easier on the forums of old than it is on a social media website like Tumblr.

I just love seeing the engagement. It's always sweet. It's small and simple but just, mm. I love those little character moments. 🖤

16. dash games

They're GRRREAT! I don't always get to them because unfortunately my attention span is the size of a gnat, but I adore being tagged in them, especially if they're like insights into muses or little questionnaires! I'm actually tempted to make one or two myself just for fun and see who'd wanna do them. A sort of dialogue dash game, like "Pretend your muse is a videogame character. What would they say if.." and give a few situational instances, like reactions to treasure discovery, low health, or idle chatter.

[fantasywritten]

“YER ALL fuckin’ idiots. Thought ya knew that by now.”

[kcystotheheart]

💥 “If there’s a fight I’m petting on Petals.”

📓 “Don’t fool yourself. Even has the type advantage.”

☄️ “So what? Pinky has more battle experience!”

🌙 “...This is utterly foolish.”

[daggcrisms]

“I... really want to meet the rest of the Kris squad...”