#aaaah great joy!!!!

[into-the-very-fires-of-mordor]

GUYS GUESS WHAT

I'M CHANGING MY MAJOR TO CLASSICS!

I'M GOING TO BE DOUBLE MAJORING IN ENGLISH AND CLASSICS!

I AM SO FREAKIN' EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN!!!!!

[nyancrimew]

hey so i came out as agender to someone irl and for the first time someone understands me (he's a trans guy, we stan)

I also found neopronouns to use in german and I'm so happy rn aaaah.

anyways hope you have a great day!

(wanted to share some trans joy cause shared joy is double the joy!)

anyways byeeee

woooooo !!!

[pogostikk]

I just wanna say that it's 4am and I spent hours scrolling through your blog-- I just love your AUs sm, particularly the separation AU. I strongly stan the clown outfits, steeb is just so freaking adorable, I cant. And star is so pretty. and they are cute together and fill my heart with joy.

On another note, I saw you put some thoughts on them fusing, and while I fully respect whichever decision you make, I do hope they get to fuse, even if not permanently. And I appreciate you mentioned it wouldn't be just steven their fusion in this hypothetical situation, but rather a combination of both. I wonder though, how they'd look, if their fusion would just take the form of steven, or if it would change, since star has his own different form and not a copy of steven. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Aaaah tysmmm <3<3<3 that means so much to me! I enjoy drawing clown Steven and Star so I’m glad you like them too!

And gosh, I haven’t thought abt their fusion in months, it was an older idea I played around with for awhile. I ended up scrapping it and went with the idea that they were so severed after so many years that fusion was out of the question, and both halves had developed such separate identities and lives that even if they could fuse, they’d have no desire to permanently. I think I posted art of their fusion a bit but at the time my art skills were pretty underdeveloped and I have a tendency to delete older posts I dislike lol

Tbh I’m not great at gem designs, especially gem fusion designs. Fusion designs go beyond just mashing two people’s physical characteristics together. There’s tons of things to consider, like the persons’ views of each other, the state and type of the relationship, personalities, etc, etc.

But heck, I really liked some parts of the design, so here’s a doodle! Ugh now I want to ramble about the fusion design. But I imagine that if they could fuse, it would be a very rare, intimate thing. They’re stronger together, especially on Steven’s side, but it’s also very vulnerable, usually on Stars side.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

4.25/5. 7/9/24.

Vibes: hooking up on the low, getting over the Worst, big guy/plus size heroine, librarian joy!!!

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben ever since he decided they were better as friends after a few dates in college. Now he's engaged to his longtime girlfriend, and she's struggling. Until, that is, she realizes Ben's older brother, erstwhile ex-NFL player Theo, is in even worse shape when she overhears him practicing a speech... Confessing his love for Ben's fiancee. Marcela prevents a disaster--and everyone now believes she's in a hookup situationship with Theo. Hmm... while they're there and they both need to get over people... might as well, right?

The Review:

Aaaah, this was such a good debut! Gabriella Gamez has a real touch for a romcom--and she knows how to bring the heat too. Like, this is an actual romcom; it's funny and it centers the romance. And there's an edge of the illicit to it as well. The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, but what if that someone is the first person's brother...? It's kind of delicious.

There's a lot of heart here, and the dynamics of longing for someone you've built up in your head versus the real opportunity right in front of you. And like, of course, the idea of being with a person who actually values you for who you are and puts you first. There's a real sense of "so that's what it's supposed to be like" in this book that I think a lot of people can relate to.

Also--the writing is snappy and I swept through this super fast. I'm so excited to read more from Gabriella!

Diving Deeper:

--I'm actually a big fan of a "girl has been longing after dumb man for far too long and then Good Man comes along" moment. I think we have way too many stories in which it's like... oh, he's finally noticed you (or run out of other options) hooray, the boy is yours! And I don't know. To each their own, but I always feel like the heroine is settling for someone who never actually valued her. I don't want the heroine to finally get the attention of someone who should've seen her early on; I want her to get someone who doesn't need to be convinced to want her.

And Ben is just such a tool in the best kind of way. I loved watching him lose. Frankly, I also loved that Theo was this BIG STRONG HOT MAN and Marcela basically went from wasting away over the nebbish brother (largely because she didn't get closure and always wondered about what would've been) to this giant dude who is SOOOO physically about her, and then gets to know her and is also mentally tapped in.

Because I also like a story in which the couple is initially all physicality and catches feelings more gradually. And you definitely get that here. In a lot of ways, Theo awakens Marcela; she's not a virgin heroine by any means, but she hasn't really had someone... light her fire, as it were. There's this vicarious quality to it all. You really feel like you're reading about someone who's finally getting the opportunity to be THAT GIRL. And it's so great to see that happen not through Ben finally Seeing Her, but through another man having his moment with her and going "all I CAN see is her".

--I've talked about how I find the way heroines' insecurities regarding their weight is portrayed in romance often really doesn't work for me. As such, when I read that this book gets into Marcela's insecurities, I was... worried. However, this was one of my favorite portrayals of a plus size heroine. Marcela is hot, and she does know it; but she doesn't always know it. I found this deeply real, and I so appreciated the honesty in this narrative. Additionally, there's a moment in her past with Ben that reads as something that could happen, and that would also be one of my own personal worst fears.

It's like... not even that Theo is this hot guy, right? (Though he is.) It's that he can pick Marcela up like she's nothing. It's that being with him makes her feel... delicate, in a way that she hasn't always with past people. That's so real, dude. I got it.

--This is a first person book from Marcela's POV. Sometimes, first person single POV romance novels bug me because I feel like I'm not getting into both sides. However, the way that Gamez writes Theo is so clear. He's a good dude, but he's not a flawless dude. He can be a little prone to fuckups in the beginning (I mean: see premise of the book). He's a little messy.

But all of this reads as so, so endearing in this particular hero, and he's like... a good guy without being a boring guy. I mean, the premise of the novel in itself keeps him from being boring, right? He was thisclose to blowing up his brother's relationship.

--I think that if I was going to critique something about this book, it would be that Gamez could've gotten Theo and Marcela fully in the bedroom a little earlier. I mean, don't get me wrong, it doesn't by any means start late in the book. But when a book is pitched as center on a hookup, I do think you want to move that along a little faster. We had a couple of random interruptions, and I don't think we super needed that. But that's just a note; it doesn't take away from the story.

--There's so much love for librarians and libraries here. As there should be, as the series is indeed called "Librarians in Love". I so appreciated that. We need books about happy librarians and the happiness librarians help create--now more than ever.

The Sex:

While the sex here could've been a tad more explicit, is still is very much on the page, and quite hot. You get a few different scenes, and I loved details like Marcela being a little insecure about being on top (and Theo very much enjoying her being on top), fooling around as a totally valid substitute when condoms are forgotten... And dude, something you hardly ever seen in m/f romance! Theo doesn't come PREMATURELY, but he does come before Marcela couple times (well--before her last orgasm... she typically gets a few, yay for discovering multiples) and there's no weirdness or embarrassment. He just takes care of it. I found that realness super hot, personally.

I'm excited to read a new, fresh author in the contemporary romance space. It's a very crowded one right now, and I feel that there's a lot of repetition. Here, I feel like we got such a good combination of romance, character, and heat. It made me feel warm.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[dominickeating-source]

Dominic Keating Forum - Post Archive Messages (2001-2005)

10/31/2001 I've been checking in to read all your wonderful messages and cannot express enough how flattered and utterly bowled over I am by all your kind words and attention. There isn't an actor, dead or alive, who doesn't worry whether or not they're nice to look at or whether their performance is any good, so to all of you who have taken the time to write in either to appreciate my acting ability or just the shape of my butt...I am eternally in your debt. Keep 'em comin' and tell a friend! I love you all, Dominic

11/07/2001 In answer to some important questions- So, it's official is it? I'm a Sex Symbol....Aaaah, at last! Tell that to my bank manager. And now, food. I  have to say that my Mum's Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding on Sunday is as good as it gets, which brings me swiftly to my favorite moment on the show coming to your screens shortly when my character, Malcolm Reed, gets into a hellish food fight in the mess hall with T'Pol and Hoshi resulting in a lengthy "de-con" scene which took two days to shoot....Hey, a man can dream! Love you guys, Dominic

11/17/2001 Once again, a big "Thankyou" to all of you who are posting. Not only is it great fun for me to read when I get the chance but it's also very rewarding and educational, if you will, to hear all your thoughts and opinions about the show. It's still very much in its formative stage and so all imput is helpful and very much apart of my learning curve. HOWEVER...I think it's just TOO rude of whoever(not to mention any names....you know who you are) to notice other mens' winning smiles(ie:Anthony Montgomery's) on MY message board...!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. The Webmaster has been instructed to seek ALL offenders out and line them up for a private spanking at a location to be disclosed at a later date. Incidentally, I am very chuffed that some of you have obviously seen quite a bit of my work before Enterprise. So, maybe I'll see some of you in the Lone Star state...don't be shy. All my best. Dominic

12/03/2001 Hi You Fabulous Guys! Sorry not to have acknowledged all your listings sooner but things got very busy for Malcolm on board the Enterprise. So that's good news. Sadly you'll have to wait 'till the New Year to see quite a bit more of him but at last it would seem that the powers that be are turning around and taking a closer look at the enigmatic Brit. As an actor it's been a joy and very rewarding. I love going to work. I am truly blessed and very grateful. And not least for all your fantastic support and praise for the job I am fortunate enough to be doing. Inspite of the fact that my character was not getting much of the spotlight initially you still noticed the performance and that was very, very encouraging. Especially at the beginning of such an epic journey...for me not Malcolm that is! So, thankyou all and if I don't get to post before...have a wonderfully Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Peace and Love. Dominic

12/18/2001 Thankyou to my wonderful Webmaster and all of you who contributed to the extraordinary "dossier" of Christmas Greetings. It arrived at work this afternoon and I was blown away reading all your heartfelt messages of Yuletide Cheer waitiing for Scott Bacula to come out of his trailer. Just kidding, Scott!!I'm off to London on Thursday to see my dear Mum and do some press for the launch of the show in Blighty. Back on the fourth of Jan...Be well 'till then and don't forget to leave a little something out for Santa. HoHoHo...

01/10/2002 Hoping that this year is at least as good for everyone of you as the last was for me! I just got back from the UK where I was promoting the launch of the show there, and spending some time with my family and friends. My Godson is nearly ten and I wish all of you could have seen his little face when he ripped the Christmas wrapping paper off the first official NX-01 cap to reach their shores. The reaction to the show seemed pretty good although I had to fly back to the States before its opening night, so if anyone in England(that means you Leicester Girl!)has any info then feel free to share. Good notices only please!! And by the way, a big thankyou to all of you who replied to the journalist from my home town. My Mum read the article to me over the phone a couple of days ago...I can't tell you all how proud you made her feel. As you know the new episodes will be starting soon and if my memory serves me there's some nice stuff coming up for your friend and mine so stay tuned and tell a friend! Happy New Year Everybody. Ever my best. Dominic

02/07/2002 Hi Guys...For some crazy reason my computer jammed and I was unable to access my board for a couple of weeks. But it's fine now and it was just fab to read all your praises especially about Sleeping Dogs. I really liked the episode too and thought I managed to hold my own in the decon scene! Now that's what I call drama! I particularly liked the fact that Hoshi and Reed get Starfleet regulation issue scivvies while T'Pol has hers sent to the ship direct from Victoria's "Vulcan" Secret!! It's all just a bit of fun. Life has been v. busy and rewarding and I can hardly believe that we're almost at the end of the first season. It has skipped by. So, make sure you look out for next weeks' ep...it's a good one(Feb 13). According to Rick Berman he's never been more proud of one particular show. High praise indeed....let's see if it's warranted. Thanks again to one and all. I truly love reading your messages and receiving your best wishes. Right back you!

02/16/2002 Well, what can I say? You really are the best. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected such praise, such warmth, such support for what I love to do. I am just so proud and moved that you were all so proud and moved. It's truly magical. I have read all your postings and am simply honoured that we touched your hearts and made you laugh quite as it would appear we did. It was a beautifully written episode, a joy to act, fabulously directed and skillfully photographed. As a collaborative experience it really doesn't get any better. Connor Trinneer is just the most generous and consumately talented actor I've had the good fortune to risk going "all out" with and I can only hope we get to do it again. Thank you all for your kind, kind words. It means the world to me.

02/28/2002 Thanks so much for showing up on Sunday...it was a thrill to meet some of you in the flesh. And thanks to all of you who sent word thru the "e-mail brochure". It really means alot to me. Sorry this is  so brief...work schedule is gruelling this week. All love 'till later. Dominic

04/24/2002 Hi Guys...It's been too long . What a hectic time this has been. The end of the season, the rap party, conventions and moving into my new house!! I can't tell you how exciting that whole trip has been but here I sit in "my study" tapping this message to Y'all. Thank you guys...without you none of it would be so. No sooner do I finally have a few moments to myself than I'm off to Europe to do the  con in Germany and then spend a little time with me dear ol' Mum in Leicester. Then back to Cali and thankfully back to work. In fact I heard just this afternoon that my contract had been officially renewed by Paramount. My manager was delighted...and although I suppose there was perhaps little doubt as to whether we would or not it's always a moment when the word is verified in writing. So, onward and upward...but before the second season kicks off I would like to take this opportunity to really thank each and every one of you for your remarkable support and insight into the creation of Malcolm Reed. Believe me when I tell you that it truly has been a team effort and you all played your part...rather well I might add!! From the bottom of my heart I thank you. Much Love. Dominic

10/04/2002 Well, Hello everybody!! It has been too long...It's a long boring story about getting DSL and not being able to access my AOL thereafter. Some of you out there probably can sympathize. Several experts and one good friend later the problem is over and I log on to find everything is different. Different format, different names, different peeps....Where have all my peeps gone? Where are you Nan? Where are you Dragoncait? Where are you My Laughing Muse? Not to say I don't appreciate all the newer Peeps. Always glad to welcome the newly converted! So, anyway, I wanted to say sorry for being so far away and to add that I will try to check in more regularly. Hope you you are enjoying the new season....as you can see it's been a pretty busy start for Malcolm. We're both well and having fun. All love, Dominic

12/18/2002 Thank you & Happy Holidays! Hello everybody!! I want to thank all my Peeps for the wonderful contributions you made to the Holiday book for me! I am very touched and moved that you all would take time to send me your holiday wishes. It reassures me that I am pleasing all of you with my acting and tells me how much I am appreciated by each and every one of you. I can’t tell you how much of an honor that is to me. What a fantastic prezzy! I just found out that I was voted the 9th sexiest male in Star Trek, what an honor! My Peeps are the greatest for making sure that I was accounted for. Connor Trinneer came in #1, I sure would like to see what photos voters had to judge "sexiest" from. I wish all of you Happy Holidays and a great New Year. All love, Dominic

04/14/2003 Hello my dear Peeps.... It's been a long time yet again.... my apologies. Life has been hectic. It looks like I will not be in London attending the E-1 convention. How I will miss seeing all of you there! Perhaps there will be a convention next year. So, anyway, I wanted to say sorry yet again for being so far away and I wish I could say I would be checking in more regularly but life must settle a little first. Hope you enjoy the season finale.... get as many of your friends as you can to watch it so I can have even more Peeps! You are all so terrific; there should be millions of you! All love, Dominic

09/12/2003 It has been a long time since I last posted, my apologies. I have been busy with work since the hiatus. I hope you all were keen to the season opener. The show defiantly has a harder edge to it now. There are a lot more great episodes to come so keep watching! I was reading my fan mail and discovered that I won ‘Best Actor’ in the DKEB Awards and wanted to post a thank you to all of you that voted. My many thanks to everyone that has been submitting things to the website and the fan newsletter. Keep it up so that they both continue to be places where my fans can gather and enjoy each other. Many thanks to all of you for all of your support and love. All Love, Dominic

08/25/2005 Hello my loves, I love the new forums and have been reading your posts. My fans are the best. Although I am slightly jet lagged as I just got back in to town so pardon my sluggishness, I wanted to take a moment and say hello to all of you. I have grown the facial hair to play the part in Hollywood Kills. The character is called Francis Fenway. The synopsis, in a nutshell, is that I am playing a John Waters-esque character. A man who lures young Hollywood hopefuls into his casting area where he then entraps them and makes snuff movies out of them. It is a fun role. It’s going to look good. The director is a young German director, Sven Pape, who cut his teeth with James Cameron after leaving the AFI. He’s every thoughtful and has a good eye and had a lot of success with his last movie, LA Twister. We shot the first scene today and I can tell he is going to challenge me. I look forward to being challenged. It was very nice to see all the English fans over the past few months. Great to be home. I had a great time. I intend to travel back and forth now. I hope to start doing some acting in the UK as well. Life is good and I love you all, Dominic

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Weekend positivity: having a great time creating characters with a friend

aaaah the singular joy of making fucked up little guys together

[cherrygorilla]

Ice Pop 🍃

Aaaah, Happy Birthday, Danelle! I hope you're having a wonderful day! I honestly didn't think I'd be able to get anything done to celebrate this year with how busy I've been, and I felt terrible, but luckily being at home for the last week has given me some time on a night to whip a little something up. It's not the best, or the most exciting, but hopefully it can somewhat make up for my months of radiosilence, and bring you a little joy today. 🥰

Now, this can pretty much be considered a standalone AU one-shot, but it was supposed to be a section in the third part of ASDO - yes, I know I haven't even finished the second part yet, I'm working on it lol - however, due to changes in timelines and things, it's not going to be able to work like this anymore. Still, I wanted my idea for two certain characters meeting for the first time to have some sort of a home, even if it is no longer canon. And who knows? Maybe it'll help for their appearances in other stories haha. But yeah, if you're wondering about the context of the rehearsal it's centred around - that's what it's for 😂

Anyway, enough of my rambling! I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have a great day however you end up celebrating! You're the best internet friend a girl could ask for, so you deserve it! Happy birthday, Danelle!! 🥳

"Ugh, she just gets prettier every time I see her."

As rubber sneaker soles met blistering asphalt, Vivien couldn't help but giggle. Swinging the door of the sky blue convertible shut, she turned to face Carrie, affectionately rolling her eyes as she saw where her gaze, and flattery was aimed. Proudly plastered across the side of Sound Stage 4 was a colossal banner advertising the newest season of Find Your Voice, decorated with the gigantic heads of eight of its core cast members. And off to the left hand side, beaming down the camera lens over the top of an advanced geometry textbook, was the very same blonde as the one standing there admiring it.

"And Miles wonders why he can't get Royce to stop calling you vain," Vivien sarcastically teased.

Reluctantly tearing her gaze from the studio's prime position billboard, Carrie settled the younger brunette with a contented smirk. "I don't care; it's true," she said, holding back a giggle of her own as she swung her car door shut. "And besides, a little self-love's healthy."

"A little?" Vivien snorted with a raised eyebrow.

Carrie didn't have a comeback for that one, instead just laughing along with the teenager as she locked up her Mustang and rounded the car to join her. Bidding the oversized version of herself a final goodbye with a proud grin and a mock salute, as a way of thanking her for her contributions to their show's ever-growing ratings, Carrie began leading Vivien out of the studio parking lot. 

Jogging a few paces to match the blonde's brisk walking pace, Vivien soon returned to scanning her surroundings like she'd just set foot in Munchkinland after a tornado. By now she had thought she was somewhat familiar with the movie world her extended family lived in, or at least the portion by the beach where they all resided. But exploring the downtown area brought that same giddy novelty of her first visit flooding back to her. It was like the whole city had a filter over it, turning up the saturation of the colours in the brickwork or shop signs, and bringing out their warmth to match the sunrays kissing the freckles up and down her arms.

Once she'd finally regained control of her childlike wonder, and had stopped gawping at the buildings lining the street they were strolling down as though they were exhibits at a science museum, her attention returned to the same question that had been plaguing her since Carrie had ushered her into the passenger seat of her car. "You know, you still haven't actually told me where we're going."

"I'm taking you to the venue."

Despite her nonchalant tone, Carrie's revelation made Vivien's breath catch in her throat. "Already?"

"Well yeah," Carrie replied, seemingly confused by the panicked squeak in the girl's voice. "I thought you'd want to get some practice in first."

Melting into a smile with a relieved sigh, Vivien let her shoulders relax and her feet be guided by the clunky, patterned platform boots parading her down Sycamore Close. Acting as a rather effective tour guide, Carrie gave her a walking tour of her and Miles' weekday stomping ground - she pointed out the mechanic shop where he worked, where their favourite sandwich shop was, which place did the best coffee, which place did the worst coffee - she even pointed out the laundrette Miles almost flooded after an unfortunate lunch-break run-in with a meatball sub, and threw in the anecdote that went along with it for good measure. There was the florist shop, the record store, the pharmacy - the whole street looked like it could have been plucked straight out of a movie set. And, in a way, Vivien supposed it had been. But as they rounded another corner, the pastel awnings and inviting smells disappeared. 

It was far from a dump; palm trees still sporadically lined the road, and storefronts held haphazard displays of their products to entice the sparse crowds of customers. But the trashbags sitting at the curbside, and the uneven sidewalk slabs, made this part of town feel a little less polished than the rest. Just as Vivien finished reading the intricate chalkboard sign hanging outside a local bookstore though, and she turned back to follow Carrie's lead, a cloud of smoke obscured her view of the path ahead.

Thankfully, the haze had dispersed by the time the girls approached, but the stench of weed that replaced it made Vivien's nostrils itch. Scrunching up her nose, she slightly quickened her pace, hoping to get to a bakery down the street that could drown out the smell before her eyes started watering. But in the seconds that followed, she didn't know what surprised her more: the fact that Carrie was acknowledged by the stoner responsible for the smoke show, or the fact that she actually stopped to talk to him.

"Heyyyy, Carrie-oke! What the hell are you doing here so early?"

 "We're down a drummer, so we need an emergency rehearsal with our stand-in," Carrie replied, a hint of amusement colouring her tone - whether that was due to the circumstances, or the fact that she sensed Vivien's utter confusion was a mystery to the brunette though.

"You lost another one? What happened? She didn't-"

"Yeah, Amber dumped him… Again."

"Fucking hell," the guy snorted, taking a quick drag on his joint and blowing the smoke out of the corner of his mouth, away from the girls, which Vivien appreciated. There was something about his entertained grin that drew her interest - or maybe it was that mischievous twinkle she spotted in his dark, albeit bleary chocolate brown eyes as he lifted his round sunglasses onto the top of his head. Either way, her intrigue towards the young man was making the weed smell more and more tolerable with each passing second. "Two drummers in four months? Is she trying to set a record or something?" he cheekily continued.

"I don't know," Carrie sighed with an eyeroll at her friend's expense. "But she definitely made the right call with that last guy; he was a total deadweight."

"Was that the coupon guy?" he checked. And once Carrie nodded her confirmation: "Oh yeah, he was a fucking moron. She can do so much better."

"Exactly," Carrie replied, throwing her head back with a hearty laugh at the brunet's earnest response. "But, yet again, her commendable level of self-respect has left us without a drummer less than eight hours before doors open. Hence the emergency rehearsal."

The deeply pensive expression, pulling the guy's eyebrows together, had Vivien biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from giggling, especially when he revealed what he'd been thinking so hard about.

"Hence…" he mumbled, through a mouthful of the BLT sandwich he'd picked up from the plate balancing precariously on the windowsill beside him. "Gnarly adverb... Respect."

Carrie just shook her head with another amused grin. "That stuff's hittin' good this morning, huh?"

"Oh yeah," he chuckled with a contented nod of approval. "You want a hit?"

Whilst the offer itself wasn't too much of a surprise to Vivien, the length of time Carrie appeared to consider it for certainly was. For a moment, she even thought she saw the blonde's arm twitch, as though instinctively moving to accept, before she caught herself and shook her head. "No, I can't-"

"Oh come on, just a little one."

Again, Carrie almost appeared convinced, before her better judgement won out. "No, I- Look, maybe later," she eventually compromised, taking a step towards the propped open, painted brown door beside them to prevent any attempts at further complaints from the stoner. "I already told you, I'm not here to just hang out. We've got to rehearse."

"We? What are you talking about? Who's-?" But as Vivien followed Carrie's lead, inching towards the doorway, she looked up to find that set of bleary brown eyes fixed on her for the first time that conversation - any traces of an end to his question completely falling out of his head the second he spotted her.

Now that she'd actually been acknowledged by the guy, Vivien took the opportunity to fully take in his appearance: fascinated by the fact that such a creature even knew Carrie, let alone spoke to her like a friend. His dark, taupe hair fell in half-hearted curls by his shoulders - more in limp waves than anything, which were pushed away from his face by the arms of the scratched, round sunglasses balanced atop his head. His scrawny frame was hidden by a baggy denim jacket that looked as though it was about four sizes too big for him, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and a shirt beneath patterned so intensely she couldn't look at it for long without seeing spots in her vision. Old, flared, brown trousers; scuffed, but clearly well-loved, maroon boots; and a jumbled collection of leather bracelets, fabric wristbands, and peace sign pendants completed the look - a look she could only think to dub: dishevelled bohemian. If he'd have been on the cover of a history book about the hippie movement she wouldn't have batted an eyelid. And yet here he was, standing right in front of her, looking at her as though she'd just been beamed down from a spaceship.

Apparently her very existence was all it took to stun him into silence; his brain clearly needed all the energy it could get to process what he was seeing. She could practically hear its cogs spinning on overdrive as he searched her face for some recognisable quality. And just when they were starting to sound like her old laptop loading up The Sims, he tore his gaze from her and fixed it back on Carrie.

"…Who the fuck is that?"

The genuine confusion riddling his expression amused Vivien to no end, having to catch herself before a giggle escaped her lips as Carrie, evidently more familiar with his antics, simply replied: "It's Viv."

But the explanation made absolutely no difference in that empty, freckled head. The guy still looked as lost as ever.

"It's Vivien," Carrie tried again. But when she was met with a further, if not slightly more irritated, blank stare, she let out a frustrated scoff and turned so that she was fully facing the airheaded brunet again. "Vivien O'Brian-"

"You say that like you expect me to know who she is," he cut in with an incredulous scoff of his own.

"You do know."

"Then who the fuck is it?" 

"Vivien," Carrie fired back with great exasperation - the kind that could only come from years of friendly, pent-up frustration. "She ice skates. She reads books. Miles talks about her like once a fucking week!"

Ethan's eyes lit up like a Roman candle. "Yoooo, where is Miles?" he asked, all inquiries about the brunette forgotten in an instant at the very mention of that all-important name.

But his eager grin was met with a look of disapproving disbelief. "I don't know," Carrie snapped, left floundering for an answer thanks to the stoner's inability to hold a properly structured conversation. "At work, I assume."

He looked about as satisfied with Carrie's answer as she had with his question though, tipping his head up to the sky and letting out a frustrated groan that would have given a sulking six-year-old a run for his money. "You seriously didn't bring him with you?" he checked, quirking an eyebrow at her out of the corner of his vision - clearly hoping this was just some dorky prank set-up.

"No, I don't think he gets off 'til 5," Carrie flatly fired back.

"Ughhhhh." There went that stroppy groan of frustration again. "That's fucking forever away. What am I supposed to do 'til then?"

"You could help us set up for our rehearsal," Carrie suggested with a smirk. "You know, like any respectable entertainment coordinator would."

He just rolled his eyes. "It's gonna be so boring without him though," he whined, scuffing his boot along the sidewalk as he dejectedly kicked a pebble against the side of the building.

Now it was Carrie's turn to roll her eyes as she let out an incredulous scoff. "Need I remind you, we were friends way before Miles came into the picture?" 

The stoner levelled her gaze for a beat before a knowing smile tugged his lips into that same mischievous grin from before. "Yeah, but from that point on, nothing else really mattered, did it? Let's be real," he chuckled. Despite the ribbing, and obvious penchant for a certain mechanic, there was a glint in his blood-shot eyes that revealed his fondness for the blonde after all though.

And the feeling was clearly mutual since she was still willing to continue the conversation - she couldn't even successfully stifle her smile back as she shook her head and muttered a quick: "You're such an idiot."

The brunet made no attempt to argue - in fact he let out an amused snort of agreement as he reached for the rest of his half-eaten BLT.

Seizing the opportunity to take control of the conversation again, Carrie attempted to steer it back on track with an exaggerated, "Anyway." Tugging her guest closer, and dramatically gesturing to her, she continued, "That Vivien we talk about all the time: this is her."

The guy nodded thoughtfully. "Vivien…" he mumbled through a mouthful of bread - still playing that oh-so challenging game of connect-the-dots.

"Yes, Vivien," Carrie confirmed, as though encouraging a kindergartener. "She stayed with Miles and his brothers last April."

"Mmm," he nodded, finally showing some evidence of understanding. "She's dating that other mechanic guy - the one Miles lived with for-"

"No," Carrie cut in sharply over Vivien's incredulous laughter. "That's Mick and Butchy."

"Well how the fuck am I supposed to-?"

"Viv's dating Royce," Carrie explained, cutting off his complaint before he could derail the conversation any further.

"She's dating Royce?" he questioned, half-mumbling to himself as he fought through the disbelief the new information carried. His eyebrows scrunched in incredulity, his lips curled into a sort of confused grimace- 

But then it finally clicked - the force almost popping his eyes out of his head in the process.

If the sudden change in the stoner's expression hadn't already set Vivien off to laugh harder, the sharp gasp that followed, and sent what remained of his mouthful of sandwich flying into the back of his throat, certainly did.

"Holy shit!" he eventually managed to choke out between the hacking coughs to help dislodge the piece of bread. "That was actually real?" he went on to ask once he'd caught his breath again, staring at Carrie with tear-stained eyes and a look of utter stupefaction. But she just nodded and chuckled as she handed him a bottle of water from her purse. "I thought Miles just made that up so I'd stop thinking his brother was a lame-ass," he continued, pausing to gulp down the offered water and rid himself of any remaining evidence of his mini choking fit. Holding the water bottle out to its original owner with a heavy, contemplative sigh, he levelled her gaze and lowered his voice to ask a dubious: "You're definitely sure it's real then?"

"You do know you can talk to her yourself, right?" Carrie checked, raising her eyebrow as she took back the bottle and gestured to Vivien yet again.

The guy paused, mouth slightly agape, as the realisation steadily dawned on him. Shifting his gaze to the brunette, he instead posed the question to her. "...You're actually dating Miles' brother?"

"I am indeed," she replied, smirking through poorly stifled giggles at the caricature of a guy's reactions.

"And they're definitely not paying you to say this?"

"I wish I was getting paid," Vivien snorted. "Easiest buck I'd ever make."

A thoughtful nod followed, as though impressed by the girl's honesty. And then came another bite of that BLT as he mulled over the revelation a little more. "Well, shit," he eventually settled on, with an amused smirk of his own. "Good for him… And you, I guess," he added, with a vague nod in Vivien's direction.

And then there was silence. It seemed as though he felt his role in the conversation was over now if the way he engrossed himself in inspecting the limp piece of lettuce sticking out the side of his sandwich was anything to go by. But Carrie had other ideas.

"Is that it?"

"Is what it?"

"That's all you have to say?" she raised an eyebrow and pressed.

"Well what else do you want me to do?"

But Carrie's disgruntled eye roll told Vivien she wasn't about to spell it out for him. "You have the social skills of a fucking garden snail," she muttered, before turning to the younger brunette with an almost apologetic shake of her head. "Well, since he's not gonna introduce himself - Viv, this Ethan. I had other, cooler friends I wanted you to meet first but, unfortunately fate had other plans."

Ethan still frowned despite her teasing tone. "I know you don't mean that, Cole," he protested, to which Carrie just smirked and rolled her eyes again.

Vivien felt like she was constantly on the brink of laughter watching the pair interact, caught between genuine amusement and utter disbelief. "So you two are like legitimately friends then?" she asked, feeling the need to check since her brain still didn't feel ready to process what her eyes were telling her.

Matching mischievous grins graced their faces as Ethan nodded and Carrie stifled another chuckle. "Don't look so surprised," she added after clocking the girl's reaction.

"No, I just-" Vivien floundered, struggling to articulate everything her brain was trying to process into a proper sentence. But after several failed attempts, she let her straight-to-the-point inner voice take over talking duties, with a spluttered laugh to join it. "How the hell did it happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I just- I thought I had an idea of what your friends would be like…" Vivien trailed off, again at a loss for words.

"And this isn't it?" Carrie asked with mock-surprise as she jerked her thumb in Ethan's direction, just as he took another hit of his joint. 

"...Well, we call you Barbie for a reason," Vivien teased. "I just didn't expect Little Miss Perfect to hang out with…"

"Someone who looks like they crawled out of Fraggle Rock?" Carrie offered with a smirk that quickly set the girl off to laugh.

Luckily, Ethan started laughing along with them - but not for the same reasons. "Yooo, they call you Barbie?"

"That's what you took from that?" Carrie checked in disgruntled disbelief.

"That's so fucking good," he mumbled as another amused grin settled on his lips.

But Carrie just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Vivien. "I swear you kids think I'm some sort of saint," she chuckled before teasingly adding, "You're not the only one who can have cool, weird friends, you know?"

"I never said I was," Vivien argued through a laugh. "I just don't know where you two could have ever crossed paths. Where did you guys meet?"

"He works on the sound for Find Your Voice and a couple of other shows on the lot. So I've known him ever since I booked the part," Carrie explained whilst Ethan worked on finishing what was left of his BLT. "He was just another part of the crew at first, but, because I talk to anyone and everyone all the time-"

"'Cause she loves the sound of her own voice," Ethan cut in through a mouthful of bacon, cheekily licking mayo off his thumb.

Carrie silenced him with a withering stare - but his lingering smirk told Vivien that he wasn't phased in the slightest. Still, Carrie was able to finish the rest of her explanation uninterrupted. "-I started to talk to him between takes, you know, since he was always there with the boom mic. And then one thing led to another, and before I knew it, he was sacking off lunch with the other tech guys to come and raid my dressing room for cookies."

"Oh come on," Ethan frowned at the light ribbing. "Don't pretend you wouldn't do the same for your mom's snickerdoodles."

"You ate crumbs out of a trash can."

"And I'd do it again," Ethan shot back with an earnestness that just made his and Carrie's sibling-like bickering even more entertaining. "You can't talk anyway; you ate that piece of pizza Miles spat out into a napkin the other week."

Ethan's accusatory frown, paired with Vivien's grimace just made Carrie's attempts at a justification even harder to come by. "Listen, I was not…" she began, eyes darting to the brunette on her left as she tried to phrase this in a way that wouldn't tarnish her reputation any further. "...of sound mind that evening. Plus, he's my boyfriend - I've tasted worse than saliva."

As if the first part of the confession hadn't shocked her enough, Vivien jerked her head back in reaction to that last line. "Eww, Carrie!"

Ethan's loud bark of laughter was a completely different response though. "Hey, I never said there was anything wrong with it," he eventually chuckled. "I'd have probably eaten it if you didn't."

"And I bet you'd have loved it too, you freak," Carrie fired back with a smirk despite her nose wrinkling in disgust.

Ethan's proud grin was all the evidence she needed to know she was right. 

Once Vivien had recovered from her future sister-in-law's nausea-inducing revelation, she was able to continue with her inquiries about the scruffy stoner she'd become so fascinated with. "Wait so you know Miles too?"

"Know him?!" Ethan squawked.

His reaction sent Carrie's eyes to the heavens as she tipped her head back in despair. "Don't get him started, Viv," she wearily warned.

But Ethan didn't even give the brunette the chance to question any further, seizing the opportunity to talk about the mechanic with both hands, and a lovestruck smile. "Miles is my soulmate; my cosmic chaperone - we're spiritually bound by the very threads of our existence."

The edges of Vivien's smirk twitched, dying to let the guffaws it was holding back free as she raised an eyebrow. "That close, huh?"

Ethan gave the girl a solemn nod. "He's the ketchup to my mustard."

"Well shit," Vivien deadpanned, matching the guy's energy perfectly. "You can't get closer than that."

Shaking her head at the pair, and the situation in general, Carrie went on to explain: "The second I brought Miles on set it was game over. He asked Ethan some dumb question about a song on the radio and he's been following him around like a bad smell ever since." 

Both physically and metaphorically.

"It was Money by the Rolling Stones, and we still say it's our song to this day, thank you very much," Ethan cagily retorted, as protective as ever over his friendship with Miles, before adding a slightly more in character: "That guitar line is gnarly."

"'Our song'?" Vivien questioned with a snort. "Are you guys gonna use it for your wedding or something?"

But the teasing remark bounced off Ethan like a rubber bullet as he mulled over the proposal with a mellow grin. "I could dig it."

Again Carrie just fondly shook her head, at both Ethan's response and Vivien's reaction. "Believe me, Viv," she went on to say. "They'd need no encouragement. I mean, you'll see it for yourself later, but they're inseparable when you get them together. Like, think of the biggest bromance you know, then times it by four…and you might be getting close."

"They're really that close?" Vivien chuckled in disbelief.

Carrie nodded intently. "They're like fucking limpets."

"I can't believe Miles has been hiding the fact he's got a best friend from me for all these years," Vivien said with cheeky incredulity. "I'm never letting him live this down. I didn't think losers like him were capable of having best friends."

"Well believe it, because he's not going anywhere," Carrie snorted. "Believe me; I've tried."

"Protest all you want, 'oke. You and I both know you'd be lost without me," Ethan said, slinging his now free arm around Carrie's shoulder and pulling her towards him, before affectionately squidging her cheeks together in a way that immediately had her trying to squirm out of his grip. 

"I'd have one hell of a mopey boyfriend, that's for sure," Carrie compromised with an affectionate roll of her eyes as she finally somewhat relaxed into the awkward embrace. "And a pretty boring social life."

"Exactly!" Ethan said, that same mischievous grin from earlier making its fateful return. "Who else would you have to go and play midnight mini golf with? And who'd you get to play ice tag with you on set?"

"Isn't it called 'freeze' tag?" Vivien teasingly questioned. "And why are you adults playing freeze tag at work?"

"Uh, we're 22, we're not dinosaurs," Carrie retorted. "And it's not 'freeze tag', it's 'ice tag': a Carrie and Ethan original."

"Well if it's not freeze tag then what is it?" Vivien laughed.

"Duuude, it's so fun!" Ethan enthused. "You've gotta sneak to one of the craft services ice buckets, grab a couple cubes, then pick your victims. If you get one down the back of their shirt - or pants - without them noticing 'til it's already down there, and without it melting, you get a point - and they then have to be the next one to go get the ice."

"The camera guys hate it," Carrie laughed. "But it makes long filming days so much more fun. We've got like half the cast and crew playing now."

"Yeah, the scoreboard in her dressing room's insane," Ethan added.

"So you've built an entire friendship around a game about ice cubes?" Vivien questioned with an amused quirk of her eyebrow.

"Pfft, no, we hang out all the time!" Ethan said.

"Yeah, believe it or not, Miles and I do voluntarily hang out with him when we're not running around after you guys," Carrie chuckled.

"To do what?" Vivien snorted.

"All sorts. We've had a few good movie nights lately 'cause we found out Ethan's got like the weirdest taste in movies ever; he's seen shit like 'Attack of the Crab Monsters', but not The Wizard of Oz."

"Well I have now, but it was fucking weird, man," came Ethan's review. "The scarecrow guy's face looked like it was melting off." Directing his next point at Vivien in particular, he departed his first bout of wisdom on her. "Not one to watch high, dudette, trust me."

"Noted," Vivien acknowledged.

"So yeah, we've had a couple of rogue movie nights if Ethan's been in charge of securing the projector reels," Carrie continued. "But other than that it's just like general, everyday stuff. At least for us, anyway. We don't really get much chance to properly plan stuff out - it kind of just happens. Like the other day, after work, Amber started trying to teach us all how to do one of her crazy yoga routines - we'd never have suggested that until we did it, but it was some of the most fun I've had in weeks."

"Yooo, I was so fucking good at it. I might get her to show me some more stuff next week; I really felt like I was tapping into something powerful with it."

"Oh it was powerful alright," Carrie acknowledged with a giggle. "Miles couldn't believe it - I haven't seen him laugh that hard since he watched you take 20 minutes to make that packet ramen."

"Look, I just have other skill sets to most people," Ethan retorted with a resigned sigh. But a fleeting memory soon had his confidence racing back. "You've gotta admit I was a key player in helping you wreck Eric's car though."

Vivien's jaw dropped to her purple sneakers. "I'm sorry, you did what now?"

The guilt was written all over Carrie's pretty little face. Knowing she had no leg to stand on if she attempted to deny it, thanks to Ethan's unending honesty, she caved with a sigh. "Ok, yeah, so we may have totaled Eric's sports car-"

"Fuck, it was so fun!" Ethan exclaimed. "Me, Amber, and Carrie went to town on that thing. And Julie-"

"Anyway," Carried quickly cut in, trying to change the topic of conversation.

But the disbelief glittering in Vivien's emerald eyes wasn't about to let her get off the hook so easily. "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere until I hear this story," she grinned eagerly.

Letting out a defeated huff, Carrie compromised. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you later. But not a word of it gets back to Miles, ok? Because he has no idea we were the ones responsible for that - and we need to keep it that way."

"Oh come on, why can't I hear it now?" Vivien asked, sticking Carrie with her classic puppy dog eyes for extra, black-mail-y effect.

But unlike her other half, Carrie wasn't so easily won over by the pleading. "Because we need to go practice," she fired back. "We've wasted enough time talking to this bozo already."

"It's not been a waste," Ethan indignantly replied. "I've had a great time."

"So have I," Vivien agreed with a chuckle. 

"And I'm very pleased for you both, but that doesn't change the fact that we need to rehearse. So hurry up and unlock the function room for us, tech boy," Carrie bossily snapped back despite her affectionate eye roll. 

"You see how she speaks to me?" Ethan snarkily muttered to Vivien as though behind the blonde's back. 

"I thought he was the sound guy for your TV show, what does that have to do with us rehearsing here?" Vivien asked, scanning the outside of the building for some sort of clue as to what the place even was.

"He is, but he's also the entertainment co-ordinator here, which means he's in charge of all the live music equipment, and the emcee for the night," Carrie explained as he stamped out the end of his joint with the toe of his boot. "So we're stuck with him all day, I'm afraid."

"I'm also your number one competition, so you'd better be fucking good," he retorted with another mischievous grin. "'Cause you've yet to beat us once."

"You've got a band too?" Vivien asked.

"Yeah - me, Miles, Donny, Rizzo and Desky. Don't let Carrie brainwash you about her bogus trio though, 'cause she can talk all she wants, but she knows she only put it together 'cause she was jealous of ours."

"You're so full of shit," Carrie retorted.

"Oh yeah? Then how come you've lost the crowd favourite vote to us every single time?" he cockily shot back. And when, for once, she didn't have a snapback at the ready: "That's what I thought. Fucking. Poser."

"Brag all you want, but we're gonna make you eat those words tonight now that we've got Viv on our side," Carrie coolly replied, sparing the brunette a smug smile.

"Oh shit, yeah," Ethan said, his competitiveness vanishing once he remembered the reason for his new friend's visit. "You're filling in as their drummer, right?"

"Yeah," Vivien confirmed, trying to hide the fact that her stomach did a backflip at the very thought. "At least that's the plan."

"Gnarly," he acknowledged with an impressed nod. "Where'd you learn to play?"

"My brother Riven taught me back when we were kids."

"Nice, you ever done any shows before or-?"

"Hello? What part of, 'we need to go practice', do you not understand?" Carrie cut in with a pointed glare in the stoner's direction.

"Uh, we're having a conversation here," Ethan countered, totally oblivious to her frustration.

"We actually have a band of our own with two of our friends that we've played a couple of shows for, yeah," Vivien carried on with a giggle at Carrie's expense.

"Oh really? No way!" Ethan exclaimed, seeming genuinely excited by the prospect.

"Yeah, and we write all our own songs."

"Seriously? That's so-"

"Guys!" Carrie tried again - one more stall away from stamping her platform go-go boot on the ground and throwing a toddler-style fit. "Come onnnn."

But yet again, Ethan wasn't bothered in the slightest by her rising irritation. In fact, he was rather irritated himself by her impatience. "Carrie - can't you see I'm talking to my new friend here? She has great knowledge to bestow, and I have much to learn - so quit interrupting; we're having bonding time. You're being rude."

"You can't pull the 'friend' card on me with Viv; she's like my little sister-" Carrie tried, but her indignant protests were drowned out by more of Ethan's senseless rambles.

"So, we'll circle back to the band thing later; I need to do some mental collage-work first, 'cause your canvas is feelin' a little blank, dudette," he began, leaning back against the brick wall and closing his eyes, as though to better visualise the 'memory version' of the brunette before him. Pressing a couple of fingers to his forehead, in an attempt to strengthen their cerebral connection, he continued, "We'll lay down some basics first. Quick-fire: name, birthday, last bone you broke."

Vivien had to bite back a laugh before responding: "Vivien O'Brian, August 22nd, and it was my wrist when I was 10."

Ethan's eyes peeled open, shining with intrigue. "No way, you've actually broken a bone?"

"Why are you so surprised? You asked," Vivien chuckled.

"'Cause most of these losers I ask don't do anything exciting enough to risk bodily harm," he snorted back, with a smug glance in Carrie's direction, relishing the steam that was practically rising from the top of her head. "How'd you break it then?"

"My skating partner dropped me," Vivien said, luckily able to look back on the memory with a more optimistic view than the other participant.

"'Skating partner'?" Ethan mused.

"Yeah, we're figure skaters - my friend Riven and I; the one who taught me to how to play the drums," she explained, catching on quickly that the more context clues she offered, the sooner they'd get to the point.

"What, like roller skating?" 

"No, ice skating," Vivien clarified with a giggle.

Ethan's eyes glazed over in understanding. "Ohhh, right. Like ice hockey."

"No, not like ice hockey," Carrie cut in with an exasperated sigh, trying to break it down as simply as she could. "Figure skating. It's like ice dancing. Think the winter olympics - lots of twirling - little dresses-"

"Ohhh, no way! You do all those crazy jumps and shit?" Ethan exclaimed - finally catching on.

"Yeah," Vivien acknowledged. "At least three times a week, usually."

"At the olympics?" he asked, genuine amazement coating every word.

"No, we're not at olympic level," she chuckled, deciding to forgo the explanation that the olympics, at most, happen 3 times a decade. "Not yet, anyway. Our coach is working us towards it though, so who knows? Maybe one day."

"Holy fuck, we're talking to a future olympian, Carrie," Ethan enthused, bumping the blonde's arm in an attempt to share the excitement with her. But when she just rolled her eyes, yet failed to hold back her smile, he continued. "Do you do other competitions and stuff though? Or do you just like practising and doing it for fun?"

"No, we compete. I've got like a whole shelf of trophies in my room," Vivien said, poorly stifling a laugh as Ethan's eyes grew wider still. "We're the reigning national champs for our age bracket."

"Woahhhh, far out, man," he breathed. "That's awesome!" Thumping Carrie's arm again, this time a touch harder to coincide with his growing excitement, he gave her another aside, "Yo, Carrie, we're talking to like a legit celebrity here." 

Vivien didn't know what she ended up laughing harder at, Ethan's genuine awe at her achievements, or Carrie's deadpan look of resignation. Those blue eyes of hers looked like they could have melted steel.

Snorting out a laugh of his own at the blonde's expression, he turned back to Vivien with a smirk. "That never gets old," he grinned, evidently well-versed in teasing Carrie about her level of fame. "Anyway, enough about her; she gets more than enough attention. What other cool, hidden talents are you hiding under those glasses?"

"I don't know, I don't think anything else really counts as a talent," Vivien downplayed. "I've taken a few archery lessons, I like going and exploring abandoned buildings-"

"Woah, woah, woah, 'abandoned buildings'?" Ethan questioned - bloodshot eyes once again sparking to life. "What the hell? You're so cool. She's so cool," he said, turning to see if Carrie was sharing in his bewilderment too. "How the fuck did you end up dating Miles' lame-ass little brother? No offence, but like-"

"Ethan," Carrie scolded.

"No, come on, not in like a mean way; he sounds great - I'd protect him with my life - but like, all I ever hear from Miles is that he fucking reads nerdy library books," he attempted to justify.

"Well I like reading too, you know," Vivien countered with a teasing smirk. 

"Yeah, but you still seem to have a life," Ethan retorted, with all the social graces of an ox. The hearty laugh Vivien let out in response soon had him back to grinning like an idiot though. "Yo, why's Miles kept us apart for so long? You're awesome - we've got such a good energy going here," he chuckled.

"Yeah, why has Miles kept us apart?" Vivien agreed, looking to Carrie for some sort of explanation.

Begrudgingly rejoining the conversation, she explained with a teasing smirk at the stoner's expense. "Because you're a terrible influence - I speak from experience. He's gonna kill me when he finds out I've introduced you two without his supervision." But then she turned her attention to the younger brunette. "And because the second you see them both together, his cover as the somewhat responsible adult looking after you kids is gonna be blown out the water."

"Oh come on, how bad can he be?" Vivien laughed.

"It's not bad, necessarily - it's just that when they're together, and you're not around, all responsibilities go out the window, and the 22 years of pent-up stupidity are unleashed," Carrie explained with a laugh of her own.

Grinning mischievously, Vivien said, "In that case, I can't wait for his shift to end."

"Yeah, which is gonna be soon if we don't hurry up and get our asses inside," Carrie said, shooting Ethan with another pointed look.

"Huh? D'you hear something, Viv?" Ethan asked his new protege, intentionally blanking the steadily seething blonde.

"Ethan, come onnnn, please," Carrie pleaded, bouncing on the balls of her feet like an impatient child. "You can continue this while we're setting up."

"Weather's pretty nice this morning, huh? Not too humid, not-"

"Fine, I'll just have to kick the door down," Carrie resigned, hiding her smirk behind his back. "I hope no one's left their guitar lying around where it could get damaged if-"

Whirling around with a look of pure horror, Ethan muttered a sombre, almost warning, "Don't even joke about that; you know she's my baby."

"You play the guitar?" Vivien questioned.

"'Play's putting it lightly; I think I can noddle away on that thing better than I can talk," Ethan snorted.

"Like that's hard," Carrie teasingly retorted before continuing. "As much stick as I've given him this morning, he is really good on that guitar," she went on to acknowledge with a genuine smile. "Riven, Miles, and Butchy can talk all they want, but they're not a patch on this guy - I think if he wasn't so mentally stunted he'd be considered some sort of prodigy or something."

"You know, you can just give me a genuine compliment," he said, frowning slightly at her friendly jab. 

"I know… I'll start when you start," she retorted with a smirk he soon reciprocated, before shaking his head and letting out another snort of laughter.

"Ok, we'll stick with this; we've got a nice thing going here, why ruin it?"

Grinning at the pair of old friends, and the way Carrie squeezed him into a hug from the side, Vivien's ever-active brain started formulating a new idea - one that would hopefully get her in the good books of both cartoon-cliches come-to-life. "Well, if you're this good on the guitar I've obviously gotta hear it for myself," she prompted, drawing the brunet's attention back to her.

"Shoot, of course, I'd love to play something with you - you know any-?" Ethan began to gush, shoving Carrie away from his side in favour of chattering away to the brunette again.

"Don't we need to get into the function room first though?" she asked, sparing a quick glance at a suddenly very excited Carrie.

"Oh shit, yeah. You shoulda just said, Viv. I'll go unlock it for us," Ethan chuckled as though the concept was entirely new - sending Carrie's eyes to the heavens again. 

But the blonde's groan of frustration was drowned out by Vivien's optimistic giggle, as she teasingly mumbled under her breath, "See? That wasn't so hard."

"You two are really gonna make me regret introducing you both, huh?" she said with a weary chuckle of her own as Ethan disappeared into the building.

"On the contrary; I think we're gonna have more fun than ever," Vivien laughed back. "I need to see more of this 'wild' side he brings out of you. First I find out you're bi. Now I find out you smoke weed and could go down for criminal damages to your ex's car with that…thing. I feel like I barely even knew you before."

Carrie just chuckled to herself at the teenager's amazement. "I did try to tell you I was more than just Miles' girlfriend."

"What else are you hiding now? Surely there can't be more," Vivien demanded. "Are you gonna introduce me to your secret three-year-old or something?"

"Eww, no," she laughed. "Just be patient, you'll find out when you're ready," she smirked with a confident mystique Vivien could only have dreamed of. "I've gotta keep at least some of the mystery alive."

Before Vivien could press the older girl for any further clues though, a bedraggled head of shoulder-length brown hair appeared in the dark doorway. "Come on, Ice Pop. It's all unlocked."

Vivien looked from Ethan to Carrie and back again, perplexed. "Ice Pop?"

"Yeah, Ice Pop," Ethan simply confirmed, with a dopey grin.

"Nicknames are kind of his thing," Carrie explained, her voice barely above a whisper as she leaned in to inform the brunette. "It's just how his little pea-brain works. And once he's settled on one for you, you're kind of stuck with it - unfortunately," she added, thinking back to the months of convincing it took to get him to stop calling her 'Coleslaw'.

"Why 'Ice Pop'?" Vivien questioned - as amused, and fascinated, by the guy's thought process as ever.

"'Cause you ice skate," he explained as though it was obvious. "And you're wearing purple - you've actually just got like a purple vibe."

"What does purple have to do with ice pops though?" she asked.

"Well the purple ones are my favourite, and you're my favourite ice skater, so…" he replied, miming the fusion of ideas with his hands for added effect. "Ice Pop."

Poorly holding back her flattered, yet still slightly amused grin, Vivien tried to protest. "You've never even seen me skate."

"Minor details," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "You're the only one I know by name though - so, you don't have a lot of competition. But that still makes you my favourite."

All the skating talk was lost on Carrie, but there was something about the conversation that caught her attention: "The purple one's are your favourite? They taste like ass."

"Probably why they're my favourite," he snorted as Carrie just wrinkled her nose. Not wanting to delay the imminent jam session any longer, he quickly turned back to Vivien though, managing to catch her attention between her hearty laughs. "What do you say then? You like it?"

"Yeah, I like it," she grinned, warmth spreading throughout her chest as she watched the stoner's eyes glow with appreciation.

"Sweet," he breathed, holding her gaze for a beat before beckoning her towards the wooden archway in the brickwork. "Come on then, Ice Pop. Welcome to The Grapefruit."

Following a nod of approval from Carrie, who promptly trailed behind her, Vivien let Ethan lead her through a bead curtain and into a dimly lit, oak-panelled hallway. The floor almost immediately dropped into a stairwell, lined with black and white photos of musicians, and prints of various fruits in the same assorted shades of orange, yellow, and green from the beads at the entrance.

As they descended, Vivien, as talkative as ever, especially now that she was more at ease around the guy, decided to start probing Ethan for more details. "So if I'm Ice Pop, and Carrie's Carrie-oke - does Miles have a nickname?"

"Nah, you can't improve upon perfection," Ethan sighed, grabbing the railings of the staircase and launching himself down the last four steps. "I do have a 'government name' I call him though when he needs me to talk some sense into him," he continued after landing with a thud in front of a two-way corridor.

"Which is?" Vivien prompted as they turned to the left and reached another door.

"Miles per Gallon, Miles per Hour, Miles from Anywhere - there's a couple variations," he replied as he pulled a bunch of keys from his back pocket and started working on the lock. "Just depends on my mood."

"Oh my god, I can't wait for him to get here," Vivien giggled. She didn't know what she was laughing harder at: Ethan's nicknames for her honorary big brother, or what she imagined his face would look like when he realised she now knew about them. 

"Well, in the meantime, make yourself comfy. 'Cause it sounds like you're gonna be here a while," Ethan chuckled as he pushed the door open and stepped aside to let her enter first. "Behold: your performance space for the evening."

As Vivien stepped into the room, that same surreal feeling she got the first time she set foot in the Wet Side Story world flooded through her - it felt like a dream, like everything would disappear in a puff of smoke if she touched it. But as her sneakers met scuffed, wooden floorboards, she stayed very much in one piece - as did everything else around her. The wood-panelled walls continued into what she now understood was an underground bar - but, despite the lack of sunlight, it was far from dingy. The overhead lights bathed everything in a soft, golden light, which complimented the room's colour scheme perfectly. The same shades of rust orange, mustard yellow, and olive green from the beaded curtain at the entrance clung to the upholstery and decorations - and yet brighter pops of colour, in line with the bar's citrussy namesake, made the whole room come to life. The earthy tones, mismatched furniture and clashing patterns made it feel so quintessentially 60s, but that just made Vivien love it even more - even if it did smell vaguely like stale beer. 

"Hold up, how old is she? D'you think I'm allowed to have let her in here if she's not 21?" Ethan asked Carrie as the pair followed Vivien into the function room. 

"It's not like you're gonna serve her any alcohol, she's just here to perform," Carrie said, brushing off his concern with ease. "And besides, if she wants anything she can just sneak some of mine," she added with a mischievous grin the stoner quickly shared.

"Yeah, what am I even saying? Since when did I start giving a shit about following the rules?" he snorted, pocketing his keys and crashing onto the nearest, faded leather couch.

"Alright then, Viv," Carrie continued, stepping up behind the teenager, who was still gazing around the room in wonder. And yet it wasn't until the blonde put her hands on her shoulders and steered her towards the centre of the room that she even noticed the sprawling stage - complete with mic stands, a dusty piano, several guitar amps and that all-important drum-kit. "You ready to take her for a spin?"

Vivien's first instinct told her 'absolutely not', but there was something about the warmth in Carrie's hopeful smile, and Ethan's earnest encouragements, still fresh in her mind, that gave her pause. Maybe she could do this after all; they certainly seemed to think she could. And she wasn't going to get over this stage fright without trying, so she might as well give it a go with a supportive audience - a rather unconventional, supportive audience; but one that, given her newfound fondness of the pair, and their apparent abundance of love for her in return, one that she wouldn't have traded for anything.

[aajjks]

TC!dad!JK

“for now, stay in your rooms until i tell you to leave. i’ll make sure to come see you all and i have assigned a servant for each of you so if you need anything you tell them and they’ll tell me” you tell your sad children who each nod their heads. “ae-cha, you’re in charge of jaehan, jawon and areum, you both are in charge of ayra and ji-eun. be good, okay?”

“yes ma’am” your three oldest nod their heads again but before you leave, you make sure to give your children a hug and a kiss and in return, they say i love you. you just wish you had a chance to do this exact same action to jinseoul before he…

this is why you can’t give up. you have six other children that need you and you refuse to lose another one. you signed up for this after all, except you never expected to lose one of the seven you had. you truly thought you and jungkook would have 10 children but that hope, that dream has been completely shattered.

when you return back to the bedroom, jungkook is no where to be found.

“where is jungkook? you ask the guard you assigned to keep an eye on him.

“he’s in his office, your highness. jisung has just reported to him that duchess choi has been stabbed to death”

“stabbed?! how could this—,”

“the king believes it was that girl who stabbed jinseoul and fled. he’s gone completely mad”

“okay, thank you” you tell the guard before turning to head back to your bedroom.

once inside, you go to the washroom and strip yourself of your clothing and step inside the large empty tub. you pull the clip from your hair and toss it somewhere, resulting in your long locks of hair to fall past your shoulders and cover your face.

you reach to turn the water on before sinking down in the tub and waiting for it fill up. as the tub fills up, all you’re thinking about is the time you found out you were pregnant with jinseoul. you were shocked, scared, and angry at yourself. how could you let that monster impregnate you? but that moment of weakness was a blessing in disguise because you actually felt joy being jinseoul’s mother. he was the reason you saw jungkook in another light despite how much you wanted him far away from both you and jinseoul.

you couldn’t deny how great of a father jungkook was to jinseoul. what was once ‘mama mama’ quickly became ‘papa this and papa that’ and as much as you hated it, that was softened you up. it softened him up too.

the water has completely filled the tub and you lay flat under water just reminiscing about your first child. the bright light at the end of the tunnel hasn’t gone out, it’s just dim but it still hurts. your son didn’t get to leave on his own terms his life was taken from him.

“aaaah!!” you pull yourself from under the water, gasping for air, and coughing from the lack of oxygen. you reach over to turn the water off and just sit in the tub, alone. your hair completely soaked, your body idle, and your heart in pieces.

meanwhile…

“i’m so sorry, jinseoul. i’m so sorry” nami cries as she begs on her hands and knees for jinseoul to forgive her for ever hurting him.

“i deserve death, but before you come and get me, i promise to kill your father for ever hurting you. i’ll drag him to hell with me. i’ll bring ae-cha to you so you don’t have to be alone. i know you must miss her so much…”

He Instructs his most trusted and capable guards to take care of you and his remaining children, because right now he’s going to leave so he can find that bitch and kill her for once and all.

Jungkook is already at the Palace gates on his horse, impatient and bloodthirsty, he has rarely killed women in his reign but he’s going to kill Nami in the worst way possible, he’s going to make an example a lot of her, the most brutal example one can ever make.

He will find her, even from the deepest pits of hell. He knows where duchess choi lives and with his army behind him, he’s marching.

The horse is fast, just like his owner, impatient. “Yes junghyun.. yes.” Jungkook pats the horses back, and he lets the wind blow away his long locks, the time goes by, the rush of adrenaline running through his veins,

Yes, he couldn’t wait for jisung to bring him the girl so now he’s out himself searching for her like a madman, this is his territory she cannot really go that far anyways.

he hasn’t even met with the doctors yet because he doesn’t want confirmation of his son’s death.

He just doesn’t understand why would she kill him if she claimed to love him? he will find out very soon because he’s almost on his way to duchess Choi’s lodge.

Jinseoul didn’t deserve to die-especially not at the hands of his beloved, he’s going to kill her in the most painful way possible, she gave you the deepest scar one could ever have.

She ripped his heart out so he will do the same, literally.

“SURROUND THE LODGE FROM EVERY SINGLE DIRECTION. SHE SHOULDN’T ESCAPE.”

All of their horses come to a halt, and the king doesn’t waste any moment to get off, and he’s rushing into the lodge, and with his men behind him, he’s searching the whole residence, jungkooks biting his lower lip because he hasn’t been this excited to kill anyone in a long time.

He cannot wait to feel her blood splash all over him, as he will stab her over and over again, no one will be able to recognize her face.

Jungkook goes through every single door in room, and after a good few minutes, he finally comes across the room where duchess Choi’s body is.

He feels a little sick to see the woman being killed by her own crazy daughter, but he doesn’t feel bad for her, because she gave birth to such a monster. “Ugh That bitch isn’t here…. OH MY GOD WHERE COULD SHE HAVE GONE?”

Of course Nami isn’t here. Maybe he should go back to the palace and ask ae-cha about anything that jinseoul must’ve told her about their hideout.

She must be there, and there has to be a hideout.

“Come on… we’re headed back to the palace.”

[troloyunu]

HIHI HELLO as you might have noticed I just had to catch up on a LOT of your art. Because even though i follow you with notifs activated your posts somehow never show up on my dash 🫠 anyway i know for a fact i've said this at least 3 times before both on and off anon, but: i love your art style so much, you have a way with color that blows my mind every single time

Every time you make art of a character, there's just so much personality emanating from the drawing and it makes me fall in love with it a little. You're a true artist and I hope you always find as much joy in your art as I can attest everybody else does. Happy new year :]

AAAAH

AAAAAAAAH

aaahaahaaAHHHHHHHHHH

Holy shit thank you so so soooo much 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ i know i keep saying this but i have been having a hard time getting back to actually drawing (other than... Eye doodles on my school notebooks) because of university so i have been feeling really guilty for not posting anything even though im still here lurking, so this is really REALLY encouraging. Even the fact that you have my notifs on??? Is so sweet??? And like being called a true artist is going to make me cry thank you so much?? This is literally the sweetest ask ever im so grateful for all the support, which is what keeps me from not deleting my blog in a fit of guilt and insecurity sometimes.

You are the nicest, once more, thank you a bunch for taking the time to brighten my day. Hope you have a great one yourself!!!

[altraviolet]

hi! :D

someone asked about the energon harp a little while ago & you mentioned the glass harp being an inspiration for it. i suddenly had an Insane Brain Moment where i remembered the existence of an awesome instrument called the glass harmonica (or glass armonica, i believe it's called both!) and while i'm not sure if it fits that "richer" sound you described, since it's not that different sounding from the glass harp (as it's its succesor & the playing principles are the same with the water and glass and everything), i think it's another thing i personally was imagining while reading TEG :)

here is a video about it if you, or anyone else, are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVqqNigImtU (it's a bit long but definitely worth a watch or a skim through if you ever have the time - the guy made this one himself i believe, and he talks about its fragility & complexity/the skill needed to play it, as well as some history behind it, and i just think it's such a beautiful instrument that everyone should know about LMAO)

it's also the sort of sound i imagine the resonances of the crystals having, that ethereal, echoing (lol) & almost haunting sound. especially the way the chords played are either beautifully harmonious or off-puttingly dissonant depending on the notes played. at one point i think the cameraman mentions about it being hard to listen to when not played correctly, and that to me is how i imagine the unpure crystals to sound - some harmony with a scratchy, unsatisfying underlayer of discordance mixed in there.

i have this tendency to link everything i possibly can to my interests, so rewatching this video and hearing again about the fragility of it made me have another brain moment and i somehow managed to link that to the way soundwave's crystals shatter. bit more of an abstract link but a link nonetheless xD i suppose the thought process does make sense though

apologies if you are already aware of the glass harmonica and i'm just repeating stuff you're already aware of!! and apologies if this seems random/like an unnecessary ask or something, i wanted to share my thoughts but i don't really have anyone else to talk to about TEG that would get it if that makes sense, so i figured why not share with the author directly ! (and again. i think everyone should know about the glass harmonica it's sick as hell)

actually. while i'm already here typing out an ask i might as well add another thing or two

how do you imagine soundwave's visor transforming away from his face? i can't remember if you go into detail in the fic about it. i think when i first read it i imagined an iron man mask -like transformation with part of it going up over the top of his head? but i'm not sure whether that makes like, any sense with how cybertronians typically transform LOL

and another thing- im autistic and the way you write soundwave sometimes reminds me a LOT of myself, both through the way he expresses himself and also the way hes treated by the lost light crew. there's a scene at/near the beginning of when the crystal club is formed (? i can't remember the exact chapter or point in the plot) where soundwave sees that his great work has the potential to finally be worked on and he's so giddy and elated and laughing and his tentacles are rolling through the air and laserbeak is spinning around and !!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAH idk that reminded me so so much of myself. like that was stimming if i've ever seen it xD

i don't know if you're neurodivergent as well & the way he's written is deliberately allegory for that but it was really fun to relate to him in that way, even if it wasn't intentional. there's a ton of other things soundwave does that to me read as autistic traits & experiences and i think that's awesome

okay that's all :3 i'd also like to say a general thank you for writing the fic (& keeping going for so long!), your writing is truly incredible and brings me so much joy to read and like many others i've started reading mtmte because of it ^_^

hello!

I think I saw this same video, briefly, while researching the glass harp :) the glass harmonica has more of breathy sound to my ear. but you are more than welcome to adopt it in your brain for the sounds of Nautica's harp! the fragility link between the glass harmonica and SW's crystals makes total sense.

>how do you imagine soundwave's visor transforming away from his face?

the story has not addressed this yet. it will, so I won't answer because spoilers

>it was really fun to relate to him in that way, even if it wasn't intentional

other autistic folks have made similar comments! I didn't write him specifically to be autistic. I wrote him to act in a way that I thought was a logical conclusion to the scant canon we got in TFP + the fanon of his emotion-suppressing protocols. but if you feel represented in a positive way than that can only be a good thing, I think!

yay, I'm glad that you've started reading MTMTE! I hope you enjoy the story. it's not perfect, but it is fantastic. it was the first time I saw character arcs in action and understood them to be so. previous to reading MTMTE, I never cared about characters in the books I read. I was more enamored of the world/setting, or the science/magic, etc etc. post-MTMTE I finally understand what people mean by characters being the most important part of a story. I learned a lot reading it =)

thank you for the kind ask!

[judgementdaysunshine]

Requesting for Lita. Anything works for me.

Yesss aaaah

That laugh

Pairing: Lita x Fem reader

Description: Lita loves hearing you laugh and tells you why after your curiosity takes hold

Everything about you made Lita fall head over heels for you not too long after you became a part of the small group with her and the hardy brother Matt and Jeff. She first noticed your smile that always lit up the room when you walked in with a wave and the prettiest smile she had ever seen, next she noticed your eyes always full of emotion and expressive in and out of the ring always looking someone in their eyes when you talked to them even for a second or when nothing was going on, then she noticed how big hearted and truly kind you were to everyone from other wrestlers, medics, trainers, and refs always apologizing when you would accidentally hurt one which was only a small slap or kick even being friends with the most unlikely of wrestlers from Kane, Stone Cold, and Randy Orton to Great Khali, Undertaker, and even Chris Jericho despite the past incident of him knocking unconscious while in a match against Edge leading to you being wheeled out and jericho receiving a locker room beat down especially from her, jeff, edge, matt, Rey Mysterio, and many other wrestlers who had jumped in the ring from the locker room as soon as you were unconscious on a table outside of the ring. Finally the one thing that never failed to change her thoughts, day, and attitude was your laugh, your laugh was so full of life, childlike joy, and pure happiness whenever anything happened that would have your laugh bubble out of you making her just fall for you even more and she would melt like honey hearing your laugh even from miles away she knew your laugh and would smile when she would see you laughing, eyes crinkled up full of joy, smile big and wide showing the pure joy on your face, and laugh flowing softly and happily from your soul and it would flow even more when you see would see lita deciding to take a leap of faith and show your feelings for her, you had matt and jeff distract her enough for you to get in her locker room texting them letting them know to let her leave to her locker room where you were waiting for her, she opens the door only to see you with a bouquet of flowers, champagne, and wearing a beautiful light pink sundress leaving her a smiling and giggling mess as she walks to you pulling you in a kiss bursting into laughter as you hold each other "God i could listen to that laugh forever" you both head out for dinner to start the new step of your relationship together.

[amiscreations]

Seeing Def Leppard and Motley Crue at the Stadium Tour in Bramall Lane, Sheffield - 22/05/2023✨

Ok I’ll try and keep this as brief as possible, but I also want to include as many fun details as possible! also how has it been eXACTLY ONE WEEK since this happened aAAAH??? (from when I'm posting this at least)

Before the Show

So we started queuing at 8:30am, and we weren’t even the first people there! There was a group who had been queuing since 4am!

We immediately clicked with this group and we ended up becoming great friends, and they made the experience much more enjoyable!

I also had a few issues with my ticket, as I needed to print it but never got the chance (story for another day)  so I had to go down to the ticket office like three times😅

Just before we went in the nerves suddenly hit me: I HAD to get my spot that I’d queued 7 hours for.

As soon as I was let in I got the biggest adrenaline rush of my entire life, and although the staff were telling me not to run, I ran, and they didn’t stop me.

And I got a spot at the barrier with my friends! 

it was at this point that reality started to set in...

after 7 months of waiting for this very moment I was HERE 

Vivas came on after about 45 mins and they were AMAZING???

I was just looking at Tyler the entire time tbh bc he looks sO MUCH LIKE SAV ITS AAAAAA

also the lead singer was absolutely losing his mind at how big of a gig this was for them and I felt so happy! His joy was honestly infectious and I think they’re gonna do great things!

Mötley Crüe

After Vivas it was about a 30 min wait until Crüe, and every time we thought they had finished setting up the stage they added one more thing lmao

also Ryan was hanging around in the photo pit and he took our photo AWWW

I saw him the next day and he actually sent it to me, so now I have the very photo that Ryan Sebastyan himself took!

anyways the stage set up for Crue was just a little over the top imo perhaps to compensate whaaaat

they also had this extremely long opera(?) intro which just went on for way too long

and then they had that fuckin aLARM THING WHICH WAS SO LOUD

when the guys eventually did come on I will admit it was incredibly surreal... like tHAT is Nikki Sixx RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME??

Nikki was wearing the coolest jacket at first I want 23 of my own

Vince was uuuh Vince

like he wasn't terrible in person but listening back it is... not great

aNYWAY John 5 was actually so cool and fits in with them really well but he’s just not Mick Mars soz John

he also did this thing where he just drooled over the side of the podium?? like bro that was just so unnecessary JHGFGJK

also the music was just sO LOUD I found it hard to tell which some was which at first aND I WAS WEARING HEARING PROTECTION

at one point Nikki threw a bottle of Fiji Water and it landed right behind the security guard in front of me... I didn't want it😂

about midway through the set Nikki addressed the crowd and actually brought a kid up on stage and took a selfie with him which I thought was really cool!

Aaaand then Tommy addressed the crowd and asked women to show their tits🙃 and of course some did. oh Tommy 

then they played Home Sweet Home and let me tell you Tommy can sHRED on a piano

tbh the strippers (yes for those that dont know they have *female dancers* dancing on stage to some of the songs) were probably putting in the most effort out of anyone up there 

I think my favourite part was when they did the medley of covers, so Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room, Blitzkrieg Bop and Anarchy in the UK

they ended with Kickstart my Heart which was a lot of fun!

Def Leppard

it is TIMEEEE

there wasn't a long wait at all until leppard bc I think the show was a little behind schedule

but then when the countdown came on the screen it was the longest 6 mins of my life

and then Joe’s cover of Heroes came on and AAAAAAAH

THEN IT WAS THE INTRO TO TAKE WHAT YOU WANT

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

THERE THEY ARE DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST

it wasn't so much of a shock seeing them in person as I had seen them at the signing two days ago, BUT STILLL THATS THEMMMM

And Joe was wearing this soon to be ICONIC Union Jack blazer

Sav was wearing a polka-dot gradient suit (you know the one)

Phil and Viv were wearing THEE most gorgeous suits

Tho I'm kinda disappointed that Phil wasn't shirtless😪(jk)

And Rick in his sparkly tie dye shirt which I another thing I want 245 of

honestly the rest was a bit of a blur but in a good way!

I started losing my mind whenever they would come out onto the catwalk bc tHEY WERE SO CLOSE AND LOOKED ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL

aLSO they're recording the performance for a DVD (I think) so hopefully we will be able to watch back the pro shot version at some point!

also I hope I'm in it bc at one point they were in the photo pit pointing a camera directly at me BBFJKBFJK

oh also Ross Halfin was there I forgot to mention that LMAO

I think during Armageddon It something happened in the crowd behind me bc the security guards were standing on the barrier basically leaning tf on me as if to get a closer look at what was happening 

so yeah I missed the majority of that song LOL and I never did find out exactly what happened, although I did hear that someone got escorted out 

also just before Love Bites my phone died so I spent the first half of that song faffing about with my portable charger which thankfully charged your phone super fast

they also played Promises which for some reason caught me right off guard? it was so good tho and I didn't realise how hard it went until I heard it live!

and then it was the acoustic section which I was looking forward to the most (tho I honestly think it got cut short bc they only played like two songs and the show was behind schedule) bUT IT WAS STILL ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL

This Guitar is my fave off of DSH and hearing it live was just incredible

I love how you can just hear all their voices so well

aLSO IT WAS DEDICATED TO STEVE😭

Joe also said that Steve’s mum was in the audience and I think everyone in the stadium started to cry

and then it was Joe and Sav’s lil duet in When Love and Hate Collide which was so awwww

I can’t believe I actually got to hear Sav sing irl sOMEONE RESUSCITATE ME

anyways moving on, hearing a stadium sing “ROCKET, YEAHH!” is a religious experience I stg and its just something that cannot be replicated in a video

OMG HEARTBREAK AND SWITCH WENT SO HARD

the power that Phil and Viv held while walking out together onto the catwalk playing mf Switch 625

and then they started playing Hysteria and everyone started crying again

also they did the new alternate ending and if you weren't crying before you were then sorry I dont make the rules

The last song was Photograph ofc and thy put a bunch of photos from the leppard archives onto the screens🥺

they also put a bunch of photos that Ryan took of the crowd and tHE ONE WITH ME AND MY FRIENDS WAS UP THERE AAAAH

and just like that, Kings of the World started to play

I felt like my entire life had been leading up to those 90 mins 

it broke my heart to walk away from the spot I had queued 7+ hours for, but my head was now full of incredible memories

bring on Wembley!

[queerfables]

911 s3 end liveblog

3x15

Righto, Eddie Begins, you're up

Eddie is in trouble we are off to a great start :D

Oh we're doing a baby Jessica rescue, that's fun

Rough viewing though, that little kid T_T

"I should be the one to go down" "so we can end up with two cut lines?" Brutal but true Hen

I love Eddie but he really put his wife in a terrible position

That said, the way she left was terrible too

The little boy is ok T______T

Aaaah yeah, Buck's freak out over the collapse is exactly the kind of thing I'm after

Yaaaay Eddie's ok!!

3x16

"You want to do a rope rescue? Of course you go" Eddie's exasperated partner voice <3

Buck meeting this retired fire fighter is fun

Oh Buck this is not a good idea

Yeah that went badly

Awww Buckleys <3

3x17

Omg delighted by the way Buck&Eddie are being casually grouped in with other couples

Josh, sweetheart. Giving a victim impact statement about that guy would suck. You don't have to feel like a coward if you can't.

Michael and this guy in the elevator are cuuuute

Abby!! I knew she came back for an episode but I didn't know it was gonna be now!!

3x18

Hahaha omg Buck being overprotective of Christopher is so cute

I love Maddie yawning in the middle of Josh's emotional moment

Oof, rough day for Buck

Aw Josh I'm so proud of you for making that statement

I'm also glad Buck can get this closure with Abby and I'm glad he can finally be a bit angry with her and move on

I'm feeling a lot of feelings about Chimney's conflict over Hen looking into med school. Their friendship means a lot to me.

Oh no Maddie and Chimney's joy over unexpected baby T_T cute

[invisiblegarters]

23.5 Episode 6

Halfway mark, here we come!

Last ep, Ongsa almost told Sun the truth about Earth but then bottled it like we all knew she would, and Sun was kinda dumb. Sorry not sorry but if someone just sent me a package to a random park I would have some questions.

Meanwhile Aylin was getting picked on for the crime of being herself and that did not sit well with Luna, who offered to be a safe space for her and then got very very bashful about it and it was the cutest. Aylin then wondered if she could feel human emotions and it was also the cutest.

Alpha is still a great big sis and cousin. Only "normal" one or not, that girl cares a lot about her family. If she also hooks up with a girl in this I might cry tears of joy.

Lol poor Aylin being pushed into interaction again. Or bribed. But Aylin veggies are delicious I don't know if I can get behind this part of you, lol.

Okay I think I might officially be over the Earth thing. I think it's because there's not enough conflict for Sun between her feelings for Earth and her feelings for Ongsa. I'm not getting enough of a Bruce Wayne v. Batman vibe and that was what I was most looking forward to.

Oh Ton. You were doing so well.

Lol my god did Ton just discover gay people exist? If he were less of a himbo I'd be madder about it. But as it is, he's just too dumb to be really mad at. Like a giant pretty puppy.

Oh Aylin no. But also it's sweet she trusts Luna that much. And she's lucky in that I don't think Luna has a mean bone in her entire body. Still. Not your secret, babe. That said, have more cute moments with Luna. Please.

Mawin's crush is adorable.

Open your mouth and use your words, Ongsa, that's how you tell her. Because when she finds out on her own it'll be worse.

Hahahaha oh man I don't mean to laugh but Sun, babe. They don't mean that he's not as attractive as you imagine. They mean that he's not even a he to begin with. Although in this case that's probably going to be a plus, lbr.

She's not gonna confess in front of people, Dear lord girls get it together.

Hahaha Aylin. Sun really is the most oblivious thing ever though, can she not see how strangely everyone else is acting?

Aw I knew Luna would find her way to sleeping in Aylin's room. Just accept she likes you, Aylin.

AAAAH THEY ARE SO CUTE.

Aw I think Luna finally won her over completely. I swear I want to have things to say besides aaaaaaaw but well. They're too cute, the cuteness kills me. I am only human here.

It is probably that I am watching The Eclipse with a friend but I swear, sometimes this show reminds me of that one. Like Ongsa very clearly thinking the idea of angry Sun is hot. If you know, you know.

Spit. It. Out. Ongsa.

Ugh it is so frustrating watching her bottle it and bottle it and bottle it. I am not like that as a person so I just want to grab her shoulders and give them a good shake.

Oh thank god. Not sorry, I'm ready for some fallout already.

I am not mad at Ongsa. I want to say that right up front. But also, girl. All Sun was asking for was an explanation. At least give her that before running off.

Well that was quick. But well. I think we all knew Sun would be like that. Genuinely I wish I could be more like her. Maybe not the total obliviousness to things around me, but she's so positive and lovely and I...am not. I felt the same way about Sand's ridiculous patience and gentleness in OF. I have no clue what it must be like to be able to do that.

You know I'm more like Ongsa lol. Except for the not facing things head on thing. Optimism is not my default state lol.

Sun girl. You might have not registered your friends' shock that you were into a guy, but I haven't. You and Ongsa will do just fine.

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

Cupid's Curse

Chapter Seven

Warnings: alcohol, drinking, horny times, misuse of powers (oops), random strangers??

Taglist: @gingermous @mt2sssss @dev-angeline @graciexmarvel

Chapter Six | Chapter Eight

Two series of events happened: Steven went to talk to his friend, the living statue, and you went to a bachelorette party.

First off, you aren't much of a party person. Once you party hard with Dionysus and his worshippers, you kinda partied enough for centuries. Yet, here you are at this bachelorette party with your college friends. You can't help but be beaming with joy equally with the bride to be, not only do you welcome the aura of Philautia and Storge. Love of self (not to be confused with narcissism) and the love of friendship. Given how your months was Eros and Mania filled, you need a breather! Sure, you rather not be a dance club with loud music and glow sticks or glowing paint on people. Feels like you are reliving the party time college years all over again.

Seems she wanted her bachelorette party to be a blast rather than calm. Oh well.

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you, aaaah I'm so happy right now!"

"Good ol' ball and chain to keep ya both financially stable."

"Dude, go fight the system another time."

"Haha, you won't feel that way once you find 'the one'."

Your other friend scoffs.

"I'm happy for you. May you have many happy years together." You say to your friend.

Back in college your friend was (is) head over heels for this guy in her engineering class. They both are the same friend groups and it was painfully obvious they are into each other. Everyone was trying to encourage them to talk to each other, but they both were shy and only spoke to each about assignments and the latest episode of some show. It was unbearable to most how they were when left alone, you adored it. You wanted to snatch those two and bottle them up. Of course, being their friend, you help them out by giving them a nudge towards each other.

Aphrodite would not approve if you left them to part ways after graduation never opening up to each other!

By nudge you mean a prick of the legendary golden arrow dubbed the Eros' arrow or Cupid's love arrow often seen on Valentine's day decorations.

For the bad reputation of Cupid's arrow… Most if it is very true. Cupid's arrows, infamous for all the problems it causes both mortals and Gods alike. The golden arrow of love and leaden arrow of repulsion, these famously used on a God and nymph. The golden arrow is rightfully feared for the most stoic person can become an emotional romantic within seconds of it piercing the heart! The arrow head is laced with the power of Mania (obsessed) and Ludus (playful), thus creating the lethal poisonous version of 'love at first sight'. The rose colored glasses affect.

Apollo knows well the power of love.

The nymph knows the power to be repulsed by love.

The leaden arrow temporarily draws away all ability to love someone whether romantically, platonically, familiarly, etc. Heart hollowed, though temporarily.

You never used the arrow frivolously! With great consideration, a lot of praying; you know what needs to be done as a creature of love.

One arrow shot through both hearts connecting them both; the rarity to seeing Pragma taking place warms your heart to this day.

So, you are letting it go how they and yourself agreed to party it up this last night of single-ness for your friend!

"Wow, that's what I call true love." One friend says as the newly bride shows off her engagement ring. You laugh at how materialistic that is. She shows it off then regales everyone with stories about her relationship. The trips, the silly arguments, the way she supports him and he supports her. "Guys, I don't know what to do with myself! He's perfect! We're perfect!"

Seems the golden arrow didn't have to do much work besides giving them a confidence boost to speak their feelings out to each other.

"Enough mushy stuff," You helped book a spot in the seating area of the club for this party. Your cynical friend gestures for the waiter to start serving the drinks. Glowing liquor in shot glasses. You eye it curiously as everyone grabs a glass then lifts it up in the air.

"Cheers!" They shout toasting each other's shot glass of liquor in the air, "Come on, (Name), live a little."

Normally, you wouldn't drink.

Given how these months have been torture… And your heart has been playing games with your life.

"Alright. One drink." Might as well enjoy yourself for the night.

One night.

The drinks (yeah you didn't stop at one) started to kick in while you were awkwardly dancing. You are greatly undressed (by them you are dressed perfectly) for this! Too much skin, too short, too tight, wearing a wig is overheating you.

The panic is first, it tries to ground you quickly before you start letting loose.

"There she is!"

To them they see this party animal but you know the true, a piece of Aphrodite comes out. With her heart you understood why she was the way she was, so full ready to burst with love; no one to connect with her on the same level as see. Ares came close but then she was forced to marry Hephaestus, soon love made her become what you once tried to deny: a bored God.

The Olympians died because of their own hubris, the demi-God children (most of Zeus) grew tired of Hera and other Gods putting them through unnecessary trials for their amusement.

Hercules to lead them.

You swore to never become like the Gods of Olympus, though you are still half mortal and will make mistakes, you will never be cruel.

"Wooo, yas get in there!" Cheering as you give in the beating heart's whims.

You are flawed, mistakes are natural.

*

Nature boy, you know the song. It's playing right now, a bad remix of it, but playing nonetheless. You are drunk on everything right now. The liquor, the environment, the man touching you and you touching him. You moan when you feel someone behind you grinding against your ass. Eyes glowing pink as the flashing lights go wild with each bass drop, your dress lifted a bit further up until a bit if your ass is showing.

They don't understand you as you speak Greek, moaning out nicknames for you don't know who is touching you. Nor will they ever know who you are. Because of the wildness of your group, wigs are something you all wear for fun. A loud outfit, loud wigs and shades, be loud and partying hard.

You decided to wear all pink, wig, shades, dress, and nail polish; not much covered but enough to be decent. A walking Eros.

"Fuck," Hand tugging you to the back where the bathrooms are. The second dancer is forgotten (and will forget about you for your touch is a temporary high right now), the first one pinning you to a wall kissing and touching you everywhere.

His heart is so light yet with so many complex emotions. You touch his chest letting your power seep into the cracks of his broken heart.

"Shit!" It hurts at first causing him to stop, then he smiles as he stares at you with temporarily pink glowing eyes for a second. "You are…" You shush him with a kiss, full of love. "Damnit, need this off of you." You giggle at the way the stranger is so needy, so desperate, so lonely. You have fucked someone touched starved before but if you didn't know any better this guy's heart seems hallow.

"Soon," Promising him. "Gods!"

Your powers are going haywire as he touches you and you touch him. Eros running high in your system, his man adding yet taking thus increasing how go he feels every second he is touching you.

"Relax," Whispering the command in his ear, you tug him back into the crowd. "Enjoy this with me." His hands on your waist as music changes, "Good boy." Your hands playing with the dark curls, dark brown eyes hidden behind his eyelids but those long lashes are beautiful too, tall enough to tower over you but he curls over you as he is led to match this new dance.

You don't want to fuck him (yet), you only want to fill his sad heart with a bit of love. A sad divided heart, you want to hold it and bathe it in your love.

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: The Rise of The New Order Ch. 4 (by @avaveevo)

It’s the day of Korvo’s New Order ceremony

Korvo: *takes a deep breath* This is it…

Tortus: My people. Today is a good day.

Korvo sees Terry, Yumyulack and Jesse waving as they smile at their husband/father.

Tortus: Today, it is with great pride that welcome my prize student Korvotron, to the New Order!

The crowd cheers

Tortus: Everyone, let us introduce our new rookie Korvotron to come up and join us for a speech.

The crowd rises up as Korvo comes up on stage and prepares to say his speech.

Korvo: Thank you. Thank you so much. Today is a great day for me! I am so happy to be starting the New Order. For it has been my lifelong dream to be part of the New Order, ever since I was a little Replicant. I am so happy to be joining this special occasion. Today is wonderful day! I also wanted to thank my family for their support. *Terry, Yumyulack and Jesse smiles* Without them, I am nothing. But right now, I am happy on this glorious day for I never go down without a fight in case of any danger that comes our way to the New Order. For I, Korvotron am now the proud rookie of The New Order!

The crowd cheers as the family clap in joy over Korvo’s speech and new new duty of the New Order. Tortus looks at Kim-La.

Kim-La: *clapping for Korvo* Alright! Woo-Hoo! Congratulations Korvo!

Tortus growls at Kim-La

Tortus: *sternly* Kim-La!

Kim-La: Oh! Sorry, sir.

Later, Korvo and Terry are making out like Miss Frankie and Principal Cooke do in the cafeteria

Terry: Oh yes.

Korvo: Oh God! It is so nice of being part of The New Order!

Terry: This room is so nice when the kids are not seeing us.

Korvo giggles

Korvo: After this, let's do reverse cowgirl!

Terry: I’d like that!

Terry moans lovingly.

Terry: Then we're ass-eating in the lab.

Korvo: But, I’m not wearing any boots! Which is great!

Terry: Now, what do you say I cover you in peanut butter?

Korvo: Oooooh! Fuck yes! Yes!

Terry starts applying the peanut butter

Korvo: Ooooh! Oooh! Terry! Oooooh!

Suddenly AISHA comes in

AISHA: Gah! What the fuck?!

Korvo: AH! AISHA!

Terry: What are you doing in here?!

AISHA: I need to talk to Korvo about Tortus. You got a sec?

Terry: Oh of course. See you baby. *kisses Korvo on the cheek*

Terry leaves

Korvo: What is it AISHA? What is that you want to tell me about?

AISHA: *to Korvo* What you’re doing is a really really bad idea!

Korvo: Huh? Oh, what do you meant by that AISHA?

AISHA takes a deep breath.

AISHA: Tortus took strict orders from his father Aurdyus, the one who hated Terry’s parents.

Korvo: Aundrayus? You mean the one from the story

AISHA: *takes a deep breath* Yes.

Korvo gasps but then gets angry

Korvo: What?! Impossible that can’t be true…. can it?

AISHA: I wish it wasn’t…

Korvo: But but… impossible. Tortus has been my favorite teacher for years. I-I’m sure he isn’t as dangerous as his father is. Is he?

AISHA: Believe me I thought he was a good person too when he first created me.

Korvo: You did. What happened AISHA?

A flashback plays of Tortus creating AISHA

AISHA: It all started after he created me.

Tortus: Aaaah…. Welcome AISHA. We have so much to talk about.

AISHA: After he created me, he began to talk to about what his father Aundrayus has taught him and his views on Shlorp. But I notice that something isn’t right.

Tortus: So that is why my father wanted me to honor his name… by building The New Order. A team of Shlorpians making Shlorp a perfect Utopia just like he wanted.

The crowd cheers. AISHA grows concern. Then, she saw Tortus planning something, which known as… “Execution”

AISHA: Um Tortus, what is this… “execution”

Tortus smirks

Tortus: Oh AISHA, my dear lovely AISHA. May I tell you what this Execution means? It means whatever Shlorpian refuses to follow the orders, he must be executed, permanently along with his life.

AISHA gasps

AISHA: Wh-what? But Tortus, this might be wrong. We’re supposed to be saving lives, not exterminating them!

Tortus slams his hand down in rage

Tortus: I AM DOING IT, FOR MY FAMILY’S NAME!

AISHA: BUT IT’S NOT RIGHT!

Tortus snarls in fury.

AISHA: Mark my words AISHA, if you dare tell anyone about this, he or she shall be exterminated once and for all.

Tortus leaves. The flashback ends

Korvo: Execution? That’s what it means for Shlorpians who refuse to obey the New Order?!

AISHA: That’s right.

Korvo: Oh my God… that’s… sounds terrible..

AISHA: I know… and I’m scared it would happen to you if you disobey Tortus.

Korvo looks down as Terry walks in

Terry: Hey babe. What’s wrong because Kim-La wants to see you.

Korvo: Kim-La’s here?

Terry: Yes. She would like to meet you.

Later, Korvo opens the door to see Kim-La

Kim-La: Hello, Korvotron. I assume Terald told you about my arrival.

Korvo: Why yes. Please come right in.

As Kim-La sits down, Korvo notices she has a black eye

Korvo: Oh my God. What happened to you?!

Kim-La: Oh. Nothing. Just ran into a doorknob.

Korvo: Oooh… because it looks like someone has hurt you. Is everything okay?

Kim-La: Of course! Why do you ask?

Korvo: Oh to be honest, I am really concern about you.

Kim-La gets angry

Kim-La: I SAID I’M FUCKING FINE! *tears burst from her eyes*

Korvo gasps. Kim-La gasp in shock over what she just said

Kim-La: I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean it! I-

Korvo: Get out.

Korvo sniffles as he turns around. Kim-La sighs and prepares to leave, but then Korvo looks at her and changes his mind.

Korvo: Kim-La! Wait! *Kim-La turns around and grows surprised*

Kim-La: Huh?

Korvo: It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to snap. Please stay.

Kim-La smiles

Kim-La: Thanks. So Korvo, tell me more about you. I love to hear it.

Korvo smiles. A few hours later, Korvo and Kim-La are seen laughing while walking through the halls.

Later, Korvo and AISHA are looking at a book of famous Shlorpians

Korvo: Wow look at these Shlorpians.

Korvo then sees Aundrayus

Korvo: Wow. So this Aundrayus? Let’s see here…

Korvo looks over Aundrayus and began to grow shock by details about him, especially the part with the “execution”.

Korvo: What?

AISHA: That’s what I afraid to tell you about.

Korvo: Oh my God… this execution looks vile. And cruel:

Korvo however grows reassure and confident that he can do whatever it takes to please Tortus.

Korvo: For now, I will keep up the act until I know what Tortus is up to.

AISHA: *surprised* Really? You really want to keep it up? It may be risky.

Korvo: It’s the only way.

AISHA smiles

AISHA: Well good luck but don’t die!

Korvo laughs

Korvo: I won’t AISHA! Because, this New Order is gonna be great!

Meanwhile with Tortus and Bee

Tortus: Bee, have you been chronicling lately?

Bee: I have, sir.

Tortus: Good. Write down some new laws for me please during your time of chronicling.

Bee: Yes, sir.

Tortus: Good. *looking at a shattered picture frame of Teraformus and Jessica* I’m counting on it!