#The Lipstick Narratives

[controlledcatastrophe]

Jones Road Brand Review | What The Foundation, Miracle Balm, etc.

Hello, babes. How have you been? It’s been a little while. About a year ago, Jones Road Beauty was making a loud buzz about the new at the time What The Foundation launch. And that review came with a mixed bag of feelings. However, I was very intrigued. Then, excitingly, the brand reached out a few weeks ago and wanted to send over some product. Now I have some feelings. So today we are going to…

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

not enough discussion about the gavins' complicated relationship with feminine-coded/beauty products, i don't think.

[rotzaprachim]

minx is interesting. It’s interesting and it’s interested in things in a way that I find a lot of current media about feminism not to be. There’s an active interest into poking into some of the uncomfortable areas without simple conclusions when it comes to how feminism should relate to sex and the market/capitalism.

also really appreciate the unapologetic 70’s ness and the use of 70’s events, catchwords, buzz etc in a way that doesn’t always feel tee hee

[alexandreakarev]

This is a BLOG SET UP tag drop.  Wishlist, answered, promos, about blog, permanent starter call, stats are all tags under the cut. This tag set up are different quotes for all the tags in this section.

* … ( OOC : ramblings. ) › ❝ she has a mouth like unswept glass. it will CUT you when you least expect it. ❞ * … ( OOC : ooc answered. ) › ❝ you have the words to change a nation and yet? you’ve been BITING your tongue. ❞ * … ( OOC : about the mun. ) › ❝ she has kind of said too much. and you’ve said ENOUGH. promise that she is just another narcissist. ❞ * … ( OOC : original poetry. ) › ❝ prefers her work to be RECOGNISED rather than hidden. either way? she won’t go speechless. ❞ * … ( OOC : self promo. ) › ❝ a little self-promo featured on the dash never really KILLED anyone. has it? ❞ * … ( OOC : promo. ) › ❝ the best people completely DESERVING of all of your love & attention on shining spotlights of their own. ❞ * … ( OOC : musings. ) › ❝ she is brave and STRONG and broken all at once. ❞ * … ( OOC : nsfw. ) › ❝ mascara runnin’ and lipstick smudged. wearing a red wine stained dress with a hint of the DEVIL in her eyes. ❞ * … ( OOC : desires. ) › ❝ took her hours just to do her makeup right. if you’re the reason it gets ruined she’ll be PISSED tonight. ❞ * … ( OOC : wanted plots. ) › ❝ wish I never hung up the phone like I did. WISH you knew that I’d never forget you as long as I live. ❞ * … ( OOC : wishlist. ) › ❝ let a shooting star run across a MIDNIGHT sky. throw a coin into a wishing well. make a wish now. ❞ * … ( OOC : ask meme. ) › ❝ she hates playing MIND games but yet continues pulling and pushing. loving you is a losing game. ❞ * … ( OOC : about blog. ) › ❝ doesn’t start with once upon a time. you know what she’ll introduce the LEGACY with? always and forever. ❞ * … ( OOC : plotting starter call. ) › ❝ handle it? are you kidding? she’s the master of SKILLFULLY planning the next tactical moves. ❞ * … ( OOC : statistics. ) › ❝ you and me got a whole lot of history. so does it ever drive you CRAZY just how fast the night changes? ❞ * … ( OOC : templates. ) › ❝ your lack of proper organisation causes her serious DISTRESS beyond what you could possibly fathom. ❞ * … ( OOC : credits. ) › ❝ the ABSOLUTE best lifesaving content creators. ❞ … ( OOC : all headcanons. ) › ❝ fact is deleted scenes should’ve made canon. would take over CONTROL of her original narrative. ❞ * … ( OOC : all replies. ) › ❝ written in these walls are the STORIES that I can’t explain. leave my heart open but it stays here empty. ❞ * … ( OOC : all answered. ) › ❝ watch out for a furious writer with a vocabulary of sharpened CONVICTION and quills in her arsenal. ❞ * … ( OOC : all edits. ) › ❝ nobody remembers the easy. they REMEMBER the blood, sweat and tears shed on the journey. ❞ * … ( OOC : reblogged. ) › ❝ don’t play the person. play to rig the game of the unfair system. and BREAK through the walls of it. ❞ * … ( OOC : reshared. ) › ❝ she’ll intend to keep these polaroids with her CAPTIONED signature to remember for when she’s grey. ❞ * … ( OOC : psa. ) › ❝ thank you next. in ADVANCE? you’re welcome. ❞ * … ( OOC : verses. ) › ❝ mayhaps in another world things would’ve been DIFFERENT. and I could’ve made you stay. ❞ * … ( OOC : verse drop. ) › ❝ she wants to be your midnights. are we out of the woods yet? tell me where do broken hearts go. ❞ * … ( OOC : queue. ) › ❝ just called to say this is the LAST you’ll be hearing from me. ‘cause now i’ve moved on. ❞

[physalian]

How to make your writing sound less stiff part 2

Part 1

Again, just suggestions that shouldn’t have to compromise your author voice, as I sit here doing my own edits for a WIP.

1. Crutch words

Specifically when you have your narrator taking an action instead of just… writing that action. Examples:

Character wonders/imagines/thinks/realizes

Character sees/smells/feels

Now not all of these need to be cut. There’s a difference between:

Elias stops. He realizes they’re going in the wrong direction.

And

Elias takes far too long to realize that it’s not horribly dark wherever they are

Crutch words are words that don’t add anything to the sentence and the sentence can carry on with the exact same meaning even if you delete it. Thus:

Elias stops. They’re going in the wrong direction.

I need a word in the second example, whether it’s realizes, understands, or notices, unless I rework the entire sentence. The “realization” is implied by the hard cut to the next sentence in the first example.

2. Creating your own “author voice”

Unless the tone of the scene demands otherwise, my writing style is very conversational. I have a lot of sentence fragments to reflect my characters’ scatterbrained thoughts. I let them be sarcastic and sassy within the narration. I leave in instances of “just” (another crutch word) when I think it helps the sentence. Example:

…but it’s just another cave to Elias.

Deleting the “just” wouldn’t hit as hard or read as dismissive and resigned.

I may be writing in 3rd person limited, but I still let the personalities of my characters flavor everything from the syntax to metaphor choices. It’s up to you how you want to write your “voice”.

I’ll let dialogue cut off narration, like:

Not that he wouldn’t. However, “You can’t expect me to believe that.”

Sure it’s ~grammatically incorrect~ but you get more leeway in fiction. This isn’t an essay written in MLA or APA format. It’s okay to break a few rules, they’re more like guidelines anyway.

3. Metaphor, allegory, and simile

There is a time and a place to abandon this and shoot straight because oftentimes you might not realize you’re using these at all. It’s the difference between:

Blinding sunlight reflects off the window sill

And

Sunlight bounces like high-beams off the window sill

It’s up to you and what best fits the scene.

Sometimes there’s more power in not being poetic, just bluntly explicit. Situations like describing a character’s battle wounds (whatever kind of battle they might be from, whether it be war or abuse) don’t need flowery prose and if your manuscript is metaphor-heavy, suddenly dropping them in a serious situation will help with the mood and tonal shift, even if your readers can’t quite pick up on why immediately.

Whatever the case is, pick a metaphor that fits the narrator. If my narrator is comparing a shade of red to something, pick a comparison that makes sense.

Red like the clouds at sunset might make sense for a character that would appreciate sunsets. It’s romantic but not sensual, it’s warm and comforting.

Red like lipstick stains on a wine glass hints at a very different image and tone.

Metaphor can also either water down the impact of something, or make it so much worse so pay attention to what you want your reader to feel when they read it. Are you trying to shield them from the horror or dig it in deep?

4. Paragraph formatting

Nothing sticks out on a page quite like a line of narrative all by itself. Abusing this tactic will lessen its effect so save single sentence paragraphs for lines you want to hammer your audiences with. Lines like romantic revelations, or shocking twists, or characters giving up, giving in. Or just a badass line that deserves a whole paragraph to itself.

I do it all the time just like this.

Your writing style might not feature a bunch of chunky paragraphs to emphasize smaller lines of text (or if you’re writing a fic on A03, the size of the screen makes many paragraphs one line), but if yours does, slapping a zinger between two beefy paragraphs helps with immersion.

5. Polysyndeton and Asyndeton

Not gibberish! These, like single-sentence paragraphs, mix up the usual flow of the narrative that are lists of concepts with or without conjunctions.

Asyndeton: We came. We saw. We conquered. It was cold, grey, lifeless.

Polysyndeton: And the birds are out and the sun is shining and it might rain later but right now I am going to enjoy the blue sky and the puffy white clouds like cotton balls. They stand and they clap and they sing.

Both are for emphasis. Asyndeton tends to be "colder" and more blunt, because the sentence is blunt. Polysyntedon tends to be more exciting, overwhelming.

We came and we saw and we conquered.

The original is rather grim. This version is almost uplifting, like it's celebrating as opposed to taunting, depending on how you look at it.

—

All of these are highly situational, but if you’re stuck, maybe try some out and see what happens.

*italicized quotes are from ENNS, the rest I made up on the spot save for the Veni Vidi Vici.

[parkerstorms]

im sorry i dont usually do this but this post pissed me off so fucking bad and op has replies turned off (because of course they do)

fellas. is it gay to wear pink and have long hair and sing and dance? cause i didn’t realize we were using bioessentialism in movie analysis now that’s crazy

sarcasm aside this is literally why i don’t go in tags anymore because none of you are media literate. not a single one of you. longlegs is not wearing makeup in the movie. it’s shitty plastic surgery; that’s why his lips are red. you can literally tell by just looking at him that it’s not lipstick. the clothes he wears are all off-white or white. the falsetto he’s doing is very obviously meant to mimic that sort of “goochie goo” baby talk a lot of adults unironically use towards children. also coding? ‘coding’ is not when you interpret something from a movie as anything you want because you feel like it. coding is an intentional act committed by creatives to further their story and allude to specific real life things for a specific narrative purpose. it is an intentional act of storytelling. it is not you looking at a movie and assuming something as fact based off slight vibes

and i’m just gonna say it. if you see a male character with long hair that’s acting generally creepy in the vicinity of a child and automatically assume that that character is being coded as a transwoman, YOU ARE THE ONE BEING TRANSPHOBIC.

like holy fuck some of y’all have never actually looked inwards once in your life and it shows

[cherie-doll]

𓆩♡𓆪 Headcanon: Miniskirt

.ೃ࿐ Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Alejandro, Phillip Graves, Keegan, König, Horangi, Nikto

༊*·˚Little idea came to my head. Slightly suggestive? Y’all know I’m a fluff girlie＞︿＜

Ghost

You’re confused as to why he’s staring at you with cold eyes

You thought it would appeal to him, guess not

Everyone else looks at you, so why doesn’t he?

You’re a confident girl, why is he making you struggle for his attention?

Intense eyes burning into your behind while you apply lipstick

Oh, but you do have his interests secured in the palm of your hand

His sights darkening when you stare at him

A fierce storm inside of him

With a flick of your wrist, a wink from you and you’d have him at your feet and following after you like a dog to a bone

Soap

When he sees you strut down the hall in your high heels, stockings, and tight miniskirt, all confident

It’s no surprise to him you’re attracting eyes

He watches as you sit down and your skirt bunches up and rides up your thigh

Practically drooling when he sees your thighs get bigger when you sit down

His mind wanders off as he fantasizes about fitting his head between your legs

You have him losing his composure

Gaz

Very flustered

He wants to feel you all over

Run his hands up your thighs and feel how your skin is plump and full of life

He absentmindedly brings his hand up to his lips and traces them

If given the chance he’d press slowly, tantalizing kisses on your thighs

But he knows it’s an amusing game you’re playing

Drumming his fingers on his leg as he observes you, eyes following your movements

You intentionally “accidentally” brush up against him as you pass and he goes haywire

His eyes meet yours, softening and searching for a trace of reciprocation in your eyes

Alejandro

You are constantly finding ways to surprise him and this is one of them

Your risky heels and black stockings

“You little devil”

He knows you know what you’re doing

You got him where you want him

Like a game set up by you, how long before he places his hands on you?

How long until he succumbs?

Only for you to find out the narrative switches and you become undone under his touch

His skilled fingers know exactly where to prod to push you to the edge

Phillip Graves

Let’s be realistic:

He has those boring spaces in time where all he stares at for hours is paperwork

His mind is fed up with the endless piles of documents and his eyes are strained

He glances away, intending to look at the clock until he spots you and does a double-take

A distraction was needed and you were the perfect one

He’s spellbound, entranced as he watches you prance around, with a bounce in your step

His eyes rake over your body

Surely, a 10-minute break wouldn’t do harm

Keegan

Yeah he ain’t holding back

Shamefully oogling you

With an agitated stare and cutting tension

In passing he whispers in your ear “I want to tear you apart” he drawls deliberately

Lips parted and gaze dropping to your lips

He can already feel your soft breaths, and heart alive and beating against his skin

You turn his senses on, exciting him into taking action

Movements go from languid to fast and erratic when he notices your eyes glossing over

König

Jaw slackening when he notices you

His eyes want to linger on your body longer but he’s scared you’ll make eye contact with him and notice

RESPECTFULLY wants you to crush his head with your thighs

Is hyper aware of sensations in his body

Tensing up when coming close

A shaky breath slipping through his lips when the air becomes heavy with tension

Not being able to bear it any longer he’ll make use of his opportunity before someone else does

The more he touches of you, the more his body will seek

Horangi

To him, you’re pretty in anything you wear

But something about your drive to get what you want is especially bewitching

The more he falls into you and electricity spreads all over his body

Like a string pulled taut and on the verge of snapping

His fingers hook onto your skirt’s belt loop and pulls you away

Tugging and pulling at his shirt collar

“You’re irresistible in that”

To grab you by the hair and tell you every thought you’ve ever provoked

Gazing into his dark and intense eyes that won’t tire of resting upon you, letting you know 24 hours with you is insufficient

Nikto

Don’t mistake his lack of expression fool you into thinking you do not affect him

The eyes that look at you now are not the same as before

You manage to get under his skin like no one else, his immovable heart that has chosen you

Subtly oogling you

Despite hesitation he approaches you boldly

You’ll catch a glimpse of a smirk

Amusement in his eyes

With one hand on your lower back escorting you away as he talks about appropriate work clothes

No need for him to say a word to show you what type of thoughts are rushing through his mind

[controlledcatastrophe]

3 Makeup Brands That Lost Their Luster

Images from Colourpop, Urban Decay, Anastasia Beverly Hills Hi friends! This post has been rattling around in my brain for months, and today is as good as any. I want to talk about makeup brands that have lost their luster for me, brands I’ve kind of lost interest in. an introduction: I’ve been doing a lot of reflection and reassessment over the past couple of years. And an intention I have…

[hopeluna]

heyy<3 Can you do a Katsuki x female reader comfort where the reader is getting ready for a date with him but when she's doing her makeup it isn't going the way she way she wants it to, so she gets upset and Katsuki is like comforting her? It's alr if you don't want to!!

ProHero!Bakugou Katsuki x fem!reader

CW: 651 words. mentions of insecurities based on looks, i aged him up as a pro hero to better fit the narrative i hope u like it <333

You sit there for what feels like years, staring at the reflection on the mirror. You decide it's absolutely pathetic. The tears that start to sting your waterline definitely don't help.

It's date night. A rare occurrence since Katsuki's missions spiked up these past few weeks, added with your work stress. Tonight was supposed to fun and relaxing.

You're feeling anything but that. Katsuki is going to be here in less than 5 minutes, as he has texted you, and here you are- still in a old t-shirt of his and worn out shorts- not ready.

It's just one of those days. The makeup on your face isn't sitting right. You've tried to do your eyeliner for the million-th time without smudging it, all the lipsticks look just wrong on you, the foundation feels more like acid on your skin the more you keep messing it up.

You know it's irrational to think about but Katsuki always looks so handsome even without trying, it's bound to be a shame to others when they see you - in all your messed up glory - alongside him.

The fan above you hums gently into the air. There are muffled conversations from the street outside, occasional shouts from kids playing and tackling each other on the ground. The light from the bathroom door you left open serves to give you a further headache. You're so focused on the throbbing ache, you don't hear the front door opening, the sound of keys.

Katsuki is rightfully startled when he walks in the room. He felt uneasy from the moment you didn't excitedly jump on him at the front door, and now the messy room and your sad face staring into the mirror. He can feel his own lips etching into a frown at the sight.

You don't seem startled from the outside when he walks up behind you, trying to make eye contact in the mirror. He squeezes your shoulder gently before speaking, "everything okay?"

You lower your head, nonchalantly gesturing to the messy table full of makeup products. Katsuki would've found your sad pout adorable if it weren't for the tears stuck to your lashes.

He lets out a low hum in understanding. Katsuki is well aware there are some days you don't particularly like how your outfits or looks turn out - he's aware of it, though he doesn't quite understand how you can't understand that he's left awestruck every time he glances at you.

His eyes flash towards you when you shuffle in your seat a little, "can we...stay in tonight?" - you look at him sheepishly, guilty for ruining the night. Katsuki only tsks at you.

"Don't be dumb thinking whatever you're thinking. Of course, we can stay in. My cooking's better than whatever restaurant we were going to go to, anyways."

30 minutes later, you feel much better with a clean face, which Katsuki insisted he help with. You had told him cheekily katsu curry when he asked what you wanted to eat. You only got a scoff in return. You tap your fingers on the cool kitchen island, softly humming at the mouth watering scent that had begun to waft through the room. The TV is muffled in the background, dimly lighting the living room with the light from the kitchen. The air is cool in a refreshing way. You think you could stay like this forever.

You frown at the sudden poke on your temple as Katsuki walks past you to the couch, hands carrying two steaming bowls.

You wordlessly follow him, snuggling into him on the couch after snatching your bowl. You choose to dig in and ignore the groan from beside you when you turn on your favourite reality tv show- the one that Katsuki claims to hate.

You think this might just be your favourite date ever.

© hopeluna. Do not copy, translate, modify or repost any of my work in this or any other site. Do not steal or modify my ideas/concepts either.

[nwarrior777]

making Hamlet fanart in 2024, slapping Juicy (main hero of Fat Ham, a modern play, Hamlet version, played by black fat queer person) on char design i saw in old b&w film while listening MCR playlist was an experience

highly recommend. also pls watch/read Fat Ham upd: image description added! (in alt text, but also under the cut)

(Image Description: List of sketches with 3 drawings. The textures used here are elegant looks-like photo silk (for clothes), soft shades and gradients. Shapes are sinking in each other depth. No color, black and white

It's fanart depicting Hamlet character being combination of different versions of him from different media: fat black queer masculine person being elegant, wearing mascara and lipstick (took from modern play Fat Ham) wearing vintage royal clothes (took from old classic film). The narrative of sketches also mixed of modern play (Fat Ham) and classic one

There are 3 sketches:

First one. It's the character described above (TC in text further) sitting in side view. His eyes is closed and face has melancholic emotion. TC is holding a scull. There is a simple-shaped silhouette of crown above his head. This image represent classic play melancholic vibes of character fused with modern play appearance

Second sketch. It's TC singing, while holding white pigeon in hands. It had previous classic-modern fusion vibes + a little vibe of disney princess song (because of bird and emotion expression similar to disney musicals). By left side of this sketch is stylized speech babble with music notes symbols and deformed text, visualization of singing. The text saying: "I want a perfect body", quoting singing of TC from modern play. By the right side of sketch there is arrow pointing at character with text "has most perfect body ever".

Sketch Three. It's dynamic sketch of TC in a duel (opponent is out of the frame), waving a thin sword (idk how it in eng, in my first it's шпага, a sword but specific type of it). From the chest of TC it's going steam, like character is heated mechanism pushed to limits. The face of TC is strong and determined, with mouth wide open trying to catch breath. Near this sketch is text: (text starts here) "He is fat and scant of breath" - original play quote. i know Fat Ham message. this one [the sketch with duel] here for slay jpeg reason (text ends here).

End of Image description)

[whateversawesome]

Possible Theory About Twiyor Kiss

Do you want to know something cool I learned in grad school this week? (And that could possibly apply to the first Twiyor kiss?).

Okay, here it goes. It's called the rule of three.

According to my teacher, the rule of three in narrative/fiction works like this: Author/Artist shows an event three times.

The first time to show the reader something.

The second time to establish a pattern.

The third time is to break that pattern.

So, let's apply this to Spy x Family. I'll give you an example: Yor hitting Twilight whenever he tries to do something romantic.

First time: The almost kiss.

Here, Twilight almost kissed Yor (he was very willing to do it) but at the last minute, Yor realizes she can't do it and instead, she almost hits him (but accidentally hits Yuri because her husband avoided her hand).

Second time: The kick on the chin date.

Here, he grabbed her hands while she was drunk and without permission and almost asked her to be his real wife (come on, we all know that's what he was going to say). And for that, he received a kick on the chin. See the pattern?

Third time (pay attention here!): Chapter 80.

This is the most important one. Here's where the pattern breaks!!

He's repeating something he did before: being too close, touching her without her consent (okay, okay, it was to prevent her from falling, so no ill intent here). But the important thing here is not so much his behavior, but Yor's thoughts and response. She's so drunk she thinks her husband is about to kiss her. She's terrified and embarrassed, just like the other two times. You would think it's going to happen again, because this is a pattern, right? She's probably going to hit him, but she doesn't. Why? Rule of three: this is the third time, pattern has to break!

Now, let's get to the good part (hehehe)...the kiss theory. So if the rule of three applies here, let's count.

First time: Again, almost kiss from the earlier chapters.

Second time: Even though it's safe to assume he wasn't going to kiss her and she was just drunk, Yor thought Loid was about to kiss her. So it counts as second time.

That only leaves the third time, which of course, hasn't happened yet! But, if the rule of three applies to this situation, that means that the next time these two are close like this, they're actually going to kiss!!

In my opinion, it has to come from Yor. Why? Well, she's the one who has been thinking about it, it's a big step in her life (she wants her marriage to be real!), and from the narrative point of view, it's also part of her character development. So, in my totally subjective opinion, she has to be the one who kisses him.

When? Well, I don't want to get my hopes up, but I hope it happens in the movie. I mean, we did see Twilight showing her some lipstick and Yor blushing like crazy because of that.

Take into consideration that this is just a theory. It may or may not happen, but it sure is fun to theorize 😉

What do you think?

[rip-quizilla]

There Will Be No Tenderness (Band Politics)

@corrodedcoffinfest Day 8: Band Politics

A/N: This is a two-part story. Both parts can be read as one-shots, but together they create one complete narrative. Part 2 will be posted for Day 12: Ow! and while this post does not contain any mature content, part 2 will be a strictly 18+ smutty story.

WC: 985

Tags: Eddie Munson X Henderson!Reader, backup singer!Reader, female!Reader, enemies to lovers, bratty reader, arguing counts as foreplay, strong language

Summary: You've been stepping on Eddie's toes ever since you joined Corroded Coffin, and he's finally had enough.

Divider was created by @strangergraphics

Eddie wouldn’t call you an enemy. 

He might call you an adversary. A rival. He’d most certainly call you a pain in his ass. 

He told himself he had the power to kick you to the curb if he finally decided he’d had enough. All it would take was one ‘you’re out!’ from him, and you’d be gone. That’s what he had to tell himself. 

Because he knew the rest of the band loved you too much to let him simply kick you out without consulting them first. 

He hated it. Hated how quickly you’d gotten on their good sides.  

His word used to be law around here- the most argumentative band member had always been Gareth. At the most, he’d grumble a bit when Eddie disagreed with him but he’d never contradict him. 

Then you came along.

When Eddie had mentioned to Dustin that they were looking for someone to do some backup vocals on a track, he’d laughed when the twerp suggested his older sister since she “had a background in musical theater”. He’d still been laughing when you showed up to one of their practices asking them to give you a shot. The laughter had only stopped when you’d suggested they play Flash of the Blade, and you’d known every word. Hit every note. Given him fucking goosebumps. 

It wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d assimilated into the band’s culture without any discord. If you’d been just as agreeable as the rest- but you had a lot of opinions, and they always seemed to contradict Eddie’s.

“We were a little flat on the second verse,” he would say, to which you would reply, “I thought we were perfect!”

“You came in too early on the chorus.” he would tell you, and you would bite back, “I was on time, you were late.”

Then you’d had the gall to suggest staying in the band as a permanent member- in front of the entire band- without consulting him first. 

The guys had all been so happy to agree- fuck yes! They’d exclaimed. About time! They’d cheered. Nobody asked Eddie if he thought it was a good idea. Which he didn’t. 

You were too argumentative. Too quick to disagree with him even though this was his fucking band. You were insubordinate. Fucking mutinous. 

The last straw was that gig in Bloomington. 

The band had been asked to play a college party. Eddie hadn’t established any kind of uniform for the performance- he wasn’t a drill sergeant. He’d simply told the band to dress casual.

And then you had shown up in an outfit that was so slutty, it looked like it jumped out of a porno. 

A black skirt made of pleated black pleather, just long enough to skim the bottom of your ass. A tiny black baby tee that was so ripped, he could see the black lacy bra you wore underneath. Black combat boots with platform heels. Lipstick red as fresh blood. 

“Absolutely not.” Eddie had declared, turning his back on you within seconds of laying eyes on your ensemble. 

“What do you mean?” you scoffed, incredulously. Already arguing, Eddie noted. Not surprised. 

“I’m wearing exactly what you told us to wear!”

“I’d hardly call that casual.” he countered.

“This is my casual.”

“Yeah, for casual Fridays at the brothel you look like you came from!” 

“Haven’t you heard the phrase sex sells? Eddie, rockstars put girls in bikinis onstage all the time, why is this any different?” 

Eddie rolled his eyes. Of course you didn’t get it. “If we resort to selling sex, it’s like we’re openly admitting that we think our music isn’t good! It’s saying that we don’t think our music is worth paying attention to, so hey! Let’s put some tits and ass up on the stage, that’ll get people’s attention!”

“Oh, and I’m the tits and ass?’

“You said it, sweetheart, not me.”

“Fuck you!” you spat. 

“Yeah, right back atcha.”

He half expected you to walk away, but he should have known better by now. 

“Why don’t you like me?” you asked, blunt and demanding as you took a step closer to him. 

Eddie blanched. “I like you just fine.”

“Bullshit.”

“God, you always have to argue, huh?”

You scoffed. “I do when you’re wrong. Or lying to me, which you’re doing right now because you most definitely do not like me.” 

“God, you’re infuriating.” Eddie raked his fingers through his hair, searching for somewhere more private to hash this out before you caused a scene in the middle of this party house. Spying a nearby bathroom, he grabbed your wrist and hauled you to it before closing the door and locking it behind him. 

“Fine. You wanna hear it?” Eddie seethed. “No, I don’t like you. You’ve never agreed with me, not once. You always have something to say, and-”

“Are you saying I’m not entitled to an opin- mmph!”

Eddie silenced you with a hand to your mouth, launching your eyes from angry slits to saucers. 

“No. For once in your goddamn life, you’re going to listen to me without arguing.”

You made no motion to move him off you. You simply watched him, eyes wide and waiting. 

“Everyone likes you. They used to listen to me, but now they also listen to you. That would be fine with me if you would just fucking agree with me once in a while. Don’t just oppose me outright every time.”

Slowly, he removed his hand from your mouth. You were silent, eyes still wide as they followed his hand when it left your skin. Your breathing was heavy, cheeks heated and body language shifted- where there was usually brash confidence, Eddie now saw coy submission. 

This would have seemed out of place, but the look in your eye told Eddie all he needed to know.

“You… liked that… didn’t you?”

Read the sequel, Love Me Mercilessly (Day 12: Ow!)

[lesboygamzee]

aradia thoughts!! please :•}

genuinely one of the best characters in homestuck and the people saying it deserved better fundamentally misunderstand its story . aradias escape from all its narrative importance n only really returning when it feels like it is soooo awesome shout out . less of a headcanon and more of a design detail i like to add despite it not fitting into canon .. aradia starts out with black lipstick and mascara like . pre death and during death . obviously both become blue for aradiabot but then it changes to red upon godtier .. aradia is at its happiest when its Red its clearly a Good Colour ( contrasting with janes Corruption related red and normally being blue which is the aradiabot colour .. maids of life and death !!!! ) so i think adding more red wouldve made sense post godtier

[kevin-the-bruyne]

here’s an opinion that you can leave or take or call me puritanical over but I feel this strange sentiment come from the thai QL fandom here that equates explicit content as progress in queer representation.

am I even reading the vibe right? idek because that life view is so unreachable to me lol but if you ask me the most progressive queer representation to have been released in the last couple of years is this

I understand that different people have different markers of progress and you don’t have to ascribe to or even understand mine but you must acknowledge that it exists.

SOTUS and A Tale of a Thousand Stars are older BLs that have very few parallels to me BY modern standards because to me progress is being able to watch a queer show with my family.

I’ve had a lifetime of watching queer as folk, grainy old school Japanese BL, lipstick jungle, weird french movies about gays with mommy issues in the dark, in the middle of the night; alone.

A lakorn like To Sir, With Love is something I can watch in the light with my whole family. Queer retelling of quintessential asian love stories like ATOTs or Moonlight Chicken that I can show my mom and have her understand queer love in the narrative language that she understands - that’s progress. That is what I have spent my entire youth praying for.

Don’t get me wrong I love buttcracks and the threat of male pregnancy just as much as the next person but dear god do I also need offgun to make 57 more heartwarming shows where their lips touch for 3.1 seconds so I can share this part of my life with the people that matter to me.

[itsmoonpeaches]

On Medusa from the PJO TV Show: A Survivor and complicated antagonist

I'm not the only one obsessed with the version of Medusa and I know it.

She's beautiful, she's eerily calm, she says, "I am a survivor," and you feel that. She is the symbol for women out there who don't want to be bullied anymore, and more recently Medusa's head has become a symbol of women fighting back with the #MeToo movement.

But I'm not writing this to talk about Medusa as the Gorgon from the Greek mythos. I'm here to talk about how she was written in the PJO TV Show. So let's get into it, shall we?

Note that some ideas from this meta are expanded on from this Variety article where the writers of the show and Rick and Rebecca Riordan, speak about the changes they made from the book to show adaptation.

A victim of an abuse of power

In the Variety article, Rick says, “There are many versions from ancient times of what happened in that temple with Medusa and Poseidon and Athena. Who’s to blame? Who’s the abuser? What’s the real story? It’s fiction, but it certainly is important to acknowledge that there is abuse involved here. Abuse of power.”

Like in all Greek myths, there is never exactly one "correct" version of a story. In many, Medusa and Poseidon basically have a one-night stand. In some, they have a mutual affair. In others, it's Poseidon who seduces Medusa into Athena's temple, and in others still, Medusa is a victim of assault.

What most versions of the myths do have in common is the fact that Medusa and Poseidon had some sort of relationship that produced at least two children (Pegasus and Chrysaor). Most versions (both Greek and Roman) also depict her as a tragic figure and a beautiful maiden.

Athena is involved in earlier myths as the goddess who put her head onto the shield that averts the gaze of enemies. In later myths, she is the one who curses Medusa to transform into what we know of her today after Athena discovers her relationship with Poseidon on her sacred ground. Poseidon, of course, gets let off scot-free.

Depending on how you read into the myths, there could be a variety of different things happening here. So, I like what the show did. They made it vague enough that this is still middle-grade level like the books, but they also expanded on what the books couldn't because they are originally written from 12-year-old Percy's POV.

They basically keep nearly all aspects of the story and original myth possible. But in the end, Medusa is indeed a victim of abuse.

Her real curse is not that she is hideous and turns people who look into her eyes into stone, but that she is made invisible by the curse and she is not heard. Not one person can look her in the eye and live to tell the tale. She can't show her beauty, so she chooses to live with what she has. Even with a slanted hat covering half her face and eyes, you can tell she's statuesque (see what I did there?) and a beauty.

She chooses elegant clothes, pretty jewelry, a neat hairstyle, a hat that accents what you can see of her features, and red lipstick that makes you think she could be desirable.

But it doesn't change the fact that Poseidon had his way with her, told her he loved her, and then she was the only one left with the punishment for what happened between them. Athena cursed her out of anger.

Medusa revered Athena who is a virgin goddess, and of course, Athena would be upset when one of her devout followers is suddenly not a virgin too. Yet, Medusa mentioned earlier in her narrative in episode 3 that Athena never answered her prayers at all and never gave an indication that she was listening. So out of all the times she pays attention, it's to curse her for something she doesn't like?

Athena paid attention to Medusa when it was convenient to her and Poseidon left her when Medusa was no longer useful to him after she was cursed.

This version of Medusa is left to the wolves to defend herself and live with herself, a victim of abuse of power from multiple ends and from gods she thought she could trust.

Medusa and Sally Jackson

What I found the most interesting in episode 3 was the fact that Medusa sprinkles the seeds of doubt into Percy's mind that maybe the loving relationship he thought his mother had with Poseidon was not what actually happened.

In the Variety article, Rebecca Riordan says, that Percy has to think ‘What has my father done? Has he changed? How do I see myself in relationship to that?' while Rick says that “Percy can only judge his father by the wreckage he has left behind."

The fact of the matter is, Percy is 12. The book series is for a middle-grade audience, and the show is too. So people out there thinking "This could've been darker!" need to calm down and take a back seat. The books always did a good job of introducing deeper, darker topics to children. The show should stick to the same strategy to keep what made the original story so good.

But, what the show does here is make you think. If Poseidon could abandon Medusa like that, use her like that, then maybe Sally Jackson was abandoned and used too.

Her show story does a good job of connecting two women who had a relationship with the same god, connecting women who thought they could trust someone but were left to fend for themselves.

Look at where Sally Jackson is now at this point in the story. Not only was she forced to marry Gabe Ugliano to use his stench to protect her son who attracts monsters, but he is an abusive man both to her and to her son at least verbally. In the books, it's not suggested until the very end of The Lightning Thief that Gabe has been hitting her outside of Percy's POV. I've seen people forget that and immediately write off that Gabe wasn't "abusive enough". C'mon people. Just because Sally fights back verbally doesn't mean he wasn't still abusive in his actions in the first two episodes. Even if they decide not to suggest that he was also physically abusive to Sally, doesn't make him sneakily using her phone, demanding to ask why she has to use his car, and demanding for her to make food for him any less abusive.

Sally chose that life because the most important person in the world to her is her son, and even though Gabe is a total jerk, she convinced herself that she could take what he gave her because what he did to her was better than having her son being hunted and maimed by a bunch of Greek monsters because of who he is. To top it all off, now Hades stole her away into the Underworld.

Medusa, in a similar way, was left to fend for herself. She chose what was best for her, and lived in her new form because she could not change what had happened. She wants to save Sally too because she sees Percy as a boy whose mom was abused the same way she was.

Medusa's brilliant role as an antagonist

Now we're here, the main reason I wanted to write this giant thing. I saw a weird take on Twitter saying that Medusa in the show should not have been beheaded like she was in the books because then that negates her whole story and what she stood for.

Well, in my opinion, that is a shallow take on what the show's Medusa is trying to portray.

Medusa is an antagonist. In the myths, she is an antagonist. In the books, she is an antagonist. In the show, she is an antagonist. She gets in the way of Percy's path for his quest, she suggests that he doesn't need Annabeth and Grover, and that only she can save his mom with him.

In both the books and the show, there are hundreds of statues of people she had turned. Sure, some of them could've been attacking her, but there were a lot of people there who were victims too. I'm sure that screaming lady didn't mean to do something to Medusa, and Grover's Uncle Ferdinand? He was the only statue who appeared calm and collected and there was nothing to suggest that he was out to get her. He was only on his journey to find Pan.

Medusa has killed people, and innocent people at that. For thousands of years. And not just people she had to, and not a small amount. Then, she suggests that Percy let her kill his two friends who are children.

To her, Annabeth and Grover are dead weight because of their loyalty to the gods. Annabeth wants to be noticed by her mother. Grover wants to make sure the world doesn't end. I mean, they all don't want the world to end but I digress.

Medusa hates the gods. She wants to save a woman who is like her. She will protect that woman's child. But she will do anything and destroy anyone to get that end result.

A victim is still a victim even if they are a villain or an antagonist. Her methods don't make her any less of a victim of abuse. But that doesn't mean they are right.

So yes, when Percy runs away from her to keep his friends alive and she takes off her hat to stalk them around the room to turn them into stone, she does indeed need to be beheaded. There is literally no other way to defeat her. They can't look at her or they die. So they have to make her stop moving.

Unfortunately, a person like her with deep and complicated motivations would never change their mind when they feel they are betrayed. So, Percy did what he could to protect himself and his friends from dying.

Still, it's a poetic death as it is in the books. He mails her head to the gods and mentions Athena specifically for her punishment of Medusa. He's impertinent.

Medusa didn't deserve to be punished. But it's been millennia and she made her choices. The abusers did not get the punishment they deserved, but maybe now they will. Medusa's head in her (temporary) death, will be a testament to her victory, but also a testament to her downfall.

[herohimbowhore]

The revolving door of Red Bull drivers within the past decade has always been a topic of discussion.

Webber retires and Ricciardo's in. Vettel leaves for Ferrari and in comes Kyvat. Oops, no Kyvat out, and Verstappen takes his place. Ricciardo leaves and Gasly is promoted to the main team. But Gasly isn't it, and in comes Albon. Nevermind, Albon out and Perez is the man. Or is he?

It's a neverending cycle of one driver in and another replacing him only for rumors about replacements to swirl.

Hundreds of years earlier, similar patterns existed with Henry VIII and his six wives.

This brings forth the question: which wife's narrative suits the most for some of the former and current Red Bull drivers.

Based on the song Ex-Wives from Six: The Musical.

________________________________________________

My name's Catherine Of Aragon

Was married 24 years, I'm a paragon

Of royalty, my loyalty is to the Vatican

So if you try to dump me

You won't try that again

The initial thought for Catherine of Aragon, based solely on being the first wife would be Sebastian Vettel. He's the first Red Bull junior to make it to the main team, take the first win for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull, and win the first championship with the team.

However, Catherine of Aragon is Max Verstappen. Lyrically and based on the narrative, Max Verstappen is most like Catherine.

Paragon of royalty:

This could be translated into a racing lineage. Both of Max's parents were in motorsport. Jos is a former Formula 1 driver, though undeniably nowhere as good as his son. Sophie is a karting and race car driver who competed against Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, and Nick Heidfeld. Christian Horner in a recent interview on Dax Shepard's podcast eff won with DRS said that he used to kart against Sophie and she beat him.

My loyalty is to the Vatican:

In this situation, the Vatican would be Red Bull. Max's current contract ends in 2028 and he has mentioned many times that he could possibly retire when that contract ends. Max has never talked about a desire to race for another team.

Also, Max is rarely spotted not wearing the team kit. The man is dedicated to the team.

I'm that Boleyn girl

And I'm up next

See, I broke England from the Church

Yeah, I'm that sexy

Why did I lose my head?

Well, my sleeves may be green

But my lipstick's red!

Anne Boleyn is undeniably Sebastian Vettel.

Lyrically and based on the colors mentioned in the song, Sebastian has the makings of the Boleyn girl.

See, I broke England from the Church:

Breaking England from the Church for Sebastian is ending the Red Bull/Sebastian Vettel partnership that had won the team four drivers' championships and four constructors' championships.

Red Bull back then was Sebastian Vettel, they were one and the same. Sebastian got them their first everything and it seemed like a solid partnership until Sebastian signed with Ferrari. Thus, breaking England from the Church, or in this case leaving the team he won with.

Why did I lose my head?:

This is 2020.

Nothing is going right, Sebastian's dropped by Ferrari for Carlos Sainz Jr. Commentators are talking about how he isn't the same Sebastian Vettel and he doesn't have that same level of skill as before, especially in comparison to his younger teammate, Charles Leclerc.

Well, my sleeves may be green but my lipstick's red:

Sebastian retired in Aston Martin green, but he's not going to be remembered as the Aston Martin driver, he'll always be a core piece of Red Bull's history in Formula One.

Another way that this can be interpreted is Christian Horner telling Sebastian that he could always take a year off and come back home (Red Bull) if he wanted after Sebastian was dropped by Ferrari.

Jane Seymour, the only one he truly loved

Rude

When my son was newly born, I died

But I'm not what I seem

Or am I?

Stick around, and you'll suddenly see more

Now, Jane was a difficult one because she could be connected to three different drivers (Sebastian, Daniel, and Checo) at different points in their respective careers. But, in my opinion, based on how the 2023 season has played out, Checo is most like Jane Seymour.

the one he truly loved (rude):

While Checo is probably not the most loved of the drivers for Christian (see: Max, Sebastian, Daniel), the lyric does fit him when put into comparison with Pierre and Alex. Of Checo, Pierre, and Alex, he is the one that was truly loved.

Checo, when not performing to the level that Red Bull wants, has gotten a lot more support than Pierre and Alex. He's also lasted much longer than the other two.

When my son was newly born, I died:

This is Checo's championship aspirations earlier this year.

Just when it looked like Checo could be a legitimate challenger for Max in the drivers' championship, he had a fall in form. After two race wins and only a few points separating them, there was hope that maybe, just maybe Checo could beat Max. But following Miami, Max went on to have a record-breaking amount of consecutive wins. Thus, killing the newly born championship dreams for 2023.

Ich bin Anna of Cleves

Ja

When he saw my portrait he was like

Ja!

But I didn't look as good as I did in my pic

Funny how we all discuss that, but never Henry's little

One thing Anna of Cleves and Pierre Gasly had in common was that they both only had a short union with Henry VIII and Red Bull. However, after the breakup, they continued to be tied to their ex.

Anna of Cleves stayed in England and was a present figure in Henry VIII's life after their divorce, sometimes called his sister. Pierre Gasly was demoted to the junior team, AlphaTauri, and stayed there for a few years.

When he saw my portrait he was like, Ja!:

When Daniel left Red Bull, they needed to bring someone in to replace him, and out of the two drivers on the junior team, they picked Pierre. They saw his portrait (his record with the junior team) and thought it good enough to be promoted.

But I didn't look as good as I did in my pic:

Pierre's time with Red Bull is short-lived, just like Anna of Cleves' marriage to Henry VIII. He wasn't performing like Red Bull wanted, therefore, didn't look as good as he did when they signed him. Which led to a premature end and quick replacement just halfway through the 2019 season.

Prick up your ears, I'm the Katherine who lost her head

For my promiscuity outside of wed

Lock up your husbands, lock up your sons

K Howard is here, and the fun's begun

If Pierre is Anna of Cleves, then Alex Albon is Katherine Howard. Much like in the song when Katherine Howard begins singing halfway through Anna of Cleves' verse, Alex Albon began his time with Red Bull halfway through Pierre's contract.

Prick up your ears, I'm the Katherine who lost her head:

Alex's version of losing his head is not getting a contract for 2021 and becoming a test driver for the team. He spent the year without a race seat and it could have been a forever thing.

Katherine was young and married early, Alex was promoted before his time in his rookie year. Both of them were punished for something that was beyond their ability.

K Howard is here, and the fun's begun:

This is Alex with Williams, but still going to Red Bull events like Wings for Life and hanging out with drivers in the Red Bull "family." He's having fun, showing off his ability as a driver, and just making them think about offering him a contract when his contract with Williams ends.

Five down, I'm the final wife

I saw him to the end of his life

I'm the survivor, Catherine Parr

I bet you wanna know how I got this far

I said, I bet you wanna know how I got this far

Now, Catherine Parr, most would think is Sergio Perez. It would make sense, he's still with the team and he was a factor in winning the 2021 drivers' championship and has scored points for the 2022 and 2023 constructors' championship wins.

But Catherine Parr fits with Daniel Ricciardo. He is, in the sense of Red Bull, the survivor.

I saw him to the end of his life:

Daniel coming into Red Bull in 2014 saw Red Bull at the end of the team's first block of domination and the end of Sebastian's career with Red Bull.

This was the Red Bull downfall era as Mercedes was emerging as the top team. Daniel was the only Red Bull driver to get wins for the team. Daniel was there at the end.

I'm the survivor:

Daniel, unlike Pierre, Alex, and now Checo, was able to leave Red Bull with his head held high and a highly regarded driver. When he left, there weren't rumors of him losing his seat. It was on his own terms. He is, to this day, the only one of Max's teammates at Red Bull to beat him and challenge him over the course of a season.

Additionally, even after a downfall after the McLaren stint, Daniel's come back to Red Bull and is considered to be in contention for the second Red Bull seat. He is the survivor of the six Red Bull drivers. When his career seemed like it was going to end, he came back. In Mexico, he was in the top 10 in all sessions during the weekend and gave AlphaTauri their highest Grand Prix finishing of the season. In Brazil, despite rear wing damage that led him to be a lap down and spending most of the race behind Yuki, he was the third-fastest driver.

More on Red Bull Drivers:

Red Bull Industrial Complex: A timeline of all lineup changes in RB and TR/AT