#He's got a Patrick star vibe to him

[factual-fantasy]

I got these little guys before your Pokémon posts, but now I can’t think of them as anyone but Grim and Sylvester!!

"Look Grim!! Its us!! :0000"

[dearsnow]

I WOULD DO IT AGAIN

Part 1 || Part 2

- after the disastrous events of last night’s party, patrick comes back to dig out the truth (patrick verona x gn!reader, fluff, ⚠️ themes of alcohol / being drunk, this is the second part).

word count: 1457

a/n - it’s done!!!!! tysm to the people that read and enjoyed part one. i’m planning to write for patrick more, so stick around if you want to :) once again, this is inspired by the vibes of francesca by hozier

You wake to dappled sunlight filtering through your dust-speckled blinds. Your eyes flutter closed again as the gentle caresses of the morning are giving you a splitting headache- that, or the sheer amount of alcohol you downed last night. You move to pull the covers over your head, but your sheets are stuck on the corner of your bed. You just slip down further instead, groaning at the needling pains attacking your forehead.

When you try to think of the events of last night, past the time you spent dancing to the beat of pulsing strobe lights, very little comes to mind. Even the dancing is blurry. A warm voice, maybe, and the cold night air. The stars, spinning. Everything being blurry and broken and tinged with blue. God, your head hurts. You put your hand on your forehead, trying to soothe the ache.

When your front door opens, breaking your early-morning silence, you curse the god that sent your parents home so early. You will never know peace today.

Your door creaks open, and you snuggle down under your covers until your feet are almost hanging off the bed. You can’t let them know you’ve been out drinking. You hope they just think you’re being a moody teenager, too chronically tired to wake up earlier than 10:00 AM.

“You up?” The voice is rich, deep, and lightly accented. It’s definitely not your parents.

You shuffle up, poking your head out of your mess of blankets. You wince as your headache spits more of its fire.

“Pat?” Your throat is dry, and it’s reflected in your words. They come out scratchy and hoarse, and you wrinkle your nose at how pathetic you must look and sound. Does he know what happened when you got wasted?

Like he can read your mind, he closes the door and sits down on your bed. “You were pretty fucking wild last night. Got me worried.”

“You? Worried? About me?” You laugh, voice still on the rocks. “Usually it’s the other way around.”

Patrick smiles, but there’s something sad laced between his teeth. It shows through his eyes, how his dark brown irises look at you like a mourning dog. You sit up.

“What even happened at the party?” You ask. “I don’t even remember you being there.” You must’ve done something horrific to make him look like that. Did you flip off a police officer or scream at him?

Usually, you’re put together. A model citizen, even. Usually, you’re the one influencing him to be better. Usually, usually. Last night was definitely not a usual night.

His smile disappears from his lips, and a worried frown replaces it. He knows he has to bring it up. He debated it over and over in his head at home. Even on the trip to your house he was still trying to decide if he should tell you or not. He knows, though, that if he was the one drunk out of his mind, you would tell him the truth. You wouldn’t keep it from him. Besides, the burn inside him aches to know if what you said was true. “You said something stupid.” He mutters.

You internally punch yourself but groan out loud. You knew it. Why did you ever let yourself get that drunk? You should’ve just stayed home.

“What did I say?”

“You said…” He looks away, and you can’t help but notice how he keeps avoiding eye contact. “You said you loved me.”

That kickstarts your heart. Now your chest is pounding and you can hear the ringing in your head. You can feel the pulsing heat, the burn that comes with this.

“I know you didn’t mean it. People do stupid shit when they’re drunk. Don’t worry about it.” He says gruffly. He moves to stand up, but in a you grab his hand after a brief moment of hesitation.

You do love him. So, so much. “I wasn’t lying.” You whisper, and his eyes widen the slightest bit.

For a minute, you remember that this was exactly how he looked last night. Curls wild, the smell of smoke clinging to his body. And you love him just as fiercely now as you did then.

“You don’t regret it?” His voice shakes a little at the end of his sentence.

You’re panicking now. You’ve never done anything like this before, and today was not the day you were planning on starting. Every single possibility is racing through your mind, and you feel like you might throw up, but you have to tell the truth. You’ve gotten this far already- it would be cruel to leave your best friend hanging.

“I would do it again. Sober, I mean. I love you.”

You stare up at him, and he stares back at you. His eyes are broken like shattered glass, and when he sees you in his cracked lenses, the tears beginning to well up in your eyes could almost be glue.

It’s true. You actually love him, and it wasn’t just a stupid drunken confession. You didn’t latch on to the first friendly face you saw. You love him, of all people. Him. Patrick.

“You do?” His voice is quiet and just a little hoarse. His mind is reeling. Your words play like a mantra in his head, repeating over and over until the word “love” sounds like a made-up sound meant to rhyme with “dove” in a children’s novel. “Why?”

He isn’t deserving of it, he thinks. He could never deserve a love as great, as gentle, as beautiful as yours. He always assumed he would love in hellfire and smashed plates. Never once did he consider that you loved him back, and that he could have someone as good as the person staring back at him with messy hair and soft eyes.

You tilt your head. Why? He should know why by now. “I mean, what isn’t to love? You say it all the time.” He looks terrified and elated all at once.

“Well, yeah, but why?” He moves closer to you, his weight causing your bed to dip. The sheets wrinkle under his touch and the sunlight is bleeding through his hair. You have never seen anything more beautiful before.

“I love you because you’re funny. Not just in the class clown way, but you’re really genuinely funny. You always make me laugh every time I’m having a bad day. And you’re caring and strong and supportive. I mean, I’m pretty sure you were the one that took me home last night. You care about everyone a lot more than you seem to think. You’re talented, too, and really smart.” He snorts at that, and you add on. “Yeah, I know, you skip classes and stuff but you catch onto things quickly. And you’re good at figuring out how to work my appliances, which can come in handy.” You take a breath. “What I’m trying to say, Pat, is that I really do like you. In a serious, genuine, love-filled way.”

You feel the ramble lifting an incredible weight off your shoulders. You got it out, after so long of loving the boy that grew to be your best friend. It’s done. Even if he doesn’t love you back, at least you’re not carrying this intense, heartbreaking burden.

Patrick opens his mouth slightly, then closes it as he thinks about his words.

“That’s good.”

You feel it all coming back down to crush you.

“Good?”

“Yeah, good. ‘Cuz I love you too.”

And suddenly, you’re flying. It barely feels real, and you smile harder than you ever have in your entire life. “You do?”

You feel his rough hands come up to settle on your face, and you relish the warmth. He’s so close you can feel his breath fanning over your nose.

“Of course I do. You’re a catch.” He says. You laugh, he smiles, and he leans in further. You feel his slightly chapped lips on yours, and suddenly, nothing else in the world has any significance.

It’s gentle and soft, despite his rough edges. You can feel his curls tickling your chin, and he smiles into the kiss. When he pulls away, you’re left with the tingling sensation of touch and a heart that’s beating a mile a minute.

“I liked that.” You grin, breathless and wild. His cheeks are flushed.

“You better get used to it, then. There’s more where ‘that’ came from.” His thumb draws circles on your cheek.

He dips to the side, tilting his head to whisper something into your ear.

“Unless, of course, you actually do regret it.”

The corners of your mouth lift up involuntarily as you whisper something into his.

“Like I said, I would do it again.”

[mischas]

I'm late to this post as I'm revisiting all things Ben and Mischa since the news break (ofc). I've been wondering if Cam's confusion about Ben "being mean" to him even though he "didn't do anything" could be tied to him being an asshole to Mischa at the time. Even if she and Ben were in a weird spot maybe he was annoyed the new guy was either 1. in close proximity to her whether that be just in filming or irl or him being an asshole towards her. It's the only rumor I ever heard about Ben being "mean." Any other problematic Ben convos revolve around relationship drama so it makes me wonder. I feel like it has to do with Mischa.

Well yes, but also no. Forgetting Cam for a second, Mischa herself said "he was really angry with me to begin with and I felt the punishment of that". That's a deranged way to treat the 18 y/o girl who broke up with you. Especially as 90% of that relationship occurred when she was 17.

I think a lot of people have never paid attention to the rumors surrounding the s2 set (that Mischa essentially broke up the cast's happy-go-lucky dynamic of "work hard, play hard" together) and how she courted fame separately by hanging out with people in LA party circles. There was a lot of deep-rooted resentment that manifested in the writing (and acting) and Mischa confirmed that on CHD. Melinda said on the show podcast that Ryan's angry outburst to Marissa in 209 felt personal between the actors. If Alan Sepinwall tells us in his substack that this bombshell was not really a bombshell to him because it seemed everyone knew and talked around it, I imagine Melinda knew about the rancid s2 vibes. A lot can be gleaned just from that alone. It's not just romantic/sexual tension and anger, it's, as Mischa said to E! News in 2021, and I feel comfortable saying with the added context of CHD... bullying.

As for s3, the kids were all tired of being there and acting out in various ways. There was a lot of backtalk and bitching and Adam is the only one coming out of the book looking like an honest person about that. And we know Mischa wasn't going to be spilling her guts in a book telling half-truths.

There are instances on the podcast (a very Ben-positive pod) about him being a dick to extras and guest stars. "Mean" is a relative term. Ben's own future wife got the cold shoulder from him. Nikki Griffin was reading on set and he remarked that he was surprised she could read at all. And Nikki made sure to note it wasn't said as a joke. And I really don't care about Cam Gigandet. I think Ben is allowed to be strangely jealous or confused and whatever s3 behavior (I don't think it's the worst thing in the world to shutter a guest star, like it's not great but it's whatever), but there are other accounts of Ben not being the best to work with if he's not in a good mood. The director Patrick Norris said on the podcast that he didn't know if Ben was going to punch him or take direction. And Norman had his issues with him too. So like. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that.

[dilatorywriting]

idk if you plan to do any monster mayhem for the staff where reader is there age too but i am having SUCH a brainrot over monster crowley i have to share it

im just imagining hes similar to howls feathery monstrosity form except more Fae more thats his actual true form not a form of magic and he takes on a human form albiet one obvs non human due to the pointed ears and the feathers people swear up and down are in his hair and pn his shoulders like a feathered ruff bc all the shiny things humans have and interesting devices to make life easier!

the man definetely has like 838384 heated blankets for his bedroom that is more a nest than anything else lol and the one day he gets injured in his natural more beastly form and mc come across him and he thinks that this is it this is where he dies bc humans attack what they cant understand due to fear but instead this little human he could crush under his talons like a bug comes up and fusses over him ordering him to not move (as if crowley even could) and then leaves

but they come back with a bunch of medicinal stuff and patches him up and returns every day chattering away aimlessly at him as they changed the bandages and compliment how beautiful and shiny his feathers are and maybe theyre a healer or smth and mention a familar and the next day they come back they have a crow following them feathers glistening brightly in the sun cawing happily at mc and crowley is faced with the realisation that oh no hes become smitten with them at some point

and then once hes healthy again he starts showing up in his humanoid form at mcs little apothecary with random cuts or bruises from tripping or being attacked by stray cats that he totally couldnt have healed himself oh no! and everytime he slyly conpliments them and leaves something shiny they could keep or give their crow familiar or some bundle of rare herbs they mc was having trouble getting

and he just turns down all his admirers (that hed never paid attention to more then for the praise anyway) to instead lavish mc with attention bc theyd seen his true beastly form crowley had secretly been so sure no one could love which led him to indulging so much in his "human" life and had looked after him like he was something beautiful to be cherished and bow MC is like oh no i think im smitten

anyway i dont like crowley i swear i dont okay hes just hes just i DONT hes just pretty i dont like him i swear <- man helplessly in denial

I do indeed love the absolute horror nightmares that could come from Staff Monster Mayhem, and Crowley as some sort of demonic bird monstrosity is Peak. I do have to get a bit better with his personality I think before I dive into anything actual for him, because mostly I just write him as A Nuisance, when in reality he gives me vibes of being A Bigger Nuisance but also... not quite right? Like he's got pointy ears and glowing eyes. There's got to be some sort of weird, fae, bullshit going on with him. And in the words of Patrick Star, gotta 'firmly grasp it.' Because I'm still a bit lost on him

My thought honestly when I was debating something for the Staff was, like, a Mount Olympus sort of setup? Or maybe more specifically like a Hades (the game) sort of situation? With the MC as a sort of stand-in for Zagreus, receiving the guidance and blessing of all these all-powerful, very temperamental and moody, gods.

[thegeminisage]

IT ISSSS tng update time. sunday we caught "captain's holiday" and "tin man" and last night we did "hollow pursuits" and "the most toys."

captain's holiday: so, i'd heard ahead of time that this was one of the worst star trek episodes Ever, and admittedly it wasn't great, but it wasn't THAT bad. i could name you 10 worse episodes in tng alone and that's without even getting into tos and the other bad episodes that are surely in my future. actually catherine liked it more than i did which is only the second time this has happened in tng

funniest part of this episode to me was riker setting picard up with the little fuck trinket and then picard coming back and giving riker woodshed vibes. don't text. hilarious to send picard to the fuck planet when he wanted to read a book or whatever but at least he got some in the end. i'll never forget patrick stewart telling that one writer that tng's captain didn't do enough shooting or screwing

second funniest part was that the little device they were all fighting over could have saved romulus. "stop the nuclear reaction in a sun" THEY COULD HAVE SAVED ROMULUS AND PICARD DESTROYED IT. THE KELVIN MOVIES ARE ALL HIS FAULT. i guess romulus wouldn't have been that much better off with NO sun but at least its people could have been evacuated. there would have been a little more time.

that said most of this ep was very boring because i'm not actually invested in picard's sex life or his slutty little outfits and definitely not enough to have a whole episode be about him and none of the extended cast

tin man: i liked the concept of this much better than the execution. most of my problems came from the fact that the guest character (hello mister mayor) is annoying. so i was unable to be invested in whatever happened to him

also, i know it;'s her job, but i am soooo tired of deanna getting stuck with all the weird broken men and having to fix them. she's like star trek's manic pixie dream girl sometimes

that said i LOVED their concept of the new biomechanical life because it's JUST like moya from farscape and i like to think the farscape writers were inspired by it <3

also i like data being a boon to overwhelmed telepath because androids dont broadcast thoughts...i like when people are nice to data

i did like riker being kind of righteously mad in this episode too. i was JUST saying we never got to see that from him...it wasn't enough here and it also wasn't Great but i still enjoyed what we got

hollow pursuits: this was the worst episode this entire seaosn easily. i felt like i was watching s1 tng again

IT IS. MASSIVELY UNETHICAL. TO RECREATE REAL PEOPLE IN THE HOLODECK

first of all i hate despise LOATHE any and all holodeck activities. secondly i know they hadn't had to grapple with AI yet in 1990 but surely SOMEONE in that writer's room had to see that it's a huge infringement on deanna's personal rights safety, and dignity to make a fake version of her to fuck in the holodeck

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS GUY COMES BACK LIKE 4 MORE TIMES.

i feel like what tng was TRYING to do here was "very special episode about anxiety" but what it actually managed to do was make that guy look autistic but like in a bad way. like charlie from tos. and then everyone bullied him and you have to be like. well making and fucking a fake deanna is bad but bullying is also bad

wait actually you know what this is like. this is like that time when i was in public with my family and a man touched me inappropriately. and so after he was gone my mother, jumping to my defense, made some disparaging remarks about this man's race (he was not white). and then i was put in the position of defending this guy who had just been a huge creep to me because you can attack him for being a creep but not because of his race. and my family was baffled that i would defend someone who'd just done that to me. that's what watching this episode felt like.

like, absolutely nobody had a problem with the actual creepy part (holodeck deanna) and everybody had a problem with him stammering in public and being socially awkward. and bullied him accordingly. DOWN TO THE MEAN NICKNAMES.

anyway, 0/10, one of the worst episodes Ever, it literally made me wish i was back in captain's holiday watching picard slut it up. if this episode had been on "am i the asshole" the judgment would have been "everyone sucks here" except deanna, who literally did nothing wrong and suffered the most anyway

hollow pursuit: THIS ONE POPPED THE FUCK OFFFFFFFFFFFFF

10 out of fucking 10. one ZILLION stars. i would have loved it even if i wasn't a data fan but i am a data fan and i had a WONDERFUL time

you spend this whole episode wanting so so so bad for data to kill this guy. data is kidnapped and debased and coerced into playing his captor's games and you want data to kill him SO BAD. and in your mind you're like, yeah but they won't let him KILL the guy kill the guy, it's gonna be like some disney villain stumbling or having an accident and he winds up dead due to Circumstances. there's no way data is gonna fucking kill a guy

and then there's like 30 perfect seconds where you're like: oh fuck. data is GONNA FUCKING KILL A GUY

let me find the exact moment that sent me over the edge. mister captor: "Go ahead. Fire. If only you could feel rage over Varria's death. If only you could feel the need for revenge, then maybe you could fire. But you're just an android. You can't feel anything, can you?"

AND THE ENTIRE TIME. DATA'S FACE IS TWITCHING. AND I SAID ALOUD TRULY GENUINELY BELIEVING HE HAD FINALLY UNLOCKED EMOTIONS I THINK HE CAN FEEL IT ACTUALLY??? LIKE HE LOOKS LIKE HE IS FEELING IT

anyway it counts. data DID fire, and just because they couldnt have him do that on tv and had to transport him away first, he fired (in spite of his program! it was in defense of other life), he meant to kill that man horribly, it counts it counts it COUNTS

furthermore, his mic drop at the end - why would i come see you just to gloat, after all i'm just an android - made me YELL out loud. data is hard as FUCK

i can't take credit to this thought because it was catherine's thought first but it's so fun that both androids we've seen unlock emotion so far - raina unlocked love and lal unlocked fear - were immediately destroyed by it. and what a fun contrast it would be if raina unlocked her emotions with love and data unlocked his with HATE. and i agree because it contrasts so strongly with data's normal loving nature. it's very "anger of a gentle man" of him if that makes any sense. like he is always so unfailingly polite and considerate and forgiving even to people like maddox but enough is Enough.

also, everyone mourning data was really very good. i simply love when people love him...

anyway, that episode fucked. i'm thinking about making it a must see on my spreadsheet <3

TONIGHT, FINALLY: "sarek." i cannot WWWWAIT to see him

[aphantimes]

Knuckles voice actor ranking time!!!!!!! I said I’d do this after Prime came out but I’m slow hush

Going from worst to best (even though number one should be very obvious if you know anything about me). ofc, nothing against any of these VAs I’m judging them solely on how I personally think they stack up as voices for a fictional echidna!!!!! OK LET’S GET STARTED.

In last place, the 14th spot, is Fred Tatasciore, from the Sonic Drone Home short. I understand that he was just a replacement for Idris Elba for a little short, but this voice for Movie Knuckles is very unfitting. And, I know this isn’t the actor’s doing, but some of the way the lines were put together in the short felt very stiff and unnatural? And the voice itself makes him sound like a meat head. Bleh. Just, not a fan. 13th is Brian Drummond, from Sonic Underground. It’s.. a very different interpretation of his voice, lol? It’s the most high pitched and “cartoony” one, to me. It’s not bad at all tbh, just.. idk, not what I was expecting lol. It’s fine. Pre-Frontiers Dave B. Mitchell would be here instead if judged solely by his Team Sonic Racing performance. That specific performance was way more ear-bleeding to me than Brian Drummond’s will ever be. 12th is Bill Wise, from the English dub of the Sonic OVA. Similar to Brain Drummond, I don’t actually dislike this voice at all. It’s just very different to the others, so I’m not sure how to rank it. Apples and oranges, y’know? He makes Knuckles sound more like an average guy instead of a cartoon character, which is why he’s above Brian Drummond, but that’s really it. It’s a perfectly solid performance. 11th is Adam Nurada from Sonic Prime. I have similar complaints as everyone else has had, his voice is just too deep. And some specific lines stand out as being especially bad, giving me “Patrick Star” vibes. But, when he’s not sounding like an impression of THE idiot cartoon character, I do actually like his take on Knuckles. I think if he didn’t force his voice deeper than necessary he would sound great, I’m assuming it’s a direction problem? It’s a bit of a mixed bag, some lines are bad, but most are fine and even good. The previous two are better performances imo, but as a character voice for Knuckles, I give Adam Nurada the edge. 10th is Ryan Drummond. Yeah, Sonic’s first English voice actor. He voiced Knuckles for one game, being Sonic Shuffle. It’s basically just a Michael McGaharn impression lmao. It’s got that “generic super hero voice” vibe that reminds me of Knuckles’ SA1 E3 voice lol. 9th is Michael McGaharn, from SA1. I like how young and confused he sounds, he makes Knuckles actually sound like a naive teenager, but I have to admit that the delivery is very flat and emotionless. Parts of the E3 version are more emotive, but it has that problem I just mentioned where it sounds like some super hero voice, which makes me feel like the character himself is acting, which brings me out of it. I did really like this direction for the character, but the execution was a little shaky. 8th is Yasunori Matsumoto, his Japanese OVA voice. AFAIK this is Knuckles’ first voiced appearance, ever? I really like the deep voice, and how he sounds like an average dude. Honestly I would probably rank him higher bc this is just exactly what I want out of a Knuckles voice lol, but it’d just feel wrong for me to put this one-off role above the actors that stuck with the character for multiple years. It’s really good. 7th is Travis Willingham. He is amazing as Boom Knuckles and fits perfectly, but for game Knuckles, he just never... clicked for me. I look at Knuckles and hear Travis’ voice come out of him and there’s just a disconnect for me. It just... isn’t Knuckles to me. He’s an amazing actor, and fits fine enough, but he never felt quite right as Knuckles, to me. He is PEAK as Boom Knuckles, tho. There’s none of that disconnect at all when his voice comes from Boom Knuckles’ mouth. 6th is Dave B. Mitchell. As previously stated, if this were solely based on his TSR performance he would be way down at the bottom of the ranking. I can only assume it was due to terrible direction. That TSR voice is literally unlistenable to me. But, since then, his Knuckles voice has improved significantly. I do admit that it sounds very much like a Travis impression, but something about the more recent direction makes me prefer Dave’s take, while I still have to admit that I think Travis is objectively a better actor. Dave was amazing in Frontiers, and was great in the twitter takeover. Somehow, his voice coming out of Knuckles’ character model feels more fitting than Travis’ ever did to me. It may just be a writing thing. I’m glad Dave has good material to work with now. It’s still not quite the kind of voice I would prefer for Knuckles, but he does a good job.

5th is Dan Green. Dan Green was probably the Knuckles voice I had the most exposure to as a kid, because I watched Sonic X’s dub. He sounds fantastic when he yells, lol. I love the energy he brings to the character. He was really fitting for the character, and I do wish Knuckles would go back to having this kind of voice. I.. really have nothing bad at all to say about his Knuckles voice. He’s only fifth because I personally like the upcoming four better, it’s just preference. He’s great. 

 4th is Scott Dreier. I just LOVE how chill he is, while still being able to nail the angrier lines. Objectively, he’s not as good of an actor as many of the previous entries, but as a Knuckles voice I adore his take. When I read Knuckles lines in fics, this voice is the closest to what I hear.. though I tend to not include the American accent lol. Some of his delivery is a little monotonous, especially in SA2, but tbh I kinda prefer his SA2 performance more than his Heroes one. I like how calm it is. I tend to not prefer when he ramps up the gruffness too much, it sounds like he’s trying too hard, but when he hits that balance just right it is GREAT. It sounds like I’m dropping a lot of negatives but that’s just because it’s a little inconsistent, but those parts of this Knuckles voice that I like, I REALLY like. 3rd is Vincent Tong. REALLY surprising that one of Sonic Prime’s new Knuckles VAs is up so high! We don’t get to hear him do a “normal” Knuckles voice, because he voices all of Knuckles’ shatterverse variants (Renegade, Gnarly and Dread), but he does AMAZING. His range is absolutely insane! Every one of the three versions of Knuckles he voices sound perfect for that specific variant. When I heard his voice for Dread my first assumption was that they pulled in a third voice actor because it was so drastically different to the others, but no it’s still him! It’s incredibly impressive! Some of Renegade’s lines where the accent is less present are PERFECT for normal Knuckles. Literally my ideal English Modern Knuckles voice. Like if Game Knuckles was given a voice like that, and it stuck around, my life would be complete. I WOULD BE SO HAPPY. 2nd is Idris Elba. Do I even need to explain!? He KILLED it as Movie Knuckles. He stole the entire movie! That casting decision was absolutely phenomenal. He does such an amazing job. It doesn’t feel like one of those cases where they hire a celebrity just for the sake of the name, he actually fits the character flawlessly. Any other voice simply would not work. He makes Knuckles sound intimidating, but also bluntly honest and trusting, and carries his comedy perfectly. Some of the jokes WOULD NOT have landed as well if it weren’t for his amazing delivery. Knowing that he’ll be returning for the Knuckles series is half the reason I’m so excited for it. If I heard that they were getting someone else to voice Movie Knuckles for the series, I think I’d be... concerned. But with Idris Elba on board, I know that, at the very least, Knuckles will sound great in the series. And in 1st place is, of course, Nobutoshi Canna. Knuckles’ Japanese voice actor that has stuck around since Sonic Adventure all the way back in 1998. He was perfect back then, and remains perfect today. He has voiced Knuckles in EVERYTHING since Sonic Adventure. Every game, every show, everything (barring the Sonic Movie 2) . He has been with the character for decades. He is THE Knuckles. I revisit some of my favourite lines of his all the time because I just can’t get enough of his voice. I LOVE WHEN HE YELLS SO MUCH. There’s something about his.. enunciation? that I just ADORE. idk how to describe it, there’s just some quality to his voice that I could listen to for FOREVER. The only negative I can think of is that he does not work for Boom Knuckles. His voice is just incompatible with a dumb Knuckles, that was the only case where it would’ve been better find another VA in my opinion. But for every other Knuckles he’s voiced is just utter perfection. I cannot sing enough praise for this man.

[total-takes-island-takes]

Ranking characters by how likely they are to become a finalist

22 - Max - He literally gave up the opportunity to ever compete again.

21&20 - Patrick and Kitty - They're busy with the aftermath.

19 - Courtney - I doubt that they would be considered for the role of a returnee seeing as the 2 characters they have beef with are in the peanut gallery.

18 - Mclovin - Has been confirmed to be going home early and i doubt that he will come back. He lacks a spine and will fold under the pressure if tasked to start drama. He only got to the finale last season because everyone was worried about the actually threatening characters.

17 - Ass - May come back to start drama. People will easily see through that tho.

16 - Michela - Sorry queen but I doubt you'll win again :(

15 - Mal - Same as Ass but the characters are less likely to suspect her. They just think shes weird. I do think she is the most likely to return tho.

14 - Austin - I just can't visualise him winning, especially going up against absolutely amazing contestants like Bonnie, Scruffy and Scary.

13 - Julia - Would come back to start up drama the same way Mal and Ass would; However, she has one thing the other 2 don't. A Lover An Ally. Also, she will be much more helpfulin challenges as her skills with technology and logical mind will become much more useful in this sort of setting while her average strength and durability are much less of a downside.

12 - Scruffy - Hot take: Their amazing skills will make them a massive target post merge; In addition, their great strength and godlike durability will be less likely to dominate in this sort of setting. They'll definitely get to the merge tho.

11 - Frollo - Only this high because of the smaller cast. I doubt that he'll win as I feel like 13 episodes is to short for the massive character arc he needs.

10 - Joner - Can do a lot of developing and growing with the whole Michela and Mclovin. Might also have a lot of film knowledge.

9 - Staci - An extremely flexible character. She can be a surprise villain, just a funky lil guy here to cause problems or a friend to support the other characters. They can use their engineering skills to help in challenges, friendly personality and geeky charm to make allies and gain votes if the finale is just like action. Her implied fear of blood may hold them back tho.

8 - O - Now having a supportive friend in Fren and fewer fear or action oriented challenges, I feel like he has a very solid chance to win. He's very kind so he might do a Mclovin/Owen and Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing into the finale.

7 - Shamod - A solid all-round contestant. Not much to say tbh.

6 - Scary - So much can be done with them.

5 - Peter - Beth vibes.

4 - Bonnie - Controversial, but I feel like Caesar is much more suited for this season and a season with both of them as winners may have a much lower stakes finale - even more meh than all stars imo. He will get into the merge but then be eliminated to trigger Caesar's growth.

3 - Fren - He's Smart. He slays. He has awful taste in men. He's kind. He loves films and theatre. He has a strong friendship with O. He's fucking green. He is musically talented. He has probably made several music videos.

2 - Kelly - I believe in them. They definitely have watched many films and they strike me as one of those popular femmes that are very talented in many areas. Legally Blonde core.

1 - Caesar - This is his season.

oh very well reasoned ranking, I will say (not confirmed) but I do think Joner will keep up the trend of not putting finalists in the finals again (once again not confirmed, just vibes0

[thekidsarentalright]

ok ok i’ve started to process the album but honestly cant stop yelling enough to write a coherent ask so here’s a whole bunch of stuff that has me going feral:

the title track. i think fob just released one of my fave songs ever, it went to my top 5 from them so fast!!! it reminds me of how much the pandemic fucked up for everyone… “thought we had it all” fr!! but like. the strings??? the choir at the end?! SUNSHINE OF MY LIFETIME REPRISE?!?! SHUT UP FOREVER!!!!! (also my bday is the “day after christmas past” so i nearly screamed when i heard that line lmaooooo… followed immediately by “my pain isn’t cool enough”?! literally almost fell over at that point. that felt like an accidental shoutout and then getting punched directly in the gut 😭)

flu game is absolutely my second fave!!! the “youuuu” in the chorus just hits my brain a certain way i’m obsessed!! also i relate to it a little too much 😭

what a time to be alive!!!!! soul punk vibes fr <3 also that bridge goes so hard i think screaming it live would fix me 😭 WHEN I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE THIS ISNT QUITE WHAT I MEANT!!!! GOT THE QUARANTINE BLUES BAD NEWS WHAT’S LEFT!!!!!

the strings in i am my own muse?!?! patrick is just flexing at this point (as he should) <3

my synesthesia went crazy with heaven iowa… it’s this beautiful deep blue/indigo/purple situation and i want to live in it <— totally normal thing to say abt a song

so good right now gave me whiplash right after heaven iowa but it’s so fun! i went from crying to dancing so fast lmao

in general i love space and this album delivered w the references!! i caved and bought the glow in the dark stars 😳

and the living even though it’s painful and scary, especially when it’s painful and scary vibes… fob always knows what we need to hear i swear!!! ur post abt the themes on this album is so so true <3

patrick dressed as a chicken playing the piano… i love him so much it’s stupid <3 also that music video nearly killed me. couldn’t see the screen super well when they were on fallon and didn’t process that the costume was like… a muscle suit for a solid minute. my brain literally shut down lmaooo 😭

ik there’s like… lyric parallels and stuff i got rlly excited abt but am totally forgetting rn! i’m sure it’ll come back when i listen to the album again (which i’m probably gonna go do rn) but… yeah!! so glad we get to be insane abt all this on here together lol <3 peace and love in fob world ☺️

- 🧋 anon

YESSSS the title track is INSANE with how good it is and how much is in it like. i swear every lyric hits Hard, the reprise absolutely breaks my heart it is so. Perfect. so so so valid for it being in your top 5 fob songs of all time already it is genuinely That Good!!! and made for you Clearly with that birthday shoutout!!! even with the gut punch after. every lyric feels like such a gut punch i swear kfgjdhfkjs

flu game is ALSO one of my top favs, i could not rank this album yet even if it would save my life kfjsdkfj but i know for Sure flu game is in like. top 5 territory. i'm obsessed w it for the same reasons fr it is. too relatable thanks pete (haha i said the thing!)

REAL i need them to perform what a time to be alive live SO bad literally just so i can scream that bridge i think that would fix me fr fr. also just love how dancey it is while having. incredibly depressing lyrics. vibe of all time fksjdhfks

patrick is flexing w his arranging skills all over this album but Esp in i am my own muse and i hope he keeps flexing forever bc it is. so good!!!!

OUGHHH heaven iowa being purpley blue it so pretty... to me it's like... idk a very warm song, orange/yellow/golden so. the opposite of you KFJDSK but still pretty i Also wanna live in it. we are So normal for that bff <3

they are literally sick for putting so good right now right after heaven, iowa it was Such an intense tone shift fsdkjfsh i Love so good right now tho it's slowly becoming one of my favs i think

i absolutely love how jam packed this album is w space references, i was anticipating it but Still am like. fuck yeah space fkjdshkfjs i'm still debating on getting the glow in the dark stars tbh... is u getting them a sign i should too... much to think about

but yeah the albums themes are SOOOO. like. i think what the world needed to hear right now, also what i needed to hear rn, what You needed to hear like. they always know!!!! it is just so cathartic to hear that things might not be okay or better but that you can still live and be fulfilled and have love Despite Despite Despite!!!!

and lastly fr i. didn't process it was a chestplate/muscle suit at first either so was like. ready to die over patrick looking like That lmao honestly i still am he pulls off that look way too well. also pulled off the chicken costume imo <3

[helianthusaster]

I have the TOS brainrot ♡

Have a headcanon!

Semi-spoilers for S2 Ep10: Journey to Babel

So, basically, Scotty and Spock are cousins because they're my favorite blorbos and it works ok!!!

Spock & Scotty's grandparents, Muriel and Patrick Scott, divorced when their mothers, Amanda and Anna Scott were 10 years old. Amanda Scott, later Grayson--her mother's surname, moved to New England (take your pick, I personally get DC vibes) to work for Starfleet while Anna Scott stayed in Aberdeen with their father.

Amanda, after kicking Sarek's ass for "insulting her intelligence" and subsequently marrying him (cause that's totally how that went), moved to Vulcan and had Spock; who canonically left Vulcan at 18 to attend Starfleet Academy.

During the summer, at her request, Spock stayed with his Aunt Anna, in the hopes of connecting with the nephew she didn't know she had until literally 2 hours prior because communications between Vulcan and Earth take Far Longer Than They Should and also Amanda and Anna kinda lost contact 3 years after "The Separation". Through this random arrangement, Anna was able to connect with her nephew, who got both incredibly homesick and lonely during his time on Earth, by teaching him how to play Earth games like Chess and Stramash. He, in turn, opened up a bit and was able to teach Anna a few Vulcan phrases like "hello" and "goodnight", because--contrary to popular belief--Spock was far more antisocial and silent in his early days at the Academy than he ever was on the Enterprise because his Aunt Anna (he called her "Aun'tanna", and she called him "Squawk" in return cause we love a Canonically dyslexic family ♡; Anna having visual and Spock having deep and visual) and her son, Montgomery (or "Won'ry" as Spock called him), worked really hard to undo all of the literal child abuse he had been faced with.

Sarek did his best with what he thought was right for a Vulcan child but did not take into account that Spock is not only dyslexic (canonically) but also autistic (fanonically) and did not know how to accommodate him because it was an Undocumented Phenomenon (The term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" was created in 1988 but was not made a formal diagnosis until 2013; which could not have happened in Star Trek: TOS because it is preceeded by The Eugenics Wars from 1992-1996) in Both Humans and Vulcans, so she defaulted to "spare the rod, spoil the child." (If you don't believe me go rewatch Journey to Babel and tell me that's the first time she's done that to him based purely on his reaction. You know the scene.)

Also, Scotty didn't realize they were cousins until month 3 of their 5 year mission on the Enterprise when Anna brought a photo album with her shortly after they docked for shore leave and showed them pictures of her and her sister as kids. He thought that Spock was just a random Vulcan exchange student living in their house for like 4 years that his mom kinda "adopted".

Spock has drunk Scotty under the table (the equivalent of a full keg of Scotch) before immediately passing out after a single Scottish Jersey (Scotch Hot Chocolate).

And thus, this image was born!

Operation: Give Spock As Many Friends As Possible (also Operation: Everyone On The Enterprise is Neurodivergent) is in full swing! :D

I hereby dub this hc "S'Cousins"!

[nani-nonny]

LET'S CONTINUE!!

" Leonardo awakens to the feeling of his legs being held down " my mind went " you're under arrest b***h xD by the kids

When i saw blue's hand on leo i thought 'can he share energy while blue's sleeping?' Like can it happen unconsciously?

When CJ was laying on like starfish i remembered Patrick star XD

I laughed at the hospital bed surviving! Give it an award!! XD

The way f!leo tried to get out was like a puzzle mobile game!

While leo eating chips - thank god it's not Doritos - and thinking about life finally the golden moment came where purple announce " Drax is arrested " XD

I just LAUGHED when purple announced once again of drax's arrest, how long did drax was a run away from HC?!

But it was actually three minutes and 47 seconds.” damn they took his minute and 13 second?! Damn cruelty

When purple say he doesn't feel like going i was like; bro you couldn't even pour milk on yo cereal how come you can help?!?!/j

If splinter got mad it's gonna take more sushi to butter the old man UP! And the way he spoke about how he can get the old male wife goat out was really... Not relaxing i must say

When leo said " leo won't help him out willingly " i thought; COME ON blue! You can't be STILL upset about the rooftop incident?!?

And when purple said blue would listen to leo i immediately thought of " OOOH~ FATHER SON VIBES!!! "

“Yeah, you’re really cool. You’re like the perfect d—,” OOOHHHHH FATHER ALERTS! FATHER ALERTS!! I COMPLETELY RELATE TO PURPLE IN THIS MOMENT!!! AND THE WAY HE JUST CHANGED IT TO DOG!!! XYOOXXOOXY!! AHAHAHA (I really wonder if F!Leo figured out what purple really meant)

When the blues were in jail and heard the guard talking i was giggling at how blue's gonna shove all of this in draxam's face!

Tho blue's right; this's not a prison! This's the whole circus

Remember when i said that splinter will be pissed off? He may forgive if the blues kept the muzzle on xD

Ohhh 30$ dollar bet that drax will throw leo later from ANOTHER rooftop

I’m more of an ‘old and tired and just want to sleep and retire my sword’ side of the human versus yokai race.” golden comment

" pulls a small pouch out of his mouth " Eeww

“I should have altered your DNA so you didn’t have a tongue to speak with.” AHAHAHAHA

When Drax talked about big mama - i kinda foreshadowed that she have it - and how her 'could' probably told on him... I hated her even more (SORRY DMD)

When leo ratted out blue and how red looked at him i immediate believed that red will expose him, maybe putting the fact he can hear F!april's voice on news so the whole family can know XDD/j

“Why didn’t she tell us she can do that?” BRO SHE H AVE SOME STRANGER THING TYPE OF POWER XDD

Red asking so much questions and am happy it's red because if it's purple then oh lord... Write your will..

The moment drax asked leo to say hi to future mikey i was HELLA excited!

"'He looks down to see he finally has form " when the game finally upload it Grafic lol

AAAAAHHHH THEY FINALLY FINALLY MET!! LET'S GOOOOOO!!

Lol it’d be entertaining to think that Commander O’Neil possessed his body and performed the energy share thing but no, Blue just passed out after he shared his mystic energy hahahaha!

Purple knows Blue listens to F!Leo because he’d do the same lol (F!Leo is FATHER!!!)

And F!Leo took the dog comment at face value because he’s more confused how he’s a dog lol… Cue F!Leo googling what kind of dog breed he is /j

Draxum’s so gross for putting the pouch in his mouth, but if it means preventing it from getting taken away from him by the police, then by all means choke it down/j

And oof, Purple would have thousands of questions that I would’ve dreaded writing it all down, I love the smart guy but my arthritis doesn’t /hj

Now I have to perform tricks and flips trying to smoothly maneuver a conversation with F!Leo and the ghosty bros *sweats nervously for myself*

[ylojgtr]

i just watched patrick willem's video from 2018 on the last jedi called "what do we want from a star wars movie?" and im going to share my thoughts because no one can stop me, im 6 years late and i don't care

i like his channel a lot and i think he did a good job explaining it, but i agree maybe 50% with his main point. he says that fans who were upset with tlj were looking for the Star Wars Feeling™️ from a star wars movie, the feeling of nostalgia essentially, and that the eu normalizing explications for everything made fans less open to new stuff. the main thing *i* want to say though is about one of his supporting points: that the prequels didnt feel like star wars in that they weren't relatable like the ot.

i love the prequels man. of course, i grew up with them in a way many didn't (as well as tcw which just serves to heighten the movies), so there's definitely bias, but one thing i love about the prequels *is* that vastly different feeling. looking back, the ot could be described as campy, but every person ive talked to who saw Star Wars in 1977 said the effects and presentation were beyond any immersion they'd ever experienced before. the same cannot be said for ep. 1, even people who got into star wars from that movie (at least that ive heard), despite also being on the cutting edge of movie technology, and obviously the dialogue is way cheesier than anything written by anyone other than george lucas, but all that just adds to the vibes, ya know? the galaxy was in a different time then too, and i can't explain how much fun it is to experience these completely separate times in such a visceral way, intentional or otherwise, when watching through the saga

i hate the sequels. of the 3, tlj is far and away my favourite. i would have LOVED to see what trilogy rian johnson and his team could have cooked up if they'd been given control over the whole thing. i love tfa visually, and introduces some great characters (ahem, KYLO...also finn i love him) but just *feels* like anh remastered. if that's what you wanted, great! but for me, i was just sooo stoked to see what a new era would feel like that it really disappointed me. the main thing i hear from people who like tlj is that it takes the story in a different direction. and while i really appreciate that, and do like the force dyad stuff and finn and roses subplot and the not-lightsaber fight at the end AND what all that stuff means for the saga, it still has that feeling of sameness, at least to me, because it's trying to be something so different. the way i see it, it's trying to be *opposite* of what everyone expects, which means it needs to have that same feel in order to subvert it. which, again, is fine by me! tfa was already done and it has to fit that aesthetic to fit into the trilogy, and im just one fan. of course everyone hates ros which i guess tried to do opposite of what they did opposite in tlj? i don't know what they were on making that movie

another thing i wanted to bring up was the whole interconnectedness of the franchise. patrick brought up the eu to show how fans were taught that every detail has an explanation. no second of the ot was without a dozen books detailing what every character was doing in the background and how they came to be there. his point was that, when new characters are doing new things in unexpected ways, people don't like it cause there isn't a wookiepedia article on it yet to explain it exactly, and that that ties into why people hated tlj. i don't doubt it, but i also want to point out that that eu is a source of a lot of enjoyment too. i don't think he was denying this, or saying it was bad at all, but i just wanted to share that the eu is basically the reason im as big a fan as i am. the idea that everything is connected is appealing to me, and the way that star wars does it, where expanded material takes place in all different times and settings with no correlation to publishing date, just really appealed to me in contrast to the marvel way or any other big franchise like that. in any other series, each new installment progresses time forward. in star wars, we have infinite time to explore any era we want...which brings me back to how much i love the completely different aesthetics from the ot and pt. the variety is so refreshing. the galaxy feels so different between eras where the sequels just make it rebels vs empire again. we already have a billion books on rebels vs empire so...what expanded stories can i look forward to thats different in the sequel era? im sure there are lots, but the difference just won't be as great. also, star wars *is* goofy. patrick says it himself, bringing up that there were a lot more jokes in the ot. id argue the prequels take themselves so seriously that the seriousness becomes the goofiness (and i love it). ive said many times on this blog that i LOVE the stupid part of star wars lore. like yes, the fact that it's explained who the stormtrooper is that han killed and stole armour from and that he's fucking tarkin is SUPER UNNECESSARY but it's FUNNY AS FUCK. no one needs to know palpatines name is sheev but that's the best name ever? the problem isn't the lore, it's when people take it too seriously and don't allow for that innovation to happen that leads to more fun lore and stories. which i think is exactly what patrick was saying, he just didn't emphasize how enjoyable the unnecessary-ness of it all is and how distinct feels in different star wars eras are imperative to all these diverse avenues for story and fun to arise. (now do i think people should be able to survive lightsaber wounds? only cause of how much i love qui-gon, i admit to being a bit angry about that...but at the end of the day i don't really care that much? im here to have fun and yeah ill complain about it sometimes but just cause complaining is also fun)

that's why i love tcw (it fleshes out this distinct time period and political setting) and rebels (again, fleshes out the distinct era of extremely fleeting hope between the empire's reign and the coming of the saviour) and the heir to the empire novels (they establish a new era with a different feel—much more similar to the ot than the prequels are to the ot but still) and kotor (same as with htte but more similar to prequels) and the new jedi order and legacy (although it's also basically rebels vs empire, it has enough of a divergent story and tone that i like it) and the high republic in the disney canon (although i haven't digested as much of it as id like cause fuck disney)

but my main point: the thing i want from new star wars is a mix of things patrick seems to love,l AND things he seems to hate. yes i want it to be star wars, so there's some sort of familiar feeling there that needs to present, but i also want a twist on it. the ot was a classic fairy tale. the prequels were political thrillers (sometimes not so thrilling, but still). other stories people really liked act completely differently again, like the mandalorian being a western and also a heartwarming family bonding adventure or andor being a spy thriller and also the best star wars show. each era or sub-franchise has their distinct aesthetics and feels that future artists can make feel even more distinct and special yet theyre all connected which is just fun don't you think? the sequels would have made me a lot happier if they gave us some new ground for new feels the same way the prequels did. anyway that's my official response no one cares about to a 6 year old video. yay!

[outismm]

giggling seeing your tags!!! oh no, the lovely Pat Butcher has caught your eye, has he? 🙈💖 AND the Toymaker too!!! tell me what you love about them, i'm all ears 🥰💖

Star. Star what have you done. Star you've given me an excuse to yell about them now, what have you DONE KJASDKASJ no but <3 oh this is gonna get so long. I am being fueled entirely by Autism and Beginning-of-Winter-Term-Enthusiasm. Star, my beloved moot, this is going to be a thesis. I am so very sorry AKDSJSAKDJASKD

GUH. THE TOYMAKER. AH,,,, <- said while sweating profusely backed into a corner If I had to break it down into understandable words and not 'GKRJGRJG BITE BITE CHEW CHEW GNAW' :

The archetype of 'Very Silly Very Eldritch Man' is perhaps my favourite of all time, so this was inevitable. Like :

THIS!! THIS!! THIS IS THE KINDA STUFF THAT DRIVES ME ABSOLUTELY GONZO AMNDSAMND.

As a character, he falls into a category just adjacent to fae [magic-y, lots of eldritch traits that you only notice out of the corner of your eye, will make you to play silly games for your soul, Odd and Unusual In Nature] which is just. Mwah. my most favouritest of vibes for any character to have. My brain is in shambles.

Toymaker hot, no further notes there.

MANDMAND NO NO BUT. The expressiveness and whimsy that NPH puts into his performance as The Toymkaer makes my head go all spinny <3. Don't even get me started on his hands while he shuffles the cards, I'll collapse like a victorian dying of consumption.

Keep staring at me with those big sparkly blue eyes Magic Man and I will allow you to turn me into a kazoo :)

THE LORE IS SO VERY CRUNCH CAUSE LIKE - ‘entity born, alone, outside the universe itself’ is already such a fun concept, there’s so much to work with there even in the Canon only gently touches on it - But also,, the way he clings to humanity? The way he finds these impermanent little creatures and their games so fascinating? The parallels that creates w/ The Doctor? <- outis is about to go on a tangent

Like <3 that was always one of my favourite things about DW, even as a kid, and specifically The Doctor?

Like The Doctor’s gonna outlast humanity no matter what, that’s inevitable with what they are, but that isn’t the point, and that doesn’t change the interest/adoration/love that they've got for Humanity now :)

Even after they’re all gone, The Doctor’s always gonna have their hope, and The Toymaker’s always gonna have their games :) They both have a certain love for humanity, even if it’s in different ways, and with very, very different motivations attached. <- I don’t know if this makes sense. It is almost 1 am. Runs away like an animal crossing villager. Immortal Beings who find a way to love the Mortal will always make my heart go soupy.

TLDR. he is so particularly silly and tragic in a way that makes my brain. Go goopy. Also he must be so very touch starved and I want him to cling to me like a baby sloth :)

OH GOD AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED ON PAT-

THIS FUCKING GUY >:( how could this happen to me. How can I explain this to anyone. <- the instant I told a few of my friends that I had a crush on a BBC Ghosts character, they went 'oh yeah we thought you'd like Pat' despite me never mentioning his name to anyone. So clearly this was pre-destined KJASDKSADJ

NO BUT <333 AAAAA PATRICK BUTCHER MY LOVE. Where do I even begin with this wonderful wonderful man.

He gave a child a bow and arrow and didn’t see how that’d go wrong. He has the sweetest smile. He misses being able to eat food so much. His voice reaches a pitch that could rival a dog-whistle when he’s angry. He’s the shortest of the cast. He just wanted to say hello. When he was dying and in pain, he made himself stay calm and happy because even worse than dying was the idea of scaring the kids. He’s even autistic.

I have to believe that this man was bred in a lab in Yorkshire to make my brain turn inside out, in some sort of long-term assassination attempt. He calls his wife petal for heavensakes, there was never a hope of me not falling madly in love. that entire flashback scene had me making goosenoises. he is such a delight. Pat do you want a little kiss on your moustache. Pat we could get ghost married. Hey where are you going-

[I’m also realizing now that to anyone who hasn’t experienced Pat as a character, I’m sure this section must look like me going ‘hnrhgrngn I want him so bad’, only to open up my hand to reveal a softboiled egg. but please know that this is also what it feels like on my end MNASDMSNADMN.] TLDR : He's a soft-hearted dad from Yorkshire, what more could you want? Look at that sweet face :)

GHOU I have <3 been rambling for so very long. Thank you for giving me an excuse to yell about my sillies :) it has improved my eveningmorning so very much

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2023 - July

"Jeremias" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Dear LORD, Jeremias/Jeremiah had a lot to say and repeated it countless times so you know he's serious. These prophets get real wordy here toward the end of Old Testament.

The Abominable Snowman by R. A. Montgomery (1982)

After reading a Goosebumps take on the CYOA, this feels a bit tame. But! Still cool to see the origins of the most popular series of gamebooks.

"My Local Gas Station" by Ink (2018)

A simple trade.

The Adventures of Mighty Max - "Mighty Max and the Grand Slam" by Robert Hudnut, Gary Hartle, Brett Koth, David C. Weiss, and Phil Roman (1994)

It only make sense.

Mighty Max dev. Tiger Electronics (1994)

You didn't have to.

The Adventures of Mighty Max dev. WJS Design (1995)

You really didn't.

"What It Feels Like to Live as an Immortal?" dir. LazyOwl Studio (2022)

I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Metropolis dir. Rintaro (2001)

You take responsibility for what you've built.

Insidious: The Red Door dir. Patrick Wilson (2023)

Bit of a theme this month with ghost creepers possessing people.

Joy Ride dir. Adele Lim (2023)

A road story's just the thing.

Lost In the Stars dir. Cui Rui & Liu Xiang (2023)

It's got some hook to it.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One dir. Christopher McQuarrie (2023)

Too many part ones this year.

The Miracle Club dir. Thaddeus O'Sullivan (2023)

The small comedy-drama genre is a breath of fresh air.

Shadows dir. Glenn Chan (2023)

Honestly, I watched this with little sleep. Kinda Sixth Sense vibe?

Barbie dir. Greta Gerwig (2023)

One of those movies that shouldn't exist and it's good for us all that it does. Ya gotta.

Oppenheimer dir. Christopher Nolan (2023)

Nolan can get too into himself with explaining mechanics, but these historical jams constrain him well enough.

Haunted Mansion dir. Justin Simien (2023)

Just kind of... pleasant? Pleasant horror fun. Won't annoy your relatives.

Talk to Me dir. Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou (2023)

The third possession movie of the month, and definitely the best.

[milarvela]

I was at the movies. This trailer looked interesting. Other highlights were hearing Somebody to Love in another trailer and also a bit of Freddie singing in a Coca-Cola ad. A tad odd since I watched Elvis, well, an actor lacking his charm, smirk, humour and sexiness while sporting very white teeth (I thought those were out of fashion now) and distractingly cartoonish lips, not sure if he had cheekbones either (those lips were so lippy), trying to wiggle his hips convincingly. As if any idiot couldn’t have told that it’s the gorgeous smile with the prominent cheekbones and all that should’ve been mimicked first and foremost.

Anyways, it was another misery tale, very much like Bohemian Rhapsody, and Tom Hanks was doing a voice that sounded even more awkward than Rami Malek's whiny Freddie. This Parker just wasn't believable. Nobody would buy a used car from him because of the voice alone. And all that boring talk about snow. Maybe it was meant to have a meaning. But please just shut up and concentrate on the music and maybe show a bit more of Elvis' private life. Make a separate movie about Parker. Could actually be interesting.

The best performance in this movie was Tutti Frutti. Not by Austin Butler as Elvis. Lol, what's with shoving in all those other artists? Poor Elvis, a third rate copy of others. Was that the idea? If so, why not make a biopic of the genuine original performers instead of the poor, miserable copycat? Well, judging by this movie, the highlight of Elvis’ career was fighting for his right to move in a certain way. Okay?

Also finally saw Doctor Strange. I think it was too much for my ability to concentrate and comprehend. I mean, there was a woman who wanted to be a mother but instead of getting children of her own, she stole somebody else's, although it looked like the same actress in both roles. I don't get it. More bafflingly, how was she the villain of the movie and the whole point of the multiverse travelling? Some woman wanting kids? Lol, they really have run out of interesting villains. Well, at least it was different.

The actress gave me soap star vibes, at least until she had to play a sort of zombie. That was funny. Especially the weird underground chase scene with Strange & co stopping to wait for her next move. What was the idea? To build up tension? Moronic. Anyways, couldn't give two shiny shits about who got the kids and what happened to the characters. Just as indifferent as about the latest Bond with its poutyface and her daughter. Speaking of which, 007 made an appearance, and I haven't a clue why. Patrick Stewart was there too, trapped inside a yellow high chair, which was fun. The word illuminati was fun too. So many clumsy jokes, though I did laugh at the cloak trying to wake up Strange. And at the third eye. Not sure if it was meant to be funny. The post credits joke was the worst. So embarrassing. I don't even get why Strange did that to a random guy in the first place. Not cool.

I didn't find America and her relationship with Strange as annoying as I had feared. Except for Strange calling her a kid all the time. Couldn't he remember her name? Aren’t Americans supposed to be inserting each other’s names everywhere? Also, you'd think she'd wanted to find her mums with that power of hers but apparently she couldn't control it. Until she suddenly inexplicably could, and still didn't fuck off to find them. Really? But since I don’t know anything about her and the mums, I guess I wasn’t expected to mind.

Not enough of both Benedicts together, but I was kind of prepared for that. Here's a better movie: multiversions of Strange (I liked the ones I saw) and both Benedicts having an epic adventure together trying to deal with them and travelling in different universes. Skip the extra characters. Or if you must, make Benedicts help America find her mums. Wouldn’t even writers with little imagination have thought that more worthy a mission than a story about random woman’s confusion about motherhood?

I quite like Christine. Don't know why she got married. Who is that husband of hers? Maybe it’s been explained in one of those TV shows I haven't seen. Did he even say/do anything? What was the point of having him there? Well, they got to show a church full of a very diverse set of people. Even more diverse than at that hidey hole where everybody was prepared for an epic battle against that one wannabe mother. I think they lost too. Well, nobody in the movie cared, so why should I? But shouldn’t America at least have realised that the sparkles are useless? Become a mother instead.  

[tootiredmotel]

a different lover is not a sin

or: 5 times Dean didn't go to Pride + 1 time he did

Happy @starrynightdeancas gift exchange posting day!!! This one's for the wonderful and talented @andzia267 !!! Sending you all the hugs and good vibes, and I hope you enjoy it! And thank you Sophie for hosting all this, you're a rock star! <3

Read on ao3 or below / 5.5k words

CW: homophobia, queer used as a slur, john winchester being an asshole

1 - 1994

Dean was fifteen years old when he found out that being gay was something people could be proud of. It was early in the morning, they'd left their motel about 20 minutes before, and Sammy had fallen asleep in the backseat. The sun was just starting to completely show over the horizon, and they were driving through– or rather, struggling to get out of– Phoenix on their way to a possible poltergeist in Tucson. Every street they tried to take was blocked for the big event, and dozens of people already lined the sidewalks with colorful outfits and signs.

"Fuckin' queers," John grumbled in the seat next to him. "Never should'a thrown that damn brick."

Big banners overhead displayed "Stonewall 25: A Global Celebration of Pride". Dean made a mental note to hit up a library once they got to Tucson to look that up, "Stonewall". In the meantime, he was mesmerized staring out the window. Guys held hands, women kissed, everyone was practically vibrating with excitement. A black man in heels and a wig caught his gaze through the window and waved. Dean started to wave back, but his hand was harshly swatted back down.

"Do not," John said. "Don’t talk to them, don’t even look at ‘em. These people are sick in the head."

Dean focused his gaze on his lap until they were out of the city, and his mind wandered back to the gas station they stopped at the day before. He thought of the guy at the cash register that called him "cutie" and winked at him as he bought a candy bar for Sammy and beers for Dad with his fake ID. By Dad’s logic– which Dean trusted, of course–, that cashier, that queer, must've been sick in the head.

Then Dean remembered how his heart sped up, how his ears got hot, and how for a second he let himself think the cashier was kinda cute too. He realized he must also be sick in the head, and the thought was making him feel actually, physically sick. He felt like throwing up. Dad could never know.

Dean was fifteen years old when he learned that being gay actually wasn't something to be proud of.

---

2 - 2000

Dean was 21 years old when he learned the word “bisexual”. Dad had caught word of a ghoul case in lower Manhattan and sent Dean to take care of it. It was starting to get too hot and the streets were too crowded, but Dean was mostly glad to get a break from the constant fighting between Dad and Sammy.

Except it was June, and every time he turned a corner, there they were. The Pride parade flyers.

The second he spotted a rainbow he averted his gaze. He turned another corner and spotted another one. He avoided reading them at all costs. He heard Dad’s voice. Sick. Sick in the head.

For years now Dean had pretended he wasn’t sick. He pretended to not stare at Patrick Swayze too much whenever Dirty Dancing played on TV. He pretended like he didn't imagine what it would be like to kiss a guy, what stubble would feel like against his lips if he ever did.

He liked women. He could stick to women. He could live his whole life like that. And that meant he wasn’t totally sick, right? He wasn’t gay -gay if he liked girls.

But then what the hell was he? Would he even belong at one of these Pride things if he wanted to? He was probably a freak of nature. Even sicker than the rest of the bunch.

Curiosity got the best of him. He spared a glance at one of the flyers as he waited to cross the street.

Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals, ALL WELCOME

“Are you gonna go?” A voice next to him asked. ”It’s next weekend.” He was blond, pale, and a bit shorter than Dean.

“What? No! I don't swing that way,” Dean said, a bit too quickly and with too much bite.

The guy looked him up and down with a frown. “Geez, alright. Just askin’.”

He started to walk away, and Dean spoke up before he could stop himself.

“Hey man, wait.”

The guy stopped walking.

“Sorry, can I ask you something? Assuming you... know about this stuff?”

He seemed exasperated, but he turned anyway, willing to hear Dean out. Dean licked his lips, rubbed at the back of his neck, swallowed nervously. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, asking a stranger on the street about something so personal. At least the chances of meeting this person ever again were close to none.

“What’s bisexual?”

The guy’s features softened a bit. He seemed to understand something about Dean that so far Dean refused to acknowledge.

“It means you’re into more than one gender. And yes, you can do that,” the guy said. He flashed Dean a tight smile and then disappeared into the crowd.

Dean felt his hands go numb and balled them into fists, shoving them in his pockets. He took a deep breath through his nose. The guy said you. You are. You can.

The guy didn’t know what he was talking about. He knew nothing about Dean. He was wrong.

Or maybe he was right.

But he couldn’t be.

Dean couldn’t be… that.

Dean was 21 years old when he decided he wasn’t bisexual. He wasn’t anything. He was also 21 when he solved a case in record time (two days), just so he could book it out of New York before the next weekend arrived.

---

3 - 2004

By the time he was 25 years old, Dean knew he was bi. He hated it, he never spoke about it, and he ignored it as much as he could, but he was aware of it. And he knew he was bi because, at 25 years old, he’d already gone through two serious breakups, and they both equally sucked.

The first was Lee. He hunted with Dean and John for about a year, the second half of which Dean and Lee spent sneaking around and hooking up behind John’s back. It was fun, and hot, and exciting, and some of the best hookups he’d had up until that point in his life were with Lee.

But the thing is that it wasn’t just hooking up. They were close, and Dean liked him. A lot. They kissed for the first time after a particularly scary werewolf hunt in which Dean almost died, but John was more preoccupied with the mostly-unharmed victim than his own son. Dean and Lee rode in the backseat, bruised, bloody, and quiet. When John went to walk the victim up to her apartment, Lee reached over and placed a hand on Dean’s back, asking him if he was okay. Dean fell into Lee’s arms, and they kissed as they pulled away from the embrace, soft and comforting. It was Dean’s first kiss with a guy.

Lee was a lot of firsts for Dean over the next few months. But then John almost caught them once, drunk and making out in the Impala.

And then that case in Arizona went wrong, and Lee just couldn’t take it anymore. He packed up, swore off hunting, hugged Dean goodbye, and left him in the dust.

Dean needed to clear his head after that. He could barely look his dad in the eye after that close call, couldn't let him see the sorrow he was feeling. With every interaction, he imagined how John would yell at him, probably try to beat it out of him, if he noticed all he was feeling over Lee. Or worse, John could ignore him, practically disown him like he did Sam.

So he also packed up and left. Went hunting on his own for a while.

It was on one of those hunts that he met Cassie, and she was yet another handful of firsts for Dean over the course of a few months. She was amazing, and he fell hard and fast, but of course that went up in flames too.

Then again, he should've known better than to be honest. Honesty only ever got him in trouble.

He’d just left her back in Ohio and was working at a bar in Indianapolis for a few weeks to make some cash. He’d eventually meet back up with Dad. He just couldn’t right now. Not with Sam gone to college. Not after getting his heart broken twice over within a year.

He was hyper-aware of the end of June approaching. He knew it was coming, Indy had a pretty big celebration, and he made sure to be working all day that day so he wouldn't have to face it.

That was pointless, though. Toward the end of the day, a big group of about ten or twelve people who were clearly coming from the parade stumbled into the bar. One of them was apparently the owner’s little sister and they went there every year after the celebrations. They were loud, and obnoxious, and looked incredibly happy. Their happiness was contagious, and Dean loved serving them. He chatted them up, got to know them a bit, and heard all about the parade, all while staring down anyone at the bar who dared look their way with even the slightest stink eye.

But watching them that happy and comfortable, seeing not one, but two pairs of guys sloppily leaning against each other and sharing the occasional kiss while none of their friends seemed to bat an eye… something in Dean ached. Deeply.

Dean was 25 years old when he realized that a small part of him kind of, sort of, wanted to be part of this community. He couldn’t though. Not if he wanted to be on good terms with Dad. Not if he aimed to be the man Dad wanted him to be.

He left Indianapolis the next day.

---

4 - 2008

Dean was 29 years old and on his own personal highway to hell when he learned his brother went to a Pride parade before he ever did. They were driving through San José, the streets were lined with ads for Silicon Valley Pride, and Sam just casually decided to mention how fun it was the last time he went.

Thankfully they were at a red light, or else Dean probably would’ve slammed the breaks. He twisted to look at Sam head-on, his arm on the back of the seat.

“You what ?” he gawked.

Sam shrugged innocently. “What?”

“You went to one of these Pride things?”

“Yeah, dude.”

Dean’s brain was just trying and failing to load. “Why?” he finally asked.

“Jessica was in the GSA and some friends invited us. It was awesome.”

“She was in the what?”

“The G. S. A.,” Sam answered slowly. “Gay-Straight Alliance.”

“Oh.” Whatever that is, Dean thought. He kept eyeing the flyers. It was tomorrow.

“Green.”

“What?”

“Light’s green. Green means go.”

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

He kept driving and turned up the radio. Somebody To Love was playing, and as much as he liked Queen, he had to change the station. He tried to picture his little brother (his straight little brother) wearing rainbow face paint and having the time of his life at this thing. How come Sammy got to go when Dean could barely entertain the idea? Dean was the not-straight one. It wasn’t fair.

He channeled his jealousy into gripping the steering wheel.

“You okay, Dean?”

“Yeah.” No. “Yeah, m’fine.”

Dean was 29 years old when he died and went to hell without ever having gone to a Pride parade, knowing that his idiot ( straight! ) little brother already had.

---

5 - 2014

Dean was alive again and 35 years old (75, if you count hell) when he was formally invited to a Pride parade for the first time. It was a couple of days after that whole mess with Cas in Lucifer’s crypt, and he called Charlie. He just wanted to hear her voice, needed to know he was still on good terms with at least one of his best friends.

“So anyway,” Charlie said after a while of recounting what she’d been up to. "How single are you right now? My answer is: miserably."

Dean chuckled. Then he thought of Cas, and the smile disappeared. "Yeah, you and me both, sister."

“Would you mind coming with me to this thing next month? Going alone kinda sucks.”

Dean put the phone on speaker and placed it on the library table as he sat down with a beer. “What’s the thing?”

“Pride.”

Dean was glad no one was around to see him almost choke on his drink.

“You good?”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“Pride parade. Don’t have anyone to go with this year.”

“Why uh… Why? Why me?”

She knows.

“I dunno.”

She knows she knows she knows.

“You’re my friend, Dean. Thought maybe you might be interested. But never mind, I guess.”

And while all the alarms in Dean's head were blaring danger danger danger abort, he also hated to hear Charlie so disappointed.

“Hey, no, listen, Charlie, I… I would. Really. You know I support you, wholeheartedly." And that's obviously the only reason I would want to go. "But with Sam doing these trials, and Cas on the run with the angel tablet–”

“It’s okay Dean, I get it. Talk to you soon?”

“Yeah.”

And she hung up.

Dean knew, at this point, that there was nothing wrong with being queer. It wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, and it sure as hell didn’t mean you were wrong in the head or whatever.

But years of pretending to be a false version of yourself in an effort to please a man who was impossible to please wasn’t exactly an easy habit to break. As much as he wished it didn't, as much as he wished he could just exist, the thought of anyone finding out still made him sick to the stomach.

John’s voice still echoed in his ears. His words still drove Dean’s sense of self-worth and so many of his decisions. He tried to never stare at a good-looking guy for too long. He tried to not get too into it with Benny. He tried to keep his feelings for Cas at bay, tried to keep him at arm's length, tried to keep the fact that he was in love (deeply, stupidly in love) as close to his chest as he could.

Even that night at the crypt choking out the words to get through to Cas, he couldn’t bring himself to say what he meant. I love you, he’d wanted to say, because it was the truth. What came out, however, was I need you. And he did, he needed Cas more than air, but it wasn't quite everything.

It still got his heart split in two.

Was he so far gone over Cas that he couldn’t hide it? Had he been trying so hard and failing just as miserably this whole time? Was his attraction to dudes that obvious? Or did Charlie just have a sixth sense for this kinda thing?

It was probably the last one. He hoped it was.

Cas knew, for sure. Angels knew everything right? They could read minds, feel longing, or whatever. And if none of that ever tipped him off, well, Dean put it all on the line back in that crypt. He told Cas how he felt, told him he needed him, tried putting himself out there, and it got him left. Again. With Dean, it was always leave-or-get-left when it came to love. He was tired of it.

Dean was 35 years old, desperately in love with his best friend, and truly heartbroken for the third time in his life, when his other best friend– an out and proud lesbian– gave him a chance to go to Pride, to break through his shell, to finally embrace himself as he was; but because he was practically living in the closet, he couldn’t seem to find the handle after so many years of purposefully ignoring its existence, and he missed his chance. Besides, what was the point of going to a celebration of love without the love of his life by his side?

---

+1 - 2021

Dean is now 42 years old and the happiest he’s ever been. The love of his life? Cas? Turns out he’s felt the same way all along. They're kind of together now, and slowly but surely they’re working through a decade’s worth of shit.

They’ve been raising a kid together too, along with Sam and Eileen, and that kid is also God. After saving the world and whatnot, Jack decided to bring back some of their friends and family that died over the years: Mary, Kevin, Charlie. Yes, there are two Charlies now, but it’s not as confusing as you’d expect. (One is from another dimension, and the other one is Dean’s little sister. Simple.) Mary’s off hunting most of the time and Kevin’s applying to college.

They’ve got extended family now too, Jody and the girls. OG Charlie is staying with them for now, while she finds her footing. Most of that household is queer. Most of Dean's household is queer as well, actually. Turns out both Jack and Eileen are non-binary, Cas is gay in the broader sense of the word, and Dean…

Dean is bi. And everyone knows now.

Apparently, a lot of people had known for a long time. Sam has known since the siren back in ‘09 (even though Dean stands by the fact that it wasn’t like that, Sammy ), and everyone has slowly picked up on his and Cas’s thing over the years, so there’s that.

He still feels a bit weird about it. About calling Cas his boyfriend, about having the freedom to hold his hand in public, about the fact that they now have goddamn pride flags hung around the bunker. He feels even weirder about the fact that John’s voice in his head is now drowned out by the sounds of his home life, more lively and supportive than he ever expected to have.

He wasn’t expecting any of this, he didn’t think everything would change so fast. But when you spend the better part of your life pushing down such a huge part of you and then finally give yourself an out, a chance to show the people who love you who you really are, everything just... follows.

Love follows. Acceptance follows. Family follows. And he wasn’t really expecting any of it.

He certainly doesn’t expect it when Cas walks into the library after his weekly Thursday evening call with Claire and announces, matter-of-factly and with air quotes, “We’re going to "Pride" this weekend.”

Dean’s stomach drops. It’s the Sioux Falls Pride Parade and Festival, it’s in two days, and they’re leaving tomorrow to spend the night at Jody’s so they can all be there bright and early Saturday morning. Everyone immediately starts bustling about, packing and planning outfits and gathering flags to bring with them.

Dean just goes to his room– his and Cas’s now– to pack a small duffle.

Well, he means to. Instead, he takes out the duffle from the closet, puts it on the bed, and sits next to it for a while. An hour goes by. He thinks back to all those times he had brushes with one of these things and was just never in the right mindset. He’s not even sure he’s in the right mindset now, but he’s going. It’s happening.

“Jack’s all ready to go,” Cas says when he walks in. “We spent about half an hour putting together an outfit for Saturday. He wanted it to be as colorful as possible.”

Dean smiles, but it’s not all there. He looks at the empty duffle next to him.

“Yeah, I might need some help with that myself.”

Cas is in sweats and a hoodie. Yes it’s June, yes it’s hot, but he’s a quasi-angel, and the way he experiences the world Dean will never be able to wrap his head around. He walks over and stands in front of Dean, running a hand through his hair and down the side of his face until he’s cupping Dean’s jaw. Dean takes Cas’s hand and leaves a few kisses on the inside of his wrist, closing his eyes as he does.

Cas regards the empty bag and hums quietly, as if in thought, before walking over to their closet. Dean chases his hand, holding onto it until he’s completely out of reach. Cas starts searching, and Dean’s stomach knots more and more with each clang of the hangers. Cas finally pulls out a flannel from its hanger– purple with hints of blue and pink– and tosses it over. Dean can’t believe he didn’t think of it first.

They continue to pack in comfortable silence before changing and getting into bed. Dean doesn’t flop onto his stomach or cuddle into Cas’s side as he usually does; instead, he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling in a daze.

“Dean?” Cas’s voice snaps him out of it.

Dean turns his head and asks, automatically, “You okay?”

It’s a habit by now, asking each other that question. It’s part of the working-through-a-decade’s-worth-of-shit thing they’re doing. Turns out they share a whole lot of trauma. They share worries and insecurities. They share nightmares sometimes, mostly about the Empty.

“I’m okay,” Cas says, putting his hand on top of Dean’s heart for him to hold, and Dean can breathe a little easier.

“You nervous about this thing?” Dean asks, interlocking their fingers.

“The parade? No, not really.”

And then, because he's been working on communicating how he's feeling out loud or whatever, Dean looks back up at the ceiling and says, "I am. Kinda."

He feels Cas shifting and propping himself up on his elbow, and then he's in Dean's line of sight. Dean's gaze is drawn to him, like all of him has been since the moment they met, and Dean can't believe he just has this now. He has a boyfriend, and it's Cas, and he's looking down at Dean with stars in his eyes and a comforting smile that actually works because it's Cas.

And then Cas is leaning down and softly pressing their lips together, and that's also something Dean can’t believe he gets to do: kiss Cas good morning and good night and at any moment in between, kiss him I'm sorry, kiss him we're going to be okay, kiss him I love you.

"I love you too, Dean," Cas says once they've pulled away, and Dean didn't even realize he'd said it out loud, but it doesn't matter. "And you don't need to be nervous. I'll be there with you."

The thought should be a thousand times more nerve-wracking, not just going to Pride but going to Pride with Cas on his arm. It's not nerve-wracking at all, and he soon drifts off to sleep.

Friday goes by faster than it should. The six-hour drive to Sioux Falls, although packed in a car with five people, goes by in a blink. They stop for provisions before getting to Jody's, filling up on backpacks' worth of snacks.

They get to the house and are met with endless hugs and excitement to match. Patience, Alex, and Jody are already working on dinner for the bunch, while Charlie, Donna, and Kaia are running around prepping for the next day and dragging along a hesitant but nevertheless happy Claire. Dinner is chaotic and loud and there are way too many people at the table, and Dean has to step outside after a while.

He sits on the back porch steps. Claire joins him. She's holding a beer, he's not. He hasn't been drinking for a few months now. They don't talk, but she leans her head on his shoulder and they stay there a while, looking at the stars.

When they go back inside, Claire sits back down in her spot at Cas's left, across the table from Dean, and leans on his shoulder for a while too. It's her way of saying she cares, of saying I missed you without really saying it. Jack sits at Cas's right, talking excitedly with Patience about some tv show or other, and the image fills Dean with such fondness that he reaches over with his foot, presses it to Cas's ankle, and keeps it there for the rest of the night.

Dean, Cas, Jack, Sam, and Eileen spend the night spread out around in the living area while the girls sleep in their respective rooms, and Dean is only slightly less nervous as he falls asleep holding Cas’s hand.

---

The nerves all come flooding back as he’s parking the Impala the next morning.

They’re not able to get even remotely close to Phillips Avenue since the streets are so full. They park the three cars that all twelve of them came in as close as they can and then have to walk for another twenty minutes. From blocks and blocks away, people walk and holler and greet them excitedly, many of them trying to circle this swarm of flanneled individuals that are taking up a whole sidewalk. Granted, Dean and Claire are the only ones in their usual kind of outfit. The rest of the bunch is wearing as many colors as they could compile from their closets, half of them are wearing face paint, and the other half are carrying an assortment of pride flags.

They fit right in.

The walk toward the main avenue of the parade is kind of a blur for Dean. He knows he waved at a few people, some friends of Alex from high school joined the group at some point, and Jack already grabbed a snack from his backpack.

The actual parade is also kind of hazy. Getting out of the house that morning had been probably even more chaotic than the night before, so they’re a bit late and the parade has already been going for a good half hour. On top of that, they accidentally merge into it not quite at the starting point but a bit further down the road, in between a decked-out pickup truck and a group of people with dogs. Music is blaring, the dogs are all barking, a big float rides a few yards in front of them, and hundreds stand on the sidewalks recording on their phones and cheering them along.

Dean’s not sure they’re even supposed to be in the actual parade. Maybe they’re supposed to be on the sidewalks? Is this right? What is happening, what is he even doing here?

He doesn’t notice how heavy he’s breathing until Cas is squeezing his hand and beckoning him to meet his eyes. He does, and the blue in them, as imposing as the Atlantic, drowns out everything else around them. “You’re okay, my love,” Cas says. It’s a fact. As long as Dean is with him, he’s okay.

On his other side, Dean feels someone link their arm around his. It’s Charlie, and she’s beaming at them, her cheeks almost as red as her hair. It brings Dean back to reality, grounds him, but he’s okay now. He’s not alone, and he’s meant to be here.

He’s proud to be here.

The parade leads up to a sloping park, and at the lowest point of it, there’s a stage where Dean assumes someone will MC for the afternoon, or maybe perform. It’s grandiose in its simplicity, kind of like a Greek theater, with everyone settling down on the grass around it, expectantly.

“We’ll be right back,” Dean hears Sam say, and he turns to find they’re all set to spend the afternoon, towels laid and backpacks off (save for his). “Jack wants to go meet the drag queens,” Sam says with just a bit too much glee before he and Jack take off.

“It’s not just Jack,” Eileen smiles and follows.

Cas is already sitting, eating one of the PB&Js he packed as lunches for everyone. Jody and Donna are settling down as well and Charlie’s taking a dozen pictures, but the rest of the girls are all standing. “We’re gonna go check out the vendors,” Claire announces, and they start to take off as well.

“Be careful, please!” Dean calls after them, but they pay him no mind. He turns to Charlie. “Hey, your majesty, keep an eye on them will you?”

She smiles, bows gracefully, and heads in the same direction.

Jody stands and grabs Dean by the arm, beckoning him to talk in private for a second.

“What’s up?”

If Dean knows Jody at all, and he does, they’re on the brink of a mom talk.

“Look around, Dean.”

“What for?”

“Just look,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Please?”

So, at her request, Dean starts taking in the environment. Now that everyone is gathered, he can actually see all the people that came out (heh) for the event. There are church groups, pet shelters, skateboarders, and rollerskaters. Drag queens are already taking pictures by the stage, and at least two people are wearing unicorn heads. A few vendors’ tents and food trucks surround the park, and rainbows completely dominate the scenery. There are elders, and kids, and all kinds of families and couples, and everyone looks… happy. Free.

And Dean is here with them. He is one of them.

There’s no danger, no monsters of any kind. No one to judge him, hurt him, call him sick in the head.

He finds Claire’s blonde head amongst the sea of shoppers at the edge of the park. She’s holding hands with Kaia and has one of the biggest smiles Dean has ever seen on her face. There’s no shame in it, and she’s not in any danger either. Things are different now, and she has the freedom to be herself that he never had at her age.

He has it now too. He can be himself.

Dean doesn’t realize he’s about to cry until Jody pulls him down into a hug.

“Dean, I am so proud of you.”

And then he cries.

---

They spend the afternoon laying on the grass, eating, drinking, and enjoying the festivities. The girls come back from the vendors’ tents after a full hour, and most of the bags on their arms are Charlie’s. She gets Cas a mug that says bee yourself in rainbow colors with an image of a cartoon bee, and she gets Dean a button pin that says AC/DC in pink and blue. There’s a meaning behind that apparently, and Dean decides he’ll look it up later.

Jack memorizes all the drag queen’s names. Donna takes a million pictures. They trade numbers with a few people.

There’s a big fireworks show just after sundown. It starts to get windy and a bit chilly, so Dean grabs the nearest pride flag and wraps it around himself. Cas, the perpetual freak who just doesn’t feel temperature apparently, is wearing a t-shirt and shorts and smiling at him unabashedly.

“What?”

“That’s the bisexual flag.”

So it is. “Shut up,” Dean says, but he’s smiling too. “You want in on this?”

He doesn’t wait for Cas to respond before he wraps it around his shoulders as well. The fireworks continue.

“You know,” Cas says after a beat. “As beautiful as they are, pyrotechnics are extremely damaging to the environment.”

Dean can’t help but laugh because of course, Cas would say something like that in a moment like this. He laughs and laughs and regrets being the only one to have heard that; then again, he’s the only one who could’ve found that funny.

He laughs a bit more, wipes a tear, and sees that Cas is still just solemnly watching the show.

“Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?” He replies and then turns his head.

Dean wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him so bad. Then he remembers where he is, physically and in his life right now, realizes whom he’s surrounded by at this very second, and decides that he can.

So he does. It’s not unlike the way he kissed Cas when they rescued him from the Empty. Granted, there’s less sweat, blood, adrenaline. But just like that day, they’re both on the ground, and the gesture catches Cas by surprise. Just like that day, Dean pulls Cas in gently by the back of his neck and there’s no hesitance or fear. Just like that day, he just does it, presses their lips firmly together, and relishes in the taste of Castiel, in the feeling of the person he loves most in this world kissing him back.

The one big difference is this: that day marked the beginning of the rest of his life. Today? Today is just Dean’s first Pride.

[scmediafest]

Happy Monday! We’re dropping some groovy fics today, if we do say so ourselves. We’ve got magic, music, love letters, reluctant superheroes, and more! This bunch definitely strikes all the right chords. 

If you’re following along with the daily releases and want to track your progress,  you can find the latest updates in this Google Sheet!

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The Enchantment Umbrage

[David/Patrick - E - 25,361]

The prompt: David Rose has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. When the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Patrick Brewer as its star.

Patrick doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. But they begin to open up to each other, and Patrick realizes he has better chemistry with David than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.

From the book blurb for The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran, which just has a wonderful David and Patrick vibe to it.

*🎵*

you never shined so brightly

[David/Patrick - T - 23,226]

Large, broad hands with silver-ringed fingers stroke at the keys in a blur. Patrick’s eyes trace up the hunched over curve of his spine, clad in a black suit that blends in with the dark ambiance of the room. The man’s lips are parted slightly as he plays, full body leaning into each chord progression.

Patrick’s heart crescendos in his chest at the same time as the melody.

OR

A La La Land AU in which Patrick is the aspiring actor and David is the struggling musician.

*🎵*

Stab: The Elmsboro Murders

[David/Patrick - M - 7,487]

Someone in Elmsboro is terrorizing teens. Finally, the story that journalist David Rose can use to get his big break. If only deputy sheriff Patrick Brewer would answer his questions instead of blocking him at every turn and distracting him with those big, dumb, earnest eyes of his.

*🎵*

always and forever, twyla sands

[Alexis/Twyla - NR - 4,896]

Twyla hasn’t spoken to Alexis Rose in years. Not since she kissed her during a game of spin the bottle in seventh grade, effectively ruining their friendship.

Since then it’s been passive aggressive comments in the hallway over her blouses and disdainful glances in between classes.

Well, except for now.

Because right now, Alexis is standing in front of her, with a confused wide-eyed expression that reminds Twyla of her seventh grade crush on her former best friend. And in her hands is an envelope —

A soft pink envelope covered in Hello Kitty stickers with Alexis’s name written on it in glitter gel pen.

Oh god.

Twyla’s gonna faint.

--

Or To All the Boys I've Loved Before the Twylexis Remix

*🎵*

canned heat in my heels tonight

[Alexis/Twyla - T - 4,130]

@Karen666: I've been watching #DWTS for decades. It has always been family-friendly entertainment. And just like the Biden Administration has ruined everything else, now they and the liberal media have ruined #DWTS!!

@BootyfulBecca: @DancingABC @LilBitAlexis @TwirlingTwyla WHAT'S THE TEAM HASHTAG OMG??

@DancingABC: @BootyfulBecca #LilBitTwylexis is what you're looking for!

The internet has a lot to say about Alexis Rose and Twyla Sands, the first same-sex dance couple on Dancing With The Stars.

*🎵* 

The Kiss That Kills

[David/Patrick - T - 4,074]

When Patrick asks out his long term crush, his best friend David is there to listen to him talk through the details and, when certain doubts emerge, offer some help of his own. Patrick's reaction to David's assistance leads to some surprising revelations.

Written for the SC Media Fest and inspired by the movie Some Kind of Wonderful.

*🎵*

got a knack for burning bridges down

[Alexis/Stevie - T - 3,794]

Stevie Budd is a private investigator and reluctant superhero. Alexis Rose is her childhood best friend and newly powered. They have their issues, but find themselves working a case together.

Inspired by Marvel's Jessica Jones series

*🎵*

Stardust

[David/Patrick - NR - 3,141]

Patrick had just about finished packing his desk; the movers were coming in a few days to bring the contents of the apartment to the cottage. He picked up the rogue books on the bottom shelf of his nightstand then went over to David’s side to do the same, adding the small stack of personal journals David had to his pile. As he turned to the box sitting on his desk, the top journal slipped, weathered spine opening on impact. Placing the remaining tomes in the box, he reached over to retrieve it when he recognized the poem on a taped piece of paper. His fingers grazed the page, heartstrings pulling.

*🎵*

Into your heart I'll beat again

[David/Patrick - M - 1,695]

Patrick is inspired to add a song to their wedding reception playlist without David's approval.

Patrick wants to tell David all about how it makes him feel.

*🎵*

[Podfic] You Can Still Be Free

[David/Patrick - E - 03h:03m:31:s]

There were certainly prescient hints about David’s obligation to follow all commands given to him. For one, his own irritability over wanting to say no sometimes but seemingly being unable to do so.

A modern-day AU in which David is cursed to follow any command he’s given, and the stark, rippling consequences of such a burden. Inspired by Ella Enchanted.

*🎵* 

CREATORS: If your works were released today, please don't forget to update your posting date!