i'm a bit overwhelmed with the amount of edits i've seen so just in case im letting you all know that i will be rbing them only it'll probably take me some time bc i like to comment on them in the tags :)
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could you write a smut for tate langdon?
Sorry it took so long
warnings * smut obviously, not edited , im kinda bad at smut, im not really sure what else. Oh unprotected sex.
Surprise
Its been a while since you last saw your boyfriend tate, he wanted to surprise u!
You were minding your business searching for places that would hire teenagers. Your parents kicked you out for smoking weed in their house, but how is that your fault if they gave it to you. You quickly look up and around. You swear you heard a noise. You look back down at your laptop and continue searching for a job. All of a sudden you feel someone’s arms wrap around your waist. You quickly grab the intruder’s hand and flip them onto the bed. You grab both arms and straddle them pushing one elbow to their neck. “Hey relax its just me” the intruder spoke.
You look down to see your boyfriend Tate, who you hadn’t seen since your parents found out about your relationship, which they did not approve of. You let go of his hands and turn away in embarrassment. “Oh sorry”. “Where did you learn moves like that?”, he asks still in shock. “You always have to know how to defend yourself, especially as a woman.” “Anyway, what are you doing here?”, you ask him as a way to change the subject. “Well it’s a funny story actually, I found out where you were staying through one of your friends at school because I really missed you” he bats his lashes. You roll your eyes, “And now you want me to fuck you” you add on. He smiles wide, “precisely, you know you straddling me this whole time is really turning me on, especially in those pajamas your wearing” he caresses the side of your thigh.
“god”, you roll your eyes and place a kiss on his lips. “ if I fuck you will you shut up and let me focus” you spoke running your hand across his jaw. He nods his head and kisses you softly. You kiss him back as the kiss begins to become more passionate. You slowly grind your body on him and he moves his hands onto your hips. He grunts as you buck your hips . You press kisses onto his neck and lightly sucking sweet marks onto his skin. “Fuck, lemme take this off ok”, you spoke taking off your shirt. He smiles eagerly and lovingly as he watches you take off your shirt, taking in every part of your body. You unbuckle his pants and and he takes his cock out. You slide your shorts to the side and slide down onto his dick. “ Fuck, its been so long” you breathe as you take in all of him . he grips your hips and moves your forward, you start to grind. Pure bliss on both of your faces, he loves watching yours tits bounce up and down as you grind on his dick. He leans up and kisses your lips. He flips you over and presses kisses into your neck sending vibrations as he praises you.
“fuck you’re so gorgeous, fuck you feel so good”, he grunts as he thrusts into you. “god I missed you” you say as you dig your fingers into his back. “ fuck” you moan, you lean your head back into the pillow.
“ Ive missed you so much tate”, you look up at him. He gives you a sweet smile and kisses you, “ ive missed you too”
You grip his hair as your feel your climax coming, “ fuck tate , oh my god , im so close”
He grunts in response as he feels his climax getting closer. He holds your head gently and he presses soft kisses on your head as he picks up his pace and your pants get faster. “Fuck , fuck, Fuck tate”, you moan , your stomach turns with every thrust. “Stay just like that baby cum on my dick ok” he kisses
You release onto his dick and he helps your ride out your orgasm. “Open up baby”, he says and holds your chin. He pulls out and cums on your tongue. He closes your mouth. “Swallow” You swallow the hot sticky substance and he kisses you. “Good girl”
sorry its so short i had major writers block
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hi lets show some love for our mutuals. tag your favorite mutuals and tell them why you love them
oooh bet u thought i forgot about u anon. i didn’t. i’ve been here. scheming and plotting. and i am soooo full of love to give. hold onto your hats
i’m putting the gushing under a cut because this post is getting too long haha whoopsie
@tisziny my darling beloved and dearly cherished friend. one of the first people to reach out to me and i am eternally grateful for their wonderful heart and friendship. my sweetest cheese! 🧀 an incredibly skilled writer and artist who i sincerely admire <3 not enough words to describe my love for them tbh
@skysofrey kaitlin my beautiful and cherished friend and wife. we were cut of the same cloth and then separated at birth but we defied to odds and joined forces anyway! so insightful and kind and sweet and hilarious and overall wonderful (and also sooooo pretty have u guys seen my wife she’s sooooo pretty wtf) 🖤💜❤️
@blackbeardskneebrace miles blackbeardskneebrace the absolute marvel that you are <3 so incredibly nice and extraordinarily talented! every time they post art it adds 100000 years to my lifespan and puts tears in my eyes. genuinely astounding
@blakbonnet despite the angst and antagonising me for Ed’s beard, i will always love Meow with my whole chest. and she can do it all!!! she writes, makes art, makes gifs! she’s even funny and smart and hot and NICE! save some for the rest of us babe come on <3
@gentlebeard ohhhh my sweet wonderful Ella (now with a new and improved url!) so incredibly kind and friendly! always willing for a hot makeout session in the bathroom and will gladly kill someone to defend your honour (i’ve seen her do it). makes edits that make you laugh and then WHABAM!! another that makes you feel like your lungs are being pulled out. love you ella <3
@snake-snack-stede we all know that olivia is the funniest mfer on this whole idiot website. it’s literally not even a contest. but did you guys know she’s also extraordinarily talented? she makes art and animates and makes edits that are gorgeous to look at. also i’m in love with her. she’s the sweetest candy apple at the fair and i’m a snot-nosed kid with an appetite.
@flightoftheconnie sex on legs. i become hot and flustered and feint when i think of her. makes me blush and giggle and kick my feet and she’s funny and smart and hot enough to be in a gallery but she’s here with us instead. give her kisses or die by my sword
@bizarrelittlemew we may not talk often but goodness gracious do i adore you 🥹 my god you’re hilarious and you make some of the most gorgeous gifs ive ever put my gay little eyes on. and yet another blessing to the world of ofmd fanfic <3
@saltpepperbeard JODI!!!!!! if jodi has a billion fans i’m one of them. if she has 100 fans i’m one of them. if Jodi has 0 fans then i’m dead. literally so sweet and kind and enthusiastic and an absolute treasure. and my GOODNESS can she write!! her work feels like a warm hug (just like her!)
@sherlockig literally too hot to be on the hellsite with us but we are so blessed to have her. an absolute TREASURE to this fandom and to anyone who knows her. the amount of lockscreens i’ve got that are just alexz screengrabs is absolutely insane. thank you for all your work i love you forever
@dickfuckk josh — a living breathing legend. any time you need a file? a link? an image? josh has got your back. one of the funniest people i’ve ever interacted with. also makes edits devastating enough to kill a man <3
@xoxoemynn Em my wonderful Cherub From Heaven!!! pure charm and grace, and one of the most enthusiastic and delightful people i’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. such an accomplished and skilled writer as well!
@vampirebutterflies my #1 date to the observatory and my partner in crime <33 so effortlessly funny and kind and has the best taste in music ever. every single song they’ve sent me has been an absolute banger and has been put in the frequent rotation (huge shoutout to Vacations)
@bunnyandthejets my dear and darling friend Bunny who is so incredibly kind and sweet. has been so vocally supportive and enthusiastic since we met and i’m so grateful to have her friendship and support. she’s also made me cackle like an insane person on enough occasions to be criminal.
@wearfinethingsalltoowell don’t let the angst fool you, Joy is actually wonderful and a ray of sunshine <3 i’m convinced she just enjoys causing us pain for fun. she’s creative and wonderful and the World’s Number One Olu Enjoyer (and therefore objectively correct)
@sassygwaine is one of those unabashedly kind souls who simply oozes love into everything they do and create. so genuine and resilient and smart!!! writes like an absolute dream too
@chocolatepot a complete sweetheart who was one of my first friends in this fandom, and who has been consistently friendly and supportive ever since. unwaveringly kind and nice. also her writing. oh my god. 😭 a huge inspiration to silly little me
@jellybeanium124 nina is so effortlessly hilarious. she’s had me giggling and twirling my hair on numerous occasions. she’s also full to the brim with good and correct takes. (also a Button’s truther and the world needs more of those.)
@awkward-fallen-angel heather is just soooo lovely!! another one of the people that’s been here since the very early days and i’m always so grateful for her insight and enthusiasm and the sheer joy she puts into everything.
@stedebonnets i mean this so sincerely and with my whole heart: Ara is one of the nicest and most loving people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. an absolute angel who drops in to consistently check on her friends and spread love and joy. we need more Ara’s in the world. also has one of the most beautiful ofmd tattoos i’ve ever seen <3
if you haven’t been included in this list, please know that i love you so so so dearly and that i genuinely am just a little bit stupid (on account of the short term memory issues lol). if you’re feeling left out, send me a message and i’ll say something sooo niceys about you 🥹 i love you all. thank you for being here. <3
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whats up its stampede saturday and ive GOT SO MANY THOUGHTS
trigun/stampede/manga spoilers blah blah im normal
ok so what the fuck /pos
ok so fuck. i know i said i had thoughts but ah to put them into words FUCK
disclaimer: i’ve read the manga and seen 1998 trigun so i know whats up.
The Tesla scene. god. they made it much more gruesome and i loved it. KEEPING HER ALIVE ooooh that hurts. but i wish they had a whole episode to explain tesla, what the humans did to her and how this drastically changed the twins’ POV of humanity and their place in the world. bc god that scene was only like less than 2 mins long and i dont think they did her much justice. maybe they will dive into it more but i doubt it since they have to deal with A GIANT PLANT MONSTER
that thing is gorgeous btw. the animation style is so good, that doesnt need to be said but god the studio is using the medium so well. im sure some botany fanatic is gushing about the flora symbolism. and i’ve no clue how July will perish now. anyway, vash is gonna feel SO guilty after this. oh goodness.
VASH HANGING ONTO HIS LAST REMNANTS OF REM THAT HURT LIKE A BITCH FUCK. AND WHEN NAI TOLD HIM “i did this [The big fall] all for you” “so its my fault”. OH BOY I DO LIKE TO SEE VASH SUFFER BUT BITCH THAT FUCKING HURTS. man. seeing him as a husk, a void vash, and it hurt. and him asking if he knew meryl and roberto, fuck!! ouchie!! and also Knives reading the Bible and deciding “yeah humanity is fucked and heres the proof” is SO FUCKING FUNNY. lmao. the implications that he was inspired yet disgusted by the bible sm that he despises humanity and also started a religious cult. oh my god.
Wolfwood wasn’t in a hurry to leave. he didnt want to get involved but he wasn’t rushing to the exit to move on with his life. he was hanging around just in case. of what? idk. this tristamp WW is a bit more mysterious for me and i like it. He didnt make Meryl leave either. didnt bother to stop her. that says so much about him.
oh and poor meryl. for a sec i saw the vines unleash in the room and thought it was gonna be like that volume where she sees what Vash’s feels/sees bc she touches his feathers. i got so scared. bc damn it. every moment in the manga has its impact and trying to shuffle them around to fit this new story hurts me personally /sarcasm. again, i LOVE this new show. im thankful for this new cake but sometimes i see remnants of the manga and i miss the original story. anyway, i cant wait to see what will happen to July, WW and Meryl.
also wtf happy birthday twins i fucking guess. idk if it was hinted before but what a jumpscare. but not a terrible jumpscare as the fucking plants being impregnated by Vash or Knives of the fucking core or whatever the fuck. like yeah. i know the metaphors of motherhood and shit but fucking. i didnt need that imagery personally. and i dont wanna think about it anymore. yall can have it. whatever. it just makes me uncomfy, nothing serious lol
it seems like they keep touching, briefly, on plot points from the manga but not exploring them fully. and i get it. its hard to explain anything from og trimax in 22 minutes, much less 12 episodes. and also i cant blame them so much. maybe watching this live is skewing my view of the entirety of the show. i am definitely re watching this when its finished. i fucking love trigun. and so i won’t comment much on the event order or whatever. i should just let it go. Its a new show with remnants of the manga and its so cool.
.anyway last episode is the day before my birthday so yipee! bday gift for me lol
edit: VASH HAS LEG PROSTHETICS WOOW how did he lose em hmmm
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January Wrap Up
every year, i try and do more reviews but wrap ups seem to be a fast way for me to do these
bloodmarked by tracey deonn- fantastic sequel, i am so hyped for this series. the start was a little rough but the end had me holding onto my seat. it also got me through a rough time (ie the airport)
grade: A
the hookup plan by farrah rochon- the last in this series, it was fine but ive already forgotten most of it. sweet and quick and light.
grade: B-
aces wild: a heist by amanda dewitt- a fun heist novel that was more about friendship than heist. i enjoyed the relationships and the ace rep more than the plot. a good time, fast paced and a love letter to out internet besties
grade: B+
the holiday trap by roan parrish- better set up than the holiday, which its loosely based on but it was just fine overall. didn't do much for me
grade: C
ophelia after all by racquel marie- if you like contemporary ya, stop what you are doing and read this book. a beautiful coming of age story i deeply related to. beautiful representation, i felt very seen and also i loved ophelia and her messy emotions and her gorgeous flower garden. an absolute delight.
grade: A
little house in the big woods by laura ingalls wilder- read this for class. led to great discussions about colonialism. also love learning i wasnt the only one who remembered the line about how the mom used to be so skinny the dad could fit his hands around her waist 🙃🙃🙃🙃
grade: D
kindred by octavia butler- this book lived up to the hype. it is a classic for a reason. the only time travel book i love. absolutely gripping. shocked i didn't cry. beautiful. cant wait to read more of octavia butlers work. cannot recommend this enough.
grade: A+
ella enchanted by gail carson levine- a reread, one of my all time favorite books but i did hate the audiobook that i used unfortunately. it has aged so well tho and was just as gripping as all my past rereads. literally cant shut up about this. best cinderella retelling i have ever encountered
grade: A+
seven days in june by tia williams- this book had me on the fence at the start but get the panel scene and wow. this was a wild ride, i loved how intense the backstory was and how much the main characters had grown. it was inspired by romeo and juliet but also had persuasion vibes. i loved the journey they made together and as individuals. look up trigger warnings first!!
grade: B+
by the book by jasmine guillory- super fun, a little too cheesy, but the audiobook elevated me experience. loved the wish fulfillment. modern day beauty and the beast but less creepy and more agency.
grade: B-
sisters of the neversea by cynthia leitich smith- a wonderful remaining of peter pan addressing the racism of the original text and other retellings. lily and wendy are step sisters who meet peter pan. it went into some heavy topics without being heavy handed and full of adventure. i adored the characters and the messages and the reframing. i read this for class but ill be recommending this to a lot of people.
grade: A-
edit:
sorry bro by taleen voskuni- the Armenian romcom i never knew i needed!!! absolutely lovely and heartfelt and so much angst at the end. read this on the last day of January, the day it came out and it was just. . . 🥰🥰🥰🥰
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meow meow, catmom! this day must be rough for me so hope youre doing better!
this cat TT hope its for good luck.
'i read this in the morning but i had .. its night now' were so SAME TT
'but i get where theyre coming from' yeah me too but still. i was young and confused af.
'let me apologize' no you dont need to >:(
'knows all the lewd stuff about it' OH YES. idk in russian the 'polynomial' is literally pronounsed? means? includes words 'many members' (i dont even remember what its about). and in russian member and dick are literally the same word. so EVERY time teachers in the what? 5th? 6th? grade are just ._. while children are laughing at this word.... my classmates still did while being in the 11th grade... men yuck.
'BUT I SAW THE PAWLESS CAT TODAY' hope hes doing fine TT and Putol sounds just... logical. so ok let him be.
'at least not dead' i usually answer like this when asked how am i.
'DAMN THAT WAS SARCASTIC' well not really maliciously sarcastic. just not the same sorry you thought it was. 'ur so dry' im humbled(( 'i will never believe you again' meowmeow TT i was telling the truth after all??
'BUT YOUR STORY IS IN MY QUEUE NOW' FHDKFO and whats its number?
'which one do you want me to do first btw?' ik you dont need my opinion anymore but id say anyway. im VERY eager to know whatre you gonna do in the wfal(TT) but?? im already waiting for a lifetime so? im REALLY REALLY excited to see what youre gonna do with the keep. anyway im eager to read both.
'so waht if its humid if its like negative degrees?' its easier to breath??? TT these southern people...
'st. petersburg is warm?' no TT but its like WOW its 0 C there... rn its warm. but. i just mean the weather there is more wet? there are lots of rivers, water, rains and all so in winter it can be as chilly while having higher degrees. but they have the wet time of cold while in the real north its dry frost. and more difficulties with breathing.
'i hope youre satisfied.' was it THAT bad? TT i feel like that nerd from the american movies who sais something to a laughing group and everyones suddenly silent...
'i hope youve found peace' oh NO. 1) i hate irresponsible people 2) im VERY angry with her 3) im living through this rn. were literally going to talk to her abt all the shit shes done today. but im glad youve found your peace.
SOSO finally the cover TT its so angelic TT your voice is still >>>>>>>>>>>> its the chefs kiss TT catmom im so proud of you. and your still so gorgeous, hottie-cutie TT your hairss so pretty and your eyes are so captivating TT your so hottie-cutie TT and DAMN your voice is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! editing(?) is also vvv good! idk how these layed lines called even in rus but!! youve got gold hands!!
also!! ive read this last fic puppy love and wish i was her (idk why i didnt read it back then). so with the second one. im in love TT like not with the sisters fighting over a man but the desperation EVERYONE feels. everyones inner conflict is !!!! got me so excited. like rhaenyra want to be like her sister and thats why shes pining after daemon? and daemon want to be with the reader so when shes not available hes pining after her sister(but idk i wanted to say something else but dont remember)? and the reader want to do whats good but also whats good for her but also being tired of all this mess? YAY got me screaming.
and the puppy love TT you absolutely cant have me reading things like this. ive got the softest spot for starks (even if idk a thing abt them) TT the north theme ig. i love them, the snow, the moon, the wolves so theyre my comfort house (its so ironic knowing ive never seen got..). also i noticed the 2nd person pov and how do you feel abt it? was it harder to write? the reader isnt damsel in distress but still... patriarchy... idk if it does mean what i want it to mean but its not an insult TT shes fine. shes good. ig youve made her the way you (at least wrote that) wanted to.
how is your queue? what plans do you have for weekends? howre u?
thats all ig. have a nice day/evening/night/weekends/life! take care! luv you<з
this isnt a cat but this is me when i dance T_T HAHAHHAHA
good morning my love, at least its 11am when i was replying to you.
this day must be rough for me so hope youre doing better!
AWWWW T_T I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY WHATEVER HAPPENS I KNOW YOU CAN GET THROUGH IT <3
this cat TT hope its for good luck.
i mean i dont wish you anything bad but only blessings
'i read this in the morning but i had .. its night now' were so SAME TT
big brains think the same
'but i get where theyre coming from' yeah me too but still. i was young and confused af.
me at english HAHAHAHA
'let me apologize' no you dont need to >:(
T_T i already did its fine
'knows all the lewd stuff about it' OH YES. idk in russian the 'polynomial' is literally pronounsed? means? includes words 'many members' (i dont even remember what its about). and in russian member and dick are literally the same word.
💀💀💀💀 HELP WTF HASH:FASFHASHF HAHAAHAHAH
so EVERY time teachers in the what? 5th? 6th? grade are just ._. while children are laughing at this word.... my classmates still did while being in the 11th grade... men yuck.
IDK THIS IS KINDA FUNNY BUT ALSO YUCKY ALL AT ONCE HAHAHHAH;ASHF;LHASFHASL;FA
'BUT I SAW THE PAWLESS CAT TODAY' hope hes doing fine TT and Putol sounds just... logical. so ok let him be.
nah you can say it, my grandma was kinda mean for that T_T but omg my love T_T MY GRANDMA FOUND A DEAD STRAY CAT IN HER WASH BASIN THIS MORNING aslfhasfl;khasflhasfhalshfasfhalsf asfahf it was so sad and scary and our neighbor threw it away. i felt bad and wanted to volunteer to bury it but i also didnt want to touch the dead cat. T_T i wish my dad was here to bury it T_T but hes at work so T_T JUST A LOT TEARS although i didnt cry
'at least not dead' i usually answer like this when asked how am i.
and it oop T_T the cat that looked like Tol was the one that died. RIP my love
'DAMN THAT WAS SARCASTIC' well not really maliciously sarcastic. just not the same sorry you thought it was.
k HAHAHAHAHA
'ur so dry' im humbled((
/: k HAHAHAHHA
'i will never believe you again' meowmeow TT i was telling the truth after all??
'BUT YOUR STORY IS IN MY QUEUE NOW' FHDKFO and whats its number?
it's the in the keep then that so i finished that first lol HAHAHH
'which one do you want me to do first btw?' ik you dont need my opinion anymore but id say anyway. im VERY eager to know whatre you gonna do in the wfal(TT) but?? im already waiting for a lifetime so? im REALLY REALLY excited to see what youre gonna do with the keep. anyway im eager to read both.
WELL I FINISHED WRITING IT AND I JUST POSTED IT NOW GO READ IT AND SEND ME YOUR ANALYSIS OFF ANON LIKE YOU PROMISED!!!! :DDDDDDDDDDD
'so waht if its humid if its like negative degrees?' its easier to breath??? TT these southern people...
/: hey u think i know how snow works 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 im sure you'd burn the first day you step foot here /:
'st. petersburg is warm?' no TT but its like WOW its 0 C there... rn its warm.
everytime you say its not cold/warm and then say its 0 degrees T_T YOU DO KNOW THATS FREEZING POINT RIGHT WELL NOW YOUKNOW
but. i just mean the weather there is more wet? there are lots of rivers, water, rains and all so in winter it can be as chilly while having higher degrees.
sounds like a one way ticket to clogged sinuses for me. wet + cold = sniffles lol but also i like this discription you've given me. sounds very nice HAHAHAHAH
but they have the wet time of cold while in the real north its dry frost. and more difficulties with breathing.
why is it harder to breathe in dry areas? ok google said it irritates airways lol HAHAH
'i hope youre satisfied.' was it THAT bad? TT
i mean it wasnt bad but i only snorted when i read it AHHAHAHA
i feel like that nerd from the american movies who sais something to a laughing group and everyones suddenly silent...
HAHAHAHAHAHAH
'i hope youve found peace' oh NO. 1) i hate irresponsible people 2) im VERY angry with her
damn T_T [hugs]
3) im living through this rn. were literally going to talk to her abt all the shit shes done today. but im glad youve found your peace.
T_T I HOPE YOU FIND PEACE TOO MY LOVE I LOVE YOU
SOSO finally the cover TT its so angelic TT your voice is still >>>>>>>>>>>> its the chefs kiss TT catmom im so proud of you.
and your still so gorgeous, hottie-cutie TT your hairss so pretty and your eyes are so captivating TT your so hottie-cutie TT
T_T 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭thank you so much my love, i was thinking a lot about how i looked and i was like it doesn't look like im singing it but I AM but HAslfhaskfhaf im honored you think so highly of me my love
and DAMN your voice is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! editing(?) is also vvv good! idk how these layed lines called even in rus but!! youve got gold hands!! also!!
IM GLAD YOU LIKE THE LAYERS I LOVE THE LAYERS!!! they're called voices! simple as that AHHAHA. Thank you i love my hands even though they're so veiny. im luv them <3
ive read this last fic puppy love and wish i was her (idk why i didnt read it back then).
BECAUSE YOUR MEAN THATS WHY YOU DIDNT READ IT [cries] lol AHHAHH
so with the second one. im in love TT like not with the sisters fighting over a man but the desperation EVERYONE feels. everyones inner conflict is !!!! got me so excited.
LASHFLASHFLASHFAF HIHIHHHI THANK YOU SO MUCH I ALREADY READ THIS BUT IM SMILING ALL OVER AGAIN BECAUSE OF HOW SWEET YOU ARE
like rhaenyra want to be like her sister and thats why shes pining after daemon? and daemon want to be with the reader so when shes not available hes pining after her sister(but idk i wanted to say something else but dont remember)? and the reader want to do whats good but also whats good for her but also being tired of all this mess? YAY got me screaming.
YOU GET IT
IM SO GLAD YOU CAUGHT ONTO THAT! IM SO GLAD THAT YOU GET IT :ASFHKASFKASF CRRRRYYIINGGG
I LOVE THAT FIC SO MUCH BECAUSE OF THE CONFLICT I MADE AND YOU MADE ME LOVE IT ALL OVER AGAIN even now i still think about that p2/a scene i wanted to add in the fic but didnt write it cos i got lazy lol. ur making me wanna maybe make it
and the puppy love TT you absolutely cant have me reading things like this. ive got the softest spot for starks (even if idk a thing abt them) TT the north theme ig. i love them, the snow, the moon, the wolves so theyre my comfort house (its so ironic knowing ive never seen got..).
LITERALLY ME AS;FGASFASG HAHAHHAHAHAHAAH I HAVE THIS STARK UNIVERSE AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH BECAUSE I GET TO NOT ONLY WRITE ABOUT DAEMON AND CARAXES BUT READER (WHO IS A STARK) AND HER BB WOLF WHO I NAMED HAVOC ASLFHLAS;HFHSAFSFLSHAFHSAF ASF I LOVE THE NORTH THEME SO SO SO SOSO SOSOSSSO S MUCH TOO even though like you i have not watched nor do i think i ever will watch game of thrones AHHAHAHHAHAHA
also i noticed the 2nd person pov and how do you feel abt it? was it harder to write?
no. i have written 2n person before. i appreciate it because it allows me to write thoughts for the characters outside of yn. ive realized why i usually dont write in other perspectives because then id have to use a name or (Y/N) WHICH I PERSONALLY LOATHE its fine if others use it, but i personally dont want to use it so. yeah. i have a bunch of fics written in second person! i usually use it when my plot isnt too focused on yn.
the reader isnt damsel in distress but still... patriarchy... idk if it does mean what i want it to mean but its not an insult TT shes fine. shes good. ig youve made her the way you (at least wrote that) wanted to.
HELP I guess you dont like her very much HAHAHAHAH that's fine! i was exploring writing more 'time realistic women' i wanted to show an alternative of my usual characters. she is not outspoken 'like a man' nor does she assume the worst for others, rather much like she how was brought up, she is more passive and naïve, and yet she does not let Daemon speak for her, because she at the very least knows how to properly conduct herself and treat others. <3 i love her for that. she may not have the guts to raise a sword but she will stand for what is right. <3
how is your queue?
its good! im planning to sneak a pedro pascal fic past everything just cos i have a mutual that has been rotting my brain with pedro HAAHA
what plans do you have for weekends?
probably do assignments and write. maybe i;ll try learning that halsey song too
howre u?
IM SO FUCKIGN HOT AS IN ITS SO HOT HERE IM BEING BURNED HELP ME its almost sunset not but THE AFTERNOON WAS HOT
thats all ig. have a nice day/evening/night/weekends/life! take care! luv you<з
I LOVE YOU! HOW ARE YOU MY LOVE I HOPE YOU ENJOY MY FIC AND I HOPE YOU GOT THROUGH THE DAY WITH VIGOUR I LOVE YOU! BYE i have a class in like 9 mins lol
xxx
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whiskey business - john shelby x reader (part 6 of ?)
gif by my queen @michaelgreys, i'm basically her fanblog now but im not mad about it :) i mean just look at him!!1! i almost fainted
a/n: first of all, if you stuck around to this point, tysm for reading!!! this has been one of the most amazing fics ive ever been a part of and it's all thanks to the gorgeous @stxdyblr-2k, who generously took control of the next few parts. her brain is beautiful and we all owe her flowers or something. when i read what she sent me i couldn't bring myself to change much except for some small edits, so pls give her lots of love if you like it!!!! i'm still working on requests as well :)
love, abi xxx
read part one two three four five | my masterlist
tagging: @datewithgianni, @mayaslifeinabox, @deepdonutkid, @springsoulofengland, @lilymurphy03
prompt: nothing this good can last forever. john doesn't know how to feel, and neither do you.
warnings: nsfw! a teensy bit of smut, angsty as fuck prepare yourselves accordingly, a lil fluff if u squint, yeah this fucked me up
Obviously, it wasn't the last time.
Over the coming months you had many last times; his mouth pressed against your neck said as much. As his responsibility at work increased, you'd find yourself heading to his office after your lectures and night classes more often, perched on his lap, smoking, while he finished up his numbers under your critical gaze.
Thomas was more than aware; his snarky comments made it obvious he had his ways of monitoring your actions. You'd seen the dark car lurking outside your rallies and lectures, and no matter how you'd try to throw him off, not even telling Ada where you were going and even, in a moment of desperation, through your neighbours back window, somehow, his silent shadow was still looming. He was practically begging you to make a mistake, to give everyone an easy out. You just couldn't give him the satisfaction. You knew Tommy saw the world as a chess board, always several moves ahead of his opponent. Even when you played him in chess club all those years ago, you could outflank him if you thought on your feet and kept him thinking he was winning until you obliterated him in the end game. It was brutal, sure. But as he told you, there were bigger games at play. You had your own. Thomas could read your mail, intercept your phone calls and have you followed, but he couldn't hear what you said out of earshot. Your lot could smell an interceptor in your ranks, so spying at that close of a proximity was out of the question.
That's why he'd decided to let you have John. You knew his silent approval and his constant management of the narrative meant he saw a tactical gain. There was only so much information he could get from Ada, but John? He just had to agitate him in the right way and all your secrets would come tumbling out. It was difficult hiding your world from John; of what he knew of, he was supportive, quizzing you over current affairs and political discourse, listening intently. Yet, you had to watch your mouth. You had to keep a barrier up and you knew John sensed the distance. Fundamentally, there was nothing either of you could do.
So here you were, in a comfortable limbo. Your days were filled with work, evenings were for lectures and reading groups at the city's university, Ada and you often stopped for a drink or three; you'd go by your flat to freshen up, and then to John's office. Sometimes, you wouldn't visit for a week or so when the guilt sent you over the edge, it was draining to be living so many lives and knowing you were betraying the person you loved most on earth. Ada was oblivious, taking you on her nightly adventures filled with men, dancing and waiting while she was busy kissing in dark corners. Sometimes a young blinder would ask if you wanted to be walked home. The first occurrence you thought was sweet, but as the nights it occurred coincided with nights John seemed extra pent up, you'd decided to ask. The boy, who couldn't be older than twelve but who you knew was trained in using firearms and had a revolver pinned to his hip and a razor in his cap, looked confused.
"Mate, it's not a tough question. Why do you come and ask?"
"There's a phone call." He shrugs, "Isaiah or Michael tells us to go and get you."
Isaiah and Michael were somewhat aware? Fucking hell. Your fling was basically a military campaign at this point, so many of your friends were complicit. The little lads who ran as messengers around Birmingham were complicit. You had to just end it.
But when you sat on his thigh, his chin hooked over your shoulder, it felt so worth it. He never turned you away when you came crawling back. He never mentioned it until after you were finished, hooked under his arm.
"Fucking missed you, gorgeous."
Sometimes he'd remind you not to be a stranger with a wink, but you could tell it was tearing him apart too. He never once came to you. That's how he could justify it in his mind; obviously, the bare minimum was not having sex with his sister's best friend, but in failing that, waiting for you to initiate it was somewhat better. He barely talked to Ada now, citing work as an excuse, but truly the guilt sickened him. He couldn't believe he was prepared to continuously hurt his little sister and betray her. But every time you turned up at his door, he couldn't find it in himself to turn you away. In his mind, every single time you came to visit him was the last time he'd let it happen, yet he was always waiting for you to come back, his blind closed to signal he was prepared. He never would call, it had to be your choice.
You'd been off and on for over five months now. It was so difficult to hide in plain sight, but you just couldn't stop yourself. Neither of you purposefully meant for this to be happen but fuck, was it fun.
For your birthday he'd gifted you a fur coat from the same shop his sister, aunt and the fashionable crowd of Birmingham had purchased theirs. He joked that you looked like a "proper razor chaser", kissing you when you pouted at his teasing, begging you to wear only the coat when you fucked him next. It was a practice for blinders to buy a coat for their wives and girlfriends as a status symbol. You were neither, but John claimed that being his "favourite lass" also counted.
John was a laugh, but you knew at any time he could close his door to you. Until he decided he couldn't be bothered with you, you weren't going to get caught. You just had to be careful until he got bored.
***
You did end up putting a foot wrong. It was a Thursday night; you were sitting on the edge of John's desk while he was ridding you of your blouse. It was past midnight, Birmingham was asleep. You almost didn't bother coming out tonight, but you knew John had lost a deal and you wanted to be there for him. Your skirt and stockings were strewn across the desk with his shirt, vest and waistcoat, muddled into the files and papers which were once neatly stacked.
His fingers were pumping in and out of you, his mouth lapping at your breast, your head tipped back in euphoria, groaning. The stress made him more affectionate and tender with you, and it was nights like these that made you wonder. Wonder if this could ever be something more, something real.
John's body suddenly pulled away from yours, quickly turning the light off.
"John, what-" You were cut off by John’s hand over your mouth, muffling your words.
"Shut up and get behind the desk." He hissed. "Someone's coming upstairs."
You quickly grabbed your clothes from the shiny oak surface and crouched, hiding yourself from view, quickly making yourself decent. You weren't going to get shot through the head with your tits out. You listened to the stairs creek, and it sounded like a group. You two were easily outnumbered. They were talking, but the thick panels of wood muffled their voices.
As your eyes adjusted to the darkness, the cracks in the door giving the room a dulled glow, you could make out the figure of John. He was free of his shirt, toned body on display, standing with his back flat to the wall, revolver produced from a discreet notch in the door frame, gaze fixed on where they'd enter. He was tense, ready. The door was unlocked from the outside, the door handle twisting.
John's lip shifted in confusion yet still he kept his trigger finger ready, not a single shake from your general.
The light flicked on and a shriek rang out. It was blinding, and you stood up slightly dazed. Finn was in the doorway, John next to him clutching his chest, panting and lowering the gun.
"Jesus Christ, Finn, can't you knock like a normal person? Scared the shit out of us." John bellowed, shaking as the adrenaline coursed through his body, resting his hands on the edge of the desk as he regained his breath.
"You're the one who pointed a gun at me! I didn't even know you were in 'ere!" Finn yelped.
The commotion had attracted the attention of Ada and Isaiah, who had come running and stopped in their tracks upon seeing you standing behind John's desk in the middle of the night. They weren't stupid. John was topless, your clothes obviously rumpled, both with matching tousled hair and practically stinking of guilt. You'd been caught red handed. Ada's eyes flicked between both you and John, and you could practically see the pieces of the puzzle clicking together in her mind, all the moments she found questionable since you'd returned suddenly making sense, realising she had been deceived by the two people who she was meant to trust most in life. Finn looked absolutely crushed, he'd never been able to conceal his emotions as well as his older brothers and sister, linking his fingers through Ada's, squeezing her hand.
"I forgot to drop this off earlier." Finn stated, holding up a money box, "Ada had keys so we thought we'd sneak in so I wouldn't get done by Tommy. We did call round yours, Y/N. We thought you were in bed."
"I'm sorry." You said. It was not enough but you just didn't know what else to say. You couldn't make it right, you'd really fucked up this time. Tears pricked at your eyes, as Ada examined you in silence.
John stepped in front of you defensively. "Look, Ada-"
"How long has this been going on?" She asked, her voice shaking with rage. You and John exchanged a glance. "I said, how fucking long?"
"Five months, six in a fortnight." He answered.
Isaiah whistled lowly. "That's fucked. I thought it was only a few times, that it'd finished."
"Never really over when it's John is it." Finn interjects, you glance to him, were you just one in a long string? You shouldn't be surprised but it was easy to pretend he may actually care about you.
"You've been fucking around for six months behind my back?" Ada yelped, Finn trying to comfort her but she pulled away from him. "And you fucking knew Iz."
"I'd expect this from you, yeah? Wouldn't put anything past you these days.." she sneered at John, "But you? You?! You're meant to be my best mate, but here you are sneaking about fucking my brother?"
"Ada-" you began, eyes welling with tears.
"I thought I could trust you. You're just another fucking razor chaser, aren't you?" She spits. "That's why you came back."
"No it wasn't, Ada-"
Her eyes flashed with anger, but this time John was on the receiving end. "You bought her that fucking coat ,didn't you? The fur one. You did! Fuck's sake!" Her fists were clenched, shoulders squared. For the first time in your life, you understood why crowds parted for Ada Shelby. Understood all the free drinks and cab rides, the nervous serving staff declaring your meal on the house (always acknowledged by Ada with a hefty tip), understood why the men of Birmingham didn't last long with her.
"Did it feel good to swan about town in that fucking coat, while acting as though you cared about me? It's so fucking embarrassing. All trussed up because my knobhead big brother makes you feel special? Thanks for rubbing it in my face."
"Ada, I love you. I never meant to hurt you, I got caught up and that's on me. It's my fault."
"You're not acting like you love me. This isn’t what love is, Y/N." She retorted.
You couldn’t do anything but nod. She was right.
John opened his mouth to speak, Ada silencing him, a scowl darkening her features.
"I don't care what you have to say. Any of you. Who else knows?"
"Thomas, Michael, Arthur-" John listed off slowly, each name prompting Ada to break down a little bit more in front of you.
"I didn't know Arthur knew." You said pointedly, John sending you an exasperated glance. He was planning on dealing with that later, but right now was about his sister. Fuck him if he thought you were going to stick around much longer. You didn't want to hear him justify everyone else knowing about your fling with your best friend being left completely in the dark.
"That all you have to say for yourself?" Ada snaps at you.
"I have fucking no defense, do I Ada? I should've walked away." You pushed your hair back, frustrated at yourself, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. You begged yourself not to cry. Tears wouldn't help anything.
"Why didn't you?"
You didn't know. Your silence only riled her up.
"Why didn't you fucking walk away?" Ada yelled, slamming her hands on the desk.
You felt hot tears run down your face, quickly moving your hands to dab at your tears.
"Don't you dare fucking cry. After all you've done, you don't get to cry in front of me." Ada growled at you, John going to shush her, obviously wanting to comfort you. "You can all fuck off. You've all lied to me and gone behind my back. Fuck’s sake, you could've just told me. You could've just told me."
"We didn't want to hurt you." John said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder but she flinches away.
"This hurts so much more. You get that you all lying to me is so much worse, don't you?"
"We weren't thinking."
"You really fucking weren't." Ada laughs bitterly, shaking her head, blinking away tears. "Fuck you lot."
She stormed out, tailed by Finn, begging her to slow down and talk to him, protesting his innocence in the situation. Isaiah hesitated in the doorway, his eyes flickering between you and John.
"I had no idea you two've been at it for so long."
"Iz, fuck off yeah? I've had enough today." John shot back, sliding across the desk towards you. "You alright, lass?"
"We're done here, John."
He slid off the table, his hand cupping your face, "Hey, gorgeous, I get it but don't go breaking my heart tonight. Can we just leave this for tomorrow? Sleep on it."
The idea of getting any sleep at all tonight was laughable, you'd be up all night replaying these moments and torturing yourself. Tonight couldn't get any worse so you had to finally end it. Now was the right time.
"John, it should've never happened."
"But it did."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's over."
"Y/N. You know for me it was never just about-"
"You're making it difficult. Stop making it difficult. Whatever you say isn't going to change that right now we have to do the right thing."
"I know you're right, but I don't want to let go. Is it so wrong to want you? I adore you, you know that."
You wouldn't meet his eyes. Sighing, John pressed his forehead to the side of your head, chin brushing your shoulder, eyes closing. He was begging you to stay with him. There had to be a solution, you'd figure it out together. His voice was cracking, eyes glassy. He looked so much younger when he was pleading. The tall bloke who terrorised the Midlands with his razor rimmed cap, a revolver in his hand, and a ruthless trigger finger had vanished. You wanted to stay, burning to curl up with him and for him to kiss it better.
"I should go." You told him. He rested his forehead on your shoulder, letting out a shaky sigh before pulling away, nodding.
"I'd drive you home but obviously-"
"Obviously."
John suddenly turned from you, eyes narrowing at Isaiah who was still hovering at the door. "Thought I told you to fuck off. Make yourself useful and get Y/N home safely." His tone was ice cold once again.
Isaiah nodded, offering his arm to you. You reached the door and instinctively looked back at John. His eyes met yours, staring at you from his desk, just as you knew he would. He prepared himself to watch you leave every night, but this time was different. That was it with you two.
Isaiah strode down the street with you in silence. You were tucked into his side as was customary with the upcoming blinders who were particularly ambitious, but there was no relaxed chat.
"Isaiah. What’re you thinking?" You asked, voice tinged with nervousness.
He sighed, running his free hand across his jaw, "That was intense in there."
"Just how he is." You shrugged.
"Does he love you or sommet?"
"Fuck knows… does it matter?"
"Of course it does. Do you love him?"
"Drop it. None of that matters, it shouldn't have happened in the first place so it can’t," You snapped, the anger at the situation you'd created suddenly overwhelming.
Isaiah whistled, raising his brow at your obvious turmoil. "You're in fucking deeper than you want to admit."
He walked you up your path, watching you turn the key to the side door leading to your bedsit. You paused, turning to him.
"Iz… I don't know what to do next."
It was so dark, you could see his face only by the lit cigarette burning to embers between his fingers. He inhaled deeply, pausing before delivering his carefully laid out plan of avoidance. Obviously the event of him crossing the Shelbys and losing their good graces weighed heavily on his mind. You nodded, listening intently, noting his ideas of relocation but he explained they were a final resort. The best thing to do was try to regain their trust; in the long run, he had calculated, it was the only option that didn't result in your life being haunted by the Shelbys. Even if they left you alone, their enemies would make a point to go after you, seeing you as an easy target. The other option was to leave the country.
"Good luck, Y/N. I mean it." He muttered as you turned the handle to the temporary safety of your home. You nodded, offering you cheek for the polite good night kiss you'd become accustomed to. He rolled his eyes and obliged, pressing an affectionate kiss to your cheek and ruffling your hair. "I'm serious. Watch your back."
***
John broke down when he finally heard the lock click shut. His eyes had been prickling with boiling tears, his jaw tensed to hold them back. He yelled out in anger, flipping his desk with force, a loud crash as the wood splintered against the stone flooring, glass shattering from the photo frames. His hands went to his head, unable to stop the gasping breaths escaping from his trembling lips, his face reddening.
"Fuck’s sake." He growled. He'd fucked everything up. He had nothing, just as he'd told you the first night you returned. The consequence was no surprise, he'd anticipated the fall out for a while, but he couldn't resist you. He was completely guilty and had no defense; his only justification being that you made him think with his cock, not his brain.
Fuck’s sake. Polly was going to murder him. She'd always had a soft spot for Ada, as the only girl in the family, and was no stranger to lecturing him over his flirtatious behaviour around Ada's friends. She'd murder him. He had a half mind to never go home. He rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles. Polly had no use for tears. That's what she'd tell him when he was a boy coming home with a skinned knee. This was far worse.
He was also sure that he was a worse brother than Tommy, perhaps the worst in the world. His baby sister, who he'd helped to toddle, carry proudly on his shoulders after school and race with her on his back through the fields on the outskirts of Small Heath, had walked in on him obviously in the midst of fucking her best mate. If he had swallowed his pride and actually talked to her, he wouldn't be in this mess. He could've told her that things changed, that for the same reasons Ada loved Y/N he had fallen for her, that he was truly sorry but she had to know before it got too far and someone got hurt. He couldn't go back.
He should've never approached you that night.
He should never approach you again.
He looked over the mess of his office, the splintered wood and shards of glass, a confetti of paperwork. Now nothing mattered. None of this mattered. He'd lost everything and he had only himself to blame.
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sonic movie 2 spoilers under the cut i have A LOT to say holy shit
HOLY SHIT THIS MOVIE IS BETTER THAN THE FIRST I LOVED IT
theres so much i want to say but i have NO IDEA how to start or how to end
first and foremost they did knuckles SO MUCH JUSTICE sega wishes they could write as well as whoever the hell made this script. hes no longer the comic relief dumbass, hes a warrior!! like he used to be!! and he has dignity and honour!! and hes a little gullible but its okay, thats how he originally was anyway x
AND TAILS!! his camaraderie with sonic was so great. i loved how he came all the way to help him from whatever planet hes from and how they just bonded so well immediately and theyre already like brothers I LOVE IT
particularly i liked the scene on the beach where sonic and knuckles stopped and breathed for a sec after having lost the master emerald to robotnik and bonded over what happened to them both the day longclaw died. i liked how they related it back as knuckles’s family was fighting against her and UGH it was so sad but it was so great
AND THE REFS! they never cease to amaze me. i counted a dr robotniks mean bean machine ref (which is funny because ive been thinking about booting up my ps2 again to play it, i want to get good at puyo puyo), a sonic adventure reference during the dance off in siberia, AND ALL THE SONIC 3 AND KNUCKLES REFS!! jesus christ. theres probably more, but theyre slipping my mind
post sleep edit, remembered the manuel in the death egg looking like a manuel for a sega genesis game, that got a chuckle out of me iirc LOL
also kinda feel bad for rachel and what happened in her wedding. poor girl got set up and for what😭 a sting operation? its positively TRAGIC
ALSO THE WAY THEY ALL CAME TOGETHER AT THE END LIKE IT WAS SONIC HEROES I LOVED THAT!!!! I CAN TELL THEYRE GOING TO BE BESTIES JUST BY THE END SCENE WHERE THEYRE PLAYING BASEBALL I LOVE IT I LOVE IT
AND HOLY SHIT MY JAW DROPPED THE MOMENT I KNEW SUPER SONIC WAS GONNA SHOW UP OH MY GOD i shouldve seen it coming with the inclusion of the master emerald and the chaos emeralds and everything BUT OH MY GOD???? HE WAS SO STUNNING!!!! HE LOOKED ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS IN THE MOVIE I WAS IN AWE
AND THE ENDDDD OH MY GOD THE POST CREDITS SCENE WITH SHADOW!!!! I HAD A FEELING HE WAS GOING TO SHOW UP BUT I SCREAMED WHEN THEY SHOWED HIM I CANT WAIT FOR THE THIRD MOVIE!!!!! I BET THERES GONNA BE THIS WHOLE THING WITH GERALD ROBOTNIK, MARIA, THE INCIDENT WITH GUN STORMING THE SPACE COLONY ARK, I CANT WAIT!!!!!!
i did have a few gripes though. theyre a bit miniscule though
first of all, fuck whoever decided robotnik should floss. fuck you for that
second, did not enjoy how small the emeralds were. i know its probably so they can make sense in a human filled world but the emeralds were literally the size of my finger. and the master emerald was the size of ONE in game chaos emerald
also was a bit weirded out by agent stone drawing robotnik in his lattes but ummm hes gay so its fine idk the fujoshis will have a field day with that
alsooo kind of sad there wasnt anything with crazy carl drawing tails gets trolled or uganda knuckles. that wouldve been funny i think
ANYWAY GO WATCH THE MOVIE GO WATCH IT NOW IM GONNA PISS MYSELF I LOVED IT
ps whoever runs this show please bring in crush 40 to write the ending song of the next movie im tired of this kid cudi guy
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DID U KNOW THAT LIKE
Aside from the fact that all those Brahms scenes from The Boy were shot with the actor not wearing anything on his face, and then the mask was edited on him, there used to be an old design where the mask was entirely made out of paper mache and I lowkey wish they kept that....it makes Brahms' look a lot scarier imo
YESSSA OK YES IVE SEEN THOSE 3D MODELS, I THINK, IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING? (Ok here i had to look for this a bit for but anyone who might have missed it; here is the post w alt. Brahms masks)
Definetly agree. I absolutely love the mask that they did give him. The mouth area is so well uniquely sculpted, he really has a recognizable look, and the clean-ish surface is a really stark contrast to the messy man behind. Symbolically it's really fitting. This whole house is a gorgeous front to something dark and messy. The mask is a front to something dark and messy. Pretty simple stuff. BUT YEAH. REALISTICALLY THE PAPER MACHE MASKS? WOULDV MADE MORE SENSE...... my favourites are the ones that r clearly trying to replicate the Brahms doll, but just aren't quite there materials wise !!!!
The melty ones. W the mask they ended up with you have to imagine his parents got him that, but there is something far more heartshaking and skintightening about imagining them not just, giving him a mask, but him, due to lack of socialization & what that does to your ability to express and his insecurity abt his scarring, making one himself. And some night one of his parents seeing him for reason or another, and just. For a moment. The weight of their choises setting in. The recognition that things are so wrong here for a moment. Before they just go back to hiding things behind pretty walls. And Brahms too is trying to hide things behind pretty walls, but he can't, he just can't, he doesn't do it well enough and it comes off as uncanny and scary and I JUST *CLENCHES FIST* I WANNA STEAL THIS CHARACTER BRUH
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Podcasting "Disneyland at a stroll"
This week on my podcast, I read parts four and five of my Medium series on “amusement parks, crowd control, and load-balancing” — “Expectations management” and “Disneyland at a stroll.”
https://craphound.com/news/2021/08/22/disneyland-at-a-stroll/
“Expectations management” runs down the techniques that Disney uses to move — and hold — crowds in the parks. This is an old conundrum (think of PT Barnum’s “This way to the egress” signs”) but Disney’s versions are a mix of sophistication and deceit.
https://doctorow.medium.com/expectations-management-part-v-2ad8183fd1ce
Disney queue spaces are reconfigurable, with out-of-sight spillover areas that can be opened or closed as needed, so that from outside the ride, the queue always seems to be long enough to signal something fun, but not so long as to seem like a penance to wait in.
And Disney uses subtle design cues, like adding or removing detail, to pull you through its built environments. The more detailed something is, the more you’re drawn to it.
(Tokyo Disney Sea, with its incredible, uniform, fetishistic, gorgeous detail, is actually kind of disorienting — I inevitably find myself following an intriguing side-path until it dead-ends in a service entrance.)
That’s in addition to tried-and-true midway techniques, like setting up tall, eye-catching “weenies” (like Space Mountain’s spires) that can be seen a long way off and that draw crowds to them.
But in addition to all this fascinating design thinking, Disney also does something quite blunt and a little bit off-putting: They lie about how long the lines are, deliberately padding wait-times as a means to discouraging people from entering parts of the parks.
This paternalistic tactic actually opens a space for a countermeasure. Apps like Touring Plans’ “Wait Times” display the actual wait times alongside the official ones, and you can get “bargains” — sliding into a line billed as 70 minutes, knowing you’ll get through in 17.
In Part VI, “Disneyland at a stroll,” I try to pull together all the threads from the series and talk about what Disney’s demand- and crowd-management techniques have done to the “structure of feeling” engendered by a day in the park.
https://doctorow.medium.com/disneyland-at-a-stroll-part-vi-62934f35aac1
The neoliberal age urges us to become self-Taylorizing time-and-motion tyrants of our own lives, to become entrepreneurial brands whose unproductive cars become Ubers, unproductive hobby rooms become Airbnbs, unproductive leisure is spent as a Mechnical Turk.
The texture of a day under these conditions is uniform: rush, rush, rush. Did back-to-back Zooms cost you the interstitial email-answering moments you used to get between meetings? Just work Saturdays!
We need a respite. Time away from work has been a labor demand since the Bronze Age prophets declared the Sabbath. Our grandparents demanded “eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep and “eight hours for what we will.”
Rather than offering a respite from this pace, Disney parks match and exceed it. The demand-management techniques Disney employs increasingly require you to script your day up to six months in advance, down to the minute.
“A day at Disney is more like a skydiving excursion than a day in the park. You should expect physical challenges, you’ll need to do a lot of prep work, it will be expensive, and there will be a high degree of regimentation.”
In the article, I argue that Disney’s high-intensity thrill rides, and our high-intensity lives, would benefit from texture, from a variety in pace and intensity — from a time to stroll as well as race from place to place.
I offer some examples of Disney attractions that managed this (the late, lamented Adventurer’s Club), and propose some ways that role-play and other kinds of play can be woven into a Disney day.
I discuss the idea of treating people “as sensors, rather than as things to be sensed” and imagine an app that is about Disney revealing its offerings to you, rather than insisting on, and then gathering, your plans.
https://locusmag.com/2015/09/cory-doctorow-what-if-people-were-sensors-not-things-to-be-sensed/
This was a fun podcast to record, not least because it’s the 400th (!) episode of my podcast, which I started at Mark Pesce’s urging in 2005.
https://archive.org/details/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_01
It was also great to get a chance to acknowledge and thank John Taylor Williams for his decade+ of editing, mastering and production. He’s the reason I’m still at it.
Here’s the MP3 for the podcast (hosting by the Internet Archive, they’ll host your audio for free, forever, too!):
https://archive.org/download/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_400/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_400_-_Disneyland_at_a_stroll.mp3
And here’s the RSS feed for the podcast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast
And here are links to all six Medium articles:
I. Are we having fun yet?
https://gen.medium.com/b-are-we-having-fun-yet-part-i-4c7ef0ce9ee5
II. Boredom and its discontents:
https://doctorow.medium.com/boredom-and-its-discontents-part-ii-95b10f8d6041
III. Now you’ve got two problems:
https://doctorow.medium.com/now-youve-got-two-problems-part-iii-45e1328c5ae1
IV: Managing aggregate demand:
https://doctorow.medium.com/managing-aggregate-demand-part-iv-8d2022a5125b
V. Expectations management:
https://doctorow.medium.com/expectations-management-part-v-2ad8183fd1ce
VI: Disneyland at a stroll:
https://doctorow.medium.com/disneyland-at-a-stroll-part-vi-62934f35aac1
Image:
Evan Wohrman
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lyght55/51200454472/
CC BY-SA:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
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2020 CREATOR WRAP + FAVOURITE WORKS + FOLLOW FOREVER
Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works.
I was tagged by @yibobibo aamna thank u so muc and I’m so sorry this is so latenfkskkfd
@yibobibo aamnaaaaa!! You’re always so so wonderful and nice esp when you send me cute little messages I completely adore you and how you’re always tagging me in stuff! Thank you so much and I’m sorry I’m so lazygnskd but I appreciate it all so so much! You’re so talented as well i love everything you post and all your wonderful cql/yibo content makes me so happy esp when ur going off in the tags! I love this (it’s just so jc and wwx and it makes me so so sad) and this (ur tags said it well it’s very sexy) and lastly, this one (it’s just?? So powerful and I love that scene so so much) I’m sending u lots of love for the new year and I hope u have a wonderful year ahead 🥰😚
@gremlinmetawin ayeshaaaaaaaa!! Despite what you may thinkhjdkdkd I do actually love u very much 🙄 even when ur being mean to me. I love everything you put on my dash and when ur watching stuff, despite how long you take, I always love that you flood my dash with gifs bc it makes me feel like I’m watching right along with u. Also I know I make fun of u for tkaing so long to watch stuff but I love hearing your thots on everything and you always manage to pick up on the little details that I always end up missing. I also love how extra you can be gjskkfkdd your font for ayeshas thot still makes me laughfjkskd Anyways I’m so so glad to have gotten to know you this year and I appreciate you so so much and I just love screaming about all the shows we’re watching together 🥺 I Ioce u and appreciate u and I hope that next year is rlly good to u 😚😚🥰
@teh-ohaew taayyy!! Like I said with Ayesha despite what guys think i do actually love u too even tho you favour Ayesha over me sighhh but seriously I’m so glad we’ve gotten close over the few months (2gs impact huh) and that we get to scream over the same shit to each other. I also love how u don’t post shit for days and then u comeback and rb everythinggnsmmd and ur thirsty tags 🙄 always interesting to read. Oh and I’ve told u this multiple times but this this and this all of the edits are so good and all the detail you’ve put into them?? I love it so so much I also rlly love this all of the quotes you chose and the scenes?? To quote you, Britney gif yeah 😩 okay that’s it I love u and appreciate u and I hope next year is really really good to u 😚😚🥰
@yioh yuraaaaaa!!! I always feel so warm and happy whenever I see your stuff on my dash. I love hearing your thoughts on every show you’re watching or reading and I always find myself adding stuff to my recs. Also I love how you’re always so energetic and kind to everyone and you just excude love and warmth. You’re so talented I just love all of your artwork so so much esp this (the concept is just so good? What we could’ve had 😔) and this (bc obvs they’re both happy and living together) and lastly this (ngl I’ve gone back and read this so many times bc it just?? Hurts so much??) hope u have a great year ahead and u get to be surrounded by cats and everything u love!! 🥰😚😚
@metawwin aliiiiiiii!!! I’m so happy that we’ve gotten the chance to get to know one another this year and I absolutely adore you. You’re always so so kind and give off such positive energy and I just feel so happy whenever I see your stuff on my dash. And I’ve said this before but I love your gifs and it shows how much work you put into them and I love everything about your blog. I esp love this (ngl I lost my shit bc hands??? It’s such a pretty set and I always come back to it) and this (god I love this quote so much and I just love the scenes you’ve chosen and just everything is just so them) and lastly this (i love how u pick up on the smallest details and parallels and this set.. I just appreciate it so so much) I lov u and miss u I hope u have a great year ahead , sending u lots of love 🥰😚😚
@taytawan nuriaaa!! you’re so kind and you and your blog just give off such warmth idk how to explain it. I love all of your content, you make some of the prettiest gifs ive ever seen they’re always so warm and so clear and pretty. I esp love this one (idk how to explain it but it’s just?? So pretty and it’s one of my fav gifs of Tine out there ugh he just looks so good and the colouring just makes it so so much better) and all of your heart-eyes sets (ahhvhdjjdd they’re all just so nice and they just sum up their relationship so well??? These sets always make me so so happy) and lastly this (ngl I sat there for 5 minutes just being in awe bc?? I’ve never thought about this and I about lost it because???? Yeah it was never about the phone 😩 and that just adds so much to the show) I hope you have the best year ahead, sending u lots of love! 🥰😚😚
@morksuns sumaayaaa!! You’re so wonderful and kind and i just love how much you love the handmaiden?? And you have such great taste in shows and movies and I just love when you rb it on my dash. I absolutely love this mb it’s just so pretty and so soft?? And they’re girlfriends and everything about it is just so so warm and nice and the quotes.. yeah 😩) I also really love this mb (all of the pictures you’ve chosen are just so wonderful and they just fit?? That yellow sweater? The headphones? Scrubb? “Hi I’m bi” jfkskfk I just find so much comfort in it) and lastly this mb (it just screams home to me and it’s just so soft and wonderful? & the soulmate definition? Yeah ..yeah ) I hope u have a wonderful year ahead, sending u lots of love🥰😚
@fushiguroo lasyaaa!! You’re so so kind and lovely to talk to. You just give off so much warmth and you always seem so positive. I also really love all the sky/landscape pictures you post they’re always so pretty and ur just so talented. You also make such pretty gifs I just love all of your itsay gifs esp this (all the yellows and it just looks so warm and pretty?? And you giffed some of my favourite scenes from the episode 🥺) and this (once again you’ve chosen some of the prettiest scenes the first one in the water?? God it’s so pretty and the last gif from that set of the sunset???! It’s just so nice??? I love it so so much) I hope you have a great year ahead, sending u lots of love!! 🥰😚
@gigiesarocha cataaa!! I want to say thank u for putting Jeff satur on my dash because?? He’s so beautiful?! and I’m always tempted everyday by your ingredients gifs but I don’t have the patience so I’m waiting till it ends but your gifs of the show are always so pretty I can’t wait until I can sit down and watch it all and go through ur tag fjskkfd And I love all the kdramas you put on my dash bc I always end up adding more stuff to my watch list bc of it. I love this set so so much you have no idea it’s just so pretty and I love flowers so much and the flowers you’ve chosen to describe them both is just so spot on. I also really love this thank u for making this and blessing us all!! I hope you have a wonderful year ahead sending lots of love 🥰😚😚
@brightwin jelllyyyy!! You’re one the warmest kindest people I’ve talked to. You’re alway so kind to everyone and always spreading positivity and it’s just so nice to see you on my dash. Your gifs are always so so pretty esp the colouring you always manage to make them look so warm and clear and it just makes them so nice to look at. I love all of your content but I esp love this the scenes you’ve chosen are so wonderful and the quote is just.. so them it’s just so pretty. I also love this it just makes me miss them so much seeing how far they’ve come in their journey?? And ugh your colouring is always so beautiful. Also this is so pretty so basically all of ur lyric/quote sets because they’re so wonderful and you always make them look so beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead, sending you lots of love! 🥰🥰😚
@tichawongtipkanon diraaa!! You’re always so so kind and everytime I see you on my dash it always makes me so happy just reading your tags. Even tho I don’t think I’ve ever seen ticha in anything (I think?? I don’t rmr gkskkfkd) I always love seeing your gifs because she’s absolutely gorgeous?? I also really like this gjskkfkskkfd it always makes me laugh bc yeah he rlly is a mess and the fact that these gifs can capture him just being an idiot is so funny and I also really like this the quote and the scenes you’ve chosen??? Yeahhhfnskkd sarawatine soulmates!! I hope u have a wonderful year ahead sending u lots of love!! 🥰😚😚
@b-iconpearl roseee! youre so so kind and I appreciate you messaging me just to wish me a good day!! I also love all the pnd content you put on my dash even tho I haven’t had the chance to catch up but all of ur gifs of esp Pearl?? And Alex? Yeahhhh I esp love this bc Pearl is just??? So beautiful I just love this set of her sm she looks so good and also this I gasped out loud when I first saw this??? Alex looks so good and the gif is just so pretty and warm. Also I really love this the movie is just so dear to my heart and I love it so much and your set is just so so so beautiful and the lyrics yeahhhh so good! I hope you have a wonderful year ahead! Sending you lots of love 🥰😚
@pangwave dawnnn!! I love seeing you on my dash you’re always so kind and I love hearing your thoughts on the shows ur watching. Also ur gifs are always so pretty esp the recent morksun au you did, it was so interesting and I just loved it so much. I also really like this it’s so pretty and I love all the scenes you’ve chosen and the quote... yeah and the colouring is so warm and lovely. I also really like this god it’s one of my fav scenes from the show and I just love it so much. I also really like this it was such a small moment but handholding is just so...good and the set just looks so soft I love it I hope you have a wonderful year ahead! 🥰😚
@khaotungthanawat sammm!! Idk if I’ve mentioned this before but you make some of the best sets ever especially when it comes to finding parallels between shows. And you’re so creative and it’s so clear that you put so much work into ur gifs and they always look so so good! I especially love this it’s just so creative and looks so beautiful and how each weather just perfectly describes them? Just amazing and this one bc I had no idea there were so many reflections and I saw ur set and just had to take a moment and this one the colouring is just so pretty and it’s one of my favourite scenes ever and I just love it so much. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you!! 🥰
@teepakornaekaranwong orthyy!! I love how ur still keeping the 2g tag alive and that you’re always rb them on my dash. I esp love this you really combines the show scenes with the song and just made it so much more impactful?? And i just love all the scenes you’ve chosen it’s so beautiful. I also really like this and all the other ones in the set because they’re so funnygkkskfd and also this + all the other ones they always make me laugh bc you really did choose such perfect text post for each scene/character! I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!! 🥰
@asianmelodrama faizaaa!! I think this goes without saying that your content is always so beautiful and wonderful. And you have such a way with words as well, I just love reading your answers, posts and tags and it just feels so warm and safe . This has to be one of my favourite posts ever because there was so much potential?? So many hints?? And we could’ve had it all and I just love this set so much. I also really like this because their friendships were really so beautiful and I just wish we’d gotten to see more of it but what we did see, it was just beautiful. I also really like this (it’s so beautiful and I love winteam so much)and this bc jackzhaozi were so good. I love the character studies you did on tine and sarawat they were so raw and beautiful, like I said you just have such a way with words it was just so beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you!! 🥰
@toptaps zeeyyy!! You make some of the prettiest content ever and you’re just such a nice presence on my dash and you just seem so kind and warm. This has to be my favourite thing out there because when I heard that like, all of their scenes were just playing in my head and this set just captures everything we could’ve had :(( I also really like this the way you’ve morphed the gifs, the text and colouring of it, it’s all just so pretty. I also really really love this once again it’s so beautiful?? The way you’ve morphed them together and the quote you’ve used and the font and earnpear really is superior. Especially that first gif it looks like earns so taken aback by pear :((( and it’s so nice. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!! 🥰
@soulmatelines jo!! You’re so kind and it’s always been so nice to see you on my dash even though I know you must be busy rn I hope you’re still taking care of yourself. You also make such amazing content, I especially love this everything about this set is so good we go from tender to raw feelings and it’s just so so beautiful. I also really like this bc I love love all of kurosawas thoughts and all the little insecurities he has about himself god it just makes him that much more real. I also really like this it’s just so pretty and I just love the whole concept of it it’s so well done. I hope you have a great year ahead of you!! 🥰
@gunsatthaphan Doreeennn!! you’re so so nice and lovely and I lose reading your thoughts on things. Also thank u for always tagging me in stuff and im so sorry im always late to it. But you’re always a delight on my dash and I just love all of your content. I especially love this parallel just bc of how significant this line was in the whole show and I just love the coloring on it and everything about it. I also really love this bc OhmFong are so cute and I missed Fong’s little jumps when I was watching it but them I saw your gifset and cried over how cute he is. Lastly, this one... i love this one so so much bc it was just so powerful and beautifully said and it was just so so good and its one of my fav scenes. Oh and bonus this one because I love wyel so much and tht quote.... just adds everything to that scene and ugh everything about that set is just so wonderful. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead, sending lots of love!🥰😚
@wjmild kyliieeee!! anytime I think of you I always think of tsoa or lee thanatnfkkfd which thank u for always putting him on my dash bc I love looking at him. It’s always so nice seeing you on my dash and reading your tags and thoughts on things and you’re such a great content creator. I love this so much thank u for compiling all of their little moments together, they’re just so cute. I also really love this wyel is so superior and I just love them both so much and this scene was just so cute. I also really love this even tho I haven’t seen all the shows, i love handholding and you just hit the spot with this and this set is just everything it’s so beautiful. I hope you have a great year ahead of u, sending lots of love! 🥰
@cherryysundae monicaaa!! I absolutely love all of your content and you’re so kind and such a wonderful presence on my dash. you also make such pretty gifs. I especially love this everything about this scene was just so so beautiful and you made it even more beautiful with your wonderful colouring I just love how the shades of flower reflect on wwx and lwj (idk if that makes sense but gjskkfkd). I also really love this ngl made me really really sad especially with all the wwx and yanli scenes :(( but this trio was literally everything and you just compiled all of their beautiful scenes together and heartbreaking scenes. I also really love this that gif of jc smiling?? So precious and just all the purples and the zidian? I just love it so much. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!! 🥰
@leoyunxi ashiraa!! your content is always so so beautiful and I especially love your colouring it’s so beautiful and just gives makes the gifs seem so warm. I especially really love this wwx looks so pretty here and the colouring just makes it so so much better. I also really like this, this scene was just everything?? And the way they just glance at each other and I just love how warm the gifs look. I also really like this one of my favourite posts of them, you managed to gif all the wonderful scenes of them that I absolutely adore and they just look so good?? I can always tell that it’s your gifs because you have such a distinct colouring style and it’s always so so wonderful to see on my dash. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!! 🥰
@bright-vachirawit mariii! I hope you’re feeling better now and that you’re staying safe! You’re always such a wonderful presence on my dash esp bc I find we’re more or less usually watching the same shows and I just love all the content you create for it. I especially love this it’s one of my favourite scenes and it came out so clear and just I love how vibrant the red is and it’s just so pretty. I also really like this I also really love this scene and just the colouring is so so pretty and I just love that you added the caption because it just ties it all together and it’s just so wonderful. I also really like this it’s really pretty and I love the fond you used. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead! 🥰
@sarawatine nicoleee!! it’s always a delight seeing you on my dash and I just love all of your content. I especially love this that you paired up each of the lyrics with the scenes from the mv and it’s just so so wonderful and it looks so pretty. I also really like this Idk how many times I’ve screamed over this but this post just confirms that sarawatine soulmates honestly and yeah that last line I could cry. I also really like this I’m a sucker for parallels and this one was just so cute and I just love how soft this set looks. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead! 🥰
@brightwinfilm nath!!! I love all of your content, all your wonderful 2g/bw content and it just makes me so happy. I really love this that you’ve giffed all of their scenes at their home and they’re just being so domestic and cute together it’s so wonderful. I also really like this one gjskkfkd it makes me laugh because they’re so dramatic and your caption just makes it so much better but yeah this was really nice. I also really like this the tension in this gifset but they’re also colored so nicely and I just love everything about it. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!!🥰
@kimmonv violet!! I absolutely love all of your gifs and all the content you put on my dash. I especially love this honestly a whole ass mood and it made me really excited for the special!’ I also really like this i love the handholding and this scene was just... so beautiful and the dialogue and oh’s surprised face? This scene was everything and I just love this so much.and lastly this this scene was so funny gjskkfkd and I love how you adding the bonus scenes it makes it so much better!! I also love all of you gen y gifs!! They’re always so pretty and always look so clear and colourful. I hope you have a great year ahead!!🥰
@vihokratanas meeel!! You’re always such a delight on my dash and I love seeing your content. I especially love this it just looks so pretty and and I love this scene as well! This definitely is one of the best locations just look at the beach. I also really love this the scenes you’ve chosen just go with the song so well and it just ties it all together. It’s all just so wonderful and I love it so much. I also really love this this scene was just so good and the way you’ve coloured it just makes it so much warmer and prettier and the gifs are so so clear!! Absolute favourite! I hope you have a great year ahead!! 🥰
@atpgun doraaa!! I love your content and I absolutely love all of your itsay gifs. I especially love this one, the colouring is so so pretty and this scene is just so good and so underappreciated. It’s just so clear and I love how warm the gif looks and their relationship is just so good. I also really like this one bc I’m a sucker for parallels and these two?? And I love that you decided to include vlads little thumbs up so cute 🥺 I also really like this one it just makes me laugh bc pp looks so evil jfkskfkskd and I think ur one of the few people that giffed the documentary so thank you! I hope you have a great year ahead!! 🥰
@jbums kaaaay!! I hope ur doing well I haven’t seen you around in a while but I still absolutely love all ur content. I loved loved ur wyel gifs they were always so warm and you made them look so beautiful with your colouring. I also really like this like I said your colouring is always so so pretty and this was just so funny and their matching shirts so cute. And I also really like this one sangha looks so cute it reminds me of that gif you made of tae joo where he slams the spoon downfjskjdd but I hope ur doing well and I hope you have a wonderful year! 🥰
@musicdramalove hiii we recently became mutuals but I’m so glad we did. I love all your saifahzon content and your gifs are always so wonderful. I really like this one I haven’t watched it yet but this set really knocked this up in my list and I cant wait to watch it bc it loooks so lovely. I also really like this one, two of my favourite shows paralleled ugjjdks I love it so much and yes hugs.. the hugs I love it so much. I also really like this one the two of them just talking about the others smile and just admiring the other?? These scenes were just so good. I hope you have a great year ahead! 🥰
@planthusbands (cass -I absolutely love ur writing and thank u so much for writing me the wonderful fic I absolutely adore it and it had everything I liked in terms of tropes. I hope you have a wonderful year! 🥰)
@itoldsunset (dawy -thank u so so much for ur wonderful translations for itsay interviews god all of them just add so much depth into the show and I just love them all so much. I hope you have a wonderful year!! 🥰
@wirapong aishi!!! I absolutely love love this set of yours, pear looks so beautiful in it and your colouring just makes her look so so lovely. This set just makes me so happy bc look at her jumping with joy ah I love it. I also really like this one god this quote... was so impactful and I just love how you used all the scenes of them dancing with each other it’s just so so good. I also really like this one you cna really see the wonder and awe in Karl’s face and I love this scene so much and them. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead 🥰
@kurosawadachi angeeel!! i absolutely love this little set of film please she is so cute and her little smile ahhh!! i love it so much and the coloring in that set?? beautiful. I also really like this it just sums up itsay and oh man.. i just love all the scenes you’ve chosen and the gifs are just so so pretty and wonderful. I also really love this one im a sucker for food scenes and this really was one of the most wholesome scene in the series oh it was so wonderful. I hope you have a great year ahead!! 🥰
Other mutuals that I admire: @earthkatsamonnat (Bea) @janeramida @gooseras (kay) @gunsmiles (Amanda)@thaitheseries (Lisa) @87s-main @87s (min!! I’m tagging both just in case) - I hope all of you have a wonderful year!! 🥰🎉
This is alrdy too long so I’m just going to skip on tagging my own work
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Welcome to the Nightmare Game - CH102
**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**
[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]
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Chapter 102: Slaughter Secret Society (IV)
{cw: sexual stereotyping}
When the rain stopped the next day, Qi Leren, who had been exercising at home for half a day, received a banquet invitation from a bat sent by Mrs. Kathleen. Qi Leren put the invitation letter in his inventory and went into the bathroom with deep pain - the make-up.
Yes, this was also a new skill he had mastered in ten days. Except for the red tattoo on the corner of his eye, which was painted with special material and had to be erased with special chemicals, all the other dressings have to be prepared by himself. Of course, these styles were all designed by the Trials Office, and strived to make anyone think at first sight that he was a gay man with a good “yooooo” aesthetic.
Qi Leren did not protest against this, but he insisted that a person's sexual orientation could not be judged from his appearance. Even if he was dressed in a straight style, it didn’t mean that his sexual orientation was straight. However, the court rejected his opinion, and their purpose was to make him look like a gay man. As for whether he was or not, the Court indicated that they couldn’t control him.
Half an hour later, Qi Leren looked at his unrecognizable self in the mirror and felt melancholy.
Although make-up was a good skill to have, a man doing it would be treated as a pervert…
After finishing crossdressing, Qi Leren finally examined himself in front of the mirror. Today's clothes weren’t low-necked and open-navel, but it looked strange after being accessorized with a collar. It was like going to an S&M party with a whip tied around the waist.
Qi Leren repeatedly hypnotized himself. Right now he was Red, not Qi Leren, so he walked out of the house with his head held high. Of course, in order to keep a low profile, he still put on his cloak.
On the way to the party, Qi Leren vaguely felt that someone seemed to be following him, probably from the Court, but he didn't care. Soon he came to the place written on the invitation letter.
The present destination seemed to be a small bar, which was located in the area of the Twilight Township where most NPCs were concentrated. The handsome waiter outside the door asked him if he had an invitation letter, and after seeing the invitation letter sandwiched between Qi Leren's fingers, he greeted him respectfully.
The feeling of being followed disappeared, and Qi Leren followed the waiter through the lively dance floor and walked into a quiet corridor.
"Keep walking along the hall, there is a door at the end, and someone will show you the way," said the waiter.
Qi Leren snorted lightly, stuffed the common currency used between NPCs in Nightmare World into the waiter's collar, and whispered in his ear lightly: "Thank you for guiding me, baby."
The waiter turned red, and some took a step back in a panic. He bowed and left under the teasing gaze of Qi Leren. The speed was much faster than when he came, for fear of losing his virginity if he took a slow step.
Qi Leren’s "evil charm smile" had already reached an advanced level in the business of flirting with straight men, and he walked slowly to the waiter at the end of the corridor... Well, he had already seen the waiter opposite’s face pale. Good, it seemed that this was also a straight man, easy to flirt with.
“It's fun to flirt with straight men” ——BY Qi Leren, who was having bitter fun.
After walking to the waiter and speaking flirtily, Qi Leren smoothly entered the space hidden in the bar’s basement. After the humble door was opened, mirrors and masks were hung on both sides of the wall behind the door. Each mask was beautifully decorated, looking gorgeous and elegant. Qi Leren couldn't help but pay more attention to it.
"Are you Mr. Red? Welcome, welcome." Ashley, the young man who had been saved by Qi Leren, came out from the corner and spoke with awe and excitement.
After being rescued by Red yesterday, Ashley has been thinking about this mysterious predecessor, and he was also very concerned about the man who’d played against Red. He vaguely felt that there was some kind of entanglement between them. After he told Mrs. Kathleen about it, Mrs. Kathleen just smiled and touched his cheek, saying that she also liked to play with the hierophants of the Holy See. Somehow, Ashley's heart was full of acidity.
Across from him Red nodded lightly, not caring about his complicated mood.
Ashley took a masquerade mask off from the wall and put it on his face: "Mr. Red should also choose one. Our party is a masquerade, and everyone will be wearing a mask."
With that said, he secretly looked at the side of Red’s face. He still looked so cold, but so charming, the delicate side of his face and that red tattoo in the yellow light filling him with a sense of colourful desire. With a smile on his face, he squinted at him, and his vapid, feminine voice sounded, "Oh? Why don't you choose for me?"
Ashley's face turned red and he felt overwhelmed under Red’s gaze, and even the wound from being stabbed by the Trail didn’t hurt.
"I... I think this one is very nice and suitable for you, predecessor," Ashley said pointing to one of the masks.
The mask was a half-piece, covering only the upper half of the face and covered with golden wire-drawing. There were two bright red patterns at the position of the tear groove, just like two tears, and the corner of the mask had a moon-like arc, just to reveal the tattoo on his face.
Red stretched out his hand and took the mask off the wall, putting it on his face. The silver mask made him mysterious and elegant, while the tattoo exposed in the hollow part added a few charm points to him. He looked in the mirror on the wall for a while narcissistically, then turned to Ashley and said, "You have a good eye."
"Predecessor is the one who’s won the prize."
Ashley, who bowed his head as he spoke, suddenly saw a white and beautiful hand appear in front of his eyes. The slender index finger lifted his chin. He raised his face in panic and saw Red’s face close to his. The half-mask covered his upper face, but it highlighted the charming curve of his bright red lips. He was so close that he almost touched the tip of Ashley’s nose.
"Don't waste me saving your life. So... How are you going to repay me?" Red whispered in his ear.
Ashley's comely face suddenly rose with crimson, and he glanced at Red in a panic, and then, under his smiling gaze, he closed his eyes tightly, with a shy appearance allowing this to continue.
"..." Play, play it off!
Qi Leren growled in his heart, and stood stiffly in the same place, lying in the trough, talking about a good straight man! He's a straight man pretending to be gay, and of course he only goes after straight men! What's wrong with you, you little gay! He’d only done this twice yet already gotten caught by it?! People shouldn’t respond this well!
Ashley, who didn't wait for the kiss, secretly opened his eyes. The mysterious man who hooked his chin smiled lightly and bit him full on the earlobe: "You’re so cute."
With that said, Red stepped back and blew him a kiss, swaying into the underground corridor.
Ashley gawked at his back, and the earlobe he’d bitten was burning hot. He didn't know what was wrong with him. Obviously he only liked women, but it was as if he’d been poisoned when he saw how attractive and charming the predecessor Red was. Even if he was a man, his heart beat faster for him.
Was it because the predecessor Red had saved him that he had that kind of nestling complex?
Ashley shook his head to dismiss the blushing thoughts and quickly chased after him.
The low-key bronze door opened, loud music suddenly burst out, and gorgeous lights lit the basement, illuminating the room full of men and women having fun. Mrs. Kathleen, draped in tulle and leaning against the Roman column by the door, wore a feather mask and held a glass of bright wine. She showed a charming smile to Red as he stood at the door: "Welcome to our carnival feast. Have fun."
After Red paused, he looked around at the men and women who were dressed revealingly and whispered, "My pleasure."
In fact, at this moment, Qi Leren's heart was broken: Hello, is this 110? Someone here is having a divine feast of the body, gathering people to have sex and wreak chaos. Come and save me!!!
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Editor’s Notes: Qi Leren’s just going around the Nightmare World causing everyone to have gay realizations lol. Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
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SW anon - So I have tried to watch the whole thing before but I could never really get past the start. I watched ep IV a few years back (and in 2018 I watched it while it playing with a live orchestra which really enhanced the experience) and ofc I’ve known most of what happens bc my mom and brother have been fans of it (and ofc all the references to it in shows and it being everywhere) but the thing about the original trilogy that I found difficult to watch was very much the acting being off
Gov SW anon continued - but I think I’m gonna watch the clone wars show next as I feel like the general universe and people speak to me more than the skywalker and co. story speaks to me. But I’ll probably try and get back to the prequels afterwards (at least just to have seen them) but also bc I’ve been on tumblr for so long and I’ve encountered so much about the new movies with Finn, Poe and rey (I already know I don’t like kylo) that I’m interested to see what comes before that
Seeing Ep IV with a live orchestra sounds fantastic as the music is incredible. <3
I must admit I haven’t gotten properly into the Clone Wars show! I’ve tried, & did jump in to (and enjoy) the finale ~ and certain Mandalorian episodes strongly remind me of the show’s tone ~ but it has yet to hit me right in the place where I care. What I appreciate about it & what it’s brought into the Star Wars universe is still on a more distant level, not visceral.
I most love that The Mandalorian is truly exploring & taking advantage of the wider Star Wars universe beyond Skywalker & co. (but boy do I also love Skywalker & co.) There is an exciting amount of potential in the newly-announced projects too I love characters outside of a universe’s main chosen-one story. In 6th grade, I was obsessed with the X-Wing book series, which were definitely really marketed toward adult guys but whoops, I had found the deep Star Wars section of the library! And the first line of that series, introducing the main character, is “You’re good, but you’re no Luke Skywalker.” And in a way, that’s the Mandalorian too, to the audience if not himself ~ good, but no Luke Skywalker. Not a Jedi, not meant to bring balance to the Force, a sidestory in the main universe’s struggle. I (from what I’ve seen/know of) get the impression that’s how Ahsoka sees herself ~ ‘you’re good, but you’re no Anakin Skywalker’.
Of course, for that contrast to work, first you need a Luke Skywalker.
it’s interesting you mention OT acting feeling off as I would use that exact word to describe how I feel about the acting in some episodes of The Mandalorian. In some I love it! Other times... I hesitate to say ‘like a video game’ as I mean no insult to the well-developed video game characters out there but yeah, it hits me like the actor’s aware they’re essentially in a live-action video game cut scene.
But. I truly love the acting in the original trilogy! ...but also as I type this I’m watching a movie from 1944 and acting style certainly varies by decade, & mileage varies as to personal taste... but also I will never be objective about Star Wars which I have loved since I was six... but also I studied film history in college and firmly believe Star Wars, the original trilogy is just objectively good if not quite everybody’s cup of tea (...okay maybe Return of the Jedi is not quite as objectively good, but I still love it so much and given the work it had to do wrapping up the original trilogy, hey, it did its job successfully and with Ewoks).
I love the twinkling, wry humor & also gravitas of Alec Guinness. There’s that sense of amusement as he talks to Han, as he waves off the storm troopers, and even in the “let go, Luke”... but always the right weight in the right moments imho
Luke & Han particularly can both be petulant in different ways, & they’re all quippy & brash & even cavalier at times in what in context ~ especially when you rewatch A New Hope right after Rogue One ~ in Very Serious Situations! and I love them for it.
Carrie Fisher’s accent does shift in the one scene (which I have never minded and definitely went around as a kid trying to say ‘Governor Tarkin’ exactly the way she does), and young Mark Hamill’s Luke can be Dramatic & the Most Petulant but understandably (& prettily) so, and... yeah I probably could muster a criticism for Harrison Ford but also I *can’t*! There are some ridiculous Han Solo moments in Return of the Jedi especially, but also I love him/them/just about every choice these movies made. They just hit on magic.
The magic’s there for me from the music swelling as Luke looks yearningly into the twin suns (the cinematography!), but where it really hits is the up-and-running chemistry between all three of the main actors starting the “Luke, we’re gonna have company” scene, and then, boom, it’s the garbage chute, it’s the you’re-braver-than-I-thought/he-certainly-has-courage, for-luck, here-they-come of it all and the movie is flying.
...and I will never forgive the sequels for, avoiding spoilers as it sounds like you’re familiar but haven’t seen them, not giving us any true interaction scenes between Rey & Finn & Poe all together until the 3rd movie. While I still so appreciated finally getting that & what we got, for me it was just not just too little but too late. I love the casting & acting for all 3 of those characters, but while fandom’s taken and run with the combination, and they had plenty of chemistry... it should have been up-and-running so much sooner.
And the prequels just... well, even seeing them in theaters at a susceptible age, the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out at the same time and that did them no favors in comparison. As someone who judges movies above all on dialogue, that... also did them no favors. (Beyond the OT I may have a Nontraditional ranking of Star Wars movies).
The short version of my prequels & sequels take is that both missed that cinematic magic for me, outside of certain scenes, though I still enjoy them as part of The Whole Thing That Is Star Wars Which I Love. Rogue One had that magic; I know and see the criticism of the early editing & introduction-of-Jyn’s-background-and-Krennic-and-Galen scene, but, to me, that movie is perfect. Solo was solid - maybe not magic, but reliably enjoyable, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch. The prequels & sequels... the lows are very low and the highs are very high, in terms of how they hit me.
I feel like I’d probably sum them up as Prequels: Good Star Wars, Bad Movies, and Sequels: Good Movies, Bad Star Wars, which may seem a little harsh or too kind on one side or another but gets at my take at the worldbuilding vs. just the cinema of it all. The bread scene in Force Awakens, the salt planet in Last Jedi, the dyad-duel-in-dual-locations in Rise of Skywalker? Gorgeous. Individual scenes’ acting & dialogue is sound for me. And yet. All three sequels’ choices in respect to the entire Star Wars universe and existing characters AND its new characters? ...Tonally inconsistent with each other *and* ultimately with the themes of the OT. Whereas the prequels did so much worldbuilding, and its politics, and I’ll see gifs and think ‘yes actually, is it better than I remember?’... and then I’ll catch one on TV & it’s the Padme & Anakin romance or even Anakin & Obi-Wan’s buddy scene dialogue at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker and the answer will come, clearly: “noooooooooooooooo.”
(...this got long. Which I tend to do when I care, about fiction in any form, and with the prequels/sequels: the ingredients were there to be magic. And just-misses are more frustrating than swing-and-misses. A la, you won’t find me complaining about the Star Wars Holiday Special!)
(...OK so I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and I’m sort of aiming to watch it through this holiday season, since what other year than 2020 seems more appropriate? So I won’t promise not to complain about the Holiday Special but I mostly expect to laugh at it.)
(That said I found the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special an absolute, surprising, laugh-out-loud delight; 9/10 would recommend & yes, 1 point deduction as I will nitpick character consistency even when they are Legos.)
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hello bie !!! big congrats to your blog growing so quickly again !!! you're so sweet and a warm person so i think u deserve so so many more (also your edits omg they're STUNNING) !!! may I please get a ♡ & ❀ + *mine. my bday is on march the third !! thank u queen 😌💕
hello badrieh!!! thank you so so much, im pretty sure i wouldnt have managed to get here without all the lovely mutuals who kept following me after i moved blogs and im very thankful y’all did that 🥺 im so so happy you joined the celebration 🤍 obviously this got suuuper long so it’s under the cut, sorry
join my celebration uwu
♡ : WELL, i always think i dont have much to say about people after complimenting them for a while, but i somehow always manage to find more things to say about you! your themes?? brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same! im not even joking here, you have the most beautiful mobile themes ive seen and it’s so inspiring. i love how you match the icon with the header and the colour scheme and just create this gorgeous overall aesthetic! UR URL? we love to see it! missing blafard sometimes, but cant miss it that much given that it was replaced by the name of the only good man!!! i keep telling you how talented and creative you are and i mean it from the bottom of my heart, but i think we should also focus on what an amazing person you are! you’re sweet and supportive, you made me feel welcomed from our first interaction, despite how much i looked (and still do) up to you as an editor. you! take! no! shit! you always speak ur mind, you call out all the bullshit you see and that makes me respect you even more. add to that how intelligent you are and you get the recipe of a future very successful person. i really hope all your dreams come true and i know they will because you’re gonna go out there and take everything you deserve!!! i have a lot of trust in you; if you ever doubt yourself just know that i don’t. you’re gonna get far and it’s exactly what you deserve, my dear!! you’re one of my favourite people on tumblr and im glad i get to use this platform at the same time as you <3
❀ : miss badrieh, if you dont already know you’re my favourite editor it means i did a horrible job as president of the badrieh fanclub! idk if i told u this already but your edits are the reason i ended up on litblr (is this a thanks to or because of situation,,, we shall never know)! i kept seeing them and asking myself how can one be so talented (i still do) and eventually decided to edit too. so thank you for being my inspiration! now onto choosing... this is hard, ok!!! (i literally have 13 tabs open, how can i only choose 5??)
this eli edit and this victor edit! im simply in love with this style!!! im a hoe for b&w edits, but the pop of colour you added makes it even cooler. you really encapsulated the essence of these two characters in these edits; i love when i can take a single look at an edit and already feel like i know the characters even if i wouldn’t have read the books!
shoutout to this villains edit as well! the style is a bit different but it has kinda the same vibes (it’s the same series, ofc it does...) i love how you played around with the pictures and the text, it looks very unique!
you are the absolute queen of coloring, point proven by this harry edit!, this gone girl edit!, and this renison edit! your coloring is always so stunning, i dont know how you make all the pictures look like they truly belong together while also matching the vibe of each character/book. also!!! fukn text placement!!!!!!! good god, you have such a way with it! it’s always just the right amount of text and it looks so cool! you’re also really good at choosing quotes, i admire that. you’re not just going for the overused, popular quotes, you’re taking stuff that speaks to you and turn it into the popular quotes.
this kaz edit and this jesper edit! i mean... is this shocking? the pictures fit both of them so so well and the colour schemes are stunning! again with the text placement, which looks so damn good!!! also, i love the oilpainting effect in the jesper one; that became sort of ur signature and every time you use it, i have to stare a little longer to make sure it’s an effect, not actual art! but then again, your edits are art!
this iwwv edit! absolutely stunning. i sometimes go back and look at it and im hit by how gorgeous it is!! the coloring is pretty, but that’s nothing new lmao it’s more than just an edit imo, it’s a vibe. idk how to describe this but it feels like the book yk. i love the gif overlay you added, it ties everything together. and the “text inside the text” is *chief’s kiss*
this grover edit! queen, you inspired me to try out moving doodles in edits, but no matter how much i try, i could never come close to what you did here. this is my favourite edit of yours, but also one of my favourite edits on tumblr. it's so simple, the coloring is immaculate, there are not so many elements on it, but that’s what makes me like it so much. there’s beauty in simple things or some poetic bs like that.
shoutout to this other grover edit! again, coloring: beautiful, fonts: really nice, pictures: perfect. i also really like the quote you used on the 4th picture, i think it fits grover very well and it also fits with the whole vibe of the edit too.
in conclusion, spare some talent, ma’am!!! or hand in marriage idk whatever it is, i’m good with it. keep being you, please never stop editing and i hope you’re gonna have not only a beautiful day, but a beautiful life 💛✨
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Les Huguenots (Paris, 2018): Reactions, Part III
And as if all that’s happened wasn’t bad enough, here’s where everything really falls apart...
someone is (very understandably) PO’d
oh honey
also let us agree now and forever that Ermonela Jaho is awesome
edit: had to take a moment to recover from that (and also get more ice cream)
terrible headcanon but: since this production takes place in 2063, it could theoretically take place in the current universe, which means that it is likely that on at least one occasion between Acts III and IV, Raoul went to Valentine’s house and played ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ outside where she could presumably hear it
I have no idea why I just thought of that but anyway
“I don’t even know exactly what you mean yet but this already sounds really bad and I’m not cool with it” YEAH NEVERS
*enthusiastic applause and cheering*
hey STOP IT
oh no to add insult to injury they’re making him witness the plotting
“I’m not one for hating but I do have to ask: how could you?”
“VALENTINE PLEASE HELP ME GET OUT OF THIS”
“IF I KNEW HOW WITHOUT THEM KILLING ONE OR BOTH OF US I WOULD”
oh no oh Valentine :(
this set looks GOOD (very clever use of lighting)
this scene gives me chills EVERY TIME
“DO NOT MOVE PAST THIS SWORD”
too adorable protect them
and there it is
I’m dead also this is GORGEOUS
god DAMN IT
what a duo
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
he left, then came back...for just a few seconds :(
(also someone started booing Yosep Kang after this was over, which...give him a break. yes, he did crack a few high notes but this part is insane and also the circumstances under which he’s doing this production are even more insane and also also he’s still doing very well overall)
and so La Saint-Barthélemy begins
let’s go save each other! AUX AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARMES!
White Shirts With Blood TM
I’m still upset that no production on film has ever actually staged that
*heart eyes forever*
this is the only production I’ve seen where they actually emphasize the fact that Marcel is wounded and probably slowly dying and on the one hand I appreciate that detail but on the other hand IT HURTS
this split-second reaction, that sudden flicker in the eyes when the women start singing. AH. just kill me, wouldn’t you?
*screaming*
*dies*
this FINISHED me
that may be true, but the problem here is that that line is also supposed to mean that they’re all dead, which is not the case here
still hurts though
they all deserve SO MUCH BETTER
they just straight-up walked right into the crowd of murderers like the BADASSES they are
I actually have a major problem with the fact that the leading trio is stabbed instead of shot and I could write a whole Thing as to why if you wanted it, but I won’t right now, especially while I’m too busy crying
NO
also Saint-Bris you MAJORLY FUCKED UP
also also NOOOOOOOOOOOO MARGUÉRITE IS THERE TO WATCH HER DIE
damn even HE’S heartbroken over it
most of the time it’s more ambiguous
NO
this was not fucking okay AT ALL
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IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE SOCIETY GB YEARBOOK 36TH EDITION -
For the last 10 or so years of my life the only horses I’ve seen are the ones in my favourite stories, come to life at night in my dreams. The Silver Brumby, Black Beauty, War Horse, The Last Unicorn, you name them, Ive read them or seen them on screen, and at night they dance on my closed eyelids across my mind into their golden fields far far from my reach. It hurt so much to be bed bound and far from the animals I love so much, I am severely disabled with a brain condition that is trying to blind me and mobility problems that cause chronic pain and fatigue that make me feel like I actually have a horse on my back rather than the other way round!
In 2018 I decided that rotting in my bed for the rest of my life, was not an option, for nearly 10 years I’d spent my life in the same 4 walls and duvet, a modern day prison. I asked Mum one evening if she would help me get back in the saddle metaphorically and physically. We found a riding school and there in the corner was a horse they deemed “the scary one”. She was an Irish Draught mare who someone had sold to the school after losing their confidence with her.
“The scary one” was aptly named we thought, as she turned on a sixpence while tied in the corner, would look at you with glaring wide eyes and she was bright white although covered in teasels and mud! A little like the 4th horse, the horse of death! Something about this horse made me want to know her, I felt like I knew her. I had only ever seen Irish Draught horses in books and they had always been very different from this spectacle in front of me.
She snorted as I went closer, scared and misunderstood. She sniffed my hand and licked it. I knew we would friends from then on. I rode other horses for the first few weeks and found that my balance was awful but my determination to ride was second to none. All the time this horse was in the back of my mind.
One day I arrived early at the yard as I always did to groom and cuddle the horse I was going to be riding as I hate it when people just turn up and get on as though the animal is a robot for their pleasure. Low and behold, this horse, the scary horse, was stood, tacked up ready for a ride! I couldn’t believe it, someone was going to ride this thing? How brave were they! It turned out a lady called Caroline….. the same name as mine! was going to hack out with us and ride her. As soon as I saw Caroline reach the yard I could feel the colour green rising from my ankle boots up through my gaiters and soon reaching my Charles Owen skull cap. My envy would have burst though the top and out of my mouth had I not grit my teeth so hard.
I couldn’t physically speak for most of the ride, I was captivated by this monster, chewing and pulling at the bit, spinning round and round, spooking at nothing… I wanted to ride her!!!
I didn’t actually tell anyone after my ride how I had felt about seeing this big mare act like everyone around her was the enemy, instead I went up to her and bathed the mud gently from her hooves. She span so she could watch my every move but she seemed as captivated by me as I was with her. I asked what she was called, Coco was her name.
The next week I went up with renewed enthusiasm to find out more about this amazing horse. It felt she mirrored peoples misinterpretation of my pain and discomfort but how was she misunderstood? Could I get the chance to find out?
I was happy to see the mare was tied up and tacked up ready for another outing, though my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I was told that I was the jockey for the ride! I was absolutely star struck and nearly burst with excitement but I knew I had to contain my overwhelming feeling of joy and anticipation as this could quite easily send our friend Coco skyward!
I mounted from the block and she watched every step I took, she shuffled and wouldn’t stand as I hovered over her but once our bodied connected it felt as though a plug had connected into a socket, electricity, fireworks, I knew we belonged together. Coco watched me with her antennae ears for the whole ride, she didn’t put a single foot wrong and with my loose hands, allowing her to react to any situation she felt scary, she rode easily and free. This is the Irish Draught I know.
I dismounted and nearly fell backwards into the arms of my instructor as Id spent the whole ride, watching, listening and connecting with Coco. I was absolutely smitten and in love with this horse and did not want to leave her. I asked immediately if I could book in with her for every ride in future and that is how our blossoming relationship started.
Coco took me on so many adventures but restricted by riding school rules we could never spend any time alone unfortunately. I dreamt of her, no longer fixated on my storybook ponies, SHE galloped my midnight fields. She felt different from other horses, something I felt as soon as I got on her, she looked after me in a way that said she knew I was different too.
One day I had had enough about hearing how I had brought Coco on so well and how people thought she was a different horse with me, I found it leapt from my mouth… in the middle of a hack… “What would you say if I asked to buy Coco?” …. my heart had spoken. I’d never be able to afford her without Mum but I’m sure I could persuade her, look what Coco had done for me! I was bed bound this time last year and now I’m riding twice a week! What would my instructor say though? I couldn’t hear for my heart pounding, I thought Coco would spook for sure but maybe she knew what I had asked? She waited as patiently and intently as I did for an answer. “Yes of course you can buy her, I asked your Mum last week if you’d like to loan her!”. What had I done? Id spoilt poor Mum’s surprise! She was asked by the owners if I would like to loan Coco and I’d gone and ruined it by buying us a horse! oops! Well that was my Christmas sorted and for several decades to boot!
I couldn’t contain my excitement. Coco was MY horse! Not yours, not anyones, MINE! I think even Coco knew, she acted like she had a Mum for the first time and I was able to spoil her with rugs and food and all sorts of saddlery! But the most important thing of all was being able to get a vet out to do a health check now that she was mine. Something just spoke to me, maybe SHE was trying to tell me herself, but something said that she wasn’t quite your regular horse.
The vet checked her over, some slight wear from hunting in Ireland, a few melanomas, but what we were stunned by was that Coco was blind in one eye! It made a whole lot of sense about her reaction to various things on hacks, noises seemed to have her on edge before she saw things and items like wheelie bins at the side of the road seemed to have been dropped by aliens out of nowhere very suddenly as we were on top of them almost. It was almost a relief to know as I could adapt her life for the better and make it safer for both of us. I have to thank her for being such an amazing safety blanket for me, despite her own disability, i don’t think many breeds of horse would have done the same.
I adore Coco for the horse she is but I also love that she is an Irish Draught; I am a Murphy and naturally wanted an Irish horse from when I was a little one! Dad’s name was Seamus Joseph Patrick Murphy so you couldn’t get more Irish than him! Coco loves her Guinness and so did Dad, he passed away 12 years ago and I know he would have loved to help me with her and so she makes me feel very close to him. I like to think each time I ride she puts me a little closer to heaven as she’s taller than the ground! So he can see me ride. I had always felt the Irish Draught was most suitable for me as a heavier and disabled person because I would naturally squash a thoroughbred and I need something that’s going to hold my big bum and look good doing do! But also have the temperament of a saint and not so highly strung that it will chuck me off every 5 minutes but that will have SOME character and I love the cheeky draught personality! Who doesn’t?!
Call me a glutton for punishment but I had always wanted a grey horse too! I know they take more washing tablets than Dot Cotton’s launderette but they look amazing when clipped and clean! Of which Coco rarely is I admit! However she has taken me to some amazing events this year where she has been looking exceptional! I had always wanted to do some fun rides and the very first I attended in my whole life was this year at Bissellwood Equestrian Centre, transported by Helen Clarke for my 31st birthday! It was such a dream to find out that Coco would just walk on to the transport without any fuss and also travel like she had done it all her life. I think the last time she had done anything was coming over from Ireland a few years before so I was extremely proud of her. Everyone at the event thought she was such a gorgeous horse and I was so proud to be riding and showing her off. It was the first time I felt like I truly owned her. I took her round the 8 mile course on my own and even walked her around the cross country jumps to see what she thought of them. We didn’t jump any but she was extremely well behaved and we walked over some like trotting poles, what a star! You can see how happy I was in the picture by Cordelia Noble of me cantering through the bluebells! I had specially made a cross country set with shamrocks in irish green, befitting of my noble steed and her heritage!
We attended a few more fun rides, Eaton Mascott was lovely, I am pictured cantering at the end by Something From The Hart. This ride I managed to meet up with a friend and we even did our first ever jump although we didn’t plan to! Coco followed our friend over a log! I managed to stay on in an “its okay Mum I’ve got this” situation! One thing you’ll notice in all of our pictures, also the lovely one by Chris Maddox Photography at Millichope, is that we are both always smiling and happy! Any time I’m with my Coco, I am on top of the world and I don’t take anywhere near as much pain relief. I find she is my healing power and therapy.
We also did our first show this year but due to the fact Coco has a few dents and bangs, we decided we would enter something a little more lighthearted and go for the fancy dress. Don’t worry we didn’t make all of the children cry by beating them but we did win and I was absolutely over the moon with Coco as it was her first time receiving applause in a large arena and although she didn’t know where it was coming from as she couldn’t see it, she retained her decorum! Here you can see us as Gandalf and Shadowfax (female form!) by EquinePix Photography at Burwarton Show. We hope to go back in 2020 to defend our title, maybe… perhaps… it was jolly good fun! Especially shouting YOU SHALL NOT PASS at the cross roads of the horse walk where people were trying to pass.
Another highlight this year was a side saddle clinic with Rachael Forkings at Silligrove Livery in Kinlet, we learnt a lot in our first ever go at side saddle and actually first ever clinic!!! Coco was fantastic as usual and took to it immediately. We were cantering around the arena by the end of it and look forward to another session in March.
Probably my biggest highlight of the year was going out hunting with The Border Beagles Hound Club, I’d never hunted in my life and never thought I could but the beagles took me under their paw and I can truly say I’m addicted and can’t wait to go back. I had wanted to do something special for Coco’s GOTCHA DAY the anniversary of buying her and I was not disappointed, the way this horse pricked her ears yet stood obediently when asked but also galloped like the wind when we wanted was absolutely fantastic, she proved her training in Ireland is still in there and its clear to see that its something SHE loves to do too. Here are some fab pics by Darryl Owen Photography of the opening meet on December 1st. The Beagles are a drag hunt and do all they can to keep wildlife and countryside safe as they practice this age-old tradition on horseback.
Late Summer, Coco and I moved to a new yard, Chorley Equestrian Centre in Shropshire, we have been taught by Charlie Lloyd who served in the Kings Royal Horse Artillery and are now focusing on dressage to have a little try at unaffiliated in the coming year. We also hope to try some jumping and some other great clinics countywide.
I would firstly like to thank the breeders of Coco - LADY YEATS, she was brought into this world by dam Brackney Lodge owned by Alex Moores and sire Rosheen Yeats owned by Pauline Furlong. Before owning Coco I literally only knew Blue Peter as a television programme and King of Diamonds as that in a pack of cards. These ladies have helped me learn more about Coco than anyone and have brought her into this world, without them I wouldn’t be writing this today, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the best gift of all, my freedom on the wings of my beautiful heart horse and soul mate, Coco.
Thanks also go to Cathy Meehan for the information she has so helpfully provided about Coco and her breeding with Gentle Diamond, I have yet to trace Cathal Gallagher who is the owner of the foal and previous owner of Coco but I continue to try as I would love to know about this period of her life. Please get in touch if you have any information.
Thank you to Louise Errington, Marily Power at Suma Stud, and the Irish Draught Photo Archive Facebook Group your information and photographs of Coco’s ancestors has been invaluable in producing a family tree for her, something I have always wanted to do.
I must finally add huge thanks to all that produced the Stourport Irish Draught Horse Society GB show 2019. I attended with my Mum as a spectator last year and was blown away by the kindness of all competitors and judge Julie Cornthwaite who along with Sue Benson (chairman) has asked me to write this article for the yearbook. I watched the show and was particularly blown away and fond of the two greys (naturally some might say!) Silver Grey Bouncer owned by Anna Ersting ridden by Matthew Ainsworth and Nice One Frank owned and ridden by Emma Spencer (Reserve Best in Show). Watching these horses and all others on the day gave me a thirst for more with Coco, to become a better rider and to learn more about the breed itself. I immediately came home and read all of my draught books, having already signed up to the society when I bought Coco. I couldn’t have been more proud of being a member, even a lowly spectator! I was so happy that I swallowed my anxiety and feeling of inadequacy and went to talk to judge Julie Cornthwaite after the show to congratulate her one a fantastic day and her amazing riding (she should have got a trophy too!) but also to find out more about showing Coco. One day I hope to find courage to enter a local show for best tack and turnout as advised by Julie as they look less on scars and melanomas there and visiting the show at Stourport really has pushed me to do this. Coco and I even won tack and turnout at the Border Beagles opening meet so it seems Julie’s words of wisdom have truly paid off, thank you so much!
“My name is Caroline Murphy and I am addicted to the Irish Draught!’
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