#YES WHITE FLAG IS THE FIRST SONG. WHAT OF IT

[multishipper-baby]

I realized I never posted my Deuzangle playlist on here... So have some exes. Because I love doomed romance and I love them <3

[unsleepingtales]

FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR TRAILER CHARACTER ART BREAKDOWN

The character artist credited for this season on the FAQ is Cait May! Without further ado, let's get into it.

Each character card has the PC art, the PC's name, the player's name, and a couple extra details such as an NPC they're connected to and/or plot points from the previous seasons.

Here is Adaine's character card! Boggy gets pride of place of course, with his backpack and ESF (Emotional Support Frog) flag. The sword is possibly a step towards confirming the popular prediction that Adaine will multiclass as a Fighter this season. There's also a small sketch of Jawbone in the corner. Adaine's jacket has an owlbears patch on the sleeve!

Fabian's character card follows a similar formula. There's a small sketch of Bill Seacaster in the upper left corner (titled PA-PA), and there are many references to dancing. Fabian holds his sheet. In several places the words Toxic Masculinity have been crossed out! He dances now! One of Fabian's first defining lines is referenced: "I'm here to be great!"

It's not very clear what this ticket is for, but to me it looks like a ticket to a dance recital!

Kristen's character card is next! The many holy symbols she has previously believed in are seen, a sun has been crossed out, as well as "yes?". Cassandra appears in the upper right corner, while an ear of corn appears in the lower left, not crossed out!

Cassandra looks vaguely worried, which could be their natural state, or it could indicate that Kristen's questions of faith are still just as present as they have been previously.

Riz's character card is a lot more detailed than the previous ones. Trailer analysts far more intense than I will have a field day with this, I'm gonna give the sparknotes. Riz takes front and center, with his (un)license above his shoulder! Next to him is a sketch of Coach Daybreak. Several sticky notes with the words Night Yorb appear, as well as references Riz's previous cases. Drawings of Kalvaxus and a Corn Cutie are next to each other. The photo of Pok and Kalina is shown, as is a drawing of Baron. There's also a sticky note with "Jorjug" on it, which probably isn't as important but I certainly enjoy it.

Fig's character card features her art for the season, a large Anarchy symbol, and her bass guitar. A small sketch of Gilear is shown, as well as a ticket to what's likely a Cig Figs concert, and a skateboard!

The toe of a combat boot is poking out from behind the paper with the skateboard on it. Burn Towns, Get Money is also written in the corner, which is the name of one of Fig and the Cig Figs' hit songs. The Sig Figs Collective put out a fan song version that slaps, which you can find here! (Tbh you should just check out their whole discography)

Gorgug and his greatest hits appear on this character card! The 'are you my dad' bit keeps on running. Keep Going is also written several times. The white streaks are still in his hair, headphones around his neck, and his axe gets the most movement we've seen in one of these cards.

(Gorgug gets a small animation in the transition to his character card!)

The word metal is shown, as well as a sketch of the metal flower from the very first episode.

There are also a couple of group shots!

Look at them go! The Bad Kids are back and I am so excited to see where they go this year.

[aneryasblog]

Heart beat.

— Rafe Cameron x Reader

Tags: Toxic!Rafe, Angst, Implications of infidelity.

Plot: You finally decide you’re done with Rafe’s antics yet when you try to break it off with him, he won’t let you.

a/n; Based off of the song by Childish Gambino (Mainly the bridge part I guess) I’ve been watching toxic Rafe edits so please don’t actually find this behaviour acceptable.

“So what? We’re done, that’s it?” Rafe is seething as he says the words bitterly, his hands clenching and unclenching as he paces back and forth in front of you.

For the last hour and a half you’ve been stuck arguing against a brick wall, the stubborn wall being your boyfriend who won’t accept the fact you finally want to end things. It took catching him and a girl practically making out at a party last Saturday for you to come to your senses.

Given his constant mood swings, heavy reliance on drugs and now being unfaithful, you couldn’t stand by him any longer.

“Yes, Rafe. We’re done. I’m done, I can’t— I won’t be with you anymore. You’re not good for me” You let out a heavy exhale, worn out and absolutely drained from the constant back and forth.

“What so I’m the fucking Villain now? Typical, I’m always the bad guy”

His defensive tone only makes you lift your hands to rub your temples, the rest of the words he spews aggressively reducing to white noise as you block him out.

It’s a broken record that’s been played too many times for you to forgive. Not even yourself for allowing it to be spun yet again, even though you promised the last time would never happen again. You feel foolish as you glance up at the boy you supposedly fell in love with.

In this moment he doesn’t resemble even a fraction of the boy you’d met your first summer here. His charming smile is a scowl, his features pulled into a tense expression as he berates you. Hands pulling through his blonde hair as a sign of his frustration at your silence. Still you don’t have it in you to utter a word, all your energy has been spent.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. Wake up, sweetheart” You don’t realise he’s shifted closer until he’s kneeling before you, clapping his hands together directly in front of your face to gain your attention.

You scoff at his condescending tone and finally raise the white flag you’d been struggling to give in to. Wordlessly, you push past him and grab the duffel bag from the closet. You begin to stuff your clothes into the bag, your back turned to Rafe who’s finally starting to calm down. The sight of you packing your belongings sobering him up.

“What are you doing?”

You ignore him, moving to his bedside drawer to collect your jewellery and other possessions you’d stored in there over months. He follows you into the bathroom, close on your heel as you skim through his cupboards and pull out all that is yours.

“Stop, you’re not doing this” Rafe tuts, attempting to stop you by ripping the bottle from your hand. He’s met with no response as you back away from him and move across into his room.

“You’re not leaving” He seethes again as he follows you like a shadow, his hand moving to grab ahold of the bag you tug closer to your body.

“Rafe, let go” You break your resolve when he stubbornly grasps ahold of it, his strength trumping yours as he successfully loosens it from your grip.

Holding it away from you, he forces you to halt your movements towards the door, now facing him with a scowl on your face.

“Give me the bag” Your tone is cold, void of emotion as you stand your ground. The sight only makes him hold the bag further away.

“You won’t find anyone else. I’m the only one for you, I’ve ruined you for every other guy out there” His gaze burns into yours as he speaks, words bitter and cold as he projects the pain he’s feeling onto you.

“You’re mine, we both know that” He lets out a humourless chuckle, a false smile plastered on his face as he watches you in anticipation.

Your throat tightens, tears brimming your now reddening eyes as you struggle to even think. Shaking your head, arms wrapping around yourself, you decide it’s not worth it. You can always replace everything in the bag, you weren’t going to put up with this any longer.

“We’re done, Rafe” Your lip quivers as you utter the words, your voice barely audible as you turn away and inch closer to the door.

“Don’t leave me” He’s tossed the bag aside now, striding toward you and catching you just as you open the door. His arms cage around your waist, pulling you back into him as he pleads into your ear.

“I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean any of that shit. I’ll be better, I promise” He pleads, his mean demeanour breaking as he grows desperate. Desperate for you to stay, to not walk out on him even though he knows he deserves it.

You were serious about leaving him and the thought terrified him that he would no longer have you. As a crutch, as his support, as his. He’s finally run out of all the chances he’d been given for every mistake he’s made.

“I’ll be better for you. I promise” He’s turned you around this time, his hands moving to press against your cheeks that are now wet with tears. He murmurs the words over and over again, his eyes searching yours for any hope and even when he finds none, his hands still caress your skin.

You use the last of your strength to grasp ahold of his wrists and pry his hands away from your face before slipping away from him. You hastily leave the room, wiping away at your tears as you realise that this time Rafe wasn’t going to chase you and this time you weren’t going to turn back.

[scarletwinterxx]

I choose you and me religiously - joshua hong imagine

istg every love song i hear, he's the only one i can think of. i'm in my joshua brain rot era and i'm loving every second of it😭😭

for my other joshua fics, check them here

if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"This is so not fair"

"What?" your boyfriend blinks back at you with his doe eyes, knowing full well what this does to you

"You can't use that every time you're trying to win, Josh" you grumble, hitting him playfully with a pillow. He blocks it with his arm, laughing at your annoyed but cute expression, clearly he's having more fun than you.

There are so many things Joshua does that makes your knees go weak. The moment you met him you knew you were in deep deep trouble. It was hard not to get swayed while staring in his eyes when they say so much.

Even before, you can never keep eye contact with him because if you do you'd end up a blushing mess. His eyes confessed to you first, and you stared right back getting lost along side him.

Your relationship with him is like those cliche movies and cute scenes in books you only dreamt of happening to you, then along came him and made those into reality.

Like how can you not think he's the cutest human ever when he made a beaded bracelet with his number on it and gave it to you because he was too shy and too much of a gentleman to ask, how he held pinkies with you on your first date while walking around the park, or how he giggled (yes, this man straight up giggled) the first time you kissed.

Every thing he does is an arrow shot straight to your heart. He might not be aware of it but he got you on the palm of his hand. You can't even argue with him because the moment you see his sad eyes and pouty lips, you're already waiving the white flag.

You thought it would be scary for someone to have this much power over you, but not Joshua. He's honest, gentle and kind through and through. In a world of boys, he really is the gentleman.

He never did anything to make you feel uncomfortable or angry or upset, sure there are little arguments here and there but he will never let a day end without making sure you two are okay.

Most often you would say he's too kind for this world, all you get is a shake of his head and a smile. It's just who is he is. Not a single mean bone in his body. You would fight the world for him, always his number one defender and he loves that about you.

Why would he care if the world was mean to him when he got you on his side?

That's all that matters to him anyways.

"Do you ever get angry?" you ask

"Of course, I do" he answer with a chuckle, prompting you to raise your brow at him

"I've never seen you angry, is that a bad sign? They say you should see your partner angry to see that side of them or whatnot"

"I just never find any reason to be. I feel upset, I do. But then I resolve it. It takes too much energy to be angry, life's too short for that don't you think"

"Okay but like what if someone insults you?" you prod

"Do they know me?" he asks back "Just hypothetically"

"But like what's the scenario" "Oh come on, indulge me for a moment will you" you say, getting annoyed at your boyfriend but he just laughs. You always look cute when he annoys you, wishing he could keep you in his pocket all the time.

"Okay let's change it then, let's say we're walking out at night and someone says something about me-" "Well that's different, darling. They won't even finish the sentence, I'm already walking up to them" he cuts you off, even though it's just a made up scenario he already feels a bit mad at the thought of someone disrespecting you

"And what? Fight them?"

He doesn't say anything for a while, staring back at you like he's making you read his mind. Then he pulls you by the arm until you're cuddled against him.

"They can hurt me any way they want, I can handle that. But you, I'd lose my mind if anything happens to you. I can't even imagine it, it's making me mad"

Looking up at him, you see the change in his expression "Oh love, I didn't mean to upset you. Sorry" you mumble, smoothing the crease in between his brows

"No need to be sorry, it's the truth. I treat you with nothing but love and respect, I can't have some stranger treat you any less"

Your lips immediately form a pout when you hear his words. Your sweet sweet boy.

"You really love me huh" you whisper

He looks down at you, his expression quickly changes when he sees your cheeks squished against his chest and the cute pout on your lips. Like a little cute dumpling.

Leaning down to give your cheek a few pecks, "A little bit more than how much you love me"

You laugh at that, you never doubted your feelings about him. You know you love him so much, every single cell in your body knows that. "Sounds impossble"

"Oh you disagree? Lovely, we can sit here all day and talk about all the things I love about you. I can go on and on and on"

"Okay okay fine I get it, I thought you don't like arguing" you tease him

"I like arguing with you like this because I know I'll win"

"Okay Mr. Confident"

"I'm only telling the truth. Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm wrong" this time he's he one teasing, knowing full well you're weak for his stare

"Not fair, you can look at me and I'd say yes to anything"

"Anything?"

You pinch his side, earning a yelp and a laugh from your boyfriend. Then he hugs you again, holding your hand his time so you don't get any ideas.

"Want to know something? I feel the same, the moment you looked at me I knew I was going to be yours for the rest of this lifetime" he whispers

He tucks your hair behind your ears to see you eyes more, leaning down again to give your nose a peck "You had me the moment we met"

You smile at him before stretching your head to meet your lips with his, feeling him smile during the kiss. You don't say anything, you just let him feel all the emotions that are too big for any word in any language.

Exchanging I love you's through kisses.

[callsign-dexter]

Echoes of Talent

Request: Hey lovie!!!!

So I was scrolling threw tik tok as one does at one in the morning lol and I came across a video of a girl singing and her dad finding out and thought omg totally maverick

so i was wondering if you could write about maverick finding out his kid can sing?

maybe reader is like 14 ish 

100% your choice :)

Pairings: Maverick x Daughter!Reader

Warnings: fluff

Masterlist

Singing was a passion of Y/N she loved doing it but got embarrassed when she did it in front of anyone else. This includes her father. Maverick loved his little girl to pieces and always supported her. He would catch her humming to herself at times but never singing, this was usually when she was listening to music while working on some homework.

Maverick made it his goal to try and hear her sing. Each time he had made it known he was there she would stop and go to humming. She always somehow knew he was there and he didn't know how. He wondered if anyone else had heard hee sing and when he asked they just shook their head.

Friday around 5 PM he had come home from work a thought he heard a voice and went to the source. He found his daughter there but she was just humming away. She looked up and greeted him. "Hi, Daddy." She said and got up and hugged him.

"Hey, Sweetie. Have a good day at school?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yea I did. Got a bunch of homework that they gave us." She said when she released him from the hug. "I already have most of it done." She said and walked over to the table and continued her work. Maverick smiled at his daughter and she started humming again, he didn't know what the song was but it was catchy. He moved out of the kitchen and started to get into his regular clothing. He let it go for the evening not wanting to push his daughter into something she didn't want to.

It didn't happen for a few more weeks, that or he was just too busy with work to notice. Cyclone was on his ass about something that happened at work and he wanted him to push the current class of cadets harder. Y/N wasn't around much since she always was busy with the sports that she had going on.

There was one person who knew she could sing because he had caught her one day. He also encouraged her to sing. He also played the guitar while she sang. Who would that be? Well, none other than Robert 'Bob' Floyd. He had been in the same room as her and she was listening to her music and signing. When she looked up she was startled but he just smiled. He also ended up teaching her how to play the guitar but she preferred him to play and her sing.

**********************************************

It was a summer day and she had been sitting at the bar doing some summer work at The Hard Deck after the afternoon rush while the Dagger's had their annual dogfight football game. She had opted to stay in the air conditioning and grabbing drinks for them when they needed. She had been listening to music and not paying attention when Bob walked in. She was singing quietly to herself and it made Bob stop and listen she had an absolutely stunning voice. She was singing Battleships by Daughtry.

"Yeah

I'm sinkin' inside

And the mass and lines are broken down tonight (down tonight)

I swallow my pride

But we're drowning in the ocean

And it's tearing my heart open, baby

We're high then we're low, first it's yes then it's no

And we're changing like the tides

Yeah, but I want you, I need you and I guarantee you

We'll make it out alive

'Cause I don't wanna fight no more

Even when the waves get rough

I don't wanna see the day we say we've had enough

And I don't wanna fight this war

Bullets coming off our lips

But we stick to our guns and make love like battleships

Like battleships"

She hummed some parts of it but then went back to singing and Bob just stood there.

"Bombs fly through the air

And I know that we're both playing not so fair

Oh-oh, so, show me you care

Got my white flag open, it's waving

'Cause you know this love's worth saving baby

We're high then we're low, first it's yes then it's no

And we're changing like the tides

Yeah, but I want you, I need you and I guarantee you

We'll make it out alive"

He walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped and he jerked back. She ripped the earbud out of her ear and held a hand over her heart and turned around. "Bob? You scared me." She said and he smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I came in to get some water." He said and she nodded and got up and got a water bottle behind the bar. "You have a beautiful voice." He said as she stood up and blushed.

"Thank you." She said and handed the bottle to him.

"Does anyone else know that you sing?" He asked and she shook her head 'no'. "Why not?" He asked

"I don't like how I sound and I sound horrible." She said, water bottle still in hand.

"Well your secret is safe with me. You have a very beautiful voice. If you want I could play guitar and you could sing." He said and she looked at him with tears in her eyes, sat water down, and walked around the bar and hugged him.

"Thank you. I would love that." She said and Bob hugged them back and that is how they ended up almost every weekend at his house. Maverick was fine with it. She sang and he played guitar.

They bonded over this and were just as close as she and Bradley were. She was close to everyone but they just had a stronger bond. They were just too shy people who loved music and hated expressing themselves. They were practically the same person but with a huge age gap.

**********************************************

Maverick didn't find out she could sing until a month later. She was home but Bob was there since he volunteered to stay with her since Maverick was going out for a few hours. Bob and Y/N were in the living room and she was singing Every Light In The House by Trace Atkins. It was a favorite of hers and she couldn't help but not sing it.

"I told you I'd leave a light on

In case you ever wanted to come back home

You smiled and said you appreciate the gesture

I took your every word to heart

'Cause I can't stand us being apart

And just to show how much I really miss ya"

She sang the beginning and she sang it beautifully. Bob was smiling and encouraging her with a nod and so she continued singing.

"Every light in the house is on

The backyard's bright as the crack of dawn

The front walk looks like runway lights

It's kinda like noon in the dead of night

Every light in the house is on

Just in case you ever do get tired of being gone

Every light in the house is on"

She continued singing. Maverick had just gotten home and walked through the door when he stopped and heard a guitar and a beautiful voice singing. He smiled when he realized it was his daughter's voice. He listened to her sing then he decided to walk into the living room and stand in the door way. Bob noticed him but didn't say anything but continued to playing and smiled.

"If I should ever start forgetting

I'll turn the lights off one by one

So you can see that I agree it's over

But until then I want you to know

If you look south, you'll see a glow

That's me waiting at home each night to hold ya"

Maverick couldn't believe this was his daughter's voice. It was almost the end of the song and she had yet to notice her father was there too caught up in the song. He didn't know she was this talented.

"Every light in the house is on

The backyard's bright as the crack of dawn

The front walk looks like runway lights

It's kinda like noon in the dead of night

Every light in the house is on

Just in case you ever do get tired of being gone

Oh, every light in the house is on

The backyard's bright as the crack of dawn

The front walk looks like runway lights

It's kinda like noon in the dead of night

Every light in the house is on

Just in case you ever do get tired of being gone

Every light in the house is on"

She finished the song as Bob finished the last note. "Hey, Y/N/N turn around." She looked confused but did as told and found her father standing there and she blushed fiercely. She couldn't believe that she just sang in front of her father.

"You're amazing, Darling." Maverick said and she looked down.

"Thank you." She said quietly

"Why did you find it from me or anybody besides Bob?" He asked and she looked up and over at Bob who nodded.

"Bob found out when he came into The Hard Deck for water after a game of dogfight football a month ago and he offered to play guitar while I sang, that is what we had been doing pretty much every weekend. I also don't think I sound very good when it comes to me singing." She said and Maverick looked at her in disbelief.

"Darling. Your voice is perfect. I know you didn't get it from me. It sounds like her mom's voice when she sang before she passed." He said and that made her cry, her mother died when she was 3 years-old. "It sounds like an Echo of her." He said and she looked up at him and then got up and hugged him.

**********************************************

Now that she had gotten compliments from Maverick and Bob. She started to sing more often. All the Daggers and Penny had heard her sing especially when she thinks nobody is around or its in a hushed tone. Bradley played the piano while she sang and everyone loved it. Nothing could stop her now. She gets to do something she loved and doesn't have to be shy about it anymore. Maverick was just glad he could hear her sing freely. It brought good memories back that he thought was gone but not when she sang. He knew that her mother was smiling down on her when she sang, she would be so proud of her little girl, Maverick knew he was proud of her. Then again he was proud of her everyday, nothing was going to change that.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007ck007

@nyx2021

@callsign-revenge

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

Midnights vs Daylight

Thoughts on TS Midnights title and promotion (This will tie into my ‘Thoughts on the Eras tour’ theories)

I think we can all agree that folklore and evermore were pandemic products. If there had been no pandemic, it stands to reason that Lover would have led directly into Midnights (especially with the way the re-recording process has inspired this album). And that’s interesting because Lover was originally meant to be titled Daylight.

So instead of getting an album called Daylight, we now have an album called Midnights, the polar opposite. Could that be because daylight never came after all and she’s stuck in an eternal night?  

Midnights announcement and visuals

In the midnights announcement on socials, we got two images: the cover of Taylor holding the lighter, and the image under the announcement text from the promo photo shoot. Immediately, these two do not look like they are front and back of the same album. The cover image on white background has a modern classy but glamourous tone to it, and the announcement photo has a depressed 70s vibe. So the duality here is not hidden, and that confused me at first, but I do think this is deliberate and once we got the Anti Hero mv, it became clear why:

Midnights is about hiding your true self in favour of protecting a beloved public image and Taylor has perfected this to such a degree that her public and private personas have become two separate entities battling each other until they finally learn to co-exist, as we see in the two Taylors in the mv. One is the quiet contemplative one, the other is the loud party girl. One writes the songs, the other is the performer. One is the trusting people pleaser, the other knows that everyone will betray her. These two Taylors and their differences are the overarching theme of the video, and that theme carries over into the dichotomy of the midnights album style: Private vs public

Front: She’s wearing her glittery stage make up here so while we can’t see her outfit, I do think this is meant to be the performer Taylor. She’s holding the lighter open and looking at the flame, which to me feels a bit threatening, like she’s poured the fuel and is about to drop a match into it. And what did performance Taylor do this year on tour? Ah yes…burn the Lover house. (More on that HERE if you haven’t read my lover house theory). We should have seen it coming 😊

Back: The second image has even more to unpack, both in the photo and the text. I wasn’t a gaylor on the internet back in 2022 so forgive me if I’m repeating what other people have already pointed out. Taylor is inside with the curtains drawn, blocking out the outside world, looking hopeless with her head in her hand and phone in the other. The old phone could be a reference to the one she uses in the Anti Hero mv to call for help, so maybe she’s trying to call for help here and no one is answering. Or it could be a nod to the red phone from MMWM which many have pointed out could be a reference to the ‘red telephone’ Moscow-Washington hotline during Soviet times, which was used to deliver encoded messages. I like this interpretation, because the way she’s holding the receiver looking so devastated really gives me the vibe of someone who’s been on the phone with a person for ages who is just not getting the message. Almost like someone whose constant flags and encoded messages are falling on deaf ears (to a large majority)… I’ve also noticed that there is a framed photo of two people on the table in this house where she supposedly paces the floors alone at night, but can’t really make out enough to say anything more than that.

Now for the text: I’m by no means the first person to point out that the ‘lanterns lit… out searching’ is from one of Emily Dickinson’s letters to her lover Sue which seems a fitting comparison for Taylor, the writer of many lyrical love letters to her muse and lover. But what really gets me is the sentence

‘Just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.’ Why the ellipse? The sentence would have made perfect sense without this, so why add that deliberate suspense?  What happens when the clock strikes 12? In the following months we also got the ‘it’s a clock’ video announcing that the four midnights vinyl covers together make a clock, and then the Eras tour literally starts with a countdown to midnight. Clocks ticking down to 12 are also in both the Bejewelled and Karma mv, so safe to say this means something. The obvious one is the Cinderella connection, which was probably an Easter egg for the Bejewelled mv, but if that’s all it was then it could have stopped after the video was out. Notably also, Cinderella’s party ends at midnight, whereas Taylor’s starts both in the mv and on tour. Midnight is the first minute of a new day, so this seems a lot more about new beginnings for me, than eternal darkness. I’ve pointed out in a previous post that Taylor references the song ‘Naughty’ from Matilda the musical in her Eras tour performance of Anti Hero. That song not only references Cinderella heavily, it also includes the lyrics ‘Every day starts with a tick of a clock/ All escapes start with the click of a lock.’ So… interesting that the announcement post mentions both ticking clocks and cages. Is she escaping from her self-made cage at the strike of midnight? Which brings us to the final, but very loaded, sentence of the announcement.

Meet ME! At Midnight

Before you come at me, yes I know, that’s not how it’s written. It’s meet me, not ME!, but that would be first and foremost, way too obvious, wouldn’t it. I still think that this is where she is taking us with this sentence, back to the beginning of the Lover era, the dawn of daylight, if you will. If you need a reminder, ME! was the first single off of Lover and kickstarted the sunshine and rainbows parade that was meant to be her coming out with the glorious ME! OUT NOW post on Lesbian Visibility Day in April 2019. This whole summer has felt strangely similar to that, with cruel summer becoming a single and playing endlessly on the radio, Taylor being unashamedly queer in public and surrounding herself with other queer artists, gaylor discourse in mainstream media outlets, and then of course, Karlie Kloss of all people showing up to the last LA show. The congratulatory comments under GLAAD’s instagram post from the VMAs felt much the same to me as the ones under TN’s post of the ‘proud’ bracelet back in 2019. The people that get it, get it. We are officially in the soft launch period.

So, is there going to be a hard launch? Maybe. With all this open queerness I could totally see her just gradually turning it up until she gets photographed kissing a woman in public one day and it’ll just be a case of ‘deadass thought I made it obvious’… But the lesson from the 2019 (not so soft) soft launch was that a lot of people would still rather default to accusations of queerbaiting than assume that she is queer herself (as shown by what happened to Kit Connor last year), and I’m sure she wouldn’t want that again. For that reason, and the fact that she did have a plan to explicitly come out in the past, I think she may have another go in the future, whatever form that may take. One thing I will say, as it ties into this midnights to daylight theme, is this:

With all this clock/countdown imagery, it is notable that the three different versions we have so far of the midnights album are all chronological on a clock. Starting at the top, we have midnights, then the 3am edition, then ‘dawn’ which is around 6am, so to complete the circle we’d need a 9am (or near enough) version. I know that seems unlikely, as 9am is definitely morning and not night anymore, but maybe that’s the point, that at the end of midnights we have a daylight version. ‘You’re loosing me’ is still not officially out on streaming so there is a glimmer of hope that maybe one more version is coming.

What era are we actually in…?

It’s hard to remember that we are actually still in the midnights era with all the re-releases stealing the show and the throwback to lover with cruel summer. But given that the masters heist foiled her plans to come out and made Daylight into Lover, it makes total sense that the 'midnights to daylight' era is the one that includes those important re-releases to further this journey.

She has made so many positive changes and additions to these ‘Taylor’s versions’ that I think it’s just as much about owning her work, as it is about owning the narrative she puts out there. And on that note, it may not be a coincidence that the titles that Taylor has left to reclaim now are her birth year, her name and her reputation, all things that are intrinsically linked to her, and she has arguably never been more authentically queer out in the open. I’m not saying these next three re-releases are suddenly going to have she/her pronouns, but they may have vault tracks that would never have made the cut back in the day. And if we thought the 2017 version of rep was already unbelievably gay… I won’t make any predictions for the tv, but I have high hopes.😊 And I still think that if we end with debut (tv) in June 2024 (Pride month), then ‘TAYLOR SWIFT OUT NOW’ isn’t looking too far-fetched.  And I recon if I was putting out something called MY version of MY name, I'd want to make sure that it absolutely reflects who I am. It did surprise me initially that debut wasn't the first album to be re-released and it's in fact now looking likely to be the last one, but it makes sense if she is using it as an opportunity to go back to the beginning and re-write the story. What a boss move that would be: ‘My version of ME, OUT NOW’ and maybe she really means it this time.

My prediction is, that the end of the midnights era will also be the end of the re-releases (some time next year) and with the final one we end the night and step into the daylight. ☀🌈

[tiredlilguy]

" Hush, baby... it's after hours."

a/n: i was horny for the dilf of the flags... Iceman, so now here we are. also yes, im using the hc that i made that he's italian, so there might be some terms in italian, i will put a key for ya'll (it may be somewhat incorrect, im not italian, sorry... please don't bash me) >:D

pairing: Iceman X GN!Reader cw: NSFW 18+ (if you are a minor, you will be blocked), half-proofread desc: some domestic smut with your lover ~~ key: ciao - "hello", or "goodbye" (in this context hello) tesoro - "darling" arrivederci - "until we meet again"

The smell of pepper and garlic.

The sizzling of a hot pan with oil.

The sound of vegetables being cut, and plates being set down.

It was the sound that Iceman was used to hearing the moment he walked through the door. At first, it wasn’t what he’d wanted. If anything, he wanted to cook for you in your shared home, but you insisted. After all, seeing how tired he was as he took off his gloves and simple outer layers. The way his hands reached to the ends of his sleeves, pulling the white button-up to his elbows, and how you could see his back muscles tense as he rolled the tension away in his shoulders.

Of course… that tension seemed to go away the moment you ran up and hugged him, burying your face in his chest and taking in his scent. He did the same for you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you up closer to him.

Today seemed to be just like any other day, he announced his entrance from the front door, taking off his shoes and coat as usual. He worked his way down his vest, taking it and leaning it over a chair near the living room. He loosened his tie, but before he could turn around, your footsteps were heard as you ran down the hallway to hug him from behind. Iceman’s normally stern expression softened as he froze for a moment in your arms before turning around.

“ Hello…,” you said, muffled into his white button-up.

“ Ciao, tesoro,” he brushed his hands over your hair, pulling it away from your forehead so that he could leave a kiss on it. You did your usual, placing your cheek on his chest with an ear over his heart and letting in a deep breath. Your eyes fluttered open after you took in his scent. Iceman noticed your expression, slightly letting go of his grip on you as you gently pulled away.

“ You don’t really smell all that much of cigarettes today,” you commented, though your tone was a little melancholy.

“ Hm…? I guess I didn’t smoke that much today,” Iceman shrugged, thought upon hearing you let out a pensive breath, he continued,” I thought you didn’t like the smell of the cigarettes.”

“ I don’t, but…,” you placed your head back on his chest,” I think I’m just used to it… but! That’s not an excuse for you to be smoking more. You’ll die by the time you’re forty, baby.”

Iceman let out a small chuckle, one that he usually doesn’t let out unless he’s with you,” Don’t count on it, love.”

You both let go of each other, as he followed you over to the kitchen,” Anyways, dinner is done in a couple minutes. Go wash up.”

Iceman nodded, reaching back for his vest and folding it over his arm. You watched as he did so, particularly staring at his forearms… they were muscular, a little veiny, a couple of old scars and some hairs were visible. There was a visible twist in his forearms as he turned the knob to the bathroom door. You let out a breathy gasp, as you observed his arms. However, that didn’t go unnoticed by him, as he turned his head and raised a brow. A blush crept up on your face,” N-nothing! I think I just forgot the wine…”

He seemed to only shrug at your small flustered gesture, continuing to walk into the bathroom and shutting the door. Though… he had to admit and idea sprouted in his brain.

…

Usually after dinner, that meant that it was Iceman’s dedicated “listening music session”. He’d sit by the couch, play with the expensive record player and scroll through the shelves in hopes to find an album or song that he might like. Sometimes, he picks up the record and sings the notes to himself before nodding and placing it down on a pile of records he’d listen to that night. He was now setting up a record on the player, placing it on the turntable and letting it roll while brushing the dust off of the top. He then pressed a button, and the record started to roll as the needle automatically moved down. There was some white noise until a song from the album started to play lightly in the background.

You were across from him in the kitchen with both of your empty plates in hand and placing them in the sink. Turning around, you were reaching over to grab a pan until a hand gently grasped your forearm.

“ Enough of that, love,” It was Iceman who’s stopped you from continuing your tasks,” Let’s relax for a little bit.”

You slightly frowned, placing your arm down and looking up at him,” Mm… but I just wanna clean up.”

“ It’s just dishes. That can be done at any time,” Iceman tugged your arm over to the living room. Not being able to put up a stern face, you rolled your eyes with a smile and followed him into the living room.

He gently took you from the kitchen and over to the sofa where his music was gently playing in the background. You weren’t too familiar with the album that was going on in the background and more so focused on him. Iceman had let go of your forearm, sitting down and opened his legs. He tapped the spot in between them, silently gesturing for you to sit there. You followed, your back facing him as you sat down in between his legs. Before you could say anything, he wrapped his arms around you waist, pulling you up closer to his chest. His auburn hair was buried into your shoulder as he took in a long breath, taking in your scent.

“ Long day…?,” you muttered, your hands traveling to touch over his arm. Your fingertips gently traced over an old scar that had been there for quite a while. He’d told you it was from a long time ago, but never bothered to elaborate. You’d just assumed it had some sort of bad memory attached to it, considering that he’d always freeze up for a moment before letting you continue to trace over his scar. Iceman didn’t answer, only squeezing you tightly in response before letting go.

Silence lingered in the air for just a little bit. You had nothing particular on your mind as you let out a couple of deep breathes, on occasion humming the tune that was playing on the record player. You were in your own world, enjoying the strong embrace of your lover as you thought about your day. Eventually, your hums were interrupted by the feeling of Iceman’s hands on your hips. You froze up a bit, a shiver running down your spine as you felt a hot breathe on your neck.

“ Mm…,” you let out a soft whimper, as you shifted slightly in his lap.

“ What’s wrong?,” the heavy breath crept up your neck to your earlobe, making you shiver once more.

“ You’re just… uh- y-you’re hands…”

“ What about my hands?”

“ It feels good…,” you admitted, a faint blush went to your cheeks as you felt him circle his thick fingers along your hips. He slowly let his fingers slip under the waistband of your pants. You leaned back into his chest, your entire weight on his now as his tongue licked a small strip up the side of your neck. You let out a faint moan at his gesture his hot tongue leaving a trail of saliva on your neck.

“ Does it now…?,” Iceman hummed as he took another breathe in of your scent, the tip of his nose trailing up towards you jawline as he left a sweet kiss there.

“ Mhm… Love, wait- I…!,” you quickly whimpered as you felt him bite your neck. It was slightly forceful, yet gentle enough so not as to hurt you.

He quickly hushed you,” Hush, baby… it’s after hours. Just relax…”

Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded fulfilling his request and tried to relax against his hold. As he continued to nip at your neck, leaving purple and red colored bruises, his hands moved to take off your pants and undergarments, pushing them both down your hips and down to your knees, as they fell to your ankles revealing your lower half. You quickly shifted them off your ankles, leaving you bare. You shivered slightly at the feelings of his calloused fingers caressing the skin of your stomach and thighs, eventually reaching down to your knees and spreading your legs a little wider. He felt your hips jolt as you silently begged for more, but he stopped himself, teasing you by hovering above your now aching arousal between your thighs.

You looked over at him with a small pout, turning your head to meet his. He was so close to you… so much so that your lips were almost touching. You whispered out a small “kiss me” before smashing your own lips into his. He passionately kissed back, pulling away slightly to bite at your lower lip. You opened your mouth slightly, letting him shove his tongue to meet yours. His hands moved up to your now hardened nipples peeking out from your shirt. He moved to pull it above your chest, pinching at them, making you gasp into the kiss. Eventually, you both pulled away, a bit of saliva trailing down your lips.

Before you could catch you breath, you felt his fingers down to your entrance. His thick digits prodding at you, as if asking to open you up. You tensed up, body shivering as you panted out of desperation. Iceman let you pants for a moment, before shoving two fingers into your tight entrance.

“ Ngh… ah-hah!,” you felt yourself jolt as his gesture.

“ Feel good, baby…?,” he teased as his mouth reached your ear, nibbling on it slightly. You were about to respond when you felt his fingers curl up slightly, your back arching in response. You felt yourself sweat, your shirt feeling a little suffocating and uncomfortable as you desired for more of him. Almost catching your breathe, you were caught off-guard as he motioned his fingers once more. He let out an uncharacteristic chuckle,” I’ll take that as a yes, hm?”

You only nodded in response as he continued to prod his fingers further into your entrance. You felt everything… the way that his thick fingers felt. They were rough and calloused, and yet every detail seemed to touch every spot that almost made you feel like you were going to cum. He felt you tighten around his fingers, the tight feeling making him groan slightly. He continued to push his fingers into you, your moans getting louder and continuous as he did so. The further he pushed up, the louder you whined… He could feel himself get harder the more you whined and shifted in his lap. His other arm wrapped around your waist, holding you down. If you squeezed your thighs together, he’d push them out, whispering to you,” Be good…”

And of course… you had to obey.

You felt the heat in your stomach become unbearable as he continued to finger you at a consistent pace… It started to become agonizingly slow to you, however, you already wanting to release. However, you had to be good for him. He was patient, slow, and somewhat gentle with you despite the way he looked. You appreciated that from him, he was able to slow down with you, able to handle you like fine porcelain.

Right now though, that slowness was started to kill you… and you’d wanted to beg.

“ I… hah, baby, can I- mm!,” you tried to ask nicely, but he toyed with your entrance, making it worse for you to speak normally.

“ Can you…?,” he asked back. Your boyfriend’s voice had started to become slightly raspier.

“ Can I… ngh c-cum… please? I’ve been waiting for so long,” you whined against his chest, head falling back onto his shoulder.

“ Hm…,” he teased you more as he pretended to debate whether or not to let you come. You fidgeted more, back arching as he tried to go deeper into you. You started whimpered against him, repeating the word please constantly, as you could barely hold yourself together.

“ Ok, love, you can cum,” he gave you permission, and you did so. Cumming quickly after that. You felt embarrassed as you felt your release, covering your face at the liquids that were coming out of you. Your moans filled the room, as Iceman let out soft breathes in your ear.

“ You ready?,” he asked, gently, wiping his two fingers on your thigh and moving up to move your chin to look at him. He gently caressed your jaw with his thumb. Still as gentle as ever, despite his deadpan face… You knew that he was a lot softer than he normally would be.

You nodded in response,” I-I think so…” You were a complete mess, sweaty and disheveled.

He quickly shifted you both so that you were now under him. You took your top off in the process, it meeting the other clothes that were now on the floor. Iceman sat up, pulling his sweatpants down to reveal his cock. You drooled as you look at him…

He was actually quite big. His cock being veiny, long and thick. The first time you both had sex, you thought you’d die, but rest assured, he prepped you beforehand. Now, you were currently prepared and ready without lube, and well… you still felt that nervousness build up in your chest.

And of course he wasn’t wearing boxers underneath his sweatpants…

God, you were going to make a mess. If not one a lot more than you’d already done earlier.

“ Tell me if it hurts, ok?,” he leaned down, placing a hand on your cheek to assure you. His tip met your tight entrance, the head already splitting you open. You let out a small hiss, and he kissed you on the forehead as an apology. You nodded, silently allowing him to continue. He shoved more of his length into you, filling you up all the way. You let out a loud yelp in response, but you wanted him to continue. He did so slowly, though, you’d already felt so full from him only being halfway in you.

Eventually, he bottomed out, letting out a loud huff. You winced at him practically splitting you open, but he let you breathe there, waiting for you to give him the go to continue. You did so, letting him move. His first thrust was gentle, as he let out a grunt at you tightening around him.

“ F-fuck…,” he said shakily, as he continued to move.

You moaned loudly as he continued to move, his hips thrusting into your entrance. Lewd sounds started to fill up the room, along with your moans and his grunts in response. He wasn’t very vocal himself, but on occasion, you could heard the small moan he’d let out. It wasn’t loud, but hushed enough near your ear for you to feel something rise in your stomach.

You walls were so warm and gummy, it was addicting to him as he rolled his hips into you. His forehead touched yours and he continued to go at a faster pace, chasing his own high. You felt yourself melt as he touched your sensitive spot, making you arch.

“ I think I’m gonna… fuck,” he couldn’t continue his words and he moaned out once again in your ear. You wailed in response, trying to say through babbled words that you were about to do the same. Eventually, you both reached your highs. His hot cum shooting inside you, spilling out as he pulled away you from entrance with a lewd pop. You were gasping, trying to catch your breathe.

Iceman quickly sat you up, pulling you into his lap,” Shh… breathe.”

You followed his exaggerated breathing, following shakily with your deep breathes in and out.

“ In…,” he said,” and out… Good.”

You felt yourself blush slightly at the praise, continuing to follow him as he helped you regulate your breathing. Eventually, your clouded eyes started to fall back to normal, as he held you in his lap.

“ You ok?,” he asked gently, moving the sweaty strands of hair away from your face. You smiled blissfully at him, moving in closer to his face,” Yeah, I’m ok.” He let out a soft smile, one that you’d usually never see, as it wasn’t very much like him to smile. Iceman moved in to do a small eskimo kiss, rubbing his nose against yours before kissing your nose, and then your lips. You giggled at his gesture, kissing him back on the lips. His lips eventually trailed down towards your cheeks and jawline excitedly, making your giggles turn into soft laughs. Iceman eventually stopped, placing a kiss on your forehead before putting his head over yours.

…

“ My love…” You felt a soft kiss on your cheek as you were being slowly woken up. You shifted away, groaning as you tried to get away from the sudden noise. Another kiss landed on your forehead,” My love, wake up.” You scrunched your nose as you eventually opened your eyes, being met with Iceman’s soft gaze.

He was already up and ready in his work attire, but had been kneeling down on your bedside. You rubbed your eyes,” Why am I getting up this early again…?”

“ Because I have work, and I don’t like leaving you asleep…,” he answered honestly, tugging you out of bed by the hand and over to the kitchen. There was already a mug with your favorite morning beverage in it, steaming hot for you to drink already. You walked over to it… well, more like waddled and sat down in the seat. The television was on, playing something in the background lightly.

“ Alright, I’m off,” Iceman placed a kiss on your forehead,” Arrivederci.”

He always loved kissing you on the forehead, you had no idea why… but you did find some piece in that in the morning. :)

[cyarsk52-20]

Mr. Aldean.

First, you grew up in MACON. Which as memory serves me well, is far from being a "small town."

Now, John Cougar Mellencamp wrote songs about living in a small town. And he did it WITHOUT invoking the image of Sundown towns or shooting a video at the site of a lynching.

Whether you like it or not, flag burning is protected speech under the same First Amendment you claim to hold dear. Which is why I have no problem using the confederate flag as kindling.

You have an opportunity to educate yourself rather than this lame ass fauxpology and please, don't think of using Kane Brown, Darius Rucker or any Black country artist as your convenient "see I'm not a racist" card.

Oh, and Journey sang about a small town and it's a very popular song. So have Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Cry in your beer.

What cracks me up is people think it's just small town folks who look out for each other.

This small-town-values shtick needs a reality check. Yes, folks in such places help each other (as folks do everywhere) but small-town people can be exceptionally cold, judgmental, and downright pernicious. There is no inherent wisdom or righteousness found in a one-horse hamlet.

There are neighborhoods in big cities where this happens. Especially when there are a lot of older Black and Brown folks who live there.

But I don't expect Mr. Aldean to know that.

Mr. Aldean,

You know who's video was also pulled from CMT?

Garth Brooks - "The Thunder Rolls."

Why?

Because his song was about domestic violence and the wife finally pushed to the breaking point.

Not to compare you to Garth Brooks, whom as far as I remember has NEVER dressed in blackface at a Halloween party (see picture below in case you forgot).

Frankly, I'd much rather listen to Garth Brooks than your crappy ode to the 1950's courtesy of Foxed News.

John Denver wrote a song about, of all places, West Virginia, and it didn’t involve him and his boys beating up someone for having different political viewpoints.

Like hello!!!???

"Nutbush City Limits" by the Queen of Rock and roll, Tina Turner!

"Still they Ride" by Journey.

"Lodi" by CCR.

Heck even a group called Chapel Hart.

They sing songs about their small town and imagine that, they do it without invoking the image of Sundown towns, intolerance and shooting their videos at the site of a lynching.

Who knew?

Remember what happened to "The Chicks?"

Also, they dropped the "Dixie" part because they understood history as well as knowing their fanbase isn't lily-white.

Lady A did the same thing.

Some people evolve and do better.

Then there's Jason Aldean.

He knows better he chooses not to do better

So Mr. Aldean,

CMT pulling your crappy video isn't "cancel culture."

It's CONSEQUENCE CULTURE, also known as FAFO - something you're not rightly used to.

It’s the big city culture

Now, about to listen to Southern Fried True Crime and hear about all the stuff y'all get up to in them small towns 😉.

[savebylou]

Good morning,

So, so happy for you and all of those who attended. Watching online was also breathtaking. The band was so good. Louis was wonderful and in his feels. The crowd looked so joyful. Dancing, singing, smiling, crying - so totally in the moment. Beautiful to watch Louis loving Mexico and Mexico loving Louis.

Weather wise it seemed like a nice evening. Yes? How were the openers? What are some of your top moments? What lyric got to you? Gave you chills? Made you think/say "Oh my"? Could you see the screens? What tattoo made you think "Oh this is real"?

Wishing you a wonderful Sunday, Funday, glad it is not Monday as you dance in the memories. Take care. W

Hi W!!Thanks for sharing your perspective 😭🤧🤧🤧😭. I love this quote you said "Beautiful to watch Louis loving Mexico and Mexico loving Louis." So true. I think is more easy for me to answer your questions right now that doing a recap so thank you for this:

Weather wise it seemed like a nice evening. Yes? Ok so it was nice until like 7-8 that the started to look a lot of clouds on top of us and they started to souns like a warning. I was worried but suddenly (Louis the Sun doing his magic) there was no cloud and the sky look clear again. It wasn't cold it was fresh I didn't wear a sweater, probably why Louis choose that perfect outfit.

How were the openers? Omg Giant Rooks were so freaking good. Is a shame that not a lot of people were there when they open (they were the first and play it at 7) and not a lot of people know them, but I hope they gained some fans, they said they will be back. For DMA'S I think they were amazing, I'm still not that familiar with his music, I listened to them before the show and really like them, but I do think the crowd need it more energy sadly they were yelling and clapping at some point but not enough, I hope they still felt some love.

What are some of your top moments? Gosh I think first was the Greatest intro, the screens, the band saying the ohohoh and then the Faith In the Future writing of Louis in the screen I almost lose it right there, I was going to cry I really couldn't believe I was there.

KMM was iconic, and it just felt that Louis was waiting for the traditional iconic fan project created by the fans in Chile. When he says here we go and we all started to doing the lights was magical. And I saw a video for feqw we were so many and look incredible, I can't believe I was part of that.

I mean all the songs had something special, we were so loud in btm, hoth,chicago, night changes, 505, all of them. I love every aecond of each song.

I think being part of the fans projects was something special for me. I always love seeing the fan projects and going from seeing them on livestreams or videos to being part of them in person was so special and the fact that Louis love them make me so happy. There were 3 fan projects the SIBWAWC that for a clip I saw it work 😭🤧 and Louis love it, also the Walls project with the lights of the mexican flag and fan signs that says Mexico Loves You (I don't know if this work out haven't see videoa with the lights). Same for Saturdays it was with white and red lights look really beautiful for the clip I saw.

What lyric got to you? The one of Angels fly "You'll be okay, we can talk tomorrow I'm on my way with some time to borrow" and Saturdays "My heart might be broken But I won't be broken down"

Gave you chills? Made you think/say "Oh my"? Probably Out Of My System Louis and the band were so freaking incredible.

Could you see the screens? The screns is the only thing I could saw ☹️. Before Louis the people in front of me were in an angle where I can saw the stage but then they move and it was only the screens for me sadly. Only saw once Louis silouette.

What tattoo made you think "Oh this is real"? You meam like a moment that make me realize thia ia real? Or a tattoo from Louis? I don't get that question but. If ia the first one besides the greatest intro probably when Louis started speaking. If is the second one uhm I couldn't see a tattoo of him in the screens.

Thank you for your questions W. I hope you have a lovely day.

[e-the-village-cryptid]

Velcinta Playlist

A playlist carefully crafted in chronological order of their relationship from beginning to end, with the help of @chipthekeeper

Tracklist, event/time each song was chosen to describe, and lyrics excerpt for each song under the cut!

1. Even Robots Need Blankets by Mayday Parade— the beginning of their relationship

Singing "Oh, love get me out of the cold" Pull me right up by the fire and I'll show you what home means now The words came with a new kind of sadness They meant everything, you mean everything to me I'll take the first train out of this town With a glare in my eye and my pockets full, ready to die And when I get hazy I will think just maybe you're out there somewhere Singing "Oh, love get me out of the cold" If I'd promise that I take you there with me Would you go

2. Lullaby by The Chicks— snuggling on Aldhani while prepping for the mission

I slip in bed when you're asleep To hold you close and feel your breath on me Tomorrow there'll be so much to do So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you How long do you wanna be loved? (Wanna be loved) Is forever enough, is forever enough? How long do you wanna be loved? (Wanna be loved) Is forever enough 'Cause I'm never, never giving you up

3. Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance— the Aldhani heist

Gravity don't mean too much to me, I'm who I've got to be These pigs are after me, after you Run away like it was yesterday and we could run away If we could run away, run away from here I got a bulletproof heart, you got a hollow-point smile Me and your runaway scars Got a photographed dream on the getaway mile Let's blow a hole in this town And do our talking with a laser beam Gunnin' out of this place in a bullet's embrace Then we'll do it again

4. Nevertheless I'm in Love With You by The Mills Brothers— Vel feeling like Cinta is slipping away

Somehow I know at a glance The terrible chances I'm taking Fine at the start, then left with a heart that is breaking Oh maybe I'll live a life of regret And maybe I'll give much more than I'll get But nevertheless, I'm in love with you

5. Chasing Twisters by Delta Rae— Separated after Aldhani

I was born with lightning in my heels Set a spur onto my ankle Bit a horse under the steel And I lost hope when I was still so young Had an angel on my shoulder But the devil always won And oh, I lost it all when I got hurt And I can feel you even now Breaking horses in the sky I can taste you in my rage And in the sweat upon my brow And I went home Chasing twisters in the canyon My cathedral is the badlands Dust and devils on my conscience Come back to me, darling So kiss me now This whiskey on my breath Feel the lives that I have taken What little soul that I have left And oh, my God I'll take you to the grave The only love I've ever known The only soul I ever saved

6. Mirror to the Sky by Yes— The "I'm a mirror, Vel" conversation on Ferrix and subsequent separation

You're my mirror to the sky You're my mirror to the sky Still I dream of a sky without fire Still I dream of a sky without fire falling Still I dream of a sky without fire What the shadow minds behind the third eye Spies in vain define The essence they fail to possess and so resist all They cannot control Their forces then despise the very Soul And Its inseparable ties To the limitless sacred skies

7. Start a Riot by BANNERS— the Ferrix Riot; specifically, that one shot of Vel running into the smoke after Cinta

I will wade through the fire and smoke like sunlight through the haze I will fight till the flag waves white until my dying days Through the bombs and blasts We will take it back If your world falls apart I'd start a riot If night falls in your heart I'd light the fire In the dark, when you sound the alarm We'll find each other's arms For your love, all you are I'd start a riot

8. Like it's the End by Malinda— Vel pleading with Cinta in the aftermath of the Ferrix Riot to just pause and spend time together although the world feels like it's falling down Where we were going, it's gone now What time we had left, well it's done Whatever we learned is wrong now Why did we think we could run? So why don't we shut all the doors now? Smoke seeping in through the walls I'll lie on the floor at your feet now Kiss me open Let me fall Let you Love me Love me, oh Love me like it's the end It's the end, so Love me Love me Love me like it's the end

9. Snuff by Slipknot— Cinta pushing Vel away for the last time in the name of the Rebellion

So, if you love me, let me go And run away before I know My heart is just too dark to care I can't destroy what isn't there Deliver me into my fate If I'm alone I cannot hate I don't deserve to have you Ooh, my smile was taken long ago If I can change I hope I never know I still press your letters to my lips And cherish them in parts of me that savor every kiss I couldn't face a life without your light (without your light) But all of that was ripped apart when you refused to fight So, save your breath, I will not hear I think I made it very clear You couldn't hate enough to love Is that supposed to be enough?

10. Sorry by Kensington— Vel's perspective after the breakup, feeling regret over her belief that she never could be committed enough for Cinta, and maybe Cinta was right to leave and it's better that way

Sorry for the oath that I won't take For the vows that I will break For the role that I won't play Sorry that I'm raising up my walls And whenever you reached over You are thrown back to the start You will forget And I won't remember it When all I ever did was race in circles You will forget And all there's left will be A faded memory A dream you woke up from

[valpogossip]

VALPOGOSSIP TEACAP: APRIL 2024

You lot sure have be busy the last month. If I was of lesser mind or simply someone with something better to do, I would have resigned myself to my silence and let you all carry on. But business pays. And unfortunately for you, it's yours that pays me, and you're all not going to believe this.

It's always the ones in the most denial that scream the loudest and Abril is a banshee. While at La Fiesta De Vindimia, Abril confronted our favorite blonde bombshell, Mallory Jade, about song she assumed was about her. Now theres something about a fight over a song like Pretty Girls ending in a kiss that just doesn't feel all that... straight to me. But Abril was quick to prove all of us wrong by locking in with Giovanni !

Speaking of Giovanni, the timing of this is quite suspicious considering he had a bit of his own meet-not-so-cute with a Yazmin. The two getting off on the wrong food but helping each other find the right one another and getting all cozy enough to take a nap outside. I don't about you all, but I don't think i've ever been that comfortable. Wonder with Yazmin thinks of this. Or Abril for that matter.

We could also ask Aivryn for her opinion on the matter considering how upset she was when Abril's new beau launched to the world to see. Apparently, even as her best friend, Aivryn found out at the same time everyone else did. I can't help but wonder why that is.

In more confusing but entertaining news, Omar and Dante are going on a date to decide which one gets to take which...one... on a... date ? I think I'm reading that correctly. Yes, bowling date. Loser takes other on date. No, yeah that's right. Well, whatever love looks like for you. Whenever there's a Dominguez-Herrera involved we're sure it'll be healthy and sane.

Maybe it's the bowling date nerves that led Dante to break Drew's nose? We hope that's healing up just fine.

Every month we hope Alba will stand up, and this month they came really close ! It was much of a hunch, but hey we'll take it. After a cold war, Milani raised the first white flag but all it took was one. You'll get there Al, we believe in you !

The festival seemed to be a hub for rekindling kisses, as Arlo and Esme were spotted liplocked on one of the benches. Sad thing about Leia bearing eye witness. Has anyone checked on her? What is it about good wine that makes you want to relive the past? Maybe they can go on a double date with Mallory and Abril and relive the past together.

Speaking of rekindling, but this time no kisses, exes Elijah and Sariyah, and Luna and Enzo were both spotted with frowns on their faces and eyes that were looking everywhere but each other. What conversation has you guys that deep in thought? Maybe you should take a drive, we here that helps.

If you're looking for a palette cleanser from all the mess, look no further than Jasper and Hunter. Gentle conversations and cutely planned dates. We wish them nothing but the best and maybe they could teach our many ( many ) confused couples a thing or two.

We hope that's enough to hold you over until next month. And if I missed anything, don't hesitate to send in a little tip to us via our anon box.

Here's some things we're keeping a close eye on for next month:

Ysla and Adem seem to be getting extremely close to little Emmie. Is it all just for her benefit? Astrid and Kaito already have the perfect starter for next month's tea cap, I wonder what else they'll get up to. What's the history there? How is Sariyah involved? Why does vic hate birthdays so much and why does esme suddenly care so much about his? Ximena and Bryce seem to also be spending a lot more time together. Aksel and Sarah's dinner table keeps getting bigger and bigger whole Luna's looks to be getting smaller, why is that? Will Drew ever get his double date? Is Luna like... okay?

If you didn't make this rounds teacap don't worry, we're still watching closely.

[thewidowsghost]

Seeing the Beauty (Piper McLean x Fem!Reader) - Chapter 6

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

(Y/n)’s eyes snap open and she sits bolt upright. Her dream had felt so real, and yet, so distant and strange that it couldn’t possibly be true.

“Hey, you okay?” (Y/n) looks over to find Piper sitting by her bedside, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“What?” (Y/n) replies, drawing her knees up to her chest. “Yeah.”

Piper frowns, looking more worried.

“I -” (Y/n) bites her lip, trying to hold back her tears. From everything she’d heard about behind a half-blood, her dream was probably really true. Then she turns to study Piper. “Where’s Leo and Jason?”

“Leo’s with his cabinmates, and Jason is with Annabeth,” Piper replies.

(Y/n) nods distractedly before she meets Piper’s kaleidoscope gaze again, “Are you okay?” she asks. “You passed out.”

“Mhm,” Piper replies. “Rachel got possessed by Hera and gave me a death mission - free her from a prison.”

“You won’t have to do it alone,” (Y/n) replies, trying to comfort her friend, but her words seem to make Piper sadder.

Piper looks like she wants to say something, but she is interrupted by the sound of a conch horn.

“Dinner?” (Y/n) asks.

“You slept through it,” Piper replies. “I think it's time for the campfire.”

. . .

The whole campfire idea freaks Piper out. It makes her think of the huge purple bonfire in her dreams, and her father tied to a steak.

What Piper gets instead is almost as terrifying: a sing-along. The amphitheater steps are carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids fill the rows, clustered into groups under various banners.

(Y/n) spots Annabeth up front, next to Jason. Leo is nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner emblazoned with a hammer. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange old-fashioned harps - lyres? - are jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandmothers got dressed for war. Everything is singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around.

This is quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, Piper thinks. This is totally one of those campfire songs that would’ve been embarrassing in daylight, but in the dark, with everybody participating, it’s kinda corny and fun. As the energy level gets higher, the flames do as well, turning from red to orange to gold.

Finally, the song ends with rowdy applause. A guy on a horse trots up; at least in the flickering light, Piper thinks the guy is on a horse, and then she realizes that he’s a centaur - a white stallion on the bottom half, and the top is a middle-aged buy with curly hair and a trimmed beard. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. “Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I’m happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we’|l get to the s’mores, but first -”

“What about capture the flag?” somebody yells; grumbling breaks out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar’s head.

“Yes,” the centaur says. “I know the Ares Cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games.”

“And kill people!” one of them shouts.

“That might not be good for anybody’s health,” (Y/n) says, and she blinks with surprise to realize she’d spoken aloud, but then she laughs nervously while the other campers laugh at her joke.

(Y/n) glances over, meeting Piper’s gaze, smiling confusedly, and then she shrugs.

“However,” Chiron says, once everyone stops laughing, “until the dragon is brought under control, that won’t be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?”

Chiron turns to Leo’s group. Leo winks at Piper and shoots her with a finger gun. The girl next to him stands uncomfortably. She’s wearing an army jacket a lot like Leo’s, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. “We’re working on it.”

More grumbling.

“How, Nyssa?” an Ares kid demands.

“Really hard,” the girl replies. Nyssa sits down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which causes the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamps his hoof against the fire pit stones - bang, bang, bang - and the campers fall silent.

“We will have to be patient,” Chiron says. “In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss.”

“Percy?” someone asks. The fire dims even further, but Piper doesn’t need the mood flames to sense the crowd to sense the crowd’s anxiety.

Chiron gestures to Annabeth. She takes a deep breath and stands.

“I didn’t find Percy,” she announces. Her voice catches a little when she says his name. “He wasn’t at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we’re not giving up. We’ve got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis - everyone’s out looking. We will find him. Chiron’s talking about something different. A new quest.”

“It’s the Great Prophecy, isn’t it?” a girl calls out.

Everyone turns. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They’d been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.

Everyone else looks surprised. Apparently Drew didn’t address the crowd very often.

“Drew?” Annabeth replies. “What do you mean?”

“Well, come on.” Drew spreads her hands like the truth was obvious. “Olympus is closed. Both Percy and (Y/n) disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day and (Y/n). I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?”

Piper whispers to Rachel, “What’s she talking about - the Great Prophecy?”

Then Piper realizes that everyone else is looking at Rachel, too.

“Well?” Drew calls down. “You’re the oracle. Has it started or not?”

(Y/n)’s eyes glaze over.

Nico runs in from the street, and his face tells (Y/n) that something is wrong.

“It’s Rachel,” he says. “I just ran into her down on 32nd Street.”

Annabeth frowns. “What’s she done this time?”

"It's where she's gone," Nico replies. "I told her she would die if she tried, but she insisted. She just took Blackjack and -"

“Die?” (Y/n) echoes. “She took Blackjack?”

Nico nods. "She's heading to Half-Blood Hill. She said she had to get to camp."

. . .

“What was she thinking?” Annabeth says as they run for the river. Unfortunately, (Y/n) has a pretty good idea, and it fills her with dread.

The traffic is terrible. Everyone is out on the streets, gawking at the war zone damage. Police sirens wail on every block. There was no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away. (Y/n) would've settled for some Party Ponies, but they had disappeared along with most of the root beer in Midtown. So they run, pushing through mobs of dazed mortals that clog the sidewalks.

“She’ll never get through the defenses,” Annabeth says. “Peleus will eat her.”

(Y/n) hadn’t considered that. The Mist wouldn’t fool her girlfriend like it would most people. She’d be able to find Camp no problem, but (Y/n) had been hoping that the magical barriers would just keep Rachel out - like a forcefield. It hadn’t occurred to her that the dragon might eat her.

“We have to hurry,” Percy says, catching the worried look on his twin sister’s face. “I don’t suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses.”

The Son of Hades wheezes as he runs. “So tired . . . couldn’t summon a dog bone.”

Finally, the demigods scramble over the embankment to the shore, and (Y/n) lets out a loud whistle, but she hates doing it. Even with the sand dollar she and Percy had given the East River for a magical cleaning, the water here is still polluted. (Y/n) didn’t want to make any sea animals sick, but they came to her call.

Four wake lines appear in the gray water, and a pod of hippocampi break the surface. They whinny unhappily, shaking the river muck from their manes. They are beautiful creatures, with multicolored fish tails, and the heads and forelegs of white stallions. The hippocampus in front is much bigger than the others - a ride fit for a Cyclops.

"Rainbow!" I called. "How's it going, buddy?"

He neighs a complaint.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," (Y/n) replies. "But it's an emergency. We need to get to camp."

He snorts.

"Tyson?" Percy says. "Tyson is fine! I'm sorry he's not here. He's a big general now in the Cyclops

Army."

"NEEEEIGGGGH!"

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll still bring you apples. Now, about that ride . . ."

In no time, Annabeth, Nico, Percy and (Y/n) are zipping up the East River faster than jet skis. They speed under the Throgs Neck Bridge and head for Long Island Sound.

. . .

It seems like forever to (Y/n) until they see the beach at camp. The demigods thank the hippocampi and wade ashore, only to find Argus waiting for them. He is standing in the sand with his arms crossed, his hundred eyes glaring at them.

“Is she here?” (Y/n) asks, worried for her girlfriend’s safety. Argus nods grimly.

“Is everything okay?” Annabeth says; Argus shakes his head.

The four demigods follow Argus up the trail. It’s surreal being back at camp. Nothing’s burning. No wounded fighters, (Y/n) thinks. The cabins are bright in the sunlight, and the fields glitter with dew. But the camp is empty.

Up at the Big House, the demigods notice something is obviously wrong. Green light is shooting out all the windows, just as (Y/n) had seen in her dream about May Castellan. Mist - the magical kind - swirls around the yard. Chiron lies on a horse-sized stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him.

Blackjack canters nervously in the grass. Don’t blame me, boss! The pegasus pleads when he sees (Y/n). Your girl made me do it!

Rachel Elizabeth Dare stands at the bottom of the porch stairs. Her arms are raised, like she is waiting for someone inside the house to throw her a ball.

“What’s she doing?” Annabeth demands. “How did she get past the barriers?”

"She flew," one of the satyrs says, looking accusingly at Blackjack. "Right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."

"Rachel!” (Y/n) calls, but the satyrs stop her when she tries to go any closer.

"(Y/n), don't," Chiron warns. He winces as he tries to move. His left arm is in a sling, his two back legs are in splints, and his head is wrapped in bandages. "You can't interrupt."

"I thought you explained things to her!"

"I did. And I invited her here."

(Y/n) stares at him in disbelief. "You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said —"

"I know what I said, (Y/n). But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."

"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to that yet, she'll go crazy!"

The Mist swirls around Rachel. She shivers like she is going into shock.

"Hey!" (Y/n) shouts. "Stop!"

(Y/n) runs towards her, ignoring the satyrs. She gets within ten feet and hits something like an invisible beach ball; bounces back and lands in the grass.

Rachel opens her eyes and turns. She looks like she was sleepwalking — like she could see (Y/n), but only in a dream.

"It's all right." Her voice sounds far away. "This is why I've come."

"You'll be destroyed!"

She shakes her head. "This is where I belong, (Y/n). I finally understand why."

It sounded too much like what May Castellan had said. I have to stop her, but (Y/n) can’t even get to her feet.

The house rumbles. The door flies open and green light pours out. (Y/n) recognizes the warm musty smell of snakes.

Mist curls into a hundred smoky serpents, slithering up the porch columns, curling around the house.

And then the Oracle appears in the doorway.

The withered mummy shuffles forward in her rainbow dress. She looks even worse than usual, her hair was falling out in clumps, and leathery skin was cracking like the seat of a worn-out bus. Her glassy eyes stare blankly into space, but (Y/n) gets the creepiest feeling she was being drawn straight towards Rachel.

Rachel holds out her arms. She doesn’t look scared. "You've waited too long," Rachel says. "But I'm here now."

The sun blazes more brightly. A man appears above the porch, floating in the air — a blond dude in a white toga, with sunglasses and a cocky smile.

"Apollo," (Y/n) murmurs.

He winks at her but holds up his finger to his lips.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he says. "You have the gift of prophecy. But it is also a curse. Are you sure you want this?"

Rachel nods. "It's my destiny."

"Do you accept the risks?"

"I do."

"Then proceed," the god says.

Rachel closes her eyes. "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."

(Y/n) doesn’t know where she is getting the words, but they flow out of her as the Mist thickens. A green column of smoke, like a huge python, uncoils from the mummy's mouth and slithers down the stairs, curling affectionately around Rachel's feet. The Oracle's mummy crumbles, falling away until it was nothing but a pile of dust in an old tie-dyed dress. Mist envelopes Rachel in a column.

For a moment (Y/n) can’t see her at all. Then the smoke clears.

Rachel collapses and curls into the fetal position. Annabeth, Nico, Percy, and (Y/n) rush forward, but Apollo says, "Stop! This is the most delicate part."

"What's going on?" (Y/n) demands. "What do you mean?"

Apollo studies Rachel with concern. "Either the spirit takes hold, or it doesn't."

"And if it doesn't?" Annabeth asks.

"Five syllables," Apollo replies, counting them on his fingers. "That would be real bad."

Despite Apollo's warning, (Y/n) runs forward and kneels over Rachel. The smell of the attic is gone. The Mist sinks into the ground and the green light fades. But Rachel is still pale. She is barely breathing.

Then her eyes flutter open. She focuses on (Y/n) with difficulty. "(Y/n)."

"Are you okay?"

She tries to sit up. “Ow,” she presses her hands to her temples.

“Rachel,” Nico says, “your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying.”

“I’m all right,” she murmurs in reply. “Please help me up. The visions – they’re a little disorienting.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” (Y/n) asks.

Apollo drifts down from the porch. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi.”

“You’re kidding,” Annabeth says.

Rachel manages a weak smile. “It’s a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was in New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle.”

(Y/n) blinks. “You mean, you can tell the future now?”

“Not all the time,” she replies. “But there are visions, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I . . . Oh no –”

“It’s starting,” Apollo announces.

Rachel doubles over like someone had punched her. Then she stands straight up and her eyes glow serpent green.

When she speaks, her voice sounds tripled – like three Rachels are talking at once:

(Y/n) snaps back to the present and says: “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall –”

Jason shoots to his feet. His eyes are wild, like he’d just been tasered.

Rachel seems caught off guard – but her friend’s outburst and Jason’s jump to his feet. “J-jason?” she says. “What’s –”

“Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus, ” he chants. “Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem.”

An uneasy silence settles on the group. Piper can see from their faces that several of them are trying to translate the lines. She can tell it’s Latin.

“An oath to keep with a final breath. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.” (Y/n) finishes.

“You just . . .” Rachel glances between the two demigods, “finished the known part of the prophecy.”

“Known?” (Y/n) questions, and Rachel nods reluctantly.

“Last night, I had a vision, revealing the final lines of the prophecy. It went like this: Child of the Sea will accompany the Seven. And drop into endless darkness.”

(Y/n) meets her ex-girlfriend’s gaze and can tell from the look in her eyes that Rachel thought that that part of the prophecy was about her.

“We hoped that the prophecy wouldn’t be starting for a few years, but I fear it’s starting now. I can’t give you proof. It’s just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The seven - plus the ‘Child of the Sea’ - whoever they are, have not been fathered yet. I have the feeling some of them are here tonight. Some are not.

The campers begin to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd calls out, “I’m here! Oh . . . were you calling roll?”

“Go back to sleep, Clovis,” someone yells, and a lot of people laugh.

“Anyway,” Rachel continues, “we don’t know what the Great Prophecy means. We don’t know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad.”

“Or worse,” Chiron murmurs. Maybe he didn’t mean for everyone to hear, but they did. The campfire immediately turns dark purple, just like Piper’s dream.

(Y/n), who had turned to murmur a question to Piper, sees the terrified look in the demigod’s eyes, and grabs her friend’s hand, squeezing it gently.

“What we do know,” Rachel says, getting the attention of the campers again, “is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the Queen of the Gods, has been taken.”

Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods start talking at once.

Chiron pounds his hoof again, but Rachel still has to wait before she can get their attention.

She tells the other demigods about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk – how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and how the spirits had warned that it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods. Then she tells them about Piper passing out in Hera’s cabin. Piper tries to keep a calm expression, even when she notices Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friends giggling. Finally, Rachel tells them about Jason’s vision in the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar that Piper gets a chill. The only difference: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her: Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. Hera knew about the giant’s threat. But if that was true, Piper wonders, why hadn’t she warned Jason, and exposed me as an enemy agent?

“Jason,” Rachel says. “Um . . . do you remember your last name?”

The blonde looks self-conscious, but he shakes his head.

“We’ll just call you Jason, then,” Rachel says. “It’s clear Hera herself has issued you a quest.” She pauses, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone’s eyes are on him, yet he looks brave and determined, and (Y/n) admires the way he sets his jaw and nods. “You must save Hera to prevent a great evil,” Rachel continues. “Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don’t yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now.

“That’s the council day of the gods,” Annabeth says. “If the gods don’t already know Hera’s gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They’ll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That’s what they usually do.”

The winter solstice,” Chiron speaks up, “is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things . . . stir.”

The way he sounds it sounds absolutely sinister.

“Okay,” Annabeth says, glaring at the centaur. “Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever’s going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so –”

“Why hasn’t he been claimed?” somebody from the Ares cabin yells. “If he’s so important –”

“He has been claimed,” Chiron announces. “Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration.”

Word Count: 3531 words

Taglist:

@camaddison​​

@steinfellds​​

@p-taryn-dactyl​​

@oculusalien​​

@@pink-widows

@unlikelysublimekryptonite

@yellowvxbes

@decadentrebelkitten

@eevil-empress

@anteroz

@mag-mfm

@26randomness

@cair-paravel-narnia

@hayhaythegaygay

[zackzona2005]

Countryhumans: Michael Jackson

Drew this from January 28 to March 8, 2024.

Since I'm a fan of Michael Jackson and his songs, I had this interesting idea of, "What if I drew Michael Jackson as a Countryhuman?" I drew it and I liked how it went. I drew the different eras of him. First, I did the young MJ when he was part of the Jackson 5 in 1969. Then, did the Thriller MJ in 1982. Finally, his mature era when he announced his This Is It concert at the O2 Arena in London, UK on March 5, 2009, 3 months before his death on June 25, 2009. *Yes I added his nose for his mature era*

I used the African American flag with black stripes for skin and white stripes for 2009 MJ when he had vitiligo that changed the pigmentation of his skin, but still has his African American heritage, just only the green canton and red stripes. It took me about 26 hours to color it in on IbisPaintX but it was worth it.

[lightasthesun]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals <3

HI CJ thanks for the ask!

I will shuffle my codywan playlist so you also get something out of this :)

1. For the dancing and the dreaming by Jonathan Young (yes. it's THAT song from httyd 2 because after the war super soft domestic and forever pining codywan feels like this)

2. happiness by Taylor Swift (There'll be happiness after you but there was happiness because of you/HAUNTED BY THE LOOK IN MY EYES, THAT WOULD'VE LOVED YOU FOR A LIFETIME)

3. Hiding place by Miranda Frigon (no words needed.)

4. Crash by Sum 41 (it was inevitable.)

5. White flag by Dido (there will be love no matter what. always.)

my tumblr is being a terror and somehow I can't send asks so I'll just tag some lovely people here:)

@thenegoteator @katierosefun @dontbelasagnax @razzbberry @frostbitebakery @such-geekiness

[tf2fansderogatory]

What does the team do for birthdays? Today is mine and it's got me Pondering at work

scout (from bongus):

scout’s main birthday strategy is spending the whole day moping around and being passive-aggressive until somebody notices and congratulates him; watching Scout be sad is enough of an excruciating experience that most of the team makes reminders to celebrate him first thing so they can get it out of the way, but the thing about Scout is that if you forget about his birthday he will never tell you (aside from passive aggressive remarks about how hey don’t you think today might be special somehow for some reason) and, not only that, but he will never let it go. you’re permanently tainted in his eyes. if you ever need a favor he’ll spend at least a few minutes just kind of walking in circles and going oh, but you forgot my birthday. it’s okay if we’re not friends and you don’t care enough about me to say happy birthday but don’t ask me to do something for you. y’know. as friends. and the only real way to get him to shut up here is either to strangle him to death or profusely apologize and give him a bunch of money

aka he’s a total dick about it. he doesn’t even mean to be that’s just kind of the way he is about things sometimes. if anybody gets a big birthday party though it’s scout. I think they throw a surprise party for him EVERY YEAR and it ALWAYS WORKS. he is ALWAYS SURPRISED. he’s also very easy to plan for on a budget because a $10 walmart cake and some balloons and a crapton of dollar store alcohol constitutes the best party he’s ever been to

soldier (from bongus):

no one’s sure when his birthday is—well, his real, actual one, since his enthusiastic answer of July 4th every time seems just a little too excited and coincidental to be the truth. not really the team’s business to poke at it, though; July 4th is already a big celebration anyway, and it’s basically just for soldier already, so it’s pretty convenient to just lump in a birthday thing along with it. if anybody’s feeling especially generous, they’ll buy some red white and blue icing and trace a shitty little American flag on whatever shitty box cake they end up buying. he’s not hard to please; rig up some fireworks and get some of the more patriotic (or easily bribable) members of the team to sing America the Beautiful instead of an actual birthday song and soldier’ll have the time of his life.

pyro (from bongus):

here’s one no one knows, not even medic. occasionally somebody just goes “have we celebrated pyro’s birthday this year yet” and if the answer is no (or yes and they just forgot) they’ll just buy a cupcake and stick a candle in it and call it good. pyro’s perfectly happy with this arrangement, especially if they get to keep the pack of candles afterwards.

demo (from modgod ft modbot):

i think that he’s never been one to focus an entire day on his birthday under the belief that it’s just another year around the sun where he’s gotten older, though he likes being able to spend the time with his teammates and takes the chance to go out to get drinks, and generally accepts the day as ‘his day,’ or at least as ‘his aftenoon.’ he goes home for his birthday every year that he can during the closest weekend to it, so that he can see his family and celebrate it with them, but also takes the time to be with his teammates.

heavy (from modgod ft modbot):

he probably has the most standardized birthday celebration out of the whole team. everybody knows when his birthday is, and everyone knows the routine. he’s never been huge about birthdays, but will celebrate his anyways, ‘just because’ if anything. he could and may often bake a cake for the day, maybe not for himself more than for making something that the team can come together and share, even if it’s under the umbrella of his birthday. he also enjoys baking, and isn’t your birthday supposed to be about doing things you love? spy (who is often the best about gift-giving) got him an expensive watch one year and he still wears it. he also appreciates receiving postcards and notes for the day, especially from his family, and might pin them up somewhere and keep them in a drawer.

engineer (from modgod):

if you get him a gift on his birthday, he’ll act all polite and charmed, but inside he’s rattling because his teammates thought to get him something. he usually receives cheesy gifts like mugs saying “#1 dad” or horrendously ironic t-shirts, but he’s gotten good, sentimental ones as well, or even useful ones like a new toolbox or more metal for a new sentry design. he’ll definitely make some sort of joke about being older and rustier, even if you couldn’t tell.

medic (from modgod ft modbot):

“Medic gets at least one ritual sacrifice, or people challenge him to make the most horrifyingly fucked up and scientifically improbable success out of old parts. It's a very fun creative exercise and the rest of the team gets to chase it around, which is very fun to watch.” (— modbot direct) i’m no expert in medic, but give him a body to dissect on his birthday and he’ll probably be content, and depending on the person, it’s a smaller cost and effort to get that for him compared to a cake or an alternate gift. instead of throwing a party, you could take him graverobbing in the evening, and it might have the same effect.

spy (from modgod):

he does nothing, really, at least that the team knows. they don’t know his birthday, besides medic, who has it in his medical files. he’s been given a bastille day birthday (july 14th) and accepts it, and his teammates throw a little party and wish him the best, but he’s never been one for public celebration. when it’s his real birthday, he does something for himself or by himself. he buys himself a new book, or a new suit, or new fabrics to make clothes from. if you ever wanted to know his real birthday, though, you only need to look for the day that he’s in engie’s workshop for a moment longer than normal, or when he complains a little less about going out for drinks with demo, or when he stops for a few seconds before leaving medic’s infirmary, because even if they’ll never know when his real birthday is, he thinks that he should at least spend it with his teammates.

Sniper (From Modbot):

He doesn't care about the traditional aspects of a birthday. Gifts are irrelevant, travel isn't mandatory, and breakfast in bed is simply a daily thing for him. However, his birthday is a day where, just once, he can pretend to be somebody else and connect to a normal society. He'll be missing all day, shopping but rarely purchasing, talking to people along the streets, and doing little social service projects of any sort. Usually, around the end of the afternoon, he'll clean up a creek or lake just so that he can sit by it and pretend that nothing else has ever existed, and feel happy that he and other people know he does. After that, though, he'll linger around the base. Somebody will always offer a drink, and he'll refuse it, and then he might be offered a meal that he'll overindulge himself on and then pretend to be miserably sick so that people don't stop paying attention to him. He has a secret soft spot for being pampered, and he'll pay back all of the movie nights or long talks with the best killstreak anybody has ever seen. And the day after that, the same. The day after. . . The day after. . . Happy Sniper is a ruthless monster of a man who fiddles with his birthday trinkets all day long.

[web-novel-polls]

Next Tournament

We're nearing the end of the Danmei Character Tournament, so the next tournament will start within a week of the end (July 26th, 2023). Two tournament submissions are currently open: the Baihe Character Tournament and the Aroace-spec Web Novel Character Tournament.

[Current Submissions for both under the cut - CW for vague talks about sex]

Aroace Spectrum Character Tournament

(15 submissions)

Jiang Cheng from The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

3 Submissions

Submission 1: romantic and sex indifferent aroace - "I love that guy, he’s the most aroace guy I’ve ever met. and his outfit is literally the ace flag plus he’s like wearing a ring that looks a lot like wearing a ring that looks a lot like the ace ring. and the fact that he has no canon love interest and is never shown to want a romantic or sexual relationship. he gives me very “romance is something other people do, I just don’t care for it, I got other things to do” you get me??"

Submission 2: Aroace - "Despite people trying to convince him to get married/get an heir, in 13 years he never finds someone. His list of bride qualities is absurd to the point of "no one like this exists so I'll never have to get married". Is grossed out by displays of sexual attraction. Purple"

Submission 3: Aroace - "No spouse. Wears ace colors. Case closed."

Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing

2 Submissions

Submission 1: Demisexual - "He's heavily demi coded. Man has no interest in sex what so ever for 800 years and then makes a strong personal connection to one (1) person and is shocked when he's suddenly interested"

Wen Qing from The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Lesbian Asexual - "She just has the vibe. Trust me, I'm ace"

Wen Ning from The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Aromantic ("A Good Aro Boi") - "He never shows any kind of romantic interest in anyone. He's definitely in a QPR with Wei Wuxian and tangentially Lan Wangji though."

Feng Xin from Heaven Official's Blessing

Submission: Sex Averse Asexual and Aromantic - "He had a sexual relationship with one (1) woman and had such a bad time he developed a fear of women in general. Also, he's a very good archer, so he has to be an aroace lolgetit?"

Cheng Qian from Liu Yao

Submission: Sex Favorable Asexual - "He has the Vibes"

Liu Qingge from Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

2 Submissions

Submission 1: Gay Grayace - "He spends most of his life with one interest and that's fighting and then when he falls for a man he's confused by it and proceeds to flirt in the most awkward way possible. Also he has the grey-white-sometimes purple colour scheme"

Submission 2: Aroace - "The idea of him being asexual is presented right there on the page and you can't take that away from me. Yes I think he is in love with sqq yes I also think he is aroace. He can be both!"

Wenren È from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission: Asexual - "I haven't actually read this book yet but I've heard it's ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he was submitted"

I've read part of the book & can confirm: ace (and aro) as hell

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission: Asexual - "I haven't read this book yet but I heard it was ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he got into the poll"

I've read part of the book & can confirm: ace (and aro) as hell

Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Submission: demiromantic graysexual, romance/sex indifferent - "bc yoohankim is the most qpr qpr to ever qpr"

Song Lan from The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Asexual or Demisexual - "I love whenever I'm reading fic where he is ace-spec it feels very correct"

Baihe Character Tournament

(9 Submissions)

Qi Yan from JWQS / Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Reason for Submitting: she 💗💗 character of all time 

Nangong Jingnu from JWQS / Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Reason for Submitting: I love her dearly

Li Yanru from JWQS / Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Nagsi Jiya from JWQS / Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Yun An from Matrilocal Marriage

Reason for Submitting: She’s a massive lesbian duh

Lin Wanyue from Female General and Eldest Princess

Li Xian from Female General and Eldest Princess

Li Shiyi from Wen Guan / Reading the Remnants

Yu Rubing from She is the Protagonist

Reason for Submitting: Staying silly :3